Final Fantasy VII’s Legacy Gets Everything About Final Fantasy VII Wrong

Final Fantasy VII remains the most beloved and iconic Final Fantasy game, but its legacy gets everything wrong about what makes the game so important.

[quent]

Uh oh, now you've done it..

[indysurfn]

I was thinking the same thing, but look at the comments and votes, looks like they are getting a good reception.

On a side note this has to be one of the few actually deeply thought out articles I have read in a long time.
Agree, or not they didn't just come up with some third grade writing.

[quent]

I agree, it is difficult at times trying to voice a not so popular opinion, this is definitely a positive outcome, or maybe its just that one day of the year thing, who knows, but this is still a well written opinion piece

[phallusitator]

Your comment made me read the article and you're right. The writing and subject was well written about.

I never did beat FF7 back in the day (or since). But I've played the first act at least a dozen times.

I'm looking forward to the (rumoured) collection coming out this year. Bring on the Warmech!

[The_Sage]

I don't think as much thought went into the rolls of the characters as the writer of the article does.

[Pantz]

nothing is rong about cute yuffie <3

[Gardenia]

Final Fantasy VII wasn't successful only because of it's story. It was the game as a whole, from music to the atmosphere of the game, a huge world and the new 3D technology which was something amazing for that time

And not forgetting that to this day Cloud, Aerith and Sephiroth are still chosen as one of the best characters in the video game history

[indysurfn]

Agree, but I especially agree with the music part!!!

[rdgneoz3]

Yep, everyone remembers the One Winged Angel theme.

[Muzikguy]

I think people overlook this all the time. All these things together created an amazing experience that hasn't been replicated since. Although I'm a huge fan of IX as well

[DevilOgreFish]

I believe the thumbnail shot is of this picture
http://img.ctrlv.in/img/4fe...

I noticed the Remake Cloud seems to be using that leather belt as well. I wish they would stick with the original metal design, looked so much better imo.

[Whatever234]

The new Cloud is a representation of todays youth,thats why he stands the way he does.

[rdgneoz3]

So he's going cut himself? He does have a large blade at hand...

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[joab777]

I do agree with the article, but in a sense it is being stated that any remake will fail b/c it's unable to flip the current tropes on their head. Maybe this IS what they are going for. We will see.

And maybe it's just me, but most people I know remember it for the complexities of character, especially Sephiroth!

[indysurfn]

I agree for the most part. But I think that most people that actually played the game all the way through will not need to have the image of the game flipped. Because we will remember it. Only people that have not played it will be upset if it does not meet the media presented image of the game.

[Fist4achin]

How can a FF story get jacked up?! It's a pretty simple formula with world in peril, bad guy or guys are the cause and a love story...

[CorndogBurglar]

Uh.....you can pretty much simplify any video game story to that. There is WAY more going on in Final Fantasy games than just "bad guys threaten world. Good guy has love interest."

Come on man...

[Fist4achin]

I get ya. Happy New years!

That was my simplified answer while sitting in a car. Of course the stories are much more layered and intriguing than most. I'm just thinking that the story was already told...

[ShwaaMan]

I understand what he is saying about the way it's been portrayed in recent years. However, I think he is WAY over complicating it by breaking it down into pieces that may have never been there in the first place. This isn't Shakespeare, and it never was. FF7 was a product of its time. I remember vividly the months up to its release, and the day it came out I was 15 years old, and my older brother went out and got it right away. FF6 in some ways is still my favorite game of all time so my excitement/the hype behind 7 was through the roof. No one had ever seen such an epic story with amazing graphics, and great gameplay told like this before, in rpg or any other form. That was it. That's all. You felt like you were playing a massive sci-fi/fantasy movie. Remember when everyone loved cgi cut scenes because in game graphics couldn't come close to showing things like that yet? It looks like complete garbage now, though one can definitely see the artistic talent put into it on every level. Character and world design, the musical score, the materia and leveling system, all told in a way most movies couldn't even do at the time. Its still a great game and I'll always love it, but the author is doing the exact same thing he is complaining about, just on the opposite side of the coin. He's complaining about it being simplified and misunderstood/remembered, while he goes above and beyond to turn it into something that it never was either. In 20 years and with writers like this guy, I think things have gotten way more analytical than they were ever intended to be. Just my two cents...

[Twinblade]

When it was announced that FF7 remake will be a hack and slash and have episodes, I lost interest.

[jznrpg]

I like it for what it was to me , people can analyze it to death and peoples perceptions of it , it wont change my thoughts on it

[alstruck]

The legacy is always sephiroth.. his theme.. then there is shinra.. midgar.. clever use of plot twists to make characters deeper.. a death that drives the second part of story.. the buster sword.. so many cool things to take away probably is why people debating which coolest.

[DethWish]

A very good read, thank you for it!

[FallenAngel1984]

In Final Fantasy VII Cloud Strife actually did very little brooding, preferring to focus on fighting Sephiroth and saving the planet from Shinra. The guy even cracked a few jokes at his friends and could take a jab back in return, and is very caring of his friends and claims he "trusts everyone". His archrival Sephiroth had a dark messiah complex who wanted to become a god to reshape the planet into his own personal utopia, and he screwed with Cloud's head to do it in revenge for Cloud defeating him years prior. Ever since the original game Cloud has been warped into a loner who brushes off his friends' attempts to help him while he broods and angsts over Sephiroth, and Sephiroth's only character traits now are his ability to manipulate Cloud's emotions and taunt Cloud with the fact he's so good at it. The heated interaction between them has also gotten increasingly heavy-handed nowadays, to the point Sephiroth almost seems more like a jealous stalker or a scorned ex than Cloud's hated enemy.

Aerith herself was originally a headstrong plucky girl with a strong spiritual side and a slight flirtatious streak. The girl threatened to rip off a guy's balls at one point! In the spin-offs whatever stubbornness and flirtatiousness she had is gone, and her spiritual powers and connection to the planet have become her core character traits—as a result the girl is portrayed as a saint, the human incarnation of incorruptible saintly pureness with powers so strong she can save the world from beyond the grave.

I just hope the upcoming remake will reshape how these characters are portrayed and perceived in their future appearances. You just know that the people who grew more accustomed to how they were portrayed in the 20 years since the original will be surprised how certain characters act in their the actual title.

[floetry101]

Finally, FINALLY an article that gets it. I disagree on Crisis Core somewhat, but otherwise, every spin-off that has proceeded the original game has been an abject failure, and has completely watered-down Final Fantasy VII's initial impact and intent. Advent Children is complete garbage to me personally, and ruined Cloud forever as a multi-dimensional character, instead turning him into a stoic, boring cutout of a once funny, goofy, confident hero. Crisis Core does the same, but is strong enough on its own accord to retain a nice background for Zack.

What I hope for the remake is that Nomura doesn't remove the gusto from Cloud again and turn it into another Advent Children.

[Adrian_v01]

It's not failure. Cloud's personality in VII was a mask created by him applying Zach's soldier personality to his own. The depressive and insecure Cloud you see prior (Crisis Core) and post (Advent Children) Zach's death is his true personality.

[Ratty]

Nomura is a solid game director but IMO severely lacks in the writing department. I'm 100% sure the story will be superficial because that's what he's always been doing. He didn't direct the original VII. He was only the character designer. It's like the guy doesn't know how to make deep characters because he's too focused on how they look. Don't get me wrong, like I said he's solid as a game director and character designer. He should just stay away from the story. It's already written and proven to be good anyways.

[n1ghtw1ng]

Epic read. Odd that nearly a year old opinion piece gets upvoted though.

[DragonKnight]

I think the author is ascribing way too much to this game and projecting their own ideas onto it, especially in the aspect that FFVII somehow challenged traditional ideas about identity and masculinity.

Remember that it was made by Japanese developers following Japanese cultural ideas. I really don't think they were considering half of what the author thinks they were considering. At least not as it pertains to any Western philosophical thought.

[Activemessiah]

Don't waste your time on this... this guy's a loon.

[ShinRon]

Dude that was an amazing article.

[Mikerob2007]

just finished final fantasy 15 last night and thought it was excellent. Try most of the older ones but just could not get into them. If this remake is anything like final fantasy 15 then it is a definite buy from me.

[bluefox755]

I remember playing Final Fantasy 7 as a kid, and loving it, but not completely understanding everything that was going on in the story. Then I played it again as an adult, and I was like: "Huh...we're kind of the bad guys in this story. We're literally eco-terrorists. How many innocent people are we killing just to destroy these reactors?"