Should I play FF7?

[ZeaLitY]

With Advent Children and all, I could gain to have some fun and experience by playing FF7. But should I do it? I'm afraid I'm going to hate it because Chrono Cross is technically superior; NPCs and some locations in Xenogears, for instance, look bland compared to the richness of Cross. I'm also more inclined to play FF8, since it's a love it or hate it game. I usually come out on the loving side, and since the story is about love, it'd be interesting.

[DeweyisOverrated]

You have to at least try it.  I think its a bit overrated, but something that receives more attention than Trigger has to have SOMETHING about it, right?  Plus, if you go by your own quote "limit your interests and limit your life.."  Well, that should answer it.  Don't limit yourself to just Chrono

[Lord J Esq]

Your post reminded of me of just how much I resent those Final Fantasy Fanboys who totally love Final Fantasy (Insert Numeral Here), but absolutely despise Final Fantasy (Insert Other Number Here), and think Final Fantasy (Insert Third Numeral Here) is okay, but didn't live up to the hype. What fools!

Yes, play Final Fantasy VII. It's a good game. It has some of the best music in the series--Nobuo Uematsu once listed FFs VI, VII, and VIII as his favorite, and he cited FF VII's "Cosmo Canyon" in particular. (I remember it because I really like that song myself.) The graphics are obviously not going to compare with later Playstation works, but I've always suspected you aren't the sort of person who cannot enjoy a game simply because it doesn't have the shiniest colors.

And, more importantly than everything, it has a good storyline.

[DeweyisOverrated]

How can you resent "fanboys" who love (for example) VI and hate (for example) IX?  You can't always love an entire series.  I mean, Chrono only has two games (three) and some people don't liek Cross but love Trigger.   Why can't someone liek one game and not another?

Have you seen Star Wars?  Do you like Empire Strikes back?  How about Return of the Jedi?  What about Phantom Menace?  Chances are, you like Star Wars, love Empire Strikes back, think RotJ is pretty good, and hate Phantom Menace.  How is that any different?

[SilentMartyr]

How can you not resent a raving lunatic like fanboy who has no real reason to dislike something besides the fact that it isn't thier favorite game?

[Eriol]

Whatever your opinion of the game (good/bad/mediocre), I'd say just because it's so (in)famous you SHOULD play through it just so that you HAVE played through it.

[Hadriel]

Yes, you should play FF7.  In the gaming community, it's the equivalent of required reading in school.  But, unlike most required reading, FF7 sports a high degree of quality and in my opinion is the best FF game I've played so far; it got me hooked on the series.  The graphics may not be the best, but the FMVs are still decent even by today's standards; same with VIII.  The story has far more depth than 95%+ of the games out there.

As for fanboys, I simply resent them in general, no matter what it is they hate with a passion or desire to give oral sex to.  You'll find a lot of Final Fantasy fans out there who continually decry VII simply because of the retards in its fanbase, utterly failing to recognize that it is in fact a very good game.  These are the people that laud VI or Tactics as the best simply for the sake of being whiny counter-culture retards, rather than because they actually think it's the best.  These are the people that say "they don't make games the way they used to," as well as the especially retarded "graphics don't matter, it's all about the gameplay."  The fact is that graphics DO matter; gaming is about immersing you in another world, and without good graphics this is impossible.  The original game in a series is never the best simply because it's the original; most historically significant does not equate to best, just as the Roman Empire could never defeat the United States in an armed conflict.  It was greater in its heyday, but its technology simply doesn't measure up.

[Lord J Esq]

How can you resent "fanboys" who love (for example) VI and hate (for example) IX?  You can't always love an entire series.

I am continually astounded by how readily, indiscriminately, and irresponsibly people use some of the most emphatic language they can muster to describe one game, then turn around and use equally potent language to describe a related game in opposite terms. This is common in the Final Fantasy realm, where fans often categorically condemn some of the games, then speak so highly of others. The overstatement exposes their fraudulence, and I find it hard to take such people seriously.

You mention the Chrono series. I like Chrono Trigger the most, and Chrono Cross the least, but I'm not going to say that CC was horrible. It was a good game. You mention the Star Wars films; I liked V and VI; I really didn't care for I, II, and III. But I reserve my strongest language in every case. It simply isn't necessary to be as emphatic as possible, to draw as wide a division as possible, in order to make a point. Indeed, doing so can be counterproductive in the eyes of people with greater prudence.

[SilentMartyr]

Yes, you should play FF7.  In the gaming community, it's the equivalent of required reading in school.  But, unlike most required reading, FF7 sports a high degree of quality and in my opinion is the best FF game I've played so far; it got me hooked on the series.  The graphics may not be the best, but the FMVs are still decent even by today's standards; same with VIII.  The story has far more depth than 95%+ of the games out there.

As for fanboys, I simply resent them in general, no matter what it is they hate with a passion or desire to give oral sex to.  You'll find a lot of Final Fantasy fans out there who continually decry VII simply because of the retards in its fanbase, utterly failing to recognize that it is in fact a very good game.  These are the people that laud VI or Tactics as the best simply for the sake of being whiny counter-culture retards, rather than because they actually think it's the best.  These are the people that say "they don't make games the way they used to," as well as the especially retarded "graphics don't matter, it's all about the gameplay."  The fact is that graphics DO matter; gaming is about immersing you in another world, and without good graphics this is impossible.  The original game in a series is never the best simply because it's the original; most historically significant does not equate to best, just as the Roman Empire could never defeat the United States in an armed conflict.  It was greater in its heyday, but its technology simply doesn't measure up.

Are you speaking just graphically or overall? If you are talking overall I could spit out plenty of examples to dissuade you.

[DeweyisOverrated]

If you're talking about how people don't use the highest level of description/vocabulary to explain their opinions, they probably jsut say "this thing sucks" to give a very brief description of it and summarize it quickly.  If not, I have no idea what you're talking about.

[Hadriel]

Yes, you should play FF7.  In the gaming community, it's the equivalent of required reading in school.  But, unlike most required reading, FF7 sports a high degree of quality and in my opinion is the best FF game I've played so far; it got me hooked on the series.  The graphics may not be the best, but the FMVs are still decent even by today's standards; same with VIII.  The story has far more depth than 95%+ of the games out there.

As for fanboys, I simply resent them in general, no matter what it is they hate with a passion or desire to give oral sex to.  You'll find a lot of Final Fantasy fans out there who continually decry VII simply because of the retards in its fanbase, utterly failing to recognize that it is in fact a very good game.  These are the people that laud VI or Tactics as the best simply for the sake of being whiny counter-culture retards, rather than because they actually think it's the best.  These are the people that say "they don't make games the way they used to," as well as the especially retarded "graphics don't matter, it's all about the gameplay."  The fact is that graphics DO matter; gaming is about immersing you in another world, and without good graphics this is impossible.  The original game in a series is never the best simply because it's the original; most historically significant does not equate to best, just as the Roman Empire could never defeat the United States in an armed conflict.  It was greater in its heyday, but its technology simply doesn't measure up.

Are you speaking just graphically or overall? If you are talking overall I could spit out plenty of examples to dissuade you.

I never said that the original game is NEVER the best; I said that the mere fact that it's the first is not enough to give it that honor.  There are plenty of cases in which the original is the best, but those cases are based on the merits of the game.

[Lord J Esq]

If you're talking about how people don't use the highest level of description/vocabulary to explain their opinions, they probably jsut say "this thing sucks" to give a very brief description of it and summarize it quickly.  If not, I have no idea what you're talking about.

No, I am not talking about that. I am talking about the propensity among many of the "fanboy" ilk to extremify (sic) their judgments, creating a sort of inverse bell curve where there are many ones and tens, but relatively few fives. This is in contrast with reality.

[Sentenal]

Hadriel, please, spare me.  People play games to have fun, not to look and say "Oooo, thats pretty!"  Graphics are NOT the primary reason to play games.  Graphics are enhasments to gameplay, nothing more.  Under your ideas, I can't imagine how you can post "I never said that the original game is NEVER the best", when older games almost ALWAYS have inferior graphics, sound quality, length, etc etc.  Under your the ideas you posted, newer always equals better.

The ONLY fair way to judge games is to judge them within their generation.

And yes, you should play FF7.  FF7 is a great game.  It defined modern RPGs.

And no, don't get your hopes up about FF8.  Once you get past the first disk or so, it goes into the crapper.  Just because you enjoyed CC, and thats a "love it or hate it" game (I disagree here, I don't love or hate it), doesn't mean you will love FF8.  Bland bland bland is all I can say about it.

[Hadriel]

Hadriel, please, spare me.  People play games to have fun, not to look and say "Oooo, thats pretty!"

The sales figures of games with uber graphics but no substance seem to indicate otherwise.

Under your ideas, I can't imagine how you can post "I never said that the original game is NEVER the best", when older games almost ALWAYS have inferior graphics, sound quality, length, etc etc.  Under the ideas you posted, newer always equals better.

Older games usually always have inferior graphics, but as you said, if they're more fun, that's points in their favor.  Is Final Fantasy X-2 better than Final Fantasy VI simply because it has better graphics?  Hell no.  VI's much, much greater fun factor and characterization causes it to edge out X-2 for immersion.  

But if you're trying to determine the best game of all time, or judge two games from separate generations against each other, that implies that there exists an absolute standard for gaming.  Therefore, the only fair way is to judge a game based on its merits.

[Chrono'99]

FF7's story is as badly explained in details as CC's, so yeah, you should play it. And try to understand it.