Without a doubt this is one of the best Final Fantasies to grace us. Being listed as one of the greatest games ever created. This is a game that is worthy of bearing the title: Final Fantasy VII.
	.: Story: 10/10 .: Gameplay: 10/10 .: Graphics: 9/10 .: Music: 10/10 .: Value: 10/10 .: Replay Value: 10/10	Overall: 9.8 Must Play!
Category: Role-Playing | Console-style RPG Platform: PlayStation Tech Information: 1 Player.		Publisher: SCEA Developer: SquareSoft Release Date: Sep 3, 1997

Story: Since the beginning of Final Fantasy, you would expect to find 2D graphics, monotone music and cartridges. But no more! This installment of Final Fantasy brings you fully 3D worlds, orchestrated music and another great quest to embark on. The Shinra Corporation has been draining the world’s Mako energy, its life force, for profit. When Cloud Strife, an ex-SOLDIER, the elite fighting force of Shinra, accepts a mission from a group of rebels by the name of Avalanche, he is plunged into a journey that will not only change his life, but every soul on the planet…’ Artistic Elements: Unlike all the previous Final Fantasies, we now welcome a 3D world, full of detail and magnificent color. You now truly take the role of the characters and become engrossed in the story. The detail of the graphics is spectacular, not a single thing is missing in the scenery, and you do get a feel of authenticity with this, a truly amazing piece of work. The summon monsters are also a credit to Square, these fully 3D creatures are brilliantly done. Despite the mouth-less people, and blocky bodies, this is an amazing step forward in graphics. The music has been completely changed, from being monotone sounds, which get noticeably repetitive, to beautifully orchestrated sound. Walk into a town or a dungeon and there is seamless conversion between the previous sound and the next. The music really gives you a feel for what happening, from high-adrenaline battle music to spooky dungeon music to sombre, peaceful melodies.

Gameplay:
Final Fantasy VII battles take place in real-time meaning there is no time to waste when selecting your moves! With the time counter, you can see how long you have to wait before your character will be able to execute their commands. Instead of just learning your skills, a new form of learning is introduced. Materia. Materia allows you to learn special skills such as magic, or increasing your stats. There are 5 different types of Materia : Command, Spell, Support, Independent and Summon. Each of these allows you to learn different skills but at a cost, the more Materia you attach, certain statistics will drop and others will increase, requiring you to strategically place Materia on your characters allowing you to produce a large amount of different combinations such as instant kill or revival after dying. This game spans over 3 discs and is not a ‘light-snack,’ this is a big meal of a game and one that will take you the best months of your life to complete.

Replay Value:
There is so much to do in this game, an array of mini-games to play and secrets to achieve. You may want to get everything first time round, or just get on with the story, but be assured you will need to find time to complete everything 100%. From battling submarines, snowboarding, breeding and racing Chocobos, there is a lot to do and you will want to come back to this game over and over again.

Value:
This is definitely one a Final Fantasy fan ,no, all Role Playing Game fans should not be without. This is a great game and somewhat of a collector’s item, the first Final Fantasy to be 3D and on disc. This is a must-buy game.

Overall:
Without a doubt this is one of the best Final Fantasies to grace us. Beautifully crafted worlds, lovely music and a cornucopia of mini-games turn this into a must-buy game. The story is compelling and satisfies your hunger for more. Despite blocky people and some confusing plots here-and-there, do not be put off. This is a game that is worthy of bearing the title : Final Fantasy VII

~ Review Written by : FFLeader ~