FINAL FANTASY VII
Premise - You take the role of ex-SOLDIER member Cloud Strife, who has just joined a group called AVALANCHE, a resistance group fighting against the Shinra Corporation. The Shinra kidnap the last known 'Cetra' in Aeris Gainsborough whom they hope can lead them to the 'Promised Land', a land that promises to have vast amounts of Mako energy - and thus one of the most epic tales in video game history begins.
Rating - 10/10. If I could go higher than a 10, I would. Put simply, this is the best game I have ever had the pleasure of playing, and which I never tire of going through over and over again. Total play time myst exceed that of 600 hours and that is testament to how strong and great the game is.
Firstly, the characters. The likes of Cloud, Barret, Cid, Tifa, Aeris to name but a few of the characters are all phenomenal characters who's stories are excellently told. You gain a connection with each of the characters. Their stories, why they are here, why they are fighting against the Shinra and why they are prepared to die to do so. Each character has their own tragedies and difficulties to deal with and this only adds to the emotion of the story that is being told, and each of their stories is told brilliantly.
Then there is the story itself. Whilst difficult to follow at times due to poor translation, and being very complicated, it is one which grips you from the start right until the very end (If there can be an 'end' to the story in this game, which I don't actually think there is. There are many questions left unanswered, which adds to the greatness of the game).
Thirdly what I found great about this game was levelling up. I never saw it as a chore and it was bags of fun. The materia system was great and is for me the best they have done in any FF. It was so vast, so many different kinds, fighting hundreds of enemies to upgrade it to the next level. There were so many combinations aswell. Quadra magic with Ultima. Phoenix and Final Attack, there were hundreds of different ways to customise your characters which guaranteed you hours of endless fun.
And to make the game fun a key element would be the enemies on offer - and Final Fantasy VII delivered so many great enemies and boss battles it is untrue. The music coupled with this made battles the most pleasurable experience in any FF to date. Boss battle music was so good in fact, that I would often delay beating the boss just so I could carry on listening to the music! It really was great. Who can forget that epic boss battle in Cosmo Canyon? Or the battle versus the Scorpion in Mt. Nibel, or, if you were brave enough, the epic fights against the Emerald and Ruby Weapons? They were all brilliantly executed boss fights, and great fun. And with the latter two, great pride was taken in beating them. (And even more could be taken if you managed to beat them without KOTR - which I have
)
Then there is the antagonist. Sephiroth. The antagonist of all antagonists. A complicated, yet brilliant character who made FF7 what it was. His character is too deep to really divulge into in a review but he really was awesome, the best villain in a game ever.
I've rambled on quite a bit now yet there is still so much I could talk about. Limit Breaks, side-quests, secret characters, the amazing cut-scenes, the world itself. Which shows just how vast this game is, so vast that you could easily spend upwards of 100+ hours on it during a play-through, if not more.
Quite simply, the best game ever.
And, if we're really, really lucky, we may one day see it arrive on the PlayStation 3.