FINAL FANTASY VII

It's Final Fantasy VII. You already know it's great. Stop reading reviews and play it.

why do we need a square enix account to play an OFFLINE game that was released in 1997? why are you spying and collecting data from our pc? i am not advocating for other platforms but steam should have some standards when running a game store. just because android collects data from folks who install apps from the playstore and don't know any better doesn't mean steam should adopt such anti-consumer practices. clearly you are not collecting statistics for improving a game that was released in 1997. Either way what gives you the right? I am not giving a single cent to this kind of business practice anymore. Either steam will change their policies or its bye bye. I know i am a nobody. There will be too many to replace one paying customer. But that's the point. I am out. Good luck to you people reading this.

To play the game need a square enix account. it's an old and a single player game why would i need one ? also it takes forever to get a confirmation e-mail from SE, zero support, error codes. i'm grateful for those that able to go through this process without a problem.

Few games have left as profound a mark on gaming as Final Fantasy VII. When it debuted in 1997, it wasn’t just a game—it was a cultural event. Combining revolutionary 3D graphics with a sprawling story, unforgettable characters, and an emotionally charged narrative, FFVII set a new gold standard for role-playing games and storytelling in video games. Final Fantasy VII centers on Cloud Strife, an ex-SOLDIER turned mercenary, who becomes entwined with the eco-terrorist group AVALANCHE in their battle against the megacorporation Shinra. What starts as a straightforward fight against corporate greed quickly spirals into a profound tale of identity, loss, and redemption. The story unfolds with cinematic flair, delivering complex characters like Aerith, Tifa, Sephiroth, and Barret. Themes of environmentalism, memory, and existential crisis resonate deeply, giving the game a narrative richness rare for its time. The Active Time Battle (ATB) system offers a dynamic pace, balancing real-time and turn-based combat. Players customize characters using the innovative Materia system, which allows magic, skills, and summons to be equipped and combined for diverse strategies. The game’s sprawling world encourages exploration, filled with secrets, side quests, and mini-games—from chocobo racing to the infamous Gold Saucer amusement park. The balance of main story and optional content creates an engaging, rewarding experience. For its era, FFVII’s mix of pre-rendered backgrounds and polygonal characters was revolutionary. The cinematic cutscenes—especially the pre-rendered sequences—elevated storytelling to a new level. While dated now, the art direction remains iconic. Nobuo Uematsu’s soundtrack is legendary, featuring sweeping themes like “One-Winged Angel,” “Aerith’s Theme,” and “Main Theme of Final Fantasy VII.” The music perfectly underscores the game’s emotional and narrative highs and lows. Final Fantasy VII helped bring JRPGs to a global audience, influencing countless games and storytellers. Its impact extends beyond gameplay—shaping how characters, stories, and worlds are crafted in video games. The ongoing Final Fantasy VII Remake project attests to the game’s lasting popularity and narrative depth, proving its story still captivates audiences decades later. Final Fantasy VII remains an essential experience—both for fans of RPGs and those interested in the art of video game storytelling. Its blend of memorable characters, innovative gameplay, and ambitious scope create an epic adventure that stands the test of time. A masterpiece of storytelling, gameplay, and emotional depth that redefined an entire genre and remains timeless. Pros: -Deep, multi-layered narrative and characters -Innovative Materia system with rich customization -Expansive world filled with secrets and side quests -Iconic soundtrack and cinematic presentation Cons: -Some visuals and mechanics feel dated today -Early 3D camera angles can be awkward -Certain pacing issues in later acts Rating: 9/10

[h3]Hydrogen Bomb vs Coughing Baby: The Game[/h3] I never finished the original PS1 version or its infinite rereleases until this. I had played up to the end of Rebirth, the ultimate advertisement, and decided to circle back around. Setting aside the mechanical and graphical differences, the most obvious change is the [i]pacing[/i]. For better and for worse. Remake has some [b]very bad[/b] pacing issues of its own, especially with minigames, but is tolerable if you ignore the fluff. The theatrics, the voice acting, the honing in on and expanding of smaller ideas are what slow Remake down but also set it apart. Midgar is worth a damn in Remake. The original is [i]almost[/i] always the complete opposite. An average Remake dungeon or story arc that took an hour or few is now done in 5 screens and 5 minutes. Battles and story beats you may expect from Remake simply don't exist. Between this and Remake, this is comparatively short and concise while stumbling at times, [i]but faster[/i]. I played this with FFNx and used 7th Heaven Mod Manager to easily tap into community mods. FFNx did most of the heavy lifting especially with the in-game speedhack up to 8x that [i]does not speed up audio![/i] My mod loadout was mostly texture and chibi model swaps, and one to bring the battle FPS up to 30. Realistic field and battle models were too jarring but in hindsight the base game looks fine. If you've already played Remake there is value here. And that value is frequently 60% off or more. [h3]The biggest negative of this Steam release is needing a Square Enix account to get past the game launcher even if modded.[/h3] You'll need at least a throwaway account. The benefits (cloud saving/boosting to end game stats) are easily replicated without it. The idea might have been 2013-tier telemetry, but it's annoying. Do it like a modern game and bake telemetry in without telling me!

The store page claims that it has full controller support and that it supports "Your Xbox Controller", but this is not true. After looking it up online, apparently they require you to use a playstation controller.

Played many hours over multiple sessions, then got locked out from playing this singleplayer game because I suddenly had to verify my email. The emails from square enix never arrived. I cannot verify or change my email and I cannot contact support either with an unverified account. I tried again years later to see if the process has changed, it hasn't. Still not allowed to play this singleplayer game I payed for.

A classic, though I recommend using 7th Heaven Mod Manager to tweak performance a bit.

Be prepared! This game is awesome and you will need guides to complete everything! This game was designed with help of guides in magazines back in the day when it was released. So much great content and you will be having a great time playing the game without it too. Loved the story and the game play!

I have played this title formerly as a kid, but only recently, "finally" I have managed to finish it after years of not comprehending that you could actually traverse the river with bronco. It's still a staple of what JRPGs are. Sure, it has its quirks, but in terms of gameplay, story, theme, and soundtrack - it still holds up pretty well today. I would definitely suggest playing this game with mods, which can be found on the 7th heaven launcher, and customizing and reworking it to your liking, especially with the dub mod.

Played this in the 90s as a kid and put it down after midgar. Didnt see the hype then, dont see it now. Enjoyed the music, some of the summon animations, and the fight at the end. Was happy to be done though. 7/10.

Great game with a great story and characters. This port is a little hard to work with at points but overall it works. I would heavily advise finding a community controller layout for this game as a lot of the default mappings are terrible and made me quit on my first playthrough.

The only Final Fantasy that (to my knowledge) I've hundred percented, it's that good. But by now it is showing it's age. I'm too strapped for funds to opt for the graphical update of those that have taken its story and world and run with them or I'd get those too.

Nice classic game. Nice story, plots, interesting characters and interesting world. Such good FF to begin playing the series. It is a must play for RPGs genres.

This is my second full playthrough, my fiancé decided she wanted to play the game on her Switch, so I decided to play mine on PC! Right after I got out of Midgar I decided to mod the game using some graphic overhauls and the Echo S7 voice acting mod. This was life changing! This game by itself it already a masterpiece IMO, but with voice acting and nicer graphics I was so blown away! Absolutely buy this game, even if it's your first FF as it was mine, although I'd still recommend installing 7th Heaven the Mod manager because the mods actually fix the controls and you can speed up gameplay and Auto attack which makes grinding 100x easier! By the end of my 30 hour playthrough my whole team was around Level 68 with their ultimate weapons and Level 4 Limit Breaks! Sharing this moment with my fiancé has been unforgettable!

Amazing JRPG that holds up to this day. Play this for the real story of FF7 not that multiverse nonsense.

This is my favourite FF game of the franchise and people need to play it! But honestly, the Steam Port is really upsetting. I tried making it playable for 2 days. Controllers weren't adapting to my standards (Xbox and PS), I even own a Razer Tartarus which was plenty to make FFX enjoyable on my PC without a controller I also tried resorting to the albeit very faithful and noble looking modding community to make this playable, and it just wasn't doing it for me I have since decided to buy the Port for Nintendo Switch and goodness, not only is it fully... actually.. playable in every way, it has very quick and user friendly toggles such X3 Speed and Max Limit/stats; really seamless integrations that make playing this game more accessible for newbies and veterans alike, that are also importantly easily removed at the touch of the joycons I tried Square Enix's online account for their 'Character Booster' for playing on PC. Not only was it frustrating finding the account settings (it kept sending me to trying to buy it on PC AGAIN and throwing me out of my Square Enix account), but the Character Booster is a permanent feature to the save. This isn't the most satisfying when you are trying to balance things like combat and game experience; having that control does mean a lot honestly. It's upsetting to mark one of my most cherished games of all time a down vote. But for a game that deserves its praises in spades, it also deserves a better usability polish on PC. Please play it/return to it, just look into the Nintendo Switch Port if you don't have access to playing it on the original PlayStation

One of the most iconic games from my childhood. The steam version corrects some of the translation errors, and it's based off the Eidos PC port. Overall, a classic that everyone should play once.

FF7 is in The Hall Of Fame of Video Games. [That should be a thing] It deserves the respect and love is gets even today. It set the bar for the games of today. Give it a try.

Playtime incorrect, owned every version since the PC release in the giant box.

Final Fantasy VII was my first real RPG growing up, and it’s the game that made me fall in love with the genre. Even all these years later, it still holds a special place in my heart—and I find myself going back to it often. The story is unforgettable, with emotional twists, unforgettable characters, and a world that feels massive and alive. Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, and the rest of the cast left a huge impact on me, and the game’s themes still resonate today. Sure, it’s a product of its time in some ways, but with the help of mods, the experience can be refreshed and even enhanced. From visual upgrades to quality-of-life tweaks, mods help bring out the best in a game that’s already legendary. Final Fantasy VII isn’t just one of the greatest RPGs of all time—it’s my RPG. And no matter how many games I play, it will always be the one I come back to.

Got the OG as the remaster wasn't on Xbox. Now the remaster is coming to Xbox I don't regret buying this game a single bit. It just makes me even more hyped for the remaster now!

4 hours in on Steam and it is running great and I even like the update to the models where they now have mouths. Have at least 500 hours playing this over 25+ years. Great story, the turn based gameplay is some of my favorite of all time and there is plenty to do once the game opens up.

Yo! Play this before you play the remake because you will be disappointed story wise and the chain of events. #MakeSephiroththeGOATBoogeymanAgain P.S The PlayStation One version of the game is better.

It took me a bit less than 30 hours of gameplay (plus a several-year-long break) to reach what I thought was the climax of the story. Then I saw the popup saying that I got an achievement for completing Part I.

Phenomenal game, only issue I've dealt with is it likes to stop/lag for a few minutes and I'm not sure why.

This is a really rough port, especially depending on your controller. A few hours in and I've had a couple of crashes and straight-up unresponsive controller inputs in certain sections. When it came out in 2013 it might have been a solid port, but there's other and better ways to play this game now.

Final Fantasy 7 remains one if not THE best Final Fantasy game every made. Great story, amazing gameplay, wonderful side-quests and mini-games. There is a reason this is getting a full-on remake.

That's definitely one of the best games in history. It was worth every hour spent on it. You should not be scared of the graphics, just go for 7th Heaven and mod it without hesitation. The mods are great and preserve the original game and experience. I took decades to play it, but don't regret playing it now as an adult and with more maturity. I am close to 100% and took a bit more than 70h, it needs some guides as the game is full of surprises. Together with Chrono Trigger one of the best J RPGs, play it without hesitation.

This game harkens back to a simpler age when games had love in every stitch instead of cheap Shinra dollars holding them together. Holds up to this day.

Fantastic storyline and one of the best rpgs!!A must have game !

Graphics - 9.7/10 (For its time) Gameplay - 10/10 Story - 7/7 Soundtracks - 9.7/10 Controls - 9.7/10 This was a childhood favourite. This used to be the best game of all time in it's era. Cloud'd character had edgyness unmatched in story games. Buster sword is an icon. One-winged angel (sephiroth) goes real hard. Just a lot of nostalgia replaying this game. I recommend this game if you want a long playthrough with traditional jrpg mechanics. If you want more action, play the remakes instead.

100% Achievement Review This was my first time playing this legendary game and.... While I don't think it lives up to the hype, it is a very fun mess to play. The translation is a mess but the background visuals are incredible. Disc 1 and 2 are really fun and I'd love to replay them at some point. But Disc 3.... Oh boy. To be honest you could completely skip this disc and have just as much questions answered than if you did play it. It's a harsh quality drop and that hurts cause ending tend to be a very important part for RPGs. And if you're wanting to 100%, I hope you like running around in the same room for 20+ hours. But the Disc 3 is rather short if you just beeline for the ending. While Disc 3 puts a sour taste in my mouth, I don't think it detracts from how enjoyable the rest of the game is. So I still recommend this game, though it's far from the best in the series. In my opinion, that goes to 9 and 10. But I look forward to playing Remake soon, I hope it does better at protaying the story than this one did. If you are wanting to 100%, just keep in mind that there are quite a few missable Materia due to how many locations you can't return to. And that you must play on Tifa's piano during the flashback otherwise you'll miss out on Tifa's final limit break. I'd recommend using Jegged's guide if you don't want to turn this into a trip down anxiety lane.

CLASSIC! a little flashy but way better than paying the new price for what was 1 complete game

the game is great but having it here on steam i had 360 hours on one file and all of my save files have disappeared permanently. so no i don't recommend this game, because the game itself is great however that's too much to have everything wiped

With 7th Heaven Mod Manager, this is the definitive way to play the original FF7. Having a blast going through this game again with Cosmo's Limit Break, 60FPS, Ninostyle character models/FMV's, etc. It looks absolutely stunning. It runs perfectly with the 60FPS mod on Steam Deck as well, although it does use a surprising amount of power on the world map (up to 20 watts).

I wanted to play this game before the remakes and it did not disappoint. To just play the core game and learn the story, it is a short game with alot of heart.

If you enjoy RPGs at all, this game is part of your heritage. I never played it when I was a kid and I will say you should probably use a walkthrough, definitely use 7th heaven to get better graphics. If you find it frustrating, use a save file editor to skip grinding. But it is one of those things, the last fights of the game are worth the price of entry. It is one of those things you have to experience. Even with primitive tech, they make Sephiroth feel unbeatable. Until, of course, you do.

If you can't wait for the sequel to the hit video game Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, do yourself a favor and play this instead. It's all three parts of Nomura's "trilogy" in one game, because it was released during a time when full price actually carried the expectation of a complete experience. It's also much cheaper and won't require you to suffer the humiliation of being only person you know who actually owns a PS5. Plus, maybe the testosterone from playing an actually GOOD video game will replace enough of the soy in your blood to let you stand up to your wife's boyfriend.

[h1][b] TLDR: The legendary JRPG is starting to show its age. This version has been forgotten to time while SE releases excessive new remasters. Still some good classic fun and nostalgia. Great with mods. [/b] [/h1] [h1]PROS: [/h1] ➕Lots of mods to add various features/QoL ➕Huge narrative focus after FF1-6 ➕Tons of mini-games ➕Materia system [h1]NEUTRALS: [/h1] 🔹Mods can make the game unstable (crashes) 🔹Doesn’t feel like the same series as FF1-6 [h1]CONS: [/h1] ➖Could really benefit from an auto-save like the Pixel Remasters ➖No classes ➖Samey characters, mechanically ➖Constantly redoing materia can get annoying ➖Boring stats/equipment Note: I have played FF7 many times in the past. This time I opted to play for the first time with various mods. I used this guide as a starting point: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3155131570 [h1] [b] Content (Game world/Narrative) – [7/10] [/b] [/h1] The game world is vast, even more so than previous FFs. Shifting the game into the world of 3D has given life to the world that is unlike prior FFs. And while the vastness and locales are nice, I still can’t help but feel a lack of “Life”. There are no big cities sprawling with NPCs, and while this might be a limitation of the PS1 at the time, the world doesn’t feel lived in. I think if anything for the scope of this review, It’s a step up from prior FFs. The narrative I feel is perhaps on par with FF6, my most lauded of the FFs. I think that FF7 has a good narrative, but it's a big departure from previous FFs with the more modern setting, and the backdrop of clones/Mako/lifestream. Characters feel very one-dimensional, with party members like Barret or Cid barely having any development outside of their single plotline. Once every character’s “Mission” is concluded, they are relegated to become a rarely-speaking background prop for the rest of the game. In this regard, I think FF6 and even FF4 win by a huge margin in the character development area. [h1][b] Gameplay (Mechanics/Difficulty) – [8/10] [/b] [/h1] The main mechanic that pushes FF7 to the frontline in terms of mechanical depth is the Materia system. The materia system is by far the most creative thing aside from jobs that a FF game has had up to this point. To put it simply, you slot all of your typical FF skills, magic, and summons into your armor and weapons. This allows for nearly unparalleled customization at the time. Adding in links and some advanced materia, and you have the ability to create some interesting setups. Like attacking 4x and absorbing HP or MP after each attack. Or counter attacking with a magic spell like Ultima. The unfortunate part of the Materia system is that swapping in characters to your party means a lot of time spent redoing materia combinations. Otherwise, FF7 has some great additional mechanics like varied endgame content, limit break/ultimate weapon/ultimate materia grinding, chocobo raising, and just tons of minigames in general. One note about the difficulty is that I found FF7 to be very easy. Especially when coming from the original FFs. [h1] [b] Graphics (Quality/Technical) – [3/10] [/b] [/h1] These aged exceptionally poorly, and while mods can do some heavy lifting in getting the game to look much better, there’s still the obvious feeling that the original FF7 has been left far behind due to the remake taking center stage. Even the pixel remasters are better graphically and are more modernized. Without a slew of mods, the base FPS is around 15, which is just dumb for PC. Mods will get you to a much smoother 60FPS, but as a base experience, FF7 is very poor. Technical is a bit harder to rate because I did run into many issues when using mods like crashes. When I disabled mods there didn’t seem to be any issues, so despite its age I still think FF7 functions well technically, but it's still missing a ton of modern options. i9-13900KF | RTX 4090 | 64GB RAM | 1440p @ 240hz | Windows 11 installed on SSD [h1] [b] Audio – [7/10] [/b] [/h1] FF7 has some very notable soundtracks, like Sephiroth’s One Winged Angel and the iconic Gold Saucer theme. Apart from notables though, I feel that previous FFs, namely FF6, had a better overall soundtrack. This is an even larger issue when you consider that the audio included in the PC FF7 game is the worst possible audio quality available. Thankfully, there’s a mod to fix that to the better quality, but still. [h1] [b] Replay Factor (Longevity) – [2/10] [/b] [/h1] No real deviation. All achievements can be grinded for in a single playthrough. [h1] [b] Final Verdict – [7/10] [/b] [/h1] I have a lot of history with FF7. It’s maybe my first JRPG aside from Pokemon Red/Blue. Often my friend group would tout FF7 as the best of the Final Fantasy’s and I have to say that replaying it now is a different world than first playing it back when I was in my early teens. For my biggest negative, I would have to say it's the base game graphical limitation/issues. If you opt to not play using mods, then you’re playing a very rough game that seems like it has been intentionally left behind by Square Enix. For one of SE’s most beloved FF’s, I can’t help but feel that the reason it was decided to remake the entire game is because of how awful the original aged. This goes hand-in-hand with how excessive the remake is, but the conspiracy nut in me says that the remake was planned long enough to have SE deliberately leave this version of FF7 by the wayside and forgo any QoL updates like 60 fps, resolution options, and auto save. I also want to give a shout out to the somewhat weird narrative and how most of the characters are neglected and how FF7 is only popular because of Cloud and his giant anime sword. For my biggest positive, I would have to say its the creativity of the Materia system. This combat style really redefined what combat systems were capable of in the late 90’s. Overall, I do recommend FF7 with the caveat that this version has not aged well. I’m trying to look at it past rose-colored glasses and what I’m seeing is good, but not as groundbreaking as it was when I was a youngster. I’m very hesitant to put it above FF6. FF7 exceeds mechanically while FF6 exceeds graphically and technically. The deciding factor me to was the availability of mods which to me made this version of FF7 feel like the remaster I've always dreamed of. My rankings of FF: FF7 FF6: https://steamcommunity.com/id/Synikx/recommended/1173820/ FF4: https://steamcommunity.com/id/Synikx/recommended/1173800/ FF5: https://steamcommunity.com/id/Synikx/recommended/1173810/ FF1: https://steamcommunity.com/id/Synikx/recommended/1173770/ FF3: https://steamcommunity.com/id/Synikx/recommended/1173790/ FF4AY: https://steamcommunity.com/id/Synikx/recommended/346830/ FF2: https://steamcommunity.com/id/Synikx/recommended/1173780/ [h1] [b] Recommend? [Y/N] [/b] [/h1] [h1]Yes[/h1] You can find my curator page here: https://steamcommunity.com/groups/Synik_GR

Very disappointing purchase. This game launched once and since then has just been extremely frustrating. Won't load on either my desktop or either one of my laptops. Instead, I get this big blue square with supposedly the keyboard controls. When I managed to delete it, the game kicks me off altogether. I would ask for a refund, but I suspect that would just add to the hassle I've experienced with this game. Very much a boondoggle!

In no way shape or form is this game playable for me. Unless clicking the play button is the publishers sick game. (The game wont launch) (time played was several years ago)

Install 7th heaven and some mods through there... Add full voice acting, updated FMV and backgrounds as well as updated character models.

After extensively playing FF7 Remake and Rebirth for the last 8 months, I had to see what this OG 1997 classic had to offer. It did not disappoint. Obliviously. There is a certain nostalgia and charm that FF7 captures that is so addicting. I can't explain it, but this series has me hooked like I've never been to any game series before. As a 22 M, fresh out of college, I had ample time to immerse myself in the game. Even with the grinding and gold saucer minigames and chocobo breeding and optional side quests, even minute is worth it. Please, before you leave this world and join the lifestream.....play this game. It is truly a piece of art that all gamers should experience. Now on to play Chrono Trigger lol.

very much holds up. so much fun to play through. I'm glad remake inspired me to come back and play the original

better than the remake with echo-s mod. and a few other for graphics.

The game deleted all my saves. I had 5 separate saves in series, about 1 hour apart each. I rotated through them as I played to prevent loss of progress. They're all gone. Steam Cloud has nothing. OneDrive Recycle bin has nothing. I was in the crater after climbing the ice walls. The game launcher SHOULD NOT delete my files. Only I should decide what is deleted on my device. Any deleted files should appear in my Recycle bin; I should have 30 days to recover them. Mediocre programmers should not write code to auto delete anything on my device. Mediocre programmers should not necessarily have jobs. You may not believe me, but there's literally a Steam Community Discussion titled "FF7 PC Launcher Keeps Deleting Saves?" so I'm not wrong. I'm not interested in restarting. Downloading someone else's save is impure. I had enjoyed this game for dozens of hours, but what is that worth now?

Lost three hours progress. Game doesn't explain mechanics well at all. Gave it a serious go, and won't be trying it again. Probably not going to give the remakes a try either after playing this. I can see how much square enix is milking the remakes making them into three games.

OMGOMGOMGOMG IS AN EXCELLENT GAME, I LOVE IT SOME MUCH, LIKE HOLY SHIT FF7 IS SO FUCKING GOOD I LOVE IT SMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

As a kid, Final Fantasy VI completely blew me away with the scope of its story- I had simply never played anything like it. So when I finally got around to playing VII, what I think most people consider to be the highpoint of the series, it was impossible not to compare it to its predecessor. In many ways, it is the next step in an evolution- where VI pushed the limits of how big and epic an RPG could be in the 16 bit era, with a huge cast of characters and a sprawling, developped world; VII was pushing the limits of how cinematic an RPG could be in a 3D engine. Obviously the limits were hit in many respects- the character models are very rudimentary and the cutscenes have an uncanny nature to them, but I forgive all that. The environments, from the grimy cyberpunk streets of Midgar to the miraculous icy caverns of the Great Glacier, are absolutely incredible. But navigating them reveals a weird disconnect between the illusion of a 3D rendered world and the sometimes janky map superimposed on it. This compounds with a number of minigames that introduce all sorts of weird mechanics (using all those buttons you normally never use and are impossible to find if playing on PC, as I did) that feel like an attempt to expand the scope of the game but take you away from the reason you're playing a game like this. The story of Final Fantasy VII is very engaging, and the slightly smaller roster of characters from VI make almost all of them feel really fleshed out. It's no wonder Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, and Barrett are so beloved. The story of Avalanche's terrorist struggle against extractive capitalism is so cool and engaging, with Barrett really being the heart of the whole game, in my opinion. And all the work in designing the locations and NPCs really make this world a place that you desperately want to save. As the story gets more into the weeds of insane JRPG bullshit, this core story gets lost a little, however. The whole drama surrounding Cloud being a clone (?) of Sephiroth and his memories and Jenova really didn't make much sense to me and distracted from the essential drama, in my opinion. That being said, as confusing and nonsensical as his story is, Sephiroth is sick as hell (though I still prefer Kefka, sorry not sorry). I know it sounds like I'm being overly critical but all that is to say that this is still obviously an amazing game, full of great characters and locations and mechanics (the way materia works is a fun departure from VI's espers), but I just still prefer VI at the end of the day.