Final Fantasy 7-- over-saturated? Over-rated? You decide.

[KDub]

I really think the major factor is that it was the JRPG that got a lot of gamers around the age of 10 into the genre. So now those kids that have all grown up and playing their PS3 or 360 just won't let it go.

There are also those hardcore rpg people who just can't let it go either. You know the ones I mean.

[BoringSupreez]

I really think the major factor is that it was the JRPG that got a lot of gamers around the age of 10 into the genre. So now those kids that have all grown up and playing their PS3 or 360 just won't let it go.

I think we all are probably too forgiving of some of the games we got into as a child. Nostalgia is very powerful.

[KDub]

No arguments from me about that!

[Valkyrie-Favor]

What? all big-budget video games are mass-produced. They're commercial art at its finest. I think FFVII's ridiculous spinoffs have gone too far too, but Crisis Core was a really good game. I liked it better than FFVIII, which was also worth the time.

FFVII falls short in a lot of ways. I thought the combat was boring and the story made no sense, but the music is so good. Gotta play it just for the music. Character interaction was pretty entertaining too. It was well-done even though everyone was a giant stereotype. I think FFVII is a great game and a really important one to boot, but it wouldn't be on my Top 10 list, not even in the JRPG subgenre.

Also, another SNES-style RPG might have been counterproductive then, but I think that's exactly what we need now. Final Fantasy has lost so many of the things that made it incredible. FFIV is a better game than FFXIII-2 and that's a bit of a strange thing.

[dreamcast4ever83]

What? all big-budget video games are mass-produced. They're commercial art at its finest. I think FFVII's ridiculous spinoffs have gone too far too, but Crisis Core was a really good game. I liked it better than FFVIII, which was also worth the time.

FFVII falls short in a lot of ways. I thought the combat was boring and the story made no sense, but the music is so good. Gotta play it just for the music. Character interaction was pretty entertaining too. It was well-done even though everyone was a giant stereotype. I think FFVII is a great game and a really important one to boot, but it wouldn't be on my Top 10 list, not even in the JRPG subgenre.

Also, another SNES-style RPG might have been counterproductive then, but I think that's exactly what we need now. Final Fantasy has lost so many of the things that made it incredible. FFIV is a better game than FFXIII-2 and that's a bit of a strange thing.

Personally, I thought 13-2 was a great game (FAAAAR better than 13.)
Also, Panzer Dragoon Saga was a high-budget game. But, now there are only 5000 copies of it, and originally only est. 20,000, as I said. The mass production of the game wasn't what this issue was... Hell, I wish Panzer Dragoon Saga had a higher production so others had more chance to experience the game, but what I meant was the over-saturation after the initial release, based more off of money-making than originality and heart... In the case of 7, that is a definite, like with a lot of new games these days (namely shooters...)

But yeah, 7 was by no means perfect in anyway.

[Nemoide]

I was always a Sega fan as a youth, so I didn't even have the consoles to play the Final Fantasy games. I was really into JRPGs though - I loved titles like Panzer Dragoon Saga, Phantasy Star, Shining Force, Lunar, and Skies of Arcadia.
In college, I got a PS2 and decided I should play through the entire numbered series in order to really get a feel for the property so many people rave about (several years later: I just recently finished FF IX). The series as a whole is pretty overrated IMO, although I definitely think it has some high-quality games in it (my favorites are IV, V, and VI).

As for Final Fantasy VII, it's definitely overrated but is still a quality title. The story didn't feel like it was too mind-blowing, but it was serviceable and didn't feel like it was insulting my intelligence. The gameplay is solid and there's plenty of intense side-quest action for people who like sinking tons of time into their games (I'm not one of them, but whatevs). The main reason the game is significant from a "history of RPGs" standpoint was because it made JRPGs mainstream blockbusters, rather than niche titles.

Final Fantasy VIII on the other hand was a huge turn-off for me. I took a year-long break from the series after playing that thing. Even ignoring the different visual style and non-fantasy setting - neither of which I liked, the game has serious problems. The story takes itself way to seriously, feels like it's aimed 100% at the under-16 crowd, there are considerable plot-holes, and the whole thing felt dumb to me. I hated Squall Leonheart every minute of the game.
And I couldn't even do anything with Chocobos because I don't have a Japan-only peripheral. FFVIII is BS.

When it comes to long-running JRPG series, Dragon Quest is more my style.

[GameMasterGuy]

And that reminds me of the cussing... now THAT was pretty crazy back in its time, haha. There's so much it's insane.

Somehow they got away with saying "shit" several times, while holding the "Mild Language" rating from the ESRB. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory had the word only a handful of times (and nothing stronger than that), and got "Strong Language" instead.

The ESRB was pretty stupid until roughly this generation anyways.

In the same game, Mr. Gauss says "damn it to hell". It didn't even get mild language on its rating... did they even play it!?

[Zing]

No, the ESRB doesn't actually play the games. They rely on information provided by the publisher.

[retrosportsgamer]

I really think the major factor is that it was the JRPG that got a lot of gamers around the age of 10 into the genre. So now those kids that have all grown up and playing their PS3 or 360 just won't let it go.

I think we all are probably too forgiving of some of the games we got into as a child. Nostalgia is very powerful.

For sure. I was 18 and it was the first RPG I had played since the old SSI AD&D games on the Apple II and C64 (and Might and Magic on PC to an extent). With no FF or JRPG baseline, the game was fantastic to me. Playing it relatively close to the release (no retro bias) and experiencing it with friends who also were playing was awesome.

[dunpeal2064]

So, everybody thinks the game is pretty decent.

Maybe it isn't overrated?