Talk me into sticking with FF VII

[marurun]

...so how much of that do you think could be chalked up to the poor translation then?

Knowing some Japanese and having spent 10 months there? None at all. It's the game, dude. It's all the game.

[CFFJR]

Seems like a good time for this...

I love it!

I can't help but like Cloud, despite what he's become. I still think "Let's mosey" is great.

Zidane is my favorite though.

[Frerix]

I have to agree with the OP about FFVII. I tried to play it several times and failed to really get into it. All the minigames are annoying, because they're not especially fun or well-thought and many of them are required. I also got frustrated at the disparity between the incredible seriousness and depressing atmosphere and all the silliness. I made it just past the Gold Saucer (I think it was called) and gave up because it was just too much.

One of the things that bothered me a lot about VII (and some about 3/6) is that many of the enemies seem to have no place in the environment and don't even seem threatening. Why am I fighting a giant wheel thing on the plains, and why are there so many of them? How are some of these enemies even a threat to myself or the world at large? What the hell is a GreaseMonk(ey) doing in the savanna and why is it a hunchback and why is it throwing a wrench at me (FF3)?

The In FF VI and VII the forces of evil are all retarded. Grim, depressing, and oddly retarded.

Give me Grandia, Panzer Dragoon Saga, or even FF1 over those two titles any day. And I'll spare everyone my rant over FFVIII. A friend who loves VII tried VIII and just couldn't hack it.

I failed to get in FFVII several times too. First played for ~15 hours and the second around ~17 hours. It just isn't fun to me.

Don't get me wrong, the game is amazing on many aspects but the cons just suck all the fun out of it for me. I played it the first time in 2010 so my judgement is not affected by nostalgia

First, a major complaint. The pre-rendered backgrounds. You walk slow and moving around and finding your way to an exit is just annoying (compared to let's say FFVI's simple 2D environments). This really puts me off because you are walking through pre-rendered environments for 80% of the time.

The second major complaint is concerning the minigames. Minigames in a RPG (or whatever game) are fine to me. But not when you can't skip them. In FFVII you have so many annoying or downright boring minigames like chocobo racing, the f*cking marching thingy and the squats for example. In a Final Fantasy game I want RPG battling or minigames that involve battling but not these.

And now a controversial complaint; the music engine.
Let's get this out first. I love the music in FFVII. The music and the battle system (and the story of course) kept me playing for the most part.
But I don't know what it is with the music's engine or something. The songs are amazingly well written (nobuo is excellent) but the conversion to the PS1 hasn't done very well.
The music sounds way too MIDI-like and that's a shame. I think FFVI sounds way better and had a better transition to its console. But why no recorded tracks like in Symphony of the Night? Because of the disc space? FFVII came on several discs so that wouldn't be a problem.

Of course there a some pros to me concerning FFVII; the story is good with every character having a substantial background. The music is amazingly written. The battle system with the Materia system is amazing. But the cons outweigh the pros for me. If I'm playing the game just for completing it, it just isn't fun. A game has to be fun.

(By the way I love FFIV through VI, so I'm not a FF hater or something.) I just wanted to share my honest opinion. And I don't think FFVII is overrated. If you can live with the cons, you have a fantastic game ready for you

[Etro]

FFVII is over-rated. It's a great game, yes, but its not by any means perfect. If you can't get into it, don't. It's not like you have to.

[Xeogred]

First, a major complaint. The pre-rendered backgrounds. You walk slow and moving around and finding your way to an exit is just annoying (compared to let's say FFVI's simple 2D environments). This really puts me off because you are walking through pre-rendered environments for 80% of the time.

I can see this being a preference thing but you make it sound like this is just straight up a bad thing, when it's not. Gonna assume you don't like all the old RE's and half the PSX library then if you simply don't like pre-rendered backdrops.

[Yancakes]

...so how much of that do you think could be chalked up to the poor translation then?

This:

Knowing some Japanese and having spent 10 months there? None at all. It's the game, dude. It's all the game.

Someone was LPing FFVII a couple of years back on the somethingawful forums (I think it was when Leovinus took a stab at it?) and there was a LOT of discussion on this particular matter. One fellow was playing through the Japanese version simultaneously, and apparently the game just doesn't fuckin' make sense period, no matter what language you play it in.

First, a major complaint. The pre-rendered backgrounds. You walk slow and moving around and finding your way to an exit is just annoying (compared to let's say FFVI's simple 2D environments). This really puts me off because you are walking through pre-rendered environments for 80% of the time.

I can see this being a preference thing but you make it sound like this is just straight up a bad thing, when it's not. Gonna assume you don't like all the old RE's and half the PSX library then if you simply don't like pre-rendered backdrops.

The 2d backdrops is one of the things I miss most from this era of gaming

[AppleQueso]

...so how much of that do you think could be chalked up to the poor translation then?

Knowing some Japanese and having spent 10 months there? None at all. It's the game, dude. It's all the game.

Fair enough I guess. You don't have to look far for games that have a very different 'personality' to them thanks to the translation, so I was wondering if this might be one of those cases.

I kinda get where Yancakes is coming from with the blank slate stuff, but I don't think the cast is anywhere near as flat as he's claiming. Character development is kinda brushed aside for all the crazy amount of plot the game throws at you nonstop though, for sure. You know a lot about the characters and their past, but not really enough about what sorts of people they are.

I feel compelled to debate the game's merits a bit more, but seeing as how I haven't even played it in quite a long time, I don't really think I'm in any position to do so.

I still like it though. I doubt a replay would suddenly make me turn on the game either.

...so how much of that do you think could be chalked up to the poor translation then?

This:

Knowing some Japanese and having spent 10 months there? None at all. It's the game, dude. It's all the game.

Someone was LPing FFVII a couple of years back on the somethingawful forums (I think it was when Leovinus took a stab at it?) and there was a LOT of discussion on this particular matter. One fellow was playing through the Japanese version simultaneously, and apparently the game just doesn't fuckin' make sense period, no matter what language you play it in.

I will admit right away that FFVII's plot is the most convoluted thing this side of the Metal Gear Solid series.

[MrPopo]

[

...so how much of that do you think could be chalked up to the poor translation then?

This:

Knowing some Japanese and having spent 10 months there? None at all. It's the game, dude. It's all the game.

Someone was LPing FFVII a couple of years back on the somethingawful forums (I think it was when Leovinus took a stab at it?) and there was a LOT of discussion on this particular matter. One fellow was playing through the Japanese version simultaneously, and apparently the game just doesn't fuckin' make sense period, no matter what language you play it in.

I will admit right away that FFVII's plot is the most convoluted thing this side of the Metal Gear Solid series.

FFVIII - Time Compression. That is all.

[dunpeal2064]

Yeah, VIII tried to be trippy, but it just came off wrong.

That ending...

I mean, VII's ending is at least a nice, "Hey, I'm the planet, I could've stopped this thing without your help, you just wasted 50 hours"

VIII's ending was, "ur floatin in white, omg this is so trippy and unique, memories that barely affect the overall story are being unlocked"

[Xeogred]

VIII

Of all the theories I like the Squall's dead one. But it gives them way too much credit. The game is certainly just a mess beyond the first disc, lol.

Now that we're on endings... VII and VIII's are definitely among the most unsatisfying to me, but then again Zell eating hotdogs and stuff, that was pretty awesome. I'll give IX a lot of credit for having a good ending from the little I remember. VI isn't very rewarding either honestly, but it makes more sense than the others. V's was great, but overall I still think IV's is the best for sure.

I don't expect or even always like happy endings, but a lot of the FF endings are just poorly executed and leave a bit to be desired I'd say.