“Final Fantasy VII” was an interesting game. I’d heard about it all my life and heard how good and revolutionary it was, and yet I never played it, because I couldn’t play it. My household was a Nintendo house, and we never had a Playstation, and “Final Fantasy VII” was exclusively on Playstation. Recently I’ve gotten a PS3 and have bought a digital copy of “Final Fantasy VII” and started playing it. From what I’ve played, It’s been amazing at times and a frustrating mess other times.

The gameplay of “Final Fantasy VII” is much like its previous iterations. It is a turn-based combat RPG (Role-Play Game) where you take turns attacking  a monster, attempting to win each battle. It is also a big open-world game where you can go anywhere on the map you want to go and play, as long as you can access it at the time. It has many mechanics like typical RPGs, such as items you can equip and inventories of items you can use to heal and do other actions. Final Fantasy is not unique in its gameplay or game mechanics, but it is smooth and somewhat easy to figure out, although beating it is difficult.

The story, however, is a complete mess. You play as a character named Cloud Strife (although you can rename him and any other party member whatever you would like). He is an ex-member of an organization named SOLDIER that is essentially the secret police for the corrupt government of their world. You team up with your childhood friend Tifa and Barret, the leader of AVALANCHE, a group looking to overthrow the government. You meet up and group up with other characters, but after this point, the story get so much more complicated that I’ve never fully understood it even after having it explained to me.

Most of the appeal of this game comes from the fact that it was the first fully 3D Final Fantasy game, the crazy story and the lovable main character. Other than that, it is an average game in terms of appeal. It is a competent turn-based RPG, difficult yet fun, and it is a super long game. Other than that, not much else stands out. I haven’t yet finished it, but recently playing through it has made me want to push through and see the ending for myself. I give this game 4 out of 5 cardinal heads.