Final Fantasy VII [1997]

I play video games to retain my sanity after stressful practice sessions, and a really good game is quite a treat after you've been hitting your head against a concerto for an hour.
FF VII is considered the BEST RPG ever made, and while there are a few other games I like a little better than this one (Okay, just the first Kingdom Hearts lol), I still agree that it is very good. I think that this game is actually a little too good for its format, so it's neat that they're making a remake. There are a few extremely emotionally charged scenes that are maybe a little nullified due to the weird, blocky looking character models. XD
The story is a little confusing in places, though overall, I would say that it is very well put together. There are little bits of foreshadowing that you wouldn't notice the first time around, and I love foreshadowing that is so subtle that when you get to the twist, you look back and think "Holy Shnikes! How did I not notice that?!"
The characters are actually pretty well done! Even the weird cat thing (Cait Sith) gets some development! The only one I didn't really care about was Red XIII, but that's just because I'm not nutzo on endless droning on and on about 'the planet' and how 'the planet is blah blah', but you know, he's not unbearable. My favorite characters were Tifa, Cid, Yuffie, and Aerith. Aerith is also a really neat character! A lot of the other entries in the series make her look like some kind of dainty, mystical sweetheart, but she's actually a very vivacious, streetwise lady, who can actually be kind of a shrew at times. XD
I like the gameplay. The Materia system is really cool when you figure out how to combine them to give the characters different abilities. There are also a TON of extras you can get if you're patient enough to work for them. Like the Chocobo racing, Materia Caves, and the Battle Arena.
I really liked the music. Sure, it's kind of cheesy sounding due to the MIDI program used, but it really is amazing music! You can find a lot of it remastered online, and they've arranged a few of the tracks for orchestra that you can also listen to on YouTube. Aerith's theme is always a favorite for good reason, it's a really beautiful, emotional track. I also really liked Tifa's theme. That song features a pretty flute solo, and the repeat of the melody makes good use of what I think is the bassoon (hard to tell with the MIDI instruments and all)! How cool! The World Map song is so pretty that it almost sounds like classical music to me! It goes through a lot of different emotions, and I think that the composer really knocked it out of the park with this one. I'll embed a video of the orchestral version at the bottom of the post. :)

The Verdict: A
Definitely one of my favorite games! While not flawless, this is a deeply engaging game that has a LOT to do besides the main storyline! I like the game mechanics, it's really fun to develop your own unique playing style.