Look. To begin with, there is no such thing as a one proper reply to the query, “What’s one of the best Last Fantasy?” Whichever one speaks to you probably the most, whichever one you discover probably the most lovely or stirring or significant, that’s one of the best one. This isn’t to say that you simply’re unsuitable should you disagree. It’s simply to say that for me, for many people, that one is Last Fantasy VII. Attempting to clarify why in a number of paragraphs is a idiot’s errand. However nonetheless, right here we’re.
Last Fantasy VII creates a breathtakingly authentic world, with its fusion of fantasy and sci-fi, its trendy cities, its evil firms, its big swords and magic. After which it populates that world with a lot element. Each little atmosphere you step into has little touches that give it a way of historical past, of tradition, of life and battle. The world is so huge, and so assorted. By the point you attain the sport’s closing confrontation, having been to sunny resort cities, to city slums, to snowy villages, to meccas of playing and extra, and so many other forms of locations, you have got the sensation that you simply’ve actually been on an epic journey throughout a wealthy, textured, lovely world.
It has an impeccable sense of drama, grabbing you instantly with its in media res opening, its mysterious protagonist, its thrilling sabotage operation. From there, its narrative net solely pulls you deeper and deeper in, as tender moments convey you nearer to its characters, as its unforgettable, larger-than-life villain cuts a swath of destruction throughout the planet, as its hero goes on a twofold journey, combating on one hand to cease Sephiroth and save the planet, and on the opposite to untangle the twisted threads of his personal id. Typically these sorts of metaphysical quests in RPGs can really feel underbaked and missing in actual perception or that means, however Last Fantasy VII commits wholeheartedly, making Cloud’s inside journey as compelling and revealing because the exterior quest he and his unforgettable companions undertake.
It’s additionally unabashedly political, aligning us with a gaggle of activists (or eco-terrorists, relying on who you ask) doing what they really feel have to be achieved to avoid wasting the planet from environmental disaster. In Shinra, it provides us a company that, like so many precise ones, actually deserves to be hated and fought in opposition to, and it does so not simply by beating a thematic sledgehammer however by writing and character growth that grants us perception into the individuals who make Shinra so reprehensible.
Lastly, Last Fantasy VII is a sport of uncommon generosity, full of minigames and facet actions that preserve your journey vigorous and shocking. The builders took an adventurous strategy right here, one the place I’d argue that even the tough edges make the sport higher. That snowboarding minigame is probably not nice by itself phrases, however the truth that it exists, that it’s a part of your journey, lends that journey extra character. By way of narrative scope, worldbuilding, and sport design, Last Fantasy VII is a sport of staggering ambition, and in its striving to interrupt freed from the collection’ 8- and 16-bit limitations, it gave us probably the most daring, transferring, memorable, and significant role-playing video games of all time. — Carolyn Petit
Learn Extra: Last Fantasy VII Retrospective: Nice As a result of It’s Bizarre
