FINAL FANTASY VII

This was my first time playing through Final fantasy VII. A couple years ago I got into JRPGs and with them, the FF series. (Played IV, V and VI before) Final Fantasy VI became one of my favorite games ever. So you can imagine I was very curious about this seventh entry because it's so popular and culturally significant.

Overall pretty good game. Has some cool new mechanics but the dungeons are pretty few and far between, not to mention linear. Also the abundance of random non-optional mini games you have to do throughout the campaign aren't fun and serve more as a graphics showcase than anything.

The graphics and art direction are excellent. However, the 3D came with the cost of worse gameplay readability. Often times had no idea who am I targeting in the party when wanted to use support items/spells and also got lost in sections, not knowing where I can and can't go. Couple it with how random encounters can take forever due to the animations and the game can become a bit of a slog.

The story is nice. Has some memorable moments and twists. I also enjoyed the characters tho I think Red XIII and Cait Sith could have been fleshed out more. FFVI however spoiled me. I think it just had the better story, villain and some plot beats have already been done better in that game which get repeated here. The ending is also somewhat underwhelming.

This review makes it look like i'm crapping on the game but I did in fact enjoy it a lot. FFVII just had very big shoes to fill after VI and add in how much of a worldwide phenomenon this game was, I've expected a bit more. Still I'd give this game an 8/10. Solid JRPG.

As for this Steam port. It's great. Only crashed once in my 40 hours of playing and 7th Heaven makes it easy to mod the game so you can have better textures, more fps and even gameplay changes.

When people say Final Fantasy VII is one of the best games of all time, they're right. It made me laugh, it made me cheer, it made me curse in fear. It's a profoundly good and fun game with constant good plot beats. I'm not even that into turn-based battles, but the escalation of power in this game is so good. A couple caveats: the beginning is quite slow, to the point that you may need to force yourself through it. Do it. I promise you it's worth it. Also, some parts of this game basically require a walkthrough. It's a PS1 game; they hadn't yet figured out that that was a problem. Nobuo Uematsu, the composer for this game, is a god of video game music, and his FF7 music is so much better in the game (in its original context) than when you hear it elsewhere (disconnected from its context). You're going to need a tolerance for nonsense (a love triangle, a stuffed cat in the party, a materia that lets you breathe fire) and a respect for the series, but this is one of the most rewarding gaming experiences I've ever had and one of my favorite games I've ever played.

Game freezes at a black screen prior to title screen. Worked years ago when it first released to steam but now it no longer will play. Do NOT get this title on steam. Find it elsewhere for a better chance of a fully working game.

Still a great story and still told very well! I love the way the narrative keeps the player interested and curious; with gameplay that also keeps the player wanting to try new things. Exploration is fun and rewarding, the characters are deep, random NPC's are also interesting! Just wild how much has changed with the 'remakes' (that suck IMO - look good but plays horribly and they lost the storytelling ability).

When you get this title, make sure to get 7thHeaven mod and update some graphics/models. It really helps make the game run and look better on modern hardware. Great title! BUY IT!

Final Fantasy VII remains a standout title, even years after its original release. The game’s age shows in its blocky character models and dated MIDI soundtrack, but its core strengths—deep storytelling, memorable characters, and innovative mechanics—keep it timeless. The journey through Midgar and beyond still captivates, with Cloud, Aerith, and the crew delivering emotional weight that few modern games can match. The materia system offers satisfying customization, and the turn-based combat holds up as a classic. Sure, the visuals and controls reflect its 1997 roots, but for fans or newcomers willing to overlook that, it’s a masterpiece worth experiencing. On Steam, it’s a solid port of a legendary RPG that proves great design doesn’t fade.

Nah man it barely functions then theres 7th ehaven which does not work since 4.0 and having to reinstall everything and restart the computer and then change the shortcuts and make the correct dll work and then the correct file path and disc get mounted and find the 5 dragonballs this should run as is and all should work like it did for 5 years and not require 6 hours of your life to make it work

Without a doubt this is the best version of Final Fantasy Vii you can play (yes way better than remakes), im in shock and awe how a game from 20+ years ago is this good and engaging, gameplay was smooth, story was amazing & soundtrack was literal orgasm (i'm looking at you Aerith, Vincent, Cid & Sephiroth). trying to learn Sephiroths One-Winged Angel on guitar atm. in og you have option to recruite Vincent & Yuffie which are easter egg characters but in Rebirth for some reason they force these characters on everyone which loses the feeling of it being earned & on top of that Vincent in Rebirth is a joke, he's literally holding a psp in his tombstone when he wakes up for some reason which is a parody of him being a tragic, dark & earie character from original. another thing og shines compared to remakes is summons, i have no idea how they screwed summons look and style this badly compared to og, Bahamut & Alexander look so so much cuter and more intimidating compared to tiny boring looking things you see in remake. i'm pretty sure they're gonna screw Bahamut Zero (my fave summon ever), Hades & Knights of the round as well for part 3 so i'm just not gonna be optimistic about it. and speaking of summons, way you get them is so cool and badass & you actually feel like you achieve something important! exmaple, for Alexander you literally need to go around in a snowy forest, near ancients & Aeriths hometown & go through some of the most confusing parts of the game just to find your way through a tiny cave and then there it is, the summon. for Knight of the round, which is best summon ever you need gold chocobo, and since i wanted it really badly i went through the whole gold chocobo farm which took me hours just to get my Knights summon. point is in og trying to achieve stuff is hard & you feel earned once you have them. i dont usually like grindy games but i lovvved griding in og, it never felt boring to me. i'm so so so thankful to my girlfriend Maiju for introducing me to world of FF7 and i'm even more glad she bullied me into playing og after saying how many times remake was a disappointment & how bad changes in it are(currently watching her stream of Rebirth while we both make fun of how bad it is compared to og!). overall, this game is a masterpiece & forever my favorite game of all time ♥

it's a classic if you can get over the low resolution of the graphics it's an amazing game if you enjoy the ff series .

VII, IX, XIV are all solid

I don't think a game has impressed me this much visually in over a decade. I felt like i got the holy shit experience of the original release so many years later. Being amazed by the cutscenes, music, mechanics and the massive world that keeps building new layers with each vehicle the story is and character designs are also so iconic to this day. It has held up absurdly well, to a point of competing with modern JRPG's, can't recommend checking it out at least enough.

As someone who have never experienced this game growing up, there are a lot of things I can say about this game, both good and bad.
But in short, if you are a JRPG lover, you might as well play this game before delving into FF7 Remake. I do think it will help to enrich your experience on playing the remakes later on.

Pros:
+ Timeless amazing story.
+ Extraordinary storytelling, especially if you remember that this game came from the 90s.
+ Memorable characters.
+ Amazing soundtracks.
+ Perfected the old-style battle system of FF. The implementation of materia revolutionized the game. Opening up countless possibilities with your creativity.

Cons:
- You might want some mods as Square don't really care about improving user experience and just port this game as is. Low frame rate might be quite jarring. Mods can do that for you and then some.
- The game might hide or never explain some stuff and you got to figure it out by your own. You might even miss something and never know about it even after finishing the game. Some would argue that's the characteristics of JRPG, but I would say it's just the old game design as every other game from that era would also do the same thing.
- General jankiness. You might experienced jankiness here and there. As example, the game was designed with d-pad movement in mind, so you might find movement awkward if you are not used to it.
- Especially in minigames, they are doing a poor job on explaining things to you on what you are actually doing. The good news is, there's only a few of them in your entire playthrough.

Even with all of the small hiccups, I don't think you should skip this game. It's worth the effort to experience this game at least once.

the best final fantasy game.
second best ps1 game.
great story, characters, world. gearing (materia) system and classic open world (exploration and side quest/ stories)

(10/10) turn based jrpg.
granted "one of the best" seal, in my humble opinion. :)

Never vibed with FF series ever. I even tried FF7 Remake but quickly dipped. Last year I made a resolution to try games outside of my usual normal types, so gave FF7 original a shot after picking it up on sale. If you are reading this , I recommend going in blind as this game will hit you like a truck on all levels be it music, story, characters and even the world itself.

Came to complete a resolution, left as a fan, cant wait to try Remake, and Rebirth now that I have played this gem. Do yourself a favor and pick this game up.

Decided to play this game instead of rebirth since that game's characters and activities made me want to commit sudoku and holy what a difference. The way this game is portrayed and written is league's above what was shown in the remakes (specifically rebirth). During this game you don't see Sephiroth AT ALL until a FLASHBACK so just the weight of him appearing is insane. The way that characters are treated in this game as well feels completely different compared to the remakes. Cloud is actually written like a character that is capable of showing some emotion and is actually capable of completing tasks even though he is struggling with his existence and not written like he can't do anything without Tifa by his side, Barrett's personality is much more pronounced since you go certain sections of the game with just him, and Tifa and Aerith's frienship isn't the forefront of the entire game and feels like it was grown organically as you just naturally see them just wander off and chill with each other. The fact that this game from 20 years ago knows how to write proper characters without bringing down OTHER MEMBERS of the team is astounding to me considering it came out MORE THAN 20 YEARS AGO. Another huge thing that I should mention is that the story actually makes sense in this game as well. From what I played the story of this and the remakes are completely different, the new games have tons of new sub plots and confusing new story beats that quite frankly don't make any sense to me at all, this game though is very straightforward with what it wants to portray. I also think the biggest plus for me is that fact that the minigames aren't shoved in the front of my face and when they are there you don't HAVE TO DO THEM TO PROGRESS THE STORY, one insane difference to me was that the bike minigame you play when you escape midgar actually controls insanely well compared to the remake to the point where it that bike section actually controls better than the remake since it controls so snappy. Obviously the game isn't perfect like the game looks like ass, the controls are unintuitive, since there's less bloat minigames the game is shorter than the remakes but in my opinion I think that even with those negatives this is probably the best way to experience the game rather than play the newer ones.

TL;DR: This game is how people were meant to play and experience ff7. I would recommend this game over the remakes and day of the week. I already plan on modding this game to look sharper when I run it back for a second playthrough.

Game is 100% achievable on a single playthrough within about 70hrs (casual).

Considerably faster (about 10-20hrs faster) than the ps1(emulator) version too, which I also replayed recently to compare. Battle load times are nearly instant here, loading them faster than the spinning sound effect can finish(lol), likely saving many grinding hours. Chocobo racing prizes are considerably easier to get now too, with rare items and materia winnable in the first common slot, rather than only in the rarest last slot like on ps1, which also saves grinding hours. The fix to the armor's missing mdef bug is a very welcome improvement over the original too! The game can also be fullscreened without any black borders, which is very nice. All of the game's other known useful exploitable bugs and glitches (w-item duplication, chocobo stamina refill) are still there intact as well. Save for some sound effects missing during limits (ie omnislash) and some cutscene scores playing just a tad differently than on ps1, this version is recommended for the gameplay's many quality of life improvements! Much better than the old pc port from 1998 too, the discs which I still have in storage but hadn't played in over 20yrs...so this version is definitely an upgrade.

The only thing is that I had to swap my controller's X and A buttons to get the game back into a familiar playstation layout. For some reason the game defaults the 'switch' button (square equivalent on ps1) to steam's bottom A button's position, and the 'cancel' button (bottom X on playstation) is mapped to steam's far-left X button, leading to some awkward controls, since you still need to hold 'cancel' for your characters to run on-screen without mods. But swapping these 2 buttons solved the problem for me.

Also steam's materia mastering achievements were a little finicky; mastering one required the final points to be on 'normal' ap growth equipment, since mastering several on double growth weapons didn't seem to register. So later when mastering ALL (and yes they mean -ALL- the materias, even the rare ones you might never normally use, like the hp-mp swap one) I played it safe and swapped them to normal growth gear on their last points too. Just be aware that trading your materias in for a master set at Cosmo Canyon removes them from your inventory, so you'll have to re-master them all over again to be active in your inventory for the materia overload achievement to unlock (and be careful about exceeding the 200 limit when grinding alls for the max gil achievement too!) So as long as you're aware of that, and know about the missable enemy skills (like Trine and Pandora's Box, which the first dragon zombie I encountered spammed Shadow Flare on my party, draining its mp rendering it unable to cast upon its defeat, but still using up the game's only cast trigger, forcing me to restart to a save before I entered the final dungeon)....then you're good to go! Have fun all over again with this beloved classic game.

Best final fantasy game story wise. Top 5 gameplay wise.

How is the current console version you can buy on PSN better than this? Controller support is broken and the DRM check in the beginning is a bit much for a game this old. Don't even think i'm going to bother with the 7th heaven mod.

I first played FF7 when I was 18 and it was my gateway into the Final Fantasy series. I know the graphics don't hold up as well as they used to, but I still stand by this being a masterpiece of its time. It was great to go back and play this again, and I had a lot of fun!

After so many years of just picking this game up and putting it down, I finally got around to beating it. I do think FF7 is fairly overrated but I understand the appeal at the time and how exciting it probably was to see a 3D FF game. I really don't think the game has aged the best, but in the end I still had fun. Mods also help the game out but I understand that it may not be everyone's cup of tea. I also think the story isn't as great as people make it out to be, but again I understand the appeal at the time. If you really want to play this game and not use mods, I recommend not using the PC version because this version has a good amount of issues. In the end though, I enjoyed my time with FF7 and I will be playing the Remakes in the future.
7 or 8/10. A good classic.

Disclaimer: Played my first full run through the 7th Heaven mod launcher. Basically just for upscaled cutscenes and hd models. Also I played ff7 wildly out of order. Going ff7 Remake, Crisis Core, ff7 Rebirth, and then the OG.

What can I say except that, this is a great game. In a strange way the remakes expansions on content may have even made me love it more. Being able to visualize the deeper character moments that are explored within the context of the og has made it a very worthwhile experience.

Lets chart it down

Story - Ultimately, no notes. This is a solid narrative from beginning to end. While there are some moments I wouldve wanted more context or direction, ultimately for the time it did the best it could. Largely ambitious game story spanning 3 discs on OG ps1. Its crazy how good it is.

Characters -
- Cloud = As a protagonist, I think he is as strong as can be. Cool, mysterious, and with plenty of room to explore in the narrative at large.
- Tifa = Being the long time friend from childhood, its easy to fall into the trope of just making her be a love interest, FF7 subverts this somewhat. She hints to her interest with cloud but ultimately one could chalk it up to genuine platonic love if they wished. (Remake series makes it so you can go furtherish) She has a strong personality and thoughts and feelings away from clouds sphere of influence. Though this is less apparent the further you go in the game
- Barret = What can I say, He is funny, but personable. His own corel Backstory is filled with mystique of its own. I think its interesting he flip flops a little on his decision to bomb the reactor from the beginning, showing that while drastic action was needed, potential harm to many citizens was also not great.
- Red XIII = Dog go arf.... but seriously great character. I like the muteness of voice in this game, as hearing him go to the teen voice for the remake stuff was interesting. Him and bugenhagen are very much a luke and yoda duo.
- Yuffie = Not gonna lie, Not a big fan of her. Either here or remake. But at least in remake, she has more going on. and maybe thats just it. She has nothing going on besides going to Wutai once and having her annoy the crap out of you cus she steals and messes up your materia. Hope Remake does wutai way better, cus its one of the low points of the whole thing.
- Cid = Feels like a drunk uncle, but its not all bad, Actually I think his space story is fairly compelling. Him even apologizing after everything is great. He just grates on my empathetic nature a little before then.
- Cait Sith = I dont like him in my party. But Ree- I mean Cait is fine as a character, Dont particulary have a strong opinion.
- Vincent = Hell yeah, we love this goth dude. Tragic, emo, and stylish. Strong and swift. Hearing more about his wife is heartbreaking. Makes me want to demolish that hoejoe.

Combat - Its Active turn based combat from one of the first games to use it after chrono trigger. Its not particularly amazing. But it is far above some modern turnbased systems still with every cool item and ability at your disposal.

Graphics - Only thing I changed was cutscene resolution and made the character models hd and more reminiscent of their in battle counter parts. The pre rendered backgrounds will mess you up at points. as it can sometimes not be clear where to go with it being so low rez. Luckily there is a button that enables red arrows above entrances and exits as well as some climable walls. so use that to overcome that hurdle.

I can't say much, I really really feel nostalgic when I play this game again. It feels like I'm going back to my childhood, although this game was released over two decades ago, it still fun to play, so I really recommend it if you look for a classic JRPG.

The themes of environmentalism still rings true several decades after it's original release.

I've heard and watched so much about FF7 and so I finally decided to buy and play for myself. Thankfully I've only ever watched challenge runs so the story hasn't been spoiled for me. I love it, the old graphics just hit different and I know there are mods that make it look better but maybe I'll get them on the second playthrough. Just buy this version so you can play it while saving up for the remastered versions.

FF7 is a video game I'm glad I experienced before I die.
The story, backgrounds, cast, designs, CGI animation, music, gameplay.. you can feel the intention and passion from people that made the game wanted you to.
It reminds me the vibe I felt playing Ocarina of Time as a kid.
7th Heaven 3x speed with Ninostyle field model and upscaled art.
22 year old zoomer.

I really wish the Steam version of this game had some quality of life features that other ports have (for example, the Nintendo Switch port). It also has a lot of bugs that crashed my game a few times.

That being said, its still Final Fantasy 7, so of course its great!

I'm writing this right as I've finished the game. I cannot recommend it enough.
Even though it's nearly 30 years old, it's still so unbelievably entertaining, with mechanics that aged surprisingly well.
This is my introduction to the Final Fantasy series and, really, JRPGs in general, and I think I couldn't have picked a better game.
The combat is simple yet extremely fun, so much so I didn't run from a single fight (partially because I didn't know how).
Music, in general, is timeless, but this game's soundtrack especially. You'll hum tunes in your head, and surely revisit them.
The story is what makes this already impressive game into a masterpiece. Don't look up anything about it, and if there's anything you already know, delete it from your brain. That way, the first playthrough will be perfect.
If you're reading this and you're still not sure whether or not you should play Final Fantasy 7:
You should, it won't disappoint.

I played the entire game bug-free. It was bliss. Got to the final boss fight...safer Sephiroth. After he casted the second Nova spell, my game crashed. No way in hell I want to do all of that again.

Really unfortunate. Of all places, literally the last boss. This sucks.

This game holds a very special place in my heart. One of the first games I ever played that held a story. An epic that started my love for games as an art medium.

A story about an unreliable narrator, and how fragmented memories, expectations, and the circumstances of ones birth create an individual. Its a beautiful game, and for those of you who didn't grow up with it, if you can get past the 1997 graphics you'll find a gem of a game.

There are plenty of mods to uprender the game with newer HD graphics. Go out of your way to give this game a shot.

classic game, a blast from the past, tons of fun for any age, a true gem from the past

Ok so this is my favourite game of all time by a large margin, I've had this game be a part of my life for almost 12 years now and I keep coming back to it, once a year, for a full playthrough (usually on ps1, hence my somewhat low hours on steam).
This game is absolutely fantastic, with an insanely good score and will have a lasting impact on you long after your playthrough.

A game synonymous with my childhood, made even better with mods created by people who really care. Check out 7th Heaven mod manager. Replaying the game with the Echo S voice acting and new textures/mods is pretty damn amazing. I love the official remake project, but I never knew how much I wanted a straight up remaster of the original with new textures. Mods also allow for the games dialogue to be much closer to the original intent in Japanese, meaning the story is so much better and well written then original translations. Play this legendary game, and check out the community modding it!

classic, great story and characters, oldschool JRPG gameplay that may seem dated, use 7th heaven to improve graphics and add other things like voice acting

If a game from 1997 can make me take almost 200 screenshots, it must me divine. FF7 is a game like no other that will forever remain a classic. Aerith lives forever

Final Fantasy 7 was one of those rare games that really grabbed my imagination and fast became one of my all time favorites. Back in 1997 when it dropped, I had a long 4 day weekend off of work and spent all 4 of those days on my PlayStation playing FF7. I had always been a fan of the series, but FF7 took everything to a whole new level.

Fast forward 28 years and I still love this game. In all that time I've replayed it about a dozen times. These days I play it using 7th Heaven, a special mod manager that breathes new like into the game. My PlayStation is long gone, but I still own my original PC version of FF7, so I didn't need to buy it on here. However, since I like the game so much, having it on Steam so I don't have to break out my disks to play was totally worth it.

Now, I just need to break down and play the remake.

The only reason I bought this game was because of the translation, despite the criticism it had.

After putting 20 hours into the game, it broke due to the chocobo racing glitch at the gold saucer that people complained about more than 20 years ago on fan forums, which gives me the impression Sqenix just rereleased the game without giving it much attention.

I was able to use the Black Chocobo utility to convert my save from Steam to a PSX memory card file so I didn't lose my progress, and continued to play it on an emulator without problems. Going to Duckstation, I realized the sound on the PC version is also pretty terrible.

I take review bombing with a grain of salt, but as someone who's not as diehard of a fan as other people are about this game (it's still great), it's a shame you should definitely try elsewhere.

There are certain ways you can play the new translation on PSX, by the way.

Four hours in, I've already committed eco terrorism, been scolded by a flower girl, and bullied by a talking cat in a pinball bar. Midgar is equal parts dystopian nightmare and '90s RPG charm, and I'm loving every second of it. Combat feels like a chaotic game of 'who has the biggest sword' (spoiler: it's always Cloud), and Materia lets me hurl fireballs like a reckless wizard. The character models look like they were assembled from leftover Lego bricks, but somehow, it just adds to the charm. Verdict so far? This game is fantastic, and I can't wait to see how much worse my life choices get.

It's honestly amazing how Square was able to make this game back in 1997 and even before that in its development stage.. Older games have that charm that no new games can replicate..
The music, the jankiness, the jokes will all stick with you after finishing FF7 OG.

It is truly a wonderful experience to be able to play what was once a technical marvel and spectacle back in 1997.

Final Fantasy VII is the peak of the mountain which all other RPG's try to climb. It sets the standard for modern RPG's and provides a fantastic experience from beginning to end. Leaving Midgar for the 1st time still holds up as one of the greatest video game moments of all time. Everyone should play this game at least once before they leave the planet ^_^

Game regularly does not work on steam, just get an emulator and play it there, I have had 0 issues using emulators and tons of issues using steam. I recommend this game, but not through steam. Oh and it refuses to recognize my ps4 controller. all I did was take a break and play other games after putting in over 400 hours on the game and now it is unplayable. Goes out of its way to not recognize my ps4 controller that I used to put the 400 hours of play on the game originally. Light bar immediately shuts off when ff7 starts. loads up to the main menu and tells me to use a keyboard and how to do so. DS4Windows is up to date.

I didn't play this game for the longest time, thinking if it played as poorly as it looked it must not be worth the hype.

I was wrong. This game has aged gracefully, and I'm so glad I got around to playing it. Don't mod it to hell and back, just use "The Reunion" to install "Beacause" to fix the localization and "Audio Replacement" to fix the sound.

one of the best video games ever made. the remake is cool but this game is better. as someone who started with the remake and went back to this game later i can say that this game has stood the test of time and has mods to modernize it. 10/10 will definitely finish

i like the game but im near the end and one boss fight that i try to do keeps crashing. at a certant point during the battle when i know the boss is about to be killed. the game just crashes. please devs look into this and fix it! im on a steamdeck, probly why it crashes.

A timeless classic - this was my first playthrough and I loved it. The different ways of cinematic storytelling and the amount of mechanics/mini-games that were crammed into this are extremely impressive considering this released in 1997. I cannot wait to play through the remakes trilogy & see it all again/compare the differences.

This game at times can be brutal, annoying and obtuse, and some things haven't aged well, but when it works and clicks, wow - an unforgettable experience.

Still the definitive version of FF7. Catch it on sale and download 7th Heaven Mod Manager. Waaaaay better than the remakes!!!

Always loved this game, played it for hundreds of hours back in the 90's and now being able to mod it with 7th heaven really improves the experience.

Gaming has been quit lack luster lately as I'm sure everyone has been feeling for the most part. But this has been the best investment I've made in a looong time.. Loved this game when I was 7 and I still love it. With 7th Heaven mods, it just makes it that much better. Same feeling you get with the original game. The whole 4 hours into this game has just been nothing but nostalgia.

Final Fantasy VII isn't a game that will blow anyone away with its dialogue. There's goofiness right around the corner from serious moments. Its models are blocky, dated, and odd. It's a bit convoluted at times. The world is obtuse.
And yet, despite all this, the game is incredible.

If you've never played a Final Fantasy game, this is perhaps the one to start with. Yes, there is the Remake trilogy, but if you can stomach old games and their sensibilities at least a little bit, I would very much recommend this one.
To say it was a leap from VI is an understatement. VI on the SNES was already pushing boundaries with its storytelling and character work, for VII to take that into a 3D environment (using the PS1's tech), nail down most of what made VI work and then expand upon it was nothing short of incredible.
Final Fantasy VII only really excels against present day games in one department. The music. The soundtrack is perhaps my favourite in gaming, certainly at least in the top 5. What makes the game special is that nearly everything else is done extremely competently.
The gameplay loop won't blow people away, but it is addicting and diverse. The characters are close to a level of nuance, but the game balances its large and varied cast (even the optional party members) in a way that makes it seem effortless.
The world is built in a linear fashion — you start out in the most detailed city in the game — but the narrative enhances the story that's filled with great mysteries. And yes, the answers are satisfying.

I mentioned the game was goofy before in a negative light, perhaps that was a bit harsh. The goofiness in a lot of these places make its world feel endearing. The casual dialogue with people on the streets is memorable. The light-heartedness mostly serves to have those darker portions hit hard, and hit hard they do.
It's all the little things that make the game. The way the handholds shake on the train. The vistas that they didn't have to go as hard as they did for. The wacky enemies. The many minigames. It all adds up to something that surpasses its contemporaries, and hell even a lot of games that come out today. I've rarely been as immersed in a world as I was traipsing through Midgar's lively neon-lit slums, under the giant steel plates of the higher class folk and that great central tower looming over all.

On a technical stand point, I would actually recommend using mods. A few of them really take away the dated aspects of the game. I initially played it in 2014 with no mods, and then again during the Pandemic on my PS4. This time, I used the 7th Heaven mod manager (which compared to other games was a cakewalk to use) and it was the best experience I've had with the game yet.
Turning the game widescreen, upscaling the backgrounds that were already pretty great, getting a more accurate translation (still without Japanese honorifics, I'm not that much of a weeb), and allowing a speed-up option really enhanced the experience, while still exploring the core of a game the developers designed. I highly, highly recommend adding just a few mods. You don't have to feel bad; they ended up doing models that actually look close to human in FF VIII so it's nice to change it here a few years before the devs did.

With Rebirth coming out on PC, and the third game on the horizon, I can only recommend people give this a go. The Remake is fun, but it does some of my favourite moments a bit worse (and some better, to be fair). Older games can be fun, especially because they trusted the player's imagination more. If you need an adventure, this one is waiting for you.

I really enjoyed playing FF7 again after so many years. Must be played with 7th Heaven for modding. It works great on handheld with about 8w. (5 hours battery life).

Man, a lot of time has gone by since this game first came out. Swapping characters with a cell phone used to be cool because most of us didn't even have cell phones back then. Pluto's not even a planet anymore! (and not just cuz Sephiroth obliterated it with his summon.) It's nearly impossible to understate what a phenomenon this game was upon its initial release on the playstation in 1997. The world was still just feeling out what video games could be and VII left us in sheer awe of it's scope and ambition; many of us have been chasing that high ever since. All the chances SE took paid off, everything about VII was sparkly and amazing.

But admittedly, aspects of the original game are showing it's age. This was the most expensive video game ever produced when it initially came out, but the backgrounds, FMV's and character models are comically gauche by modern standards. (But there is a vibrant collection of community mods to smooth things out if you want to go that route.)

And if you're in it for the achievements, be prepared for an uphill trek; several of them are missable and a handful are very grindy. Modern palates will undoubtedly find the process of spoon-feeding elixirs to magic pots and running around in a tight circle for a dozen hours to be pretty unpleasant.

Setting those gripes aside, the game is still great. The soundtrack is timeless, the story is epic, the characters are downright cool and the battles are still as crisp and engaging as ever. This game will forever be a massive influence on my youth and my imagination and on modern gaming as a whole. It's still an amazing adventure for those who want to embark on it...just be prepared for a few cobwebs here and there. :FFIX_Chocobo:

Technically the first RPG I ever played was FFVI on an emulator, but even more technically FFVII is the first RPG I ever played and beat. I was in middle school, late 90's. I played over 100 hrs of this game and loved it. Doing ALL side quests including Ruby/Emerald/Gold Chocobo etc. After this I Played VIII, IX, X and XII all upon release. I love them all in different ways, and have always thought that I liked VIII and X more until....

It's now been over 20 years since I played it so I decided to revisit on steam in preparation of the remake coming out. I am so surprised about how much I forgot about the story and characters. I'm having a blast re-visiting the gameplay and getting that thrill of linking Materia and growing it. I love the old battle style because i grew up with it, and find grinding to be fun and meditative.

The soundtrack is so amazing. Picking a favorite Final Fantasy is almost impossible, but there's a reason why this one has stood out over the years and the first to be re-made. I'm realizing that this game helped shape the person I am. It still has a very important message that is even more relevant today, regarding large corporations destroying the planet amongst other things.

I feel so lucky to have experienced this and the other FF games as they came out, what a special time in the gaming world.

Steam Deck/Controller Configuration Tips!

The default button mapping is all messed up in this PC port, so for full enjoyment here's what to do:

If playing directly on the Deck, open FFVII to the "PLAY" screen. Tap "SETTINGS" on the touch screen, then go to the JOYSTICK tab. Tap on each input option and press the corresponding button on your Deck to map the controller properly.

DO NOT modify the controller configurations inside the game itself (via the party menu where you see your characters faces and the menu options)!

Not only will it not fix anything, you could further screw up the controls and make the game literally unplayable.

My recommendations for Steam Deck button mappings:

OK = A
CANCEL = B
MENU = Y
UP = Stick Up
LEFT = Stick Left
RIGHT = Stick Right
DOWN = Stick Down
START = "Hamburger" Button
SWITCH = X
PAGE UP = L1
PAGE DOWN = R1
TARGET = R3 (Right Stick In)
ASSIST = "Two Window" Button
CAMERA = L3 (Left Stick In)

This will get you pretty close to the original PS1 control scheme, though you could swap the OK and CANCEL mappings if you'd like (some online walkthroughs use this layout). Same mapping logic works for XBox controllers.

Don't forget that STEAM + X brings up the onscreen keyboard, which you will need to use to start the game. When it boots up, open the keyboard and input the X key (not the X button). This will bring you to file select, where you can play "normally" with a controller.

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With that out of the way, I'll just say this port obviously has issues. The default controller mapping is already bad enough, but also the in-game button icons are their nonsensical designations (PAGE UP, SWITCH, ASSIST, etc) instead of "A" or "B". Thus you really need to understand which designation belongs to which controller button or else you'll have a bad time. And I do recommend playing on a controller over KB&M.

But beyond that, I had no performance issues and was able to play as much as four hours straight on a single battery charge.

My quick two cents on FFVII as a game: it's worth playing if you haven't already and want a nostalgia trip. It's GOATed for a reason. That said, it's not my favorite of the mainline games (that would be X) but it's definitely up there.

One last comment: the Steam Achievements are different from the Playstation Trophies for some reason. Not sure why they did this, but be warned. It took me roughly 65 hours following a walkthrough to get every achievement.