10 Best Next-Gen Reveals In Gaming History

Sony was so sure that they had a generational hit on their hands that they actually printed an ad that just said, "Someone please get the guys who still make cartridge games a cigarette and a blindfold."

1997 was the Playstation's best year ever all because one game showed the entire industry just what the console was capable of. No game has an opening better than this, with its starry galaxy transitioning into sparks in front of Aerith's face as she walks across an immense cityscape while the camera pans out to flash the title, then zooming into the other end of the city with a train coming to a screeching halt, for a seamless, loading-screen-free transition into the actual game.

This did not simply set a new standard for what Final Fantasy was capable of, but for video games as a whole. FF VII demonstrated one of the most graceful transitions from 2D to 3D that game could ever hope to execute, establishing that even JRPG's would benefit from the new technology, the full motion video, and the orchestral scores that could be provided with by the PlayStation and its CD technology.

Gaming as a whole found its direction with FF VII setting the standard for everything a video game could be up to that point.