Final Fantasy: Every Numbered Game Ranked

4. Final Fantasy VII

Final Fantasy ranked
Square-Enix

Why is Final Fantasy VII still so revered today, to the extent that it is being expensively remade across about a dozen parts, when the two games which followed it arguably refined and perfected the winning PS1 formula?

The obvious answer is that it was the first exposure many in the west had to the series, the exoticism of a hitherto unexperienced JRPG genre combined with Square-Enix's dramatic upscale in production values largely contributing to its iconic status. In its own right, it's a bounteous title brimming with memorable locations (one so beloved that the entire remake was set in it), characters and moments - one sword-stabbing scene in particular becoming entrenched in video game folklore.

That said, like all the tentative first steps of franchises leaping into 3D in the '90s, Final Fantasy's has not aged well. It's an absolute bugger to control, and the battles, replete with slow panning transitions and lengthy animations, can be painstaking affairs. The translation, which at times reads like YouTube comments, is similarly unrefined. Overall though, the game is greater than the sum of flaws which, in 1997, were scarcely apparent. Nostalgia has massively lionised its legacy, but Cloud and co's jaunt is still close to Seventh Heaven.

Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.