5/5 ★ – sheldoman's review of Final Fantasy VII.

One of my all time favourite games. I actually didn't like this a lot when I first played it, but in the years since it has grown on me in a way that I could never have predicted. I don't think it's a perfect game but it's impact on me was so great I have to give it a perfect score. I love the characters and the plot. I think Cloud could be a really boring basic anime protagonist but his connections with his friends, the whole thing about his past, and his connection with Shinra make him interesting. I think Red XIII is my favourite because I've always sort of been drawn to non-human races with different culture and stuff. I like the pacing of the game. I think it has a kind of slow start in Midgar, but the end of the Shinra building sequence followed by arriving on to the world map is really good and from there it slowly builds to the end of disc 1 when things really kick off. I like the difficulty of the game. It's got a decent difficulty curve and other than certain optional side-bosses, there are no moments that I'd say are too hard or too easy which can be a tough line to walk. Working my way up to being strong enough to take on the Weapons was fun and finally beating them felt like a real accomplishment. The graphics during the overworld stuff didn't age super well, but certain moments and backgrounds and the fighting sprites all look pretty good still. The music though is phenomenal and still sticks with me. Aerith's theme, Sephiroth's theme, and omg the Highwind theme! The majority of the soundtrack has stuck with me and random songs will just pop into my head at any moment. I think though the thing that really makes me like this game is that it has this certain indescribable heroic feeling to it. Like it felt like I was really saving the world in this game. Not only that but it has other strong emotional beats to it that genuinely work. That's why I give this one a perfect rating.