Let me Start by saying that this is one of the most hyped about games to date due to the success of previous Final Fantasy titles. Everyone knew this was going to be a good game even before they had even seen screen shots. This is because square has a reputation to using a specific system to the best of its ability. And this no exception, they did it pretty damn well, just take a look at the graphics. It was possible to make a great RPG with great graphics, good sound, and even a decent story.

In this game you play as Cloud, a half-wit soldier that's unsure of his destiny at first. But through a series of plot-twists and flashbacks he decides to save the world in spite of Sephiroth. In your adventures you'll come across 9 characters (2 hidden). You have three characters at a time and later in the adventure you'll get to choose your team, but for the first disc or so you have no choice. Along the way you'll fight a plethora of monsters and bosses (all beautifully animated). Also during the course of your adventure, you'll open up plenty of mini-games such as snow-boarding, motor bike racing, etc... The funny thing is that these mini-games are so good that they could actually be sold as a whole different games for $40 or $50 bucks with a little bit of a touching up. The Story is great, from all the plot twists to deaths, it's awesome. It has Cloud and his allies against a world corporation called Shinra in which along the way a man named Shepiroth decides to use the Black materia to summon a Meteor and destroy the world. Don't want to reveal too much, some people may have not played it yet.

The graphics in this game are superb. All the backgrounds are pre-rendered and all the characters are made of polygons. The battles are simply amazing, with light-sourcing effects and the sprites in battle look magnificent. The Animated sequences, they are, for the time being some of the greatest. Square does a great job of mixing the in-game graphics with the actual CGI animation. The result is the revealing fact that ALOT of time was put into the game. You won't find better graphics on any genre.

The Music is also very good. But there are some exceptions of songs that get annoying after a while, but for the most part, the music is good. You won't find yourself humming the tunes as the day goes by, but on the other side, you won't find yourself cursing at the screen due to crappy music. The sound effects are good stuff, including all your sword slashes and those little effects here and there that make the game sooo good.

Control is top notch as with all square games. Menus are easy to navigate, and Cloud is simple to control, and mini-games are provided with instructions before you start. The thing that will confuse you the most though is that damn Materia, Square makes it seem so simple. The tutorial that Cloud gives Barret is helpful but it's not enough, but you'll eventually get the hang of it =). Besides the Materia, there really isn't anything you can't figure out in 2-3 mins or the thing called "trial and error".

There really is only a few things wrong with this game, but they are nothing compared to the overall greatness of this game. This game is way too easy to beat, the only thing being hard is beating weapon and obtaining the gold chocobo (And these are totally optional). The other thing is that the game doesn't reveal too much about any of the other characters aside from Cloud and Tifa. The game is extremely long, spanning 3 disks, and you'll find yourself forgetting to eat and sleep every once in a while. There is a few problems that will piss true RPG fans off, such as the game's complete lack of replay value (once you've conquered it, you probably won't want to play it again for 70 hours) so I recommend that you check out some other great RPGs, like Wild Arms, Lunar or Tales of Destiny).

Final Fantasy 7 lives up to all its expectation, if not more. But there are many things that could have been improved or added which could have made this the greatest role-playing game of all time. Don't let my words hold you back, this is a GOOD game and deserves to be played, after all, it is responsible for the addition of MANY new RPG players. The problem with this is that it is their first game and if they haven't played an RPG before, 3D will become their only type, and for this many good 2D RPGs will be punished because of their lack of visual flair. But these are minor if small distractions to the overall beauty of this game, no RPG fan or Playstation owner should be without Final Fantasy 7.