Alright, anyone who knows ole' Toshi knew this was coming... What can I say? I LOVED this game. Absolutely everything about it, from the materia to the WEAPON battles. Hell I even enjoyed Chocobo breeding. However, today I step out of fan-nerd and put on my critic hat as we review...Final Fantasy VII!

Many people argue about whether or not this game is the best in the series, I myself being on almost all sides of the debate. (I can't think of this game as terrible no matter how hard I try, sorry kiddos.) So, without further ado my friends, lets... Review!

Graphics: 8
Okay, so since this was the first PSX (Playstation) Final Fantasy, it was also the first three dimensional Final Fantasy... We all know errors are going to be made with the first of anything, that's just how it works. However, despite some minor glitches in the game, (e.g. Vincent's leg sticking in the air in the Forgotten Capitol.) The graphics weren't terrible for it's time... And in combat everything looked really cool. The summons, the spells, the characters in battle, the enemies. I personally think for a first attempt the game had really nice graphics, only reason it's a perfect ten is because of the field sprites, which looked like colored polygons. (I think that's what they actually used Toshi...) So, with all of these factors, Toshi has to give the graphics an 8/10.... Fair enough right? I think so... Moving on then...

Sound:10
So over the years, Nobou Uematsu has made some killer music to accompany the Final Fantasy games, and he hit a home run with seven. The music in this game will immerse you in the Gaia, the world of Final Fantasy VII. I mean everything from the Melancholic Themes of the Corel Prison to the ominous yet chilling J.E.N.O.V.A. battle themes were so epic, I couldn't put this game down. Heck, even the less important tracks of this game were memorably beautiful. If you have never actually heard the OST (Original Sound Track, for those kiddo's who don't know what that means.) I seriously recommend looking the entire soundtrack up on youtube. Every song is worth it, trust me. So, with all of this to support my view, Toshi has to give sound the whopping 10/10.

Addictiveness: 7
So Final Fantasy Seven has an addictive factor of seven, (No pun intended.) why is that Toshi, you may ask. Well, between all the side-quests, mini-games, and just the pure fun it is to find and level up materia, it's really just some hardcore Final Fantasy fun. Any fan of any Final Fantasy will say it too. The series can be addicting. Personally, over the years I have beaten this game six different times, each time finding every item, materia, and limit break. The only reason why this is a seven and not a perfect ten is because I myself understand that not everyone will find this particular game addicting. So, with all of these factors added up Toshi has to give the addictiveness a solid 7/10.

Story: 10
So, this story is beautiful... Without giving away any nasty spoilers, the setting of this game is very awesome. The game takes place in a neo-steampunk setting, with a clash of old school swords and magic with the mix of machines and gun-play. But as everyone should know, every Final Fantasy game is supposed to have a theme to it. Seven's theme was life, and they did a very good job showing a sense of reality in such a fantasy setting. Now, what I mean by that is this; In this game there is this thing called the life-stream, a sort of heart and veins to the planet. But like I said, no nasty spoilers. To conclude this part of my review, the storyline to this game was just really... Epic, in my humble opinion. Toshi gives the Story a 10/10.

Depth: 10
Now, as I mentioned earlier with the chocobo breeding, the materia leveling and all the nifty side-quests, this game honestly had a LOT to offer to you, the player. I mean this game took up three discs on the Playstation. I mean three discs people! Seriously! THREE! Any-who, in those three discs, should you shoot for a perfect 100%, you would spend at least a good couple of weeks playing this game. That is, if you are like me and play for hours on end at a time, If you play only an hour or two here and there, this game could take you months to beat. With that in mind I can't help but give Depth a 10/10.

Difficulty: 8
Now, everyone's most controversial part of the review... the difficulty. Now, unless you are a Final Fantasy Veteran, like myself and many others out there, this game will bring the pain. I've logged in maybe sixty...maybe seventy thousand hours into this one game alone, and I even still die from time to time. Just goes to show you, even the best falter. Back to the point though, this game can be quite the challenge for the unprepared. Therefore Toshi shall give difficulty an 8/10.

Math time kiddo's!
Let's add up our scores...
8+10+7+10+10+8=53
Now 53 divided by 6 is... 8.8!

So overall this game get's an 8.8
Pretty fair in my opinion.

This has been your ole' pal 0X0toshi, if you have a comment or want a specific game review, just hit me up with a private message and I will get to you as soon as physically possible. Remember kiddo's, play hard!

Wow... that's how you decide on your overall rating? Creative, and very credible. I mean, it's not how I would do it, but that's because I smell at mathematics... ^^'

I have no idea if this is your first review, but I liked it anyway.

Gotta be original somehow, and not many people actually use math for this stuff heh ^-^

Man, I really loved this review. It really sums the game up for those who haven't played, and I really do not see any room to improve...you got all the good stuff right there!

I have been an absolute fan of Nobuo Uematsu, and Final Fantasy VII really solidified that spot of my favorite composers (ahem, John WIlliams, move aside). My favorite is Sephiroth's theme...one bad killer of a villainous theme. 

How hard was fighting Sephiroth for you, btw? He was dang hard for me lol. 

The materia wasn't bad...it was a little complicated...I never expected it when I first started playing, but then again, in comes the Sphere Grid in Final Fantasy X...woowee, what a lot of work. 

I look forward to any of your incoming reviews, for they sure will be a blast. Thanks for showing me this. 

Oh Sephy? Cakewalk... My strategy:

Cloud:
Weapon: Ultima Weapon
counter-mime mime-mime mime-mime mime-mime
ARMOR : Mystile
KotR-1mp Hp+-Mp+ final attack-pheonix

in other words... overkill!

0X0Toshi : very nice review i think everybody can agree on that because its really good game like you have been showing i think you did great

I use math for my review scores as well (or at least my recent reviews). Only difference is I use weighted scores, since some things are more important to me in a game. Like Addictiveness and story.

Now, I do have a minor gripe with your difficulty score. The game was pretty easy, and I wouldn't call myself an expert by any stretch of the imagination. I've played every Final Fantasy (except 11 and 14 because screw MMOs), sure, but I wouldn't say I'm great at them.

But getting back to what I was saying. I'm hardly an expert, and it only took me about 40-50 hours to finish the main quest and do some of the side missions. So you don't even need to grind a lot to stand a chance of beating the game unless your strategy is to push X to win. Then the difficulty might be more elevated, but that's a false difficulty that you impose on yourself.

If I have one last bit of advice for you, if you continue to use math in your reviews, it is to not use difficulty as one of the things you count for the final score. Not only is difficulty extremely subjective, but a game with a difficulty of 1 (like Pokemon) could get a lower score as a result of its simple by design nature. A lot of the most fun games for casual players are easy, and counting difficulty (or at least making it evenly weighed with other categories) is going to result in skewed overall scores.

Either way, it's a solid review, with a few minor gripes.

Great Review. I have been wanting to play Final Fantasy VII but I don't have the Playstation item and I can get to work on ePSXe. But it looks a great game though.

0X0Toshi : yay on your review good long review you did a great job keep up the work buddy

Great review for a great game. I hope to read more from you.