Back in the year 2001 my older brother bought a used PS1 system from a friend of his that didn't really play games. With the PS1 he got a large cardboard box with mostly demo games, but among the games was Final Fantasy VII. Finding that game would come to mark my birth as a gamer.
 Since then I have had over 600 hours in the game and I think I should be able to make a review now.

Sound: The first thing you experience when you play Final Fantasy VII is the prelude that plays before the main menu. Video game music at the time wasn't really something you noticed, but this time it was breathtaking. The audio contrary to other PS1 titles at the time was played on MIDI-files, but that doesn't seem to have affected the quality of the tunes. The soundtrack with its 46 tunes fits the environment they are played in and is in my opinion one of the better things about the game.

Graphics: Final Fantasy VII was the first Final Fantasy game to use 3D-graphics on their characters. This meant you had characters that could turn around in all directions. Combining the 3D-characters with the static backgrounds really helped with the immersion in the game compared to earlier titles. The main problem with graphics at the time was that from time to time the characters felt kinda choppy, but with the stunning environment pictured in the backgrounds it was easy to ignore and overall it made the game more enjoyable. There was spared no expense in the battle sequences either. With fully animated attacks you as the player could really enjoy the battle, be it spamming attack to see the sword swing or magic for the shiny light or my personal favorite summoning for the cool monsters.

Story: The story follows Cloud, former SOLDIER now mercenary, working with the terrorist group AVALANCHE as they are attacking a MAKO-reactor. Initially he is just in it for the money, but as his missions with AVALANCHE continues he gets confronted by his past and have to go on a journey to hunt down his former idol Sephiroth. The game is 20 years old, but I will refrain from saying more in case someone still hasn't played it. The story is really captivating and you spend major parts of the first disc waiting for Clouds story to be unveiled. With some plot twists here and there and some fun quirks especially in the SHINRA mansion and at the church in Midgar you as the player will be fully able to enjoy the game
 
Addictiveness: The games visuals, sounds and story would be enough to keep one addicted, but it doesn't stop there. The battle system implemented the ATB-gauge ATB being Active Time Battle. This gave the enemies an attack bar filling with time and made the battles seem more alive. You had to actively pay attention while playing if you wanted to avoid being killed additionally there was the graphics mentioned earlier making the battles gorgeous and the game really hard to put down. On several occasions did I forget the time because I was so immersed in the game.

Depth: The game is really long spanning over 3 discs with lots of side quests, minigames, secrets. Combined with a level cap at 99 and the materia leveling system you are in for several hundred hours of fun.

Difficulty: The only problem I have with the game is the difficulty. With an high amount of random battles and overpowered melee stats I spent more time in battles bashing the attack button than anything else. There are four battles that makes up for that though: The final boss at disc2, the final boss in the game and the two optional superbosses Emerald and Ruby WEAPON which was so hard that it felt like an achievement to beat them.

All in all the game is visually and audibly appealing and the battle system fun if only a little easy to master.