HMM WHAT DOES THIS SAY..

By the time I got around to playing FF7 for the first time, I had been hearing about how godly it was, the greatest game ever made, etc. I couldn't stand it. Yes, the battle system is dull, and by that point I had already found the Tales of... series, and they have the best battle system in an rpg that I've ever found. Aside from that, the biggest problem with the actual gameplay of FF7 that was a problem with me was there were TOO many battles. And when you just click circle and you win... it gets dull. Step, step, battle. Win battle. Step, step battle.

Battles weren't random... they were on every 3rd step. Which was painful to me.

Aside from that, the characters were bland, the story was over-rated, and Cloud was the original emo.

It's funny, because two games in the 90's were hailed as the greatest ever made. FF7 and Ocarina of Time. I'd be more inclined to say that OoT WAS at the time the best made. There may be better by now, but who knows.

Hmm. Hard to say since I don't really consider any RPG to be the best of all time, I like many for many different reasons. However if I had to fit FF7 in there, I'd have to say it's pretty darn high. I think you'll find that many of the most popular games are considered "easy." Easy adds to its appeal for a broader audience (my wife wouldn't have played and beaten the game, I'm sure, had it been difficult, as an example).

But it's only as easy as you want it to be, though you probably have to go out of your way to make the game challenging, setting arbitrary rules such as no limit breaks, etc. Sure, battles are numerous, but I think you can get towards endgame by the 40's if you juggle properly and know where you're going, maybe even the 30's (someone might know better than I, I never did it). It's well built to provide a natural flow for RPG newcomers while giving glory seekers the opportunity to challenge themselves.

It's a VERY solid game. They followed the ATB formula they'd already established, and provided an easy to use but comprehensive character enhancement mechanic. Add to that a good, solid story, tons of high-quality side content, good music...it's just a great game. It epitomizes what I love about this style of game: slightly de-emphasized gameplay (in that the system is easy to learn and use, not how many battles there are) to allow integrated flow with the story.

In summary: The game not being difficult, I strongly believe, is the point, and Sakaguchi/Squenix knew the point well. It might not age well as a result, but it sure did a hell of a job when it first came out.

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My favorite Tales game was on the gamecube. Tales of Symphonia. I beat that game like 5 times it was so great.

That was the first one I played, and it's in my top 5 favourite games of all time. Tales of the Abyss was also very good.