Final Fantasy VII

Square Enix (known as Squaresoft in the days) is the company known for probably the best RPG series ever, and being such a genius company, Square Enix also made really good, non-RPG games. But let's get back to the RPG, shall we?

Square Enix, or Squaresoft back in the days, were responsible for Final Fantasy, an RPG series that made the words "quality" and "goodness" pop up in gamers' heads.
Each FF game had a great story, soundtrack and unique RPG elements. But what was really that stepping stone to glory for the series was Final Fantasy VII, hands down.

One reason: It was unique. It had a quantum leap in the series' theme. Although the story still had that basic RPG theme (save the world from doom), it isn't that simple. The technology present in FFVII's world is new in the series and generally in all RPGs. The story, basically, starts simply like this: A rebel group plans to take the company, ShinRa, down, because of all the damage they've caused in their city, Midgar. Cloud Strife, a former ShinRa SOLDIER, has joined the group. They disable the Sector 7 Tower, but risked the lives of many, including the three members of AVALANCHE, the rebel group. From that on, the story goes.

Graphically, FFVII is great, if you look at the 1997 gamer's point of view. It was the first RPG to utilize a 3D graphics engine, using pre-rendered backgrounds (similar to Resident Evils 1-3) and fully 3D characters. At that time, it looked great. Fantastic. And so, that made people interested enough to try the game.

For those who aren't easily swayed by visuals, but love a good story and intelligent gameplay, FFVII still has it. The story (though badly described by me) is very excellent, and not just one of the crummy, poser RPGs with stories that are simply the "out-to-save-the-world" concept and that all. The gameplay is no joke either. The battle system, the world map and other stuff are too much to elaborately describe here. But since I am writing this, well, here it is.

There is the great battle system and world maps. Basically, you yourself run in the world, and you don't point-and-click in areas. You yourself will go there, personally. There are various other stuff, like Limit Breaks (in battle), minigames and the like. One real winner is the Materia system, which enables you to mix-n-match magic orbs called Materia (which possess magical properties) to create your own "new" magic, be it casting 'Cure' on the whole party or casting a final summon when you die.

If you're the music-is-my-thang type, FFVII's got a real good batch of music tracks. From the catchy beat of the Chocobo theme to the suspenseful One-Winged Angel (Sephiroth's theme), FFVII's got a great selection of music.

The replayability is unquestionable. It is great enough to play again after finishing it, but another reason is because you've probably missed a terrible lot of stuff after finishing it the first time. And I bet it is possible you did.

Well, to summarize it, Final Fantasy VII may very well be the best RPG to date. It is, in my book.