Final Fantasy 7 has to be the best game ever as of '97! This game introduces the materia system. You can equip materia in weapons and armor to be able to use special commands and powers. You have to play the game to understand it. This game also reintroduces Lufia 2's idea of IP, twisted it around a little, and now uses it as "Limit Breaks". The plot is wonderful, even though it can be difficult to understand at times.

The greedy company, Shinra, is using machines to suck Mako energy out of the planet. Mako energy is a processed form of spirit energy. Whenever someone is born, spirit energy is used to make that person. Whenever someone dies, the spirit energy is returned to the planet, diffused into the Lifestream, and is eventually used in another life. It is also what allows planets to exist. How Shinra is using Mako Energy, for money and power, the energy cannot achieve its true purpose. The small group called AVALANCHE is trying to stop Shinra, to save the planet. Shinra has already made a city that relies on Mako, it's name is Midgar...

Midgar is a place where there are slums along with big commercial districts. There are no names for each of the sectors, they are just each given a number. It is said that no flowers grow in Midgar. Now, AVALANCHE has to stop Shinra from using too much energy, until the planet becomes no more. But Shinra isn't the only bad guy...

Many years ago before Shinra known of Mako energy, Professor Gast of Shinra discovered a being from the sky, Jenova. Later, Professor Hojo used Jenova's cells to try to make human clones with the knowledge of Jenova. He injected Jenova cells into the womb of a boy to be named Sephiroth. While he was doing this, Hojo created monsters from Jenova's cells and Mako energy. Sephiroth became a member of SOLDIER, first class. SOLDIER is a division of Shinra. He later discovered that Jenova was his true mother, went mad, and let her free, burning down a town called Nibelheim. He died then, but he never completely returned to the planet. And now he is trying the find the Promised Land...

The rightful heirs to this planet were the Ancients, who called themselves the Cetra. They had the powers to speak to the planet. The came to this planet, searching for the Promised Land, a sacred place. They just keep searching until they just know, this is the Promised Land. Then came others who told them to give up their journey. Slowly, the Cetra died off, until now when there are only few of them.

During this game you will hear more about the Ancients, SOLDIER, AVALANCHE, Sephiroth, Shinra, Professor Hojo, and even more.

I have a Tips & Tricks and an Enemy Skills and Materia Combos sections to help you out on the game.

Characters:

• Cloud Strife - A former member of SOLDIER. He quit when he realized that Shinra was making monsters. After that, he became a mercenary, doing anything for money. It was then he found a job at AVALANCHE. During the game he cares more about the planet, because of the Mako energy being sucked from it. However, he doesn't understand himself and he can't remember everything from his past. He is a great fighter and a good materia user. His Limit Breaks are the best. Throughout the game you should keep him equipped with Restore-All. Cloud fights with swords.
• Barret Wallace - The leader of AVALANCHE. He left his hometown, North Corel, after it burnt down and he was blamed. He now is in Midgar, blowing up Mako Reactors for the planet. Barret thinks he is "all that." He also has a daughter, named Marlene, whom he cares a lot about. He is a good fighter that shouldn't be equipped with too much materia. His Limit Breaks are great once you bring them up to higher levels. Barret fights with a machine gun on his arm.
• Tifa Lockheart - A childhood friend of Cloud. She is one of the main members of AVALANCHE, and she was the one that told Cloud about the AVALANCHE. She hopped he would go for the job so she can watch him. She doesn't understand what is wrong with him. It seems she has a secret crush on him, but despite that, she is a tough lady. She also owns the bar, 7th Heaven in Sector 7. Her attacks are fairly weak, but she is OK with materia. Her Limit Breaks are some of the best. Instead of using one at a time Limit Break, she uses a chain of them. Tifa fights with her fists.
• Aeris Gainsborough - A flower girl from Midgar. She is the last remaining Ancient. You find her when Cloud, er, drops by a church. Aeris is kind and pretty. She is deeply interested in the deeping love triangle between her, Cloud, and Tifa (this is not a threesome!). Her real mother left her with another woman whom she has lived with for years. As an Ancient she can hear and speak to the planet, although in her childhood, she wouldn't admit it. Shinra has always been after her. Her attacking capability is poor, but she is the closest person this game has to a magic user. Her Limit Breaks are almost vital to help heal you in important battles. She attacks with staffs.
• Red XII - A member of a wolf-like endanged species. He is very ferocious, but underneath all that is an intelligence far greater than that of a normal human's. You first see him in Midgar, as one of Hojo's experiments. Red XII, whose real name is Nanaki, escapes, with you from Hojo. He lives in Cosmo Canyon with his wise, yet weird grandfather, Bugenhagen (but for the life of me, I don't know why Bugenhagen is human). Red XII is 48, but because of his incredibly long longevity, he is 16 or 17 in human years. His attacks are so-so, and he is pretty good with materia. His Limit Breaks are OK, but you may not find them very helpful. His weapon is the clip.
• Cait Sith - A fortune teller that is a cat on top of a stuffed moogle. He joins the party to see if his prediction will come true. Ever since the beginning something seems suspicous about him. More background info on him would be too much of a spoiler. His attacks are weak, but he is a good materia user. He has only two Limit Breaks, but they can be powerful. In the first one, he rolls a certain amount of dice (the more you use this Limit Break, the more dice) and damage is dealt to an enemy equal to the roll of the dice times 100 (if you get doubles, the damage is doubled). His second is a slots effect, which does something depending on the spin of the slots. He yells his attacks from a Megaphone.
• Cid Highwind - A pilot who gets frusturated a lot. Cid was orginally suposed to be the first man in space via a Shinra Rocket (before they discovered Mako). However, because of a woman named Shira (looks a lot like Shinra, doesn't it? :-) he had to hit the Emergency Stop to save her life. He now spends his time in the leaning rocket. His most prized possession is his plane, the Tiny Bronco. He is an awesome fighter with OK materia usage. His Limit Breaks can do tons of damage. He attacks with a spear.

• Yuffie Kisaragi - A 18-year-old materia thief. You may find her any forest in a random enemy battle, her name being "Mysterious Ninja." After you win the battle, say you don't want to fight her again, you were "......petrified" of her (although you probably weren't), ask her to "wait a minute", and then "let's move along". She orginally comes to Wutai, but if you take her there, she will steal all your materia. Don't worry, you can get the materia back and get more powerful weapons. She is rather cocky. Her bark is bigger than her bite. Not much else to say about her... She is OK as a fighter and great as a materia user. Her Limit Breaks are OK, but not as powerful as most of the others'. Her weapons are the 4-Point Shuriken, as well as some other long range weapons.
• Vincent Valentine - A mysterious man in a black cape. You can find him in the mansion in Nibelheim. First you must find the four numbers for the lock. Then, enter the numbers on the lock in the order that they are in, you have 20 seconds to do this (don't worry, you can try again). After that you will fight Lost Number. Now take the key from the safe (as well as the Odin Materia and Cosmo Memory) and go downstairs through the secret compartment. Talk to Vincent and he will say his story, talk to him about Sephiroth. When he is finished talking, talk to him again and ask for his name. Now go into the library and talk to Sephiroth if you haven't already. As you start to leave the mansion, Vincent will join you. He is a former Turk, donning a black cape. He is cold and mysterious. IMHO, to say more about his background would spoil the game. He is a good fighter and OK with materia. You can keep him in the back ranks without any loss in attack power. His Limit Breaks are awesome. For those, he morphs into a creature and uses one of two powerful attacks. This is not always reliable go, because he also goes Beserk with this. His weapon is the gun.

+ The best graphics and music. Any RPG lover will go MAD over this game! Wonderful plot. For the first time player, there is plenty of suspense. It is a cheap game (in comparison to Nintendo games). The game only uses 1 block of memory. There are many fun things to do in the Gold Saucer, even after you beat the game. The new materia system is wonderful, not to mention orginal. Some people may find it easy to go from a SNES to this game as far as contoller functions go (Example: The X button on the PSX is in the same position and has the same function as the B button on the SNES Final Fantasy games).

- The plot may be difficult to understand at times (I still don't understand it all, and I played it 3 times!) Some people may find it too linear. If you try to do too many functions at once, it may become slow. The infamous SNES vs. PSX argument may affect your decision to buy this. It is too easy to accidently save over another file, because the save/load option is always defaulted at slot one, instead of the last one saved/loaded on (I know why this is, so don't tell me the reason). Rearranging materia and accesories can become annoying to some people. The game lacks the "de-equip all characters" and "optimize" options.

Here are the points I give this game...

Category	Points (1-5)
Graphics	4.0
Sound & Music	5.0
Play Control	3.75
Challenge	3.5
Theme & Fun	4.5

What do I say? Definitely worth the dough. If you have a PSX, then buy it! (Otherwise, get the PC version.)