When one thinks of the RPG genre, the first name that comes to mind is Final Fantasy. In 20 years, the series went from an obscure title from a company on the brink of extinction to one of the most decorated franchises in video game history. Each iteration and spin off has introduced gamers to new worlds, characters and stories that have the ability to hook gamers time and time again. With the next game in the series, Final Fantasy XIII, quickly approaching, let's take a look back at the evolution of the series that put RPG's and Square on the map.

Heading into the new generation of gaming after the SNES and Sega Genesis eras, the landscape had changed dramatically. Many a company was trying to get into the video game market with varying success, but the most notable was Sony’s Playstation. After Sony’s deal to make a disc based add on for the SNES fell through, they proceeded to use the technology to produce their own system and directly compete with the company that left them high and dry. Ironically, Squaresoft had a falling out with Nintendo at around the same time, and needed to find a home for their much anticipated seventh game in the Final Fantasy series. Call it coincidence, or poetic justice, but Square decided that Sony’s new system would be perfect for the technology they were trying to implement into its new disc based gaming system, and as they say, the rest is history. Final Fantasy VII is easily the most recognized game in the series, and brought Square international success that surpassed nearly all expectations. Its groundbreaking graphics, use of full motion videos and one of the most imposing villains of all time not only helped solidify Square as a worldwide powerhouse in the gaming industry, but arguably made the Playstation brand what it is today.

After six games and almost ten years of classic 2D visuals, it was a huge departure for most players during the opening scenes of Aeris in the Midgar streets and Cloud arriving at a Mako reactor after hitching a ride on a train. These scenes are remembered so fondly since it introduced RPG gamers to Final Fantasy with new FMV and chibi style 3D graphics, not to mention the huge departure this futuristic city was compared to the kingdoms of the past. What proceeds is the story of Avalanche, a group led by Barrett Wallace. This team is in a desperate fight to sabotage the Shinra Corporation, a company using the planet’s life force as fuel to power their cities. At the start of the game, the group hires the former Soldier 1st Class, (Shinra’s personal elite warriors,) turned mercenary Cloud Strife. Along the journey, Cloud eventually meets Aeris, a flower girl living in the slums of the city. It turns out that she holds the key to an ancient civilization that can protect the planet, but it’s never that simple, especially when the legendary Soldier Sephiroth gets involved.

The world of Final Fantasy VII as well as the gameplay revolved around a type of crystal called Materia. Not only is it a prominent part of the story, but these orbs result in which abilities each character can learn. After equipping them into weapons and armor, constant use would level them up and even cause them to multiply, giving your party more copies to hand out. While each party member has their own individual stats that make them favorable for specific roles, Materia allowed you to make every character exactly what you want them to be. In a similar style to FFVI, every character can learn every magic or summon, but now they can also learn class specific abilities like steal. This expanded versatility somewhat took away from what made each character unique in previous games, with the exception of Limit Breaks. While FFVI had them, FFVII expanded on them, and gave each character a large amount of moves to use during these sequences. After taking enough damage over time, the limit meter would fill before each character could unleash a special attack that played more to their fighting styles. The biggest change for long time fans wound up being in the lineup. FFVII was the first game to restrict the gamer to using a three character party rather than the traditional four. Besides these features, the gameplay was mostly unchanged from the previous game, with the Active Time Battle System still in tact. Improved graphics during fights along with the music that perfectly set the tone for the new, futuristic world made the experience stand out more than the by the numbers play style, but there was much more to be seen as far as the visuals.

One of the keys of success that Square found with this seventh game was taking advantage of the new possibilities disc based games could bring. In classic Square fashion, they pushed the Playstation to places that had never been seen, especially with the large amount of full motion videos found throughout the game. Most of the major plot points were shown through beautiful, (at the time,) cut scenes that brought the characters to life like never before. It’s no surprise that the advertisements focused on these movies with virtually no actual gameplay footage, but they managed to attract a wide audience with the top notch presentation. Gamers and non-gamers alike couldn’t wait to see what this seemingly epic storyline was all about, and ushered RPG’s to the forefront, with longtime fans playing side by side with people who had never heard the words, “Role Playing Game.” Thinking back, you can’t imagine the game without these videos, which amplified the intensity of the story tenfold. Imagine the destruction of Nebilheim, or the death of Aeris without these scenes, and it’s just not the same. Being one of the first games to craft a cinematic masterpiece, it set the expectations for storytelling in gaming, and Square has been expected to deliver every time since, both within and outside of the Final Fantasy franchise.

Graphics weren’t only taken advantage of in cutscenes. FFVII was the first in the series to use pre-rendered backgrounds which gave the environments a more realistic look. The additional power also allowed the developers to add more involved side missions into the game, from the addicting Gold Saucer theme park to the motorcycle and snowboarding mini games. Each one provided a nice break from level grinding and kept things lighthearted in the overall gloomy story. While speaking of FFVII, the expanded use of Chocobos has to be mentioned. One of the side missions allowed players to catch, raise and breed their own birds, giving them different traits both in races and in the environment. Their involvement went as far as being necessary to obtain some of the strongest abilities in the game, which were all big helps considering the threat this party had to face.

A story is usually only as good as the goal the heroes are chasing, and part of the reason FFVII is so fondly remembered is the ultimate goal of stopping Sephiroth. Unlike Kefka who became progressively stronger, Sephiroth is considered a legend from the start. A mysterious Soldier 1st class with power that was unrivaled, it’s revealed that after being driven insane by discovering his true origins, he seeks to destroy the world to return it to Jenova, an alien being that he feels is the world’s rightful ruler. The struggle to overcome his immense strength is a constant motivation, and is intertwined with Cloud’s search for self discovery. The story shifts from a fight against Shinra to a joint offensive against the new, larger threat, but it might already be too late. Because of scenes where he brainwashes Cloud, the infamous death of Aeris and the final fight where he drops the sun on your party, Sephiroth has become more iconic to the game than any of the main characters. Of course, it helps when you have a song that constantly repeats your name.

It may be true that there weren’t many gameplay innovations to speak of, (unless you consider summonings that could last several minutes innovative,) Final Fantasy VII is so enduring because of the impact it had on the entire gaming world. Characters like Cloud’s childhood friend Tifa, the rocket scientist Cid and the enigmatic Vincent only fueled the need to play, and many gamers continued on just to see the next FMV. Accessible mechanics and a cinematic focus turned curious passer-by’s into lifelong gamers, which is fully embraced with the large amount of spinoffs this game has received. FFVII set the trend of storytelling in video games that most still follow today, but the story of the Final Fantasy series, as well as the Playstation, was far from over.