Source: PSM – Number 1 – September 1997
Sears stopped selling video games a few years back but they had a very long history of selling video games before that. Starting in the late 1970s they had their own Sears branded version of the Atari VCS/2600 and sold some Atari 2600 games under their Telegames brand. I remember buying games for my Commodore 64 at Sears in the late 1980s. This particular ad is from 1997 and includes a $10 off coupon and a free t-shirt when buying Final Fantasy VII.
Final Fantasy VII, released in 1997, is widely regarded as the best in this very long running Japanese RPG series. It was the first Final Fantasy game to be CD based, the first to use 3D graphics, and the first to make use of full motion video. The gameplay itself was not significantly different than previous entries in the series but why mess with a good thing. It’s pretty straightforward with three main views: world map mode (a view of the entire world), field mode (a more detailed view of your current area), and battle mode (turn-based combat).
This game had a fairly long development cycle. Development was actually started on the Super Nintendo and experimentation was done on a number of platforms before Squaresoft settled on the PlayStation. When it was finally released it was to massive critical and commercial success. A good thing too since this game had a total budget of over $80 million dollars, a pretty insane amount for a game at that time. Final Fantasy VII ultimately sold over 11 million copies.
This game has had a number of re-releases so you aren’t restricted to playing on the PS1. In 2009 it was released on the PlayStation Network for the PS3 and PSP with support for the Vita coming later. A PC version was released originally in 1998 but an updated version for more modern versions of Windows and with high resolution support was released in 2012. iOS and Android versions eventually followed in 2015 and 2016 respectively. Also, the newer PC version was ported and released for the PlayStation 4 at the end of 2015.
I have only ever played the original on the PS1. While I still like more traditional turn based RPGs (like the old AD&D gold box series or Baldur’s Gate), Final Fantasy VII does a great job creating an amazing world and incredible atmosphere. It’s a game I enjoyed greatly and while I don’t doubt the newest version has unbelievable graphics, there’s really nothing wrong with the original game. Play it if you haven’t…you’ll enjoy it.
