Killua125 wrote:
Xoie wrote:
Ostia wrote:
FFVII was not the best RPG to have touched a PS1, Xenogears is far better, so is Star Ocean 2 or Suikoden. FFVII was the flagship title of the PS1, sony alone poured over a million dollars in advertisement, SE put so much money on the game, that if it had failed, they would have been bankrupt, you can put any Squaresoft title relased on the PS1 timeline, and replace it with VII, and it would have been the same success, FFVII was an OK rpg, it was an upgraded graphic version of VI, with a stupid storyline on it, that is what VII was.
Most people can't name a character from Xenogears or Star Ocean (any of them really) or Suikoden. (Don't worry Ostia, I'm sure you can, and I'm sure you can even Google the ones you can't... it's not the point).
But Cloud, Septhiroth, Tifa, and Aerith are still popular icons to this day. I still see them show up in popular art or cosplay, and they're instantly recognizable in a way that the characters from the other series are not. I think FFVII left its mark on gaming culture a lot more than most games ever will, and that's really where you can tell the difference with which of these games were legendary and which were simply good. You don't find the answer in sales numbers, it's in who remembers the experience and for how long.
He wasn't talking about popularity. He was talking about his perceived quality of the game.
People use this example a lot, but Justin Bieber is one of the most recognizable artists in the world but not necessarily 'the best', and that could also apply to Final Fantasy (VII) and other RPGs. So, just because a lot of people haven't played Suikoden II on the PS1 doesn't necessarily mean that Final Fantasy VII is better, just because people know the names Cloud, Sephiroth, Tifa, etc.
Well, however you want to define it, FF7 is a game that means more to more people than those other games. I can think of a dozen fighting games better than Street Fighter 2, but I can't think of one that had a bigger impact culturally. I can think of dozens of action RPGs which are objectively better than the original legend of zelda, but none that had a bigger impact. These aren't just games, they're games that launched brands. Xenogears was great but no one is waiting for Xenogears online. FF7 launched the final fantasy franchise into the mainstream consciousness, even though the series had a loyal fanbase years before that.
Probably a better comparison than Justin Bieber is Nirvana. A band which is, possibly, not even the best band in their own genre in their own time, but which is indelibly etched into the culture, and will always be the quintessential "grunge" band.
There's "best" if that can be objectively talked about, and there's "popular" but there's also "important." FF7 was "important" in a way that those other RPGs weren't.
And by the way, if you really think what separated games like ff7 or wow from their contemporaries is just marketing then you aren't perceptive enough to offer a sophisticated opinion on the subject. You may want to take a look at how those games broke new ground mechanically and in presentation. They weren't just "good" games, they were unprecedented games.
Edited, Jul 1st 2013 2:35am by KarlHungis 
This notion that Xenogears and FFVII where different types of games is BS! They are both J-RPG, is not like i am comparing a shooter with an adventure game.... 
FFVII was successful, there is no denying that, but it success was not because it was the greatest RPG to have ever blessed a gaming console, it was because it had both Sony and SE PR departments behind it, there where tons of ads on tv, on magazines, on coca cola or was it pepsi ? Was VII better than any RPG before it ? No! Was it better than any rpg after it ? No! So is not the best RPG of all time, not even in the top 5, was it a good solid RPG ? Yes it was, it was a title that was released at the right time, when the Ps1 was blowing every other console out of the water in terms of sales, it was their flagship title, is not surprising it sold so many copies. 
But it was not the greatest game ever created, nor does my nostalgia for it, does not blind me as for why it sold so good, many people around here, put down WOW because "Oh people only play that game, because other people play that Game" Can that apply to VII ? Owning FFVII back then was the cool thing to do, just like playing WOW was the cool thing to do once upon a time. There are many factors as to why the game was so successful, but to narrow it down to just "It was the greatest RPG" its silly.