I'll never forget the day I found this gem at the one and only (and non existent) USA Game Exchange in Lawrenceburg Kentucky. That store was next to what was at one time a historic pharmacy turned upscale shoe store then eventually back to a pharmacy and it was my first. I traded many games there and could never forget the look on Sam's face when I explained that even though we had traded all of our Xbox games and even the console away, we still were quite far from owning a Wii. One of my top 5's, I really think it's the nostalgia goggles, this was my intro to the Final Fantasy series and at that point was by far the most graphically and mechanically impressive software I had ever seen on the PSP. Turn based combat just never appealed to me (until now when gaming is more of a passive hobby) so at the time, the real time strategy system mixed with the cyber fantasy setting of Midgar and beyond totally drew me in. I can be the first to admit that it has issues with grind and especially with power walls that just crush you as a way of forcing you into the missions system. Unfortunately the missions system works more like a separate, lesser version of the main game. You have the same access to weapons and abilities, the same type of combat and foes, but you are limited to walking around on predetermined tilesets (meaning repeat missions get VERY repetitive) and fighting mostly hordes of lower enemies to progress to a boss fight at the end. This gives you a great chance to farm boss materials and additional items to help you out in the main story mode play. The story is as incredible as always although I feel like this particular point in the series (6,7,8 generally speaking) captures people due to the way it hits all the highlights of the setting without getting lost in the details. Even the original 7 with its monumental play times dwarfs the actual narrative with raw game hours. This feels like the perfect bite sized entry into the main line series although it works much better with the remakes creating a more cohesive artistic vision through the two games, crisis core and 7. The story was incredible even for someone who knew nothing about Final Fantasy other than the Blue Mage being used in the Wiz's graffiti and Cloud being the dude in Kingdom Hearts. That alone makes it amazing in my eyes, 7 also does well by kind of breaking the narrative to circle back around, welcoming new and old players alike. The story is mostly told through cutscenes, and seemingly pre-rendered ones at that but they look gorgeous, the pacing, dialogue and writing speaks volumes to the time Square Enix has had to refine the Final Fantasy style of story. The protagonist feels grounded and relatable, although for some might come across as saccharine, personally that's par for the Square Enix course at this point. Much like Cloud and Tidus, Zack has a very golden boy attitude that carries him through much of the plot. Unlike Cloud, however, there is much less moody brewing and much more action and reaction. Zack can come across as immature at times, throwing fits over small injustices or complaining loudly at the sight of extra responsibility but when push comes to shove he's gonna rally the squad and lead the charge rather than push everyone away to go on some hero or zero suicide mission....like Cloud. The direct contrasts don't end there though, you meet Cloud as a hesitant and and newly defected member of the Shinra organization, yet Zack is a card carrying SOLDIER member, immediately shocking you with his inundation into daily life serving Shinra. Through Cloud's eyes you see the monumentality of the corporation and slowly through the story become powerful enough to truly challenge it. Through Zack's eyes you see the hope that came first, the promise and vision of a world delivered from suffering through massive technological advancements. You can see the way that a young, underprivileged kid from the country could grow up idolizing the shiny city, the broad SOLDIERS with glowing blue eyes and enhanced bodies. This is slowly shattered as Zack comes to realize that the people he perceived to be his allies were actually just his coworkers. Where he is concerned with the black and white morality of an objectivist world, he sees Sephiroth, Angeal, and even Genesis grapple with a wider and more gray understanding of the world than he is capable of seeing. The story mainly follows Zack and this journey of self actualization, of breaking from what you thought was the pinnacle of your existence and embracing the ability to do what you can no matter the cost. I feel the game plays well with the themes of moralistic integrity, of developing a set of beliefs that inform how you interact with the world, then changing it, re-evaluating the world around you through the eyes of others. Zack is shown to be reluctant to accept the reality that there are no "good guys" there's just good people who do good things, often to their own detriment. To me the story kinda fizzles out towards the end, with Zack engaging in a somewhat pointless last stand as SOLDIER closes in on what is now an AWOL employee. He is thoughtlessly gunned down seemingly just to line up the continuity to 7 where Cloud ties his and Zack's identity together and has several mental breakdowns as the continuity between the two is torn. All in all the story delivers fantastically, being an absolute thrillride for myself and I'm sure with lots of fun references for long time Final Fantasy players. The game offers some new ideas to the combat that I adore, the first being Materia Fusion, allowing tons more combinations and interesting effects derived from the almost unlimited fusions and effects available. I believe this is similar to the materia orb system from FFX but I'm not sure if there's developmental crossover. The other major system is the DMW, a kind of slots reward where during battle the slots spin and when they line up with different characters from the story, buffs are applied. There's no downside and it's unlikely you would ever need to rely on these effects to win a battle but the free buffs sure can help you feel like there's still a chance when you're getting beat pretty bad. The games is one of the only games I've ever replayed and I'd very much like the chance to play through the remake but it seems there are some changes made to the narrative that I'm not fond of.