Final Fantasy VII is easilly the best RPG I have ever played, and in terms of games in general, had a design that was just literally out of this world. One of the first games developed with a multi-million dollar budget, and one of the first to make effective and *not annoying* use of pre-rendered video. It tells an engaging story that's worth revisiting multiple times and has many elements that are open to interpretation, or that aren't obvious at all until heavily thought about. I loved the materia mechanic, and the great summons. One fault is that it's really really easy once you have an even mild understanding of its mechanics. Once you can game them actively, it's an absolute breeze. Fortunately, it's easy to invent your own challenges in a game this huge.