Final Fantasy Football:NFL 07

This year's cover players are Phil Simms and son Chris.

Final Fantasy Football is a long-running series of video games based on the popular sport of American football. Though Final Fantasy Football: NFL 07 appears at face-value to be the 7th installment in the series, in actuality it's the 29th football game with the “Final Fantasy” title on it, as they are listed by year and many were made in the last century, a special college version has been released each year since 1995, a special Tactics version has been released for the last year, and other versions have been tried by SquarEA as different trends have come and gone (including the famously bad XFL version). Throughout these years, however, the NFL version has always sold the best.

Gameplay

As always, gameplay has been completely reinvented for this year's triple F. In this year's version: players are again treated to a unique combination of sports with role playing aspects (carried over from last year). This year's “job system” allows for players to take on certain roles or “jobs” for their teams. For example, if the quarterback holds the job “game manager”, he can build it up to receive bonuses to his 3rd down completion percentage. He can then switch to the “captain comeback” job and build up bonuses for the 4th quarter. There are limits to what jobs can be placed in each equipment slot. A feature that has long been retained is the “equipment bonuses”, where a player can sign a large contract with a major sporting goods company and acquire special gear that gives bonuses to his stats (shoes that make you faster, gloves that keep you from fumbling, etc). Another new feature is the “limit break”, where if a player plays while fatigued, he can perform special moves that, when they work, will help them break a large gain (but if they don't, can cause a turnover or injury).

Blitzing

By far, Blitzing is the most complicated procedure in the game. Only players with giant claws for hands can do it. Each player who Blitzes the quarterback must first input a long series of commands. If they fail, the quarterback will almost always get the first down. Several middle linebacker Blitzes, such as Pummel, almost never fail, while the most complicated Blitz, Bum Passrush, Blitzes a safety and both corners, but will guarantee a sack if successfully executed.

All-Zeromus mode

If the CPU is set on All-Zeromus mode, there is almost no way to win. Almost every turn, the Zeromus Lunarians, led by Ray Lewis, use their Big Bang attack to guarantee a sack.

Character Creation

Another feature is the ability to create your own character and give him his own unique look. Choose one of the 256 hair color options. Will he have long flowing locks or spikey hair? Will he wear gloves or have a giant machine gun for a hand? Will he carry an impossibly enormous sword on his back or just have one huge angel wing growing out of it? The choice is yours!

Hall of Famers are unlockable in this version, including Cleveland Browns great Jim Brown.

Superstar mode

A special mode that was introduced last year to jeers has been brought back for this year's triple F: the dubious Superstar mode. This version however is different, according to SquarEA, in that you only have to worry about leveling up your own player. Play on the field, while it affects bonuses and leveling up, won't be essential to this year's product, as walking around in the “world” holds a much more important role. In this year's superstar mode, players still practice plays and moves like a real NFL player, but they can also interact with NPCs and advance through a “story mode” where they must overcome adversity and save the world, all in the process of finally becoming a Hall of Fame player. While admittedly this mode is “not for everyone”, it does help add overall value to the title.

Final Fantasy mode

This has long been regarded as the weakest point visually in the series, but adds value to players that want to relate the “real world” to their gaming experience. In this mode, players join in an online “league” and pick players from real teams to get points for a matchup. These matchups are played online, in real time, based on the statistical performances of the players. When asked how this is different from normal “Fantasy Football”, triple F producer Yasumi Matsuno stated simply “This has summons” and would not elaborate.