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Um...since when is it a story line's job to "make sense"? I know of PLENTY of amazing stories that make you think. On that note, FFVII's plot DOES make sense, you just have to think it out, which MAKES it great. It makes you work and re-play and wonder. That's what all the FF's do(except for VIII, that game truly sucked)

"While a good storyline is fine making sense, Final Fantasy 7's uses twists and turns in subplots. Think of the plot like a new world. Each character is very well developed and each has a complex story behind who they are now. The confusion involved makes it a little hard to understand, but you appreciate it more when you understand it, due to all of the subtle details in the game and it's affiliated products. Dirge of Cerberus, for example goes into greater detail about Vincent Valentine's tragic past, Crisis Core goes over the crisis 5 years ago...Even if the game itself was confusing, the storyline still flows well, because it's all there if you know where to look. Whether it's finding the hidden secrets in the game, or simply watching or playing the affiliations...The storyline is fantastic.
It effectively moves the player and creates emotions between the user and the characters within the game. Which, gets the user more involved and creates a bond. Self explanatory.
As to your complaint about open interpretations, this method is often used to let the user get what they want out of the storyline, and causes excellent discussions, if of course, debates are held between those who know how thold one. But regardless, you'll see open interpretations in many books, which may not satisfy as one that wraps up nice and neatly, but, that's very hard to do when a plot gets sophisticated and involved, and this storyline does not support a neat, happy ending. The people in that world live in a tragic world, which would completely go against a happy ending...
If you'll take a look at all the material presented, it's not even as open ended as you would think, because the affiliated products, leave a bit less to imagination. Assumptions can be made, but assuming is always a horrible thing to do. And no one can truly say "This has the best storyline ever" or what have you. That is merely an opinion, which may be debated upon. So do not say that it isn't or it is. It is simply a cherished story, in which a great deal of the populace agree on its excellence.

I'd have to say, I'm into stories with many plot holes. It leaves for alot of aloofness and discovery. Like for instance, urban legends. No one knows if Big Foot is real, or that a Tsuchinoko is a real animal, but we can always dream right? Stories with plot holes such as this give you sorta like an expressive way of looking at it. You eitehr believe it or you don't.

I wouldn't say it's the best storyline (A little Cliche at some points) but still, it was pretty good! A good plotline, though, is the show heroes! Excellent show!

Actually, you'll find many tried and true story elements in Final Fantasy VII's story that are the same as other RPGs. The folks at Square only spent about three years on the development on Final Fantasy VII, as they do with most other games (the average is about two or three years per game), so in that aspect it is no more special than others. It's the typical psychotic villian out to destroy all of humanity and become a god, with this and that in between. Not much different from other RPGs, so why is it so special?

It's presentation. Yeah, there are plot holes, and yeah, character development is rather lacking for some characters (Vincent and Yuffie come to mind, as well as loads of NPCs that play a larger role in the story than the average NPC). The way Final Fantasy VII's story was presented was so different from most games out there at the time that it was unique, that people played it for the refreshing experience. It's not the best storyline, but it's presentation is what makes it special to me.

If one just blindly goes about saying Final Fantasy VII or some other game has the best story line ever without giving proof or convincing evidence, then it can end up making the game be a letdown for players who were just recenty introduced to it. More often than not, I find myself playing FFVII more for the nostalgia value than anything else, although I do enjoy the story. However, I find it that games like Xenogears have a more intriguing and indepth storyline with far better development of character and plot than Final Fantasy VII. Not the best, since no game thus far (as far as I am aware of) has truly earned that title. Some are just better than others.

So in the end, it really comes down to presentation. You can take some of the most cliche story elements and turn it into something great if you can put the pieces together right, whereas you can have a fantastic original idea and fudge the whole thing up by failing to link all the necessary pieces together. Final Fantasy VII has some of the most well presented storylines of it's time, and shows how RPGs have come a long way since the first Final Fantasy.

All I have to say is that is a very Western interpretation of what a true "storyline" is.

I think that Final Fantasy 7 has the a very good story line because of there are many things going on at once which does not amke you bored like some other storylines

Well, isn't that why Square-Enix is churning out these sequels and prequels and anime films and cell-phone games?

I don't know if the story was meant to be so complex. I could believe it if someone from the FF VII production team admits the story kind of ran away with them. Good story, but much of it unfinished.

Though it does give huge license for the franchise to continue, it does get annoying to purchase stuff just to get the story line.