AeonGaidenRaiden
Member
I know this game made a huge splash back in the day but for the love of me I could never get into it simply because I never played JRPGs before...any RPG for that matter. I think my first and most fun introduction to the genre is KOTOR 1. So I got the game on the Switch and decided its a perfect title to play in a chill environment and see what all the fuss was about. I always say this to people and to myself now, you cant compare the impact of a game that came out so long ago with the gaming experience you have of today. If you weren't there for day one, you probably will never feel the same magic others did. So I went in, mainly for the story and hey a remake is coming out soon, when to play it if not now.
Disclaimer, you could say I cheated because I used all the functions of the newer release (3X speed, no random encounters, refillable HP). I wanted to experience the story because I always knew of Cloud, his huge sword, death of Aerith...yes I said Aerith because just last night I found out that is the correct name and not what most of us played as Aeris, Tifas huge tits and Sephiroth. I always hated random encounters once I got into RPGs. Last RE FF I played was FFX, I got almost to the very end and made a mistake of going in the wrong direction and it took me 4 hours to go back to square one. Not for me. Therefore I really managed to enjoy the story here as there was quite a few things I never knew about such as Cloud being a regular grunt and not SOLDIER, Hojo being Sephiroths dad etc. First of all I would like to congratulate all of you who played and finished this as kids. I have no clue what magic powers you guys have but I could not of done it without a guide at some points. Nowhere on the map does it say which is which city so unless you are a memory freak, you just have to keep entering villages until you figured out this is the one you wanted to visit. Second, the clues...fuck me if I could today at age 35 figure half the stuff out let alone when I was 12. That Ancient Key, even with a guide I didnt find it at first because that crack is so small in the underwater cave and easily missable.
The story starts off great, gets a bit bonkers towards towards the mid section with Cloud losing his mind, Tifa not sure about her memories etc but it kind of all came together in the end. I still had to watch on YT a FF7 analysis to be sure I understood what was happening. You all know and even me, biggest thing about this title was the death of Aerith. I think thats what FF7 is mostly know for. Now, obviously i have been "spoiled" this detail in the last 25 years but playing the game I actually never got the deep connection with her and why her death was such a big deal (besides being one fo rare games to kill off an important NPC). I had way more feelings with Tifa and felt she was much more important to my journey than some random flower girl. Like if Tifa died in the end, that would hit me hard. I know this is old skool jrpg style but just as with the names of the cities, I know there are sidequests in this game but its just all over the place and half-said that I didnt even know am I doing a SQ or im on the main story. Actually only once I finished the game I realized how many SQ there are but...while playing I never even found em or figured out its something I have to go and do outside the story.
Even tho so late, I could definitely see why this had such a huge impact. Story for one was a massive lore, even tho characters were kawaii blocky, I liked how they managed at times to mix a cutscene with in game models. Then when the cutscene stops, you could see a smaaaaaal change to tell you ok this is now gameplay map but still I could see how this blew peoples minds because it has a nice flow to it. In the end Im really happy I managed to finally play this even tho its almost cheating but honestly I just dont have time to play 60hrs of random encounters, then or now. I have FF8 and 9 too. I think ill go with FF8 next, its a game I did play halfway through on the PS1 because it intrigued me more than FF7. I actually never played FF9 and know nothing about it except the visuals so thast exciting.
Im looking forward to FF7 remake as I can now appreciate more what they changed and added to the new game but considering how big this game is, Im afraid we will wait a long time for the final chapter to be released. Im just glad its a regular ARPG, I loved FF15 so thast my jam. Sorry all you hardcore jrpg fans out there
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