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Playing Final Fantasy VII for the first time

Man, all these links to tracks from the OST are really pulling on my heart strings.

I dunno, there's just something about this game. I can't really argue with the criticisms of the goofy plot, the stereotypical characters, the weak visuals or the messy translation. But man, it was an experience. It made me feel like no other game had ever done before and how few have done since. I can't emphasize with anyone playing it for the first time nowadays. It might have aged terribly, I don't know. All I know is how it felt playing it through back in 97, and the nostalgia just comes flooding back any time I see or hear this game.

I don't wish I could play it for the first time again now, because I might hate it (I've certainly grown bored of the JRPG genre over the years). No, I wish I could go back to 97, and be bowled over then again, because Jesus Christ, guys, what a fucking ride it was.
 
For some reason SE hasn't been able to nail the limit breaks like they did with VII. The system is so simple and genius, and almost all the moves are actually worth using and look hella cool.
 
H_Prestige said:
For some reason SE hasn't been able to nail the limit breaks like they did with VII. The system is so simple and genius, and almost all the moves are actually worth using and look hella cool.
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It baffles me how the limit break system in IX manages to be inferior to VII in every conceivable way. I get that SquEnix likes to shake things up with each new entry, but why did they have to go and make a WORSE version of a system that had worked great before?

Anyway, don't listen to the hype on either side: FF7 is a great game, just not THE GREATEST GAME EVER MADE.
 
Kinda off topic but anyone know where FF6 has gone on the EU PSN? It seems to have disappeared for me, at least from the PSP and Media Go stores.
 
Clear said:
Its storytelling is still more sophisticated than most games this generation.

I mean the way that Sephiroth is introduced in a playable flashback showing how insanely powerful he is, and the whole
"in Cloud's head" sequence, leading to the pay-off revealing he was just Shinra goon #2
is pretty smart by any standards.

The big thing though is that it has character and personality to burn, sometimes goofy (Honeybee Inn and "The beautiful Bro'"), sometimes touching (the wartime reminiscence at the train station), its a cracking story.

Personally, I've always found the climax
showing the lifestream rising, with the kids peering out their windows as it approaches
among the most emotional sequences I've ever encountered.

It might be dated in both mechanics and technology, but, FFVII is still a great game. In my opinion anyone who's claiming they've "outgrown" it is just fooling themself. What they are expressing is not aesthetic growth, its atrophy and a jaded fixation on superficial technical details.
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This post is beautiful. I love you.
The poor translation of the ending is a sideshow. The ending--the last shot of red running through the canyon-- is one of the most beautiful, plainly stated Facts of the universe.

Game is a masterpiece.
 
James Woods said:
Falls apart after Midgard. That shit was magical. The rest simply isn't and is the reason for the hate.
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While I sort of agree with you, I disagree in that Junon and the Gold Saucer are absolutely magnificent. Outside of those though, I agree the world feels very pieced together and lacking charm.
 
gatotsu911 said:
It baffles me how the limit break system in IX manages to be inferior to VII in every conceivable way. I get that SquEnix likes to shake things up with each new entry, but why did they have to go and make a WORSE version of a system that had worked great before?
Click to expand...

I think that this gets to a deep point about both the success and failure of Japanese game development. Putting all your hope in rock star visionaries can create some amazing things, but it also means that a lot of amazing things get abandoned when Visionary B would rather try out their own ideas than iterate on the work of Visionary A.
 
I feel like i'm the only person who didn't like Midgar. It wasn't till I got out of there where I really started to get into and actually enjoy the game (felt like such a drag to me and it didn't help that a lot of the areas there looked ugly as shit). I didn't complete the game till just last year but overall I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.
 
Such a fantastic game. I know PS1 games in general didn't age well but i still think this game is just as great.

The story, the music, the battle system and just the general atmosphere of the world. It was the peak of the series for me and everything has been downhill since then.
 
Game sucked then, sucks now. Actually, sucks LESS now. At the time it was a huge step backwards in all ways besides graphically from the SNES entries, now it feels more akin to those than the 'modern' FFs which are even more far removed. FF9 is the only good 3d FF.
 
I liked both Midgar and afterwards.

Midgar was already feeling like a sprawling area that could be fully explored, but when you were greeted with the open world it was like walking around with blinders for a few hours and then taking them off... I didn't understand the idea of having a whole world open to do whatever. The walk to Kalm as the music started felt amazing, and even the super-long cutscene in Kalm was great because you learned so much at that time, and it was a nice change of pace from always doing something while in Midgar.
 
moonspeak said:
I feel like i'm the only person who didn't like Midgar. It wasn't till I got out of there where I really started to get into and actually enjoy the game (felt like such a drag to me and it didn't help that a lot of the areas there looked ugly as shit). I didn't complete the game till just last year but overall I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.
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I feel the same way. Midgard always felt so cramped to me. On replays I would always rush through it as soon as I could to get it over with.
 
Incredibly uneven and atrocious main characters, but it's an okay game. I actually hated it when it came out, but these days I have a few good memories of it. I don't think I'd replay it though, because I cannot stand Cloud, Sephiroth or Aeris and that unfortunately turns a sizable portion of the game into a chore.
 
My main problem with the story of FFVII is that you can miss two really important scenes (not to mention the side Vincent stuff).

Spoilers for Gongaga and Shinra Mansion:

You can completely bypass Gongaga! Things make so much more sense when you figure out more about Zack's past.

Also there's a scene with Zack and Cloud escaping from the Mansion. You can only trigger this if you go to the basement on the final disc. Squaresoft why!!!
 
Yeah... not much of a contribution to this thread but FFVII is the best game of all time. Will probably stay that way unless a remake shows up.
 
Yoshichan said:
Yeah... not much of a contribution to this thread but FFVII is the best game of all time. Will probably stay that way unless a remake shows up.
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it's funny because I don't think people realize how much work a remake would actually take. There are so many environments in FFVII that it would take an astounding effort to recreate it with HD models and all that.

Hope they get around to it next gen. You just know they will eventually.
 
-Pyromaniac- said:
it's funny because I don't think people realize how much work a remake would actually take. There are so many environments in FFVII that it would take an astounding effort to recreate it with HD models and all that.
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Everyone already knows that it would take a lot of resource and time. But I do remember Wada (?) saying that a remake would take like 10 years to produce - which was the most hyperbolic bullshit I've ever read in my entire life. Reading that still made me sad though.
 
Yoshichan said:
Everyone already knows that it would take a lot of resource and time. But I do remember Wada (?) saying that a remake would take like 10 years to produce - which was the most hyperbolic bullshit I've ever read in my entire life. Reading that still made me sad though.
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luminous engine believe
 
DMeisterJ said:
I liked both Midgar and afterwards.

Midgar was already feeling like a sprawling area that could be fully explored, but when you were greeted with the open world it was like walking around with blinders for a few hours and then taking them off... I didn't understand the idea of having a whole world open to do whatever. The walk to Kalm as the music started felt amazing, and even the super-long cutscene in Kalm was great because you learned so much at that time, and it was a nice change of pace from always doing something while in Midgar.
Click to expand...

This was my experience too. FFVII was really my first RPG like many people and I remember escaping from Midgar and thinking "how is there still 2 more discs to this game? Shouldn't it be over soon??" haha. Looking back, I was so naive, but when I finally left Midgar and got to the main map I was blown away. It was a really unique experience for me and is probably a huge part of why I love FFVII so much.

I will never forget it.
 
Midgar was one of the most brilliant sections of any game I have ever played. It instilled me a sense of wonder in its pacing, setting, and plot that I basically hadn't experienced in a game before. It just drew me right into the game. The way they started the game out was also great. There was none of that 10 minutes of conversation and cutscenes. It was a very brief cutscene and then directly into the action, with the track Bombing Mission getting you pumped up for it. I just loved every bit of it.

The game also hit when I was 13. It was so strange to me to be playing those characters and the feeling of control it gave me at that point in my life. It made everything feel much more poignant.

It sort of actually marked the point in my life I started to really bond with my brother. My older brother had left for college by the time we got the PS1 and scrounged up money for the game, and he had always basically been a troublemaker and my younger bother always followed suit, so we were always bickering. When he left my brother and I played games and talked about games all day, every day. It's some of the fondest memories I will ever have in my life.
 
The graphics and translation don't hold up well, and Barret is total stereotype ( a likable one though )but there is so much here that is done better than most rpg's released after it's time. The Pacing of the game and the character development is fucking incredible. The several main themes of FF7's story are handled intelligently and weave into each other well enough to make the story totally engrossing;It really sets up the big moments in game incredibly well, making for some epic sequences that FEW rpg's have managed to emulate. The materia system is one of the best ability systems I've encountered and I would love to see it expanded on in some way in another game. The music is beautiful, grandiose and haunting and perfectly match the tone of the game. I would go more in depth, but I don't want to spoil anything for you. All in all it's a fantastic game, it's amazing in so many ways. FF7 has so much character and charm, just try and look past the translation though.

Also, the story is awesome and far from convoluted, you should have no problem following it.......... and stay away from anything else FF7 related, far far away.
 
GrumpyAlien said:
I feel the same way. Midgard always felt so cramped to me. On replays I would always rush through it as soon as I could to get it over with.
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I liked Midgar, but the last scene before the world map and then walking to Kalm and then beyond was awesome too. The map was textured! I think people forget how cutting edge that was. we went from flat map to mode 7 map to THREE DEE MAP. It was fun floating the camera around and stuff too.

People keep posting music, so ill post this one :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akVmCIEVpSM
 
Man did I love this game. I didn't have a memory card at the time and I played 20+ hours twice before I got a memory card and could actually save my progress lol. Very engaging story, great materia system...and F YOU RUBY WEAPON. I never did beat that asshole. Emerald weapon was such a fucking goddamn epic win.
 
Log4Girlz said:
Man did I love this game. I didn't have a memory card at the time and I played 20+ hours twice before I got a memory card and could actually save my progress lol.
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pfft, I thought I was the only person on the planet to do this!
free-happy-smileys-839.gif


But I probably put in 8-10 hours before I finally got a memory card, though.
 
Zwei said:
omfg, I thought I was the only person on the planet to do this!
free-happy-smileys-839.gif


But I probably put in 8-10 hours before I finally got a memory card, though.
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Not only did I do it, I played all the way up to the Lost Number boss fight and died, losing all of my progress, before I went out and got a memory card.
 
So these days has the internet mellowed down a little, moving past the dichotemy of "best FF EVER"/"Worst RPG EVER" and instead into "yeah, that's an enjoyable little gem right there"? Skim-reading this thread gives me hope.
 
Thread reminds me of how much it sucked not having a memory card when I first got my PSX and rented FFVII.

I honestly can't remember my time with FFVII. I think I enjoyed it then, but I don't think it would stand the test of time if I tried to play it today. If I had to choose one PSX FF to force myself replay it'd be 9 (or even 8) before 7.
 
Suairyu said:
So these days has the internet mellowed down a little, moving past the dichotemy of "best FF EVER"/"Worst RPG EVER" and instead into "yeah, that's an enjoyable little gem right there"? Skim-reading this thread gives me hope.
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Agreed.

I'm really hopeful that we are starting to get enough distance from the ultra-hype/anti-hype that we can recognize that, regardless of how exactly you place it in relation to other games, there was something really good there....
 
I think at the end of this month i will start another run through of the game, to celebrate the 15th anniversary. This time i WILL beat both the weapons. Never did kill Ruby.
 
BocoDragon said:
Agreed.

I'm really hopeful that we are starting to get enough distance from the ultra-hype/anti-hype that we can recognize that, regardless of how exactly you place it in relation to other games, there was something really good there....
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People lambasting FFVII (even though I hate on it today) are really forgetting how many absolutely shitty RPGs were released (and even localized) on the PSX.
 
Lily said:
This time i WILL beat both the weapons. Never did kill Ruby.
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I have the same problem, except I could never take down Emerald Weapon. I would always seem to run out of time.

On my next replay, I'll just have to come up with a better strategy to beat him.
 
Lily said:
Always remember hearing this theme playing thinking EPIC BOSS INCOMING

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yX4h8Agi7U

beat it in under a minute :(
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the start of this song really makes you salivate for more. Sounds very archetypal. I actually prefer it over One Winged Angel. One Winged Angel sounds like a mix of a battle theme and classical-style dance, which it fuses well (and is a great idea as it implies that the battle is sort of like a dance between 2 sides) but still can't beat a good, traditional, epic boss track.
 
Here's something that blew my mind recently.

Bugenhagen_ani2.gif


Bugenhagen sits on a levatating green ball throughout the whole game. I always thought he was some kind of elder wizard who could fly :o
 
Lily said:
Here's something that blew my mind recently.

Bugenhagen_ani2.gif


Bugenhagen sits on a levatating green ball throughout the whole game. I always thought he was some kind of elder wizard who could fly :o
Click to expand...



pretty mindblowing. Based on his appearance in Before Crisis, you would appear to be correct.

aXdaD.jpg
 
Zwei said:
I have the same problem, except I could never take down Emerald Weapon. I would always seem to run out of time.

On my next replay, I'll just have to come up with a better strategy to beat him.
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Get the underwater materia. I'd like to know how to beat Ruby without spamming Knights of the Round.
 
From reading through this thread, it really appears that most of the people posting here either didn't pay adequate attention to FF7's story, or the bulk of it sailed clear over their heads. I highly recommend playing through the game again, and really thinking about the story, characters, themes, and what it all means. FF7's story is extraordinarily deep, and if you can't figure it out for yourself after playing it again, I suggest reading any of the number of plot analysis essays available online (One that discusses a sliver of the symbology present in the game was posted in this thread.). Yes, the game had an unfortunately poor translation, but if you look beyond the occasional dialogue issues, you will find a truly incredible story by any measure.
 
The back of the FFVII manual (EU version) was a big warning on the necessity of using a memory card. Didn't stop a lot of my friends to play the game without it.

FFVII wasn't just the first JRPG for a lot of us, it was simply the biggest thing ever. Nowadays people downplay its merits, but it was and it is an incredible piece of work, everything was so good and well-done.

Absolute classic.
 
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