Date played: August 22nd
Platform: PS4
Final Fantasy VII... Where do I even start?
When it came out, way back in 1997, there was nothing else like it on the market. FF VII, without a doubt, ushered in a new era for the Japanese RPG genre. This game was even bigger than that though, as some of the visuals on display were impossible on other, competing hardware at the time. Plus, of course, there's this teenage wet dream of a commercial for my young self, and many others like me.
I was already a bit of an RPG fan, having loved Super Mario RPG, FFVI and Chrono Trigger, but it wasn't FFVII that I fell in love with them, at least for a few years. This version of the game is a little bit weird, as it's a PC port with much smoother polygonal graphics and added detail, but the backgrounds are still the originals. This makes for better looking battles, but exploration hasn't aged very well.
There's also a few unique features to this port. The best of them is the ability to play the game at 3x speeds. This has already been useful in sections where I had to use trial and error, while skipping a lot of useless dialogue in between attempts. The other features are more like cheat codes for combat, so I doubt I'll use them, at least for a good while.
I played through a good portion of the opening. This is an old story, and it won't bear repeating here, but I'm enjoying myself a lot more than I expected. The writing is a little rough, but there's some real gems in there once in a while. The music is as wonderful as ever, and the characters as interesting as when the game first released. There's a surprising amount of "sass", for lack of a better word. Lots of jokes about sex, some cursing, alcohol, drugs, gambling, prostitution, it's all there.
Combat is still simple, yet fun, at least so far. As the iconic Cloud, I've fought beside Barett, Tifa and Aeris against a variety of monsters. That's another thing that I forgot was so great about this game! There's so many different monsters to fight, that the randomized combat doesn't even bother me very much. The Break Limit system is still as fun as ever, and materia is a great way to implement magic into battle.
The last thing I did was gather the items required to enter Don Corneo's mansion. This guy runs Midgar's greatest whorehouse. Cloud and Aeris have seen Tifa enter the building after some of the craziness of the reactor explosions. To enter, Cloud has to dress as a sexy woman and offer his services as a hooker.
This led to a series of fun mini quests. For example, I had to help a woman with her digestive problems by offering her some medicine, which I got from a coupon I got at the nearby Korean BBQ House. After a few of these mini quests, I had some sexy perfume, a blonde wig, a diamond tiara and a silk dress. Cloud is ready and dressed to impress! This game is funny, crazy, and still manages to have a good story and characters. I'm glad I picked this up again. I don't know how long I'll stick with it, but it seems like a good game to play when I'm tired or very lazy.
Platform: PS4
Final Fantasy VII... Where do I even start?
When it came out, way back in 1997, there was nothing else like it on the market. FF VII, without a doubt, ushered in a new era for the Japanese RPG genre. This game was even bigger than that though, as some of the visuals on display were impossible on other, competing hardware at the time. Plus, of course, there's this teenage wet dream of a commercial for my young self, and many others like me.
I was already a bit of an RPG fan, having loved Super Mario RPG, FFVI and Chrono Trigger, but it wasn't FFVII that I fell in love with them, at least for a few years. This version of the game is a little bit weird, as it's a PC port with much smoother polygonal graphics and added detail, but the backgrounds are still the originals. This makes for better looking battles, but exploration hasn't aged very well.
There's also a few unique features to this port. The best of them is the ability to play the game at 3x speeds. This has already been useful in sections where I had to use trial and error, while skipping a lot of useless dialogue in between attempts. The other features are more like cheat codes for combat, so I doubt I'll use them, at least for a good while.
I played through a good portion of the opening. This is an old story, and it won't bear repeating here, but I'm enjoying myself a lot more than I expected. The writing is a little rough, but there's some real gems in there once in a while. The music is as wonderful as ever, and the characters as interesting as when the game first released. There's a surprising amount of "sass", for lack of a better word. Lots of jokes about sex, some cursing, alcohol, drugs, gambling, prostitution, it's all there.
 |
| Tifa, being a badass as usual |
Combat is still simple, yet fun, at least so far. As the iconic Cloud, I've fought beside Barett, Tifa and Aeris against a variety of monsters. That's another thing that I forgot was so great about this game! There's so many different monsters to fight, that the randomized combat doesn't even bother me very much. The Break Limit system is still as fun as ever, and materia is a great way to implement magic into battle.
The last thing I did was gather the items required to enter Don Corneo's mansion. This guy runs Midgar's greatest whorehouse. Cloud and Aeris have seen Tifa enter the building after some of the craziness of the reactor explosions. To enter, Cloud has to dress as a sexy woman and offer his services as a hooker.
This led to a series of fun mini quests. For example, I had to help a woman with her digestive problems by offering her some medicine, which I got from a coupon I got at the nearby Korean BBQ House. After a few of these mini quests, I had some sexy perfume, a blonde wig, a diamond tiara and a silk dress. Cloud is ready and dressed to impress! This game is funny, crazy, and still manages to have a good story and characters. I'm glad I picked this up again. I don't know how long I'll stick with it, but it seems like a good game to play when I'm tired or very lazy.
