So I just played... Final Fantasy VII

[hardcoretyphoon]

I've been pretty adverse to most RPGs for a good portion of my life, but about a year and a half ago, I got really into Dragon Quest and It started a bit of an obsession for me.
I've been aware of the final fantasy series for a while, giving a few of them a shot but never got super far in any of them. Enclosed is a little mini-review of Final Fantasy VII for the Playstation, an open letter to talk about all things FF7, and a strong recommendation as to why you should play it today!

A note: I have only played the original psx version of FF7 so I would appreciate any mention of Advent Children, Crisis Core, FF7 Remake, or other FF games to be properly spoilered. Thank You!

I absolutely have no time to go over every last thing I love about this game so I'll be brief. I absolutely adore the presentation of this game. The pairing of low-poly chibi models and prerendered backgrounds is very cool, and I love how well utilized the backgrounds are. To this day there is nothing cooler than animated FMV backgrounds (hyperbole). The FMVs in general are super cool. I also really like the game's use of vertex coloring. And as for the music, it's very nice, some of it perfectly tense, and some of it perfectly nice and relaxing (After coming home from a hard day of work I find it really easy to fall asleep to Disc 1's world map music ^^;)

As for the gameplay, it took quite a bit to grow on me. I prefer RPGs where the numbers are small. It was weird having so much money around and always having plenty of magic and items was definitely something to adjust to. The game really shines with its real time battles. I loved the boss fights, though the game overall was a bit too easy.

Spoiler: DISC 1

My favorite part of the game by far was the narrative, which is interesting because story is not usually the reason I play games! I love the cyberpunk setting. The Midgar portion of the game really does feel like a hopeless hellscape. I tend to play games as an escape from this awful world we live in, but this one is less of an "escape" and more of a nice way to cope and fantacize about taking control in a hopeless world. A moment that really stuck out to me is when
Bugenhagen was talking to Red XIII about the unsurmountable odds stacked against the planet, and he says:

Regardless of what happens, shouldn't we at least try?

It really is such a hopeless world everyone lives in. Such an aversion to apathy througout such intense stakes is very commendable.
Of course, I like practically everyone who's played a video game before knew that Aeris(th) was going to die. I saw it coming the whole way through. But it still hit me so hard. Seeing cloud being manipulated, struggling against my controls, about to kill her himself was rough to see. And then that scene I saw for the first time years ago. It really got me. It felt like losing a friend. She was one of my favorite party members, so It affected the gameplay as well.

Spoiler: Disc 2

Cloud is a character I relate to heavily. A traumatized hero struggling with his place in the world, not even sure who he is. The rivalry between him and sepiroth genuinely terrified me. During disc 2 i didnt quite know what to think of Cloud. I was unsure of who he really was, but deep down I knew he was the hero I wanted him to be. Seeing him in the hospital was heartbreaking, and with the game killing off a main character earlier, I had real anxiety that this would be his permanent fate. Anyway, back to Sepiroth. I don't usually get scared by games, the only other game I can think of that scares me is Silent Hill. But every time Sepiroth was onscreen it felt like a nightmare. He was way too powerful, often just appearing out of nowhere, with that song playing every time. Sometimes he literally jumpscares you. He feels like an entropic force that I can't run away from. Which is why Disc 3 hit as hard as it did.

Spoiler: DISC 3

The final boss completely blew me away. Holy shit. I've never been so awestruck at a video game, my heart was beating in my chest, my hands were shaking and sweating. I was trembling in more fear than any game has ever made me feel. But I remembered what I was fighting for, and how strong I had become. This game is truly an experience like no other. It really felt like I overcame my doubts and faced something bigger than I could ever imagine. That fucking supernova animation scared the shit out of me the first time I saw it lol

I could go on.. and on. But im bad as shit at writing and I don't wanna be spammy. This is just my convoluted way to say THIS GAME IS COOL and I wanna talk about it :P
Any blind playthroughs in 2025? Veteran tips for a replay? And who are y'alls favorite characters. By the end my party consisted of Cloud, Barret and Yuffie.

 

[Guinea]

FF7 is deserving of the hype. I played it back in the day and adored it, thought about it constantly, probably beat it 4 or 5 times in my life. It was such a special game back then, I loved playing it all the way through, then playing 8, then 9, Tactics and back to 7.

My favorite party was always Cloud, Cait Sith and Yuffie. Idk why. As a FF oldhead my only tip for new players is to equip that Enemy Skill materia. Maybe look up a missable guide too.

Oh and check out the other media. FF7 Before Crisis, Last Order, Crisis Core, Advent Children, Episode Denzel, Dirge of Cerberus, Remake, Intergrade and Rebirth... can never have too much FF7. (Before Crisis is basically lost media but you can check it out on Youtube and play a fan version on EasyRPG Player)

 

[hardcoretyphoon]

FF7 is deserving of the hype. I played it back in the day and adored it, thought about it constantly, probably beat it 4 or 5 times in my life. It was such a special game back then, I loved playing it all the way through, then playing 8, then 9, Tactics and back to 7.

My favorite party was always Cloud, Cait Sith and Yuffie. Idk why. As a FF oldhead my only tip for new players is to equip that Enemy Skill materia. Maybe look up a missable guide too.

Oh and check out the other media. FF7 Before Crisis, Last Order, Crisis Core, Advent Children, Episode Denzel, Dirge of Cerberus, Remake and Intergrade... can never have too much FF7. (Before Crisis is basically lost media but you can check it out on Youtube and play a fan version on EasyRPG Player)

The enemy skill materia is so OP. Spells like Trine and Magic Breath are very good. I accidentally discovered I could use magic breath on my own party to heal everyone because of the equipments each member had. I definitely plan on going down the FF7 rabbit hole, I wanna watch Advent Children whenever I get the chance. I wasnt sure if before crisis was worth it or not but ill check out the itch remake!