They say that whenever Deus Ex is mentioned, somebody will reinstall it.
I think the same’s true for Final Fantasy 7, an eerie yet memorable tale from the original
Playstation.
It helped that it was the first game of the series on the console, much as Final Fantasy
10 is remembered fondly from the Playstation 2.
But for those who played it back then, it was more than just a great game.
It was, to me, the birth of modern gaming, where a massively detailed world could be
stored on a disk, complete with 3D graphics, complex yet balanced mechanics and beautifully
pre-rendered cutscenes rewarding you every step of the way, like this one here that I
should probably stop right now.
Sure, some bits of it have aged, most noticeably the graphics.
I don’t think the summon spells are going to impress anybody anymore!
And gameplay wise, the grind is real.
More so than with 8 and 9, some parts seem as drawn out as possible just for the sake
of it!
On your elusive quest for the final crates in an area, you’ll run into confusing dead
ends and get dragged into battle after battle, only to eventually reach it and to realise
it’s an item that you’ll never use.
And don’t expect this game to make sense.
The main story is- well, I’m going to be hated for saying it but I didn’t think it
was anything special.
The characters are great, but the all-lives-are-connected, try-to-save-the-world storyline doesn’t
do it for me and only serves as a means to an end and an excuse to explore the world
and to kill everything you see.
And when you stop to think about it, a lot of this game doesn’t make any sense.
What’s this miniquest supposed to be?
And why are we fighting an icicle?
But ignore all that, because the game’s still worth playing.
As much as I bitch and moan about the repetitive fight mechanics, it’s that which makes it
so appealing in the first place.
You ARE rewarded for the time you invest into the game.
And no matter how primitive those CGI scenes are, they’re still a treat to watch.
But this is more than just me being sympathetic to the game because of its age.
The characters are memorable and well crafted, even by today’s standards.
There’s still a thrill to exploring the world, even if it’s made up of just a handful
of polygons.
And when the materia system rewards you with a new power, you can’t fail to be excited.
Thankfully, the RPG system in this game is simple enough to pick up, yet complex enough
to last the duration of the game.
Every character has their own unique weapons, with upgrades seemingly staggered so they
all have their time to shine at some point in the story.
Yet you can still mould them with materia to be whatever you want them to be.
Want Cloud to dish out healing spells every battle?
Sure.
Want fluffy Red 13 to be a pyromaniac?
Yeah!
Want Aeris to be your main fighter for the entire game?
Um, well you can try I guess.
So yeah, this materia stuff shapes your characters and can be swapped out for other skills at
any moment, so you can experiment with different combinations to your heart’s content.
The ALL materia is particularly saught-after, allowing spells to attack all characters at
once for great effect.
Indeed, the appeal of this game is mastering combat against a particular type of enemy
and refining the execution to perfection, rewarding you with faster methods of levelling.
And one of the bad guys in this game deserves special mention: Sephiroth.
For in a game filled with ludicrously sized stabby things, he undoubtedly has the longest.
He’s the big cheese.
And this is really emphasised as the game progresses.
There’s a sense that you’re following in his footsteps all the way, slowly discovering
how he reached his final form.
You encounter mere hints to his sheer awesomeness.
Indeed, you begin to believe that besting such an opponent must surely be impossible!
I know few other games that are as good at bigging up the bad guy as this one.
It’s safe to say that this game paved the way for future titles.
It We take a lot of what it achieved for granted, yet there are still some remnants from older
generations.
The pacing isn’t always consistent.
I mean, it’s easy for me now on my 10th playthrough or whatever, but some boss battles
back in the day where downright terrifying, and could bring an under-levelled party to
its knees in just a matter of seconds.
The game has a temper and will occasionally throw you out of your comfort zone with something
unexpected.
It even has the cheek, after tens of hours of gameplay, after you’ve lovingly levelled
and bonded with your characters, to have some of them BETRAY you.
Some are even selfish enough to DIE permanently!
Another thing you won’t find in modern titles is the variety of minigames.
Final Fantasy 7 is full of them!
And they’re not just piddly little after-thoughts: some have almost as much depth and strategy
as entire other games from the previous generation.
Some are compulsory, others you may miss completely.
What amazes me is the imagination that’s gone into making them.
Many are buggy and unbalanced and feel like little pet projects made in the developers’
spare time.
One moment you’ll be skiing down a hill, the next, defending a beach from a monster
attack in some weird Heroes of Might and Magic style grid-based system.
Many of these only contain rudimentary tutorials that you almost certainly won’t bother reading.
But you should, as you’ll be thrown into the deep end and expected to pick them up
the hard way and some don’t even give you a second chance.
In this era of polish and balance (LOL), such deviations from core gameplay wouldn’t even
be attempted, even if failing them never punishes you too greatly in the grand scale of things.
Final Fantasy 7 isn’t afraid to shake things up and never takes itself too seriously.
As I ventured through this game recently, I think I enjoyed it more than I’ve ever
done before.
I could enjoy the point I was at, but also how investing the time into levelling up and
collecting items now would help my play through in the long-run.
But there was also a third thing.
I realised that I was being constantly reminded of those previous times that I had ventured
through the game.
When I first saw it being played at a friend’s house and how complicated it all looked.
When I played it in a caravan awning with a chicken pecking around my feet.
Or that other time, when I should have been revising and the rain was pouring down outside.
And those memories of mine have been embedded within the magical, dark yet hugely enchanting
world that is Final Fantasy 7.
So I guess that what I’m saying is, it’s a great game.
And if you haven’t played it already, what are you waiting for?
Another remake?!
Hop on into the world of Final Fantasy 7.
Explore the many twists and turns of the storyline.
Watch as the stakes are raised until your reluctant and unlikely assortment of characters
have to save the world.
Marvel at the ludicrous size of their weapons, and more importantly, enjoy one of the best
games of the generation.
It’s old- and it looks it.
But it’s still worth it.