“Words Aren’t The Only Thing That Tell People What You’re Thinking.”

Final Fantasy VII is my second entry in the series, after having played and finished everything Final Fantasy XV had to offer.

I knew that I would like this game, but my god I did not expect to be this happy to play it. It felt like a moment everythings occurred with a smooth flow from the beginning to the end, while being an ambitious open world.
I only knew one thing beforehand, being the most iconic death scene in the media that I could not escape being spoiled.

The rest is magnificent, this game amaze me because story wise it’s deep, I was not ready to see this much care into something that mostly children were going to experience. The relation between the entire cast is something that needs an article of its own to respectfully embrace the density of the work. But a few iconic moments that resonate with me must be noted, first the truth about Nanaki’s father, a very compelling backstory even if it’s obvious from a mile away. Then Valentine’s quest alongside Lucrecia where everything unfolds before our wetted eyes. And finally Barrett's moment before losing his arm, even if I found it a bit rushed at the end.

Nevertheless FF VII lives up to expectation story wise and surpasses them in terms of gameplay, seriously the action sequences in this game being enhanced by the 3D, the soundtracks or the cinematics are truly something that defined future video games. It demonstrates to the world how to tell a story without words only through gameplay, cutscene or characters behavior.

Moreover, FF VII has the nerve to put you in a number of surprising moments, such as the meeting with Zack's parents, Shinra president's final moment, or dialogue in the form of a Turk with a crush on Tifa. Little things that add a lot to the game world and character.

Then comes the characters that surprised me the most, first Sephiroth. He is the epitome of badassery, he's presented as a god before we even catch a glimpse of him, and when we do, it's always memorable.
Aerith is the purest human I've seen in a video game, truly a character that can soften any burden and any heart, whether inside or outside the game world. I knew about that scene, but it still broke my heart.
And Tifa managed to prove to me that she was going to be one of my favorite female characters in video games. She's got a hell of development, she's badass, a loving bird and her relationship with Cloud is a plus even though I haven't really liked Cloud as a character since the beginning of the game.

Finally, I understand now how this game came to be a PS1 classic, that’s being revisited on the fifth generation console through remakes.

"PERHAPS, THIS IS HELL."

I had high expectations for Signalis since its release in October 2022 but was busy catching up to the genre with Silent Hill and Resident Evil to fully understand the depth of the survival horror era.

What a ride it's been, to come to the conclusion of nearly 30 years of survival horror with Signalis.

It was breathtaking for the entirety of my playthrough and I loved playing it.
But what's more is the understanding behind it. I had no problem witnessing the result of the magnificent community that worked together to ensure proper explanation and theories about the world to us and the audacity from the devs to make a deep enough story that self drives anyone to craziness as it did to the characters from the game.

The fact that two people created this game amazes me, and the level of detail and love that emanates from it makes me really grateful that inde dev can now express themselves to a wider audience thanks to the digitization of games.

Signalis is not a reference dump.
What's the difference between a good reference and a bad one, or between homage and plagiarism?
It’s the purpose, and Signalis' aim, to bring such a tragic story to life, moves me.

It's a compelling story of romance, purpose and promise.
A story in which the boundary of identity between gestalt and human is revealed in a magnificent movement of devotion.

I had to read a few theories online to fully understand some very simple plot details from the game's documentation. But I think it's part of the beauty of video games to be able to create a community that helps each other in a never ending loop of friendship that crosses the boundary of distance between players.

I love tank control, I love Tchaikovski, I love Lovecraft, I love romance, I love time traveling and loop, I love difficulty, I love NieR, Neon Genesis Evangelion, GinEiDen and Monogatari. What more to ask than Signalis to be one of my favorite games of all time ? God, I love video games.

"..I know you want to continue living... After all, you were just born. But.. I want to live too ! Like all other human beings !"

Square, I tip my hat to you.
Making FF VII was already a success but to follow with Parasite Eve a mix between Resident Evil and Final Fantasy.
It’s truly like a dream for me. ( RE is like my favorite video game license in terms of number of games i have play and the overall quality time i spend on most of them, and FF is something that I have always wanted to play as a child but unfortunately never got the chance. )

Although I started it late, I could smell the nostalgia from the gameplay. The CGI cinematic, the background, the camera angle and the instrumental/opera music.
This game made me a child again for the entire length of my playthrough.

Also Aya Brea made a straight jump in my top favorite female protagonist, with her unmatched charisma and epicness. With her combo of blue jeans, white shirt and black jacket, she has one of the coolest designs in video games for me.

While Mitochondria was a familiar term for me, I believe that I learn more in those 10 hours than in my entire year of highschool. Because this game is full of passion and I was blown away by how interesting the events are told and adapted to a video game.

Nonetheless, man, this game was hard.
In my opinion, nothing beats the good old fashion game where you had to think strategically, and learn from your mistakes.
I died a lot of times, but I had a really good time.
Isn’t that the essence of a video game ?