"...quite possibly the greatest game ever made."
That line on the back of the jewel case will always ring true to me. Final Fantasy VII transported my 8-year-old self to another world, and even to this day, I find myself lost in amazement and wonder. FFVII enraptured me completely in its storyline, characters, and world almost immediately upon selecting "New Game" at the title screen. Witnessing the full glory of the city of Midgar as it pulls back from Aeris/Aerith, to zooming in on the speeding train arriving at Mako Reactor 1, the game thrusts you into the action instantly without giving you a chance to breathe. This is all complimented by the legendary Nobuo Uematsu's soundtrack (Opening - Bombing Mission theme), which perfectly encapsulates the entire section. The bombing run is easily one of the greatest video game openings of all time - no lengthy tutorials, no long exposition; you are expected to pick up the pieces and learn on the fly.
From the beginning, this was something I never experienced before. This was something entirely new. A sprawling, epic adventure spanning 3 CD-roms! The last RPG I played was the original Dragon Warrior on the NES... and it was honestly one of my least favorite games on the system. It turned me away from RPGs. At this time, I thought I didn't care for the genre. But here I was witnessing something magical.
The graphics, pre-rendered backgrounds, and FMVs were groundbreaking. The presentation was out of this world - there are so many small things that can easily be overlooked nowadays, but back then everything from the swirling effect when entering battles, to the cinematic camera movement that is on full display when fighting - highlighting every attack, spell cast, and summon animation, the mini-games, sound effects, even the footprints left in the snow on the World Map! It was all awe inspiring to me. Games had become so much more than I thought they were or could be. It truly opened my eyes to the unlimited possibilities and spawned a creative & imaginative mind, that has a great love and appreciation for storytelling (in any medium) to this day. With no exaggeration, experiencing this game back in the 90's was damn near a religious experience. Games didn't invest me in stories or characters like this before. And the music... oh the music!
This game had a profound impact on my childhood and had no small impact in shaping who I am today. It may sound absurd, but it's true. The times spent playing the game with my father, sharing stories with my uncle, or connecting with others and becoming friends with kids at school via our shared love and interest in FFVII... I wouldn't exchange those moments for anything in the world. Seeing the shared love of this game online, and knowing that there are so many like me who appreciate FFVII's importance in video game history; it is a communal bond.
I love and will always love FFVII and its community. Forever, my favorite game of all time.
***********************************************************
Now for some rapid-fire bullet points and list of favorites from the game just for fun. :)
Favorite Characters: All of them... except for Cait Sith... yes, even Yuffie! I love her too even if she has an unhealthy obsession with materia... Cloud Strife is one of my favorite protagonists in all of gaming, and likewise Sephiroth as the opposing, legendary antagonist.
Favorite City: Midgar (which is also one of my favorite in-game settings in any video game)
My childhood main party: Cloud, Aerith, Red XIII --> substituting with Vincent later on...
Favorite Limit Break in all of FF: Omnislash
Favorite System in FF: Materia (followed closely by Job system in Tactics)
Top 20 Songs: An impossible task to limit the number down (I tried Top 10, but that is far too few), but I tried my best. In no particular order I have:
Bombing Mission
Mako Reactor
Heart of Anxiety
Shinra Inc. / Shinra Company
Let the Battles Begin / Those Who Fight
Under the Rotting Pizza
Those Who Fight Further
Main Theme of Final Fantasy VII / World Map Theme
On That Day, 5 Years Ago
Chasing the Black Caped Man
Rufus' Welcoming Ceremony
J-E-N-O-V-A
Mining Town
Cosmo Canyon
Great Warrior
Cid's Theme & Sending a Dream Into the Universe (kinda cheated here, but it is essentially the same theme)
You Can Hear the Cry of the Planet
Aeris/Aerith's Theme
Jenova Absolute
One-Winged Angel
Favorite antagonists in gaming: FFVII and MGS I'd consider tied with the greatest cast of antagonists - Rufus, Hojo, Heideggar, Scarlet, the Turks (especially Reno and Rude), Sephiroth, Jenova
Favorite Weapon: Buster Sword - it is iconic and the video game equivalent of Gut's Dragon Slayer
Favorite Mini-game: Snowboarding
Favorite Line: "Let's mosey"
Favorite side-character story: Red XIII's story when returning to Cosmo Canyon
Favorite Moment: Cloud's true past reveal - the exact moment when the Main Theme of FFVII starts playing. 11/10. Beautifully executed. Word of caution: this is ruined in some of the port versions of the game... they don't have the Main theme play at this particular point... which is a damn shame.
Favorite non-playable AVALANCHE member: Jessie... duh!
Hardest WEAPON: Ruby
Favorite Summon Animation: Super Nova... if that doesn't count, I've always had a fondness for Odin, Hades, and Bahamut Zero.
Finish the statement - "Cloud belongs with...": as a child, I would have said Aeris 10 out of 10 times. As an adult, I say Tifa. But I love both characters.
That line on the back of the jewel case will always ring true to me. Final Fantasy VII transported my 8-year-old self to another world, and even to this day, I find myself lost in amazement and wonder. FFVII enraptured me completely in its storyline, characters, and world almost immediately upon selecting "New Game" at the title screen. Witnessing the full glory of the city of Midgar as it pulls back from Aeris/Aerith, to zooming in on the speeding train arriving at Mako Reactor 1, the game thrusts you into the action instantly without giving you a chance to breathe. This is all complimented by the legendary Nobuo Uematsu's soundtrack (Opening - Bombing Mission theme), which perfectly encapsulates the entire section. The bombing run is easily one of the greatest video game openings of all time - no lengthy tutorials, no long exposition; you are expected to pick up the pieces and learn on the fly.
From the beginning, this was something I never experienced before. This was something entirely new. A sprawling, epic adventure spanning 3 CD-roms! The last RPG I played was the original Dragon Warrior on the NES... and it was honestly one of my least favorite games on the system. It turned me away from RPGs. At this time, I thought I didn't care for the genre. But here I was witnessing something magical.
The graphics, pre-rendered backgrounds, and FMVs were groundbreaking. The presentation was out of this world - there are so many small things that can easily be overlooked nowadays, but back then everything from the swirling effect when entering battles, to the cinematic camera movement that is on full display when fighting - highlighting every attack, spell cast, and summon animation, the mini-games, sound effects, even the footprints left in the snow on the World Map! It was all awe inspiring to me. Games had become so much more than I thought they were or could be. It truly opened my eyes to the unlimited possibilities and spawned a creative & imaginative mind, that has a great love and appreciation for storytelling (in any medium) to this day. With no exaggeration, experiencing this game back in the 90's was damn near a religious experience. Games didn't invest me in stories or characters like this before. And the music... oh the music!
This game had a profound impact on my childhood and had no small impact in shaping who I am today. It may sound absurd, but it's true. The times spent playing the game with my father, sharing stories with my uncle, or connecting with others and becoming friends with kids at school via our shared love and interest in FFVII... I wouldn't exchange those moments for anything in the world. Seeing the shared love of this game online, and knowing that there are so many like me who appreciate FFVII's importance in video game history; it is a communal bond.
I love and will always love FFVII and its community. Forever, my favorite game of all time.
***********************************************************
Now for some rapid-fire bullet points and list of favorites from the game just for fun. :)
Favorite Characters: All of them... except for Cait Sith... yes, even Yuffie! I love her too even if she has an unhealthy obsession with materia... Cloud Strife is one of my favorite protagonists in all of gaming, and likewise Sephiroth as the opposing, legendary antagonist.
Favorite City: Midgar (which is also one of my favorite in-game settings in any video game)
My childhood main party: Cloud, Aerith, Red XIII --> substituting with Vincent later on...
Favorite Limit Break in all of FF: Omnislash
Favorite System in FF: Materia (followed closely by Job system in Tactics)
Top 20 Songs: An impossible task to limit the number down (I tried Top 10, but that is far too few), but I tried my best. In no particular order I have:
Bombing Mission
Mako Reactor
Heart of Anxiety
Shinra Inc. / Shinra Company
Let the Battles Begin / Those Who Fight
Under the Rotting Pizza
Those Who Fight Further
Main Theme of Final Fantasy VII / World Map Theme
On That Day, 5 Years Ago
Chasing the Black Caped Man
Rufus' Welcoming Ceremony
J-E-N-O-V-A
Mining Town
Cosmo Canyon
Great Warrior
Cid's Theme & Sending a Dream Into the Universe (kinda cheated here, but it is essentially the same theme)
You Can Hear the Cry of the Planet
Aeris/Aerith's Theme
Jenova Absolute
One-Winged Angel
Favorite antagonists in gaming: FFVII and MGS I'd consider tied with the greatest cast of antagonists - Rufus, Hojo, Heideggar, Scarlet, the Turks (especially Reno and Rude), Sephiroth, Jenova
Favorite Weapon: Buster Sword - it is iconic and the video game equivalent of Gut's Dragon Slayer
Favorite Mini-game: Snowboarding
Favorite Line: "Let's mosey"
Favorite side-character story: Red XIII's story when returning to Cosmo Canyon
Favorite Moment: Cloud's true past reveal - the exact moment when the Main Theme of FFVII starts playing. 11/10. Beautifully executed. Word of caution: this is ruined in some of the port versions of the game... they don't have the Main theme play at this particular point... which is a damn shame.
Favorite non-playable AVALANCHE member: Jessie... duh!
Hardest WEAPON: Ruby
Favorite Summon Animation: Super Nova... if that doesn't count, I've always had a fondness for Odin, Hades, and Bahamut Zero.
Finish the statement - "Cloud belongs with...": as a child, I would have said Aeris 10 out of 10 times. As an adult, I say Tifa. But I love both characters.