After three attempts, I finally completed one of the most iconic games of all time.
Full disclosure, I ended up using the cheat options because I was most interested in the story above everything else. I plan on doing another run without the cheats because I did end up getting super invested in this game.
Anyone who plays games knows of this game and its legacy, even if they're not into Final Fantasy. Being the first 3D game in the series means it also was the first at many things, including minigames. I appreciate that they were common in many titles at the time for variety's sake, some aged well (the motorcycle game is fun once you adjust to the controls), a few not so much (the submarine game felt undercooked and it was over before I realized it). I think FF6 had the better turn-based combat in comparison to this one, but the materia mechanic means you have tons of options for every party member. Another factor in wanting to replay is experiment with a lot more spells to see what works for me.
The characters are obviously the most popular in the series, even as a late-comer I found myself loving the entire cast. Tifa is my favorite character here, and even knowing Aerith's fate through video game cultural osmosis left me feeling sad. Cid's another runner up (also with 16 being my first, I read all of his dialogue in Ralph Ineson's voice). Generally again, I prefer 6's cast in general, but everyone here played off each other so well.
The story has been discussed many times, including its themes of coporate greed and environmentalism. I found myself pretty hooked on the story early on, but I did NOT expect it to be as twisty and WTF-inducing at times similarly to Metal Gear Solid (I really wish I played this as a kid, it would have had a huge impact on me then). The ending especially worked for me, as I was realizing in realtime how invested I was in everyone.
For platinum trophy completion, it was pretty straightforward but I followed a guide carefully to not miss any of the limit breaks and additional characters. Emerald Weapon wasn't too bad a superboss, but Ruby Weapon took careful planning even with cheats, easily the hardest part of the game.
While being a new fan of this series means I don't have the sentimental history many do, I can still appreciate and enjoy this game for everything it does. The characters, story, gameplay, and even graphics hold up well (while the PS4 version is a port of the PC, it's easy to see how its graphics translate to the OG PlayStation and it definitely was ahead of most games at the time). While it's not a top tier FF for me, I still loved this game a great deal and can see it grow on me further. Definitely excited to tackle Crisis Core and the new Remake series.
Strong 8/10
Full disclosure, I ended up using the cheat options because I was most interested in the story above everything else. I plan on doing another run without the cheats because I did end up getting super invested in this game.
Anyone who plays games knows of this game and its legacy, even if they're not into Final Fantasy. Being the first 3D game in the series means it also was the first at many things, including minigames. I appreciate that they were common in many titles at the time for variety's sake, some aged well (the motorcycle game is fun once you adjust to the controls), a few not so much (the submarine game felt undercooked and it was over before I realized it). I think FF6 had the better turn-based combat in comparison to this one, but the materia mechanic means you have tons of options for every party member. Another factor in wanting to replay is experiment with a lot more spells to see what works for me.
The characters are obviously the most popular in the series, even as a late-comer I found myself loving the entire cast. Tifa is my favorite character here, and even knowing Aerith's fate through video game cultural osmosis left me feeling sad. Cid's another runner up (also with 16 being my first, I read all of his dialogue in Ralph Ineson's voice). Generally again, I prefer 6's cast in general, but everyone here played off each other so well.
The story has been discussed many times, including its themes of coporate greed and environmentalism. I found myself pretty hooked on the story early on, but I did NOT expect it to be as twisty and WTF-inducing at times similarly to Metal Gear Solid (I really wish I played this as a kid, it would have had a huge impact on me then). The ending especially worked for me, as I was realizing in realtime how invested I was in everyone.
For platinum trophy completion, it was pretty straightforward but I followed a guide carefully to not miss any of the limit breaks and additional characters. Emerald Weapon wasn't too bad a superboss, but Ruby Weapon took careful planning even with cheats, easily the hardest part of the game.
While being a new fan of this series means I don't have the sentimental history many do, I can still appreciate and enjoy this game for everything it does. The characters, story, gameplay, and even graphics hold up well (while the PS4 version is a port of the PC, it's easy to see how its graphics translate to the OG PlayStation and it definitely was ahead of most games at the time). While it's not a top tier FF for me, I still loved this game a great deal and can see it grow on me further. Definitely excited to tackle Crisis Core and the new Remake series.
Strong 8/10