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I never played this game before


Ronnie
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I really like it, one of my favorite FFs, but IMO, it's probably the most poorly aged Final Fantasy due to a number of factors. Namely it being an early PS1 game, and the developers at Square not really knowing how to use the tech, which they didn't really figure out until FF8.

But it's a fine JRPG. And despite its legacy and ubiquitous...ness, it doesn't feel generic or familiar in the slightest if you've never played it.

If you don't have a problem getting into older JRPGs and the graphics don't immediately melt your eyes, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Edited by Slumber
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9 minutes ago, Slumber said:

I really like it, one of my favorite FFs, but IMO, it's probably the most poorly aged Final Fantasy due to a number of factors. Namely it being an early PS1 game, and the developers at Square not really knowing how to use the tech, which they didn't really figure out until FF8.

But it's a fine JRPG. And despite its legacy and ubiquitous...ness, it doesn't feel generic or familiar in the slightest if you've never played it.

If you don't have a problem getting into older JRPGs and the graphics don't immediately melt your eyes, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Hey I love blocky N64 and PS1 graphics so no harm done here.

The only FF I played are X and XIII and I enjoy them. FFVII seems to have that legendary aura to it like Ocarina of Time does. It has some cool characters I want to try, namely Tifa and Vincent.

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Just now, Ronnie said:

Hey I love blocky N64 and PS1 graphics so no harm done here.

The only FF I played are X and XIII and I enjoy them. FFVII seems to have that legendary aura to it like Ocarina of Time does. It has some cool characters I want to try, namely Tifa and Vincent.

You'll probably enjoy 7, then.

Have fun.

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I played FFVII long after its original release. I didn't fall in love with it, but I didn't dislike it heavily either. Doesn't help that for reasons I took a long break after the Midgar stuff. I also used a guide for finding out what monsters gives what for the Enemy Skills Materia plus sidequest stuff, and somehow ended up overleveled by like 10-20, I don't know how. 

The translation is eh given the era. And I didn't like one move that was apparently praised at the time (spoilers just for the sake of hiding my criticisms):

Spoiler

The forced minigames.

I wasn't fond of the Materia system either- the characters were too samey, and unlike a class system it wasn't handled well.

I acknowledge its impact, but it isn't my favorite FF. I guess that'd be V or VI. I need to play IX and XII though.

 

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56 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

I acknowledge its impact, but it isn't my favorite FF. I guess that'd be V or VI. I need to play IX and XII though.
 

I suppose banning you until you finish IX is mod abuse, but. . .yeah, go play IX.

I didn't understand half the things going on.  However. . .

Spoiler

Red XIII is the best character, hands down.

 

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I'd rank FF7 in the upper half for the series imo. It's archaic, but it's also pretty open ended so that you can mess with the game, it's storyline is good (least I think so), the world's one of the better ones in the series and the characters work for what they do.

It's not a top three FF title for me, but still.

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FFVII is my second favorite FF (behind IX). I know it's dated, but if you count that out it's an incredible game. The characters have deep personalities locked behind their blocky, expressionless faces. The story has incredible detail, held back by a horrible translation. The music is chippy and fake-sounding, but the tunes are some of the most emotional ever written. The gameplay can be frustrating, but you've probably never played a JRPG whose progression system wasn't inspired by Materia in some way or another. And the open world is beautiful, even with the poor graphics. It's a great game, but it really needs a remake. 

25 minutes ago, eclipse said:

I suppose banning you until you finish IX is mod abuse, but. . .yeah, go play IX.

I didn't understand half the things going on.  However. . .

  Reveal hidden contents

Red XIII is the best character, hands down.

 

It's not mod abuse, it's an intervention! Friends don't let friends not play IX!

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My very first RPG ever. 8 year old me instantly fell in love with the genre. (OMG, I just realized that was 20 years ago...)

The materia system can be extremely deep, but it does allow for ever character to be more or less the same. Which can be a good thing if you just want to se characters you like.

It has a pretty good story, similar to one of those suspense/thriller movies where you learn something towards the end and then you have an "Oh! everything makes sense now!" kind of moment. Like 5 years ago I started casually speedrunning this game and I only then started to really understand some of the more over looking parts of the story.

The soundtrack is quite fantastic.

 

49 minutes ago, eclipse said:

I didn't understand half the things going on.  However. . .

  Reveal hidden contents

Red XIII is the best character, hands down.

 

I couldn't agree more.

Edited by Hawk King
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Alright so I just finished playing almost 4 hours of it. I enjoyed it. Here's some highlights of my first experience with the game:

It's got the same problem with FFX of static cameras so I can't tell when the cutscene stops and I have to start moving lol.

Navigating with PS1 perspective with a d-pad feels awkward and I easily miss some areas in a map.

During the 10 minute self-destruct sequence, I didn't know that I had to speak to the dude with his leg stuck (since I didn't know his leg was stuck) so I had to backtrack, talk to him, then go back. I managed to make it with 20 seconds to spare lol.

When I met Aerith, her default name was Aeris so I hit start and enter. I knew it was gonna bother me so I reset, fought the boss again, then renamed her properly.

I'm currently at the part where we just escape the sewers after falling thanks to Don Corneo. The crossdressing scene was pretty humorous. I dig the chemistry between Cloud and Tifa and Aerith.

Oh and the soundtrack is so good! The boss battle theme had my blood pumping.

Edited by Ronnie
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The FF7 boss theme is pretty blood-pumpy, but nothing makes me lose my mind like 8's boss theme. Both FF7 and 8's themes start at an intensity of like, 11/10, which isn't how boss themes in the rest of the series are.

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2 hours ago, Slumber said:

The FF7 boss theme is pretty blood-pumpy, but nothing makes me lose my mind like 8's boss theme. Both FF7 and 8's themes start at an intensity of like, 11/10, which isn't how boss themes in the rest of the series are.

Yeah, but those guitars are so... fake.

Actually, considering the technology at the time, those guitars are pretty realistic. Everything about FF7's soundtrack pales in comparison to FF8's from a technical standpoint though.

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19 minutes ago, SullyMcGully said:

Yeah, but those guitars are so... fake.

Actually, considering the technology at the time, those guitars are pretty realistic. Everything about FF7's soundtrack pales in comparison to FF8's from a technical standpoint though.

It does, one of the reasons I don't think it aged super well. They were using outdated midi throughout pretty much all of FF7. It wasn't until FF8 were they started implementing proper synthesizers and real instruments(Though there was still some midi).

But yeah, old midi being pushed out of a PS1 was bad for the time, but better sound systems and new types of AV outputs nowadays has made it even worse. Midi horns in FF7 sound like farts a lot of the times now.

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1 hour ago, Slumber said:

But yeah, old midi being pushed out of a PS1 was bad for the time, but better sound systems and new types of AV outputs nowadays has made it even worse. Midi horns in FF7 sound like farts a lot of the times now.

Is there a problem if I like One Winged Angel most in its original rendition? Latter variants aren't bad, but there is something for a piece that pushes what it has to work with to its limits. It's why Dancing Mad is best in its original form too. Nobuo Uematsu took the textbook definition of a symphony- four movements, and made each part of the final battle one.

Spoiler

The Extreme, The Legendary Beast and Maybe I'm A Lion (Maybe You're A Forced Unnecessary No Depth to Why Psychological Boss Battle) aren't anywhere near as good if you ask me. Well okay, The Extreme is weaker than OWA, but TBL beats Jenova Absolute, and probably MIAL beats Birth of a God. But Dancing Mad's quartet is the strongest overall final battle package.

I don't remember too much of either FFVII or VIII's soundtrack, some pieces I recall, but certainly far from all. FFVI's on the other hand I do remember well, probably because it was just from a more formative time in my life. The variety within it is amazing.

 

5 hours ago, Hawk King said:

I couldn't agree more.

Spoiler

Red XIII starts all wise when you first encounter him, but then you get to Cosmo Canyon and see he's actually a naive child. Interesting, but I'm not sure if they handled this the best they could. Not the worst, but the illusion of wisdom should have been a little more real I think, from what little I recall.

Of the characters, well none are bad. I think my preference is Cloud, Barret, Cait Sith, Yuffie, Aerith, Red XIII, Tifa, Vincent. But it's kinda loose beyond Cloud being no. 1. 

 

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41 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Is there a problem if I like One Winged Angel most in its original rendition? Latter variants aren't bad, but there is something for a piece that pushes what it has to work with to its limits. It's why Dancing Mad is best in its original form too. Nobuo Uematsu took the textbook definition of a symphony- four movements, and made each part of the final battle one.

  Hide contents

The Extreme, The Legendary Beast and Maybe I'm A Lion (Maybe You're A Forced Unnecessary No Depth to Why Psychological Boss Battle) aren't anywhere near as good if you ask me. Well okay, The Extreme is weaker than OWA, but TBL beats Jenova Absolute, and probably MIAL beats Birth of a God. But Dancing Mad's quartet is the strongest overall final battle package.

I don't remember too much of either FFVII or VIII's soundtrack, some pieces I recall, but certainly far from all. FFVI's on the other hand I do remember well, probably because it was just from a more formative time in my life. The variety within it is amazing.

I actually think One Winged Angel is the weakest of the 3 final FF7 themes, and the weakest of the final boss themes on the PS1 in general. It starts REALLY strong, but it just kind of peters out and becomes uninteresting. Birth of a God I tend to like the most of the FF7 final boss themes.

I do agree that its original version is the best, however. Rock-ifying it just made it generic. There's a way to do rock themes well, example being Dark Messenger here, likely because that was composed with rock instrumentation in mind, but I think most of the post-FF7 OWA renditions have been pretty unremarkable.

As for Dancing Mad... I have weird feelings on it. I do think it's probably one of the best things Nobuo Uematsu has written for the series, but I really don't like it as a boss theme. It works for Kefka, it works on its own, but I've never been a fan of how it was utilized in-game.

As for FF7 and 8's soundtracks as a whole, I tend to like 8's quite a bit more. One thing I really like about it is that there's a much stronger centralized theme(Or several) around it. The closest to a musical "theme" I can think of for FF7 is a kind of slimy, grungy atmospheric style that runs all throughout the music in Midgar, but once you get out of Midgar, that composition style mostly disappears. You hear it a bit with the Turks, but it's really just their theme and not much else.

FF8's soundtrack uses a lot of sweeping military motifs, since you play as essentially a group of for-hire mercenaries raised in a military academy. So a lot of mission themes(SeeD, The Landing, The Oath, The Stage is Set, Only a Plank Between One and Perdition, Dead End, Retaliation, and The Legendary Beast being prime examples). The more down to earth and romantic songs of the game use more of a loungey theme, primarily focusing on piano, guitar or bass(Julia's Song and all of the themes in the game that build off that, Ami, Roses and Wine), since the game's romance is basically centered on the love lost between a lounge pianist and a soldier. The parts of the game dealing with Esthar, the hyper-advanced society, are more electrionic(Man With a Machine Gun, Residents, Silence and Motion, Lunatic Pandora). The parts with the sorceresses are generally more booming, orchestal, mobile/sweeping pieces, but also oddly distorted pieces(Liberi Fatali, Premonition, Succession of Witches, A Sacrifice, The Castle).

Of course, there are plenty of themes in the game that don't always fit the motif, but still reflect similar ideas. And there are some that are just one-offs of their own. But I've always really, really liked what FF8 did with its soundtrack, and I think it's one of the better ones of the series.

Anyway, I dread the rock-orchestra soundtrack we'll get for the FF7 remake.

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Enjoy!  I was so obsessed with this game 17-18 years ago.  It's awesome.  :):

9 hours ago, Ronnie said:

When I met Aerith, her default name was Aeris so I hit start and enter. I knew it was gonna bother me so I reset, fought the boss again, then renamed her properly.

Could you explain this?  I've seen her called Aerith before by people on the internet.  Is it her Japanese name?

(I prefer Aeris, though.  It's a very nice name.  :]  Aerith looks "off" to me, but I think that's just because I'm so used to Aeris.)

12 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

I need to play IX and XII though.

IX is my favourite!  I highly recommend it. 

Edited by Infinite Dreams
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1 hour ago, Infinite Dreams said:

Could you explain this?  I've seen her called Aerith before by people on the internet.  Is it her Japanese name?

(I prefer Aeris, though.  It's a very nice name.  :]  Aerith looks "off" to me, but I think that's just because I'm so used to Aeris.)

Aeris was how it got translated initially. For some time, everything official has translated it to Aerith, the correct translation.

Still prefer Aeris. Aerith sounds like a lisp as a result of how I got introduced, but I preferred Aeris regardless.

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13 hours ago, Ronnie said:

During the 10 minute self-destruct sequence, I didn't know that I had to speak to the dude with his leg stuck (since I didn't know his leg was stuck) so I had to backtrack, talk to him, then go back. I managed to make it with 20 seconds to spare lol.

 

Haha, I remember doing the same exact thing. Only 8 year old me ran out of time... 

Oh, that's Jesse. A GIRL btw.

13 hours ago, Ronnie said:

Oh and the soundtrack is so good! The boss battle theme had my blood pumping.

All three PS1 Final Fantasy soundtracks are fantastic.

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1 hour ago, Hawk King said:

Haha, I remember doing the same exact thing. Only 8 year old me ran out of time... 

Oh, that's Jesse. A GIRL btw.

All three PS1 Final Fantasy soundtracks are fantastic.

Woops. Hard to tell with PS1 polygons.

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