I've been busy writing 3 research papers back to back for school -- oh how I hate them. Anyway, I return with a PS1 review and the MGS4 review shortly after. I wanted to play a few more PS1 games, but after see the pixelated mess that was Syphon Filter, I just couldn't. It amazes me that I was able to significantly enjoy that game when I was young. I think I'm going to do one more PS3 review and then borrow my brother's PS3 so I can play a few PS2 games. The more important of the bunch is MGS2 & 3. Then I'll return to the PS3 hopefully soon.
Introduction
I haven?t played FF7 (Final Fantasy VII) in about 10 years. With the lingering rumor of a remake for the PS3, especially with photos on the internet of Best Buy signs showing the remake for sale soon, I decided to play it again. I?m older now, so what new things could I understand that I wasn?t able to before. Like the fact that Hojo tried to mate Aerith with Red XIII. I also saw some analogies in the story with Mako and the Corporation Shinra... and the arrangement of the map. There are many interesting conclusions that I won?t go into.
I also wanted to see how the game held up after all these years. Was it still fun to play? Did my tastes change? And if there was a remake, would it be the exact same thing? How would they update it? I?ll try to answer these questions.
Story
FF7 is probably one of the longest games of the time period. I was 50 hours in when I got to the third and final disc. I?m guessing most of you already know the story so I won?t go into it. But it had to be one of the most complex stories of the time, and one of the most emotional. The story was able to change slightly depending on your responses to certain characters. Depending on who you favored, you would go out on a date with either Aerith, Tifa, Yuffie, or Barret. Although I don?t think the story has other response based branches.
Although the game has nine characters, I only like to team up Cloud with Barrett and Tifa. While all characters have back story, some more than others, there doesn?t seem to be enough story on some for me to care about them.
Gameplay
I thought FF7 was released with Analog support at some point, but the edition that I played didn?t have it. And this is where FF7 starts to show its age. Moving around in the world with the D-pad is weird. Often when you press left, you go north-west on the screen; when you press right, you go south-east. I find this confusing. If they just kept the regular d-pad controls, it may have been easier.
The materia system is cool, but about half of all materia is useless. Elemental attacks and about half the summons start to show their age in low hit points near the end of the game. I started to rely more heavily on type-less attacks. Materia also takes very long to master. I would have been nice to have more than Restore Materia mastered after 50 hours of play.
The game doesn?t give you much money until the end of the game where there is almost nothing left to buy. This almost seems like a good thing because it makes you think twice about spending money. However, now you?re forced to do a lot of annoying swapping between characters with materia, armor, and accessories. Swapping is needed because the game sometimes forces you to use other characters. The money that you do have will go to buying a new weapon for them, if possible, which will increase Attack Power and also the amount of material you can carry.
Most of the fun in the game is fighting boss battles, listening to the story, and the atmosphere. Everything else can be a little annoying. For example, exploring can be annoying because of all the battles that disrupt your train of thought and for what, a weak enemy ? they are not fun to fight. And that?s where you get the bulk of your money and experience from. Occasionally though, Square will throw a little mini-game in there that you have to do in order to forward the story which becomes a nice change of pace. The length of the mini-games are also good because their simplicity would get boring quickly.
Other Thoughts
Square?s first venture into 3D graphics looks mediocre considering what they were able to do for FF8. But the characters are still able to communicate emotions with body language and the prerendered background still look amazing because of the motion in it. Capcom never got around to doing effects like that until the remake of the original Resident Evil for Gamecube.
The soundtrack is simply awesome. I actually think the game wouldn?t have been as popular if not for it. It?s able to generate emotion and remains memorable for a long time. I love it so much that I bought it for $50.
Never noticed it before, but there are technically no loading times in FF7. I guess its discreetness is a testament. Occasionally you?ll get a longer than usual pause between scenes, but you never have to sit in front of a loading screen. That?s impressive.
I personally feel that this game is best enjoyed with a strategy guide. I have finished it before without one, but you?ll waste much less time and get all the goodies and skip all the crap with one beside you. It will be most helpful in getting certain goodies that are only attainable at a specific point in the game and doing all those extra bonus missions at the end of the game.
Grade: B
Well, I didn?t finish FF7 cause my PS3 crashed after spending about an hour fighting in Gold Saucer in the final disc. I didn?t enjoy that fighting and I didn?t feel like doing it again so I quit with 50 hours logged. I had already devoted a week to the game and didn?t want to waste any more of my short vacation on the game. However, coupling this experience with my past experience, I think that if you can stand the crappy 3D modeling, this game may be worth another shot if you haven?t played it in a while; or a first shot if you have never played it.
What if they make a remake?
While playing this game I was wondering if they would keep FF7 exactly the same, or would they change it if they remade it for the PS3 or a future console. I came to the conclusion that they would change it substantially. The update in graphics would allow them to do so much more in terms of level design and level detail. Also considering how popular the game is I?m sure they?ll put in some new dungeons for us to explore. Hopefully they?ll expand the story. The materia system they?ll have to keep because of its significance in the story, but maybe not the fighting system. Let?s not forget that it is outdated. Cutscenes will be fully voiced of course and hopefully be like Metal Gear Solid 4 in terms of quality and integration into the game. Also, the mood in Advent Children may not completely fit in with the goofy moments of FF7 ? I?m wondering how they?ll pull it off. I?m also hoping that they?ll orchestrate the soundtrack. If there is one remake to show an example of what I expect, it would be the Resident Evil remake on the Gamecube compared to the original. Some people will like it, others won?t, and some will like each in their own way. Anyway, that?s my prediction for the FF7 remake.
Introduction
I haven?t played FF7 (Final Fantasy VII) in about 10 years. With the lingering rumor of a remake for the PS3, especially with photos on the internet of Best Buy signs showing the remake for sale soon, I decided to play it again. I?m older now, so what new things could I understand that I wasn?t able to before. Like the fact that Hojo tried to mate Aerith with Red XIII. I also saw some analogies in the story with Mako and the Corporation Shinra... and the arrangement of the map. There are many interesting conclusions that I won?t go into.
I also wanted to see how the game held up after all these years. Was it still fun to play? Did my tastes change? And if there was a remake, would it be the exact same thing? How would they update it? I?ll try to answer these questions.
Story
FF7 is probably one of the longest games of the time period. I was 50 hours in when I got to the third and final disc. I?m guessing most of you already know the story so I won?t go into it. But it had to be one of the most complex stories of the time, and one of the most emotional. The story was able to change slightly depending on your responses to certain characters. Depending on who you favored, you would go out on a date with either Aerith, Tifa, Yuffie, or Barret. Although I don?t think the story has other response based branches.
Although the game has nine characters, I only like to team up Cloud with Barrett and Tifa. While all characters have back story, some more than others, there doesn?t seem to be enough story on some for me to care about them.
Gameplay
I thought FF7 was released with Analog support at some point, but the edition that I played didn?t have it. And this is where FF7 starts to show its age. Moving around in the world with the D-pad is weird. Often when you press left, you go north-west on the screen; when you press right, you go south-east. I find this confusing. If they just kept the regular d-pad controls, it may have been easier.
The materia system is cool, but about half of all materia is useless. Elemental attacks and about half the summons start to show their age in low hit points near the end of the game. I started to rely more heavily on type-less attacks. Materia also takes very long to master. I would have been nice to have more than Restore Materia mastered after 50 hours of play.
The game doesn?t give you much money until the end of the game where there is almost nothing left to buy. This almost seems like a good thing because it makes you think twice about spending money. However, now you?re forced to do a lot of annoying swapping between characters with materia, armor, and accessories. Swapping is needed because the game sometimes forces you to use other characters. The money that you do have will go to buying a new weapon for them, if possible, which will increase Attack Power and also the amount of material you can carry.
Most of the fun in the game is fighting boss battles, listening to the story, and the atmosphere. Everything else can be a little annoying. For example, exploring can be annoying because of all the battles that disrupt your train of thought and for what, a weak enemy ? they are not fun to fight. And that?s where you get the bulk of your money and experience from. Occasionally though, Square will throw a little mini-game in there that you have to do in order to forward the story which becomes a nice change of pace. The length of the mini-games are also good because their simplicity would get boring quickly.
Other Thoughts
Square?s first venture into 3D graphics looks mediocre considering what they were able to do for FF8. But the characters are still able to communicate emotions with body language and the prerendered background still look amazing because of the motion in it. Capcom never got around to doing effects like that until the remake of the original Resident Evil for Gamecube.
The soundtrack is simply awesome. I actually think the game wouldn?t have been as popular if not for it. It?s able to generate emotion and remains memorable for a long time. I love it so much that I bought it for $50.
Never noticed it before, but there are technically no loading times in FF7. I guess its discreetness is a testament. Occasionally you?ll get a longer than usual pause between scenes, but you never have to sit in front of a loading screen. That?s impressive.
I personally feel that this game is best enjoyed with a strategy guide. I have finished it before without one, but you?ll waste much less time and get all the goodies and skip all the crap with one beside you. It will be most helpful in getting certain goodies that are only attainable at a specific point in the game and doing all those extra bonus missions at the end of the game.
Grade: B
Well, I didn?t finish FF7 cause my PS3 crashed after spending about an hour fighting in Gold Saucer in the final disc. I didn?t enjoy that fighting and I didn?t feel like doing it again so I quit with 50 hours logged. I had already devoted a week to the game and didn?t want to waste any more of my short vacation on the game. However, coupling this experience with my past experience, I think that if you can stand the crappy 3D modeling, this game may be worth another shot if you haven?t played it in a while; or a first shot if you have never played it.
What if they make a remake?
While playing this game I was wondering if they would keep FF7 exactly the same, or would they change it if they remade it for the PS3 or a future console. I came to the conclusion that they would change it substantially. The update in graphics would allow them to do so much more in terms of level design and level detail. Also considering how popular the game is I?m sure they?ll put in some new dungeons for us to explore. Hopefully they?ll expand the story. The materia system they?ll have to keep because of its significance in the story, but maybe not the fighting system. Let?s not forget that it is outdated. Cutscenes will be fully voiced of course and hopefully be like Metal Gear Solid 4 in terms of quality and integration into the game. Also, the mood in Advent Children may not completely fit in with the goofy moments of FF7 ? I?m wondering how they?ll pull it off. I?m also hoping that they?ll orchestrate the soundtrack. If there is one remake to show an example of what I expect, it would be the Resident Evil remake on the Gamecube compared to the original. Some people will like it, others won?t, and some will like each in their own way. Anyway, that?s my prediction for the FF7 remake.
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