FFVII memories

[Rattlehead]

I figured that most people that played Final Fantasy VII have something about the game that is memorable to them, so...reminisce about it here. Here's mine:

Who remembers that glitch in Junon, where you could fight those robots that weren't supposed to be encountered until like, disc 2? Man, those are good memories.

I remember that in the later parts of the game, up until fighting Sephiroth, the game's experience curve ate my characters alive. They sucked...bad. Especially Cait Sith, but I never used him.

[The 9th Sage]

I still haven't played that game.

[Rattlehead]

I still haven't played that game.

Okay. Yeah, I got the game like, a year ago. 11 or so years after its release.

[Reaper man]

hmm, I really enjoyed the debug room

I thought it was so awesome back in the day.

[Apophis]

I remember how overrated it was.

[The 9th Sage]

Okay. Yeah, I got the game like, a year ago. 11 or so years after its release.

Well ok, I played up until a bit after you get off that ship...not very far into it I'd say. Then I got distracted by a Castlevania game and haven't played it since, like a year or two from then. :P

[Lillymon]

I played up until the party left Midgar, then I found it boring very quickly and quit. I've played it multiple times, always quitting at about the same point. I've never made it past the first disc.

[dangwoot]

i always liked the use sephiroth in your party code finally the ultimate badboy at your disposal.

[Haoie]

Embarrassing perhaps, but I never ever finished the game.

Stopped at the Northern Crater about, almost 2 years ago?

Never continued since.

[Cornellius]

While I like Final Fantasy VII, I think the game's overrated.

[Rattlehead]

While I like Final Fantasy VII, I think the game's overrated.

Agreed. Once a game obtains rabid fanboys and fangirls who'll eat you alive for talking shit, then you know it's an overrated game. When G4's X-Play gave "FFVII: Crisis Core" a 2/5, loads of people got pissy at them, which I find humorous.

[Umiliphus]

G4? Whenever I look up that channel on my listings it's either airing Cops or Cheaters.
(but Final Fantasy vii is fine with me)

[D--]

I think the part I most remember is this:

http://cinnamonpirate.com/img/8bitff7.gif

[Umiliphus]

I forgot about that part.

[Rattlehead]

G4? Whenever I look up that channel on my listings it's either airing Cops or Cheaters.
(but Final Fantasy vii is fine with me)

It was the X-Play video podcast in iTunes.

I think the part I most remember is this:

http://cinnamonpirate.com/img/8bitff7.gif

Lolz to the Famicom FFVII! I've seen it before, but can't find the damn ROM anywhere on the 'Net. Not like I could fucking read it, anyway.

[ToastyCheesy]

I never found a liking to FFVII... I just could not get into the game at all. In fact, I never touched a Final Fantasy game until I recieved IX from a friend... then I got hooked. I had VII a few times but the game itself actually wasn't a very good game to me... The only other Final Fantasies I habve yet to play are VIII and X. I have yet to even look at them, really. I can't find them anywhere. I actually have X-2 but I don't want to play through it until I've gotten X.

[Cornellius]

I actually have X-2 but I don't want to play through it until I've gotten X.

Final "Charlie's Angels" Fantasy X-2.

[Rattlehead]

Final "Charlie's Angels" Fantasy X-2.

X-2 was specifically made for all of the *ahem* "lonely" fanboys out there. Bad imagery comes to mind...get it out of my head!

[Shadow]

FFVII was a... disappointing game for oldschool fans like me in the first time. But I remember when I played it, it had some own charm. I think about these Weapons! My friends tried to beat them so often and I was the first to succeed. That was great. I never had such strong enemies until I fought the endboss in Star Ocean 2.

[SivakDrac]

It's one of those games I think I may like to play again every 5 years or so. I think that after the third time, I just always knew what to do and where to go. Good times.

[Morgoth]

Three things I guess, the first time I played it (in 2005) I was dumbfounded by the terrible player graphics. After hearing for years that FFVII was the best game ever, it really um disappointed me.

Every time I play I name Barret Mr. T becuase well you have to.

The best memory though was when that one person died, I yelled at my roomate "*** is dead damn it!" I was real pissed because I had built my entire stategy around her powers. Anyway my roomate made fun of me because It was 2006 and I still had no idea that she would be killed.

Oh yeah one more, that first boss fight when barret tells you to attack when your not supposed to because of a mistranslation. he says something like "attack when its tail is up, itll counter with its laser"

[Rattlehead]

I remember when Aerith died too. It was right after I had obtained her final limit break, and before she had learned it. So, her final limit break sat in my inventory the entire rest of the game.

[Umiliphus]

I never even found her fancy hidden junk. I read about how to do so online when I was going through the second time and thought "grash, why even bother?" I wasn't especially surprised at her death, primarily because it wasn't totally clear to me that a death had taken place. In comparison, I was certain Rydia, Edward, Palom, Porom and Yang were all dead at one point or another. I'm still not comfortable talking about Tellah and Galuf (weep). Oh spoilers eh.

[hcs]

Favorite FFVII moment: When first arriving at the overworld, that sad epic music, and a vast world stretching in every direction.
A lot of games have that, but 7's really touched me. (goddamnit I'll use that expression when appropriate)
Also still the only FF I've played through besides 1.

[Rattlehead]

I never even found her fancy hidden junk. I read about how to do so online when I was going through the second time and thought "grash, why even bother?" I wasn't especially surprised at her death, primarily because it wasn't totally clear to me that a death had taken place. In comparison, I was certain Rydia, Edward, Palom, Porom and Yang were all dead at one point or another. I'm still not comfortable talking about Tellah and Galuf (weep). Oh spoilers eh.

See, I'm one of those gamers that has to find all of the hidden shit. Personally, I blame my OCD (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsessive-compulsive_disorder).

Yeah, I know what you mean. Y'know what I don't get? Throughout their journeys, they get smashed, slashed, beat, hit, bitten, and every other form of attack that I didn't mention, but then they die from some pissy-assed attack. I mean, Aerith could've easily survived impalement, but the plot intervened and killed her. Wait...that means that the plot killed her and not Sephiroth! I is are so smart.

Favorite FFVII moment: When first arriving at the overworld, that sad epic music, and a vast world stretching in every direction.
A lot of games have that, but 7's really touched me. (goddamnit I'll use that expression when appropriate)
Also still the only FF I've played through besides 1.

Well then...you use that expression, goddamnit. Heh, that reminds me of when Cloud and co. had tea with Cid.

"Shut up! Sit your ass down in that chair and drink your goddamn TEA!"

Good times, good times.

[Cornellius]

See, I'm one of those gamers that has to find all of the hidden shit. Personally, I blame my OCD (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsessive-compulsive_disorder).

I also have the OCD.

[Umiliphus]

Just about everybody does, these days. I didn't know there was all that hidden rubbish, though. In that Final Fantasy 7 especially, among other video games I've used which have secrets, I can't imagine how somebody could locate or even know about a great deal of it without being specifically told. The chocobo breeding in particular is absurdly pedantic, and even when you do everything right whether it works or not is totally random. I can't stand it.
And what was the deal with Vincent? I didn't know there was a Vincent for years. Some of that game is like solving a rubik's cube with your eyes closed. Yet I love it anyway.

[Rattlehead]

Just about everybody does, these days. I didn't know there was all that hidden rubbish, though. In that Final Fantasy 7 especially, among other video games I've used which have secrets, I can't imagine how somebody could locate or even know about a great deal of it without being specifically told. The chocobo breeding in particular is absurdly pedantic, and even when you do everything right whether it works or not is totally random. I can't stand it.
And what was the deal with Vincent? I didn't know there was a Vincent for years. Some of that game is like solving a rubik's cube with your eyes closed. Yet I love it anyway.

Not to the degree of mine, where it effects other aspects of life. Eh, that's why I love my psychiatrist and his almighty prescription pad.;)

[Adremalech The Wroth]

i would have to say my favorite moment is on the boat when red xiii (nanaki) is having trouble trying to walk like a human in that ridiculous sailor outfit.

[mjfanryan]

you guy's are crazy, easily the greatest game of all time, lost count how many times I played it.

best part the death of a main character Aeris that dosen't happen every game.

[Rattlehead]

you guy's are crazy, easily the greatest game of all time, lost count how many times I played it.

best part the death of a main character Aeris that dosen't happen every game.

*cough narrow-minded fanboy cough*

[hcs]

best part the death of a main character Aeris that dosen't happen every game.

http://www.hcs64.com/images/dw3.png

[Umiliphus]

*cough narrow-minded fanboy cough*

I think your keyboard has a cold.

[Rattlehead]

I think your keyboard has a cold.

Damn straight.

Seriously, though... Aeris had been KOed a lot while in my party, so I was just sitting there afterwards thinking "What the hell?". I guess Phoenix Downs don't work all the time?

[The 9th Sage]

Come on now, be nice.

[FireEmblemGuy]

I can't say I have any 'fond' memories of FFVII; I finally sat down and played it last year, and when I was done I simply wondered how such a train wreck gained such a legendary status. Even for PSX the graphics were bad, the controls were clunky, and the plot was a mess. I'm actually a fan of Final Fantasy itself; up until FFIVDS Final Fantasy II/IV was pretty much my favorite game, so don't mistake me for a troll/anti-fanboy.

[Lillymon]

I can't say I have any 'fond' memories of FFVII; I finally sat down and played it last year, and when I was done I simply wondered how such a train wreck gained such a legendary status. Even for PSX the graphics were bad, the controls were clunky, and the plot was a mess.
Wow, my thoughts exactly. I look back and wonder what the hell the reviewers were on. Square went to the extents of going with Tetsuya Nomura rather than Yoshitaka Amano for the character designs purely because they knew they didn't have the experience with the graphical hardware to do any sort of justice to Amano's detailed and fluid designs. How a company with so little confidence in their own graphical abilities got 8s and 9s for graphics defies all logic.

Unfortunately, FF7 did better than anyone expected, and Nomura's designs have become the norm rather than the interlude they really should've been. I think Nomura's style officially got old after FFX and Square-Enix should really find a new style for the series.

As for the plot, that seemed a consistent weakness of the PlayStation era. FF7 had no plot for disc 2, FF8 had the abomination known as Time Compression, and FF9 coined the phrase "Pulling a Necron". I feel that the writers of JRPG plots should be ordered to write a basic beginning, middle, and end to their story very early on. Any team without several established plot points and an ending by the late-alpha phase should be fired on the spot.

[AkaneJones]

That's a bit unfair, no really. Now I admit the polygon models in FF7 suck ass but still. First off the pre-rendered backgrounds in FF7 are very pretty of it's time and place. In fact they are a total step up on Treasure Hunter G & Mario RPG's backgrounds because they weren't limited by the colour and tile limitations of the SNES. Now one could argue that FF6 had better art but here you'd be comparing apples to oranges, as FF6 was drawn art and FF7 was pre-rendered.

Then we come to the poly models, yes they suck even for 32 bit era. No people shouldn't brake in two like Pres. Shinra. I always remember that Zelda:OoT looks miles better ahead of FF7 in the poly department and it had to render backgrounds and characters. Ofcourse it really only shows Square's inexperience at using real time poly models and not much more. Actually the battle polys look loads better especially the high rez Cloud from the ending battle, but even then inexperience shows in their bones.

Needless to say the pre-rendered cg movie sequence looked good then but look crap now. It's like watching most early mid 90s 3D animation. Even stuff like Toy Story suffer from it, and Pixar was always one of the best. The fact is those were just hype at the right time for those things to impress people. Personally I like 2D drawn art better, but hey 3D became a rage and seams more of a standard now. And one can't deny it helped. Yes fmv's truly equal Lunar, Popful Mail other Sega CD/Turbo Dou game but in till it was on a popular console and in 3D people didn't notice.

As for character design Square did it more for the fact that Amano's art look terrible in low poly because it's just so scribbly. Hell they had a hard time converting it in to good sprites some times. I actually like the character designs of FF7 but not the more realistic junk Square went to with FF8 on. In fact out side of FF9 the other FFs art style has been getting to same-y. I like the art style of the original FF Tactics though, and the Crystal Chronicals series. I think looks better when it isn't doing DS chibis, but.... Still I never really like Amano's art all that much, but I do think it might make a new #FF look less same-y. (Also why the Tales of Heart CG version? I wouldn't buy that version if it makes it to the US. Why must Namco try and dopple FFs same-yness onto a Tales game)

Really however it amazes me how people often feel that FF7 is somehow different from the Nes & Snes FFs. Ulitmaly, gag yes, its the same. The Matteria system is basically the Job system meets the Magicite system. Really the only thing that make FF7 any different from FF1-6 is the trapped in Midgard first part and that's only because you can't get to the overworld. To say the story suck is stupid also though, but hey unlike the fan boys would have you believe FF6 is far better constructed. Ofcourse Japanese RPGs on a whole seem to always suffer from the not as good as a Manga/Anime. Kind of makes me want a RPG company to employ a Shoujo manga writer. Original CLAMP or Yu Watase written RPG yes please. But I feel that such a dream will never happen. One would note that when they do come together the game is the one that ends up sucking, Full Metal Alchemist any one.

[Triggs]

I can't say I have any 'fond' memories of FFVII; I finally sat down and played it last year, and when I was done I simply wondered how such a train wreck gained such a legendary status. Even for PSX the graphics were bad, the controls were clunky, and the plot was a mess. I'm actually a fan of Final Fantasy itself; up until FFIVDS Final Fantasy II/IV was pretty much my favorite game, so don't mistake me for a troll/anti-fanboy.

Well obviously playing a game thats 10 yrs old would make you feel that way. the game was revolutionary for its time like pacman and tetris were for theirs. you play either of those more than a decade later and theres nothin special about them. the only way you could truly rate a game on its merits is to rate it around its time of release. and its extremely unfair to try to compare it to todays standards. if u just finished metal gear solid 4 and then 4 some odd reason decided u wanted to play the original (and we'll pretend youd never played metal gear b4 the 4th installment) youd be insanely disappointed. u cant compare the two. Even if u were utterly obsessed with the game and thought it was the best game ever in its day, as time marches on, and u play newer better games, it becomes subpar. the story was a mess? i suppose you'll tell me the story in final fantasy tactics was awful. generally speaking if one couldnt appreciate that story in tactics, it was because it was too complicated for them to comprehend. most people just werent capable of understanding the story so its automatically awful. you may not be an anti fanboy, but it seems like your just looking for something to be wrong with it even with it being out dated. if you want to like a bad movie - you can. if you want to hate a good game - you can do that to.

Personally i dont see what everbodys obsession with GTA is. i cant stand the game. its boring and theyre all the exact same. Just like Dynasty warriors, but the bias of review sites rates GTA higher and higher every identical incarnation but dynasty warriors lower and lower.

Oh and to answer the actual question of the thread... well i liked the whole game. I remember the part with aeris or aerith evoking some sadness which had never happened before. eh, whole game was great. but my best moment was defeating Emerald and Ruby weapons (big bad optional bosses) without any cheats altho i did need to look up how to avoid sudden death while fighting the former.

[The 9th Sage]

Well obviously playing a game thats 10 yrs old would make you feel that way. the game was revolutionary for its time like pacman and tetris were for theirs. you play either of those more than a decade later and theres nothin special about them. the only way you could truly rate a game on its merits is to rate it around its time of release.

I don't think I agree with this...Pac-Man, Tetris? Still fun. A good game will always be good. That said, not all people agree on what games ARE good, obvoiusly.

[Lillymon]

That's a bit unfair, no really. Now I admit the polygon models in FF7 suck ass but still. First off the pre-rendered backgrounds in FF7 are very pretty of it's time and place.

Yes, but the problem there is that the human eye is drawn to the characters first and the background later. The characters are much more important, so it's very bad news when they're the weak link.

In fact they are a total step up on Treasure Hunter G & Mario RPG's backgrounds because they weren't limited by the colour and tile limitations of the SNES.

True, but I still think Chrono Trigger is a prettier game. I might have said differently back in 1997, but FF7 really is a game that aged badly. The main problem there though is that game companies really don't care about how a game will age, they just want people ogling it right at this second. But the legacy of FF7 is making me think more and more about how a game's style will age, and I'm frankly put off by those that I think won't age well.

Now one could argue that FF6 had better art but here you'd be comparing apples to oranges, as FF6 was drawn art and FF7 was pre-rendered.

Agreed, but I think Square went too early in retrospect. They really weren't ready for the move, but it worked anyway. I think it actually made for a rather anti-climactic start to the pre-rendered era.

Then we come to the poly models, yes they suck even for 32 bit era. No people shouldn't brake in two like Pres. Shinra. I always remember that Zelda:OoT looks miles better ahead of FF7 in the poly department and it had to render backgrounds and characters. Ofcourse it really only shows Square's inexperience at using real time poly models and not much more. Actually the battle polys look loads better especially the high rez Cloud from the ending battle, but even then inexperience shows in their bones.

But they still got 8s and 9s, despite the poor models. I mean, how did that happen? Did they get extra points for effort? Even with the good backgrounds, broken models like that should pull it down to a 5 or 6. Inexperience be damned, it's the final result that counts.

Needless to say the pre-rendered cg movie sequence looked good then but look crap now. It's like watching most early mid 90s 3D animation. Even stuff like Toy Story suffer from it, and Pixar was always one of the best.

Toy Story looks better, but that's simply because they had more time and resources. I'm getting increasingly tired of CG though. The whole style has reached its sell-by date for me and holds no appeal. CG is now a means to and end rather than an end in itself, and anyone relying on pretty graphics won't get far with me now.

The fact is those were just hype at the right time for those things to impress people.

That doesn't explain the idiots on various sites calling it "The Best Game Ever" though. I guess that's down their own warped memories. They even complain about how it looks in pSX. That's what it really looks like! Mark a game based on what it actually is, not your fuzzy memories of 1997.

Personally I like 2D drawn art better, but hey 3D became a rage and seams more of a standard now. And one can't deny it helped. Yes fmv's truly equal Lunar, Popful Mail other Sega CD/Turbo Dou game but in till it was on a popular console and in 3D people didn't notice.

Lunar: The Silver Star is a bit overlooked in terms of groundbreaking RPGs in my opinion. The whole voice acting thing that was something that Square took damn near a decade to touch. I think voice acting does more for a good RPG that any number of flashy FMVs.

As for character design Square did it more for the fact that Amano's art look terrible in low poly because it's just so scribbly. Hell they had a hard time converting it in to good sprites some times. I actually like the character designs of FF7 but not the more realistic junk Square went to with FF8 on. In fact out side of FF9 the other FFs art style has been getting to same-y.

Definitely agreed. FF12 actually had a different character designer, but I didn't notice due to the fact that Vaan could practically be Tidus' twin brother. What the hell happened there? I was appalled to find that the development team initially intended for Basch to be the main character, but shied away when they thought a manly main character would adversely impact sales. As a result we got the flat Vaan and Penelo as main characters while Basch was moved down to secondary status.

FF12 was one time where Square didn't have much of a graphical advantage, and so needed to be bold with the rest. The gameplay delivered, but the characters and plot did not. Cowardice seldom makes for striking games...

I like the art style of the original FF Tactics though, and the Crystal Chronicals series. I think looks better when it isn't doing DS chibis, but.... Still I never really like Amano's art all that much, but I do think it might make a new #FF look less same-y.

I don't think they need to go back, but they definitely need an artistic overhaul. I've no idea what that would entail, but then that's their job. Surprise me!

(Also why the Tales of Heart CG version? I wouldn't buy that version if it makes it to the US. Why must Namco try and dopple FFs same-yness onto a Tales game)

I have been lambasting that CG version on the Tales of Forum. I hate it so much, and you seem to be the only person who shares my fears about where Namco is going with this. Production IG's animation is a marvel to behold, yet Namco seem determined to end their partnership in order to turn the Tales series into another bland FF clone. A pity too as Tales of Vesperia looks like the first Tales game I'm actually going to buy and play on one of my home consoles. I hope the CG version sinks like a stone so Namco go no further with this experiment.

Really however it amazes me how people often feel that FF7 is somehow different from the Nes & Snes FFs. Ulitmaly, gag yes, its the same. The Matteria system is basically the Job system meets the Magicite system. Really the only thing that make FF7 any different from FF1-6 is the trapped in Midgard first part and that's only because you can't get to the overworld.

Funnily enough, Midgar is my favourite bit. I thought that was very atmospheric and the plot seemed to be going somewhere quickly and with purpose. As soon as the game goes on to the overworld though, it just seems to stop. I didn't really get why it was so important that I be chasing Sephiroth everywhere. As I said, I never make it to the end of disc 1, and I've also never actually seen Aeris die in-game. I've only seen the FMV because I once extracted and viewed it with a computer program.

To say the story suck is stupid also though, but hey unlike the fan boys would have you believe FF6 is far better constructed. Ofcourse Japanese RPGs on a whole seem to always suffer from the not as good as a Manga/Anime. Kind of makes me want a RPG company to employ a Shoujo manga writer. Original CLAMP or Yu Watase written RPG yes please. But I feel that such a dream will never happen. One would note that when they do come together the game is the one that ends up sucking, Full Metal Alchemist any one.

Well I eventually concluded that FFX made sense, but I had to play it twice and take a look through Wikia first. I'm guessing it was either bad story telling or an inattentive viewer that made it seems so crap the first time around. My standards for RPG storytelling are rather low really, I'm not expecting them to blow my mind.

[Umiliphus]

Best ever? No no no. However:
I hated polygons from the beginning. Not just for their appearance, but also the shift in game styles it brought forth fairly quickly. I wouldn't have anything to do with Playstation until Final Fantasy 7, which I specifically rented a unit for, despite being prepared long in advance to hate it. I liked at last having monsters which could move around and were proportioned more sensibly to the heroes. There's no defending the outside battle figures, nor the rendered animations which use those versions, that much I think everybody can agree on. Fortunately, in many scenes, despite the ridiculous contrast, the characters are often rather tiny against backgrounds which it makes sense for them to be tiny against, so it's not as big a problem as it could have been. Their tiny-ness makes the world seem larger than previously it had been possible to do, and I like the world to seem large, especially when I'm circumnavigating it in ten seconds on a flying machine.
The story doesn't make a whole mess of sense, especially if you don't see it to the end... I'm not still not clear on all of it, but I never found it boring. I think it handles the sudden drop in structure post-Midgar and fills its world map far better than its sequel. Which isn't relevant but I felt like saying it.

I don't find it terribly fair to complain about a game aging badly and then to bring up something like Lunar. I didn't complete the Sega CD version, but I did finish the [presumably improved] remake version and when I wasn't running around talking to people I'd already talked to, I was entering pretty much the same sequence of battle commands, for hours. Even being the only game where I got serious use out of the sleep spell couldn't hide the monotony. I liked the story and most of the characters, but it wasn't enough.

[Lillymon]

I don't find it terribly fair to complain about a game aging badly and then to bring up something like Lunar. I didn't complete the Sega CD version, but I did finish the [presumably improved] remake version and when I wasn't running around talking to people I'd already talked to, I was entering pretty much the same sequence of battle commands, for hours. Even being the only game where I got serious use out of the sleep spell couldn't hide the monotony. I liked the story and most of the characters, but it wasn't enough.
Heh, I was more talking about looks than gameplay. Admittedly, in terms of gameplay, it tends to be the other way around. Final Fantasy gameplay ages well, other games not so much. Hell, I've recently been playing Shadow Hearts and can't count the amount of times I was frustrated by not being able to switch characters in battle or being forced to find inns rather than healing at save points. Both features implemented in Final Fantasy X, released nine days before Shadow Hearts.

[FF8saver]

What a game i hadnt completed since 1997 but i download ultima edition and completed in 48 hrs but with cheats :D

[The 9th Sage]

I have been lambasting that CG version on the Tales of Forum. I hate it so much, and you seem to be the only person who shares my fears about where Namco is going with this. Production IG's animation is a marvel to behold, yet Namco seem determined to end their partnership in order to turn the Tales series into another bland FF clone. A pity too as Tales of Vesperia looks like the first Tales game I'm actually going to buy and play on one of my home consoles. I hope the CG version sinks like a stone so Namco go no further with this experiment.

That astonishes me that you would find so few people that agree with you (I know I do). I'd choose the anime version in a heart beat. I'm glad they didn't go that route with Tales of Symphonia: Knight of Ratatosk/Dawn of the New World.

[Rattlehead]

I prefer Yoshitaka Amano's artwork over Tetsuya Nomura's any day. Amano's art style had a sort of...well, it's hard to describe it. I suppose "rough sketchiness" would be how to describe it. When Nomura took over...eh. Sure, the drawings were more detailed and well-defined, but that's when the crappy outfits started appearing. What I mean by that is...well, take FFX's artwork for example. Tidus' outfit has all of these useless zippers and other nonsensical crap on it, and Lulu's dress? It's half-made of belts. I know that a lot of people like Nomura's art better, but I just think that Amano's kicks ass.

[Lenophis]

Memories, huh? Let's see. How about this: "the game is so damn easy, you can almost play it while sleeping (http://65.100.5.206/leno/archives/media/FF7%20-%20Emerald%20and%20Ruby.avi)."

[Cornellius]

Why does he cast Hades (The black cauldron) so often ? For what purpose ? Also, Yuffie was always my weakest character.

[Lenophis]

Why does he cast Hades (The black cauldron) so often ? For what purpose ? Also, Yuffie was always my weakest character.
It paralyzes Ruby, so he can't counter attack (notice when he's moving vs moving very slowly; moving slowly means he can counter). Yuffie's power for that battle comes entirely from the Conformer (though all three of them have max strength). Doom of the Living is nice, too. Ruby has the highest defense of any monster in the game, so all of the power you can get will help.

[Triggs]

Another good memory of this game for me is the music. it had some of the most memorable music ive experienced in a final fantasy game.

I don't think I agree with this...Pac-Man, Tetris? Still fun. A good game will always be good. That said, not all people agree on what games ARE good, obvoiusly.

right, I never said they were not good games. but I promise you that some kid playing pacman now - who had never played it before - after he's just finished playing gears of war 2 will say "this game fucking sucks donkey ass dude." I guarantee you he would not view the game as groundbreaking like it was when it was first released. it was the type of thing people were telling there their friends about "omfg dude you gotta come to the arcade with me after you get payed so we can play pacman and/or tetris." same with pinball. I like them all. tetris more than pacman. addicted to meteos...
I was playing metal gear solid 1 the other day and the graphics are beyond awful to me. I remember when I first played it I thought it looked incredible. first thing I thought when I saw it this year was "I don't remember the graphics being that bad."
The story I used to think was motion picture caliber now I think is not so well done. the controls seem clunky and unresponsive and the camera generally sucks. obviously my opinion has changed with the times. it's still fun to me in small doses, but i cant spend hours and hours completely enthralled the way I did before. queue cue MGS4

[Reaper man]

right, I never said they were not good games. but I promise you that some kid playing pacman now - who had never played it before - after he's just finished playing gears of war 2 will say "this game fucking sucks donkey ass dude." I guarantee you he would not view the game as groundbreaking like it was when it was first released. it was the type of thing people were telling there their friends about "omfg dude you gotta come to the arcade with me after you get payed so we can play pacman and/or tetris." same with pinball. I like them all. tetris more than pacman. addicted to meteos...
I was playing metal gear solid 1 the other day and the graphics are beyond awful to me. I remember when I first played it I thought it looked incredible. first thing I thought when I saw it this year was "I don't remember the graphics being that bad."
The story I used to think was motion picture caliber now I think is not so well done. the controls seem clunky and unresponsive and the camera generally sucks. obviously my opinion has changed with the times. it's still fun to me in small doses, but i cant spend hours and hours completely enthralled the way I did before. queue cue MGS4

Holy fuck. What are you, 12? Do not type like a retard here. Have some respect for the other users reading here. This is a verbal warning. Type AOL speak like that here again and I will issue a 3 day ban. I will not tolerate such stupidity on these forums.

[Lillymon]

first thing I thought when I saw it this year was "I don't remember the graphics being that bad."
That's actually a problem for MESS. They emulate the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 exactly as they were, at the proper resolution, the PS1 infamous jaggies, and the N64's "My God, how did all that Vaseline got on my TV?" filtering. Then people bitch at them about how the games "Didn't look that bad!", their warped memories convincing them that the games used to look a lot better than they actually did. Pete's hardware plugins haven't really helped matters, as they raise the resolution of the 3D models and filter the hell out of the textures until it's not even the same game any more.

I got tired of all the messing about with plugins these days and generally refuse to use them unless they really are my last resort (Mupen64Plus and PCSX2 may qualify for this). I believe Duddie has actually apologized to the emulation scene in general for making PSEmu Pro use plugins and starting a fad that has refused to go away.

[CommieCowboy]

Telling some idiot who called Der Langrisser difficult that even this easy game has more challenge.

[The 9th Sage]

I believe Duddie has actually apologized to the emulation scene in general for making PSEmu Pro use plugins and starting a fad that has refused to go away.

I see why he might say that, but on the plus side there are far more options than there would have been otherwise.

[retroguiden]

I see why he might say that, but on the plus side there are far more options than there would have been otherwise.

Well I know most emu developers do it to come as close to the original as possible. That's all fine. But me as a player are really the most interested in the craft of the games. I want old games to be experienced as best they can be. If I can play Zelda from N64 with decent graphics by todays standards to enhance my enjoyjment of the game I'm all for plugins. Let's face it, most games from the beginning of the 3D era sucks graphically. In many instances making the games nearly unplayable.

So I for one are glad of the plugins and I don't think anyone should apologize for it.

[Triggs]

Holy fuck. What are you, 12? Do not type like a retard here. Have some respect for the other users reading here. This is a verbal warning. Type AOL speak like that here again and I will issue a 3 day ban. I will not tolerate such stupidity on these forums.

uh huh. you mention respect and twelve year old in a rant that shows no respect to me and name calling like that of a twelve year old.... maybe ten.

[Reaper man]

uh huh. you mention respect and twelve year old in a rant that shows no respect to me and name calling like that of a twelve year old.... maybe ten.

I offer no respect to people who don't give me any respect. Also, What name calling did I do? No, really, feel free to point it out. Finally, do you really want to test my patience?

[Triggs]

I offer no respect to people who don't give me any respect. Also, What name calling did I do? No, really, feel free to point it out. Finally, do you really want to test my patience?

And why would I show you respect when you're disrespecting me. I guess I'll just go back to the massive amounts of disrespect I haven't been showing you. Yeah, I'm not into throwing around threats and causing trouble online, because I grew up years ago, but I'm sure it makes you feel so big, high and mighty. I'm supposed to be panic-stricken since you're going to ban me because i disagree with your unfair and unjust attempt to belittle my character? Well sorry to disappoint you kid, but after you ban me - I'll live. I'll shed no tears and I'll lose no sleep. Oh well. I see now why this once great and renowned place will never again be so and I'll give you a hint pssst - It's not because of the moderators or the members. Well, do what you gotta do kid. Infants running forums - badly - these days. What's next?

I can use bold and italics too big man... er, toddler. Might wanna go put on your big girl diapers and teach me a lesson I'll soon forget. Couldn't help sinking to your level through this, but I refuse to hide behind metaphors to claim I wasn't throwing an affront. Retarded administering of a forum defeats the forum's purpose. Thanks to the members and moderators of this forum for a good time. See ya around.

(USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)

[Reaper man]

See ya around.

Indeed, bye.

[Chinomon]

Losing the theme, dont ya think........

[Lillymon]

Well to continue losing the theme, Tales of Hearts is now out and we have the first week sales figures!

Anime - 123,600
CG - 16,900

Ouch. Not even 150,000 in total, and the anime version outsold the CG version by a ratio of 7 to 1. That should hopefully be enough for Namco to discontinue this ill-advised experiment.

[The 9th Sage]

I heard about that...I wasn't even aware it had an anime and a CG version until I saw that. Now if only it would come out in the US/Europe. We all missed out on Tales of the Tempest (eh, it's an ok game...not a big loss), Tales of Innocence (now there is a loss)...are they going for the triple play?

[Lillymon]

I heard about that...I wasn't even aware it had an anime and a CG version until I saw that. Now if only it would come out in the US/Europe. We all missed out on Tales of the Tempest (eh, it's an ok game...not a big loss), Tales of Innocence (now there is a loss)...are they going for the triple play?
In Europe we missed damn near the entire series. I actually counted the games we got, and I came to five, with various reasons why I don't have them.

Tales of Phantasia (GBA) - Because it's a bad port of the PS1 version, and the translation is nearly Zero Wing bad.
Tales of Eternia (PSP) - Because I don't have a PSP, and don't plan to buy one.
Tales of Symphonia (NGC) - Because they messed with the intro, which I hate. I might get past that if I really like Vesperia though.
Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology (PSP) - Because I still don't have a PSP, and I don't want one.
Tales of Vesperia (XB360) - Because I don't have an Xbox 360, though I might get one, then this will be in the running to be my first.

Any other Tales game on any other platform has never made it to Europe. I'd be amazed if the total European sales for the series has even hit 100,000.

[The 9th Sage]

Tales of Symphonia (NGC) - Because they messed with the intro, which I hate. I might get past that if I really like Vesperia though.

You ought to take a look at it...this game actually started my Tales mania. :bigthumbup: And on top of that, it and it's sequel are essentially a distant prequel to Tales of Phantasia. Also, I don't think I'd go so far as calling ToP GBA's translation Zero Wing bad. At least the European version had less bugs than the US version. ;)

[Lillymon]

Also, I don't think I'd go so far as calling ToP GBA's translation Zero Wing bad.
Well it's not quite as bad, but I did hear the story of 'Ragnarok' getting mistranslated as 'kangaroo', which is pretty awful. I generally refuse to pay for translations that bad because it gives the impression that such a lack of effort is actually acceptable.

[The 9th Sage]

Well it's not quite as bad, but I did hear the story of 'Ragnarok' getting mistranslated as 'kangaroo', which is pretty awful.

Wait wait...I played most of the game, I presume I didn't play far enough to see that. That is pretty bad. lol

[Lillymon]

Wait wait...I played most of the game, I presume I didn't play far enough to see that. That is pretty bad. lol
It may just have been a myth, I've never played it myself.

[toasterhed]

you guy's are crazy, easily the greatest game of all time, lost count how many times I played it.

best part the death of a main character Aeris that dosen't happen every game.

It does happen every time you play FFVII though.

That just the thing. There aren't really any perks to beating the game again.

Emerald Weapon drops the Earth Harp which can get you three pieces of "Master" materia. That's nice but if you already beat the last boss, what is the point really? And if you didn't beat him, and your strong enough to beat Emerald Weapon then you probably are going to smash Sephiroth like a bug. Just to say you did it? (Maybe I am missing something it's been years since I played it) I just don't see the point.

However I did do everything but beat Emerald Weapon. Which my friend did because I was sick of it after the chocobo breeding. (read below) I have beaten the game, I like Final Fantasy, that's good enough for me. It doesn't stand out but it's not the worst game I've played.

I agree the models sucked a bit. It is quite old though, as has been said. I think that the most memorable part of the game was me spending a week to actually breed a gold chocobo instead of just getting in the game. (Don't give me crap over it taking that long, I have to work and stuff too.) I didn't use a guide either.

I felt very rewarded for doing that the hard way. But I like mini-games. Even if it was one of the least interesting mini-games I have ever played.

[Rattlehead]

It does happen every time you play FFVII though.

That just the thing. There aren't really any perks to beating the game again.

Emerald Weapon drops the Earth Harp which can get you three pieces of "Master" materia. That's nice but if you already beat the last boss, what is the point really? And if you didn't beat him, and your strong enough to beat Emerald Weapon then you probably are going to smash Sephiroth like a bug. Just to say you did it? (Maybe I am missing something it's been years since I played it) I just don't see the point.

However I did do everything but beat Emerald Weapon. Which my friend did because I was sick of it after the chocobo breeding. (read below) I have beaten the game, I like Final Fantasy, that's good enough for me. It doesn't stand out but it's not the worst game I've played.

I agree the models sucked a bit. It is quite old though, as has been said. I think that the most memorable part of the game was me spending a week to actually breed a gold chocobo instead of just getting in the game. (Don't give me crap over it taking that long, I have to work and stuff too.) I didn't use a guide either.

I felt very rewarded for doing that the hard way. But I like mini-games. Even if it was one of the least interesting mini-games I have ever played.

Yeah, I remember getting all of the 'Master' materia before running off to kick Sephiroth's ass...and that I did. That was the most anti-climactic fight in the entire game. Even Safer Sephiroth was a fucking breeze. That was definitely the most annoying battle of the entire game, though. Damn 'Super Nova'...

[darklink99]

FFVII... I had not really played any ps1 games... In fact that was probably the first ps1 game I got. I liked it. The game was awesome to me and I played the hell out of it. Until I had to cheat my way past almost the entire game to play it... Then I just stopped playing it. But it was a good game none the less.

[Edman]

Aww, guys, don't diss FF7. Its one of my favourites as well. Haven't played it for so long.

I actually found zophar.net because of FF7. You see, one thing leads to another - by playing FF7 I thought, well if this one's so cool, what are the older ones like. So I decided I wanted to play FF1. I had no access to a NES and as a kid no means to buy one, so I looked for options to play it on the PC, and voila, zophar.net is where I got my emulation fix, I think it was back in 2000 or maybe even earlier.

Thinking about one thing leading to another, I mostly played FF1, FF3, FF7 and FF8, and I used to read strategies a lot on the internet. Once I became very very good at the games, I started writing my own strategies, then working on final fantasy websites. At the 4th final fantasy website I worked on, I got tired of updating the site using HTML files, learned basic programming and coded a PHP backend. And that's how my web programmer's career started off.

So yeah... god knows where I'd be right now if instead of spending a thousand hours playing final fantasy I would've done something else. Probably would've gotten laid a lot more.

About the game itself, back when I was 14 years old I thought it was damn good, and that's pretty much all that matters to me as I haven't played any games for about 5 years (except the obligatory daily minesweeper round).

[The 9th Sage]

About the game itself, back when I was 14 years old I thought it was damn good, and that's pretty much all that matters to me as I haven't played any games for about 5 years (except the obligatory daily minesweeper round).

At the risk of going off topic :P, why don't you play any more? Because you don't have as much free time perhaps?

[Edman]

Its the way I am, I get addicted quickly and do the same thing over and over until it kind of dies on me. Later on I can reflect on the good times I had but never really get into it again.

Between ages of 12 and 16 I spent several thousand hours playing few games, like Civilization, Age of Empires II, FF1, FF3, FF7, FF8. I once spent an average of 12 hours a day for 6 days straight playing Final Fantasy 8, at that time it was a very usual spring break. I started to even write guides for them (here's my gamefaqs profile: http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/26521.html?type=1 - though some people have certainly done even better stuff than me in the last few years), make websites.

It was about 2003 I suddenly found myself bored to tears with gaming. The old games had been played to death and none of the new ones appealed to me. It was time to move on to the next thing. Occasionally I give either Civ, FF7 or FF8 a whirl for the sake of nostalgia but that's pretty much it.

[The 9th Sage]

It was about 2003 I suddenly found myself bored to tears with gaming. The old games had been played to death and none of the new ones appealed to me. It was time to move on to the next thing. Occasionally I give either Civ, FF7 or FF8 a whirl for the sake of nostalgia but that's pretty much it.

I suppose I could see you getting burnt out. It's happened to me...not with videogames so much, but with other things when I've done them that much (urgh, back in the day when the site was at it's height and I was obsessively modding the boards....that's one example I remember well lol).

I'd say I play less, but then as soon as I go to say that I realize my focus has just shifted a bit to portable systems. I still play consoles and other games though.

[Saent]

FF7 was a good game, first Final Fantasy game I played.

At the beginning of the game when you see Aeris, the building says "Loveless: 6/25".. that's my birthday. It was funny, I played it for like three years and didn't notice it.

[shadowdorothy]

The cross overs in FF7 always make me laugh. I don't know why most people don't notice them. Like the Highwind and Cid. both are names of characters from previous games. and how rune sword looks like wyrm slayer from FF1.

[Haoie]

I checked my save game earlier last week.

Apparently I stopped right after going a ways into the Northern Crater, to the point where you need to split into 2 parties.

[jarethhx]

Have you guys seen that video of FF7 remake? What's up with that anyways. Is there gonna be one, or was that just a bullshit tease. :erm:

[The 9th Sage]

Have you guys seen that video of FF7 remake? What's up with that anyways. Is there gonna be one, or was that just a bullshit tease. :erm:

I know they used a realtime render (and new and improved) render of FF VII as an example of what the Playstation 3 could do, but I don't think they have ever confirmed an actual remake of FF VII.

Personally, I wish that Squeenix would spend more time making original games. I mean, I love my Dragon Quest and my Final Fantasy, but when I see them bring out a fantastic original game such as "The World Ends With You" I just wonder what they could actually do if they put their minds to new stuff rather than remakes.