doom_qu33r | Final Fantasy VII (Reply)

So after . . . way too long, I decided to wrap up my playthrough of Final Fantasy VII for the PS4. Ideally, I wanted to try to platinum the game, but I wasn't looking forward to investing several more hours into even more grinding. Even with the gameplay at 3x speed, it reached a point where it was absolutely mind-numbing going back and forth in the same locations, to fight the same slew of enemies, for the same small pittance of an EXP/AP/gil reward. My brain can only handle so much repetitive tasks at this point, especially since my goal this year was to play through the other FF games.

(Doubtful I will be able to get through VIII-XV before 2022 at this point, but . . . that's what happens when you go through a shitty breakup, go into a mental health isolation spiral, and have a mentally exhausting day job. Yay!)

I played FFVII earlier in 2019 on PC, and I still have the same appreciation for the story, characters, music, and backgrounds as I did then. Prior to my first playthrough, I was familiar with the general story, having watched Advent Children and played Dirge of Cerberus way back in 2007. Since websites like Steam didn't exist, and it was difficult to find copies of the PS1 version for a decent price, I never got to play the game before that point. I wasn't aware there was an earlier-released PC edition out there, otherwise I may have played that, but without a compatible controller for my laptop, I don't know if I would have enjoyed it the same way. And yes, I'm aware that the FFVII "compilation" is controversial for fans of the series, but the extreme hate doesn't seem to resonate with me. I have more to say on those, but for now I'll focus on the OG game.

One thing I do wanna say about the compilation, is the main themes of the original game take quite a bit of a backseat. DoC and Advent Children focus primarily on character backstory/world development, wrapping up loose plot ends, or just introducing new characters or combat. While nothing is wrong with any of those choices, I feel like they undermine the powerful ecological and anti-capitalist messages of the OG game. I also thing OG did a better job of illustrating the bonds and relationships between the characters. One of my favorite scenes is when Cloud (suffering from an episode of Mako poisoning) and Tifa fall into the Lifestream, where she manifests in his subconscious and essentially helps him work through the complex trauma and issues of his past. It's an absolutely fantastic framing device to learn more about the two characters, and definitely solidified my support of the Cloud/Tifa ship. Even if you don't support them as a canon romantic ship, you gotta admit their relationship dynamic is beautifully written.

In a way, I am glad I was able to experience this game for the first time as an adult with some formed opinions about the world and life in general. As a kid, my brain was basically focused on the edgy anime boys, dragons, and magic. I don't know if I would have been able to look past the atrocious polygons and appreciate the whole of what the game offers. I know it wouldn't be the first, since there was a LOT of media I saw through a weird lens back then.

Since this would be my second time around playing the game, I took my time to accomplish some of the tasks I had previously skipped, such as breeding Chocobos. I found out that if you are leveled up enough, this is quite an easy and quick task, as you can one-shot kill surrounding enemies faster before the Chocobo runs away. As you can guess, I was subsequently able to finally get Knights of Round, which is truly an epic summon sequence. (Enabling me to destroy Jenova Synthesis in literally one turn, lmao). I also got everyone's strongest weapons and maxed out everyone's Limit Breaks with the exception of Cloud, since getting Omnislash requires significant grinding. For the same reasons, I also had to skip Emerald and Ruby Weapon.

I'm not sure when I'm going back to complete the platinum. At the moment, I'm desperate to switch gears to the prequal installment of the compilation, Crisis Core. I am undecided if I want to simultaneously replay Remake, or at least complete some of the lower level trophies before restarting in Hard Mode. I honestly don't know where Remake will fit into my little Final Fantasy journey, but with the second installment of the game around the corner, I've considered maybe waiting until I can afford a PS5 and just replay with the Intergrade/Intermission version. No idea when that will be, though. I have a bunch of thoughts of Remake, but I might save that speech for another day.

Anyway, ranking FF7 as a whole, I'll give it a solid 9.5/10, with the half point lost for ugly polygons and some of the lackluster gameplay mechanics. Since it's the only game I've played, it's gonna sit all by its lonesome on the ranking list I've started, but more games will surely make the list for comparison.