The Great Mystery that is "Final Fantasy VII"

[tetsaru arigashi]

Yuck. There's got to be a half billion better ways to spend your time than play that sad excuse for an RPG.
Like say, looking at Tifa CGs online.

hmm...  nearly got offended there, but it's cool - i feel it's important to respect the opinions of others...

i can probably see why you hate it, though...  the 3D character sprites WERE rather crappily made, and some of the sound effects were kinda lame (summoning hades right before he unleashes the blast from his cauldron comes to mind).  i also noticed several typos in the game text...

...but beyond all that, it was an AWESOME game.  one of the first to use CG scenes, if i'm not mistaken.  i loved the materia system (i always love customization in games), the ATB system (instead of easy turn-based stuff), and what i thought was a damn good storyline involving kick-ass characters.

as i've said before - to each his own.  if you haven't played it, though, i HIGHLY suggest that you do.  of course, don't expect anything compared to today's standards... the game IS about a decade old.

Forget a DS port of FF7, they need to revamp it for the PS3, dammit.

Seeing Tifa in bouncy full-3D glory would be totally awesome!

now, i've heard RUMORS about an FFVII remake, but i haven't confirmed anything...  i still need to renew my subscription to game informer...  all i've heard of so far is dirge of cerberus and that one cell phone game...  =/

i guess only time will tell for sure.  it just seems that i've been waiting forever for several games to come out (the FUCKING zelda: twilight princess i reserved LAST august still hasn't come out yet...  >_<; ).



........wow, we REALLY got off-topic in this thread... any word yet on these requests??

[LordRyunson]

Yeah, really off topic. I even started another poll saying who should win in a boobie fight. I got inspired by the Meat and Tetsaru avatars and posted it in the versus section.

Other than that, I have no further requests other than animated huge bosoms. And clips from Samurai Showdowns 5 and 6, to see if they are worth playing.

[JG]

i can probably see why you hate it, though...  the 3D character sprites WERE rather crappily made

Actually I give them a plus for this.  It was a different spin.  I guess I was expecting the backgrounds to be 3d rendered as well - which most were not - allowing free roaming of the area.  In short, the 3d aspect really didnt add anything - it could have been done with 2d sprites just as easily but becuase it was still an early adopter, I have to give it some credit.

...but beyond all that, it was an AWESOME game.

Not compared to the previous three it wasn't.  Other recent Square games, Secret of Mana and Chrono Trigger, were better as well.

i loved the materia system.

Except that its too damned hard to max out some of the materia.  To get all four colors of max materia requires far more game time than the story allows.  Again, the previous Square games were more balanced in this area.

the ATB system (instead of easy turn-based stuff)

FF6 had different speed reactions for each character as well.  And the Tales series innovated non-delay active battles several years prior.

and what i thought was a damn good storyline involving kick-ass characters.

Cloud is dull and unemotional (of which they made little improvement in FF8's Squall).  Several of the other characters are too linear with very little of the plot dedicated to their issues (Vincent, Cait, Red XIII, Cid all fall into this category - they each have one key piece to the plot and then little else from that point on.)

And plot? You spend 3/4 of the game chasing Sephiroth!  That's it.  Finito.  You're not trying to save a your friends/parents/homeland from danger or unlock the secrets of the universe or *anything* that's genuinely interesting.  Just chasing a man around the globe. Whoop-de-doo.

it just seems that i've been waiting forever for several games to come out (the FUCKING zelda: twilight princess i reserved LAST august still hasn't come out yet...  >_<; )

November 1. Available for both GameCube and as a Wii launch title.  It was originally slated for a GC only release in May, but swordswinging is an ideal method to make believers of the Wii controller.  Plus Nintendo really wants to hit Christmas hard with a veritable bonanza of million-seller games for the Wii and cripple the even longer overdue PS3 (which last I saw, was arriving November 22nd.)

........wow, we REALLY got off-topic in this thread... any word yet on these requests??

Let me see if I can split this thread before the board cops arrest us for hijacking.

[DualSoul]

I have to agree with JG00 and his assessment of FF7.  Except for the fact that it was the game that essentially commercialized RPGs in NA, bringing it out of the niche market, the story and gameplay were easily surpassed by FF predecessors 4-6.  The materia system catered to the closet stat whore in everyone, which is probably why a lot of people enjoyed it even though more time was spent maxing them out/getting them all then in the actual story progression.

[tetsaru arigashi]

Actually I give them a plus for this.  It was a different spin.  I guess I was expecting the backgrounds to be 3d rendered as well - which most were not - allowing free roaming of the area.  In short, the 3d aspect really didnt add anything - it could have been done with 2d sprites just as easily but becuase it was still an early adopter, I have to give it some credit.


Not compared to the previous three it wasn't.  Other recent Square games, Secret of Mana and Chrono Trigger, were better as well.


Except that its too damned hard to max out some of the materia.  To get all four colors of max materia requires far more game time than the story allows.  Again, the previous Square games were more balanced in this area.


FF6 had different speed reactions for each character as well.  And the Tales series innovated non-delay active battles several years prior.


Cloud is dull and unemotional (of which they made little improvement in FF8's Squall).  Several of the other characters are too linear with very little of the plot dedicated to their issues (Vincent, Cait, Red XIII, Cid all fall into this category - they each have one key piece to the plot and then little else from that point on.)

And plot? You spend 3/4 of the game chasing Sephiroth!  That's it.  Finito.  You're not trying to save a your friends/parents/homeland from danger or unlock the secrets of the universe or *anything* that's genuinely interesting.  Just chasing a man around the globe. Whoop-de-doo.


November 1. Available for both GameCube and as a Wii launch title.  It was originally slated for a GC only release in May, but swordswinging is an ideal method to make believers of the Wii controller.  Plus Nintendo really wants to hit Christmas hard with a veritable bonanza of million-seller games for the Wii and cripple the even longer overdue PS3 (which last I saw, was arriving November 22nd.)


Let me see if I can split this thread before the board cops arrest us for hijacking.

well, i can see your points on those statements.  FFVII was the first final fantasy game i ever played, so i guess i really got a kick out of it (tifa, hint hint).  i have yet to play FFVIII or any of the earlier ones, and i've only watched my friend play chrono trigger.  i'm pretty sure i have some roms of most of them, so i may try em if i don't have anything better to do.

so, zelda's coming out for the cube AND wii?  man, i've really been missing out on my gaming news ever since my magazine subscriptions ran out...  maybe that's why it took em so damn long to get the game released...

[scarab]

does anyone have the gifs of the tifa cutscenes?

[LordRyunson]

So far, FFVII is the second Final Fantasy game I played, whereas IV (II In the states) was the first game I played. I played some of X and VIII, but those games are insanely hard to follow through. Let's take 8 for example. Most of the game, you are spent DRAWING out magic in order to make yourselves more powerful. Played a demo, and I only got to the Giant Spider Thing. Damn, it was a frustrating expirence. This leaves 7 and 4 the only Final Fantasys I ever beaten.

[ROMate]

does anyone have the gifs of the tifa cutscenes?

No, but have you got video to match that gif in your avatar?

[JG]

Before I'd played FF7, I'd completed Dragon Warrior I, Dragon Warrior IV, Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger and got all the way to the final castle in DW2, so my perception of quality was quite a bit higher than a newcomer to FF7 would have.

If you play either FF4, FF6, or Chrono Trigger, you'll be greatly impressed by how lackluster the supposed sequel FF7 was as a game.  If you can deal with the NES graphics and sound, I'd even recommend DW4 long before FF7.

FF8 is only marginally better than FF7.  Its not quite as motonotous story-wise but still rather dull for the most part.  Like materia, magic drawing was another innovative way to handle spells, but ultimately flawed.  In some battles you spend 30 minutes to an hour drawing magic to fill your reserves before you do any real fighting.  The Cerberus fight comes to mind becuase he's the only enemy you can draw Triple off.  (Granted you can refine it from cards, but thats a terrible way to acquire magic.)  In any case, where I'd give FF7 a D-, I'd give FF8 merely a D.

If I might be allowed to continue on that thought, here is how I would grade the true RPG's I've played that I got at least 80% deep into such that I can make a fair assessment.  If you're looking for new RPG's to tackle, I recommend anything near the top of this list.

Skies of Arcadia / Skies of Arcadia Legends:	A+
Final Fantasy IV:	A
Dragon Warrior IV:	A
Final Fantasy VI:	A-
Chrono Trigger:	A-
Tales of Symphonia:	B+
Dragon Warrior VII:	B
Mario & Luigi: The Superstar Saga:	B
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door:	C+
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time:	C
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance:	C
Final Fantasy V:	C-
Tales of Legendia:	C-
Super Mario RPG:	C-
Dragon Warrior II:	D+
Dragon Warrior III:	D+
VIPER-RSR:	D+
Final Fantasy VIII:	D
Final Fantasy VII:	D-
Final Fantasy:	D-
Dragon Warrior:	F

[DualSoul]

Interesting list you have there.  If I may make a suggestion, you might like to try Shadow Hearts 2 (Shadow Hearts: Covenant in NA).  Great battle system, extremely well done voice overs, very nice story.  Also not a typical fantasy setting.

[R-9]

I'd also like to throw in Riviera: The Promised Land. Good luck finding it normally, though: It was published over here by ATLUS.

[Ellendesu]

Whilst we are on the subject of good RPGs, anyone ever play Illusion of Gaia? (I believe it was called something else in Europe, but Sephie isn't on and I can't ask her)

That was a damn fine game I tell you what

[DualSoul]

Whilst we are on the subject of good RPGs, anyone ever play Illusion of Gaia? (I believe it was called something else in Europe, but Sephie isn't on and I can't ask her)

That was a damn fine game I tell you what

The title brings back memories, not because I played it myself, but because it was featured in the same gaming magazine as another RPG that I haven't played but just suddenly thought of for no apparent reason, Secret of Evermore.

[R-9]

Whilst we are on the subject of good RPGs, anyone ever play Illusion of Gaia? (I believe it was called something else in Europe, but Sephie isn't on and I can't ask her)

That was a damn fine game I tell you what

It was called Illusion of Time over in Europe.

It was a decent game, though that I can't say I was too fond of the ending.

[Ellendesu]

It was called Illusion of Time over in Europe.

It was a decent game, though that I can't say I was too fond of the ending.

Heh heh most people wern't.

[curtmack]

FF VI will be coming to DS soon.

you're thinking of Final Fantasy 3. FF6 is coming to GBA along with FF4.

[JG]

Hmm. You're right. I thought I had read the opposite though. (FF3 for GBA and FF6 for DS, guess I'm wrong.)

[Onemillioneyes]

What's final fantasy VII?

[tsar]

It's a gay boy fucky love story. Don't worry 'bout it.

[Kiinan Yamasu]

KHRIS STFU