Martin_Sleith
4 reviews liked by Martin_Sleith
Final Fantasy VII
2012
Final Fantasy VII was one of the games I found myself most excited to get to in my marathon of the series. Not only is it obviously famous, but a lot of people I know claim that most of it has withstood the stream of time, and still remains one of the best RPGs out there. So did it age well for me? Yeah, I'd say it mostly did.
To start with the elephant in the room... yeah graphically it doesn't look great lol. While I get nostalgia from the PS1, I do think the earlier games on the system haven't exactly aged well visually, and generally SNES games look a ton better. FF7 I can really only describe as models of melted Lego figures, charming but blurry hand-painted backgrounds, and... the enemies are something alright, I barely even recognised some series staples in that polygon soup. THAT BEING SAID, it does have very strong stylistic vision, and this is especially apparent in the design of Midgar—it isn't too hard to see the incredible ambition there, even past the severe graphical limitations.
Gameplay wise, it's a pretty strong improvement on FF6. The materia system is simply a better magicite system with more customisation, being akin to the job system in FF5 in terms of its flexibility (albeit not to that extent, obviously). I do think the implementation of the stat boosts materia give you is flawed in execution, as you end up with purely magic focused party members and purely physical focused party members if you're optimising to any level, however it's still fun to play around with builds in spite of the lacking QoL (which Crisis Core and Remake address very nicely). Summons are also a return to form after their... strange usage in FF6, and honestly perhaps too much of a return to form, they're a little overpowered.
Lastly, limit breaks are a cool addition—not perfect as the methods to learn new ones end up forcing you to stick to the same party members unless you want to grind, plus disabling the default attack when they're available is an odd choice, but still welcome variety overall.
What makes FF7 stand the test of time, in my opinion, is its characters, story and themes. The average person's feelings of helplessness towards climate change caused by mega corps, scientific advancements being misused for greed, corruption and war, and honestly the value of life itself being trivialised—these themes have aged like fine wine, and they permeate the FF7 experience in every facet of its story. It's hard not to connect and empathise with the characters' struggles, and I personally think this is a huge part of why the game holds strong in many people's hearts, even after all these years. The lifestream itself is kind of a brilliant fantastical abstraction of all these elements, and shows that the writers of this game understand the intrinsic value of SFF narratives; while still of course having fun with their sillier elements and not sticking their head up their arse.
The characters themselves all have strong arcs, chemistry and relationships; honestly it's such a huge step up from FF6 in terms of how these elements are fleshed out, I was kinda shocked. Hivemind dialogue is completely gone, and even the optional characters that almost got entirely cut from the game still have pretty decent side quests and even dialogue in actual story sections that somehow doesn't feel like filler. Cloud in particular really proves his right to be the protagonist, serving as the centre of the story and offering an incredibly engaging and complex character arc that I couldn't help but get invested in. It also helps that the characters are allowed to make mistakes, and often see consequences for their actions, which leads to some super compelling scenes.
Also Red XIII is so cute! Ahhhh I want to cuddle him, so fluffy!
Of course, there's plenty of side quests: a good mix of character-focused tales, funny hijinks, and superbosses. There are a few questionable ones (especially a certain one involving Elena and Yuffie... that has aged very poorly!), but overall I thought the quality was quite good. I didn't do the superbosses, however they seem like a good challenge if you're especially engaged with the combat system and feel willing to grind.
I won't get too into the minigames, but uh... they all kinda sucked, if I'm honest. As charming as they are, they're just so janky I didn't enjoy a single one. The worst parts of the game were when it forced me to play one to progress the story.
Spoiler section start
I don't want to go into deep specifics on the core plot, as this technically isn't a spoiler review, but I will say while parts in the early middle could be slow, once the story got going, it REALLY got going, and I was on the edge of my seat! The prologue section in Midgar was also such a strong first act, and I can easily see why the Remake expanded it into a full game—the unused world building potential is simply incredible. The mysteries surrounding Cloud and the events from five years ago were gripping, and unfolded in satisfying ways. Frankly, it hardly mattered that I was spoiled on most of it long ago.
Sephiroth himself is a pretty good villain, it's easy to see why he's so iconic. Unfortunately I did find myself pretty disappointed in his usage near the end of the game (compelling villains usually... speak), and there were parts of the climax I felt were a bit rushed, so I do hope they expand on the disc 3 content in probably the last Remake entry. Also, Jenova herself, while an existentially horrifying villain for most of the story, kind of lost her edge for me by the end. Please I beg of you ReWhateverTheyCallThe3rdOne, let the villains speak in the climax! At least a few lines! All that being said, the final scene before the credits did pull my heartstrings.
Spoiler section end
Okay, we need to talk about the music. Sure OWA is famous and pretty awesome, but man there is so much variety in this soundtrack. It's a pretty significant jump from FF6, and Uematsu's experience with limited sound chips really shines here, with so many unique compositions that aren't limited by the SNES. My favourite of these is easily the overworld theme, Main Theme of Final Fantasy VII, six and a half minutes of musical brilliance that encapsulates the tone of the game perfectly. It's no wonder so many of these tracks have been remixed a gazillion times in an official capacity, and don't get me started on all those incredible fan remixes.
I also played the Switch version of the game, which came with some pretty great QoL additions—3x speed, encounter toggle, and the ability to cheat your way through especially tedious battles. Being able to curate my experience this way was wonderful, and improved my enjoyment of the game. Not sure if I can praise it for accessibility completely, especially with the violent flashes and limited options available, but still pretty solid work for a remaster.
Anyway, overall FF7 was an amazing experience and I'm so happy I played it. While not without its flaws, I think it's aged really well, and it's great to see it get so much love and modern remakes.
TL;DR:
+ Universally relevant themes that are integrated well into the story
+ A well-developed cast that all get their time to shine
+ Simply incredible soundtrack with huge variety and strong motifs
+ Solidly crafted gameplay system
+ Ambitious story that does not disappoint in execution
+ Red XIII
+ Modern console port has great QoL additions
− Doesn't look great visually
− Final act stumbles at times
− Jank minigames forced into the story
To start with the elephant in the room... yeah graphically it doesn't look great lol. While I get nostalgia from the PS1, I do think the earlier games on the system haven't exactly aged well visually, and generally SNES games look a ton better. FF7 I can really only describe as models of melted Lego figures, charming but blurry hand-painted backgrounds, and... the enemies are something alright, I barely even recognised some series staples in that polygon soup. THAT BEING SAID, it does have very strong stylistic vision, and this is especially apparent in the design of Midgar—it isn't too hard to see the incredible ambition there, even past the severe graphical limitations.
Gameplay wise, it's a pretty strong improvement on FF6. The materia system is simply a better magicite system with more customisation, being akin to the job system in FF5 in terms of its flexibility (albeit not to that extent, obviously). I do think the implementation of the stat boosts materia give you is flawed in execution, as you end up with purely magic focused party members and purely physical focused party members if you're optimising to any level, however it's still fun to play around with builds in spite of the lacking QoL (which Crisis Core and Remake address very nicely). Summons are also a return to form after their... strange usage in FF6, and honestly perhaps too much of a return to form, they're a little overpowered.
Lastly, limit breaks are a cool addition—not perfect as the methods to learn new ones end up forcing you to stick to the same party members unless you want to grind, plus disabling the default attack when they're available is an odd choice, but still welcome variety overall.
What makes FF7 stand the test of time, in my opinion, is its characters, story and themes. The average person's feelings of helplessness towards climate change caused by mega corps, scientific advancements being misused for greed, corruption and war, and honestly the value of life itself being trivialised—these themes have aged like fine wine, and they permeate the FF7 experience in every facet of its story. It's hard not to connect and empathise with the characters' struggles, and I personally think this is a huge part of why the game holds strong in many people's hearts, even after all these years. The lifestream itself is kind of a brilliant fantastical abstraction of all these elements, and shows that the writers of this game understand the intrinsic value of SFF narratives; while still of course having fun with their sillier elements and not sticking their head up their arse.
The characters themselves all have strong arcs, chemistry and relationships; honestly it's such a huge step up from FF6 in terms of how these elements are fleshed out, I was kinda shocked. Hivemind dialogue is completely gone, and even the optional characters that almost got entirely cut from the game still have pretty decent side quests and even dialogue in actual story sections that somehow doesn't feel like filler. Cloud in particular really proves his right to be the protagonist, serving as the centre of the story and offering an incredibly engaging and complex character arc that I couldn't help but get invested in. It also helps that the characters are allowed to make mistakes, and often see consequences for their actions, which leads to some super compelling scenes.
Also Red XIII is so cute! Ahhhh I want to cuddle him, so fluffy!
Of course, there's plenty of side quests: a good mix of character-focused tales, funny hijinks, and superbosses. There are a few questionable ones (especially a certain one involving Elena and Yuffie... that has aged very poorly!), but overall I thought the quality was quite good. I didn't do the superbosses, however they seem like a good challenge if you're especially engaged with the combat system and feel willing to grind.
I won't get too into the minigames, but uh... they all kinda sucked, if I'm honest. As charming as they are, they're just so janky I didn't enjoy a single one. The worst parts of the game were when it forced me to play one to progress the story.
Spoiler section start
I don't want to go into deep specifics on the core plot, as this technically isn't a spoiler review, but I will say while parts in the early middle could be slow, once the story got going, it REALLY got going, and I was on the edge of my seat! The prologue section in Midgar was also such a strong first act, and I can easily see why the Remake expanded it into a full game—the unused world building potential is simply incredible. The mysteries surrounding Cloud and the events from five years ago were gripping, and unfolded in satisfying ways. Frankly, it hardly mattered that I was spoiled on most of it long ago.
Sephiroth himself is a pretty good villain, it's easy to see why he's so iconic. Unfortunately I did find myself pretty disappointed in his usage near the end of the game (compelling villains usually... speak), and there were parts of the climax I felt were a bit rushed, so I do hope they expand on the disc 3 content in probably the last Remake entry. Also, Jenova herself, while an existentially horrifying villain for most of the story, kind of lost her edge for me by the end. Please I beg of you ReWhateverTheyCallThe3rdOne, let the villains speak in the climax! At least a few lines! All that being said, the final scene before the credits did pull my heartstrings.
Spoiler section end
Okay, we need to talk about the music. Sure OWA is famous and pretty awesome, but man there is so much variety in this soundtrack. It's a pretty significant jump from FF6, and Uematsu's experience with limited sound chips really shines here, with so many unique compositions that aren't limited by the SNES. My favourite of these is easily the overworld theme, Main Theme of Final Fantasy VII, six and a half minutes of musical brilliance that encapsulates the tone of the game perfectly. It's no wonder so many of these tracks have been remixed a gazillion times in an official capacity, and don't get me started on all those incredible fan remixes.
I also played the Switch version of the game, which came with some pretty great QoL additions—3x speed, encounter toggle, and the ability to cheat your way through especially tedious battles. Being able to curate my experience this way was wonderful, and improved my enjoyment of the game. Not sure if I can praise it for accessibility completely, especially with the violent flashes and limited options available, but still pretty solid work for a remaster.
Anyway, overall FF7 was an amazing experience and I'm so happy I played it. While not without its flaws, I think it's aged really well, and it's great to see it get so much love and modern remakes.
TL;DR:
+ Universally relevant themes that are integrated well into the story
+ A well-developed cast that all get their time to shine
+ Simply incredible soundtrack with huge variety and strong motifs
+ Solidly crafted gameplay system
+ Ambitious story that does not disappoint in execution
+ Red XIII
+ Modern console port has great QoL additions
− Doesn't look great visually
− Final act stumbles at times
− Jank minigames forced into the story
Final Fantasy VII
2012
I can only imagine how revolutionary this game was in 1997, especially thinking about the transition from 16-bit sprites to polygon models. I had a blast going through the game, whether it was making materia combos, Chocobo breeding or going through the minigames in the Golden Saucer. Defeating the optional Weapons were challenging, but felt rewarding after pulling it off. 100%ing the game was only painful because of two achievements: Materia Overlord and Master of Gil.
Before playing, I was unfortunately spoiled by the FF7 Spoiler That Everyone Knows About. But after finishing the game, that event was just one of the many crazy plot points the story contains. Final Fantasy VII is worth playing; there is so much more than just that one scene.
It's easy to understand why this game is considered a classic; every JRPG fan should have this game clocked in their list, and if not, get to it!
Before playing, I was unfortunately spoiled by the FF7 Spoiler That Everyone Knows About. But after finishing the game, that event was just one of the many crazy plot points the story contains. Final Fantasy VII is worth playing; there is so much more than just that one scene.
It's easy to understand why this game is considered a classic; every JRPG fan should have this game clocked in their list, and if not, get to it!
Randomly picked this up, had 100 hours of super fun co-op hunting and then dropped it again wow
The House in Fata Morgana is beautiful, gut-wrenching, masterful and breathtaking. This visual novel will take you on a journey unlike any other, so I can't recommend it enough. You might cry, you might get angry, you might be happy, but in the end, I guarantee it'll emotionally resonate with you. Nothing that had so much heart clearly put into it could leave anyone walking away from it not having gained something from the experience of reading it. I'm so glad I finally read it, because it's an experience I'll never forget. Play this. PLAY IT. PLAY IT FUCKING NOW.