It's been an absolute pleasure to discover that not only is Final Fantasy VII an iconic video game, which I already knew, but that it's also an excellent video game, which I didn't.
It feels so well considered in every regard... the pacing is so immaculate, the artstyle is beautiful (even if strangely contrasting at times, but that just makes it feel unique). It feels like it trusts me to make my own decisions - the path I took to making my build with the AMAZING Materia system feels entirely my own in a way that initially felt overwhelming but now feels so empowering. I invested HEAVY in Enemy Skills materia and it RULES ... but there's also so many other alternative avenues I could have taken, and that feels amazing.
I will never know how I would have reacted to the big twists in FF7 if I didn't know them going in. There was no way to avoid it because of how fundamental FF7 is in the history of the medium. But that doesn't matter! They are still resonant beats of a well-composed narrative.
It feels so well considered in every regard... the pacing is so immaculate, the artstyle is beautiful (even if strangely contrasting at times, but that just makes it feel unique). It feels like it trusts me to make my own decisions - the path I took to making my build with the AMAZING Materia system feels entirely my own in a way that initially felt overwhelming but now feels so empowering. I invested HEAVY in Enemy Skills materia and it RULES ... but there's also so many other alternative avenues I could have taken, and that feels amazing.
I will never know how I would have reacted to the big twists in FF7 if I didn't know them going in. There was no way to avoid it because of how fundamental FF7 is in the history of the medium. But that doesn't matter! They are still resonant beats of a well-composed narrative.