There's a lot you can say about this game.
The story is wonderful from beginning to end. It does a great job fleshing out the events before FFVII, and Zack is an endlessly charming character. It's impossible to hate him. You'll fall in love with him very quickly.
The gameplay is pretty unique, but also kind of weird. There's a slot machine mechanic that determines buffs you'll get in battles, as well as how Materia and Zack level up. There's no real consistent way to get level ups, so you kind of rely on luck for them throughout the game.
Materia matters a bit more than levels, though. With the right set of materia you can bend this game over your knee easily. One mastered MP++ and a mastered High Jump will easily carry you throughout the entire game. Because of this, it's hard to justify experimenting with weird materia combinations. Despite that, I'm sure there's plenty of interesting setups you can have to get through the game.
Along with the campaign are missions which you can access at any save point. They're often short but there's a ton of them to keep you busy. If it weren't for me getting lost in doing a bunch of these, I would've finished the game way sooner. Honestly if you ignore missions (not recommended for a casual playthrough) you'll finish the campaign in a relatively short amount of time, maybe like 12 or 14 hours?
I like this game a lot. A part of me wants to dive back in right after I finished. I want to do the rest of the missions and get a platinum trophy. Maybe I'll do it one day.
As for you, the reader, I highly recommend you give this a playthrough, especially if you beat FFVII and want to learn more about Zack and the world before Cloud became the star.
Embrace your dreams.
The story is wonderful from beginning to end. It does a great job fleshing out the events before FFVII, and Zack is an endlessly charming character. It's impossible to hate him. You'll fall in love with him very quickly.
The gameplay is pretty unique, but also kind of weird. There's a slot machine mechanic that determines buffs you'll get in battles, as well as how Materia and Zack level up. There's no real consistent way to get level ups, so you kind of rely on luck for them throughout the game.
Materia matters a bit more than levels, though. With the right set of materia you can bend this game over your knee easily. One mastered MP++ and a mastered High Jump will easily carry you throughout the entire game. Because of this, it's hard to justify experimenting with weird materia combinations. Despite that, I'm sure there's plenty of interesting setups you can have to get through the game.
Along with the campaign are missions which you can access at any save point. They're often short but there's a ton of them to keep you busy. If it weren't for me getting lost in doing a bunch of these, I would've finished the game way sooner. Honestly if you ignore missions (not recommended for a casual playthrough) you'll finish the campaign in a relatively short amount of time, maybe like 12 or 14 hours?
I like this game a lot. A part of me wants to dive back in right after I finished. I want to do the rest of the missions and get a platinum trophy. Maybe I'll do it one day.
As for you, the reader, I highly recommend you give this a playthrough, especially if you beat FFVII and want to learn more about Zack and the world before Cloud became the star.
Embrace your dreams.