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!

It's alright, but I just don't like it as much as Donkey '94. I'm not big on the two-screen format and having to clear two screens in a row without dying to get the gold star on a level was kind of annoying. I think it's missing some of the simplicity the original had, even if it largely retains some of the same elements and does them decently well. If I went for 100%, I think I'd do it on the Switch version instead. Not bad, but I think DK94 is just slightly better and more well-executed. I can definitely see the promise with all those extra levels and challenges though, so I can't fault it for content.