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I Just Beat The Original FFVII

My God what an incredible experience! I am BLOWN AWAY. I can’t imagine how amazing this would’ve felt to play and beat back in the 90’s. At that time I only had an N64 and was obsessed with Ocarina Of Time. I remember trying ff7 at my friends hous at the time but I hated turn based games, so I didn’t play it much and didn’t have the patience for it.
The whole materia system and how amazingly powerful you can become was so much fun. The Knights Of The Round was rediculous. Not to mention all the different strategic things you can do with combining different materia. It gave me the same feeling Super Metroid did where you feel like such a powerful badass towards the end of the game, but x 10.

The story, my God so EPIC! You really feel like you are saving the world, I love that. The twists and turns with finding out who Cloud really is, what happened in the past, it was so gripping. It was an AMAZING story.

And the music. Are you kidding me?!?! This has probably became my favorite gaming soundtrack. From the music in the beginning that pumps you up, to the sweet melody of Aerith and Tifa, to the REDICULOUSLY EPIC Sephiroth fight, man that soundtrack is legendary. I am gushing. What an experienc. I LOVE gaming. This will be in my annual gaming rotation.

Edit : stupid autocorrect
 
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Soodanim

Member
My God what an incredible experience! I am BLOWN AWAY. I can’t imagine how amazing this would’ve felt to play and beat back in the 90’s. At that time I only had an N64 and was obsessed with Ocarina Of Time. I remember trying ff7 at my friends hous at the time but I hated turn based games, so I didn’t play it much and didn’t have the patience for it.
The whole material system and how amazingly powerful you can become was so much fun. The Knights Of The Round Table was rediculous. Not to mention all the different strategic things you can do with combining different materia. It gave me the same feeling Super Metroid did where you feel like such a powerful badass towards the end of the game, but x 10.

The story, my God so EPIC! You really feel like you are saving the world, I love that. The twists and turns with finding out who Cloud really is, what happened in the past, it was so gripping. It was an AMAZING story.

And the music. Are you kidding me?!?! This has probably became my favorite gaming soundtrack. From the music in the beginning that pumps you up, to the sweet melody of Aeros and Tina, to the REDICULOUSLY EPIC Sephiroth fight, man that soundtrack is legendary. I am gushing. What an experienc. I LOVE gaming. This will be in my annual gaming rotation.
It's a great game, I always enjoy returning to it. A true classic, even if it's not everyone's favourite.

As soon as you mentioned music, I heard the battle theme in my head. It's one of the few games that happens with. That's the great thing about that style of game design that feels like it went away after that era: there's some sound effects here and there, but not too many so to get in the way of the fantastic, memorable soundtrack. There's not even voices getting in the way of it. It might have only been midi, but it's more impactful than the generic orchestral game soundtrack so many games have these days. I know people like them, but they do nothing for me.

I need to see how the PC modding scene is getting on and give this game another run through. Last time I checked, true 60fps was in early release.
 

Sub_Level

wants to fuck an Asian grill.
Glsd you enjoyed it OP. Its certainly what I consider the best FF, even if my personal favorite is VIII.

If you really do intend to replay it, perhaps consider the New Threat mod. Mixes up the gameplay and adds new encounters, abilities, and challenge (but its not one of those super hard mods that take lots of grinding, it just takes more strategy)

 
Glsd you enjoyed it OP. Its certainly what I consider the best FF, even if my personal favorite is VIII.

If you really do intend to replay it, perhaps consider the New Threat mod. Mixes up the gameplay and adds new encounters, abilities, and challenge (but its not one of those super hard mods that take lots of grinding, it just takes more strategy)


Thanks! I’ll take a look at it. I really want to replay it to max out my materia because I did end up getting most of them but didn’t max any of them out. I also want to replay it to pickup the nuances of the story I may have missed since I have a better grasp of who is who now. Also, I need to date Tifa now, not Aerith. Tifa is the real one.
 

AV

We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
I need to play the other FFs now. The only other ones I had played were 10 and 15, both of which I really enjoyed.

I never played FF games before last year and I'm doing 6-10, done 6, 7, 8 so far. 6 was great, just as good as 7 if not better for me. 8 is an absolute mess of a game but that's not to say it doesn't have endearing qualities. The recent thread on 8 was fascinating, opinions ranging from "horrid garbage" to "the best by miles". It's so different and weird and that doesn't always pay off, but maybe for you it will. Curious to see what you think. But you should do 6 next before that.
 

Graciaus

Member
Playing it again on PC with graphical mods and difficulty hacks was a nice experience. If only they could figure out how to use the actual Steam version.

If you liked that try 4-9 and 12. Personally I like playing them with rebalance hacks.
 

Ozzie666

Member
The game really begins when you tackle Emerald and Ruby and work in those summons. The work put into those summons was amazing and they seemed to go on forever. A great game and a nuclear missile for Sony in their war.
 
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And then FF7Remake takes the first 4 hours of Midgar and turns it into 35 hours LOL
The Remake is actually what made me want to play the original which I have a suspicion it did that to others too so I owe it to the Remake. I played the Remake first and got really into it. It definitely had some filler moments but the character, graphics, and especially the gameplay was really fun. Then I wanted to know what happens next so I played the original. WOW. It was definitely a shock, Midgar was over quick and it got crazy awesome after. Had I played the original first, I doubt I would’ve liked the Remake as much as I did.
 

Rickyiez

Member
Yup, this game is legendary for a reason.

Only issue is that this is it. This is the one best JRPG out there. And trying to chase that high in other games is gonna crush you with disappointment (well perhaps with the exception of Chrono Trigger).
I find Shadow Hearts Covenant to be superior in every way possible. That said, it's been an empty void ever since.
 
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spons

Gold Member
Yeah it's good shit, very enjoyable game.

But I'm still salty about the dinguses at Square not saving all the background source files. Captain Hindsight says they should've stored them on multiple CDs and tape.
We'll never have the original backgrounds rendered at a higher resolution and that makes me feel bad, even with the good upscaling algorithms of today. Shit happens I suppose.
 

KrisB

Member
Glad you enjoyed it. I’d love it if I could go back in time and play it again completely fresh. It really is the GOAT.
 

kraspkibble

Permabanned.
I'm playing through it for the first time on Switch :) I haven't had much time recently but I'm just back at Aerith's house after the plate falling. So still not far in.

Playing it again on PC with graphical mods and difficulty hacks was a nice experience. If only they could figure out how to use the actual Steam version.

If you liked that try 4-9 and 12. Personally I like playing them with rebalance hacks.

What do you mean? I bought the Steam version and with 7th Heaven mod manager it's so easy to install mods.
 
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Graciaus

Member
What do you mean? I bought the Steam version and with 7th Heaven mod manager it's so easy to install mods.
It's not actually using your Steam copy though just converting it to the old PC release. I like my playtime and achievements tracked. The manager itself is great.
 

Pagusas

Elden Member
Yep, its a legandary game, my favorite ever made.

You can always tell people who have played the game to the end, I've not met a single person who has beat that game who isn't in awe of it and glowing when talking about it. Everyone else who dismisses the game or claims it as overrated either never played it or never beat it. Same goes for a great game call Ghost Trick.
 
I know I'm part of the minority there, but I didn't enjoy it at the time, and I still don't.

The pre-rendered environments were ugly, the loading times terrible (both due to the limits of its platform I guess), combat was - yes, I'll say it: boring and an artifact of the old era of JRPG. I'm also going to say I disliked most of the characters, especially Cloud and Sephiroth. Summons were really impressive but some took way too long; nothing like breaking the rythm an already boring combat with Knights of the Round or Supernova...

On the plus side: the soundtrack is still, to this day, the best in the series. The Materia system was also interesting (but could've been implemented better maybe).

When I think that the PSX had such JRPG gems as Xenogears or Tales of Eternia, and yet it's this one that's considered the "GOAT", is quite incomprehensible.
 

ResurrectedContrarian

Suffers with mild autism
I remember when this game hit; I was in high school. I didn't actually get to play it for a few years but watched parts of it at other kids houses and was amazed. Finally found time in college to set it up on a little TV in my dorm room... and I probably have more sentimental memories of what happened on that little CRT each night than I do of anything else that semester
 

Deerock71

Member
I hate random battles. So when it comes down to the bones of the structure, I'll quit playing before I find out what happens in the story. Random battles while exploring deserve their own circle of hell.
 
I know I'm part of the minority there, but I didn't enjoy it at the time, and I still don't.

The pre-rendered environments were ugly, the loading times terrible (both due to the limits of its platform I guess), combat was - yes, I'll say it: boring and an artifact of the old era of JRPG. I'm also going to say I disliked most of the characters, especially Cloud and Sephiroth. Summons were really impressive but some took way too long; nothing like breaking the rythm an already boring combat with Knights of the Round or Supernova...

On the plus side: the soundtrack is still, to this day, the best in the series. The Materia system was also interesting (but could've been implemented better maybe).

When I think that the PSX had such JRPG gems as Xenogears or Tales of Eternia, and yet it's this one that's considered the "GOAT", is quite incomprehensible.
When I was playing ff7 and saw the pre-rendered backgrounds that would move with playable characters on top I was like woooahhhhh that is so cool! I love that stuff. I wish they’d used that in more games back then. I remember being blown away by resident evil 2 (the first PSX game I played) because of the prerendered backgrounds. Then on GameCube when they released the Resident Evil remake, holy cow, so beautiful with the pre rendered backgrounds. Maybe my awe is because I grew up in that time so there is a charm to those graphics for me. I can see how these graphics would bother newer generation gamers.
 
When I was playing ff7 and saw the pre-rendered backgrounds that would move with playable characters on top I was like woooahhhhh that is so cool! I love that stuff. I wish they’d used that in more games back then. I remember being blown away by resident evil 2 (the first PSX game I played) because of the prerendered backgrounds. Then on GameCube when they released the Resident Evil remake, holy cow, so beautiful with the pre rendered backgrounds. Maybe my awe is because I grew up in that time so there is a charm to those graphics for me. I can see how these graphics would bother newer generation gamers.
Well I'm definitely not a "newer generation gamer" (I was 16 when FF7 first released), but back then the PC we had at our house was an old machine my brother got from his job that was previously used for video editing; anything on the consoles at the time looked ugly as sin in comparison, but I was never one to be bothered by that (you'll notice I praised Xenogears, for example, but it was never that good-looking either).
I don't know how to explain it, in FF7 the 3D model in pre-rendered backgrounds just... didn't work for me.
 
Well I'm definitely not a "newer generation gamer" (I was 16 when FF7 first released), but back then the PC we had at our house was an old machine my brother got from his job that was previously used for video editing; anything on the consoles at the time looked ugly as sin in comparison, but I was never one to be bothered by that (you'll notice I praised Xenogears, for example, but it was never that good-looking either).
I don't know how to explain it, in FF7 the 3D model in pre-rendered backgrounds just... didn't work for me.
Oh ok. Maybe it was actually the art direction?
 

AlexxKidd

Member
My favorite game of all time and has been since I first played in 1997. Glad to hear someone experiencing it for the first time in 2022 can get just a tiny glimpse of what it was like for us back then. There was nothing like it at the time and really nothing has captured it since, which is why it still hasn't been surpassed as my favorite game.
 

Dark Oni

Member
I recently replayed ff7 and ff8 while 7 was great 8 was trash it only had the graphics and card game going for it, such a disappointment after 7
 

lifa-cobex

Member
The Remake is actually what made me want to play the original which I have a suspicion it did that to others too so I owe it to the Remake. I played the Remake first and got really into it. It definitely had some filler moments but the character, graphics, and especially the gameplay was really fun. Then I wanted to know what happens next so I played the original. WOW. It was definitely a shock, Midgar was over quick and it got crazy awesome after. Had I played the original first, I doubt I would’ve liked the Remake as much as I did.
How do you feel about the Remake now in terms of story?
I played the OG back in the day and loved it. Personally I couldn't stand the remake. Nice graphics and all but it felt like major fan service.
Also be sure to watch Advent Children if you want more. Pre warning, It's not great......

Last Order isn't too bad though...
 
Yep, I'll never forget my first experience with the game. I didn't own a Playstation but my friend did and so I would go over every day to watch him play. I'd sit next to him with the strategy guide open, directing where to go next so we didn't miss anything. I was 9 years old and had never really seen an RPG before, at least none that I can remember. I remember originally thinking the turn-based combat looked dumb, but I was immediately drawn in by the story and graphics. After a few hours I was sold on the combat too, and I'm pretty sure we did absolutely everything the game had to offer.

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on FF8, even if you hate it. It's my favorite Final Fantasy, but boy it's..........different.
 
How do you feel about the Remake now in terms of story?
I played the OG back in the day and loved it. Personally I couldn't stand the remake. Nice graphics and all but it felt like major fan service.
Also be sure to watch Advent Children if you want more. Pre warning, It's not great......

Last Order isn't too bad though...

Since I played the Remake first, I enjoyed it a lot but was confused especially towards the end. Like who the hell was that black haired guy?? But when I played the original I was like oh wow no waaay and it’s gotten me more excited to see what happens in the upcoming remake sequel. Im really curious how in the world they are going to make all that stuff and scope that’s in the game with current graphics. I want to go back and play the remake again since I know the overarching story and really compare Midgar to the OG, and spend more time with the characters ( I actually have an emotional connection with them now) since my first play through I didn’t know any of the throwback fan service parts.
 

German Hops

GAF's Nicest Lunch Thief
Still my favorite game of all time
16526.jpg


... You don't say?
 

93xfan

Banned
It became my favorite game of all time. Don’t know if I still consider it to be my favorite, but certainly in the top 7
 

Fools idol

Banned
it is marvellous indeed.

Not my favourite (FF6 or FF9) but at the time I was absolutely mind blown by the visuals and overall epicenes of it. It was one of the rare instances where a generational leap in graphics was truly felt, and honestly not sure I have felt a similar jump from the 16 bit era since. I remember sitting as the credits rolled at the end and then just staring at my PS1 thinking 'holy fuck, this is the generation of games we can expect from this thing?' and it just gave me the most excited feeling. Unfortunately the following game was a bit of a let down imho..
 
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anothertech

Member
Man. Playing it at release was something else. Especially after going through the first 6 which are also legendary in my book, especially 6.

But the original 7 will always have a special spot in my heart. The Goat.
 
Since I played the Remake first, I enjoyed it a lot but was confused especially towards the end. Like who the hell was that black haired guy?? But when I played the original I was like oh wow no waaay and it’s gotten me more excited to see what happens in the upcoming remake sequel. Im really curious how in the world they are going to make all that stuff and scope that’s in the game with current graphics. I want to go back and play the remake again since I know the overarching story and really compare Midgar to the OG, and spend more time with the characters ( I actually have an emotional connection with them now) since my first play through I didn’t know any of the throwback fan service parts.
Yeah, you really need to play FFVII to fully appreciate and understand FFVII Remake.

It's more of a direct sequel than a remake. The events of FFVII DID happen in remake, at least to Sephiroth. Cloud seems to subconsciously know what will or what is supposed to happen as well. But Sephiroth and later Aerith are attempting to change that future history, while supernatural forces attempt to stop them.

Without the context of the original game, I'd assume most would not realize all of that.
 
Yeah, you really need to play FFVII to fully appreciate and understand FFVII Remake.

It's more of a direct sequel than a remake. The events of FFVII DID happen in remake, at least to Sephiroth. Cloud seems to subconsciously know what will or what is supposed to happen as well. But Sephiroth and later Aerith are attempting to change that future history, while supernatural forces attempt to stop them.

Without the context of the original game, I'd assume most would not realize all of that.
The possibilities. If Sephiroth is actually time traveling, this could be one of the greatest feats in gaming history. I LOVE time travel stuff. Back To The Future for life.
 
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