Let's Play Final Fantasy VII: At the same time!

Tetsujin

he/they
AKA
Tets
I knew that she meant upstairs in the weapon shop.

However, I still don't know which dude she's talking about. None of these assholes really gave me anything, did they? I just took some shit lying on the floor.
 

Terrafig

Default
AKA
KaleMarsh
I'm pretty sure she's talking about drugs because Cloud would have to be high to hallucinate the treasure chest having seizures in Beginner's Hall.
 

Ch00b

The Doomsayer
My first real playthrough, thanks to Cloudkitt/Vash the Stampede. Shi't. lol

The bombing mission. Definitely the best way to hook an audience to the game instantly. As a kid (like around age 6), waaaay back when I first played this, a mission for complete, utter destruction (oh, and nice CGI as well) of the reactor was just beautiful. Unfortunately, I remember screwing myself over against the Scorpion boss because I couldn't understand about the counterattack, and I had no idea about using potions. XD

I won't lie. Cloud's first appearance back then, he was freakin cool. And Barret was plain badass. Today, though, I just feel that Cloud's entrance, the way he flips multiple times going into the train, etc. It's a little ridiculous, but if I was to put my perspective "back then," it would probably be different.

As for Barret, I already like him, lol. He's serious business. Shi't. He even throws Biggs into the camera. DAYUM BARRET.
 

Russell

.. ? ..
AKA
King of the Potato People
Random Ramblings:

OMG nostalgia, it felt good just hooking up the old gray box. (Dear god the graphics look shit on a HD tv, strangely I got used to it pretty quick.)

Everything about this game seems to make me smile with nostalgia, the sound of the ATB gauge filling, the “Kaaoopaa” sound the bad guys make when you kill them and they disappear… :awesome:

I was to young to notice the first time I played, but Jessie wants to get herself some Cloud Pen0r. :monster:

Also I think the backgrounds for almost all scenes stand up well, they are like Jpeg images with a flickering light added rather than a completely rendered 3D environment. (early 3D on PS1 looks like shit, Silent Hill 1 has NOT aged well.)

I love the drunk couple at the train station. ^_^

Ok just got to the pillar outside sector 7, foreshadowing much?


Me's gonna enjoy this FF7 playthru. :wacky:
 

Dana Scully

Special Agent
AKA
YACCBS, Legato Bluesummers, Daenaerys Targaryen, Revy, Kate Beckett, Samantha Carter, Matsumoto Rangiku
Alright, lots of random observations and stuff:

- I don't know why I never wondered this before, but what's the X logo from in the opening credits? Like, does it appear anywhere else in the game/Compilation?
- I love the simplicity of the opening screen, just the Buster Sword in the light. Reminds me of the scene at the end of ACC with the sword in the church.
- The opening cinematic. Gets me every time. UNF
- It will never cease to amaze me how the guards run straight past the scary black man with the gun on his arm to attack Cloud.
- Opening Bombing Mission is such a fantastic piece of music.
- I actually rather enjoy cocky/prickish Cloud.
- Barret says the target is the 'North Mako Reactor', rather than Reactor No 1. I wonder if each reactor corresponds exactly with a compass direction?
- I love how the symbols/numbers in the elevator just flip back and forth between the same two numbers. So wonderfully pointless.
- I love the Limit Break sound effect
- Watch out! This isn't just a reactor. Still don't really understand what that line is supposed to mean.
- Don't attack while its tail's up! See, whenever it puts it's tail up, I'll always have an attack queued and waiting. It's like, gee, thanks for the advance warning.
- I like how you save Jessie and she doesn't even wait for you at the elevator. UNGRATEFUL BITCH.
- Anxious Heart hnnnggghh
- I always fight the MPs in the alley because that seems like the thing a cocky fucker like Cloud would do.
- I like the homeless guy on the train. THIS IS MY HOUSE.
- Guy on the train mentions a newspaper that's already discussing the No 1 reactor bombing. This is at 12:23 AM. Shinra is sure on top of their news.
- I like how everyone LEAPS off the stairs of the train platform, rather than walk down them.
- Just what was that man doing in the corner by the pillar? :shifty:
- Why is there a random sign in the bar that says 'Texas'?
- I kinda wish more people shipped TifaxBarret
- I love how Barret just climbs the secret entryway, LIKE A BOSS, rather than riding the pinball machine.
 

Russell

.. ? ..
AKA
King of the Potato People
- Watch out! This isn't just a reactor. Still don't really understand what that line is supposed to mean.

Cloud is having a flashback to the Nibelhiem mission where he (or someone) says that same line. Foreshadowing Cloud's mental state early, or so I think. :P

- It will never cease to amaze me how the guards run straight past the scary black man with the gun on his arm to attack Cloud.

- I like how you save Jessie and she doesn't even wait for you at the elevator. UNGRATEFUL BITCH.

- I like the homeless guy on the train. THIS IS MY HOUSE.

:lol:
 

Dana Scully

Special Agent
AKA
YACCBS, Legato Bluesummers, Daenaerys Targaryen, Revy, Kate Beckett, Samantha Carter, Matsumoto Rangiku
Cloud is having a flashback to the Nibelhiem mission where he (or someone) says that same line.

Really? I don't remember that at all. XD Good thing we're replaying, I clearly need some refreshing. :monster:
 
- "Watch out! This isn't just a reactor." is indeed from the Nibelheim event, except it's a reference to an earlier version of the Nibelheim script.
See the Early Material Files Page 527.
Before you ask, no, that line does not remain anywhere even as an unused line in Nibelheim (Edit: in the final game, that is).
 

Sprites

Waiting for something
AKA
Gems
Tetsujin said:
Does anyone else love how Barret smacks Biggs right into the camera?

Yes I love that bit, I still remember when my brother was playing at that bit when we were younger us both just laughing and asking each other what just happened.

Kate Beckett said:
Why is there a random sign in the bar that says 'Texas'?

In the entire time I’ve played FF7, tonight was the first night I’d seen that and I wondered exactly the same thing, maybe its in keeping with the bar, it looks like one of those backwater style ones but you get great grub and drink at it and the company is usually quite good.

In terms of RPGs FF7 wasn’t my first, Ultima IV:Quest of the Avatar for the Sega Master system was, but but being only about five at the time of playing I really had no idea what I was doing, so in terms of my first successful RPG FF7 was definitely it.

Ok so here's mine, I’m highlighting it in spoiler form mainly because I like to go into a lot of detail about aspects of this sort of stuff and it’s very long for one post so people can choose a section and read whatever they want instead, I’ve given my first impressions of the game and characters from when I first played it, the slums.
My gameplay so far and my materia set up, I’m going to do almost like a diary entry so people can see the way I like to do things and my thoughts on certain bits this playthrough of the game so happy reading ^_^

Ok so I finally got started. The first time I played this game I was about 8/9 and originally watched my brother playing, but I knew from the beginning I wanted in on the action. I remember being very impressed by the opening scene and wondering who the girl at the beginning was. Bombing Mission was definitely a fantastic way to open a game, both music wise and story wise. From the start I got the impression that we were on a mission to save the planet, that it was a main focus of the entire game and that Shinra, seemed to be an evil enemy (I also used to pronounce Shinra as ‘Shine-ra’, don’t know why, I just did:monster: ). Upon first seeing the red screen and Cloud hearing stuff “Watch out this isn’t just a reactor!” just before setting the Bomb, I did have a wtf moment when I was younger because obviously I couldn’t quite figure out what had happened, was Cloud having a flashback, was this a warning to the player or what? These days of course we all know the story.

I loved the pace of the battles and the magic to which I remember relying very, very heavily on during my first FF7 playthrough. These days not so much, I tend to just use standard attacks at the reactor and save magic to help with the guard scorpion). In terms of first said boss I seem to recall this particular quote being very confusing to myself and I’m sure it was the same for other people:

Cloud said:
Barret be careful! Attack while its tail’s up!

…..pause = me: oh ok then let’s whack it with another Bolt spell.

Cloud said:
It’s gonna counterattack with its laser!

Me: WAIT WHAT!? BUT I JUST SELECTED BOLT….*tail laser hits*….oops….yeah always fun. These days it’s a walk in the park. I used to have a moment of panic in wondering if I would run out of time once the countdown began and basically ran from every battle also the only reason I knew to save Jessie immediately was because of the guide I had at the time for FF7, if I hadn’t had that I probably wouldn’t have known how to get out of the reactor.

Character wise I thought Cloud to be cold and only concerned with himself and yet strangely likeable, particularly that spiky hair of his, at the same time seeing as he seemed to originally be an enemy of the group (EX-SOLDIER AND ALL THAT JAZZ) I wondered how he got involved with them. Barret seemed very loud but again likeable, and being young at the time I couldn’t quite figure out what %$&@*& meant during some of his speeches, but at the same time I thought he must be ok because he’s all for saving the planet. These days I spend time trying to figure out which swear word %$&@*& would mean what when Barret, (or cid later on) start shouting about the place.

When I first played FF7 in the beginning I wondered how these two met exactly because you can tell Barret doesn’t exactly trust Cloud even if Biggs, Wedge and Jessie seem to and Cloud doesn’t appear to like Barret all that much either that was my guess at the time. Their arguements are also very entertaining just because they have such a personality clash. To add to my first character impressions, I liked Tifa a lot and got quite excited over her and Cloud’s promise, to me she was a very kind person and you could see she really cared about Cloud from the start. I remember liking the idea that Cloud had a childhood friend because it made him seem less cold or something and just as an additional add on I think young Cloud and Tifa are adorable and am also amused at the fact that Cloud appears to have long hair at the age of 14 (tied in a ponytail)

is probably one of my favourite places in Midgar and it’s a pity you only get to visit it once. I love that you begin to see a bit of back story between the main characters and you become aware that Cloud and Tifa have obviously grown up together and have history. Barret has an adorable daughter, though I did wonder how exactly they can leave a child looking after a bar at only four years old?. And you learn a little bit more about AVALANCHE and their objectives. No matter how many times I play FF7, I ALWAYS visit the Beginner’s hall, it’s my favourite place and for newcomers to FF7 it’s a fantastic and extensive guide on aspects of battling, the menu, materia etc. I also particularly like how it’s Cloud the character himself who is giving the tutorial to the player and that you can actually see aspects of his personality given during the tutorial in other words it’s not at all generic and you get the sense of the character himself explaining it to you and not just a standard tutorial. I also like how he breaks the fourth wall a lot of the time during the tutorial sections, e.g. when explaining about saving he mentioned how you need to buy memory cards at a REAL store, give yourself a break if things get too rough and is aware of the little finger above his head.
Cloud said:
Huh? Finger!? What the hell?
Always makes me laugh. If anyone has not gone through all the explanations in the beginner’s hall I suggest they do it, it’s enjoyable and definitely worth looking into.

I’ve decided to keep all names standard except for Aerith which I now prefer to Aeris. Well to start with I level Cloud as far as level 10 and Barret to level 9 to get the upper hand for a few forth coming battles and as potions are common drops it’s not too tricky before the Guard Scorpion battle. I’ve used mainly physical attacks, keeping the Bolt spell for when it comes to said boss and few of the sweeper enemies. In terms of the boss he’s not tricky at all and I know better than to attack while the tail is up I luckily manage to get both a Limit Break at this point from Cloud AND Barret so it helps speed things along. I also like my battle speed as fast as possible so I always put that on max in the config menu.

On the way back I fight all battles, as the 10 minute countdown is unnecessary and nothing to worry about. When I first meet Aerith just after the bombing, I choose the nicer options for her, e.g I buy the flower and fight all possible Shinra Guard battles before jumping onto the train, I know the option to run is there but I like fighting as many battles as possible. By the time I arrive at the train station at Sector 7 I do a bit of levelling up in the area near the end of the Train Graveyard until I reach Level 12 with Cloud, it’s a force of habit to kinda over level my characters these days due to the abysmal levels I used to have my characters on when I was younger e.g. Cloud would’ve only had about 700hp with a hp+ materia also equipped by the time I reached Nibelhiem, could never figure out why I wasn’t strong enough to beat Lost Number….anyways yeah I like over levelling plus it’s a great way to level up material faster and gain limit breaks quicker and have extra gil. In terms of the option to give the flower to Tifa or Marlene I decided on this occasion to give it to Marlene mainly because I nearly always give it to Tifa, plus Marlene’s shyness around Cloud is adorable. During the end of the promise scene I always like the little shooting star that goes across the sky, nice little graphic touch.

Next, I go up to the Beginners Hall and choose all tutorial options (I already explained why I like to do this) and then do my shopping. I’ve a lot of gil at this point so I buy three Iron bangles, another Ice, Lightning and my first Fire materia, a few extra potions, antidotes and 2 extra phoenix downs. Finally I’ve saved my game by the sector 7 pillar and hit my first checkpoint.

Cloud: Lightning+All, Ice.

Tifa: Restore and Fire.

Barret: Lightning and Ice.

I always give the All materia to Cloud combined with a Lightning because it’s much easier to decimate enemies, his materia set up in the beginning never changes and he will always carry the same Ice and Lightning materia throughout the entire game, Tifa’s materia will be passed on to Aerith when she joins and I always buy an extra Lightning and Ice materia, I never buy an extra Fire as you automatically get one from RED XIII later and I will only ever keep one Restore materia during the entire game, which I will combine with another All material later, basically I like to have two of each basic element materia equipped for my party. I actually really enjoy discussing materia set ups/combinations and hearing about other people’s set ups just to see how different each persons is, how much materia they prefer to have and so on, I myself am aiming to have at least one of each materia available in the game this playthrough, just a personal goal though, nothing else.

Finally here’s my stats for the end of the checkpoint and my save file. Cloud level 12, Barret level 10, Tifa level 9, 318 gil remaining and 1hr50mins clocked.
 

Alex Strife

Ex-SOLDIER
Reading what Sprites said made me think that, even if I'll be as nice to Tifa as I can, I'll still do the prison trick to ensure I get her no matter what.

What can I say? I love Tifa :monster:
 

Ch00b

The Doomsayer
- Opening Bombing Mission is such a fantastic piece of music.
- I actually rather enjoy cocky/prickish Cloud.
- I love the Limit Break sound effect
- I like how you save Jessie and she doesn't even wait for you at the elevator. UNGRATEFUL BITCH.
- I like the homeless guy on the train. THIS IS MY HOUSE.
- Why is there a random sign in the bar that says 'Texas'?
- I love how Barret just climbs the secret entryway, LIKE A BOSS, rather than riding the pinball machine.

The music and the sound effects are quite solid. Not exactly how I thought of it today, since FF7 was like a very old game.

Lol @ Jessie. At least she stood and waited until you actually came before opening the doors. Got enough respect there I guess :awesomonster:

I actually noticed that Texas sign too, and thought to myself a little, wat.

AND BARRET IS A BOSS.

omfg you have liek the same avatar I liek had when I liek first joined the internet in liek 2004 or 2005 :monster:

:FFFUUU:

Which reminds me to post myself a proper intro.


Oh, and when are checkpoints updated?
 

Tetsujin

he/they
AKA
Tets
The whole tail laser thing is kinda funny because in the German version it says very clearly "*don't* attack while its tail is up".

Funny because the German translation is mostly pretty darn bad and got this one thing right somehow. :lol:
 

Dana Scully

Special Agent
AKA
YACCBS, Legato Bluesummers, Daenaerys Targaryen, Revy, Kate Beckett, Samantha Carter, Matsumoto Rangiku
While it didn't last long, my first time I figured Barret and Tifa were married and Marlene was their daughter :P

Well they do act very much like a married couple in their first few scenes together.
 

Roger

He/him
AKA
Minato
Well I finally got around to this. Unfortunately my FFVII cd's are apparentely too damaged so it's the Ultima version for the PC for me. Working quite well, Got Cloud up to level 10 while looking for that staff for Aerith you can get in the train graveyard but no dice on the item itself, I'll look some more with Barret and Tifa in stow. Other then that, egocentric Cloud is great as always, love the interaction he has with Barret. Got the same Materia seup as Sprites.
 

Tifabelle

Pro Adventurer
AKA
Tifabelle, Nathan Drake, Locke Cole, Kain Highwind, Yamcha, Arya Stark
ugh, train graveyard. Every time I play I forget how the hell to get out of there.
 

Sprites

Waiting for something
AKA
Gems
@ Minato: You mean the striking staff? You have to steal it off an enemy called Eligor and you can only steal it in the Train Graveyard, otherwise you're gonna have to wait until around Junon I think to get it.

Eligor looks a bit like a hooded death on a chariot but it'll take several attempts to do it, took me about 10 minutes in one sitting during my last game, apparently equipping Tifa with the steal materia as well is the best option, I think she has the highest luck stat at that point, she did in my previous game anyways. I'll check it out this game at any rate.
 

Roger

He/him
AKA
Minato
@ Minato: You mean the striking staff? You have to steal it off an enemy called Eligor and you can only steal it in the Train Graveyard, otherwise you're gonna have to wait until around Junon I think to get it.

Eligor looks a bit like a hooded death on a chariot but it'll take several attempts to do it, took me about 10 minutes in one sitting during my last game, apparently equipping Tifa with the steal materia as well is the best option, I think she has the highest luck stat at that point, she did in my previous game anyways. I'll check it out this game at any rate.

I know what he looks like, I just thought he dropped it instead of having it as a stealable item.
 

Cat Rage Room

Great Old One
AKA
Mog
SECOND CHAPTER: The Flower Girl

FFVII-Sector5_Church.jpg


CHECKPOINT LOCATION: Right before leaving for Wall Market

-This is the first mission where the town aspect of the RPG comes alive; you wake up and the Sector is bustling with activity. This is one of my favorite parts of the game for some reason, seeing the contrast between the silent, shady slums at night and the bustling, active slums in the daytime (and the Plate to really prevent anyone from telling the difference between night and day) is a real headbanger, and I make sure to talk and chat with everyone before I leave.

-The game is pretty easy up to this point. What are your leveling strategies? I usually like to underlevel a little bit; I don't want to get too strong since FFVII is a pretty easy game fundamentally.

-Discussion points: The meeting with Aeris/Aerith/what the fuckever you want to call her. This is when shit starts to get, well, a little odd. How do you feel about Aeris in this point of the game? Tifa and Aeris are notorious for having some of the strongest opinions centered around them in the entire fandom, and this is the flower girl's first substantial scene. What are your impressions so far?

-did you get the barrel game rite

-Still in the Slums. I love this part of the game. Do you?
 

Tetsujin

he/they
AKA
Tets
FUCK YEAH, LET'S CONTINUE.

Leveling strategies: None. :P
I just go through the game and kill all enemies I come across and that's it. As you said it's a rather easy game so I never really felt the need to level for the story portion of the game (until I met the demon wall in the Temple of the Ancients. Then again, I never really used support materia which might have helped beating it without any grinding).

I'm gonna continue tomorrow as it's really late at night. :P
 

Ch00b

The Doomsayer
I got the barrel game right, lol. As we all know... all significant objectives are located 100% conveniently for your usage, a standard rule of RPGs. :awesomonster:

I love the slums, it's got PERFECT music, a great community, some rather interesting locations (a pipe for the sick dude, a bus for the armor shop, dayum) and yeah.

As for levelling strategies, what I'm planning to do for now is just to fight all battles that come up naturally. I'm not planning to do any grinding. See how far this takes me ;3

And I lol'd at some of the Engrish here, like "Arrival time at Sector 4 Station will 11:45" and "This guy are sick." Though I heard some of the translations for other languages are far worse. :desumonster:

I got stuck here for like 2 minutes x_x

ff7_fuuu.jpg


And about Aerith... I just have a small thought of WTF in my mind, but nothing too much about her. Stalker :comedian:
 
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