I love this question. Though I have thought about this matter a lot, I feel somewhat guilty over not digging EVEN DEEPER on the subject over the years. Because I am not 100% sure myself (only about 95% sure) this answer is going to be very...rambly. To make the reading more inspired, I embed this FFVII track.
I think
familiarity and
nostalgia are the two biggest factors. FFVII was the first J-RPG I understood how to play (Chrono Trigger was my first J-RPG but I didn't understand the menu-based battles at the time), it teased at the time of games becoming more cinematic, it had interesting plot twists and details to the world.
I still remember the binder I had from the late 90s to early 00s, where I saved all my notes about the game: Story, characters, gameplay, passwords, items, records, important English words (every game was a learning experience in English and FFVII especially so), the structure of the Shinra company etc etc.
Completing games 100% was very important to me from a young age, but FFVII was special in that it didn't just warrant completion through running from point A to point B on Stage 1-4. Every facet of the game yelled out at me to be understood, picked apart, categorized and organized neatly. You don't get quite that level of complexity with the plot of platformers like Super Mario Bros, Mega Man or Metroid.
For many years my primary concern was to achieve a "Perfect Game" (or "Perfect Save") in FFVII. Max out collections, escape zero times, do each possible battle in Fort Condor etc etc. Each year from 1998 and onwards I revisited the game, convinced that the combination of my own experiences and the
discoveries I read on the internet now constituted the PERFECT GUIDE TO THE PERFECT SAVE. Of course each year came with the revelation that I had missed something. That trend continues to this day,
with new discoveries reshaping what constitutes a "perfect save" for those interested in that type of venture.
The last time I played FFVII for the purpose of achieving a perfect save must have been in late 2008 to early 2009, where I attempted to max out natural HP and MP for the characters. I failed in that endeavor due to the charts given to me being erroneous. After having played the game for three months, constantly resetting my PlayStation until the random number generator rolled the dice in my favor, I was DONE. Ten years of trying to achieve a perfect game and the final result constituted mostly of MADNESS.
I was done with the 'Perfect Save' adventure, but a different seed had been planted that would continue my FFVII obsession elsewhere. In 2007 (or 2008, I honestly don't remember) BrutalAl introduced me to 7mimic, the software that could display the FFVII backgrounds and their scripts. All the unused backgrounds, animations and most importantly the UNUSED TEXT made my FFVII-organizing mind drool.
It astounded me that nobody had tried to thoroughly document EVERY ROW of unused text! I mean...it's right there!
Changes in circumstances, new friends and new software then allowed for the entertaining (though immensely troublesome) Unused Text Series to be born. On that topic, Part 10 has actually been mostly finished for over half a year now.
All that remains there are the translations. I will contact my translator, Kusabi, again soon and see if he has the time and energy to complete that last piece for the article. Part 11 will cover the final parts of FFVII's main story.
Why the long history lecture? Because FFVII, to me, is like that friend or significant other whom you grow up and change with. Your new selves may be (almost) completely different from how you started out, but shared memories and mutual fondness keep you together and make the bond even stronger. You learn your own flaws and the flaws of your friend/partner yet in the face of that the bond is not weakened. There's no need to cover up the truth with cotton candy.
The friend/partner analogy is not perfect of course. FFVII is not an individual that can reciprocate emotions. It is JUST A GAME. Or as it is with the Compilation of FFVII: A series of stories told through multiple mediums. It is JUST THAT and only that. I was born in the right time and played FFVII at the right time in order for it to stick in my mind and titilate that part of me who wants to 100% complete and document a game.
FFVII holds endearing qualities, certainly, but if any other game experience had been my first to have a huge world and a compelling mythos, I reckon
that other game would have become my HUGE obsession instead. The FFVII games and lore are far from alone in possessing the qualities that initially attracted me and has kept me hooked ever since.
Similar to how if you had not met that one friend or sexy gal/boy, you would have probably ended up meeting somebody else.
Final Fantasy VII did become
that game/franchise though. I can truthfully say... I love Final Fantasy VII.
SUMMARIZING KEY WORDS:
- Familiarity
- Nostalgia
- Game Completion
- Discovery
- Organized Documentation
Corridors and locker rooms.
)
Starter Pokémon: Squirtle. I am faithful to the blue cartridge and Squirtle -> Wartortle -> Blastoise.
