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Why does this game mean so much to us?

Sephira

That Silver-haired Lady
AKA
Sephiravania
HA, I also first saw Omnislash the first time my sister beat Sephiroth, didn't even know it existed! It was a hell of a finish!

You guys just reminded me of some of my deep-buried trauma about the bosses of this game. My personal nightmare was Demon Wall, it would always kill my poor babies by slamming those painful-looking ice thingies over their cute heads… And of course I didn’t have any Phoenix Downs because I was cheap. I think you could get those from some monsters in the Temple, but then again, everything would kill me, so that wasn’t really an option.

So of course I restarted the game for the umpteenth time and made sure to buy EVERYONE a Restore and a Revive materia :monster:

Also, fuck Sephiroth and the status effects attack. I also didn’t know about Ribbons (I probably didn’t have them), and when I used Vaccine on the characters not only it wouldn’t cure them, but it’d actually made it harder to revert any effect, BECAUSE OF COURSE I’d only use it after he’d done his attack. Do you have any idea how undignified it is to fight the final battle of an epic journey with everybody turned into a worthless frog and the music going all One-Winged Angel on you and having no clue how to get out of it? Pretty undignified, let me tell you that~

Don’t even get me started on Emerald and Ruby. Just don’t
The bosses!

Yes, I can completely relate with you guys and the Demon Wall. Yes, I got completely stuck at that point the very first time I played FFVII and I had to restart the game 'cause my level was way too low and I would get totally defeated by the hellish boss no matter what I tried to do... so I learned my lesson and leveled up before going in the Temple of the Ancients, being able, that way, to kick its rear then.

Now. Emerald Weapon. No. Just--- WHY.

I defeated it just recently, and I gotta say, the satisfaction is real :joy::joy: but Ruby Weapon--- eh--- >_>
 

Jairus

Author of FFVII: Lifestream & FFVII: Reflections
I can imagine mini-Yuffie stamping around and demanding in a little chipmunk voice to be turned back to normal while Barret and Cid just sit back and laugh. I can't remember how the battle went the first time I fought Safer Sephiroth, but I know I beat him. I used Cloud, Tifa, and Barret - I always do, just feels right and makes it seems like the story's come full circle since they're who you start out with - and I think I had KOTR but I don't remember for sure. I remember being amazed at how long and cinematic the ending was, I'd never seen anything like it in a game before. It's still one of my favorite game endings even today.
 

Mayo Master

Pro Adventurer
Good topic! Phew, I think this game is special to me for many reasons...
Like for most of us here, the particular circumstances in which I played the game contributed to my emotional attachment to it. In my case, these were my first months into adulthood - I had just moved out of my parents' to begin studying in another city some 2 hours of drive away. Studying was tough and I didn't have much money, however the friends I met on campus were awesome. It was a strange period in our lives where it seemed as though we didn't have boundaries: you could just come and go to anyone's place at whatever time for studying, share a meal, or play some games. I had my PSX but I couldn't afford a TV, but one of my friend had a TV and agreed to host my PSX for me to play anytime. At first I didn't get to play all that much because we had so much work to do, and I had few games that my friends found interesting. Final Fantasy VII changed that completely. The day I got the game (the first Saturday after European release), we played non-stop till 4am. Four of us had banded together at first for studying, but very quickly it became part of our routine to treat ourselves with 1-2 hours of play-time after a day of hard work. Two of my friends were riveted by the game, even though they were no gamers themselves - it really showed that Final Fantasy VII reached way beyond the usual rpgamer sphere. Incidentally, during my first playthrough, our morale went up and all our grades went up (pretty much like from D- to B). Anyhow, this communal playthrough was a big element in our friendship. Fast-forward 22 years, even though I now live 10000 km away from them, we're still great friends and I was able to visit them less than 2 months ago. Additionally, I think that part of Cloud's story resonated with me - more specifically, the story of someone crippled with self-confidence issues who set out on a journey to prove he could accomplish great things, and be a hero for the ones he holds dear.

In the years after, even though I had many awesome gaming experiences, FFVII remained in the back of my head. At some point I had even attempted to create a table-top rpg based in the FFVII-verse, although that didn't go anywhere (in hindsight, I should have developed the concept a lot further). Memories of FFVII were kept very much alive with the release of AC, the PS3 tech demo, and CC (my spouse figured I was so nuts about FFVII that she offered me a PSP just so that I could play CC - I still praise her thoughtfulness) and I really began to entertain the idea of a remake around 2010.

However, around 2010, SE was adamant they would not pursue the development of FFVII remake. So I began to wonder "if SE doesn't want to do it, can there be a way for me to work towards remaking it, somehow?" I started to lay out plans and drafts (for instance I had roughed out a Midgar model with and old version of SimCity to figure how a functional full-blown version of Midgar could be like), fiddled with RPG maker (but falling very short of doing anything satisfying with it), until I found the Qhimm modding community and discovered the project called "Team Avalanche" (for those who don't know). That was around September 2012.

I completely jumped in. I learned 3d modelling, invested myself around ~12 hours/week (which is a lot to do besides your actual job) to recreate the field scenes in HD. It literally allowed me to see the world in a new light (3d modelling is a lot about understanding how objects are interacting with light, so I was constantly making observations about why objects around me looked the way they did). I think I produced work that a decent amateur could be proud of. However, after a fashion I realized that it was taking me about one month to generate a new scene (if I wanted enough quality). Contemplating the project as a whole, I felt that my efforts wouldn't go anywhere unless I was able to gather a team of capable and motivated 3d artists. I also had to keep a fair amount of pressure on my own self to maintain a decent productivity. Around Spring 2015, I started to scout FFVII fansites and 3d modelling forums to see if I could recruit new team members. With respect to the viability of the project as a whole, in my opinion that period was a bit "make or break". And then E3 2015 happened :awesome:
At the announcement, I was very happy and enthusiastic. At the same time, the whole reason I had been working so hard for ~3 years had suddenly vanished! Without motivation, I retired from the project almost immediately. I didn't feel any kind of envy or regret, in the end the predominant feeling I had was one of relief. I personally was confident that the remake of FFVII was handled by the best people would could do it.

So yeah, this game has been quite literally a big part of my life. :monster:
 

Celes777

Pro Adventurer
AKA
...
Good topic! Phew, I think this game is special to me for many reasons...
Like for most of us here, the particular circumstances in which I played the game contributed to my emotional attachment to it. In my case, these were my first months into adulthood - I had just moved out of my parents' to begin studying in another city some 2 hours of drive away. Studying was tough and I didn't have much money, however the friends I met on campus were awesome. It was a strange period in our lives where it seemed as though we didn't have boundaries: you could just come and go to anyone's place at whatever time for studying, share a meal, or play some games. I had my PSX but I couldn't afford a TV, but one of my friend had a TV and agreed to host my PSX for me to play anytime. At first I didn't get to play all that much because we had so much work to do, and I had few games that my friends found interesting. Final Fantasy VII changed that completely. The day I got the game (the first Saturday after European release), we played non-stop till 4am. Four of us had banded together at first for studying, but very quickly it became part of our routine to treat ourselves with 1-2 hours of play-time after a day of hard work. Two of my friends were riveted by the game, even though they were no gamers themselves - it really showed that Final Fantasy VII reached way beyond the usual rpgamer sphere. Incidentally, during my first playthrough, our morale went up and all our grades went up (pretty much like from D- to B). Anyhow, this communal playthrough was a big element in our friendship. Fast-forward 22 years, even though I now live 10000 km away from them, we're still great friends and I was able to visit them less than 2 months ago. Additionally, I think that part of Cloud's story resonated with me - more specifically, the story of someone crippled with self-confidence issues who set out on a journey to prove he could accomplish great things, and be a hero for the ones he holds dear.

In the years after, even though I had many awesome gaming experiences, FFVII remained in the back of my head. At some point I had even attempted to create a table-top rpg based in the FFVII-verse, although that didn't go anywhere (in hindsight, I should have developed the concept a lot further). Memories of FFVII were kept very much alive with the release of AC, the PS3 tech demo, and CC (my spouse figured I was so nuts about FFVII that she offered me a PSP just so that I could play CC - I still praise her thoughtfulness) and I really began to entertain the idea of a remake around 2010.

However, around 2010, SE was adamant they would not pursue the development of FFVII remake. So I began to wonder "if SE doesn't want to do it, can there be a way for me to work towards remaking it, somehow?" I started to lay out plans and drafts (for instance I had roughed out a Midgar model with and old version of SimCity to figure how a functional full-blown version of Midgar could be like), fiddled with RPG maker (but falling very short of doing anything satisfying with it), until I found the Qhimm modding community and discovered the project called "Team Avalanche" (for those who don't know). That was around September 2012.

I completely jumped in. I learned 3d modelling, invested myself around ~12 hours/week (which is a lot to do besides your actual job) to recreate the field scenes in HD. It literally allowed me to see the world in a new light (3d modelling is a lot about understanding how objects are interacting with light, so I was constantly making observations about why objects around me looked the way they did). I think I produced work that a decent amateur could be proud of. However, after a fashion I realized that it was taking me about one month to generate a new scene (if I wanted enough quality). Contemplating the project as a whole, I felt that my efforts wouldn't go anywhere unless I was able to gather a team of capable and motivated 3d artists. I also had to keep a fair amount of pressure on my own self to maintain a decent productivity. Around Spring 2015, I started to scout FFVII fansites and 3d modelling forums to see if I could recruit new team members. With respect to the viability of the project as a whole, in my opinion that period was a bit "make or break". And then E3 2015 happened :awesome:
At the announcement, I was very happy and enthusiastic. At the same time, the whole reason I had been working so hard for ~3 years had suddenly vanished! Without motivation, I retired from the project almost immediately. I didn't feel any kind of envy or regret, in the end the predominant feeling I had was one of relief. I personally was confident that the remake of FFVII was handled by the best people would could do it.

So yeah, this game has been quite literally a big part of my life. :monster:

Wow, thats crazy! I can't believe you jumped in into building so much content! Really impressed.
Are you using the skills you learned to build anything else now?
 

Mayo Master

Pro Adventurer
Wow, thats crazy! I can't believe you jumped in into building so much content! Really impressed.
Are you using the skills you learned to build anything else now?
Sadly, no. For the most part, in the past couple of years I had to go through some very challenging projects at work, which consumed most of my time and left me completely drained of my energy. It's been pretty a bumpy ride. Additionally, I wasn't able to find something that would motivate me as much.
 

Random FF Fan

Lv. 1 Adventurer
I never did beat Sephiroth my first playthrough. I dropped the save sphere too early in the crater. It was a struggle just to get to him and then he'd kill me haha. My next playthrough years later I kept going through the crater without dropping the save sphere and eventually ended up in the Sephiroth battle. I was like oh crap I'm gonna die and have to start all over at the top of the crater. Then I beat him first try lol. I was less of an RPG noob by this time.
 

Sephira

That Silver-haired Lady
AKA
Sephiravania
I never did beat Sephiroth my first playthrough. I dropped the save sphere too early in the crater. It was a struggle just to get to him and then he'd kill me haha. My next playthrough years later I kept going through the crater without dropping the save sphere and eventually ended up in the Sephiroth battle. I was like oh crap I'm gonna die and have to start all over at the top of the crater. Then I beat him first try lol. I was less of an RPG noob by this time.
Oh, don't even remind me of that Save Point, please... ahahaha.

Yeah, that very same thing happened to me 'cause "I wanted to make sure I saved before getting a game over screen" and--- yep... you can guess. I ended up having to go a veheheheeeeeeeery long way without saving before reaching Sephiroth, and though I was able to beat him 'cause I had learned my lesson back at the Temple of the Ancients, I had to play for a very long time if I didn't want to lose my progress. #ThingsFFVIIPlayersSay
 

Ite

Save your valediction (she/her)
AKA
Ite
I was a really pious young Protestant boy, and grew up thinking that fantasy was juvenile, video games were brain-rot, and morality was something externally-generated. I was, however, a voracious reader. When Harry Potter came on the scene, I was reading Jane Eyre and thought myself quite superior to my classmates. Everything changed at age 12, when I suddenly lost my faith. After that, I felt isolated from my family and community, and the foundation of my personality crumbled. With no roadmap for how to internally generate a moral compass, I spent my early teens being (for lack of a better term) Chaotic Evil. After a year in the wilderness, I was skipping school in the days and sneaking out in the nights. There were a lot of glowsticks. Sandstorm, I'm Blue, and Sucks to be You were some of the more popular rave tunes. I even got a girlfriend: "L". Around that time, crystal meth was hitting the scene and there's about a four month period there that is a total blur. I was running with a pack of fellow naer-do-wells, and for a time I felt that I belonged. We'd mug people for cash, and I got pretty good at flourishing with a knife. The "good times" didn't last, though. L ran out of steam, and never rolled with the gang -- we drifted apart and eventually broke up. One day me and this other kid in the gang got in a scrap. I learned that knife fights aren't like the movies, where you dance in a circle and cut at each other. When it's real, you just run at each other, the whole thing takes 3 seconds. If you live, you win. I sustained a pretty bad wound, and left those people behind. I sewed myself up and managed to hide it all from my family. I didn't know what happened to that other kid, but I knew I couldn't go back -- that meant I was cut off from my main supply. I weened myself off of drugs until a family vacation in Paris, where I had to deal with proper withdrawal. My family didn't quite know what was happening, but at that point I was so good at lying to them that I managed to hide the more obvious symptoms and pass it off as a cold. My french really came in handy and I managed to make a few connections and get some help. I remember one particularly bad night, I was alone on the steps of Notre Dame, wondering if God was going to come back to me in that moment. So melodramatic lol. But, as I sat there and thought about it... I realized that's not what I wanted at all. I just wanted the feeling of being a part of something Good. I realized that it was up to me to make Good for myself.

The reason I tell you this sob story is to let you know the frame of mind I was in when I started playing Final Fantasy VII. A few months after returning home, my half-brother (ten years my senior) was working abroad for a year and left his things in my family's garage. That included a Playstation and a small pile of games. In my household, video games were still the devil, so I couldn't openly explore the possibilities. I had now formed a night-owl rhythm (that persists to this day, btw XD) and so in the dark of night, I snuck down to the basement, opened my bro's bags, brought the Playstation up to the television, set it up, and started playing my first video game.

What immediately struck me about the story was how desperate everyone was. It was a world in which everyone had lost everything, except of course for the oppressors. Even Cloud was dealing with some trauma in his past that even he didn't want to confront. I felt like I could relate to the characters in a way that I hadn't been able to relate to anyone in fiction before. And the realistic, sci-fi nature of the story didn't immediately trigger my "fantasy is for babies" reaction. The music was great, the game was easy, and the story moved along at a brisk pace. I saved my game on the way to the second bombing mission, packed up and hid the Playstation back in my brother's stuff, and got three hours of sleep. I was flummoxed that a game could be more than just goombas and platforms. The next night, I met Aeris and went to Wall Market. The next night, I got lost in the train graveyard. The night after that, the pillar fell, and I was irreversibly hooked. "Life isn't fair, but carry on anyway" could have been my personal motto at the time, and being with these characters as they took hit after hit after hit was pure catharsis. Their determination was inspiring to me.

Because I had no frame of reference for Final Fantasy games, I figured that the showdown at Shinra HQ was the end of the game. Lots of us have talked about that "Oh shit" moment when you leave Midgar and enter the World Map for the first time. The story's twists and turns each had their intended effect on me, but none so much as Bugenhagen revealing the truth behind mako energy. I didn't believe in the soul - still don't. But then, in that case, what exactly is life? It's just energy, Bugenhagen told me. Energy contained in a body, fueled by food and sustained by organic systems. Energy that - according to physics - cannot be destroyed but must be transformed. Around this time, L was shot and killed by her stepfather, and what I learned from Final Fantasy VII informed my grieving process - it still does, in fact. It encouraged me to explore the eastern religions, and even encouraged me to give the Bible the old college try, scouring the ancient poetry for metaphors that might shed more light on this idea that we aren't individuals, not really, we're merely articulated pieces of the world/universe, that we all come from the same thing, will all return to that thing, and that this existence is just an ember of the fire, a drop of life in the stream.

The memory card got corrupted. I started the game again - don't think I got much sleep in highschool. But hey! I was going to school and staying there. Someone at school told me that Aeris died. "What!?" I asked. "Yeah, Sephiroth stabs her." Perhaps it was because I knew it was coming, perhaps because I'd already lost a friend, but her death didn't have the same impact it had on many people -- I was more impressed that the story was ballsy enough to go there. The impact of her death has always been at arms length — something I know that I care about, but can’t quite feel.

My bro returned and took his Playstation back. I burned the PC version from a friend and secretly hid the game away in a maze of folders on the family computer, and started the game again. By this point, I was so enamored with the story that I felt the need to share it -- to share this beautiful story with people who might otherwise look down their nose at a "juvenile fantasy" or a "brain-rotting video game." In reality, I was writing it for my younger self. In any case, I started writing The Jenova Project, even as further circumstances forced me to restart the game again and again without ever finishing it. I won't get into every hiccup, but needless to say I wound up memorizing the script to most of the game by total accident. In 2005, I got the hell out of my podunk town and moved into an apartment with my brother, able to continue my old save file on his PlayStation! I was finally going to beat Diamond Weapon! When I finally finished the game in the winter of 2005, I got a tattoo to commemorate the occasion — once upon a time, I believed that marking your own skin was an affront to God. My parents still do not know I have it.

Final Fantasy VII was my gateway drug into Dungeons & Dragons -- SATAN'S GAME, which is now my #1 hobby. I can’t credit Final Fantasy VII for making me an actor or a writer, but it opened my eyes to genre fiction, to allegory and myth, and made me a better storyteller (if a bit long-winded). It occupied my idle hands when I had nothing productive to do, it gave me a new perspective on death as I grew into my atheism, it helped me take the reins on my identity when I was adrift.

Final Fantasy VII saved my life.
 

Sephira

That Silver-haired Lady
AKA
Sephiravania
Oh, wow... that was hardcore, Mr. Ite... (may I call you Ite? :joy:) ... now I realize most of us in here -not to say all of us- came across Final Fantasy VII when we needed it the most without knowing it. I was going through very hard times (my dad's death, family turning its back on my mom and me, poverty, loneliness, dissapointment) and I was only a kid, so I can understand. I didn't hit a rebellious phase at all -as I said, I've always been an introvert :lol:- but I can relate to that feeling of wanting something to save oneself, and yes, I have to say Final Fantasy VII gave me -and still gives me- a reason to smile and be happy.

I love the fact that I'm able to get to know you all a little more in this thread.
 

Ite

Save your valediction (she/her)
AKA
Ite
may I call you Ite.?

You sure can! (Side note: it’s intended to rhyme with “flight” but some folks pronounce it “ee-tay” and since it’s a made up name, who am I to correct them? :wacky: )

Yeah as I understand that 7 minute commercial really hits home for a lot of us, as the game is fondly remembered not just for what it is, but what it meant for us when we found it. This thread is a great idea <3
 

Sephira

That Silver-haired Lady
AKA
Sephiravania
You sure can! (Side note: it’s intended to rhyme with “flight” but some folks pronounce it “ee-tay” and since it’s a made up name, who am I to correct them? :wacky: )

Yeah as I understand that 7 minute commercial really hits home for a lot of us, as the game is fondly remembered not just for what it is, but what it meant for us when we found it. This thread is a great idea <3
Would you believe if I told you that's exactly how I read it? Rhyming with "flight"! :lol:

Oh, trust me, I cried, laughed and got goosebumps watching that commercial... Square-Enix knows what it's doing. You had to see me during the E3 showcase, I cried buckets-- of happiness!
 

Rydeen

In-KWEH-dible
Damn @Mr. Ite, that's pretty intense. I think FFVII has helped a lot of people get through shit and review their lives during their formative years, which is why people always circle back to it. I've had a number of identity crises and so I tend to be drawn to that theme in stories. As a side note, fiction really does misrepresent fights.. I've never been stabbed thankfully, but I've taken a couple hits. Never quite conveys how quick it is and how much it sucks when you lose, especially when knives are involved.

Regarding my own history with FFVII, I probably would have loved it regardless of the age I played it, but I think the age I played it, 12, in 06/07, was the most apt timing. My brother, 7 years my senior, started introducing me to his games, which were already not 'new' at the time, when I was 4, probably to get me to side with him and stop trying to get him in trouble with mom lol. I didn't really have many games of my own, and I'm still like a generation behind. My heart is with the classics. FFVII was one of the few games he wouldn't let me play, because he said it was too confusing for a small child, so it had this intimidating mystique. When I was 12, like some sort of sacred rite, he asked me if I wanted to play FFVII.

I'm reluctant to get too personal, so I've kept it somewhat vague, at least by my standards lol.

I was always a very willful child, but it was that age when I started to question all of the ideologies around me and rebel against everything. Midgar, an urban metropolis rampant with the extremes of greed/consumerism and poverty, was not one I was used to in video games, but it was a setting I was used to in real life. I was still stupid and naive in many ways like any kid that age, but the events and setting of our lives made me very cynical at a young age (I only realized how cynical I was later). The game has this seriously palpable unfairness and urban realism meshed into its fantasy elements, and it resonated with me. I wasn't very hopeful that my life would get better rather than continue to get progressively worse as per the pattern I noticed in the family, and it honestly probably wouldn't have if I didn't get lucky enough to get out of there. Even still, there were some things that were nostalgic about that time for me, like my softball avocation, those old games, and how close and I my brother were. A lot has happened since then and I don't feel like I know him that well anymore.

Girls where I grew up are quite tough, and you can't show weakness, so I wanted people to respect me and acted all tough, like Cloud, when people stepped on my boundaries, and was always training my body (I'm fucking small lol), but as the game went on, and his archetype was deconstructed, he became less of an icon and more of a window of introspection. Ironic how the character was projecting a persona just like I was. After having played so many games, FFVII managed to consistently subvert my expectations at literally every turn. I was always a bit of a weird anti-materialistic tree hugger since I was like a toddler (no idea where I got it from - maybe my grandma, she was a farm girl) and also started doubting Catholicism (my family wasn't super devout, but it was just one of those "givens"), and beyond a brief few paragraphs regarding Asian religions in a history textbook, I was not exposed to non Judeo-Christian spiritualities until FFVII. It made a lot more sense to me than the religions around me, and since then, that pantheistic paradigm is kind of embedded in my ideological foundations. I still don't have any solid beliefs in what happens when we die (I don't really talk about it, but I think about it a lot), but the interconnectedness/fractal nature of everything is something that a lot of people tend to ignore. My mind works in a very relational/integrative way, so this is just naturally how I process information and it would make sense for its "signature" to be weaved into all of my ideologies.

What makes FFVII so special to me, is that although it is colored by nostalgia, its themes and characters still genuinely resonate with me after 15 years. It's epic, unfair, subtly politically subversive, contemplative, tragic, and hopeful.
 
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Castiel Strife

Pro Adventurer
Where do I start? This game just means so much to me. Probably more than it should, or at least more than what most people would consider “healthy” for “just being a video game”. A lot of it is nostalgia, I am sure, as it probably is for many of us. Most all of us that played the game were probably kids or young adults, so it was a different time. A simpler time. I was probably younger than 10 when I first played it. My step dad bought it for his PlayStation. It was my younger brother’s idea to pop the disc in. We actually weren’t supposed to play it because it was rated “Teen”, but luckily my mom didn’t realize that when my step dad bought it for himself.

We popped the game in and had no idea what we were doing. I thought it was stupid. What is this? Why am I just clicking things? I had never played an RPG before so I had no idea what I was doing or why the game was made this way. My brother didn’t really understand it either, so we put it away. We gave up on the game at that point. My brother was a lot better at video games than me. I wasn’t terrible by any means, but I wasn’t nearly as good as my brother. He would always figure out things way before me, and he was always helping me when I was stuck in games rather than the other way around.

So fast forward a couple of years and my brother started playing again. I walked in on him playing and was like “you’re playing that crap again?” He told me it was really good and I should try it again. I started playing it and I started falling in love with it.

My step dad was playing it as well and it got to where my brother and I would watch him and learn from him. I didn’t watch nearly as much as my brother, because he enjoyed watching people play as much as playing himself, but I always wanted the controller in my hand. My step dad got to the very end of the game and lost to Sephiroth a few times and gave up, so my brother and I were determined to beat the game sort of as a tribute to him but also as a pride thing. My brother ended up beating the game before either one of us did. That kid was such a gifted gamer. It’s funny, because now my brother doesn’t play games very often and I have probably surpassed him, but he really had natural talent and at such a young age.

Final Fantasy VII remains our favorite game though, for both of us. My step dad, to my knowledge, never did beat the game. I don’t have contact with him anymore, but I wonder if he will play the remake. He started playing computer games online and that took up all of his free time. I did too for many years, before coming back to console gaming last gen. Sorry, I am rambling a bit. Anyways, my brother learned all of the secrets and got Knights of the Round and all of that. When I finally got to the end of the game at the crater, I was scared to face Sephiroth. My step dad of all people couldn’t even beat him, what chance did I have?

I actually gave up on it for a while and I replayed the whole game later on in life. At that time we had YouTube and things of that nature, so I used that to learn how to farm a Gold Chocobo and earn Knights of the Round. I didn’t trust myself against Sephiroth without it. I went to face Emerald weapon after learning some tactics, but I realized I had accidentally sold my Underwater Materia. That meant I had to fight Emerald with the time limit. It took me a few tries, but I finally won. Next was Ruby, who was a massive pain. I finally defeated that too.

That was the most accomplished I had probably ever felt from a game, other than maybe an MMO I dedicated a lot of my life to where I was one of the best players and even made it into their monthly magazine. But as far as single player games, it was the first time I actually wanted to complete it 100%. There was no game that I had enjoyed more. I never cared much for side quests, but FF7 was different.

After doing just about everything you can in the game, I faced Sephiroth for the ultimate showdown. He was a pushover, because once you have everything maxed and KotR, you have eliminated a lot of the challenge lol. It didn’t make the fight any less special or rewarding, and watching the credits roll just brought back a lot of memories. At this point, it had been years since I first played the game with my little brother by my side. Now him and I aren’t very close. We have completely opposite personalities. I don’t know if the remake will bring us together like the siblings in the recent Japanese commercial, but I know it has already started a dialogue for us. First when it was first announced, and next when we saw what we did at E3.

Cloud is a relatable character for me. I had a rough childhood, and I feel like that contributed to me being kind of a jerk in my late teens and early adult years. I’m a much different person now. Not perfect by any means, but I would say I have changed for the better. I think that having a rough childhood also contributes to my love for the game. Sitting there with my little brother when we were close. When my mom was still around and things weren’t so hard. Like I said, it was a simpler time back then. Things got much more complicated as time went on and I had to grow up too fast. But I will never forget those days of just sitting there, listening to that incredible soundtrack next to my brother and playing through that heartfelt story without a care in the world.

I haven’t even touched much of the game itself, and more so the nostalgia of it. It has the best music of any game ever. Fight me. The characters and character development is untouched. Nothing beats it. I’ve always been a bit of a hopeless romantic, and I have found and lost “true love”. In all it’s 1997 graphics glory, to this day I can literally feel that pain from Cloud as he releases Aerith’s body into the lifestream. I didn’t lose the one I loved through death, but the pain is still there. Even though the Cloud/Aerith/Tifa love triangle is complicated and up for debate, I do believe Cloud loved Aerith, and I am sure it would be hard for him to always wonder “what if”, had things been different. “What if?” when Cloud went through his character transformation after his coma.

I don’t know, but when I sit there and pop in the FF7 remake and (hopefully) listen to that opening theme just like the original, as antsy as I will be to dive in, I will take the moment to sit there and listen just like with the original while it brings me back to past memories and what my life has been, just like I do to this day when I start a new game of the original.

I usually try not to get too personal and sorry for rambling and creating this ridiculously long post that most people probably won’t want to read through, but it all boils down to my first paragraph: This is more than just a game for me, and I bet I’m not the only one. Thanks for reading if you made it this far. :)
 

Sephira

That Silver-haired Lady
AKA
Sephiravania
Where do I start? This game just means so much to me. Probably more than it should, or at least more than what most people would consider “healthy” for “just being a video game”.

I'm with you here. That's why it's so hard for me to try and explain others my love for Final Fantasy VII, why I feel identified with Sephiroth (he's a villain, a deranged antagonist, but there are tidbits of him and his circumstances I can relate to, it's hard to put into words) and why I am so moved and happy that it is getting this wonderful Remake. I can't even explain it to my friends! I don't know if they would even understand. So yeah, I know what you mean.

I don’t know, but when I sit there and pop in the FF7 remake and (hopefully) listen to that opening theme just like the original, as antsy as I will be to dive in, I will take the moment to sit there and listen just like with the original while it brings me back to past memories and what my life has been, just like I do to this day when I start a new game of the original.

Same here, I want to listen to the Main Theme and take a moment to remember all those sweet moments I shared with my mom when she would enjoy the game alongside me through my explanations and storytelling. It's going to be magical.

And there's no problem at all for writing so much! We are here to share our stories and get to know each other a little better. :D
 

Castiel Strife

Pro Adventurer
I know I already made my contribution to this thread, but I have now read every bit of every post, and wow you guys have gave me a range of emotions. I want to touch on a few specific people, but just know you ALL have made amazing posts.

Random FF Fan - Way to get us kicked off with a bang. Really enjoyed reading what you had to say.

Sephira - Your post sort of resonated with me the most. I felt we had somewhat similar reasons for loving the game, and especially how we both see it as more than just a game. I’m so sorry to hear about your mom.

Jairus - Your post definitely got me the most emotional. What you went through is so tragic. Thank you so much for being brave enough to share it with all of us.

Saven - Your post made me laugh so many times. I thought it was hilarious and I really enjoyed reading it and all your experiences with the game. I was smiling almost the whole way through, except you getting spoiled on the biggest plot point of the game. That jackass! >_>
 

Sephira

That Silver-haired Lady
AKA
Sephiravania
Sephira - Your post sort of resonated with me the most. I felt we had somewhat similar reasons for loving the game, and especially how we both see it as more than just a game. I’m so sorry to hear about your mom.

Thank you :properhug: yeah, I wish my mom was here physically so she could enjoy the game with me, she really liked the story (and she liked Sephiroth too, she said he's really handsome! :lol:) but I know she's there somehow, so I'll make sure to let the Main Theme play for her as well. And I'm glad we found out we have something in common when of FFVII we speak, that makes me feel happy! ♥
 

Saven

Pro Adventurer
Saven - Your post made me laugh so many times. I thought it was hilarious and I really enjoyed reading it and all your experiences with the game. I was smiling almost the whole way through, except you getting spoiled on the biggest plot point of the game. That jackass! >_>

Yeah that was pretty douchey of him. I liked the guy overall (I've lost contact with him since then again), but he could be a bit selfish at times. That's the only thing I'll never forgive him for lol.
 

Kuja9001

Ooooh Salty!
AKA
roxas9001, Krat0s9001, DarkSlayerZero
Growing up, I didn't actually get to play the game, however, I was definitely exposed to the game either from a friend in elementary school(a lil bit after FFIX dropped to be exact) or later in the 2000s(before Advent Children) with G4TV and their spoilers. I always loved the music so when I would hear OWA, I'd get hyped with no context at all. I first played the game in 2010(same with FFIX) and I didn't connect due to yrs of spoilers, I did, connect with the music.

Would you believe me if I said AC soured my thoughts on the characters for yrs until I eventually gained character development and became indifferent to them after playing the game.
 

Saven

Pro Adventurer
Would you believe me if I said AC soured my thoughts on the characters for yrs until I eventually gained character development and became indifferent to them after playing the game.

Not at all. The characterization of some of these characters, especially Cloud, were horribly botched in the Compilation. I actually rewatched most of AC last night before falling asleep and the characterization of a lot of these characters were just so poor. They turned Tifa into the most mundane character in the whole series.
 
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