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Close your eyes, it’s August 1997.

by June 27, 2011 0 comments

Songs such as Wannabe and Mmmbop populate the top 100 list, Hong Kong is given its sovereignty, and the first Harry Potter book has just been released. But most importantly, Final Fantasy VII is but a month away from release!

And if you've wondered why Cloud hasn't smiled much in the Compilation, here's your answer.

Forum member Brooke dug up some old FF7 previews from August of 1997 and was kind enough to share them with us. If you were already a Final Fantasy fan then, you might enjoy the nostalgia of the excitement that had been absolutely ravaging the West after the game’s January Japanese release. If you were not, it’s a pretty fascinating look at just how beside themselves people were to play this game. Also included is the preview of Final Fantasy Tactics, another imminent release at the time, as well as a truly prophetic piece about gaming and the third dimension.

Well, it would appear that fanfics haven’t gotten any better.

I’ve never seen that shirt anywhere in my travels, it’s too bad “Sears Funtronics” doesn’t exist anymore, I’d try it out – expiration date notwithstanding. Also, it never occurred to me before how identical Alucard is to Sephiroth! And look how much Sony’s focus on 3D games hurt them through the PS1 generation and beyond… That said, it is rather interesting, considering how hard Sony just pushed a new kind of 3D at E3 in 2011.

  This is especially interesting, though. It’s an interview with all the big names (Sakaguchi, Nomura, Hashimoto, Naora, Uematsu) about FF7. It’s neat to just see how young they look, much less the thoughts behind the improvements the North American release saw over the Japanese. I’m amazed they mention the “resurrection of a certain character,” and how about VII’s development time (3 years) and that the next entry would be finished “sometime next year.” Those were the days, all right.

We hope you enjoyed this nostalgia trip and/or history lesson, and again a big thanks to forum member Brooke for providing us with it.

No comments yet

  1. Tennyo
    #1 Tennyo 27 June, 2011, 23:03

    Absolutely fabulous. <3

    Reply to this comment
  2. Gabe
    #2 Gabe 28 June, 2011, 07:25

    I closed my eyes so i could time travel back to 1997 only to find i cant read with my eyes closed 🙁

    Reply to this comment
  3. Choco
    #3 Choco 28 June, 2011, 14:33

    i lol’ed at duke nukem. I remember August 97 I got a playable demo of ff7, the first mako reactor bombing, and the skateboarding demo. I was very excited back then. Cried when Aeris died. Frustratd a couple of times when i cant beat emerald. Dismayed whenever i lost to teo. And my 200+ hrs of gameplay. What an experience.

    Reply to this comment
  4. Ryushikaze
    #4 Ryushikaze 28 June, 2011, 15:53

    “Well, it would appear that fanfics haven’t gotten any better.”

    Haven’t gotten much worse, though.

    Reply to this comment
    • ForceStealer
      ForceStealer Author 28 June, 2011, 17:00

      True.

  5. Squall_of_SeeD
    #5 Squall_of_SeeD 30 June, 2011, 19:19

    Thanks a lot for this, Brookie. It was awesome to see this time capsule unearthed.

    Reply to this comment
  6. Tea-chan
    #6 Tea-chan 8 July, 2011, 08:32

    1800 MB… CDs with 600 MB… SUCH NUMBERS. I’M GONNA CRY! XD

    A full CGI movie, like Toy Story (OMG, another blast from the past)? What was that the original script of ACC? Did it have roots since THEN? O.o

    Dear God, what a flashback.

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