What is it that makes Final Fantasy VII such an endearing title in the hearts of its fans? Is childhood nostalgia the strongest force at play here, or is FFVII a genuinely great game?
With this retrospective, “The Final Fantasy VII Letters”, written by two practiced video game commentators, Leigh Alexander and Kirk Hamilton, they attempt to answer this bearing question.
The contrast of Leigh Alexander being a long-time FFVII fan and Kirk Hamilton doing his very first playthrough of the game during their reflective letter correspondence, sets the stage for a nigh-to scientific venture into analysing just what it is that makes FFVII such an immersive experience.
The retrospective was published on pastemagazine.com and became ten entries in total, running from March 15th to May 6th, 2011. The game’s events and themes are presented pretty much in the order as the iconic Final Fantasy title itself presents them.
Begin the journey here. Warning, the sheer eloquence and professionalism found in these letters may blow the reader away. Leigh Alexander and Kirk Hamilton are well-versed in commenting video games and its industry as a whole. Follow the links provided in the letters to see more of their work.
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I’ve really enjoyed reading this.
I may be biased in my love for FFVII, but, God, they put so much of what I think and feel into a coherent whole.
And really, I love any talk of FFVII. Although we have an entire freakin forum devoted to it, it’s all kinds of awesome to see this kind of community interaction so long after the freaking game came out.
I remember getting a friend at school to play the game and at lunchtimes we’d talk about it. These letters really bring me back to those days.
Im just at part 4 now and am really enjoying reading this
Thanks for posting this, I’m really digging reading these letters! I especially liked Kirk’s closing line in his first letter to Leigh, as I have to admit, I agreed with that sentiment when I played through my first time 😛
Kirk’s line about Tifa: “She’s the Pacey to Aeris’ Dawson, or perhaps more fittingly the Mr. Knightley to Cloud’s Emma Woodhouse. Tifa’s my girl.” fucking win.