Clearly, the time was right

For all you Final Fantasy junkies, just as the Gamers’ Club playthough of Final Fantasy VII has wrapped up, Kirk Hamilton and Leigh Alexander at Paste are working on a playthrough of their own. You can check it out at http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2011/03/the-final-fantasy-vii-letters-part-1-welcome-to-mi.html

And just in case you need to catch up (or want to compare and contrast), The Gamer’s Club FFVII playthrough got started here, here, and here, and a full archive is available here.

FFVII: The end

At last. This experiment is finally at an end. Sort of. By sort of, I mean I defeated the game—specifically Sephiroth in all of his forms—and watched the end movies. But am I finished? Hardly. There is a lot of game left. Sigh. I saved in the North Crater just before the final battles, which … Continue reading

FFVII: Now that’s an ending

As promised last week, it’s done. Sephiroth has gone down. The logistics: I’ve been playing with the final battle party, and while my last go-round might have worked if the game hadn’t frozen up on me, I did things a bit differently this time. Before making my way into the Northern Crater, I stocked up … Continue reading

FFVII: It is finished

Well, sort of. Real men, as a friend quipped, kill Emerald Weapon, not Sephiroth, for old time’s sake. And, I suppose, he’s right, considering how easy it is to bear Sephiroth, but it doesn’t make me any less happy to be done with the game. Don’t here what I am not saying, I love FFVII … Continue reading

FFVII: Wasting time

I put in a decent amount of time over the weekend. But, I probably only progressed in the story about maybe an hour. You’re thinking, “huh?” or more likely, “Cripes, when is this blog series going to end?” Well. I spent too much time mastering materia and trying out some side-quests.

FFVII: So close

Like many people, I’ve played more Final Fantasy games than I’ve finished. I’ve spent significant time playing Final Fantasies I, III, IV, VII, X, X-2, and XIII, but I’ve only beaten I, IV, X, and X-2. Some of the titles, like XII and XIII, it’s really a matter of time—that is, I just haven’t spent … Continue reading

FFVII: Game over

I can’t do it. I just can’t beat Ruby Weapon without the Knights of the Round. I mean I know it’s possible (I’ve done it before), but the amount of work required is absurd. A finesse win with low level materia is just not in the cards for Andrew. The few alternatives I am aware … Continue reading

FFVII: Breaking through the wall

I think it’s been apparent to anyone reading my posts over the past few weeks that I felt like I’d hit a wall in Final Fantasy VII. I’d been playing the game for more than two months, and it felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere. I was getting antsy. Last week, happily, I finally made … Continue reading

FFVII: the end is nigh

There is no greater boon for gaming than two days of moderate sickness. As I am sure you recall, the last week or two I’ve been avoiding the game out of my contempt for battle arena and chocobo grinding. This weekend, however, I took stock of the situation and decided that pushing forward to disk … Continue reading

FFVII: Battle square

After some crazy twists and turns in the plot, and after Cloud returned to the party, I decided to kill some time in the Battle Square at the Gold Saucer. My brain needed a break. The story is not getting any easier to follow. I feel like I need a flow chart or something. And … Continue reading