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
FFVII: Disc two
As I said last week, the plot takes a turn toward the crazy once you pop in Disc 2. But first, I should probably mention who has been in my team as of late, now that I have all of the playable characters. I used Cloud, Yuffie and Cid to beat the end of Disc … Continue reading
FFVII: Golden chocobo
Okay, I’ll admit it. I’ve been avoiding the game, if only because I know what it takes to get a Golden Chocobo. The idea of grinding to max out materia and kill a weapon and trade for one (that’s what real men do, if you recall), or the longer, often rewarding farming required to get … Continue reading
FFVII: El Cid and the end of disc 1
I cannot escape this game any longer. It consumes me. It calls to me. Its hooks are firmly set within my flesh and psyche. Meaning: I’ve been playing this game too damn much lately. So much, that I see the menu commands in my sleep. But, I digress. I found the last playable character, Cid—a … Continue reading
FFVII: Enemy mine
There is one big advantage I have by playing this game in 2011 vs. 1997: Being of Legal Drinking Age The Internet. Yes, yes, the Internet was around in 1997, but it has grown in content and usability considerably since then–and gamers have certainly benefited. In 1997, I had subscriptions to video game magazines as … Continue reading
FFVII: Jumping off the rails
This week’s lesson, if there are lessons in this mind-bogglingly late first time through 1997’s Final Fantasy VII, is that it’s entirely possible to overthink things. Last week, I complained about feeling a bit bogged down, and being saddled with a character like Vincent Valentine who, once you get past the cool emo vibe, can … Continue reading
FFVII: Cid
Now I lurve me some FFVII, if you haven’t guessed yet, but what caused me to love FFVII was the early, SNES version of FFIV. The game seemed to lock in a lot of tropes for the series. Rydia was a summoner; Edward “Edge” Geraldine was a ninja, much like Yuffie, but the skill “throw” … Continue reading
FFVII: The slog
I’ll admit, at the start, to feeling a bit of Final Fantasy fatigue this week. Which is a bit odd if only because I finally feel like I’m starting to make progress. But still, just disc 1! I find myself coming up with reasons that I might be further along than it really feels. Discs … Continue reading
FFVII: My cousin Vinny
Remember how I complained about having too large of a party in last week’s post? (this is addressed to all two of you who read it) Well, now I have another character: Vincent Valentine. Vincent is an “optional” character, meaning you don’t automatically get him and he is not required to beat the game. But, … Continue reading
