Genre: Role Playing Game
Platform: Sony Playstation
2000 SquareSoft. Screenshots and images courtesy of Amazon.Com
Shop: Final Fantasy Games, Strategy Guides and Artbooks, Toys and Figures, DVD, Videos, Music

Cover Description:
Queen Brahne of Alexandria has begun using highly-advanced magical weapons to terrorize neighboring kingdoms. Her daughter, Princess Garnet, runs away from the castle and befriends a group of good-hearted bandits led by a skilled thief, Zidane, who intends to end the evil queen’s desire to dominate the world. Soon after embarking on their quest, they discover that the queen’s threats merely cover a far mor sinister plot. For the sake of mankind, Zidane and his friends must put an end to the Queen’s reign before she and the evil forces that accompany her can carry out the deadly plan.

FAQs / Guides:
Alexandria Book Guide by Skysenshi
Chocobo Hot & Cold by Thundersenshi
Ozma Guide by Thundersenshi

I just got my copy of the U.S. version two days ago because I was so excited I couldn’t wait for the game’s release on the 14th. I remember having to go through a lot of people, a lot of pain, lose a lot of money, and all that hassle, just so I could get this. Now I’m wondering if I was that desperate for this Y2000 FF5-FF6 remake.

Truly, nothing came more shocking to me than the sight of pixelated SD characters. I mean, I did see in Japanese previews that they would be in cutesy mode. But all I saw were the CG screen shots. I didn’t realize that their cutesy regular mode would be more pixelated than FF7’s cutesy modes. Before playing FF9, I replayed FF7, and the comparison was disturbing. I mean, FF7 is a three-year old game! And yet Cloud had smoother polygonal skin, while Zidane looks like a pixelated chimp from an FF6 sequel. I mean, I love FF6, and it’s actually my favorite FF in terms of plot, but we are in the 21st century! I think we all must move on graphics-wise. What holds me back from giving FF9 a ”2” on graphics is the fact that they have a lot of good FMVs.

Nobuo Uematsu is one of the best. However, I just can’t shake the fact that the intro of the battle theme sounds exactly like FF6’s battle theme intro. Again, as I stress on the fact that I love FF6, I guess I also need to stress on the importance of originality. Besides that little gripe, I’d say FF9 has one of the best soundtracks in PSX gaming history.

My request is just simple: I want my limit breaks back. At first I thought, ”Wow, they returned FF7’s limit breaks!” Then when I realized I couldn’t control when I want to use the limit break, which was especially frustrating during the 12-minute beast hunt in Disc 1, I struggled on the idea of whether I should sell the discs or just finish it for Final Fantasy’s sake. The gameplay as a whole is fine, but I saw all of it back in FF6, and in almost the same look, too. What’s more frustrating is the fact that most their special abilities, like Summons or Swd Atks, aren’t even useable during the first parts when you need them most. Add that to the fact that Zidane’s abilities are pretty useless. Thank heaven there’s still Freya’s Jump ability!

At least this might be FF9’s saving grace yet. The good thing about FF9 is that, unlike FF8’s haughty lead character, who’s bankability is obviously just based on his looks, FF9’s Zidane has been blessed with a pretty hilarious character who can keep you laughing for hours. The plot is also as exciting as FF6’s, which is something that I found missing in FF7 and FF8. I meant ”exciting” in the sense that, I can feel every character as the story progressed from disc to disc. They’re more human than FF7’s characters, and definitely more real than FF8. However, I would minus two points for lack of originality. As I said, this game, including the plot, is too much similar to FF6.

I loved FF6, but I never played it again after beating it. Since this game is 70% identical to FF6, I don’t think I’ll play it again either. The reason for this is that, first, it’s too simple — like Chrono Cross being played for the third time around. Second, it doesn’t have the same gameplay quality that the last two Final Fantasies had. Third, I don’t want to go back to that ”pauper phase” in disc 1, when I couldn’t sell any equipment due to the fact that I can’t upgrade as long as I’m learning the abilities I want to learn. Fourth, the challenge I’m looking for is not present. I don’t have the urge to perfect the game as I did with FF7 and FF8. Fifth, did I mention that the storyline is also nearly identical to that of Legend of Legaia? Terra? Mists? Hello? I know Legend of Legaia was such a tedious game, but this is ridiculous! Sixth, there just isn’t enough reason to make me play this game all over again.

Should you buy or should you just rent this game? Well, I suggest you borrow it from someone. That would be free. Or if you feel you’re sinister enough, you can probably have relatives from neighboring countries send you a pirated pre-release copy of this game.

One last thing, don’t take a 3-day leave off your work just to play this game, like I did. You’ll be losing more money that way. Frankly, the reason why I finished this game is because it’s a Final Fantasy game. That’s the same exact reason I used when I finished FF5.

Player Status:
Difficulty: Easy - Moderate
Completion Time: ?? hours
Highest Level Achieved: 60+
Ratings: Gameplay 8; Battle 8; Story 9; Visuals 10; Characters 10; Sounds 10; Replay Value 5

It is clear that Square went traditional with FF IX. It reminded me of FFVI and I don’t find the game comparable with FF VIII because FF VIII has futuristic themes and a junctioning gameplay that has a higher learning curve than FFV, FFVI or FFIX. But all FFs are something worth playing anyways!

Maybe others believe that FFVIII is more hype — but you must admit, FFVIII greets you with amazing FMV that is greatly improved over FFVII. The story is concentrated on a love theme and once you play, the junctioning is one thing you can master. So after seeing FFVIII, you would find FFIX pretty much where 8 left off… and I guess that’s all there is.

Gameplay (3/10)

I just came back from the sophistication of gameplay Square did on FFVIII and Vagrant Story (though this is more adventure RPG). Magic is easily managed with MP and you don’t have to think how to distribute it unlike in FFVII or FFVIII since it is pretty clear who the magic users are. There’s no need to determine which character will specialize on what because it seems all preset for you.

Limit breaks from FFVII come back as ”Trance” but unlike limit breaks you can’t use them for the next battle. Trance becomes pretty much random to me and I find that when my ATB is full, it isn’t a boss fight. Either I’m unlucky or that Trance always has wrong timing. Hey, all I have to do is get hit by the boss all the time, right?

The gameplay is easier than the FFs I’ve played. I think the FFVIII is the most sophisticated battle system ever, and after that FFVII. You really don’t have to worry too much that you’ve junctioned wrong magic or wrong materia together — but then that’s part of the challenge because the possibilities of better characters become endless!

In FFIX, you mostly equip for abilities and you compromise big on defense and stats. There are many drawbacks once you equip or unequip a weapon — you could not only lose or gain defense and attack stats, but you could compromise learning abilities as well. I consider this one big flaw because as you play through any RPG because there are only few weapons you can equip. If you compromise on having a better weapon but a weaker armor because of the abilities, you still get a weaker character. What? Add an accessory? It only raises your stats a little. And there’s just one accessory more — that’s not much to prepare for battle. You realize that one weapon doesn’t raise just one stat, but affects many? Therefore, compromise wearing a weaker one just to learn abilities is a big drawback. But surely, there are other ways to get around this and beat the boss great, isn’t it? Yes, of course. You’ll find that out later, later, later.

In FFVIII’s junctioning or FFVII’s materia pairing (as well as FFVI’s espers which is almost the same), there are endless ways of how the battle system affect your magic and stats without compromising big-time. Take FFVII’s Final Attack Materia where you can pair any other materia with it and end up with different results.

Once you learn the ability, the worry is over. FFIX’s gameplay to me, seems to be good for beginner gamers because it’s easier to learn. I don’t think it challenges me as much as other FFs.

Story (5/10)

As the makers of FFVIII revealed, they made the FFVIII more focused on character than story so the audience can relate more to the game as they played the characters. The result is astonishing character development that related well with the story. FFVI and FFVII’s climaxes make you stop and think that the story has great effect in developing the character. FFIX’s medieval high-tech setting and fantastical scenery seems to be the major determining point in the game and not much on the plot or the characters. It seems the point of FFIX is basically on its nostalgic trip to older FFs and not much on newer plots or twists.

Unlike other FFs, where FFVI greets you with enigmatic characters like Terra and Edgar, and FFVII made Cloud memorable, FFIX’s characters lack certain charisma. The very character design of Edea in FFVIII is enough to make you hold on to your controller as you fight her. The main character Zidane has more potential than the indifferent Squall or the clueless Cloud, but I can’t seem to find him more appealing than the other two.

However, Square’s creators did reveal that they wished to make more involved characters in FFVIII and go on a nostalgic trip on FFIX where they return to the ”fantasy” aspect. The fact that they achieved this is already a triumph for them. What people like or dislike may just be a matter of taste.

Audio/Video(7/10)

I think the orchestral fanfare and themes are very expertly done and suits the overall theme of the game, but it’s just not as memorable. The CGs appear smoother than ever with finer detail even with the strands of hair. The FMVs are improved from FFVIII but normal game graphics seem to be more rough or dithered. The ”chibi” (small) mode of characters was something I find a little uneasy to get use to, but they were rendered great as well!

The atmosphere around the game is quite ‘happy-pappy’ compared to the seriousness of FFVII and FFVIII. Square again achieved their objective in this one because they simply portrayed what they wanted in the backgrounds and scenery. However, the character sketches of Yoshitaka Amano didn’t quite portray the rendered characters’s personality in CG.

Replayability (1/10)
Because you learn mostly abilities in the gameplay, there aren’t much possibilities I can draw. The game doesn’t seem to be as challenging as former FFs. It is all simply laid out — which can be a good thing, of course, because there are many gamers who have different playing types. However, I think it lacks the sophistication of former FFs, especially FFVIII.

People may say that FFVIII is so hyped out and that it’s all show. However, the GF junctioning and weapon making altogether make it totally challenging with lots of possibilities. Of course, that is good hype.

To buy or rent?
Everything FF and Square in my opinion is worth it. But this is not the best FF to date.

Player Status:
Difficulty: Easy - Moderate
Completion Time: ?? hours
Highest Level Achieved: 60+
Ratings: Gameplay 3; Battle 3; Story 5; Visuals 7; Characters 5; Sounds 7; Replay Value 1

Genre: Strategy, Tactics
Platform: Playstation
1997 Square Co., Ltd.
Shop: Final Fantasy Games, Strategy Guides and Artbooks, Toys and Figures, DVD, Videos, Music

Cover Description:
Lead epic battles in a new Final Fantasy world.

Betrayal and darker dealings await in Square Soft’s game of war.

Fight hundreds of battles across dangerous 3D terrain as an ancient blood feud awakens a deadlier foe.

• Command knights, mages, ninjas and more
• Based on Final Fantasy characters and magic
• 19 character classes; 400 abilities
• Deep customization options
• In-game interactive manual
• Only on PlayStation

I believe that the peak of the Final Fantasy series could be seen in Final Fantasy IV, VI, VII, VIII and Tactics. These were the titles that showed how Square was able to polish console RPGaming — from the headache that the first three (and fifth) Final Fantasies were to where the series is standing now. One true test of a game’s classic factor is when you unearth an old game and find yourself enjoying it nearly a decade after you played it the first time around. Final Fantasy Tactics is just such. (It’s actually a silly story, why I stopped playing FFT back in 1997 and it’s not even related to the gameplay. I named Ramza Beatrice, after myself, only to find that Ramza is a dude.)

Story and Characters
You start off with a character named Ramza, although you can actually customize his name and his zodiac sign. You are tasked to protect the Princess Ovelia from forces that threaten to topple the current royalty. Pretty soon, you find yourself embroiled in political conspiracies, thanks to your family background, that had been brewing for centuries. Along the way, you discover friends, foes, as well as ancient written texts that told of the Brave (Zodiac) Story.

There are actually tons to read in this game. In fact, while you go around in bars, looking for propositions and listening to rumors, you will excavate artifacts and information about unexplored islands. These would give you clues as to what the Brave Story is all about. The central figures are St. Ajora, whose cover story reminds me so much of the Christians’ Jesus Christ, and a traitor named Germonik (Judas?). From there, you will be thrown back and forth between two different factions until you get to the bottom of things.

For a game that has a lot of cute looking sprites, FFT can actually be very touching, especially when you meet people like Princess Ovelia, Mustadio, and Delita. Some of the rebels, like Olan, wear pivotal roles that make you wish for a good sequel. The subquests characters, like Beowulf and Reis, have interesting backgrounds as well.

Audiovisuals
This is a game from the late 90s so don’t expect much in terms of graphics or game translation, as I’ve found a lot of typographical and grammatical errors. Everyone is in 2D sprite mode, and the jobs generally only have one look per job per gender. What I’m saying is that all female monks look alike; same goes for the males. The only people who’d look different no matter what their class are would be the story-based characters. Nevertheless, FFT isn’t completely devoid of any visual aesthetics. The intro and the endings are all 3D FMVs, although I suppose they’re not much compared to the eyecandy we get from the Xbox and the PS2 these days.

The music is excellent. Yes, they sound like midi, but you can really savor the medieval feel just by listening to the intro.

Gameplay and Battle System
Addictive. I can’t really pinpoint why it’s addictive. There certainly are a lot of flaws. For starters, I think there are too many jobs, when you actually just need five or six (main job, ninja, chemist, mediator, monk, knight). Secondly, by the time you reach chapter four, the mage classes would’ve become virtually useless — especially after you get Cid Orlandu. Thirdly, there’s a bug that lets you duplicate Orlandu’s Excalibur, which makes it easy for you to cheese your way to the ending. There’s even a point in the final chapter where I find myself killing bosses in one hit. Simply put, the gameplay is horribly unbalanced.

So with all these in mind, how come I could hardly tear myself away from my PS? I guess it’s because despite the repetitive areas, the monsters level up when you do. Even if you go back to the part of the world map where you first started, rest assured that the monsters you killed back then would have beefed up in time for your arrival.

The battle system is also fairly easy; you absolutely do not need a walkthrough for this. In fact, most of the fun I get from FFT is discovering my own tactics without having to rely on what other people say. I remember when a special friend told me to use shields and I said, “Nah, why go with shields when I can wipe them all out with two swords on each hand? There, see? They’re all dead before they take their turns!”

Quests and Extra Features
The bonuses here are Cloud and Aeris of Final Fantasy VII, whom you can recruit while going through a subquest. I didn’t really use Cloud, however, because I find him too slow. I just basically recruited him and retrieved his Materia Blade for the sake of expanding my game time. That, and the fact that I really loved FFVII so much that anything related to it would be very much welcome. The thing that even makes this path fun is that you also get to recruit hidden characters like Beowulf, Reis and Worker 8. Beowulf, in particular, was a great asset to my team. That I take so much pleasure in this subquest, even if they remove the FFVII references, says so much about my enthusiasm for this game.

When you visit bars, you also get to take on jobs that range from the most menial (helping out in a restaurant) to the most difficult (catching bandits on the loose). You can send the least useful units out on errands so that they can bring back rewards, as well as level up, without having to fight alongside you.

Poaching is another great feature. You get to kill beasts in the battlefield and if you have the Secret Hunt skill equipped, you can trade their meat in Fur Shops. One of my favorite accessories can be traded for piggy/porky/uribo skins. My only lament is that the porkies are so cute; I felt so horrible whenever I needed to kill them. See, it would have been all right if I just killed them off the field because they were wild. But since porkies are rare, I ended up breeding them, and then sending the piglets out on the field so that I can shoot/axe/run a sword through them. Sometimes, when it’s the porky’s turn to act, I would make him turn around so that he doesn’t have to see that I’m about to bludgeon him. Such cruelty. Sniff. I wouldn’t have minded if the porkies were as ugly as the goblins. But no. They just had to make the little darlings so unforgivably adorable.

In any case, this doesn’t deter me from believing that Final Fantasy Tactics is one of the best Final Fantasies — heck even one of the best tactics games — ever released. I just wish 21st century game developers would learn a little from the past and remember that games are meant to be enjoyed. With new games lacking souls nowadays, it would be an honor to find something like this.

Player Status:
Difficulty: Easy
Completion Time: 60+ hours
Highest Level Achieved: Ramza 82
Ratings: Gameplay 7; Battle 8; Story 9; Visuals 7; Characters 10; Sounds 10; Replay Value 10

Genre: Tactics
Platform: Gameboy Advance
2003 SquareEnix. Nintendo. Screenshots and images courtesy of Amazon.Com.
Shop: Final Fantasy Games, Strategy Guides and Artbooks, Toys and Figures, DVD, Videos, Music

Cover Description:
The Fate of Ivalice Is In Your Hands.

When Marche and his friends open an ancient magical tome, their small town is transformed into a fantasy-filled kingdom known as Ivalice. Now, Marche must take up the sword and master the arts of war if he has any hope of returning home. Guide Marche and his clan against countless foes in tactical combat and discover the wonders of Ivalice. How will you restore your town to normal…and do you even want to?

As a fighting games fanatic, you really can’t expect me to play too many games outside of that genre, especially any from the Final Fantasy franchise. However, one game in that franchise stood out to me, and to this day, it is still arguably my favorite turn-based strategy game of all time: Final Fantasy Tactics (FFT). Released for the Playstation, this was the only Final Fantasy game I really played from beginning to end.

It was obviously no surprise, then, that when I heard the game was going to make its way onto the Gameboy Advance, I was eagerly anticipating the opportunity to play it on the go. The hype machine of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (FFT-A) was heralding this game to outdo its Playstation predecessor with an even deeper, more engaging gameplay system than before.

Ultimately, I was disappointed.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance does not begin to compare to the original Final Fantasy Tactics for the Playstation. Its so-called innovations are nothing more than ways to make the game more complicated, even more frustrating, than it needs to actually be. Let’s break down the entirety of this game so that I can illustrate this point more clearly…

Story: C- (4)

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance has just a shred more of a story than most bishoujo games out there. The premise is that you, Marche, the hero, happen to be just a new kid in the town of St. Ivalice, who ends up making friends with the unpopular kids in town. Somehow, your new group of friends run into a book entitled “Final Fantasy”, and the next thing you know, you’re now in that imaginary word you just dreamt about. It can’t get any more simplistic than this.

Now, your quest is to get back to your world. Your friends don’t want to go back to the real world because they’re happier here, but while a part of you agrees with them, the rest of you take it upon yourself to bring the world back to how it was. You meet friends and foes, and the story pretty much progresses predictably in your quest to get back to the real world. Even the so-called twists in the plot aren’t really huge twists, nor do the characters really seem to develop much, as the most “development” you can get from the characters is a change of heart for them to see your side of wanting to get the real world back.

This story is not only so overdone, it’s even poorly done this time out. I can only give it credit for its attempt to give some meaning to the entirety of the quest, but overall, the story, which was something I loved to bits in the original FFT, is glaringly mediocre at best.

Gameplay: B- (6)

I wouldn’t go outright and say that the gameplay of FFT-A was horrible. In fact, it’s quite engaging for the first few hours of play. However, I cannot possibly say that the gameplay was spectacular, either. I was more underwhelmed than anything. Being a combat-heavy game, I’d focus mostly on the combat aspects of the gameplay to give you a general feel of FFT-A.

You learn new abilities by using weapons that contain the ability you want to learn until you master the ability itself through the Ability Point (AP) system, which gives you ability points for each battle you complete. These Ability Points enable you to eventually master the ability instead of requiring you to equip the weapon containing the ability before you can use that ability. For instance, if you wanted to learn “Steal Weapon” as a Thief, then you can equip the Dagger named “Sword Breaker”, battle until you earn 300 AP, then you can use “Steal Weapon” as an ability even if you didn’t equip the Sword Breaker. This system is very tedious compared to the Job Point system of FFT, as it requires you to use sub-optimal weapons just so you can get the abilities embedded in them.

There are five races of characters: Humans, Nu Mous, Banggas, Vieras, and Moogles. While this seems to open up a whole lot of possibilities for characters, there really isn’t much to write home about. There are many classes available, some available only to certain races. At the same time, both characters and races are heavily unbalanced: Humans and Moogles are the top two races, while some classes such as the Illusionist for the Humans and Nu Mous are hardly a threat to anyone.

At the same time, their so-called innovation, the Law System, is a joke. The Law System prevents participants in the combat from doing certain things for the duration of the battle, and rewards those who follow what the Law in place recommends. A judge that is ever-present in the battle will be the one to determine that, though he’s really more of a figurehead and a moving obstacle occupying one square than anything else, since his only other interaction with you in the game is to move all the unconscious units at random. For instance, if “Fire” is illegal, and “Ice” is recommended, any black mage who casts a Fire-based spell will be penalized with a yellow card which has a corresponding fine and/or drawback on your character, or, in case of repeated violations within a single battle, or violating a law with a high level, or rendering a unit unconscious by breaking a law, a red card which sends you to jail.

In this system, Marche cannot be sent to jail, or else it’s game over. Still, being slapped with a yellow card penalty that will not go away unless you work for a pardon (And Marche can’t do that because he can’t go to jail.) does hamper gameplay instead of make it interesting.

On the other hand, any black mage who casts an Ice-based spell will be rewarded a Judge Point (JP), which they can use for combos or Totemas, which are powerful attacks you acquire throughout the game, handed out by race. You can get JP’s through following what the law recommends, or rendering another unit unconscious without breaking any laws.

I’m sure some people have fun playing around with the Law System to send the opponent to jail instead of outright knocking them out, but even they would have to admit how boring it can get most of the time. It doesn’t add any depth to the strategy for the most part.

Another thing I noticed about the gameplay: good luck levelling up. Unlike in FFT, the levels of the enemies you encounter are fixed. They do not approximate your level, so expect to have a really boring time trying to level up.

All in all, the gameplay for FFT-A is clearly a step back. There were so many things that could’ve been done to make gameplay better, and yet their attempt to make some new “innovations” simply made for a more frustrating playing experience instead.

Graphics: A (9)

FFT-A really maximizes the capabilities of the GBA in terms of graphics. Sure, they’re not 3D masterpieces or anything of the sort, but I have to hand it to SquareEnix for this one: they really did a good job with the graphics. Spell effects are beautifully rendered, and the characters, while not richly detailed, are still very nice to look at. There’re some characters who look too alike, though, such as Snipers and Assassins, but these small misses don’t really take much away from FFT-A’s eye candy.

Music And Sound: B (7)

The music for this game is good, but extremely limited. You don’t need more than an hour of continuous playing to have heard nearly all of the game’s tracks, and then it begins to get annoying. The sound effects for the game are FF standby’s, though, which means they’re good for the most part. Despite that, I have to say that FFT-A’s music and sounds are far from its strongest suits.

Replayability: D- (3)

While there are some nice characters you can acquire only upon finishing the game, the replayability value for this game is very low. It’s such a chore to finish the game on your first run because of the tediousness it takes to level up and master abilities. A second run is plain torture. I don’t really think new characters at the end of the game counts for replayability, either, as it just means that when you get the ending, you still have something to do, but not start the game over.

Overall: C (5)

Sadly, this game reeks of mediocrity. I won’t say people shouldn’t play it, but I have to say that any fan of the original FFT shouldn’t really get their hopes up. The entirety of FFT-A was a step back from what made the original great, and its only spade over the original is that it’s portable. Other than that, you’re mostly better off playing a better turn-based fantasy-strategy game for the GBA, such as Tactics Ogre: Knight Of Lodis, which had a better storyline, less complex and more fun gameplay, and even a respectable amount of replayability.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance could’ve been so much better. In the end, its own overhype really led to a lot of disappointment from people who expected more than just some haphazardly put-together name with the name “Final Fantasy” tacked onto it just so it can make some money.

Player Status:
Difficulty:
Completion Time:
Highest Level Achieved:
Ratings: Gameplay 6; Battle 6; Story 4; Visuals 7; Characters 4; Sounds 7; Replay Value 3

Genre: Roleplaying Game
Platform: Playstation, Win. 95/98/2000/Me/XP
1997 Square Co., Ltd. Screenshots by RPGFan
Shop: Final Fantasy Games, Strategy Guides and Artbooks, Toys and Figures, DVD, Videos, Music

Cover Description:
The Shinra Corporation is draining our planet of its life force. Cloud Strife, a cold-hearted mercenary, accepts a mission from a group of eco-warriors, unaware that it will lead him on a journey that will change not just his life, but the lives of every soul in the universe… Welcome to Final Fantasy VII — an epic adventure on 3 CDs where sorcery and science collide, where friendships are lost and won and where one man can make a difference that lasts forever!

It has been eight years since I have played Final Fantasy VII, back in the glory days of the Playstation One. It was one of those games that you just do not forget. In fact, during the early years of my web sites, I would pepper the pages with pictures of Cloud and Tifa and even named the Fridge’s video game wing after Red XIII. It’s a wonder why people never asked why I haven’t reviewed Final Fantasy VII when it’s usually a must-have for all archive sites. Then again, up until this year, I purposely didn’t want to come up with an opinion for it. I mean, what’s there to write about that hasn’t already been said by all other reviewers? Furthermore, I was afraid that my memory of the game has greatly diminished that it would be difficult to whip up words to describe the experience.

With the release of the DVD movie Final Fantasy: Advent Children, however, I was bound to change my mind. The movie, while obviously not strong enough to satisfy non-FFVII fans or act as a stand-alone production, struck gold. It was then that I began to remember.

Story and Characters
FFVII characters are among the most unforgettable pieces of video gaming history that Square ever served its clients. If you explore the game thoroughly, you’d learn that even the very minor characters had personalities and side stories that can range from hilarious to downright inspirational. I could just recall the laughs I had when the original villains of the Shinra Company would be shown arguing about one bungled project after another. There were even hints of love angles going on in Shinra.

As for your party members, they’re a mixed bag. You have a frisky but cute petty-thieving ninja (Yuffie), an angsty vampire (Vincent), an ancient feline (Nanaki/Red XIII), a short-fused engineer (Cid), a fatherly gun-toting tough guy (Barrett), and a talking stuffed toy (Cait Sith). But who could forget the big three, who began the age-old argument of “Tifa versus Aeris”? Fans everywhere seemed to have never gotten over the debate of who deserves to be with the troubled Cloud more: martial arts expert Tifa or the gentle flower lady Aeris? What’s even amusing here is the fact that despite Tifa being kick-ass and Aeris being a softie, it’s Tifa who’s shy and Aeris who’s more aggressive when it comes to showing their feelings.

The overall premise of Final Fantasy VII is an epic of grand proportions. What makes up for having a cliché summary is the fact that there are so many aspects of FFVII to explore. Even the little silly things mean so much.

Audiovisuals
It was the game that defined the Playstation One. You will notice the huge leap from Final Fantasy VI as this was the first Final Fantasy installment that went 3D. It’s also the first to have full-motion video sequences. Of course you can’t really expect it to be as refined as the next FF that came after it, but you’d know that hard work was definitely poured into the presentation. Replaying my old saved file, I even find the blocky 3D sprites quite adorable now. What I like about this aspect of the game is the fact that the character designs are distinctive. You can identify each and everyone of your party members even if all you’d see are their silhouettes. We all have Tetsuya Nomura to thank for that.

The music is top notch. What do you expect when you put Nobuo Uematsu at the helm of the musical scoring? The pieces One Winged Angel, main villain Sephiroth’s background music, and the Main Theme of Final Fantasy VII still manage to give me goosebumps. It’s also good that like all FFs, this one retained the overall flavor that past and present FFs have while making a distinct atmosphere that can only be felt here. Those familiar with FFVII would notice that these sounds will be used as kickers for Advent Children.

Gameplay and Battle System
Innovative! It was a huge step that Square took. So huge that even in this century, it’s still being used as a standard for future games. Even then, not many games could live up to the standards it set. While the FF series were already known for creative gameplay and battle systems, FFVII just upped the ante by a mile. It’s not overly complicated, really, but it provides just enough challenge for gamers from all ages to appreciate. The random encounters, however, can be a tad annoying; nothing that non-wussies can’t handle, though.

The battle system introduced rocks/gems/circular glowing thingies called materia. These are classified into different colors, which would also have different purposes. For example, red materia are for summoning powerful deities while green materia are for curative spells. One would equip these materia onto your characters’ weapons and armors and they would give you the skills necessary for battle. You can use them as is, or you can use them to dish out powerful materia combos.

What I especially love about FFVII are the Limit Breaks. You can unlock several powerful attacks and unleash them when you’re ready to go berserk. What’s even niftier is that you can set which Limit Breaks you want to unleash. I have never forgotten the beauty of Cloud’s Cross-Slash and Omnislash because of this. FFVII, in my opinion, still has the best Limit Break system in all FFs released.

Of course, I still have a couple of gripes that I hadn’t gotten over, especially since my brother and sister keep laughing about these. There’s the really nausea-inducing snowboarding quest—all that white is just not healthy for your eyes—and the Temple of The Ancients’ rolling rocks that I had to avoid. I always ended up flat on my back so that’s one of those times I tore my hair out in frustration.

Quests and Extra Features
There are a lot! This is probably my most explored FF game due to the quests and extras. There’s the fun chocobo racing, wherein you raise these cute and cuddly giant fowls for breeding and monetary gains. I still remember how fast my heart palpitated whenever this black chocobo, Teo, would join the race and I’d scream when he’d try to overtake. There’s also the famous Golden Saucer, where highly entertaining mini-games can be played for various prizes.

Believe it or not, it seems that a huge chunk of FFVII is all about the subquests. As a matter of fact, the characters that are loved by many, Vincent and Yuffie, can be recruited upon completing certain conditions or quests. The most powerful summoning materia, Knights of Round, can also be acquired when you’ve bred a golden chocobo, which can fly through areas inaccessible to any other means of transport. Furthermore, every one of your party members’ final Limit Breaks can be achieved by participating in mini-games, going island hopping, or whatnot.

Now, if you’re one blood-thirsty fiend eager to fight bosses, you can also pick on the “Weapons” or gigantic beasts residing in three areas of the world map. It’s better to challenge them without a walkthrough, because that adds a bit more spice to your adventure. I remember my brother and I using tactics that none of the other FAQ writers have ever mentioned and that made victory even sweeter.

This and Final Fantasy VIII have sparked debates between old-school and new-school gamers. I have been a gamer for most of my life—nearly two decades, in fact. I am, nevertheless, thankful for releases such as this. While it’s nice to dwell on how satisfying the good ol’ days of videogaming were, one should still commend innovation for bringing gaming experiences to monumental heights. I don’t think I could go back to the torturous enemy-encounter-every-two-steps time of the first FFs or the no-save nerve-wracking sidescroller of the first Castlevania. Final Fantasy VII in itself opened doors to more creative pursuits. And that, plus the new employment positions that became available due to the new technology it brought about, is enough.

layer Status:
Difficulty: Moderate
Completion Time: 120+ hours
Highest Level Achieved: 99 all characters
Ratings: Gameplay 10; Battle 10; Story 9; Visuals 7; Characters 10; Sounds 10; Replay Value 10

Genre: Role Playing Game
Platform: Sony Playstation
1999 Square Co. Ltd. Screenshots and images courtesy of Amazon.Com.
Shop: Final Fantasy Games, Strategy Guides and Artbooks, Toys and Figures, DVD, Videos, Music

Cover Description:
A member of an elite military team, Squall is forced into a conflict beyond imagination. To survive, he must content with a desperate rival, a powerful sorceress, and his own mysterious dreams.

Realistic, detailed characters and background graphics enhanced by a breathtaking musical score. An epic story based on the theme of love, set in a massive new world. New Junction System allows characters to be customized with powerful magic spells drawn from enemies. Nearly an hour of stunning motion-captured CG cinemas seamlessly integrated into gameplay.

FAQs / Info:
Semi Walkthrough by Skysenshi
Boss and GFs Battle Guide by Skysenshi
Extra Subquests by Firesenshi
Ultimecia Castle by Skysenshi