Azurephile gives this an astounding "Must Play" on the Ghost Scale
This achieves something special, and it would be a shame to miss it.
Azurephile gives this a "Must Play" on the Ghost Scale
This achieves something special, and it would be a shame to miss it.
Review
After being introduced to FFVIII, and therefore the FF series, I decided to play FFVII once I finished with VIII. I played both games many years ago on the original Playstation. Unlike, VIII, I've only played through VII a few times. I believe I finished it at least once in my college years and I've picked it up again a few times since then without completion. I've played both games on the PC, original Playstation (PS1), PS2, and even on the PS3. However, the very best version of both games that I've played was most recently on Steam.
It's been a long time since these games were released. If you look back at video from the original games, you may be put off by their quality. However, the Steam editions come with updated HD graphics that make them so much better looking. I found this alone to be extremely impressive. But, I've already written about VIII on Steam, this post is about VII.
The game also got Steam achievements, hardware optimizations, and a “Character Booster” that lets you cheat. I haven't tried the Character Booster, so I can't really report on what it entails. The description says that with it “you can increase your HP, MP and Gil levels to their maximum, all with the simple click of a button, leaving you to enjoy your adventure.” Considering the level of difficulty this game has, this is a tool that could be very advantageous. There are certain boss fights that are extremely tough including the final boss and optional bosses.
I'm kind of surprised that I've only clocked 44 hours in the game on Steam. Not only did I finish the game with characters around level 60, but I also took part in various side quests, some of which I've never completed before. I did not defeat the Emerald and Ruby Weapons. The wiki I was reading for a walk through recommended having mastered some special Materia. I did, however manage to collect all three Bahamut summons along with Knights of the Round, which is an extremely powerful summon.
This time around was also the second time that I actually did the Chocobo breeding and racing side quests. Luckily, the walk through I was reading made it easy to find the necessary wild Chocobos I needed for breeding. Since the game gave me instructions on how to operate various parts of the game by telling me what to press on the keyboard, I often became confused as to which button that linked to on my Xbox 360 controller (that I bought specifically for PC gaming). So, I decided to let my Chocobos race automatically on their own instead of controlling them myself. Luckily, to breed certain kinds of Chocobos you only have win a certain amount of races between the pair you're trying to breed. So in order to breed a blue Chocobo, for example, you have to win four total races with one or both of the Chocobos you're trying to breed. So you could win 2 with Chocobo “A” and 2 with Chocobo “B.” The information I found made this side quest much simpler than the way I attempted it many years ago.
Other media FFVII continues to be greatly popular and fans continue to want more. Because of this, many other games and media were created as a FFVII compilation. Dirge of Cerberus is a shooter game for the PS2 featuring Vincent from the original game. There is also a PSP game called Crisis Core which features Zack and Sephiroth, giving fans a bit of story that happened before the events in FFVII.
A CG movie was also released on DVD called Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. It was later released on Blu-Ray as FFVII: Advent Children Complete with an additional 30 minutes of story enrichment. It also included a few extra bonus features. I really enjoyed the movie and have watched it a few times.
Fans have been wanting a remake and we thought we might see one on the PS3. I still have the FFVII technical trailer on my PS3. Recently, however, trailers for FFVII: Remake have been released. It seems as though characters have voice-overs similar to FFX. It also seems as though battle occurs in real-time instead of turn-based. I doubt it will be released for the PS3, but it may be a good reason to get a PS4 when it's released. We'll see how it turns out and whether or not it satisfies the huge hunger FFVII fans have for a remake. Right now, the Steam version is, in my opinion, the best to date.
So, if you're a fan of FFVII or the series, I strongly recommend getting the Steam version. I'm really glad that I got to enjoy this great game again. I look forward to the remake and playing even more Final Fantasy games on Steam.
Compilation of Final Fantasy VII: http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Compilation_of_Final_Fantasy_VII
FFVII Steam page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/39140/
- Recommended
- The most popular Final Fantasy game now on Steam
- Updated HD graphics, achievements, optimizations, and a Character Booster
After being introduced to FFVIII, and therefore the FF series, I decided to play FFVII once I finished with VIII. I played both games many years ago on the original Playstation. Unlike, VIII, I've only played through VII a few times. I believe I finished it at least once in my college years and I've picked it up again a few times since then without completion. I've played both games on the PC, original Playstation (PS1), PS2, and even on the PS3. However, the very best version of both games that I've played was most recently on Steam.
It's been a long time since these games were released. If you look back at video from the original games, you may be put off by their quality. However, the Steam editions come with updated HD graphics that make them so much better looking. I found this alone to be extremely impressive. But, I've already written about VIII on Steam, this post is about VII.
The game also got Steam achievements, hardware optimizations, and a “Character Booster” that lets you cheat. I haven't tried the Character Booster, so I can't really report on what it entails. The description says that with it “you can increase your HP, MP and Gil levels to their maximum, all with the simple click of a button, leaving you to enjoy your adventure.” Considering the level of difficulty this game has, this is a tool that could be very advantageous. There are certain boss fights that are extremely tough including the final boss and optional bosses.
I'm kind of surprised that I've only clocked 44 hours in the game on Steam. Not only did I finish the game with characters around level 60, but I also took part in various side quests, some of which I've never completed before. I did not defeat the Emerald and Ruby Weapons. The wiki I was reading for a walk through recommended having mastered some special Materia. I did, however manage to collect all three Bahamut summons along with Knights of the Round, which is an extremely powerful summon.
This time around was also the second time that I actually did the Chocobo breeding and racing side quests. Luckily, the walk through I was reading made it easy to find the necessary wild Chocobos I needed for breeding. Since the game gave me instructions on how to operate various parts of the game by telling me what to press on the keyboard, I often became confused as to which button that linked to on my Xbox 360 controller (that I bought specifically for PC gaming). So, I decided to let my Chocobos race automatically on their own instead of controlling them myself. Luckily, to breed certain kinds of Chocobos you only have win a certain amount of races between the pair you're trying to breed. So in order to breed a blue Chocobo, for example, you have to win four total races with one or both of the Chocobos you're trying to breed. So you could win 2 with Chocobo “A” and 2 with Chocobo “B.” The information I found made this side quest much simpler than the way I attempted it many years ago.
Other media FFVII continues to be greatly popular and fans continue to want more. Because of this, many other games and media were created as a FFVII compilation. Dirge of Cerberus is a shooter game for the PS2 featuring Vincent from the original game. There is also a PSP game called Crisis Core which features Zack and Sephiroth, giving fans a bit of story that happened before the events in FFVII.
A CG movie was also released on DVD called Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. It was later released on Blu-Ray as FFVII: Advent Children Complete with an additional 30 minutes of story enrichment. It also included a few extra bonus features. I really enjoyed the movie and have watched it a few times.
Fans have been wanting a remake and we thought we might see one on the PS3. I still have the FFVII technical trailer on my PS3. Recently, however, trailers for FFVII: Remake have been released. It seems as though characters have voice-overs similar to FFX. It also seems as though battle occurs in real-time instead of turn-based. I doubt it will be released for the PS3, but it may be a good reason to get a PS4 when it's released. We'll see how it turns out and whether or not it satisfies the huge hunger FFVII fans have for a remake. Right now, the Steam version is, in my opinion, the best to date.
So, if you're a fan of FFVII or the series, I strongly recommend getting the Steam version. I'm really glad that I got to enjoy this great game again. I look forward to the remake and playing even more Final Fantasy games on Steam.
Compilation of Final Fantasy VII: http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Compilation_of_Final_Fantasy_VII
FFVII Steam page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/39140/
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Not sure if I am going to play Final Fantasy VII or VI next. I love VI so much but I haven't played VII yet.
Such a hard choice.
It is a tough choice. I started playing VI again after I finished VII. I'm going backwards. I actually have a few different versions of it.
Jon, you should play Final Fantasy VII just because it's kind of a gaming icon, but go into it with managed expectations. The graphics don't hold up well to time like later games, even VIII, do.
Greg, you're welcome for the introduction to Final Fantasy :D
@Travis, yes, thank you very much! Just introducing me to the game significantly changed my gaming life. I became quite totally obsessed with the entire series and I've played almost every one of them (some of them multiple times). There hasn't been a lot of disappointment that I've had with the series, but some does exist. Anyway, the original version of my FFVIII post mentioned that you introduced it to me, but I ended up editing it to make it a little less personal.
I agree with your recommendation to Jon. I agree with you that the graphics in the original versions of many games in the series don't "hold up well to time," however (as I mentioned), I was greatly impressed with the Steam versions.
Good points. VII does look a bit odd to my modern eyes, but it's always been on my "list of shame" and it's worth a look even if I walk away from it I think.