Playing the Original Final Fantasy VII in 2020
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Overrated or not, you can't ignore the impact that the original Final Fantasy VII left in gaming history. Having only really played the PlayStation version of FF7 as a kid back in 1999 and after recently playing over a hundred hours of Final Fantasy VII Remake to completion and then some. I wanted to revisit the PS1 classic to see how the source material aged and to find out how good or bad it is compared to my memories of it.
Midgar
One of the biggest comparisons one can make from FF7 Remake and the original FF7 is the length of the Midgar segment. I remembered Midgar being a short yet memorable portion of the original game but was surprised to find out how short it actually was. With Midgar being the entirety of the first episode of Remake, it was interesting to see how the developers expanded upon the first 7 or hours of the original game.
Remake did a lot to make the giant super city as believable as possible and has superseded everyone's expectations. To the point that maybe certain segments were expanded upon too much. For example; the entire collapsed expressway section which had those robot construction arms in Remake turned out to be a single screen in the original game. But then there would be a few really charming scene recreations like the segment where you can choose to climb the stairs of the Shinra building instead of taking the elevator.
Both games tackle the story progression in ways that warrant their own play-throughs despite telling, for the most part, the same tale. Seeing the differences and similarities made me appreciate those moments and got me even more excited for what comes next in Remake.
Nice
Combat and the Materia System
I love how Square Enix incorporated the ATB system in FF7 Remake and how it made what otherwise looked to be action combat retains a heavy emphasis on strategy. How the materia system works in both the remake and original are very similar to each other.
I'd say the Remake version of the materia system is near identical to the original but slightly less complex due to the absence of certain materia and elements but at the same time added new materia to complement the new action-based combat. I honestly can't wait to see how the developers will implement some of the more memorable and almost broken materia combos.
Like a fine wine
Despite the original game being 23 years old, I found that it played a lot better than memory served. I greatly enjoyed my time with it and ended up exploring more of the game than I did back in the day. I went as far as racing and breeding chocobos until I got a gold one, completed at least one Enemy Skill materia, collected most of the final weapons and final limit breaks, and even went as far as to defeat both Ruby and Emerald weapons. If you have yet to experience the original Final Fantasy VII and think that only playing the Remake is enough, I highly suggest giving the classic a shot. Don't let the blocky visuals fool you. There's a lot of charm in those little chibi figures.
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