final fantasy 7 for the first time (also others)

[_choof]

this was a few weeks ago, been sitting on it and I think I need to play it again
but goddamn now that I'm familiar with the game, it's kinda ruined how I previously felt about ff8. used to kinda shill for that game tbh
but anyway yeah with so many years of being surrounded by ff7 based media, and having unironically watched advent children before even touching the game, I regret not playing this as a kid lol. aerith's death and the final cutscene did not have quite the impact I expect they would have had, if I had played it at age 12

I'm playing through ff6 at the moment, also for the first time. this paired with ff7 really makes ff8 look like a mechanical step backwards tbh.

[gold stinger]

Re: final fantasy 7 for the first time (also others)

Yeah I think you essentially nailed it on the head why I adore FF7 but can't get behind 6 or 8, and then I felt really out of place with 10.

I'm sure people at the time were just as excited to enjoy FF8 right after FF7 but similarly, it definitely didn't succeed FF7 in what it delivered after they played it, and nothing really reached that peak afterwards. Why there was such a push for the remake, imo.

[ShadoWolfe]

Re: final fantasy 7 for the first time (also others)

I played every Final Fantasy up to 9 as a kid, and never played 10-12.

Went straight from 9 to 13 and was kind of whiplashed.

Each of the earlier ones was incredible for different reasons

FF4 is legendary, dramatically changed the entire genre, and has an incredibly compelling story and world
FF5 had the job system that was super fun, but the story was lacking compared to FF4 and FF6
FF6 took all the good aspects from the previous ones and expanded on them, with one of the best gameplay, plots, playable characters, world, and lore of any game to date
FF7 is an incredible game, and brought the isometric "3d" style to the series. plot was incredible, characters were compelling, and it was fun. It was my favorite for a bit, but
FF8 blew it out of the water imo. just the best Final Fantasy in the entire series by far. stunning graphics for the time, an incredible plot that, to me, was more compelling than FF7. Everything in this game was masterful. Card collection, character adaptability with the guardian force system, draw points, junction system. Just amazing through and through. To this day I will hum some of the tunes from how much it stuck playing it as a kid.
FF9 was just 10 steps backwards imo

[_choof]

Re: final fantasy 7 for the first time (also others)

FF8 blew it out of the water imo. just the best Final Fantasy in the entire series by far. stunning graphics for the time, an incredible plot that, to me, was more compelling than FF7. Everything in this game was masterful. Card collection, character adaptability with the guardian force system, draw points, junction system. Just amazing through and through. To this day I will hum some of the tunes from how much it stuck playing it as a kid.
FF9 was just 10 steps backwards imo

the junction system was one of my fav aspects of ff8 and after having played ff7 I really do not think it's as robust as it looks. for example imo elemental/status junctions were done better in ff7, the problem with it in ff8 is that you want 100 of the spell for them to be good/consistent, and for elemental you want the highest level spell for that element.
that said, it's a pretty good thing that triple triad is, objectively, the best minigame in the series, since you can just farm trepies to abuse card mod and have every spell you need in the game by the time you leave for timber lol.
drawing is tedious, it was tedious back when I played it as a kid and it's tedious now. it's less tedious since you can speed up the game by 3x on the remastered version, but still.
I'm not sure how I feel now about the story though. I'll need to do a proper replay through it to contrast it with ff7.
I also disagree with ff9 being a step backwards but I do understand where that sentiment comes from

I've played 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9. I'll likely play through either 10 or 8 next, once I'm done with 6

[Black_Shield]

Re: final fantasy 7 for the first time (also others)

i played the FF7 remake went it released and platinumed, but given squenix isn't going to put the rest of it on PS4, i just started FF7 on my switch, so far very very fun.

[ShadoWolfe]

Re: final fantasy 7 for the first time (also others)

the junction system was one of my fav aspects of ff8 and after having played ff7 I really do not think it's as robust as it looks. for example imo elemental/status junctions were done better in ff7, the problem with it in ff8 is that you want 100 of the spell for them to be good/consistent, and for elemental you want the highest level spell for that element.
that said, it's a pretty good thing that triple triad is, objectively, the best minigame in the series, since you can just farm trepies to abuse card mod and have every spell you need in the game by the time you leave for timber lol.
drawing is tedious, it was tedious back when I played it as a kid and it's tedious now. it's less tedious since you can speed up the game by 3x on the remastered version, but still.
I'm not sure how I feel now about the story though. I'll need to do a proper replay through it to contrast it with ff7.
I also disagree with ff9 being a step backwards but I do understand where that sentiment comes from

I've played 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9. I'll likely play through either 10 or 8 next, once I'm done with 6

You have valid points about drawing. Triple triad is super fun too.
Play 5 next! It's good too. Story is weaker but I think you'll like the jobs system a lot.

I've been meaning to play the remastered version of FF7, as I think the block graphics have always put me off of truly falling in love with it. Cool cutscenes and block gameplay was jarring. The remastered version I have reeeally high hopes will take FF7 to the top for me

[DaBackpack]

Re: final fantasy 7 for the first time (also others)

I played every Final Fantasy up to 9 as a kid, and never played 10-12.

Went straight from 9 to 13 and was kind of whiplashed.

Each of the earlier ones was incredible for different reasons

FF4 is legendary, dramatically changed the entire genre, and has an incredibly compelling story and world
FF5 had the job system that was super fun, but the story was lacking compared to FF4 and FF6
FF6 took all the good aspects from the previous ones and expanded on them, with one of the best gameplay, plots, playable characters, world, and lore of any game to date
FF7 is an incredible game, and brought the isometric "3d" style to the series. plot was incredible, characters were compelling, and it was fun. It was my favorite for a bit, but
FF8 blew it out of the water imo. just the best Final Fantasy in the entire series by far. stunning graphics for the time, an incredible plot that, to me, was more compelling than FF7. Everything in this game was masterful. Card collection, character adaptability with the guardian force system, draw points, junction system. Just amazing through and through. To this day I will hum some of the tunes from how much it stuck playing it as a kid.
FF9 was just 10 steps backwards imo

my man

(except for FF9, that game's tight)

FF10 is really good too, especially as an entry-level JRPG. my fav game is still FF6 after all these years

edit: historically, ff8 has always gotten kind of a bad rap, especially right as it was released. at the time people thought that Squall was just a lesser ripoff of Cloud because they superficially share the same archetype.

the game has started seeing attention again, possibly because of the remaster, and people are seeing it much more favorably now that time has passed. Squall is, IMO, a much more interesting and likeable character than Cloud--- and one written less sloppily. They might seem similar on the surface but the devil's in the details. (Won't elaborate here because spoilers)

I remember the story and music having me enamored as a kid. It still has some of my favorite scenes in the series, like Laguna meeting Julia, the scene in the spaceship where Squall finally lets himself become vulnerable to Rinoa, and that absolutely mindblowing and cathartic ending. The game as a whole is well-delivered but in a very subtle way. I have a feeling it would have been received much better if it didn't immediately follow FF7.

[With that said, I don't know if I would replay FF8, especially when I can watch the cutscenes online.]

"Just a little longer."

Even now I'm impressed by just how good the writing is. A very natural and compelling romance story

[ShadoWolfe]

Re: final fantasy 7 for the first time (also others)

my man

(except for FF9, that game's tight)

FF10 is really good too, especially as an entry-level JRPG. my fav game is still FF6 after all these years

edit: historically, ff8 has always gotten kind of a bad rap, especially right as it was released. at the time people thought that Squall was just a lesser ripoff of Cloud because they superficially share the same archetype.

the game has started seeing attention again, possibly because of the remaster, and people are seeing it much more favorably now that time has passed. Squall is, IMO, a much more interesting and likeable character than Cloud--- and one written less sloppily. They might seem similar on the surface but the devil's in the details. (Won't elaborate here because spoilers)

I remember the story and music having me enamored as a kid. It still has some of my favorite scenes in the series, like Laguna meeting Julia, the scene in the spaceship where Squall finally lets himself become vulnerable to Rinoa, and that absolutely mindblowing and cathartic ending. The game as a whole is well-delivered but in a very subtle way. I have a feeling it would have been received much better if it didn't immediately follow FF7.

[With that said, I don't know if I would replay FF8, especially when I can watch the cutscenes online.]

"Just a little longer."

Even now I'm impressed by just how good the writing is. A very natural and compelling romance story

<3 100%
I think I could replay FF8. I am strangely excited for these remasters.

In terms of the Squall / Cloud comparison, I think Squall is a much, much more compelling character. So human, with clear motivations, flaws, even selfishness and apathy at times. His and Rinoa's character development and the twists along the way just really lend themselves convincingly to the *why* they do what they do.