After reading some of the threads on this forum during the weekend I started to feel a surge of nostalgia for FFVII. In the past, a reminiscing session down the pub with a few friends would have been enough to keep me happy, but this time I also happen to be playing FFVIII for the first time during lunchbreaks at work. The temptation was too high, so I booted the first disc (at home) yesterday and now I am enjoying my 3rd play-through.
I say this is my 3rd play-through, but I've never actually beat the game in previous sessions. When I say 'beat', what I mean is I haven't reached the conclusion of the game - i.e. faught the final battle with Sephiroth and watched (I guess) the final FMV sequence. On my first proper (see below) play-through I delved far into the Crater to grab materia then climbed back out to go Chocobo training. This brings me to the question...
What are/were your playing habbits regarding this game? (please feel free to ramble)
Note: The following part of this post is optional. Your reward for completion of reading through the mess is minimal: A gray materia - Snoozetime - which you can cast anywhere at any time (no MP required) to gracefully fall into a light snooze and avoid long boring small talk that doesn't relate to your current status/plan. However, if you do decide to endure the prolonged (self serving) banter, you can return to Bugenhagen in Cosmo Canyon when you've maxed out your Snoozetime gray materia (which shouldn't be hard considering the amount of times you can probably summon Snoozetime throughout your average day at work/school etc... ) and he will give you a unique item: Hemorrhoid Glove. How this unique item is used and it's effects on gameplay are left to the players discretion.
Here's mine...
Session 0
My very first (virgin) session saw me plod along until I reached Shinra HQ. After talking with a friend I realised I had missed so much stuff (side story, pickups etc...) that I promptly baught the guidebook and started again. I grew up playing games at a time when guidebooks were non existent, and a walkthrough (or codes) printed in a magazine was blasphemy as far as my friends and myself were concerned; so having a guidebook at hand dictated my playing habbits during my first (proper) run.
Session 1
Starting my first real session saw me use the guidebook in a 'skimming' fashion. I would skim the section I was on ahead of play and note bold text regarding hidden/optional stuff. Then I would go ahead and play - not really aware of the idea of leveling and building stats. The story, events and locations were the main thrust for me. It's actually fun (now I am playing through again) to make connections with certain early parts/elements/battles etc... that I remember having distinct thaughts about back then and how I seem to be viewing them so differently now (more on that at the end of this ramble).
So I was following the story, checking the guidebook, and having a fun but hard time as the whole 'leveling' thing wasn't something I did back then (still stuck in my Amiga RPG mindset). I reached the final crater and the guidebook gave me a 'no return - go back and try x, y, z' prompt and that's what I did becouse I was enjoying the game so much. I started trying for a gold Chocobo and somewhere along the way I got distracted by real life and probably other newer games. I can't remember.
Session 2
This is the session I remember most. Back in '98/'99 I picked up the controller and decided to wade back in on one cold windy night. At that time I might have still had my original memory card saves, but I had forgotten so much about the game at that point so decided to start again.
Soon after I started playing again I remembered the game mechanics, dug my guidebook out and was intent on really going for everything. I didn't enjoy the whole Midgar section at the begining this second time through. I guess it was becouse some of the magic had faded and I was slightly older and certainly alot more cynical regarding gameplay, characters, dialogue (OMG!) and the general flow of things. Once I got out of Midgar though, I started to fall in love with the game (again) and used the guidebook fully (mostly stat/item/materia exploits to nail every bastard beastie) to explore the world properly.
After I crossed the sea at Junon I began slowing down and trying everything out. There was lots of materia I didn't use at all during my first proper run, so I deliberately started to 'play' more and experiment with different tactics. I started to come up with challenges I would impose upon myself. I think, at this point, I also started to really fall in love with the soundtrack.
I continued to mess around - slowly letting the story unfold - until, again, I recoiled from the crater in the quest for maxin' out characters and challenging Rudy/Emerald Weapons. As I remember, I was around level 75 for most characters and spending alot of my time battling the Unknown's in the Crashed Gelnika (I didn't kow about the morph/stat thing until I started reading these forums!). I put the joypad down, again.
Session3 (Present Day, Present Time*)
So here I am fiercely attacking the game for a third time, and this time i will see - not only the downfall of 'teh Shinra' but also any Ruby or Emerald bastid in sight! As I write this I am about to embark on the big 'outside' - the world beyond Midgar. So far I have taken my time and tried to understand what the characters might be feeling - given the abysmal dialogue that runs riot. I am also sketching and painting (I'll have to post some stuff) as I go as a way of 'realising' the world as I see it beyond the limited (forced) view of the game. I certainly plan to mix 'n' match play styles along the way and set gaming challenges for myself.
I can honestly say I am getting more out of the game, now I am 33, than I did when I originally played it on release in the UK. I'm far more cynical now. I have more emotional scars. I have one or two more physical scars (oops!). I have 'little people' that depend on me. I better understand how various people 'tick'. I actually get on with my parents (to a certain degree). I can emotionally/retrospectively connect with numerous things which I couldn't do (or would never think of doing) back when I first played the game. I (hope) I'm more creative now than ever. I still have a limited grasp of my native language (spelling and punctuation) but can smile to myself knowing it was never mean't to be. I have a cat that seems to love me one minute and give me a Lvl5 Death stare the next!
I have a bed that is as welcoming as the bed/s I grew up sleeping on.
That last line could well be a simple analogy of FFVII as I see it now.
*Sorry for the Lain quote, but it seemed to fit rather well.
I say this is my 3rd play-through, but I've never actually beat the game in previous sessions. When I say 'beat', what I mean is I haven't reached the conclusion of the game - i.e. faught the final battle with Sephiroth and watched (I guess) the final FMV sequence. On my first proper (see below) play-through I delved far into the Crater to grab materia then climbed back out to go Chocobo training. This brings me to the question...
What are/were your playing habbits regarding this game? (please feel free to ramble)
Note: The following part of this post is optional. Your reward for completion of reading through the mess is minimal: A gray materia - Snoozetime - which you can cast anywhere at any time (no MP required) to gracefully fall into a light snooze and avoid long boring small talk that doesn't relate to your current status/plan. However, if you do decide to endure the prolonged (self serving) banter, you can return to Bugenhagen in Cosmo Canyon when you've maxed out your Snoozetime gray materia (which shouldn't be hard considering the amount of times you can probably summon Snoozetime throughout your average day at work/school etc... ) and he will give you a unique item: Hemorrhoid Glove. How this unique item is used and it's effects on gameplay are left to the players discretion.
Here's mine...
Session 0
My very first (virgin) session saw me plod along until I reached Shinra HQ. After talking with a friend I realised I had missed so much stuff (side story, pickups etc...) that I promptly baught the guidebook and started again. I grew up playing games at a time when guidebooks were non existent, and a walkthrough (or codes) printed in a magazine was blasphemy as far as my friends and myself were concerned; so having a guidebook at hand dictated my playing habbits during my first (proper) run.
Session 1
Starting my first real session saw me use the guidebook in a 'skimming' fashion. I would skim the section I was on ahead of play and note bold text regarding hidden/optional stuff. Then I would go ahead and play - not really aware of the idea of leveling and building stats. The story, events and locations were the main thrust for me. It's actually fun (now I am playing through again) to make connections with certain early parts/elements/battles etc... that I remember having distinct thaughts about back then and how I seem to be viewing them so differently now (more on that at the end of this ramble).
So I was following the story, checking the guidebook, and having a fun but hard time as the whole 'leveling' thing wasn't something I did back then (still stuck in my Amiga RPG mindset). I reached the final crater and the guidebook gave me a 'no return - go back and try x, y, z' prompt and that's what I did becouse I was enjoying the game so much. I started trying for a gold Chocobo and somewhere along the way I got distracted by real life and probably other newer games. I can't remember.
Session 2
This is the session I remember most. Back in '98/'99 I picked up the controller and decided to wade back in on one cold windy night. At that time I might have still had my original memory card saves, but I had forgotten so much about the game at that point so decided to start again.
Soon after I started playing again I remembered the game mechanics, dug my guidebook out and was intent on really going for everything. I didn't enjoy the whole Midgar section at the begining this second time through. I guess it was becouse some of the magic had faded and I was slightly older and certainly alot more cynical regarding gameplay, characters, dialogue (OMG!) and the general flow of things. Once I got out of Midgar though, I started to fall in love with the game (again) and used the guidebook fully (mostly stat/item/materia exploits to nail every bastard beastie) to explore the world properly.
After I crossed the sea at Junon I began slowing down and trying everything out. There was lots of materia I didn't use at all during my first proper run, so I deliberately started to 'play' more and experiment with different tactics. I started to come up with challenges I would impose upon myself. I think, at this point, I also started to really fall in love with the soundtrack.
I continued to mess around - slowly letting the story unfold - until, again, I recoiled from the crater in the quest for maxin' out characters and challenging Rudy/Emerald Weapons. As I remember, I was around level 75 for most characters and spending alot of my time battling the Unknown's in the Crashed Gelnika (I didn't kow about the morph/stat thing until I started reading these forums!). I put the joypad down, again.
Session3 (Present Day, Present Time*)
So here I am fiercely attacking the game for a third time, and this time i will see - not only the downfall of 'teh Shinra' but also any Ruby or Emerald bastid in sight! As I write this I am about to embark on the big 'outside' - the world beyond Midgar. So far I have taken my time and tried to understand what the characters might be feeling - given the abysmal dialogue that runs riot. I am also sketching and painting (I'll have to post some stuff) as I go as a way of 'realising' the world as I see it beyond the limited (forced) view of the game. I certainly plan to mix 'n' match play styles along the way and set gaming challenges for myself.
I can honestly say I am getting more out of the game, now I am 33, than I did when I originally played it on release in the UK. I'm far more cynical now. I have more emotional scars. I have one or two more physical scars (oops!). I have 'little people' that depend on me. I better understand how various people 'tick'. I actually get on with my parents (to a certain degree). I can emotionally/retrospectively connect with numerous things which I couldn't do (or would never think of doing) back when I first played the game. I (hope) I'm more creative now than ever. I still have a limited grasp of my native language (spelling and punctuation) but can smile to myself knowing it was never mean't to be. I have a cat that seems to love me one minute and give me a Lvl5 Death stare the next!
I have a bed that is as welcoming as the bed/s I grew up sleeping on.
That last line could well be a simple analogy of FFVII as I see it now.
*Sorry for the Lain quote, but it seemed to fit rather well.
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