I’ve gotten a couple of hours further into Final Fantasy VII, and I’m still having mixed reactions. I enjoy playing it, and it’s beginning to feel more like the Final Fantasy games I’m used to playing, but I can’t help notice a few niggling details. Whether these flaws are the result of poor game design, ambition, or simply due to hardware limitations in 1997 is difficult to determine without playing more of the game (which I certainly plan to do).
I’m willing to chalk up the problems I find most annoying to limitations of the original PlayStation hardware. The terrible polygonal graphics of the characters are in such stark contrast to the prerendered environments that it’s difficult to make out exactly what is happening on the screen. I find myself running into walls much more often than I’d like, although perhaps that’s due to the lack of analog control more so than poor visuals. I also find it difficult to empathize with any of the characters’ emotions because the cutesy polygonal characters are so nondescript.
The battle system of previous titles is what drew me to Final Fantasy. It allowed for difficult battles and strategy while letting you take time to decide your next move. The active battle system in Final Fantasy VII would work much better in a 2D environment. I’m often unable to select a mode of retaliation because an enemy’s attack has forced the camera to shift and hide the other combatants. I have to wait until the attack is finished before selecting my target. This wastes time, and gives the impression that enemies are able to attack more frequently than your party members.
Still, I’m having a lot of fun playing and I’m really enjoying the story. I’d appreciate it even more if I could play FFVII on my PSP with Remote Play. I have yet to find a game that works particularly well with that feature. Anyway, if anyone has an insights on FFVII, I’d appreciate hearing them. I’d be interested to know if the things I’ve complained about are common problems. Has anyone who’s played FFVII before gone back to it recently? This experience has given me the urge to try out Final Fantasy XII. I bought it a long time ago knowing that I probably wouldn’t get around to playing it. The special edition came with a History of Final Fantasy DVD that I really wanted.
Posted by brianfishman 
