I first played this on an emulator in the late 90's. It already seemed "retro" then even though it was only a few years old. (That tells you something about the pace of technology changing during that period, or my young age at the time, or both. Imagine thinking of, say, God of War 2018 as retro.) FFVII had already been around for a while and I was aware of it, but hadn't played any of the later stuff since I didn't have a PlayStation.
It was quite a revelation to me that an SNES, or really any system, could provide this kind of nuanced storytelling, with so many characters and a lot of dialogue. Even from the first moments, seeing the Magitek Armor tromping through the snow, I was hooked. I knew games up to that point as being mostly about fun - it was rare to experience one that could give that feeling of sadness, wistfulness, and hope that came over me when that music started playing over the opening credits. The Ocarina of Time opening would have been the only comparison I could make. But nothing in Ocarina was as poignant as this game in its saddest moments. In particular, Cyan's story was incredibly tragic.
Eventually I was able to snag a used cartridge for $15 and played through the rest. I became totally obsessed with these characters and this world. Unfortunately, my save file became corrupted just as I was going to land in Kefka's Tower, and I eventually had to finish on the emulator. Even with the unreliable save battery, my FFVI cartridge is still a prized possession.
I think FFVI stands up well today - it's just a fun time. Its story is much faster-paced than modern JRPGs tend to be, and not nearly as wordy. I definitely recommend playing it in a version that lets you fast-forward, because it's quite grindy and the random encounters are not interesting. When I re-played it a couple years ago on an emulator, I'd just hold down the attack button and zip through random battles at 20x (or whatever) speed. I don't think I'd have the patience to re-play it without that.
Square-Enix, please don't remake this. It's great as it is. I don't need to see these characters in highly-detailed 3D models. I just want them to live on in my memory as they were. If it has to be remade, I hope it at least has some unique artstyle and isn't photorealistic.
Log in to comment