The Starlight Megaphone is pleased to announce a new Feature: Revisiting the Lifesteam!
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Week 1
By popular demand, The Starlight Megaphone has decided to begin a collective playthrough of Final Fantasy VII. The title for this four-week feature enterprise is Revisiting the Lifestream. Week one, running from today until next Saturday, will be a collective playthrough up until Costa del Sol. Please post your comments (positive or negative) on this post!
Of course, any sort of discussion about Final Fantasy VII is acceptable. Feel free to discuss any issues which are on your mind about the game as a whole, or anything up to Costa del Sol! What do you think of the script, the translation, the soundtrack, the battle system, the characters, the art direction, the cutscenes; anything and everything is open for discussion.
Meanwhile, The Starlight Megaphone staff members will post daily updates on their playthrough, including any issues or thoughts they have had. Readers are encouraged to do the same; if you have friends who might be interested in this feature, please get them involved as well!
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Week 2
Week two, running from today until next Saturday, will be a collective playthrough from Costal del Sol through the Temple of the Ancients. Please post your comments (positive or negative) on this post!
Of course, any sort of discussion about Final Fantasy VII is acceptable. Feel free to discuss any issues which are on your mind about the game as a whole, or anything thus far! What do you think of the script, the translation, the soundtrack, the battle system, the characters, the art direction, the cutscenes; anything and everything is open for discussion.
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Week 3
Week three, running from today until next Saturday, will be a collective playthrough from the Temple of the Ancients through the destruction of Mideel. Please post your comments (positive or negative) on this post!
Of course, any sort of discussion about Final Fantasy VII is acceptable. Feel free to discuss any issues which are on your mind about the game as a whole, or anything thus far! What do you think of the script, the translation, the soundtrack, the battle system, the characters, the art direction, the cutscenes; anything and everything is open for discussion.
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Week 4
The final week, running from today until next Saturday, will be a collective playthrough from the Destruction of Mideel up to the game’s conclusion. Please post your comments (positive or negative) on this post!
Of course, any sort of discussion about Final Fantasy VII is acceptable. Feel free to discuss any issues which are on your mind about the game as a whole! What do you think of the script, the translation, the soundtrack, the battle system, the characters, the art direction, the cutscenes; anything and everything is open for discussion.
The Starlight Megaphone! 
I’ll kick things off by mentioning that I am currently in Wall Market! Loving the game so far. More to come!
I’m currently running for my life in Reactor no 1.
Ahmigawd it’s gonna blow in 6:58!!!
I coincidentally started a few weeks ago! But I stopped playing as much once I left Midgar. The hours at the beginning of the game are probably some of my favourite of all time in any game, but after that, I tend to lose interest. Hopefully I can keep up!
I started a playthrough when FFVII was released on PSN over the summer and I just got the Tiny Bronco, so I’ll probably hang out there for a week and join everybody for the next segment (I don’t have a playthrough w/ Aeris at level 99, maybe I’ll see how high she can get…). I think most of my thoughts on the first section can be summed up in the phrase “Midgar is awesome.” It’s one of my favorite video game environments from any game, and I really wish more of the game had taken place there (I think that was one of the reasons I enjoyed Crisis Core so much).
For as much as I love FFVII, though, I really am noticing a lot of faults in this playthrough (nothing major, just a bunch of little things I never picked up on before). The translation’s the main one. Not sure what exactly I was smoking on the previous playthroughs, but I never noticed any of the glaring gramatical error or any of the things everybody else picked up on. This time, I’m seeing them a bit more.
It’s also obvious that this was still pretty early in terms of Square’s 3D games. I think it was Ginia who remarked on the last podcast that all the characters hands looked like horse hooves, and that really is true. I’m definitely glad the series went in the 3D direction (especially during the FMVs), but this was definitely a “first attempt,” so to speak (not the first time I’ve noticed this one, just figured I’d bring it back to the podcast).
I’ve also noticed a few minor issues when the gameplay itself switches into 3D. One that jumps to mind is the “defend the truck” minigame at the end. While that sequence is cinematically awesome, the gameplay is pretty rough. There’s one spot specifically towards the end where the camera moves ahead and the party drives past it, but it doesn’t seem like the controls are flipped as this happens, so hitting left on the d-pad moves you right on the screen. Very counter-intuitive.
Anyway, enough of my nit-picking of a still-excellent game (not hyperbole here, my life would be very different if I hadn’t played this game when I did). Maybe I’m just crazy and just can’t defend a truck for crap, who knows? :F. Looking forward to the rest of the playthrough and kind of hoping site playthroughs become a semi-regular segment.
For this playthrough, I’m using my PSP to play Final Fantasy VII since it’s the most convenient system to play it on due to its portability. I just completed Reactor no. 1 and I’m hanging out in our hideout, discusing my payment for the next mission.
I’m actually really enjoying the graphics for the game so far, despite what I’ve heard from critics alike. The dialgoue however is exactly how I remember it. It has its ups and downs and then theres the lower of the two which is Barrets dialogue. However dispite all that, I am greatly enjoying this game and hope to be Costa del Sol by next saturday. :)
Wow, sorry for the wall of text everybody.
tl;dr: Love the game, noticing a few technical flaws this time around.
Ya same here in regards to finding more flaws. This too is my second playthrough with the PSN version and its still a fantastic game dispite the flaws both you and I mentioned.
@Darth – I actually read your full comment, believe it or not, and I think I entirely agree. Midgar is my favourite, and I can’t believe I never noticed the very noticeable localization until this playthrough.
I really do think that the way FF7 opens is probably one of the very best openings for any game ever. What a gripping introduction to what really is one of the greatest games ever made!
Translation issues abound, but it’s nothing new to me. The “This Guy Are Sick.” line is still one of my main favourites. I think the legendary badness of the translation has, in some ways, ameliorated its effects. Much as the goofyness of Final Fantasy IV at times has become part of its charm.
I have found Barrett suprisingly well-translated, actually. Especially for the time. Square’s attempt to do Mr.-T-like dialect actually works really well. And, as Ginia said to me earlier, it’s even better if you end all of his speeches by mentally inserting the word “foo'”.
I’m thoroughly enjoying it and this time (I REALLY MEAN IT THIS TIME!) I will use Vincent instead of Tifa. I really will. I WILL. FOR REAL.
I won’t. Tifa’s hot, and a badass in battle.
I’ll be using Vincent and Caith Sith, though to begin with it’ll be Barret and Nanami. I want to “date” Barret later in the game. :)
Shinra 4-eva, biatches!
ps – Johnny is badass. He needs his own game.
Ugh, stoooopid typos.
I meant Barret and Nanaki, foo’.
My team’s usually pretty much always got Aeris on it, if nothing else, just for her limit breaks. I still think Great Gospel is the single best move in the game (even better than Knights of the Round). I’ve gotta get some use out of it while I can :F.
I never ever have Aeris in my party when I don’t have to.
My party will more than likely consist of Tifa and either Cid or Caith Sith, depending on how I feel. I’m the same way Ethos, I’ll probably never have Aeris in my party unless I’m required to. I’m planning to get all the summons, gold chocobo, and ultimate weapons by the time I reach the end of the game. Knights of the Round rocks and Great Gospel is cool too……until Aeris dies and then you realize all that work you put into her, all that time and grinding was wasted. Hazaa!!
@Syrek: I remember the first time I played through the game my main party was Cloud, Aeris, and Tifa. Then I got to the point wehre NONE of them were available. As a result, I hate Cid because he was the character on-screen at the time (I don’t really hate Cid).
I’ve found Aeris is a great edition to any grinding session just because of her limit breaks. Because Pulse of Life (and, later, GG) is always refilling your MP, you never have to head back to a town or find a save point to use a tent. Just throw a hyper and cover materia on Aeris and go fine something somewhat powerful. Her limit break will usually be full within a few encounters, then you’ve got full MP again :D
@Ethos: Well, we all know you’re a nazi-communist.
I’m going to try going through this playthrough without any guides or anything to see how much I remember from my last time. So far so good, but I’m probably going to miss out on most of the ultimate weapons due to my crappy memory X_X (not that you ever really need them, especially with Knights of the Round).
@Darth – Well not EVERYBODY knew. But now I suppose they do!
And in an embarrassing fit of stupidity and ignorance, I didn’t even know that Vincent existed my first playthrough, so I’m going to change that this time…
hehe, same thing almost happened to me. I didn’t find him until I was going around leveling up my guys before the end dungeon (can’t remember why I was in Shinra mansion, exactly). Was kind of funny that he popped out of his little casket-thing already at level 75+.
Damn I’m going to have to hurry to catch up! Mid-semester break in a couple of days, I’ll be sure to get stuck it!
I don’t know whether to join in on this one. I definitely enjoyed VII but it’s just so damn easy. I don’t know if it would hold my interest for another playthrough.
also, could someone please tell me what’s so appealing about Midgar? is it just cause it’s so big? when I was there I couldn’t wait to get the hell out. I’ve never lived in a true ghetto myself but the place I used to live was just a pimp and two dealers away from being one and it was horrible. last time I went through Midgar it just kept bringing back bad memories.
except the dress part. that was awesome.
Midgar was visually interesting, and was packed to bursting with interesting scripted events which cover a lot of ground. It was a very big and impressive experience given the small role played by JRPG towns up to that point. We went from spending just long enough in towns and castles in order to speak to the right people and find some treasure in the 16-bit era, straight to a massive fully realized city full of scripted events which comprise a massive chunk of the game. It was just one of those things that took your breath away at the time because there was nothing else like it.
And I just love the dismal mood.
Now you can all listen to the podcast where this Feature is VOCALLY announced!
Wow! Behold the power of AUDIO.
Midgar is cool because, for the most part, you cannot go back. Sector 7 gets, well, squished, and you can’t go back to sectors 5 and 6 until almost the end of the game. It’s kinda like “home”, and it feels good to be back there, even if it is a dump.
ps – Wall Market is hella fun, I forgot how fuckered that place is, haha.
Aeris dies at the end of disc 1!
SPOILERS OH NOOOOOOO~~~~~
Here’s an update on my status so far. I’m finally done with Midgar and I’m working my way towards Kalm. At the moment my party consists of Barret and Tifa but I’m having a hard time deciding wheather or not I should care about Aeris or Red XIII at this point. I was able to steal some Carbon Bangles from these robots as well as a new sword for Cloud from 3rd class SOILDERS on the 67th floor of the Shinra building. Not that it matters wheather you aquire these items or not since the game is relatively easy, however if I find something of benefit, I’ll inform you all. I was also able to get that horny guy, Dono to pick Cloud over Aeris and Tifa which is a first for me. I swear, that entire section where your trying to dress up as a girl and when your in Dono’s Mansion is priceless good fun. :)
Stealing Carbon Bangles from the Moth Eaters and a Hardedge for Cloud in Shinra HQ is really very useful. A lot of good stuff can be stolen long before it can be bought. Thanks for reminding me to mention that!
I’m just outside of Midgar too. Screw Aerith and Nanaki. She’s going to die, and he’s useless. Stick with Team AVALANCHE ftw.
So I know it’s a little far out, but I’m just about to go do the Wutai sidequest. I was wondering if anybody’s tried to just get to the point where Yuffie leaves the party, then take off and finish the game proper? Does it ever stop you? Can you just abandon her and your materia for lost and continue on?
Oh, and currently rocking an Aerith/Cid combo. Figured I might has well have one full powered party member who’s with you for the duration of the game and has some decent limit breaks. Now I have to try to find Highwind…
Anytime Caspius! Ya, screw Aerith and Nanaki, Team AVALANCHE is where it’s at. However once Cait Sith joins my party I may feel inclined to swap him with Barret. Although I will always have Tifa in my party. ;) I’m not sure about abandoning your materia but I’m all for ditching Yuffie! I am currently in Junon, about to send of President Rufus with my march of glory! Costa del Sol, here I come!!
-Does the guide have a chart detailing the characters base stats? I took a cusory glance through it and can’t find one …
I don’t remember there being anything that detailed in the guide, unfortunately. You might have to resort to the internet or gameFAQs for something like that. If I’m remembering correctly, though, you can boost all your stats to max either by materia or morphing random encounters into “x sources”.
@Darth & SN: Nope, not there. Sorry! But what Darth says is right.
So far, I’m up to the Mithril Mine. Was very busy the last few days! Should be able to play more now!
Sadly still in the Mithril Mine–but that is all about to change…
Ahh, the sunny shores of Costa del Sol!
Wish I had the gil to buy that house. Maybe later!
I always buy the house, but I never use it. My Cloud is so wasteful.
-Have come to the realisation that the official guide is even more useless than non-official game-mag guides of the day. What a useless fuck-load of horse piss.
-Am up to the train graveyard.
I have a lot of positive thoughts, but I’m currently really annoyed with the controls in the overworld. Why no ability to lock the camera? Also, I know it was probably a dual-shock thing, but the d-pad only control is imprecise and frustrating.
Definitely enjoying revisiting the game overall though!
Damn slow down im just about to get to Costal Del Sol
@Ethos: What do you mean by “ability to lock the camera”? There’s a fixed camera option somewhere, if that’s what you’re looking for. I think you have to fiddle with the L2/R2 buttons or something to get it to pop back into place overhead if you’ve been moving the camera around, can’t remember exactly.
I’ve actually had a lot of problems moving around the non-overworld maps this playthrough. Maybe it’s because of the PSP’s d-pad or something, but I keep getting stuck on stuff (even more than usual).
@Blitzmage: At least they didn’t go through with the plan to play through all of disc 1 last week :F. That would have been pretty insane.
Cloud defeats Sephiroth at the end of the game!!
@Ethos, I’m pretty sure FF7 pre-dates the release of the vibration-less dual stick controller.
-I’m about to do Gongaga, I’m well impressed by how well this game has held up, it’s still a blast to play.
Updated this post. The original target of Nibelheim was far, far too short, as that is less than 4 hours from Costa del Sol.
The new target is to complete the Temple of the Ancients, which should be closer to the 10h mark.
(This assumes that you take the Tiny Bronco to Wutai directly after Rocket Town to complete that side-area.)
Speaking of Costa Del Sol… Did anybody here ever buy the condo? Haha!
Ah, the temple of the ancients. I always thought the music in the temple was awesome! One of my favorites from the soundtrack for sure! Nice use of chromatics (Music theory nuts will get this)!
@El_Hefe – I actually bought the condo on Friday because I was bored and had excess Gil. No real reason to, but I really do tend to gratuitously overlevel my characters in FFVII, so I always have more Gil than I can shake a buster sword at.
I always buy the condo! Haha.
And I love the materia system, I really do.
Saved outside of Temple of the Ancients at exactly 20:00 on the clock, which includes extra time for screwing around and getting all the Enemy Skills up to that point, in addition to the Wutai Corneo sidequest and the Pagoda of the Five Mighty Gods.
Looks like I called this one pretty close. If you’ve been sticking directly to the storyline, you’ll get here a bit sooner.
@El_Hefe & Ginia – I remember buying the condo. Mr. T in a sailor suit… the horror… the horror…
hehe, apparently I play through the game really slowly :F (almost to 42 hours). I’m Just getting to the Gold Saucer for the second time now. Thinking back to Ginia’s article from last week, I think I find the date with Aerith much sadder than when she’s actually killed.
it took me 12 hours to get to Costa del sol
I’m at about 32 hours, nearly at the Temple of the Ancients boss. Aeris is not long for this world (has actually been giving me the shits).
Really looking forward to podcasting about some of this stuff this weekend!
I finished the Temple of the Ancients yesterday and kind of just kept going. I finished up Disc 1 and I have to say I forgot how catchy the Forgotten City theme is (not sure of the name).
I have made my way through the sleeping forrest and will probably finish Disc 1 tonight. KH:DS has been canibalising some of my FFVII time …
Hehe, I’ve been tempted to throw that into my DS, but I have way to short an attention span to be playing 2 portable games at once :D.
Looking forward to the end of Disc 1 and the permanent removal of Aerith from my party!
im not even done with part 2 lol
I have just got the Highwind and am searching for huge materias.
I stopped playing last Monday as I had reached the point where Aerith leaves the party, which was the 20h mark.
I will therefore play this week to get to the point where we are supposed to stop again. I estimate from Temple of the Ancients to the point above is about 30h. Of course, your mileage may vary.
The biggest coup for me last week was getting Vincent who I am now trying to use without getting frustrated and switching to Tifa. Not looking forward to parties commanded by Cid. At least I’ll still have Cait-Sith. Tifa is good in a fight and her limit breaks are awesome if you can hit the YEAH! every time.
I would play this game if there was a way to skip disc 1. That’s when it starts getting really good.
@Bup: Maybe I could send you my savegame somehow. I’m just past the end of Disc 1 in the next villiage (can’t remember the name).
Just play it on an emulater and download an end of disk 1 savestate from Gamefaqs.
Gah, I miss Great Gospel already! I had to heal my party manually during a boss fight this morning. Now I feel dirty.
I’m escaping from Junon now and looking forward to the time when I’ve got a full party again. Am I the only one that finds the slap fight consistently funny? For some reason, I chuckle whenever I get to it.
I always loved the first trek to the northern continent.
Great music all the way up! Especially at the city of the ancients.
I always enjoyed the snowboarding run at Icicle Lodge as opposed to the one in Gold Saucer.
Who here tries to get Omnislash on the first disc?
There has to be some over achievers here, heheh.
Once I get everyone, I go and get them up to Limit Break 3 near the first forest you encounter in the game.
I give someone the Enemy Skill materia and have them use Matra Magic on the groups of enemies (they come in groups of 5 usually, and 3 occasionally) that appear there. I also use Hypers to make everyone hit their limit breaks often. This usually tears through the limit breaks pretty quick.
Then I get everyone’s Limit Break 4 as soon as I can, with the exception of Cloud because I really hate fighting in the stupid battle arena. His is usually the very last I get.
Also, I forgot you can take the buggy into the Junon ferry, so Darth is not as hardcore as I thought he was.
LAZY. Go get a Gold chocobo!
@Caspius: Yeah, I know, I’m taking it easy this playthrough (actually, I’m debating whether or not to get a gold chocobo at all). I follow pretty much the same strategy for limit breaks, but I use a bolt-all in Sector 6 so Cloud, Aeris, Tifa, and Barret have all their level 3 limits by the time I get out of Midgar. Then I use the forest outside Junon to pick up Yuffie and get her and Red XIII’s, and Mt. Nibelheim for Cid and Vincent’s. It’s a strategy that’s served me well in the past.
@El_Hefe: I considered trying for Omnislash when you have to stop over at the Gold Saucer before the Temple of the Ancients, but I didn’t see it on the prize list. I can’t remember exactly what you need to get it, but I thought it showed up there, right? It might not be available until Gold Saucer re-opens later in the game. If I’m wrong, I’ll kick myself, because I was totally going to try for that, since I had a setup that could get through gauntlet fairly easily (with a little luck) and plenty of MP.
Disc 2!
@Darth: Omnislash isn’t on the first page of the Battle Circl rewards–it’s on page 2 or 3(?) I believe, for 32,000 battle points.
I also think you can get it from day one, but I’m not certain.
I think its actually 64000 bp on disc one but it goes down to 32000 on disc 2 (Final Attack Materia takes its place as the most expensive prize if I remember correctly). I faintly remember because I got 32000 bp and got all excited only to realize that it was 64000 bp early on.
I guess they were trying to punish people for trying to be too badass early on.
Those damn Japanese sadists!
Or maybe its W Summon that takes its place?
Damn, its hard to remember back that far…
I would entirely believe I missed something stupid like “it’s not on the first page.” As promised, I have kicked myself.
Pix or it didn’t happen.
I look like a coked up hooker, but here:
http://tinypic.com/r/347trg2/4
I guess it did happen!
I’ve finally caught up to the latest podcast, and will join the ff7 discussion today. Although I am behind, I will make a noble effort to catch up. I have save files ready for these days.
Thinks back to the save file of Level 60 characters in the forest right before heading into Junon for the first time
And yes, I also got Great Gospel, although I really do not remember how I did it, as it was five years ago. I’ll refresh my memory and my save files and get back to you all.
Well done, Squall. Thanks for coming along!
Huzzah! My party’s finally back to full strength as of this morning, time to run around doing side missions until Saturday! Maybe it’s time I finally pick up Omnislash (if I can find it this time).
Also, welcome aboard Squalldane!
With so little to do, I got a bit ahead.
I am outside the final dungeon with everyone ready to go in. I need to run in and plunder the treasures before coming out to save, but that can wait.
I also need to go around the world and collect a few remaining things: Knights of the Round, Typhoon, &c. I don’t have Omnislash yet, either. (I hate the Battle Arena minigame; I always get screwed.)
No Gold Chocobo here, so there’s that to do as well for the sake of completion, but I really don’t want to. Boooo~~~
Is anybody going for KotR by defeating Emerald Weapon (or is it Ruby that nets you a gold choboco? I forget now) instead of the breading minigame? I’ve never tried it myself, I was curious if anybody does it that way.
Ruby gives you the item that you can trade for the Gold Chocobo.
I forgot about that, which is strange as that is the only way I have ever done this.
Just a couple of quick comments before I hit the sack.
It is official… the gaming gods are against me. All I wanted to do was get my PSX copy of FF7 working on my PS3 with my PSX memory card save files. The only way i can make this possible is by transferring my old psx files to my PS2 mem cards because Sony is a proprietary whore and won’t even let their own memory card adapter for PS3 read PSX mem cards (just PS2)
So, I was looking for the cable to the TV for my old PS2. after a half hour of searching and finding one, I realized that the one I had hooked up to my PS3 was, in fact, the AV cable for my PS2. Then, I realized my power cable was no where to be found. I searched for another good half hour for the slim PS2 power adapter… >,< No luck. Quick thinking, I bust out my old PS1, connect the AV cable from PS2 to PS1. Grab my PSP slim charger (I'm quite the Sony fan, eh?) and unplug the converter portion of the PSP charger. And to my avail, it is the same plug! Woot! PSX works like a charm! I'm even using the old school controller with out the analog, Haha. My save files are intact and I'm going to use them when I get there. I have a save file at the Temple of the Ancients where all my characters are Level 60+, and I have Aeris' Great Gospel.
Some quick thoughts —
-Barrett is much more entertaining if you imagine his voice as Sgt. Doakes (Dexter season 1, 2)
-Limit Break system is the best, bar none.
-I'm STILL confused as of why cloud gets these random voices in his head, after countless times of me going through the story of this classic. (like when he's about to blow up the first reactor, or when he's about to blow up the second reactor and remembers Tifa)
-I always go to config and set the ATB to active. I'm impatient.
I'll catch up soon! I'm just about to leave Midgar haha
@Squall: The proprietary memory card reader for the PS3 reads both PS1 and PS2 memory cards. This is how I move my save file from my PSP to my PS1 Memory Card and back.
You might want to check the connexions on your memory card and make sure they are clean. (Blow on them.) Sometimes it may work in one device and not another because of their finicky nature.
Hmm… I’ll check it out. I tried numerous times to get my PS1 mem cards working with it. One of my memory cards is a Madcatz, so I’m sure that’s the reason why that one won’t be read. The other is an official Sony.
Yeah, you were right. The Sony PS1 mem card just needed some persuasion, I had to mess around with the USB cord for a little while. Thanks!
@Caspius/Squalldane: Can you copy save games off the PS3 onto a PS2/PS1 memory card with that adaptor? I don’t own it myself, since one of my friends had it early on in the PS3’s life cycle and said you could only copy memory cards to the PS3, not vice versa. If it was a 2-way street, I’d order one off Amazon immediately, since I’m pretty paranoid about save game corruption on my PS3 (at least for the games I’m currently playing through. I’m not much for keeping savegame archives around).
Also, I just picked up Omnislash from the battle arena. Now to mine some power sources!
I’ll give it a try after my playthrough of the first disc :) I…CAn’T…Qu1T…PL4y1nG…
But, I’ve always read that it’s impossible.
Bloody wordpress is down for writes to the server so I have to wait to post this.
@Darth: Yes, you can. It’s a little connector that hooks to the end of a USB cable such as you use to charge the PS3 controller. You can then plug PS1 and PS2 memory cards into it. These show up in the PS3 XMB, where you can copy to and from them.
Incidentally, you can do the same thing with your PSP if you connect it to your PS3 in USB mode.
It’s worth noting that you can’t use these within the game itself–you can only save to the virtual memory sticks on the hard drive of the PS3. However, once in the PS3 menu, you can copy those files to the PSP or the memory cards via the connector device–and vice versa.
Sadly, I’ve played further than most of the staff members, and I’m barely past Kalm!
I’m upto the ‘Cloud’s memories in the lifestream’ bit, but sadly RL has intervened with wretched assignments. Bah.
I need to defeat Emerald and Ruby weapons, pick up my few remaining bits of Materia, and then head into the final dungeon.
Sephiroth is going down this week!
@Caspius: Thanks, that’s a lot better than the way he described it. He said there was only one option that would copy all the contents ot the memory card to a virtual card on the PS3’s hard drive. Like I said, this was within a few months of the PS3’s launch, so maybe they added functionality to it. IN either case, I’ll order one up, since it would be really handy to be able to play my save files on my upstairs PS2 instead of being tied in to the PS3. Up until now, I have been using the PSP to back up my save files in case my PS3 is completely bricked for some reason.
I’ve been paranoid about the PS3’s handling of virtual memory cards ever since my friend (same one as above) had his entire card corrupted 1/2 way through his playthrough of FFXII. Granted, again, this was right around launch, so I bet that problem’s been taken care of by now, but you never know.
I just made it to the Temple of Ancients. Skipping quite a bit of extra context. This is turning into one of my fastest play-throughs. At this rate, I should have Sephy beaten by tuesday
Some more quick thoughts —
* Dyne is tough if you haven’t touched Barret
* Chocobo racing with the R1 + R2 trick makes getting out of Gold Saucer trivial, but I was wondering a few things with the PSP version (PSN or ROM version)… how do you do this trick? Also, how do you soft reset?
@Squall whats the R1 R2 trick?
@Volke if you hold R1 and R2, your chocobo regains stamina, making it very easy to keep your speed at maximum, thus winning every time.
I know R2/L2 are mapped to directions on the control nub on the PSP, but I haven’t tried this trick myself (haven’t done any chocobo racing beyond the required one race yet). As for soft resets, if you hit “home”, the PS1 game menu pops up with a bunch of options, including “reset game” which has pretty much the same effects as rebooting your PS1, so it’ll pop you back to the load screen eventually.
I’m thinking I may be about done with side content for this playthrough. I’ve beaten the weapons and gotten all the little side stuff on previous runs, so I’m not all that compelled to do anything just for the sake of doing it this time around. My guys are high enough level to where getting through the final dungeon shouldn’t be difficult, so we’ll see how bored I get come Monday.
@Squall: I did that section on my PS1 actually. (I’ve been going back and forth between PSP and PS1 in this playthrough, transferring the save file through the PS3.)
To your point: holding right on the PSP analog stick is the same as pressing R2. (You can configure this setting by pressing the HOME/PS button whilst in a PS1 game.) Not the most convenient way of doing things, but it works.
@Lusi – The memory card reader is a lot more useful than I previously thought it was. Also, from what I read, R2+L2 is simply the joishtick up. Sounds feasible at least.
In other news, in a recent turn of events, Sephy is down. I haven’t done any side quests this time around. I may do the chocobo racing quest to get KotR and down the weapons. Good luck everyone else!
I agree with whoever said that Cloud in the Lifestream is the best scene. It could arguably be the best scene of all the FF’s. It wouldn’t be mine, since that spot is taken over by FF9’s “You’re Not Alone” scene.
Emerald and Ruby are done.
Only Sephiroth remains!
I know I’m a little behind, but I just picked up all the huge materia. Just about ready to parachute back into Midgar and pick up an awesome megaphone!
I’ve finished!
@Lusi – Congrats man! I didn’t go back to defeat the weapons this time around, you got me there.
Overall, these features really rock. When I was doing my MAP marathon, catching up to the current day, the final fantasy IX feature really threw in a breath of fresh air. I couldn’t wait to go to work and find out where everybody got to, all their thoughts about the great classic, and feed off of the nostalgic sound waves filling my ears.
A few last reasons why this podcast rocks —
*Wow, this podcast has Nate Liles in it, and he cured my gential warts with his voice! He did!
*Wow, Nate Liles is amazing, he gave me an anal fistula, and it can be cured by listening to this podcast!
:D Keep up the great work, and I’d love to hear some additional poems. And, have you ever heard Yahtzee’s review of Fable/Fable2? I think you two would have a lot to talk about.
Fable -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYQLR7dE5k4
Fable 2 -> http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/346-Fable-2
I too am finished and must say I had an much more enjoyable playthroughs than my previous. My permanent party was Cloud, Tifa and Vincent, although in the final dungeon, Tifa and Vincent didn’t do so well in the attack department with their ultimate weapons. I didn’t beat Ruby or Emerald weapon mainly because I didn’t have enough time to complete all the additional sidequests due to my upgrading in school so I can take Computer Information Processing. But I defeated Sephrioth and got the ending credits so I’m pleased with the results.
Yeah, I’ve been more or less just coasting through this playthrough for the story, and I’ve been throughly enjoying it. I’m at the bottom of the northern crater right before the final battle, so I’ll probably finish things up tomorrow in all their glory.
In what’s fast becoming my style, random double post!
I never realized what a hippy Barret was until this playthrough
I’m viewing the Cloud/Aerith/Tifa love triangle a lot differently since playing Crisis Core and watching Advent Children.
The confuse effect is fast becoming my mortal enemy this time around.
Playing through this makes me want to finish up Crisis Core again. The ending to that game is awesomeness liquefied, frozen, and turned into a delicious slushee.
Just finished up the game. I never noticed before that the last shot (before the credits) is the same as the first shot. Very nice touch. As much as I love FFVII, the ending still isn’t my favorite. I do love when lifestream Aeris comes up to save Midgar, though.
For me, that last look at Aeris in the lifesteam — where the game began — is one of the most awesome and rewarding moments in video games.
I absolutely, unreservedly love that brief moment, and the perfect fitness of ending the game in precisely that way.
@Caspius: Agreed, I’ve always loved the opening scene, but for some reason I never noticed the game ended on the same note.
Also, since it hasn’t been posted yet, and it semi-relevant: