The game that killed Squaresoft.
By Rich Stanton
This is a retrospective in the truest sense. I've switched on Final Fantasy 7 since its re-release on PSN a few years ago, but never played past the opening section of Midgar - an opening that, at the time of first playing, I thought was the game itself. The PS3 doesn't take PS1 memory cards, of course, so I can't resurrect my Avalanche crew, every single one at max level, while the treasured materia and weapon collection remains out of reach - nevermind my thoroughbred chocobos. Some games you can only play once.
Over time this gives distance to how you think about it. Final Fantasy 7 has never been loved for the right reasons; conversations focus overwhelmingly on a single moment that in its grand scheme felt largely irrelevant. I'm referring, of course, to the death of Aeris, the sweet flower girl who joins your party in the game's early portion and then, at the end of the first of three discs, is killed by arch-baddy Sephiroth.
"Driver was a technical achievement for PS1, a pioneer in cinematic gaming, and an often brutal challenge - TechStomper asks if its brand of 70s car chase antics still holds up."
@Shane Kim
Well, I mean the driving physics hold up. The draw distance, police AI, visuals in general etc do not
One of my all time favorites on PS1. I spent a summer vacation playing this was so good
Sadly youd be hard pressed to find any driving game with better physics these days. But the draw distance really kills it for me
The physics hold up ridiculously well. And the draw distance is a real hurdle at first.
Nonsense. The physics in any modern game or any 360 game is light years beyond Driver.
My thoughts exactly. I bought it at release for full price and got frustrated and bored with it very quickly.
Gran Turismo for PlayStation launched a sub-genre and revolutionised console racing - TechStomper asks is it still worth playing in 2024.
Something we really miss, just turning on the console and having the game start without signing into stuff
@Terry_B I miss having people to splitscreen with, but I can't blame anyone for that :-(
@Terry_B
GT7 actually has 4 player splitscreen. Which is wild in this day and age.
Good news is that Sony released a final update to Gran Turismo Sport to allow it to function offline. Expecting the same for GT7 at some point in the future.
I'm not big into sim racing, but I got sucked into the hype for this one from magazines back then. I just played arcade mode and that was enough for me to feel like I got my money's worth.
Yeah, it's definitely worth playing today. GT 2 has a few interesting fan made graphical mods when played on an emulator as well.
The arcade mode is underrated, it's a great alternative mode and you can even unlock GT HiFi with it.
Cars back then had much more personality then those we see today. Modern cars all about the led lights and the tablet size screens and they all seem alike, back then they could be simpler in design but had tons more personality.
That is something a few people have pointed out - that cars all look the same now. I have to agree that a lot of new vehicles lack personality.
You guys are so anti-fun its depressing, like who tf cares about personality of objects like wtf? Just learn to enjoy stuff as is.
It's hardly anti-fun to remark that some objects look nicer than others.
And everyone has their favourite era of cars, I sincerely doubt many will pick the 2020s a few decades from now.
Dude, like wft cares about personality of objects? What about art? Paintings are objects and they're considered good or bad if they show or lack personality so I ask, wtf are you talking about? Cars are also considered pieces of art, vintage cars, classic cars, classic bikes and so on. Artists are appreciated by the objects they craft, blacksmiths, painters, engineers, designers, so wtf cares about personality of objects indeed... ( Sorry for my English, it's not my native language)
That Corvette Stingray to this day is one of the most ferocious whips ever driven. Overpowered against other cars yes. But to drive it and be that close to losing control, but being in command around those curves, just can't be duplicated.
HiFi mode is also something I miss. There should be a mode in today's GT where it's Mano o Mano and the detail and resolution jump full throttle. In today's games, Max Ray Tracing and lighting and textures to make it look even more real..
A modern HiFi mode would be really cool! It would be really interesting to see how real they could go by stripping it all way back.
And Stingray is a solid choice 👌
HiFi mode in GT1 was only a stripped down 60 fps mode for one track. Should have been called "Performance Mode" or "High Frame Rate" mode.
Not according to Former Playstation president Jim Ryan for he told Time that he doesn't see why anyone would play old games given the advancements in fidelity achieved today.
https://time.com/4804768/pl...
Final Fantasy 7 has come back under the spotlight thanks to the release of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, but is it worth replaying the original?
Got to Zacks part in 7 Rebirth. Said f it. Finishing my game in 7 og. Just got to part 2 yesterday. I also got Crisis Core... So it'll be a while before I'm back to Rebirth. I just keep thinking about it too smh, want to get back to playing it. Not till I know Zacks story though. I beat 7 og sooooooo long ago, it's crazy going through it again and remembering things.
Got to Zacks part in Rebirth?
You mean you started the game and turned it off?
The game starts with Zack...
... Really 🤓 lol. His second part, I've played for 80hrs lmao. <---- PS5 Run time, probably not all game time. You guys know how it goes.
Did you not ever play the OG FF7? After you recruit Vincent, later in the game, disc 3, return to that basement and look at the pod, there's a whole Zack story that'll trigger as a memory.... it's well hidden in the game and a lot of things regarding Zack are cleared up. FF7 Crisis Core is basically an extend feature of that hidden flashback... It took me years to discover it back then lol
https://www.youtube.com/wat...
@ravens52
80 hours in Rebirth by doing everything, and you should've reached Zacks story about 5 times 🤣
Ye I kno that's y I said not all gameplay time. But also I am very anal when it comes to exploring.
Not to mention fighting Titan at his full strength. Hours spent trying still haven't succeeded. Found all 3 ruins but I'ma masochist when it comes to games.
Very much so. Graphically it's dated but the story and the gameplay haven't aged a day. It's still one of my all time favourite RPGs and for me is better than Remake in some ways.
It always takes me back to Christmas 1997, I got it as a gift and I was blown away when I played it. I couldn't believe games could look that good. The combination of pre rendered backgrounds and FMV really made it stand out. It definitely still has a certain charm that modern games can't replicate.
I can't imagine people will still be talking about Remake and Rebirth in 27 years.
Fully agreed. To me the atmosphere, pacing, gameplay and music are all better than in the remake.
Remake is so amazing, pure FFVII Love, play it on PS5 please! aww the graphics the battles, the music... a dream come true.
Worst FF in the series
I think its time for Square Enix to make a remake for the PlayStation 4
Drivel. Don't waste your time.
fact is that...it remains the best ff to date.
I don't understand how Final Fantasy VII killed Squaresoft. It's an all-time classic JRPG. Squaresoft made Final Fantasy VIII, IX and X - all of which I think are great (with 8 maybe just good).
If you want to say the merger with Enix killed Square, then from a logical standpoint I understand. But even then, while we haven't seen a great run of Final Fantasy games we did get FFXII, Kingdom Hearts games, The World Ends With You and some good published games like Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Hitman: Absolution and the new Tomb Raider.
Square Enix has been making a lot more bad decisions than good the past several years, but how on Earth can we attribute this to a fantastic RPG from 1997.