Not enjoying the beginning

[WavesOnMars]

I have heard for years how great FFVII is and have just got around to trying it out. I have never played a main series game and because this one has been so well received I wanted to start here. I really want to enjoy this game and have a good time, but I just can't get over how bad the graphics look and how clunky movement feels in between the battles. I think that part of the problem is my only other experiences with FF are with 'Echoes of Time' and 'Tactics' both of which have a visual design of sprites and have very different gameplay.

Is it bad that I do not want to finish this game and maybe try another with a different art style? from the first hour or so I really do not feel invested in the story at all. Without being hooked by the story I worry that I will just end up quitting later down the line anyways. Can someone else give me some more insight or encouragement to keep going?

Thanks

[killamf]

It not bad at all if you feel that way. To truly get the most out of this game you will need to put in around 100 hours (ish) to get all the items and kill all the monsters. It you aren't feeling it now why force yourself?

[Aporia]

Usually the good part in the story starts about 3-6 hours in, or towards the end of disk one. Most of the events after the first disk contain more action and have far greater story than the beginning

[LilG]

The graphics are from 1997, its going to look dated by today's standards.

But like the others have said give it time,its a RPG & they tend to build up a long plot, it did come on 3 discs back in the day.
It took me 100 hrs to get everything before I got to the final dungeon.

[OzGamerGDU]

This was the very first game i bought for my ps1 back in the day. Back then the graphics of this game blew me away, paticularly of the cut scenes and summons during battle. These graphics were revolutionary at the time, and when you went from playing atari, to sega to ps1 they really were astounding. It's understandable that you feel the way you do as everything these days is in such high def, but back when this came this came out, this was the high def of it's time.
FFVII was one of my all time favourites. Just the scope of how epic the storyline was amazed me.
It wasn't until i left the city of Midgar for the first time and found that Midgar was just a single city in a whole world map to explore that i started to realise just how huge an adventure I was in for. Games just didn't do that sort of thing before then.
(well obviously the previous final fantasy games did, but they weren't exposed to the west previously)
When pitted against games of today's standards, it's very basic, but it's not a game of today's standards, it's game of era's long gone.
I think it's something only an older generation of gamers will understand and appreciate.
If you can put up with the graphics, the story is worth it.
It is after all a classic game, not a new game.
I would love to see a polished up a hd remake of it though.

[martin_cross]

Couldn't have put it better myself Nesper. Excellent post.

[Caffeine]

Have you considered modding the game? You won't be able to record your game time and achievements, but you will be able to vastly improve the graphics and controls/ui. Here's a video where you can see the difference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-2gc0z6Wgs

[WavesOnMars]

Thanks for the input guys/gals. I am going to have to give it a break and come back to it later. I tend to be a bit picky with my RPGs and I started gaming on a GBA and then a PS2, so the graphics are quite dated by my standards. Maybe sometime later it will click for me. In the meanwhile I might try a different FF game.

[Darth Cthulhu]

If the rumors are actually true you can wait until the FFVII Remake comes out. ......... By the way are the rumors true about that? i heard that SquareEnix will finally do the HD remake they have been denying the existence of for the PS4.

[LilG]

Originally posted by madclawwookie:

If the rumors are actually true you can wait until the FFVII Remake comes out. ......... By the way are the rumors true about that? i heard that SquareEnix will finally do the HD remake they have been denying the existence of for the PS4.

SE aren't going to remake 7 whatever you've heard about it is false, nothing has been announced. Its the same as them doing a PC port for 9 & 12 its very unlikely to happen.

[Lucky]

this game was released when 3D games was still a new concept. it's understandable it has bad graphics. I understand your complaint though, i really do. a remake of this game is really needed but Square is really stubborn about it for some reason (even though they have a really great voice cast lined up because of the movies, games etc) just try and hang in there, see if you can't get adjusted.

cause it is a good game. the materia system is very enjoyable.

[LilG]

Originally posted by Lucky:

this game was released when 3D games was still a new concept. it's understandable it has bad graphics. I understand your complaint though, i really do. a remake of this game is really needed but Square is really stubborn about it for some reason (even though they have a really great voice cast lined up because of the movies, games etc) just try and hang in there, see if you can't get adjusted.

cause it is a good game. the materia system is very enjoyable.

I don't understand why a remake is necessary, this was the best graphically we had back then, I see 7 as a piece of gaming history & I think that's the reason why SE doesn't want to mess with one of their best selling FF games of all time.

It's still a great game despite its age I agree, but SE should just leave it alone, they already made several compilations of the game already.

I guess playing this at 13 & now I'm 30 I learned to appreciate the older FF games since SE (Squaresoft) seemed to put more effort into their older titles than the modern ones in my opinion. I always played the FF games for their plots/combat style than the graphics.

[Lucky]

Originally posted by LilG:

Originally posted by Lucky:

this game was released when 3D games was still a new concept. it's understandable it has bad graphics. I understand your complaint though, i really do. a remake of this game is really needed but Square is really stubborn about it for some reason (even though they have a really great voice cast lined up because of the movies, games etc) just try and hang in there, see if you can't get adjusted.

cause it is a good game. the materia system is very enjoyable.

I don't understand why a remake is necessary, this was the best graphically we had back then, I see 7 as a piece of gaming history & I think that's the reason why SE doesn't want to mess with one of their best selling FF games of all time.

It's still a great game despite its age I agree, but SE should just leave it alone, they already made several compilations of the game already.

I guess playing this at 13 & now I'm 30 I learned to appreciate the older FF games since SE (Squaresoft) seemed to put more effort into their older titles than the modern ones in my opinion. I always played the FF games for their plots/combat style than the graphics.

A graphically upgraded game would just be very cool. And i love the English voice cast for FFVII in the movies and games as i've mentioned especially Cloud, Steve Burton has that ♥♥♥♥ locked down. seriously i cannot imagine anyone else voicing Cloud any longer. ya'know just upgrading graphics and voice acting while leaving the gameplay etc alone. i don't see anything wrong with it.

[LilG]

My concern is SE would mess with the gameplay while they upgrade the graphics/voice acting. Turn it into something completely different which could turn people away from the game, SE doesn't seem to want to take that risk if they did remake 7.

[Lucky]

Originally posted by LilG:

My concern is SE would mess with the gameplay while they upgrade the graphics/voice acting. Turn it into something completely different which could turn people away from the game, SE doesn't seem to want to take that risk if they did remake 7.

meh, upgrade the graphics with the same engine as FFX and the same style of gameplay as FFX (that is to say the traditional turn-based rpg style) and i think we're good.

I don't think it needs to be anything extreme, but ya'know for it not to die out it does need a remake. the younger generation of gamers, a lot of them won't be able to appreciate the game because of the graphics, y'know.

And i can understand that. i mean freakin' Cloud looks like a lego Popeye

[stoopk1d]

i'd say give the game a solid 4-5 hrs. if you're not hooked by the time you get to the shinra tower, uninstall.

It's just a game though, who cares. Why bother wasting your life playing something that you don't find fun. FF VII is probably my favorite FF game but a lot has changed with games since 1997, in terms of everything (graphics, presentation, gameplay, art style..... even loading times, ha).