Do you have to play the game to understand/enjoy the movie?

[SuperNatural]

I never completed Final Fantasy VII. I only got about 2 or 3 hours into the game and I don't really remember anything because it was years ago since I last played it. Would someone like me be able to understand and enjoy Advent Children without truely playing Final Fantasy VII?

[Vaincast]

Tch, the farthest I went in FF7 the game was when I got Cloud to be in a dress XD. I kinda understood FFVIIAC cause I watched my brother pay it

[Maux]

It really depends on how much you know. If you have enough knowledge of what occured in the game then you can watch it and not be totally lost. Although you could just watch the summary of FF7 on the disc, it comes with the movie and goes through most of the game. So yeah you enjoy the movie.

[SuperNatural]

I'll have to watch the summary because I don't remember one thing really in FF7. All I remember is I got a past the part with the pimp.

[Toodleena]

My memory card broke when I was two thirds of the way through FFVII, and I still really wanted to watch the film. After a little recap from my brother about what happened in the game, I fully understood the plot and everything about it. Advent children is now one of my favourite films, and it doesn't confuse me a bit. One day I'll complete the game....

[ff7+ff10 gurl 100]

Well, you have to know almost everything that happens plot wise in FFVII to actually understand AC. You dont have to play it though :)

[AdVenT]

Two of my friends played and finished it, didn't really get very far myself so I'm palyin it now, anyway they filled me in on most of the stuff.

[Dragon Mage]

I think you have to play the game to understand the movie completley and be able to enjoy it. Reading a summary is ok, but you'll have to keep in mind many things that was said in the summary and distract you from the movie. When you play the game you become more familiar with the characters and know all their little quirks and such without having to forcibly remember them. Since you spent a lot of time around these quirks in the game you know them by heart and don't need to remind yourself, so to speak. As said before, AC is not a stand alone movie. It leaves most of the char development and situation set-up to the game. So playing the game helps a lot. You can still enjoy the movie but you won't understand why this is so and why that is such and so on. You'll be a little lost. Unless it's a very good summary and could be a short story, go play the game. Then see the movie. That's my advice.

[Xurts]

I never completed Final Fantasy VII. I only got about 2 or 3 hours into the game and I don't really remember anything because it was years ago since I last played it. Would someone like me be able to understand and enjoy Advent Children without truely playing Final Fantasy VII?
NO. In order to fully understand AC you HAVE to play the entire game.

The "Reminiscence of Final Fantasy 7" feature on AC sucks. It speeds through the storyline of the game super fast, and once it's over it will probably leave you even more confused than when you started.

[Ishin Ookami]

Actually, good luck understanding AC even if you've finished the game. the story in AC is not it's strongest suit, It's the fan service. If you are crazy about FFVII, you will like AC. Otherwise, it's a tossup to whether you will like the film for it's action or find it totally boring and stupid.

[boys from the dwarf]

you certainly should know enough about the game before watching the film to get the most out of it. FF7 is well worth playing and the film wont make much sense at times if youve not played enough of FF7. play the whole game up until the end of disk 2 (of course id reccomend you to finish it but at that stage things will make lots more sense.) and if you ,for some reason, cant progress in the game or dont have the means to play it, there is a recap of FF7 as a special feature which will explain a lot of things. its not as detailed as the game though and FF7 is not an FF that you should miss out on.

[Disco Potato]

I finished FF7 and still had a hard time understanding AC :p. Though if you really don't want to play the game, you could look up FF7 on Wikipedia and GameFAQs (there was a good plot analysis there) and try watching AC then.

[Materia Hunter Yuffie]

I've played through a lot of it and my friend filled me in on the stuff I didn't know before the movie, and I enjoyed it very much. *Has urge to beat FFVII now*

[Northcrest]

To understand the movie probably because this all breaks into the way advent children was made. To enjoy the movie u wouldn't have to entirely beat the game.

[Distain]

Don't have to but it helps

[Aralith]

I would say yes, you do have to play the game. Well, not have to, but it helps. Obvoiusly someone can tell you the gist of the storyline, but you really don't get any feelings for the characters this way. You van most certainly appreciate the movie more if you've played the game, even if iy isn't neccessary.

[Rhinoa]

you can get by without having played it..the opening summarises the important parts.
but if you want to really understand it, play the game first ^.-

[*~Angel Wing~*]

My friend never played any Final Fantasy games, and she borrowed Advent Children from me and really liked it!!! :D

But I think it's a lot better if you played the game 1st, cuz you would understand, and appreciate it more.

[Vincent's Inferno]

I'd say you need to definitely play ff7 in order to understand the story. Also playing the game will give you more info on who the characters are. So play ff7!

[Shiny]

You don't have to play the game to enjoy the movie, but you do have to play it if you want to understand what's going on.

[Vyk]

Pretty much what I was going to say. If you don't mind being a little left out on the plot (which wasn't a big part of the movie anyway) you can enjoy it for its beauty and wierd and fast paced action sequences.

[Frustrated ChocoboBreeder]

Well my little cousin loved the movie but he asked me like a million questions. I think you can enjoy the movie and understand the movie alot more if you beat the game. You will have a better connection with the movie.

[Beacham]

in total honestly, the movie helped me to understand the game more! alot of unanswered questions were answered in the movie, and seeing as how last time i played the game, i was a youngin' i didn't get it as well as i should have at the end anyways, but to answer the question, there's too much reference to watch it and understand without playing the game, i can just imagine all the way through someone watching it who hasn't played FF7 and going "who's Sephiroth? what's so badass about him?"

[Beacham]

might i also add i have only seen it in Japanese, not helping me to understand any better at all lol

[Jessweeee♪]

You probably won't understand the significance of sephiroth returning (and the whole "mother" thing can be confusing for someone who's even played it)

[fullmetal_fantasy]

Final Fantasy 7 has kind of a complex storyline, and a lot of sentimental values that you would'nt understand in the movie if you haven't played that game, sooo yeah i don't think you'd understand alot of Advent Children, not ot mention the whole Aeris bit ._.