Hi, guys. I wanted to stop by and share my experience with FFVII, my current stance and what my feelings about it are. It's something of an odd one. I thought it might prove interesting, or at least amusing to some of you. I'd be interested what you think...
Yesterday, I dropped my ePSXe FFVII folder back onto my HD and booted up the last saved game available, and there was Cloud - standing next to the save marker at the base of the Sister Ray in Midgar - no doubt waiting to ascend the gantries and take on Hojo. I forget how long he must have been standing there, waiting for me to return. Eight months? A whole year? Maybe longer. He's been there twice before, and he knows the score: Soon he'll descend into the North Cave, grab a few cool new additions to his arsenal, and then promptly turn around and head back out for another protracted series of grinding sessions that will inevitably wane. The whole grand adventure will come to a halt. He'll never get around to that final showdown with Sephiroth. He never has done!
- 1st Playthrough: Made it to the City of the Ancients, realised I had missed out on tons of stuff, bought the strategy guide and restarted... (25+ hours)
- 2nd Playthrough: Refered to the guide and made it to the North Cave, grabbed the goodies and retreated, buffed up, got gold chocobo etc... (70+ hours)
- 3rd Playthrough: Done on PC, reached submarine chase, technical issues... (50+ hours)
- 4th Playthrough: Using emulator, much the same as 2nd playthrough... (65+ hours)
- 5th Playthrough: Current save, looking dangerously close to 2nd & 4th playthroughs... (56 hours, and counting)
And there's the truth of it. I've invested close to three hundred hours in this game, but I have yet to take that final plunge and go up against Sephi'. I haven't even been curious enough to watch someone else do the deed on Youtube. After 14 years of sporadic playing and replaying, I realise I might actually be in a very unique position.
This latest game save is so very close to the point where I have always veered off course and gone a-grinding. As I sit here, I know fully well that I could crack on this afternoon, forge my way towards that final goal (my character levels are more than adequate); and be leaning back sipping red wine and watching the end credits as the sun sets over the rooftops. The problem is, I just don't want to.
I'm currently wandering the map revisiting all those fondly remembered places, battling all the different adversaries, experimenting more with command materia and physical attacks... generally having fun and not going anywhere fast. There's a number of goals I could work towards, items I never got around to collecting in the past, materia I never mastered etc.. I've yet to go up against Ruby and Emerald, although I remember initiating combat in the past just to check them out.
So there you have it. I'm playing FFVII again and doing what I have always done: Making Sephiroth sweat while I potter around having fun! Maybe I'll never get around to completing the game. Some of you might suggest beating the game just so I can say I've done it, and then going back to the other tasks at leisure. That certainly seems like the most logical thing to do, but I just can't. The idea of beating the game, that sense of closure... it's a little unnerving - even disagreeable to me. I would much rather start a whole new game than take those last few steps. The strategy guide is very clear on the subject...
No, I think I'll be staying on this side of the fence - at least for the foreseeable future. It feels warm and safe over here. Comfortable. Sephiroth will have to continue twiddling his thumbs and pacing back and forth in frustration. Maybe I'll head on over to the Underwater Reactor this afternoon. I never did manage to morph a Ghost Ship."WARNING! There's no turning back at this point."