An amazing thing happened to me today. As I left the nearby mall, I stumbled upon an iTunes Music Store card in the parking lot. The silver hadn’t been scratched off, and it was still attached to the supporting cardboard. “Lucky me” I thought. So, I went home and redeemed the card. I had decided to get something from the great Nobuo Uematsu, one of the greatest videogame composers in existence.
Once my album download was finished, I began to listen. As soon as the second track started to play, I immediately turned up the volume, and entered a flashback I’ll never forget.
Flashback…I was seven at the time. I was visiting with my grandparents down in their summer house. They were the most generous people I knew, always helping people with their groceries, or giving a dollar to every homeless person they saw. Of course, they were the most generous to their grandchildren, and that day was no different. My grandparents had offered to buy my brother and I one game each. And so, my brother and I ran into the K.B. Toys to look for something we would truly want. At the time, my brother was thirteen. Thus, I normally felt as if he was the guru for videogame purchases. The one I should consult every time. But that day was different. That day, I wanted to choose my game.
As my brother led my grandmother to the newest releases, my grandfather stayed with me. Of course, my grandfather was more clueless than me at the time with videogames. He just wanted to see me happy, no matter what game I chose (as long as the ESRB said it wasn’t Mature). I felt confused, wondering what game I should buy. I was surrounded by what seemed to be an infinite amount of choices!
And then I saw something wonderful.
A towering white building in the background, and standing in front of it was a cool-looking guy with a huge sword. Next to it were the words “PlayStation Greatest Hits!” in bright green. It was as if I had found the light at the end of the tunnel, a glow surrounding the sign. I had to have that game.
The sign was hanging on a bin filled with the “Greatest Hits” line of games. The bin was filled to the brim with best-selling games, each with different pictures and bright colors. Each was tempting in its own way, but I knew which game I needed. And so, my grandfather and I dug through the bin for ten minutes straight, looking for that one game. My grandfather suggested I picked a different game, but at this point, there weren’t any other games in my eyes.
Finally, I found my Holy Grail. The game that I had chosen. My game.
At the time, I had no clue what “Final Fantasy” even was. I didn’t know that “VII” was a Roman Numeral. And I couldn’t have been more surprised when I saw it was bigger than other PlayStation disc cases. But I was seven. I didn’t know what Electronic Gaming Monthly was, and I had no clue people wrote about games for a living. But do you think I cared? Seven year olds only trust their instincts (in my case, having a cool picture).
I had found what I wanted, but then it was snatched from me by my brother. He took one look at my choice, said it was “too complicated” for me, and put it back in the pile. I snapped. I immediately called him a “poophead”, said he was an “idiot”, and grabbed the box from the pile. Final Fantasy VII was MY choice, and I wasn’t about to let him take that away from me.
Final Fantasy VII captivated me from that start. It was so much different than all of the games I had played. The only games I had really played were platformers (Super Mario 64, Rayman, Crash Bandicoot) and Mario Kart. The fact that it was all about building up to be even stronger, to be even better, surprised me! Everything I had played before had a set height for a jump, a set route, and everything that happened was generally the same. It was so revolutionary to me, mind-blowing even.
One of my most vivid memories of Final Fantasy VII was when Cloud and Aerith are jumping from rooftop to rooftop in the Slums. An odd memory for some, but not for me. It was the farthest I could get in the game before I had to turn off the game. You see, I had no Memory Card. I had been so used to saving on cartridges, that I didn’t know I needed a Memory Card to save my PlayStation games. I had always thought that I was doing something wrong in the game. I was content with playing the same levels over and over in Rayman, the same levels in Crash Bandicoot 3, and you sure as hell can bet I was content with playing the opening of Final Fantasy VII over and over again.
Once I finally got a Memory Card, Final Fantasy VII became ten times better. I was now able to save my work. I was able to get out of the Slums for once! I was finally able to reunite with Tifa, able to watch Sector 7 be destroyed, even able to leave Midgar…
When AVALANCHE hopped over the edge of Midgar and was outside, I thought I had beaten the game. Final Fantasy VII had given me so much happiness and excitement, that I wouldn’t have been surprised if the game ended…
But it didn’t.
I couldn’t comprehend the sheer size of the world! It was massive and open, riddled with towns and monsters! I caught a chocobo, outran the Midgar Zolom, fought at Fort Condor, and infiltrated Upper Junon! I gained more allies, learned new abilities, and watched as I lost a good party member. I felt betrayed by Cait Sith, sorry for Red XIII, and even sorrier for Vincent. It was one hell of a ride for me, and this was only at age seven.
So, when I turned on my iPod today and sat down to do an essay, I felt something inside me click. Something I hadn’t felt for a long time. When the familiar tune of Cosmo Canyon (in my opinion, the best and most moving song in the game) came flooding into my ears, it was as if I was saying hello to a lost friend. The memories came flooding back to me, as if it was only yesterday. The memories of a game that not only excited me, but perhaps was the thing that influenced my life the most. The memories of the best experience of my life.
As I look at the same case that I had seen so many years ago, I wish for many things. I wish I still had my PlayStation. I wish that Sony and SquareEnix would remake Final Fantasy VII. And, perhaps most of all, I wish that today’s kids could experience what I experienced, despite all the crap we see today.
You could throw Super Mario Bros at me. You could rub my face with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. You can say that it’s overrated. But it wouldn’t matter. Because to this day, and probably for the rest of my life, Final Fantasy VII will always be the greatest, most influential game in history in my book.
Edited by ARBITER
Filed under: Miscellaneous, Opinion, Video Games
