There is no doubt in my mind that there are many games I recall with far more kindness than they deserve.  Were I actually to go back and play them, it is entirely possible the experience would wipe away my cherished memories and replace them with bitter truth – it is for that reason that they remain untouched in the far recesses of time.

The question this raises to me is:  If I remember some games too fondly, am I perhaps also remembering some games too harshly?  If that is the case, then there is no other game better to check that theory against than Final Fantasy VII.

I had played the original Final Fantasy back in the NES days, and while it was interesting, it never quite completely drew me in.  That being the case, when Final Fantasy II (nee FFIV) came out for the SNES years later, it was not something that immediately drew my attention.  When a friend played it and told me it was the best thing ever, though, I decided to give it a shot.

I was immediately taken; the art, the music, the story – I found it completely captivating.  I was used to western-style RPGs on my PC, but this was a completely different experience.  So, when Final Fantasy III (nee FFVI) came out a few years later, I was one of the first in line, cash crumpled in my hand, ready to buy.

FFIII managed to somehow trump even my expectations; the game was epic in every way, and I just couldn’t get enough of it.  The hours I spent in the basement, transfixed on the screen, are too numerous to count.

As time passed, though I could replay II and III to my heart’s content, my eyes were really set on the horizon, awaiting whatever installment was coming next.  Those dreams started to be fufilled the day some pictures appeared in the gaming magazines of a secret Square project for the “next generation” Nintendo system.  It showed the FFIII characters remodeled in 3d, fighting in a 3d world.  At the time, this completely blew my mind.  I’m not sure if it would have been possible to be more excited.

But then: tragedy.  Square announced that they were abandoning work on the project, and shifting their resources to making the new Final Fantasy for this new-fangled Sony system that was coming out.  I was in utter shock – Nintendo and Square had been the best of friends forever; how could they betray Nintendo like this (It is important to note that back then, I, like so many others, was a massive Nintendo fanboy)?  To add to this bitter insult, as the first art for the game began to appear, I couldn’t help but feel that the hero looked a little… stupid.  Spikey hair, absurd sword, expression of disdain – he was not filling me with confidence.  Then I found out his name: Cloud Strife.  As you can guess, this only fed by growing biases even more.

When the game finally came out, I was not in line.  I did not own a Playstation, and FFVII did not hold enough sway over me to make me go by one.  I knew a few people who did own it, however, and I watched them play to see if, perhaps, I could be won over that way.

Eventually, I decided it was intriguing enough to play, but not to purchase a PS for.  Fortunately, my kind friend loaned me his for a few weeks, and I made way through the game from start to finish.

All in all, I was unimpressed.

To me, it just didn’t hold up to the previous installments of the series.  As I started to hear more and more people proclaim that it was not only the best FF ever, but one of the best games ever, I just couldn’t hold my toungue.  Many arguments were had, and many flaming internet forums posts were made as the years pressed on.  Eventually, my stance softened, and I decided that it perhaps wan’t the steaming pile of bantha poodoo that I thought it was, but merely a mediocre game.  And yet, even that stance is based on memories of something I last played over ten years ago.

So, in the spirit of correcting the record, and based on the convenient fact that I found an old copy of the game when I was packing things up for my recent move, I have decided to revist Final Fantasy VII; to look at it with as open a mind as I can, and to try and see it for what it really is (both good and bad) versus how I have chosen to remember it.

I’ll be posting periodic updates as I make my way through, so you can keep track over the coming days as I revist Cloud and crew in their adventures to find the world’s longest summoning sequence.

That was what the game was about, right?