After beating FFVII for the first time in early March 2001, I obviously wanted more. As I mentioned in my first blog post, I also ordered FFVIII when I had to buy a new copy of FFVII. So, I started playing FFVIII, hoping for more of the same and I was greatly disappointed. As we all know, FFVIII certainly isn't more of the same, but a quite different game in many aspects. I could hardly lay down FFVII in the late night hours before school, but FFVIII, I could hardly make myself play, so it took months just to progress to the second disc, where I got stuck when you have to look for the captain and commander. That's when I had enough and started a new game of FFVII instead. I later picked up FFVIII again and got to the end in november, but I still didn't care much for it. Then I started a new game in early 2002 and played through the whole thing in less than a month. This time, I loved it, but FFVII was still the favorite. I also played FFIX during the summer of 2001, which I liked a lot more than FFVIII. It's currently my second favorite FF game.
Anyway, my second FFVII playthrough was just another regular playthrough, although I did try to find a few more things. My third playthrough was my first attempt at doing everything, but I was nowhere close. This was the first time I got Knights of the Round, and my very first victim was the Midgar Zolom. The fourth time, I just ran through the game quickly, beating it in 17 hours and facing Sephiroth with a party in the early 50s. This was my lowest yet, and I remember it was quite hard. I was level 99 in my previous two playthroughs. Then I did another attempt at doing everything. It was better than my previous attempt, but I still wasn't satisfied. I found a text file on my computer with some stats from this playthrough. The file was last edited March 3rd, 2002, exactly 9 years ago today. Here are the stats:
* All characters at level 99
* All the ultimate weapons
* All Limit Breaks
* 6 x Ribbon
* All Enemy Skills
* Time: 98:45:40
* Gil: 133.619.244
* Ruby, Emerald og Ultima Weapon defeated
* Done all side quests
* At least one of every Materia at master level, including 3 of each Master Materia
I most likely didn't have all the items and equipment, and I probably missed a lot of stuff. It was after this playthrough I decided to beat the game at a low level. This idea came to mind after talking to people who had beaten Sephiroth below level 40, and I wanted to be the very best like no one ever was, so I decided to start my first Low Level Challenge some time during the spring of 2002. I don't remember most of the strategies I used, but it was mostly trial and error, and it was incredibly hard. Back then, I had no knowledge of enemy AIs and attack patterns, and I believe Back Row was the only damage reducing action I was aware of. In the beginning, I even let all the characters survive the battles, and it wasn't until the middle of disc 2 I realized I had to start distributing the EXP to make sure my levels didn't get too high. My first ever battle plan was hand written, and I still have it somewhere, but I have no idea where. I'll find it some day. Anyway, I remember facing Demon's Gate with a party around level 19, and it was by far one of the hardest battles I ever fought, and the victory felt damn sweet. When I reached the end of the game, my highest leveled character was 36 (forgot who), but I never used anyone higher than level 34, which was Cloud's level at the end of the game. Sephiroth was defeated by a level 34-33-33 party.
My 7th playthrough was another attempt at doing everything, and I gotta say I did a damn good job this time. I still missed a few things, like some Fort Condor battles, but I honestly wasn't aware of them back then. This time, I did everything as early as possible, and I certainly had all the items and equipment. I also have a document for the ending results, but it's too long to post and it's all in Norwegian so I would have to translate it first anyway. Maybe I'll post it later. The file was last edited July 28th, 2002. I still have this file on my memory card. Another thing I know I didn't do was max stats, which I have still yet to do the legit way.
After this, I took a break from the game until February 16th, 2003, when I started my next LLG. This time, I only had one survivor from the very beginning of the game, and I let Aerith take all the EXP on disc 1. I was more familiar with the game this time, and it was during this challenge I learned how useful Poison, Sadness, Barrier and Defend could be. I also started learning how some of the bosses acted, so my battles were much more strategy based this time, and it was overall easier than my first LLG, even though I finished this one with a highest level of 30. Demon's Gate was still pretty damn hard, as my levels were lower and I had to finish the battle with only Aerith standing, and I remember needing a lot of attempt to beat him. Anyway, I knew I made several mistakes regarding the EXP during this challenge, so I decided I would redo it soon and write a guide for the challenge. For example, I found out too late that you can avoid EXP by not killing Carry Armor's arms, and my battle plan certainly wasn't optimal.
In the meantime, I did my first speed run with a final save time of 11:04. I honestly don't remember many details about this run, and I believe I just ran through the game as quickly as I could without really thinking about time saving strategies. I also did many things I wasn't aware you could skip, and I did one big mistake. I saved before Carry Armor without being able to defeat him, so I had to go all the way back to the surface and learn Magic Hammer. That sucked. In other words, I was far from satisfied with my end result and decided I would do another run soon.
Before that, I started my third LLG and at the same time started writing my first FAQ. By now, I had reliable, but not necessarily optimal strategies for most of the bosses, and I had a battle plan that allowed me to finish the game with all characters on level 28. This is the lowest level possible for the whole party. You can have some characters on lower levels, but it's not possible to have an all level 27 party, unless you use the trick to skip the Turks in Midgar. Demon's Gate was still by far the hardest boss, and I had just as much trouble with him this time, as my strategy hadn't improved. The only mistake I did in this challenge was not escaping the Attack Squad battle in Junon, which I didn't know you could do until someone told me a while after I finished the challenge. According to the guide, I finished the first version of it on June 8th, 2003. I redid the challenge a final time the year after, and accoring to my guide, most of the bosses got easier and optimal strategies. I'll have to read through it again to see if that's correct, as many things have changed over the past 7 years. That new guide was finished on February 23rd, 2004.
Before that, I did a few other challenges. The first one was No Materia, which I finished under level 50. It was way too easy and boring, and I don't remember having trouble with any of the bosses. So, I decided to do Low Level No Materia next. Back then, a lot of people thought it was impossible, but today, it's known as one of the easiest FFVII challenges. I don't remember many details about this challenge, but considering I had already done three regular LLGs, it was probably easier than my first LLG, maybe with the exception of a few bosses. Especially Carry Armor, since I now had to deal with Lapis Laser instead of just Magic Hammering him twice. I later wrote a FAQ about LLNM as well, which is still available on GameFAQs.
After doing LLNM, I started my second speed run. This time, I planned ahead and I did my best to save as much time as possible. I skipped a few more things and I didn't do any major mistakes. Still, my strategies were far from perfect and I ended up with a final save time of 10:14, a total of 50 minutes better than the first run. Not bad, but I still wasn't satisfied. According to my speed run FAQ, this run was done in late 2003. Then I took a break from the game until February, when I did my fourth LLG, before I started my third speed run in April. I finished this run with a final save time of 9:29, cutting off another 45 minutes, and I was very satisfied this time. I thought the run was pretty close to perfect, and lolo26 later said he agreed. Little did we know back then. After all, this was before the serious speed run discussions started.
That sums up the story of my first challenges and speed runs. All this happened before I made my first appearance in KADFC's LLG thread on GameFAQs on May 13th, 2004. This thread is responsible for kicking off the more serious challenge and speed run discussions, and I probably wouldn't have been writing this if I hadn't shown up in that topic and met lolo26 and BrutalAl. My first challenges and speed runs were only the beginning. That topic is where the fun really began.
To be continued...
Friday, March 4, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
So, what can I use this blog for?
Now that I have a blog, I really don't know what to do with it. And I don't really know how many people are going to read it. I noticed I got five followers, so I guess that means whatever I post here will be read, and that's all that matters.
First of all, I thought about continuing the story about my early days of playing FFVII. For example, tell you about my first challenges and speed runs. I have some old topics from Gamefaqs where I discussed strategies with lolo26, BrutalAl, KADFC (better known as KaddyGamer today), among others. Those were really great times, and I had a lot of fun doing various challenges with those guys. We would always post updates with boss strategies and how we came up with them, and I'm sure some of you would find that interesting to read.
I also thought about posting my opinions on various video games, as I often get people asking me what I think about this and that game. This would be very limited to old games (NES era to PS2 era), as I hardly ever play new games these days. Maybe movies and music as well. I don't really know. I'm not a very good reviewer, so it would just be me stating my opinion on stuff.
If anyone's got any suggestions for what I should post about, just leave a comment. I made sure you can post anonymously, which means you don't need a Blogger/Google account or whatever.
So we'll see what happens.
We'll see.
Garland
First of all, I thought about continuing the story about my early days of playing FFVII. For example, tell you about my first challenges and speed runs. I have some old topics from Gamefaqs where I discussed strategies with lolo26, BrutalAl, KADFC (better known as KaddyGamer today), among others. Those were really great times, and I had a lot of fun doing various challenges with those guys. We would always post updates with boss strategies and how we came up with them, and I'm sure some of you would find that interesting to read.
I also thought about posting my opinions on various video games, as I often get people asking me what I think about this and that game. This would be very limited to old games (NES era to PS2 era), as I hardly ever play new games these days. Maybe movies and music as well. I don't really know. I'm not a very good reviewer, so it would just be me stating my opinion on stuff.
If anyone's got any suggestions for what I should post about, just leave a comment. I made sure you can post anonymously, which means you don't need a Blogger/Google account or whatever.
So we'll see what happens.
We'll see.
Garland
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
On That Day Ten Years Ago
On that day, ten years ago, I played Final Fantasy VII for the first time. February 16th, 2001. It was a Friday, and a friend was coming over as he usually did every other weekend, as his father lived next door. This was back when I was a true hardcore gamer, and all I ever did in my spare time was playing video games. Anyway, this particular day, he brought a game none of us had played before. It was called Final Fantasy VII. I had known about the Final Fantasy series for a while, but I just hadn't gotten a chance to play any of the games yet. So, I popped the motherfucker in and started a new game.
I don't remember what my thoughts were during the intro, but when I started playing, I thought it was pretty damn weird. What's with the pokemon like battles? That day, I believe I played up to the elevator inside the first reactor before I dismissed the game as "weird". Then my friend told me that he had reached a boss that he had lost to, and I decided to give the game a new chance the next day, to see if I could beat this boss. And I did. I reached the boss, beat his sorry ass and kept playing until I reached the plate area before Reactor No. 5, where I saved in the early morning hours. Needless to say, I had fallen in love with the game, and during the next week, I would come to realize that this was the best game I had ever played, and this would not change for the next ten year.
Anyway, my first playthrough was not without trouble. Sunday came, I had reached the Train Graveyard and my friend was leaving. With the game. That resulted in a sad Garland. The rest of the evening was just plain torture, as this game was already a drug I was completely addicted to. So after school the other day, I called him up and begged him to lend me the game again, even though it wasn't his. Thankfully, he agreed, and I was a very happy man. The rest of the week was spent playing FFVII until 2 or 3 in the night, even though I had to leave for school at about 8. Thankfully, winter break was coming up, so I would be able to spend the entire next week playing.
However, when I defeated Diamond Weapon the next Saturday, the game froze in the following FMV. This resulted in a very angry Garland, and I tried all the tips and tricks I learned about cleaning game discs, but nothing would work. The video always froze in the exact same frame, when the camera zooms in on Diamond Weapon's face just after the battle. I'll never forget that. However, it would advance a few times, but then it froze when he got shot by the Sister Ray. Of course, this gave me hope, so I kept fighting him over and over, just praying I would be able to get further, but it was all in vain. There was no hope. Since this was a Saturday evening, and all stores are closed on Sundays here in Norway, I had to wait until Monday before I could go buy the game myself. However, none of the stores in my town had the game, so I had to order it. Winter break was ruined.
I had to wait until the next Thursday, March 8th, before I received the package with FFVII and FFVIII Platinum. Then I could finally continue playing, and the next day I reached the final boss for the first time. I remember being very disappointed by reaching the final boss so soon, as I had just started disc 3, and a friend had told me it took 90 hours to beat the game. I had only played for 45. Anyway, after spending an hour beating Bizzaro with two parties, I reached Safer for the first time.... and lost. All I can remember is that Nanaki was the only one standing during Super Nova, and that he got killed by Break. Then I tried again. And again. I believe I needed five or six attempts to beat him, and my winning party was lead by a level 62 Cloud. I don't remember who else I used, but I believe their levels were around 60 as well. The game was beaten, exactly three weeks after I first played it, and I was once again a sad man, as I knew it was all over.
And that's the story of my first time playing through Final Fantasy VII. To sum it up, it still remains my best gaming experience ever, and this is a very important reason why it's still my favorite game. The game certainly has its flaws, and there are several ways in which it could be improved, but the first time experience weights up for that. I've never had that much fun playing a game before or after my first time playing FFVII, and sadly, I don't think I ever will again.
Garland
I don't remember what my thoughts were during the intro, but when I started playing, I thought it was pretty damn weird. What's with the pokemon like battles? That day, I believe I played up to the elevator inside the first reactor before I dismissed the game as "weird". Then my friend told me that he had reached a boss that he had lost to, and I decided to give the game a new chance the next day, to see if I could beat this boss. And I did. I reached the boss, beat his sorry ass and kept playing until I reached the plate area before Reactor No. 5, where I saved in the early morning hours. Needless to say, I had fallen in love with the game, and during the next week, I would come to realize that this was the best game I had ever played, and this would not change for the next ten year.
Anyway, my first playthrough was not without trouble. Sunday came, I had reached the Train Graveyard and my friend was leaving. With the game. That resulted in a sad Garland. The rest of the evening was just plain torture, as this game was already a drug I was completely addicted to. So after school the other day, I called him up and begged him to lend me the game again, even though it wasn't his. Thankfully, he agreed, and I was a very happy man. The rest of the week was spent playing FFVII until 2 or 3 in the night, even though I had to leave for school at about 8. Thankfully, winter break was coming up, so I would be able to spend the entire next week playing.
However, when I defeated Diamond Weapon the next Saturday, the game froze in the following FMV. This resulted in a very angry Garland, and I tried all the tips and tricks I learned about cleaning game discs, but nothing would work. The video always froze in the exact same frame, when the camera zooms in on Diamond Weapon's face just after the battle. I'll never forget that. However, it would advance a few times, but then it froze when he got shot by the Sister Ray. Of course, this gave me hope, so I kept fighting him over and over, just praying I would be able to get further, but it was all in vain. There was no hope. Since this was a Saturday evening, and all stores are closed on Sundays here in Norway, I had to wait until Monday before I could go buy the game myself. However, none of the stores in my town had the game, so I had to order it. Winter break was ruined.
I had to wait until the next Thursday, March 8th, before I received the package with FFVII and FFVIII Platinum. Then I could finally continue playing, and the next day I reached the final boss for the first time. I remember being very disappointed by reaching the final boss so soon, as I had just started disc 3, and a friend had told me it took 90 hours to beat the game. I had only played for 45. Anyway, after spending an hour beating Bizzaro with two parties, I reached Safer for the first time.... and lost. All I can remember is that Nanaki was the only one standing during Super Nova, and that he got killed by Break. Then I tried again. And again. I believe I needed five or six attempts to beat him, and my winning party was lead by a level 62 Cloud. I don't remember who else I used, but I believe their levels were around 60 as well. The game was beaten, exactly three weeks after I first played it, and I was once again a sad man, as I knew it was all over.
And that's the story of my first time playing through Final Fantasy VII. To sum it up, it still remains my best gaming experience ever, and this is a very important reason why it's still my favorite game. The game certainly has its flaws, and there are several ways in which it could be improved, but the first time experience weights up for that. I've never had that much fun playing a game before or after my first time playing FFVII, and sadly, I don't think I ever will again.
Garland
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)