Quatermass' Game Reviews

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OK then, I don't mind.

My next one will probably be a Final Fantasy game.

I take it your writing it now.

I write them on the fly. I'm just gathering my ki.

Okay, Final Fantasy VII.


After playing the original Metal Gear Solid, I wouldn't shut up about the great story, to the chagrin of my friends at school. One of my friends (who has introduced me to a number of my obsessions, particularly British comedy shows such as Red Dwarf and The League of Gentlemen) told me about the Final Fantasy games, and lent me a copy of Final Fantasy VII. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Final Fantasy VII is the first 3D Final Fantasy game, as well as the first to use the proper numbering in English speaking countries. It is also the first to emphasize technology on the level of electronics rather than magic or steampunk.

Final Fantasy VII is a vast, epic story about a young mercenary called Cloud, who joins an ecoterrorist group called AVALANCHE, who are fighting to protect the planet from the ruthless Shinra corporation. After a series of chance encounters, however, the fight against Shinra becomes entangled in the fight against a legendary warrior known as Sephiroth, who has dark designs on the world.

The graphics are the things one notices first. Square was obviously just starting out in 3D games proper at the time, and character models, while expressive, are also blocky and lack detail, at least in regular gameplay. However, when battle commences, the 3D models, while unsophisticated compared to later PS1 Final Fantasy games, are very good, and the battle animations are a brave leap up from the 2D animations from the SNES games, and spectacular FMV sequences show things that would be hard to in a 2D format. Criticisms levelled at the in-game character models cannot be levelled at the wonderfully detailed backgrounds, colourful and vibrant. From the dark, neon-lit Midgar metropolis, the dirty but homely Slums, the cheery Golden Saucer, and Oriental Wutai, the backgrounds are consistently like art, although this tends to make the character models stand out more like a sore thumb.

Sound is a bit of quibble with me. Most of the sound-effects in game sound like they belong in the SNES Final Fantasy games. However, the music is among much of Nobuo Uematsu's best, although the decision to use the PS1 MIDI chip to make the music does lower the quality of some musical themes.

Just as the previous game, Final Fantasy VI, broke the usual pattern of Final Fantasy numbered releases (with even numbered games concentrating on story at the expense of gameplay, and odd numbered games doing the reverse), Final Fantasy VII boasts an impressive combination of storyline and gameplay.

The storyline is suitably complex, and full of various shocks to the system. While well known nowadays, Aeris' death at the hands of Sephiroth was shocking, especially as a previous character, Cait Sith, had a replacement for the body destroyed earlier in the game. And while playable characters have died before (Minwu, Joseph and Ricard from Final Fantasy II, Tellah, along with false fears for Cid and Yang in Final Fantasy IV, and Galuf from Final Fantasy V, as well as, it is implied, Shadow from Final Fantasy VI), Aeris' death at the callous hands of Sephiroth is somewhat worse. The first time I saw it happening, I cried. One of the few things that come anywhere near matching the shocking revelation is Cloud's later identity crisis.

However, I am dissatisfied about FFVII's storyline, which seems a bit too contrived, even when compared to other stories in the series. It seems to all hang together on a rather fragile web of coincidence. This is not to say it isn't good, it just seems less natural. Maybe a little has something to do with the occasionally spotty translation work.

Gameplay is Final Fantasy VII's best aspect. There is so much to do, a large variety of sidequests, ranging from playing video games and riding roller coasters at the Golden Saucer, to breeding and racing Chocobos, marching in formation and doing military drilling, and obtaining awe-inpsiring summons and Limit Breaks.

Overall: Graphics: 8

Sound: 8

Gameplay: 10

Presentation: 9

Story: 8

Cool, you can play video games in a game. I might try and find the PC version of this game.

They are unlocked as the game progresses. They're just minigames based on parts of the game, with the exception of Mog's House. From memory, there's a bike one (unlocked by the time you get to Golden Saucer), a snowboarding one (after you do snowboarding at Icicle Inn), and a submarine one (after a submarine sequence).

I see. My friend completed this game at least twice and I'm thinking of getting him X for his birthday.

I'm gonna post my Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess review shortly. I haven't quite finished it yet, but I have finished enough to get a damned good opinion.

Okay. Review for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

I came to Twilight Princess nearly one and a half years after the initial release. After all, I didn't have much idea how good it was, and stuck to Final Fantasy XII and Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence. Now it joins these two games as my top favourite games.

I vaguely remember playing the original Legend of Zelda on a friend's NES, but it wasn't until the Nintendo 64 and Ocarina of Time that I really got into the Legend of Zelda series, although I had also enjoyed the GBC version of Link's Awakening.

I also have to say that I enjoyed Majora's Mask, not only for its rather dark themes, but also for the transformation mechanic it put it. And when Wind Waker came out, I was impressed, because despite the cel-shaded graphics and the slightly more childish nature, Wind Waker was a damned good Zelda game. My only real beef was the amount of time spent sailing those indeterminable oceans. I didn't really give a crap about the whole debacle of the realistic versus cartoon Zelda debate. So, when Twilight Princess first came out, I treated it with something approaching indifference.

This was clearly a mistake.

Soon after looking at trailers for the game, I decided that I wanted a copy, and obtained it for my birthday. I also got it for the Gamecube rather than the Wii, and this review reflects this. The only real differences (besides aspect ratio) between the two versions is compatability with Wii controls to allow for accurate shots, and the fact that the Wii version is a flipped version of the Gamecube version, as most people would use the Wiimote (and thus sword thrusts) in their right hand, and thus Link is right-handed. However, the Wii version is, in reality, a port of the Gamecube version, and I consider the Gamecube version to be the 'official' version, as Link is always considered left-handed in Zelda canon.

Now to the graphics. I rarely use the word 'beautiful' to describe graphics, or 'wow'. The last time I did so was for Final Fantasy XII, especially when watching the opening sequence. But Twilight Princess is a truly beautiful game. I have to say that it is a work of art. And while the graphics seems somewhat dated compared to some of the next-gen games, they are the best the Gamecube has to offer. The only Gamecube game offhand that I can think of that comes close to this level is the remake of Resident Evil. Those who were not pleased by Wind Waker's cartoony approach will love these graphics.

Sound is probably the only area Twilight Princess has large flaws in. Time and time again, Nintendo uses sparse voice acting, and MIDI-based music. I don't know why people complain about the latter, as the music sounds wonderful. But I can understand complaints about the lack of voice acting. Only grunts, screams, and gasps are added to characters to spice up text boxes. Link never speaks, except yelling and snarling in combat. However, there is one fully voice-acted character in Twilight Princess, the character known as Midna, although her voice is just random gibberish. What sparse voice acting is there helps add to the flavour, but one day, Nintendo will have to bring in voice acting.

Sound effects are very much par for the course, enemies and battles sounding right. You'll hear a lot of familiar tunes, especially from Ocarina of Time, although Majora's Mask also gets referenced. But these are better versions of the music from Ocarina of Time.

Controls are, for the most part, flawless. However, there are cases where I had lost lives when I couldn't figure out the timing for a miniboss battle

Gameplay is interesting. While many Zelda staples are there, new weapons, and new ways to use them have been created. In fact, this is one of the major areas where Twilight Princess surpasses its predecessors. The Zelda staple items of the Boomerang, Iron Boots, and Hookshot get new abilities that you will need to not only get to hard -to-reach places, but also save your life from enemies and bosses.

There is also the wolf mechanic, whereby at certain points in the game, Link transforms into a wolf. New combat mechanics and standard abilities come into play, including the ability to sense smells and holes, and the ability to dig. At first, you are forced into wolf form as storyline dictates, but later on, you gain the ability to transform at will....as long as they are no people watching.

Storylines are usually straightforward in Zelda games, with fairly few twists. And while Twilight Princess is not as big as, say, some of the later Final Fantasy games, it is a far more complex, and in fact, darker story than your average Zelda game. Fans of the series, to paraphrase the IGN reviewer of Twilight Princess, will know that in the end, Zelda games boil down to three main characters. However, Twilight Princess has many twists along the way, and intriguing new characters are introduced, including the mysterious and psychopathic Zant, the self-proclaimed King of Twilight, and of course, Midna, an imp-like being who helps Link so that she may further her own ends. Midna is annoying at first with her sarcastic attitude, but she mellows as the story progresses, and players will come to sympathise with her later.

Overall, Twilight Princess is a must have game, regardless of whether you have a Gamecube or a Wii.

Overall:

Graphics 10

Sound 9

Gameplay 9

Presentation 10

Storyline 10