Will there ever been another FINAL FANTASY VII?

Probably not... at least not for a long time.

FFVII was and still is the perfect game.

It was a revolutionary design.

It united everyone who played it into a common community.

You were drawn into a world deeper and more complex than any ever created.

You assumed the role of Cloud Strife, a man who learns that he cannot even trust his own memories, as they have been poisoned.

Your eyes gleam an unnatural blue. They are MAKO eyes... a clue to your forgotten and hidden past.

You were an ex-member of SOLDIER, the army of Shinra Corp. You served alongside the legendary Sephiroth.

You then learned that Sephiroth was no normal man. He was born of the cells of Jenova, from an ancient civilization known as the Cetra.

There was a single remaining member of the Cetra alive... a young girl by the name of Aeris Gainsborough. Even she did not know her origins.

You join a terrorist group called AVALANCHE for the money, but it soon becomes something more as you are drawn and split between Aeris and another woman, Tifa Lockheart.

You learn that all that you even knew was a lie. You learn that you are not who or what you believed.

Sephiroth, believing he is doing the work of the Ancients, plots the end of life.

He plots a Reunion and a Rebirth of civilization.

Aeris prays to Planet for help. She prays for the White Materia. She prays for the Holy Materia.

As, when one dies, they live on as MAKO energy. This energy groups together in colonies. Over 1,000s of years this energy liquefies into a MAKO fountain. Then, it hardens into materia. Magic and energy made manifest.

In order for New Life, Old Life must be present. MAKO energy is needed for new generations, but Shinra has developed MAKO reactors. These machines draw in the spirit energy to create electricity and artificially form materia.

The reactors are a threat to life on Planet.

Aeris dies, sacrificing herself, at the hands of Sephiroth. It all becomes clear. Sephiroth killed Aeris. You will kill him, if for no other reason than revenge.

For Aeris.

Sephiroth plots a Reunion and a Rebirth of civilization.

He unleashes Weapons, bio-mechanical creatures long kept dormant under arctic ice.

He summons Meteor to wipe the surface of Planet clean.

You must stop him.

Along side you fights a mercenary leader, an old pilot, a ninja, a dead man, a pretender, and one of the rightful masters of Planet.

In the end, you must bring yourself to kill a god and your father.

It is a story of becoming the hero you were in the past.

It is a story of remembering.

It is a story of deciding.

It is a story of discovering.

It is a story of finding the Truth.

It is a story of finding yourself.

It is a story of Life.

It is a story of questions.

It is a story of Virtue, Tragedy, and Sacrifice.

It is a story of Devotion.


How could any game attempt to rise above FFVII? How could any game dare to even use the title FINAL FANTASY?

Well, FINAL FANTASY VIII makes its run for the flag... And what a run it is.

You play as Squall Lionheart, a scarred SeeD student of the military academy called the Garden.

Gone are the simple models from VII. Now, detailed textured charas stand in their place.

It looks good, but it does not work.

They are glitchy. Their textures and polygons move in weird ways. It is distracting.

VII was simpler. Sure, the battle models didn't have all the details, but they worked.

Changing the in game chara design from the lovable MD models to the battle system ones does add drive and passion, though.


I played the FFVIII demo. I liked it. I didn't love it. It was good. Parts of it were great. It was not FFVII.


Then, I saw something. I was looking for information on MACROSS VFX 2. I came upon this page.

http://hepcat.kellogg.nwu.edu/~mike/

There are two FFVIII movies.

The first is of Squall and Rinoa at an officer's ball... perhaps at the Garden graduation.

I was touched. My heart stirred.

The second is of the opening of FFVIII.

Oh my.

The power.

The strength.

The emotion.

FFVIII is a story of Loss and Wanting.

At its heart is a pure simple love story.

I will buy this game.

I will love this game.

I will not be FFVII.

It will be something different.

It will be a different world, with different heroes and different villains.

Different lives will be lead and different loves will be felt.


It won't be FINAL FANTASY VII, but it's not trying to be.


I'll be here...
Why...?
I'll be 'waiting' ...here...
For what?
I'll be waiting...for you...so...
If you come here...
You'll find me.
I promise.




---

Peter Tatara
7.31.1999