Engaging the Fantasy

What I have shown you is reality. What you remember... that is the illusion.
- Sephiroth

It has been almost 15 years since Final Fantasy VII was released and I can still remember almost every detail about my first encounter.  It was a Saturday afternoon in September 1997 when my cousin walked into my house (well my parents house, but whatever I was only 13) holding his new copy of FFVII.  Now my cousin and I were not on the same page when it came to game choices.  He was all about the role playing games, platformers, and puzzlers or as my older brother would call them, “stupid games” (and he still does) and I was playing NFL Madden, NBA Live, and the occasional beat-em-up.  During this time in our lives we were in a steady rotation of staying over each other’s house every weekend and the unwritten rule was that you play what the host is playing (in retrospect it should’ve been the other way around, but whatever its family).  Needless to say, I was pissed at him for bringing a “stupid game” to my house.  After a couple hours of destroying him in Madden 98 and Twisted Metal 2, I finally consented and allowed him to play his single player “stupid game” and that’s when it all changed!  The opening cutscene was unlike anything I’ve ever seen in any game and that was all I needed to see to give this game a chance.

Now in '97, these graphics were stellar, but of course they might not hold a candle to today's visuals.  Needless to say, after about 10 straight hours of gaming (we alternated every few hours) I tried to convince him to let me keep the game until next weekend.  I failed miserably, but I was able to get my mom to take me to Blockbuster to rent the game. Now that I think about it, we never actually beat Final Fantasy VII because we could never breed a gold chocobo, which allowed you to traverse water to attain the Knights of the Round materia.  Yet knowing that I didn’t beat the game doesn’t hinder my admiration for the game, but goes to show how important this game is/was.  Without FFVII, there is a good chance that I would’ve never given games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Lost Odyssey, or The Elder Scrolls a second look.  So with today being the 15th year anniversary of Final Fantasy VII, I say stand up and show your respect!

Strength without determination means nothing, and determination without strength is equally useless.