Kev Kev
Member
Well it's a rainy, cold, windy and overcast day here in Daytona Beach, FL, which means it must be time for a Final Fantasy RTTP!!!
Looks like @Cutty Flam just recently did an LTTP, so I'm just gonna post my updates in here instead of doing a whole new thread.
As I have done in the past with (most of) my RTTPs and LTTPs, I will make notes as I play (pausing the game and taking short breaks to jot them down while they are fresh in my mind) and I will mostly just copy and paste those notes into a post, lightly editing for readability and clarity. What that means is my opinion on the game may change/evolve over time. I may feel like I hate the game at first and love it by the end, or vice versa. I really like the idea of giving your thoughts as you play, rather than waiting all the way to the end to spit them out. Waiting till the end feels more like a review to me, and that's not what an LTTP or RTTP should be, imo. I like to read people raw reactions and see how their thoughts change over time.
Here are some old RTTPs/LTTPs of mine, if you're interested in checking them out: FFX, FFXII, FFXIII (you'll have to scroll through the thread to see my update posts as they are spread out over several pages. But there are some spicy takes in their if you like that kinda thing)
This first update will be a bit different as I have just now decided to do this and I'm already close to Shinra HQ and about to leave Midgar. Here are my thoughts so far. Enjoy!
Update #1
Decided to finally play FF7 (OG) and man it’s like a breath of fresh air. The music, the world, NPCs with interesting (and hilarious!) dialogue, a battle system that is slow and methodical and easy, but still a ton of fun. No stress in this game, just pure joy, I’m loving this run so far.
I missed a lot of the wall market side stuff but I don’t think there was anything super useful there, just for fun side content stuff.
I was gonna go no guide but I decided to at least check a missable items guide too make sure I don’t miss any weapons/materia. Last time I played FF7 was like my definitive 100% run, but that was almost 10 years ago so I don’t remember everything. And if I don’t play this game for another 10 years, I want to make sure this is a good run.
Still not “following” the guide tho, just looking at the item run down list for the beginning of each new area. That way I know they are there, but I don’t know exactly where they are. If I feel like I can’t find it or I’m about to miss it, THEN and only then will I read the guide to see what I’m doing wrong.
It’s a fun way to play through old school FFs and ensures I don’t miss anything big. But still without reading the guide, there is probably some important steps I will miss and I’ll probably lose out on something in the game. Hopefully my memory serves me well and I can recall where to go and what to do in the right order and don’t miss much. Wish me luck!
I don’t think I’ll ever do a run as complete as my last one (I did almost everything except defeat emerald weapon), and I’m probably not going to try. If I did I would use a guide and make it a whole separate run where I try to collect one of every item and do absolutely everything. But I will save that play through for another day. I just want to enjoy this run while getting most of the important stuff.
UPDATE #2
Shinra HQ
-So I took my time getting up to this point. I’ve exhausted dialogue options whenever possible, searched every area including tapping X on random spots or peculiar looking stuff. I’ve also tried to steal and sense a lot, figuring out each enemy’s weakness and stocking up on ethers, tranquilizers, ghost hands, etc. It’s been fun! I like to do slow, through play throughs, checking a guide only if I want to be sure to not pass any missable stuff. But for the most part I’ll just be exploring every inch as if I’ve never played it and enjoy it with out too much outside help.
-Almost passed floors 2 and 3 in Shinra building
I went back down to floor 1 and headed up the stairs to find an area I’ve neve been to. In all these years, after a dozen or so play throughs and I saw a little cutscene over never seen (the one showing Shinra cars)!! Crazyness. Man I love this game.-I opted to take the elevator because I find the stairs to be annoying. Although there is some great dialogue on the stairs segment, so I kiss that but
who cares I’ve seen it all before-Man, the little side games they have also by the way are great. On floor 60 you hide behind statues from guards, then signal your team after you. It’s easy, satisfying, and really fun, especially when you nail it on the first try. But still now, all these years later it’s just this fun little game within the game, and they’re all over the place in FF7. I love it.
-And here again on floor 62 with the numbered books. I don’t remember how to do these at all (in fact this might be a good time to peak at my missable items FAQ in GameFAQs). But this is great, I miss having these little puzzles all the time, FF these days are really lacking in this stuff. It really helps keep the game fun and mixes things up.
-So I had to pay for hints but I got the elemental materia which is a HUGE missable considering there are only 3 in the game. I’d hate to really want that third one in my three person party near the endgame and just be SOL. Yeah, the missable item guide is totally worth it.
-Stole 5 carbon bangles and a hard edge while in Shinra HQ
my char’s will be pretty stacked for the early game, and add a bit of grinding and I’ll be unstoppable muahaha-Even the bike mini game was fun! Way more than Remake, for sure! It’s just a better mini game, I don’t know how to explain it but they just feel like so much more fun in this game! In Remake they are just these cheap, synthetic, carbon copies that feel like simulations of the originals, and ultimately just not fun. Crazyness
-So I made it to Kalm. Stole from the monsters I encountered between Midgar and here and found some useful hi potions and ethers. I’m gonna have to farm some of those hi potions before I leave here, they are too valuable at the moment. Not gonna lie, I think I need to do a bit of grinding first, my Steal’s aren’t landing most of the time, and since your level is what mostly determines steal success (along with Dexterity) it’d be much easier in the long run if I grind a bit, not only for steal success but just to make sure I don’t die too often.
-One quick note: I asked a question about whether or not there is hidden stuff in the walls and whatnot worth finding, and I got some answers but nothing super definitive. So I’ve decided to search anything interesting looking, and if I’m feeling up to it I’ll hit all the nooks and cranny as, but no promises that shit is a time killer lol. I will however report in these notes what I found.
-And first home in kalm I searched had a closet door that looked like nothing. Searched it and bam, door opens and earned an Ether. Not crazy useful, especially since I’m actively stealing them in battles, but I fun surprise! And certainly useful.
That’s it for now! I’ll try to keep these things tight and short but it’s tough. There’s so much to comment on, especially after playing through Remake and comparing and contrasting to that. I’ll post again soon
. I’m usually a purist but I have no issues looking strategies for FFX bosses bc so many of them have one-hit, party killing moves.
