So, this month's monthly musing tied in perfectly with my personal agenda to have my first post about my personal gaming history. So, yeah, here goes...



It took me over a year to complete Final Fantasy VII. Now, let me explain. I was never really a big gamer until I played FF7. Sure, I had a Game Boy (the original, stupidly large brick), and I dabbled in some Tetris, played some Pokemon, but I was never really serious about it. My dad had a PS1, and would play Crash Bandicoot and Tomb Raider on occasion. Sometimes, when he was at work, I would sneak a session of Crash Bandicoot, get a game over on the first level, get really frustrated, and turn off the bloody thing.

Now, I'm pretty sure I got FF7 in the summer of 2000. I remember, because Walmart had pre-order posters of FF9, which came out that year. Around this time (I was nine, for those of you who give a flying crap), I was REALLY into anime. Toonami was on at the time, and every day, when I came home, the first thing I would do is park my rear in front of the T.V. and watch Goku beat the living crap out of purple aliens and Sailor Moon and Mini Moon do... erm, whatever they did. One day, at school, I noticed one of the kids looking through a big book, too big to be a magazine. Curious, I walked over, and asked him what he was reading. He showed it to me; it was the guide for FF7.



My mind was blown. It was so awesome! It looked just like Dragon Ball Z and Outlaw Star! Keep in mind I was nine at the time. I knew I had to get this game. Well, I don't come from a rich family, and fifteen dollars was alot to ask for at the time. So I waited, until school was out, for my birthday. You see, every year, I get a check from my grandmother. So this year, I took my money, begged my parents to take me to Walmart, and bought the first copy I saw. I took it home, turned it on, and was blown away. Cloud. Barret. That hot chick with the white t-shirt. And Aeris. Good old, lovable Aeris. You couldn't help but like her. In FF7's desolate wasteland, she was like a glimmer of light in a pile of feces. I blew up a reactor; I stormed a building; I fought bad dudes on a friggin' MOTORCYCLE. This game was just bad-ass.

And then school started again.

My grades plummeted. I was getting F's and D's in all my classes, because I was spending all my time at home playing that game. So, my parents took the PS1 and put it up in their closet, telling me "if you want to play that game, you're gonna have to get better grades."



So I did. I studied, I did all my homework, I brought all my grades up to A's, and after a few months of hard work, got the PS1 back. I turned it on, hoping to get back to my journey, and realized that my game save had somehow been deleted. It was the first time a videogame made me cry (I hadn't gotten to the end of Disc 1 yet). And so I started a new game. I went through the motions. Ten hours in, the little spindle that holds the game in place broke. I fixed it with some tape and kept on going.

I got to the end of the first disc. I was about to be reunited with Aeris, when, bam! Here comes Sepheroth, and with a fell swoop of his sword, he broke my heart. It was then I knew I had to beat this game. I knew I had to kill that miserable son-of-a-bitch.



And then, ten hours into disc two, the PlayStation broke. I tried and tried to turn it back on, but it just wouldn't. For the third time, I cried over FF7.

And so I waited. And I saved my money I got from Christmas. I waited until friggin' JULY to put it with my birthday money and buy a new PS1, just so I could finish this game. In August, one year after I had bought the game, I finally got another PS1 (with the helpof my parents, of course). I had gotten my own T.V. last Christmas, and so I took the thing into my room, set it up (with a little help from my old man) and started again. This time, my save file was intact.



I finally got to the end. Over one year after I bought the damn thing I reached the final boss. I killed Jenova. And then, I fought Sepheroth. My heart was racing. I killed him, body part by body part, until he fell. I beat the game! I was so excited! I danced around the room, hollering triumphantly. And then I realized, the battle wasn't over yet. There was one more form.

One Winged Angel. That chanting sends chills up my spine every time. Determined to finish him off, I threw everything at him. I used all my summons, all my magic. When he shot a meteor at me and destroyed half the solar system, I wet my pants. And when I landed the final blow, I was so happy. A cutscene played. Cloud fell into some sort of vortex. My eyes were glued to my screen. Was this the end for cloud? Please, no! No, it was one last battle against Sepheroth. A new move showed up on the command list, one I had never seen before. Omnislash? I chose it and hoped for the best. In a flurry of slashes I took him down. I had never been so happy in my life.

I still play through FF7 at least once every year.

Oh, and yes, in hindsight, I will agree that FF7 is NOT the best of the Final Fantasies. But it holds a VERY special place in my heart.