Intro
I have finally finished playing Final Fantasy on the PS1, and I will share my honest thoughts and a brief history on why and how FF7 was released on the Sony PlayStation 1, rather than on the Nintendo platform. A video game that truly brought the medium to the next big thing.
A Mini History of the CD-ROM Format 1982-1990
The CD format was made in the 1980s, around 1982. The time laser disc was shortly taking off. However, the large laser discs were too bulky to sustain the gaming format's popularity, and they only lasted through the movie medium throughout the 80s, with movies like Star Wars and WarGames.
Believe it or not, the NEC PC Engine CD-ROM, released in 1988, marked a significant advancement in gaming. This add-on, which cost $399, allowed players to enjoy a limited selection of CD games on the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16. The CD-ROM was launched in Japan in 1988 and later arrived in the United States in 1989. At the time, it was considered an expensive accessory, as gamers had to purchase the device to be able to play CD games in the mid to late 1980s.
At this point, the CD-ROM format represented a significant development in gaming technology. In fact, Sony's Ken Kutaragi partnered with Nintendo to create a CD add-on for the Super Nintendo. However, it's unclear if Nintendo actually wanted a CD-ROM add-on, especially considering that they had previously released a Famicom Disk add-on, but only in Japan.
No CD From Nintendo a wave CD trends and early Wave of super consoles in the early 90s thru late 1995
While Sony was preparing to take the stage at CES 1991 to discuss the Sony-Nintendo CD add-on, they suddenly changed their decision and chose to partner with Philips instead. Philips was a competitor in the CD market. Unfortunately, this collaboration with Philips did not result in the creation of the CD add-on. Instead, it led to the licensing of Nintendo's mascots for the Philips CDI, which was Philips' CD console. Characters like Mario and Link from The Legend of Zelda were featured in that partnership, but the educational software available at the time did not capture the public's interest very well.
By 1993-1995, everyone except Nintendo had a CD format at one point or another, including Sega CD, Amiga CD32, NEOGEO CD, CDI, 3DO, and even PCs.
The SEGA CD simply offered high-quality FMV choose-your-own-adventure games and high-quality sound. Some games were pretty good, such as Lunar: The Silver Star and Konami Hideo Kojima Snatcher," the guy who made MGS for the PlayStation." Sadly, the add-on costs you $299.
SuperFX Chip and 32X
Although most games in the early 90s were not fully 3D yet, A game that became everyone's favorite was "DOOM" on the PC Doom was adapted to these non-CD formats, such as the Sega 32X and Nintendo's Super FX chip on cartridges. Starfox on the Super Nintendo as the first game with the FXCHIP has 3D polygons that glow well during flight, outshining Cybermorph for the Atari Jaguar, which released eight months later on November 23, 1993. Virtua Racing on the 32X and Virtua Fighter on the 32X, " A year later after the Saturn release," were pretty much decent arcade-like ports. While these 3D adaptations were decent, producing these 3D-like games on cartridges was more expensive compared to making them on CDs.
And yes, you could say that the Atari Jaguar was 64-bit and had all the power it had before the Next Super consoles were released in the West. It ran 3D games like Alien vs Predator and DOOM quite well, but it never really had a chance to succeed due to poor planning, Poor development tools, and no marketing. Because by the end of 1995, with the release of the Jaguar CD, it just flat failed and went to the Dust.
Crazy to think that they really did play around the idea of CD in the late 80s on there Atari ST computer systems
The 3DO was the most expensive console at the time, priced at $699 and nobody bought it.
The NEO-GEO CD was essentially an arcade system with its games merely transferred to CD format instead of using the AES cartridges.
As mentioned earlier, the CDI performed poorly because its games were marketed as educational software, which were not well-received by consumers.
The Amiga CD32 was essentially an Amiga 1200 rebranded as a console, but it didn't offer much in terms of innovation. The games developed for the Amiga were similar to those on the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis, albeit with slightly better quality.
Despite the influx of CD add-ons and standalone CD console formats in the early to mid-90s, the NEC PC Engine CD Still emerged as the most popular system, boasting a wide range of video game titles exclusive to Japan since the late 80s.
Sony Playstation and the Sega Saturn the Next Generation
In the winter of 1994, Sega released the Saturn, while Sony launched the PlayStation just 3 weeks later in Japan. By May 1995, at the first E3 conference, Sega mishandled their release by making the Saturn available immediately at a price of $399. Sony seized this opportunity to simply announce their price: $299. This moment marked a significant turning point for the Saturn's fate in the market.
Both consoles had larger budgets and significant funds for marketing their products.
The Sega Saturn was capable of both 2D and 3D graphics and had strong arcade ports. Unfortunately, it was released too early and was difficult for developers to work with, making it challenging to create great games.
In contrast, the PlayStation had an excellent development kit, was designed for 3D gaming on the go, and effectively marketed video games to a broader global audience.
By the end of 1995, all the consoles that had initially jumped on the CD trend in the early 90s had faded away, where the PlayStation and Saturn were the future.
What does this have to do with Final Fantasy VII?
After completing Final Fantasy VI, Hironobu Sakaguchi was uncertain whether the next installment would transition to 3D, as the new technology was still relatively unfamiliar to them. He initially considered developing the game for the Super Nintendo again, using visuals similar to those in Donkey Kong Country, which had impressive graphics for 16-bit hardware. To explore their options, they purchased SGI Silicon Supercomputers. After testing the new equipment, they realized it would be best to create the game in 3D. However, development was stalled in 1995 so they could focus on fixing the critically acclaimed SNES game Chrono Trigger.
Although the Super Consoles had already been released in Japan, Nintendo referred to their new console as the Ultra 64. The availability of their development kits was limited, resulting in an uneven distribution. Some developers received them while others did not. Despite the excitement surrounding the console, the partnership with SGI, and its 64-bit capability, Square struggled due to the Tech surrounding the N64 with Nintendo.
The reason why it didn't work out well was that Nintendo chose not to adopt the CD-ROM format and instead released the system exclusively in cartridge format.
1. Cartridges loads much faster than CDs.
2. Using cartridges helps prevent the game from being pirated.
Despite how powerful the system was, it was just lacking storage capabilities. The maximum capacity of an N64 cartridge is 64MB.
And sure, Super Mario 64 was the best fully 3D game, only at 8MB it just wasn't enough for Hironobu Sakaguchi to make FF7 as they wished.
They did make a 3D DEMO on FF6 characters at Siggraph 1995. The demo took 3 months to make. With how fully limited it was, it just wasn't enough to build for the N64.
What about the N64DD
Still limited to 64 MB in a floppy disk-like format
Still not good enough
Despite all the trials and errors on the N64, enough was enough, and so Square dropped Nintendo and jumped to Sony. Nintendo wasn't really helpful for most of the N64 Development, leaving SquareSoft frustrated
I am surprised that Nintendo didn't go with the CD-ROM in 1996, even though the N64 wasn't a downfall, but it was the beginning of them not following along with others and doing wacky things that sometimes aren't aligned with the modern super Consoles. And it's been like this up to the modern day 2025 on the switch 2.
Rumors suggest that Sony gave Squaresoft a discount on CD-ROM production costs and supported Square's marketing company, Digicube. By mid-March, Nintendo sold its Square stocks, which Sony bought. In December 1996, Sony Computer Entertainment America signed a multi-title publishing agreement with Square Co., Ltd., securing North American rights for Square's 1997 PlayStation titles.
What about the Sega Saturn?
In Polygon's Oral History of FFVII, Squaresoft staff talk about how they ran performance tests to see how many polygons they could animate on screen simultaneously on PlayStation vs. N64. The PlayStation was able to run almost twice the polygons at once compared to the N64, and when Squaresoft asked Nintendo about how they could get more performance out of the N64, Nintendo wasn't very helpful. Meanwhile, as development continued on PlayStation, Sony staff were forthcoming with info and codecs to maximize performance.
So, in short, Square chose PlayStation because it was the easiest console to develop for. Saturn was generally known to have the worst 3D performance of the bunch, and only Sega staff knew how to get the most out of its processors. So it's very unlikely Square would have developed for Saturn if PlayStation was an option.
How Does The Gameplay Like?
I played this game on the PS Vita but never experienced the full version. Thankfully, I had the chance to complete the original experience using the PSX emulator, DuckStation.
To be honest, the overall gaming experience is decent, as long as you're patient enough to navigate every enemy encounter, stock up on items, and level up your characters to around level 70. I can't imagine how newcomers going to the original game might feel about this type of JRPG! If you find the encounters frustrating, I recommend trying out the remake.
While the game may not be fully 3D—until FFXI and FFXII—it still offers an exciting experience that leaves players in awe of the visuals and FMVs.
The music is enjoyable if you're willing to listen to it on loop. There is no voice acting until FFX.
You need to be quick, as enemies continue to attack until your HP reaches zero.
Using HP/MP Materia will help you get through battles. Bahamut and Shiva, or the Chocobo Materia, will give you special attack abilities that can reduce a monster's HP by half.
Be cautious when adding Materia, as it will reduce your health points and MP!!!
The animations for each special attack look fantastic!
You can still do other things, no matter what disc you're on
You can go to the Golden Saucer, play certain games, and gain MGP to buy items.
Catch your first chocobo and level up to gold
Level up the characters
If you get lost, "watch a walkthrough on YouTube
Overall Gameplay and Graphics are awesome.
The Characters
Cloud Strife, the main character you will control throughout the game, returned home from the Soldier and began taking on jobs for Avalanche, aiming to sabotage Shinra's plans and operations. As the story unfolds, you will discover that there is something off about Cloud's narrative.
Tifa Lockhart is Cloud Strife's love interest, who helps Cloud overcome his demons and trauma and helps him find who he is.
Aerith Gainsborough is the last Cetra. She is a nice and the strongest character in the game. Very close to the cloud, making him her bodyguard. Throughout the game, there was some love interest between the two. Caith Sith, the cat on the robot that you meet at the Golden Saucer, foretold a prophecy saying something bad would happen, but as the players will find out very very soon.
Barrett Wallace, A guy who nearly lost everything. He lost his friend, the people he was respected by, His wife, and the place where he lived. Due to this, he will do anything to take down Shinra.
Cid Highwind, the first man to be in space, however, due to budget cuts, Shinra took away Cid's dream to continue with his spaceship. He still loves his wife lol.
Red XIII, you will find the beast at Shinra Headquarters in the Hojo area. She will come out as a beast but befriend and join us since we free her her back story is interesting as well.
Cait Sith is a cat riding on a robot operated by a mystery man from Shinra. Who will you beat at the Golden Saucer, suggesting that the relationship between you and Areith is legitimate, but something bad will happen with her. He is a double agent, yet he knows what he did was wrong and tries his best to rectify it, and in the end, stays with Cloud.
Two optional characters are not really needed but they have some good story backgrounds and interesting dialogue if you add them to the
Yuffie Kisaragi and Vincent Valentine.
Key antagonists
Sephiroth, one of the first of so many so-called heroes, was a good guy and then turned into a bad guy after learning the truth. Learning that he was, in fact, the son of Jenova. Despite not being the son of Jenova, but really
I won't speak too much about Shinra because you will learn more throughout the story. They are like the Empire in Star Wars, where they control everything.
Jenova.An alien that nearly wiped out the Cetra. A being that will destroy the planet
Professor Hojo, despite not being the main villain in the game, is the father of Sephiroth. He's the one who created the bad guy and a true evil scientist for Shinra.
The End and TLDR
Final Fantasy 7 was the game that convinced me not to get the remake. The story is good enough to stand on its own, away from the remake. It is also the cheapest way to play the game than paying $69.99. If you're willing to grind and are ok with how the game was on the PS1, just play it; it won't hit the bank. But if you're not willing to play the OG one and want to see the updated slick graphics, wait for the Steam sales :) You will save yourself a bit of money. Or just pay full price on PS5 lol.
Final Fantasy 7 in 1997 was the game that really pushed the general narrative of a video game from childlike to more Adult, mature Storytelling. The mature themes include death, grieving the loss of a loved one, sex, and life, along with the small political undertones surrounding Shinra, which represents a government that takes away people's freedom.
It also made the PlayStation even more popular.
Just a Year ago, in 1996, Tomb-Raider was the game that really broke the Female mold as a Lead protagonist rather than a supporting character for the male Lead. The PlayStation was really, really ahead of its time.
And sure, in 1997, the N64 had great games for that year.
Mario Kart 64 and StarFox 64, and then the year when the FPS genre was generally popularized on the console after years of DOOM Clones on the 16-bit consoles. DOOM 64, Duke Nukem 64, and the popular FPS of the 90s, GoldenEye 64.
There were some RPGs on the N64 the year afterwards, but it wasn't even comparable to FF7. All the RPGs went to the PlayStation because of the CD, a format that was popular and cheaper than the cartridge format.
Despite not being nearly as 3D as Super Mario 64, it had awesome 3D FMV segments. Final Fantasy wasn't nearly 3D until FF11 and FF12.
Overall, FF7 on PS1 is a great game that New Fans must see why it was on the PlayStation. And why the medium went to the CD
Links and Bibliography
If you enjoy reading this lol I learn alot about this game from this video if you have 4 hours to spare to just learn about the whole thing by Andrew Bluett