I find more and more nowadays people hating on FF7 but it seems to be more derived by how much the game is loved rather than legit gripes about the game. I'm not sure what it is about something being so well-liked that it turns others off. Ive gamed a LOOOOONG time. From atari 2600 days. Few games have ever really challenged my thought on what a game was...super mario 3, link to the past, mario 64, and goldeneye are a few. Final Fantasy 7 set a bar so high i have not found its equal since. It literally re-defined what i knew about storytelling in gaming. When i play that game or any of its spin-offs, it doesnt feel like im playing a game but visiting old friends. Everything from the characters, to the story, to the music, to the beautiful pre-rendered backgrounds and of course to the gameplay is fantastic....thousands of secrets to discover, tons of mini-games and of course side quests. Beating Emerald and Ruby Weapon (without the internet mind you) was one of my greatest moments ever in gaming. I spent hundreds of hours in this game, had many attempts at "perfect" files and was a favorite among all my friends before long. Final Fantasy 7 to me was more than simply a game it was an experience. Theres no other way i can describe it. I'm sorry if that bothers some snobs who dont get it. Final Fantasy 9 to me was a good game and i remember liking it quite a bit but its not on the same level as 7. i only completed it once and to be honest i can barely remember much of the game. I do remember being irritated when the final boss came out of nowhere, and on disk 4 many places you visited throughout the game became closed off now that you finally had the airship to revisit them which SEVERELY damaged my opinion of the game...i wanted to go back, explore and see what the npcs had to say at this point and to me this was extremely lazy. oh and while i know this isnt about he game really it had the worst brady games strategy guide of ALL TIME (almost all useful information it withheld and told you to go to sony's PlayOnline or whatever it was called to find out the rest despite the fact you just blew 20 BUCKS ON THE DAMN GUIDE) . i would still recommend 9 of course but nothing has ever matched Final Fantasy 7 for me.
Super nintendo no contest...you dont even have to mention the BIG two for this to win. Super Mario RPG is a classic in its own right and the Lufia titles are quite good as well. Thats not to say genesis was devoid of decent rpgs but its like putting an amateur boxer in the ring with George Foreman. the amateur gets a shot or two in before its an all out beat down.
boy is this like choosing between a turd and a...well....turd. But lets try it! after some thought i think the jaguar is the winner here. while unable to live up to its ridiculous marketing it still features a few pretty good games in its library. Doom, Aliens Vs Predator, and Tempest 2000 all come to mind. That and it looks and feels like a game console, rather than a piece of stereo equipment as the 3DO is clearly designed to look. Granted it had the awkward number pad but the intellivision and 5200 had that long before. scanning 3DO's library its hard to find covers you even recognize let alone have fond memories of. that isnt to say there isnt a few hidden gems to be had but typically when choosing between two piles of crap ill choose the smaller pile. Jaguar has an incredibly small library of games but that only means you dont have to sit through a ton of garbage to get to the good stuff.
this is truly a sad day for gaming history. many of you who were born in the 90's or later dont remember the excitement of an issue of NP arriving in the mail! I still remember my older brother having the very first issues...until i convinced my grandma i needed a sub too! Now i only got games a couple times a year back then (christmas and birthdays!) but i always loved reading about all the different games coming out. I still remember waiting patiently for RODAN a pseudo-sequel to Godzilla:Monster of Monsters to come out when i saw it advertised in NP (unfortunately it was never released :( ). My Ocarina of Time Players Guide helped me beat the water temple when i got it for renewing my subscription...and i loved the other guides such as the Link to the Past guide and Mario Mania! As much as i hate to admit it Nintendo really is becoming a shadow of its former self...no new IPs, lazy releases (mario sports mix), underdeveloped ideas (like why we play as two generic toads in NSMBwii instead of adding established characters), and now the death of a beloved facet of the company. Nintendo Power was unique in that its the only magazine i can think of that ive ever been ATTACHED to. it was fun, informative and a great part of my childhood. Goodbye NP! And flights of kid icarus and raccoon mario sing thee to thy rest!
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