General gaming |
- Let's Grade Final Fantasy VII's Cutscenes
- In Defense of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
- An Ode to the Mini-Games of Final Fantasy
- Five Things We Won't See in the Final Fantasy VII Remake
| Let's Grade Final Fantasy VII's Cutscenes Posted: 07 Sep 2012 03:36 PM PDT One of the first things that come to mind when you think back about Final Fantasy VII are the amazing cutscenes that blew our collective minds in 1997. During those brief snippets, the visual fidelity in which Square was able to present their creative world melted faces faster than an Ark of the Covenant left slightly ajar. And while it was a bit strange to see your stumpy avatars suddenly exist in a realistically-proportioned world, there's no denying the impact that those classic cinematics made at the time. But time doesn't always look kindly on things, which is why 1UP's Jeremy Parish and Kat Bailey decided to celebrate Final Fantasy VII's 15th Anniversary by rewatching the game's nearly-45 minutes worth of cutscenes. This video's a bit of a doozy, so make yourself comfortable as 1UP grades Final Fantasy VII's cinematics. |
| In Defense of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Posted: 07 Sep 2012 02:10 PM PDT
Feature 1UP COVER STORY  1UP COVER STORY | WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 4 | FINAL FANTASY VII'S QUINCEAÑERA In Defense of Final Fantasy VII: Advent ChildrenCover Story: Though not perfect, the cinematic counterpart to FFVII was by no means a failure.S quare-Enix's bold decision to expand the Final Fantasy VII universe via a slew of different mediums and platforms initially seemed like a no-brainer. Fans loved the adventures of Cloud and company, and any chance to return to that world in some shape or form would be flocked to by the masses. But once the titles actually saw the light of day, response to this expansion of the universe was lukewarm at best. Dirge of Cerberus turned out to be a mediocre action game for the PS2, and Before Crisis never even saw the light of day on American shores. While Crisis Core for the PSP is generally regarded as a solid game (some even argue the best title in the FFVII universe), the one piece of the Compilation of FFVII that garnered the most heated debate was the Tetsuya Nomura-directed film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. While a lot of critics and fans look back on the CG spectacle as a mindless waste of two hours, the film still retains a few ardent defenders, including myself. What immediately sold me on Advent Children is the smart, powerful opening. That initial scene, where the camera swoops in low from the clouds and focuses on Red XIII and company bounding through the canyon is a perfect way to begin the film. Coupled with the reveal of a Midgar overgrown by nature and a swell of music that slowly transforms into that iconic theme, and what you're left with is one hell of an opening minute -- it's somehow simultaneously subtle and epic. The only question is, could the film possibly sustain that impressive tone over the course of the next two hours? Well, the answer is: kind of. |
| An Ode to the Mini-Games of Final Fantasy Posted: 07 Sep 2012 12:04 PM PDT
Feature 1UP COVER STORY  1UP COVER STORY | WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 4 | FINAL FANTASY VII'S QUINCEAÑERA An Ode to the Mini-Games of Final FantasyCover Story: Final Fantasy 7 was probably the first to have truly unusual mini-games in the series but it wasn't certainly the last. We explore a little of what makes them work.I remember having a conversation with someone recently about everyone's favorite quadranscentennial RPG franchise and, at some point, this happened: "The mini games in Final Fantasy were probably the silliest part of it." |
| Five Things We Won't See in the Final Fantasy VII Remake Posted: 07 Sep 2012 08:54 AM PDT
Feature 1UP COVER STORY  1UP COVER STORY | WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 4 | FINAL FANTASY VII'S QUINCEAÑERA Five Things We Won't See in the Final Fantasy VII RemakeCover Story: Even if Square Enix updates FFVII, we'll never see its weirder, wackier moments.W hat's the biggest cocktease in gaming? Probably Half-Life 3. But the second biggest would be Square Enix's constant, coy mentions of a Final Fantasy VII remake. They know fans want it; they cheerfully fan the flames with things like the FFVII "White Engine" demo from E3 2005; they make constant leading comments about it. And yet... they never deliver. Maybe they will, someday; maybe they won't. Yet should that long-awaited remake arrive, one thing we can be certain of is that it won't be a straightforward up-rezzing of the original PlayStation game. Have you played FFVII lately? It's quite, shall we say, inconsistent. A mish-mash of different art styles, narrative techniques, and some downright weirdness make FFVII a tough game to reinterpret with contemporary tech. For every moment that would translate perfectly to HD -- like the oh-so-iconic introduction Square used for its White Engine demo -- there's one that is better left buried. And that's not to mention all those parts that just come across as awkward all on their own steam. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from 1UP RSS feed To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
