Feature: Revisiting the Lifestream (Conclusion)

By Lusipurr
19 Comments

Lusipurr.com welcomes you to the conclusion of our Feature: Revisiting the Lifesteam!

Final Fantasy VII US Box Art

Final Fantasy VII US Box Art

Last month, Lusipurr.com began a collective playthrough of Final Fantasy VII. The title for this four-week feature enterprise is Revisiting the Lifestream. The final week, running from today until next Saturday, will be a collective playthrough from the Destruction of Mideel up to the game’s conclusion. Please post your comments (positive or negative) on this post!

Of course, any sort of discussion about Final Fantasy VII is acceptable. Feel free to discuss any issues which are on your mind about the game as a whole! What do you think of the script, the translation, the soundtrack, the battle system, the characters, the art direction, the cutscenes; anything and everything is open for discussion.

Meanwhile, Lusipurr.com staff members will mostly not participate because they are a bunch of lazy wankers (–Lusi), including any issues or thoughts they have had. Readers are encouraged to do the same; if you have friends who might be interested in this feature, please get them involved as well!

Thank you for participating. Please feel free to comment on the feature as a whole–and be sure to let us know if you’d like to see similar features in future!

19 Comments

  1. Ethos
    Posted 2009.10.10 at 04:53 | Permalink

    Sadly, I’ve played further than most of the staff members, and I’m barely past Kalm!

  2. SiliconNooB
    Posted 2009.10.10 at 08:55 | Permalink

    I’m upto the ‘Cloud’s memories in the lifestream’ bit, but sadly RL has intervened with wretched assignments. Bah.

  3. Lusipurr
    Posted 2009.10.10 at 11:00 | Permalink

    I need to defeat Emerald and Ruby weapons, pick up my few remaining bits of Materia, and then head into the final dungeon.

    Sephiroth is going down this week!

  4. Squalldane
    Posted 2009.10.10 at 17:22 | Permalink

    I just made it to the Temple of Ancients. Skipping quite a bit of extra context. This is turning into one of my fastest play-throughs. At this rate, I should have Sephy beaten by tuesday

    Some more quick thoughts –
    * Dyne is tough if you haven’t touched Barret
    * Chocobo racing with the R1 + R2 trick makes getting out of Gold Saucer trivial, but I was wondering a few things with the PSP version (PSN or ROM version)… how do you do this trick? Also, how do you soft reset?

  5. volke93
    Posted 2009.10.10 at 18:17 | Permalink

    @Squall whats the R1 R2 trick?

  6. Squalldane
    Posted 2009.10.10 at 19:20 | Permalink

    @Volke if you hold R1 and R2, your chocobo regains stamina, making it very easy to keep your speed at maximum, thus winning every time.

  7. darthgibblet
    Posted 2009.10.10 at 22:31 | Permalink

    I know R2/L2 are mapped to directions on the control nub on the PSP, but I haven’t tried this trick myself (haven’t done any chocobo racing beyond the required one race yet). As for soft resets, if you hit “home”, the PS1 game menu pops up with a bunch of options, including “reset game” which has pretty much the same effects as rebooting your PS1, so it’ll pop you back to the load screen eventually.

    I’m thinking I may be about done with side content for this playthrough. I’ve beaten the weapons and gotten all the little side stuff on previous runs, so I’m not all that compelled to do anything just for the sake of doing it this time around. My guys are high enough level to where getting through the final dungeon shouldn’t be difficult, so we’ll see how bored I get come Monday.

  8. Lusipurr
    Posted 2009.10.10 at 22:31 | Permalink

    @Squall: I did that section on my PS1 actually. (I’ve been going back and forth between PSP and PS1 in this playthrough, transferring the save file through the PS3.)

    To your point: holding right on the PSP analog stick is the same as pressing R2. (You can configure this setting by pressing the HOME/PS button whilst in a PS1 game.) Not the most convenient way of doing things, but it works.

  9. Squalldane
    Posted 2009.10.11 at 12:57 | Permalink

    @Lusi – The memory card reader is a lot more useful than I previously thought it was. Also, from what I read, R2+L2 is simply the joishtick up. Sounds feasible at least.

    In other news, in a recent turn of events, Sephy is down. I haven’t done any side quests this time around. I may do the chocobo racing quest to get KotR and down the weapons. Good luck everyone else!

    - I agree with whoever said that Cloud in the Lifestream is the best scene. It could arguably be the best scene of all the FF’s. It wouldn’t be mine, since that spot is taken over by FF9′s “You’re Not Alone” scene.

  10. Lusipurr
    Posted 2009.10.13 at 01:38 | Permalink

    Emerald and Ruby are done.

    Only Sephiroth remains!

  11. darthgibblet
    Posted 2009.10.13 at 21:32 | Permalink

    I know I’m a little behind, but I just picked up all the huge materia. Just about ready to parachute back into Midgar and pick up an awesome megaphone!

  12. Lusipurr
    Posted 2009.10.14 at 13:45 | Permalink

    I’ve finished!

  13. Squalldane
    Posted 2009.10.14 at 14:37 | Permalink

    @Lusi – Congrats man! I didn’t go back to defeat the weapons this time around, you got me there.

    Overall, these features really rock. When I was doing my MAP marathon, catching up to the current day, the final fantasy IX feature really threw in a breath of fresh air. I couldn’t wait to go to work and find out where everybody got to, all their thoughts about the great classic, and feed off of the nostalgic sound waves filling my ears.

    A few last reasons why this podcast rocks –
    *Wow, this podcast has Nate Liles in it, and he cured my gential warts with his voice! He did!
    *Wow, Nate Liles is amazing, he gave me an anal fistula, and it can be cured by listening to this podcast!

    :D Keep up the great work, and I’d love to hear some additional poems (i.e. “sur name Cooper”.) And, have you ever heard Yahtzee’s review of Fable/Fable2? I think you two would have a lot to talk about.

    Fable -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYQLR7dE5k4
    Fable 2 -> http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/346-Fable-2

  14. Syrek
    Posted 2009.10.15 at 13:14 | Permalink

    I too am finished and must say I had an much more enjoyable playthroughs than my previous. My permanent party was Cloud, Tifa and Vincent, although in the final dungeon, Tifa and Vincent didn’t do so well in the attack department with their ultimate weapons. I didn’t beat Ruby or Emerald weapon mainly because I didn’t have enough time to complete all the additional sidequests due to my upgrading in school so I can take Computer Information Processing. But I defeated Sephrioth and got the ending credits so I’m pleased with the results.

  15. darthgibblet
    Posted 2009.10.16 at 01:08 | Permalink

    Yeah, I’ve been more or less just coasting through this playthrough for the story, and I’ve been throughly enjoying it. I’m at the bottom of the northern crater right before the final battle, so I’ll probably finish things up tomorrow in all their glory.

  16. darthgibblet
    Posted 2009.10.16 at 01:17 | Permalink

    In what’s fast becoming my style, random double post!

    - I never realized what a hippy Barret was until this playthrough

    - I’m viewing the Cloud/Aerith/Tifa love triangle a lot differently since playing Crisis Core and watching Advent Children.

    - The confuse effect is fast becoming my mortal enemy this time around.

    - Playing through this makes me want to finish up Crisis Core again. The ending to that game is awesomeness liquefied, frozen, and turned into a delicious slushee.

  17. DarthGibblet
    Posted 2009.10.16 at 18:43 | Permalink

    Just finished up the game. I never noticed before that the last shot (before the credits) is the same as the first shot. Very nice touch. As much as I love FFVII, the ending still isn’t my favorite. I do love when lifestream Aeris comes up to save Midgar, though.

  18. Lusipurr
    Posted 2009.10.16 at 20:02 | Permalink

    For me, that last look at Aeris in the lifesteam — where the game began — is one of the most awesome and rewarding moments in video games.

    I absolutely, unreservedly love that brief moment, and the perfect fitness of ending the game in precisely that way.

  19. DarthGibblet
    Posted 2009.10.16 at 23:37 | Permalink

    @Lusipurr: Agreed, I’ve always loved the opening scene, but for some reason I never noticed the game ended on the same note.

    Also, since it hasn’t been posted yet, and it semi-relevant: