How the game helped me to believe in the creative possibilities of the world
I was no stranger to fantasy games when I first played Final Fantasy VII back in 1998. I was 12 and had already played other fantasy games like the Shining Force series on the SEGA Genesis. But Final Fantasy VII was on an entirely different level and it was my first Final Fantasy game. Needless to say, it became my all-time favourite game (my all-time favourite in the series as well) and a game that I probably will continue to love for the rest of my life.
I was an Asian kid growing up in a very typical Asian environment so you can imagine how my childhood was like. From family members to teachers, I was told to pursue a career in the fields of medicine, lawyer, engineering or other ‘top’ professional jobs that will ‘guarantee’ success and lots of money.
My time outside of school was always used for studying or doing things that are deemed ‘beneficial’ for me. Obviously, playing games was seen as a waste of time back then and my parents never allowed me or my siblings much game time. Heck, we didn’t even have a proper gaming console until I was about 10 years old but that was also mainly because we couldn’t afford it.
So you can imagine how much I appreciated and treasured my 30 minutes A WEEK of game time that I got when I was younger.
However, as I grew older, my game time grew with me. By the time I was 12, I was allowed at least 30 minutes of gaming time every single day (provided I had finished all my homework prior to playing). Needless to say, I never wasted a single second of it and for good reason too because that was the year I discovered my all-time favourite game — Final Fantasy VII.
It was my first time experiencing such a game. Its advancement in gaming technology at that time with polygon graphics, 3D textures, storyline and the length of the game (the longest game I played before FFVII was Shining Force II which required less 12 hours of gameplay to finish) were all very new to me. It was also the first time I’d played a game that came in more than 1 disc (the original FFVII came in 3 discs) so you can imagine my amazement.
I can still remember the chills I got when I first saw the introduction of the game, especially when the FFVII logo came on. It was the same chills that I got 22 years later when I played the Remake. It’s the feeling that you get when you feel like you’re about to embark on an exciting adventure — and what an adventure it turned out to be.
My first ever playthrough of the game was on my old beat up Acer PC which couldn’t handle the best graphics settings of the game. I played it on the lowest possible settings (and it still had a slight lag, especially when it came to the summons cut screen) and it took me just over 40 hours (or roughly 3 months plus) to beat it.
It was the best 3 months plus of my year. I was totally blown away but how good the game was. You know just how much you love a game when you keep staring at the game casing and looking at the artwork when you’re not playing and just how much you can’t wait to start playing it again.
That’s how much I fell in love with the game back then and how much I still love it 22 years later.
The storyline of Cloud living a life that wasn’t his (it was the mirror of Zack’s life), somewhat being controlled and manipulated by Sephiroth through the Jenova cells that were injected into him, the vast world of Gaia, the ancients, riding and rearing magical creatures like chocobos, magic spells, and summons, it was so new to a 12-year-old boy who spent most of his time being told that games were a waste of time and had no benefits whatsoever.
The magical world of fantasy and imagination
But there I was, awed at just how magical the world of gaming — especially that of Final Fantasy VII — was and the emotions it was able to make me experience every single time I play. It opened me up to the wonderful world of fantasy and imagination, things that after I left early childhood, were left behind as well.
I thought about the creators of the game and just how creative their brains were to be able to create such a game.
I subsequently played Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy XII, Final Fantasy I, Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy IV, Crisis Core, and Dirge of Cerberus. Each game taking me further and further into the vast world of the Final Fantasy series and into the world of fantasy. What I learned and felt playing those games, it projected onto the real world.
I learned that there was so much more to life than to just grow up and become a doctor or lawyer. I wanted to chart my own path, my own career that was completely controlled by me, not by what others wanted me to do.
And I did just that. I studied creative designs in uni and worked in the creative industry for a good many years. Although I’ve left that industry and am now pursuing a different path in sustainability, I have never forgotten the joys gaming brought me, especially from the Final Fantasy series.
To date, I’ve replayed all the Final Fantasy series that I mentioned above at least 3 times, with the original Final Fantasy VII being replayed the most times at 10 (you can imagine how happy I was when I was finally able to play it on a proper Playstation system and it not lagging. I’ve so far played it on the original Playstation, PS Vita, PS3, PS4 and Nintendo Switch).
The lessons I’d learned and emotions that I’d felt playing the original Final Fantasy VII, I carry with me until today. I’ve never doubted the creative possibilities ever since and have always tried to implement them in my dad to day operations at work.
Had it not been for this game, I may have ended up working a job that, although is good and noble, may not necessarily have been one that I have passion for or would want and enjoy doing.
I attribute a lot of the good things in my life to the games that I’ve played over the years, but none more so than Final Fantasy VII.
I Am Benny Lim 