Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII

Note: This review contains spoilers for Final Fantasy VII and Compilation of Final Fantasy VII

Before I actually played Final Fantasy VII, I had watched the Advent Children film and played Crisis Core when they first came out. The first time I played Crisis Core, just over a decade ago, I liked it in spite of a general lack of context. Of course, my memories of the game faded over time and after finally playing the original Final Fantasy VII, I decided to go through Compilation, which originally ended with this game. Now that I’ve finished my second playthrough, I remembered why I liked it in the first place, but now I also see more flaws, both in the story and gameplay.

Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII

Note: This review contains spoilers for Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII

As part of my journey through Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, the next stop after Advent Children was Dirge of Cerberus, a sequel/spinoff game that puts Vincent Valentine directly into the spotlight. Oddly enough, this also happened to be the only piece of Final Fantasy VII media I didn’t own, likely due to its negative reception, so I borrowed a copy to reduce the investment. Now that I’ve played it for myself, it seems that its bad reputation wasn’t unearned.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (+ Complete)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Final Fantasy VII and Compilation of Final Fantasy VII.

I’ll admit that against my better judgment, the original 2006 US DVD release of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children was the first piece of Final Fantasy VII media I really consumed. Not the best choice, I know, but it did still get me into the series, so I guess it wasn’t all bad. I would also view the Complete version when it released in 2009, but now that I’ve actually played Final Fantasy VII, I figured there was no better opportunity to revisit this first part of Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. Since I’ve re-watched both cuts, I thought it best to review both of them at once, with my raw thoughts written down immediately after each viewing. What I’ll say now is that it’s obvious why another cut was necessary.

Final Fantasy VII (PS1)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Final Fantasy VII.

As I mentioned in my review of Final Fantasy VII Remake, I’ve had an interesting history with Final Fantasy VII in that I went through more of Compilation of Final Fantasy VII before the actual game. While I thought I could experience the story through Remake, the ending finally gave me the motivation to play through the original game, which I accomplished with my PS1 copy. At this point, I can appreciate what Final Fantasy VII did and why it’s still celebrated today, but as someone who wasn’t there when it first launched, as I was only four years old, there are some flaws I couldn’t overlook.

Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie

One of the earliest Nickelodeon shows I have had experience with in childhood was Hey Arnold!, which details the school life of a wise-beyond-his-years, “football-headed” kid named Arnold living in an urban neighborhood. The show ran for five Seasons from 1996 to 2004, during which it had a theatrically-released film in 2002 entitled Hey Arnold! The Movie, which I will admit I had not actually seen for whatever reason. A second movie, Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie, was supposed to act as a finale for the series, however it was scrapped in part due to the 2002 movie’s failure at the box office, only for the project to get revived in 2015 following fan support and a move from the then-new network head to revive older popular properties. This allowed the movie to finally see the light of day in 2017 on Nickelodeon, providing proper closure to a cliffhanger from the show 15 years later regarding the whereabouts of Arnold’s missing parents. While I did record the movie out of interest when it aired, I didn’t end up actually watching it until recently. The movie does work as a proper finale to the series, though while it was great to see these characters again after so many years, I couldn’t help but feel it come off as impenetrable to a non-fan.

Star Fox Adventures

Note: This review contains spoilers for Star Fox Adventures.

I admit I don’t have that much experience with the Star Fox series, and even then my only real exposure to it was the Switch version of Starlink: Battle for Atlas, which contained exclusive Star Fox content. However, I felt motivated to play Rare’s take on the series, Star Fox Adventures, in particular because the only thing I had heard about from it was the original character Krystal, and so wanted to see what else there was to this game and understand the character in that context. After finally getting the chance to play it, I found it overall decent, though flawed.

Stubs - Batman: The Killing Joke

Batman: The Killing Joke (2016) Voices by Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Tara Strong, Ray Wise Directed by Sam Liu. Screenplay by    Brian Azzarello. Based on Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore, Brian Bolland. Produced by Bruce Timm, Alan Burnett, Sam Register Run Time: 77 minutes US Color Animated, Superhero

Alan Moore, as a writer of comic books, is unparalleled. He has created some of the truly great and groundbreaking series, including Watchmen, which he co-created with Dave Gibbons in 1986, V For Vendetta, which he created with David Lloyd and Tony Weare in 1982, and Batman: The Killing Joke with Brian Bolland in 1988.

Batman: The Killing Joke Written by Alan Moore, the artwork is by Brian Bolland.

He is not, however, a fan of the adaptations of his work, having removed his name from productions of Watchmen (2011) and the animated version of Batman: The Killing Joke. I’m sure that while he doesn’t like the adaptations, he doesn’t mind the money that no doubt comes from the productions.