Retro 101 takes on Final Fantasy VII for Teddy (10AM GMT)

Non-stop and without dying. It's time to play Final Fantasy VII for Teddy. You can donate and read the full story of Teddy and what he overcame here - https://www.justgiving.com/Gareth-Chappell2/

Anyone who donates £5 or more can send their email receipt to our friends at Gamestyle.com to have a chance of winning a copy of FFVII. Please send any receipts to coxy [at] gamestyle.com to enter.

The play-through of the game is to raise money for the Southampton PICU who saved Teddy’s life. Friends of PICU is a registered charity in the UK who collect money to buy equipment, fund major projects and help towards buying new ambulances for the Childrens Intensive Care unit at Southampton General Hospital.

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Final Fantasy VII Review (PS1)

Hype is a tricky thing. No sooner is a game announced than media outlets have mapped out every single detail before your very eyes. It's no new phenomenon either. Final Fantasy VII was no stranger to the effect, yet somehow not one person knew what to expect when it arrived on European shores. Chalk it up to inexperience. Nothing quite like it had been seen before by the masses and for many they simply could not have imagined what awaited them. It was a magical adventure – beyond anything that had preceded it. You did not play Final Fantasy VII, you lived it.

The story built around the central character Cloud Strife and revealed layers of depth defying common notions of what a videogame was. Initially appearing to be a cold hearted mercenary his visage slowly dissolves to expose that he has a far greater purpose to play. The mystery of Cloud's background and purpose becomes the key focus for the journey through this new world. We experience things as Cloud does, drawn ever further into the thickening web of intrigue- punctuated by some highly effective twists along the way.

It soon becomes clear that there is far more at stake than a small group of freedom fighters trying to cripple a domineering corporation. Each encounter drip feeds a new piece of information. Hints of what is to come fuel the fervour to press on without ever fully enlightening players as to what the hell is going on. Cleverly paced and well scripted, you remain on the edge of your seat stretching forward to see what is around the next corner. Many a time we picked up the controller with the intent of only seeing out the next encounter only to find ourselves squinting through eyes grown intolerant to strong light as the sun rose the next morning.

Combat follows the tried and tested turn based RPG format. Characters wait for their timing bar to fill to become active. At that point they can then unleash all manner of destructive forces upon your foes. The most spectacular of these are gargantuan creatures, summoned from the magical 'Materia' that forms around the land to fight by your side. While players were taken aback by the epic summoning of magical creatures, the cut scenes truly stole the show. At the time of its original release in 1997 the graphical artistry and animation blew away everything else.

Everyone who played the game knew this was more than simply something special; this was a historic moment for gaming in the West. It pushed the boundaries to such a degree that at the time it seemed impossible anything else developed for the Playstation could ever surpass it.

This being a story set against a backdrop of a fantastical cyberpunk world, both high-tech weaponry and devastating magic are freely available. Attaching 'materia' to equipment and weapons gives any character access to its magic. Materia has both good and bad effects introducing the need to strike a balance in order to stop characters from becoming weak and easily killed. As a result players form parties built how they want and are not forced to shoehorn characters into a predetermined mould.

Years have passed, and graphically the game will not carry the impressive awe for newcomers it had to those fortunate people who played it in its time. Furthermore, the pace may seem a little slow to the uninitiated. However, give it a few minutes and you find the story suffers not from the ills of aging. You're quickly engrossed and any 'faults' melt away. Its hypnotic grasp remains strong regardless the age of its appearance.

While the graphical wonder of the title may fade, the excellent musical score rings true as ever. Sweeping music completes an epic adventure and Final Fantasy VII has it in abundance. Moving scores accompany every scene perfectly heightening the mood and emotion. Indeed, while walking through the Snow Mountains you may be tempted to turn the heating up a little as the music works so well it drags you down into the icy caves with it, and it is a cold place down there.

Final Fantasy VII represents one of a select group of titles that transcends its existence as simply a 'game'. It started a shift in the gaming tastes of Europe (as it likewise did throughout the western world), it opened our eyes to what was possible with the power of a thirty-two bit console, it made us think what could be achieved in the future. Arguably, no game before it had such an emotional impact on gamers. We fought, we cried, we drove onward for revenge and we remembered every minute of it. Those who were there in that first week when it was released already know why this game is an historic title.

For newcomers the title proves as enjoyable as ever. Alas, it is doubtful the euphoric sense of elation - the almost indescribable feeling that no game had ever created before (Maybe Occarina of Time), can be similarly recaptured. Final Fantasy VII represents a moment in time. Where were you when it happened?

Overall 10/10

A Discussion of Cyber Punk in Video Games

'Any sufficiently advanced form of technology is indistinguishable from magic...' (Arthur C. Clarke)

'Cyberpunk' emerged as a sub-genre of sci-fi, and can be traced back to the early 1980s. Author William Gibson penned a series of novels (including Neuromancer) which narratively placed individuals in a new world of technology; where information became the new currency.

Thematically, the international settings of Japan, Los Angeles, London and Paris were linked through a hidden network of computers. With period films such as Tron, Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, and Videodrome, the cyberpunk ethos was complete.Within such fertile space - be it novels, films or games - we are often presented with things that are not commonplace to us. These sometimes take the form of advanced mechanical devices, or different realms in which to explore and live. Humans themselves can even reach a higher stage of evolution - possibly developing new skills and abilities in the process - and thus be classified as 'cyberpunk'. It is these aspects that appeal to a global audience, but can also isolate them: because cyberpunk generally looks at the isolation of individuals in worlds where they do not seem to blend seamlessly with society.

As with texts which deal in pure fantasy, containing characters that may well be able to cast 'real magic' (or mythological creatures of enormous power such as dragons, vampires and demons etc.), cyberpunk can also be read in terms of theorist Todorov's idea of the "marvellous, uncanny and fantastic". This suggests that the two are more closely linked than would initially seem the case. For instance, when confronted by a flying car or hoverbike in Flashback or bionic implant in Deus Ex, it can be said that these create or instil such feelings of the "fantastic" as a flying carpet would. Because these things do not exist in our 'real' world, we may therefore question the reality on a literal level; indeed we may "marvel" at the depiction of something so obviously outside our frame of reference.

Games dealing with cyberpunk themes may well offer up mythological creatures within their narratives; however they are normally shown to us in terms of some form of technological monstrosity - as opposed to more traditional fantasy-themed or magically-endowed creatures. This can be called, as Todorov puts it, the "scientific marvellous": where the supernatural is explained in a rational manner but according to laws which contemporary science does not acknowledge - thus taking us away from the established repertoire of fantasy games where the 'marvellous' is characterised by the mere presence of supernatural events.Therefore, if such a close link exists between what we perceive as 'classic' fantasy (Zelda et al, swords 'n' sorcery, a distinct lack of guns), sci-fi and cyberpunk, why is it that cyberpunk has all but disappeared from the gaming world (notwithstanding a small surge of interest in the '90s - as evidenced by Flashback and Shadowrun)? Indeed, it appears that the sub-genre never fully realised its potential.

When we look back upon gaming's past we can pinpoint specific moments where cyberpunk was ushered forth as an 'alternative' - and somewhat ironically where the sub-genre met its match. One game, or perhaps more accurately, one series which was sublimated by Final Fantasy VII, hit the western market quite unexpectedly - and was filled with the decay and feel that runs central to the core dynamic of any cyberpunk-themed adventure; fusing 'real' elemental magic with the heavy overtones of industrial-strength monsters, leaking reactors and extracted energy (which also compressed into 'magical materia'). The problem with cyberpunk is that it is always a subdivision of two main genres - ie, fantasy and sci-fi - and when marketing a title it needs to be securely 'pigeon-holed' (or at least the games industry supposes it should be). One could thus imagine a conflict of interest when trying to 'sell' a game on the basis of its neo-magical theme - where commercially it is far easier to frame such games in more recognisable or traditional settings.

With Final Fantasy VII proving a runaway success, Squaresoft could either consolidate the genre or attempt to break from it. They gambled upon the latter, providing an almost 'Utopian' world for the character-driven sequel. By moving away from the dark and gloomy undertones so prevalent in films such as Blade Runner, and opting for a clean and sanitised aesthetic for the futuristic cities and environs (perhaps more reminiscent of Minority Report), Squaresoft effectively killed off - or forever shifted the focus from - the cyberpunk influence in mainstream culture. And then a final, devastating blow: FFVIII was not accepted in the same way as its predecessors - while it has a fanbase, it is notably the most despised Final Fantasy title on the market; criticised for (among other things), straying too far from the 'feel' of the series... What irony then, that this sterile 'real' world should cause a public outcry.From this point on there was only one way to proceed; the masses had spoken and realism was not on the agenda.

Unsurprisingly the next Final Fantasy title reverted to its classic fantasy-themed roots and was once again hailed by the public. It seemed there was no available niche in the gaming market where sci-fi and fantasy could happily coalesce and/or foster longevity, as the audience for both genres wanted different things. Sci-fi fans wanted more realistic-looking environments, bigger weapons, aliens, robots etc. and the fantasy fans wanted swords 'n' sorcery et al. So the inevitable happened, and developers decided to play it safe (perhaps nestling in their preferred pigeon-holes).

The moral of our tale: with any predominantly-themed 'Cyberpunk' game you are never really sure what you are getting; and if there is one thing publishers and developers do not like it's uncertainty from the buying public. Hence the reason the sub-genre has never really established itself - apart from Final Fantasy VII and Deus Ex, there are very few 'successful' cyberpunk titles. Why bother trying to unite two seemingly disparate genres in the hopes of an underground hit, when you can safely 'secure' your title in either of the alternate markets and almost guarantee success with a corresponding chunk of the public? Perhaps someday someone will take another chance with cyberpunk... let's hope so, because the brief history of the sub-genre has historically been responsible for some of gaming's - and contemporary culture's - best moments.

References: Butler, Andrew M, (2000) Cyberpunk (Harpenden: Pocket Essentials), Springer, Claudia (1999) Psycho-Cybernetics in the Films of the 1990s, Alien Zone II (London and New York: Verso), Landsberg, Alison (1995) Prosthetic Memory: Total Recall and Blade Runner (Body and Society Volume 1), Todorov, T. (1975) The Fantastic: A Structural Approach to a Literary Genre

Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core Review (PSP)

Square Enix has come under continued criticism for raiding its vaults in order to make a quick buck recently. They've been at it for years, and while sometimes it works out for gamers (Final Fantasy Tactics on PSP and Final Fantasy III on DS never made it to Europe originally), it often smacks of cynical cashing in, such as Final Fantasy I and II being released separately for the PSP. So a new title based on the much loved Final Fantasy VII should appeal to everyone, right? Well, yes and no.

Crisis Core is one of the titles that marks the celebration of Final Fantasy VII's tenth anniversary, the others being PS2's sub standard shooter Dirge of Cerberus and the pretty but shallow Advent Children movie. The good news is it's the best of the three. Set before the events of VII, you're placed in the boots of Zack Fair, SOLDIER member and walking commercial for V05 hair gel. Working beside legendary operatives Sephiroth and Angeal, you have to carry out orders for the company by: a) beating the crap out of things, and b) using magic and summons to beat the crap out of things. It sounds like a dumb idea for a prequel to one of the biggest, most deeply involving games ever, but Square Enix should be given a pat on the back for at least trying something different.

That's not to say Crisis Core features nothing from VII's combat- materia, limit breaks and summons (well, some of them) all make a reappearance, but in a cut down form. Materia isn't assigned to weapon or armour slots here, just to the character. The limit breaks and summons both work through a new device called the Digital Mind Wave – a slot machine style system which randomly assigns abilities in battle (a little like that of the one in Grasshopper's No More Heroes).

After meeting certain characters or monsters, they are added to the DMW. If all three slots display that character, a limit or summon is triggered. Also, different combinations can aid you with invincibility, no MP cost and so on. It's a system that could well annoy some, but one I found to be fairly competent- more so than NMH's slot/dessert hybrid. Rarely did a limit trigger at a pointless moment in battle, but sometimes you feel as if the DMW has given you a cheap win, allowing you to deliver a huge ass kicking with little regard for attack patterns or skill.

It's not really a difficult game on the standard setting, and only becomes a challenge very close to the end. Only when playing on hard mode do you realise that paying attention to attack patterns and knowing when to dodge are important, as you have Ability Points which account for these manoeuvres. Dodging and special attacks will slowly empty the bar, and finding yourself unable to roll away from danger will likely result in death.

When you aren't avoiding death or dealing out beatings, you will be prey to the cut scenes. They are many and range from bland in game subtitled conversations to beautifully rendered CGI. While these moments don't quite reach the heights of Metal Gear's 'story' moments, they can sometimes feel intrusive and unnecessary. One in particular does raise an important question, however. What is Sephiroth using on his eyelashes?

Crisis Core is an enjoyable title in small doses. Extended sessions result in boredom through repetition, and the 300 or so side missions on offer give little diversion from the main story- mostly existing only to extend the play time rather than enjoyment. The main focus here is on the characters. Zack becomes a very likable protagonist, and as the game moves on you get to experience some quality time with Aerith, meet Yuffie and hang out with Cloud. These are all things any fan would expect, and I must admit, it was exciting to go back to Nibelheim as Zack and experience Cloud's story as it originally played out. Yet that just sums the whole experience up- at the end of the day, Crisis Core is nothing more than fan service wrapped in a competent game.

6/10

Written by Dan Gill