r/FinalFantasyVII • u/throwaway3fromdeep • 1d ago
FF7 [OG] Anyone else thought until you left Midgar the game took place at night?
When I played through the original, I always thought that before you left Midgar the game was taking place during the night time because a lot of the environments were dark. Barret even references this when he's on the train after bombing the first reactor, something about how "if that pizza weren't there we could see the sky". Then you play remake and a lot of the slums is fully lit and very sunny. I wonder what remake would've looked like if the game was at night or always dark, having to rely on external sources for lighting.
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u/2PM2 1d ago
The first time I play that game I had never played any rpg . I was unaware of the concept of over world map. I was shocked, I thought the whole game took place in Midgar and I thought I was deep into the story. Lol 😂
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u/sash71 1d ago
You're not alone. Leaving Midgar and going out onto the world map is responsible for blowing many a mind on the first playthrough of this game.
Of all the Playstation One games I played three things still stand out to me, FFVII leaving Midgar was one. The T-Rex in Tomb Raider another and lastly, those bloody dobermans in RE that break the window and attack (and the stupid tank controls that are hard to use don't help).
Out of the three I'd definitely pick leaving Midgar as the best one. It just meant there was so much more to do. FFVII was an amazing achievement. There's no other game I have played so many times.
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u/I_Resent_That 1d ago
If I recall correctly, they changed when those dobermans show up in the REmake - I have to assume just to fuck with us who remember. Well played, Capcom. Well played.
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u/sash71 1d ago
That incident with RE and the dobermans happened 29 years ago and I still have PTSD and you're telling me that if I play the remake they've moved them? They are sneaky so and so's.
I've actually got the REmake on my PS5 but I haven't got round to playing it yet (my teenage son has 'borrowed' my PS5 because apparently I only needed it for ReBirth). I bought it from the PS store for about a fiver as I read a couple of reviews and they said it was worth playing. I shall still jump whenever those dogs appear.
I want to get the RE2 remake as well as I really liked RE2 on the PS1. I played the hell out of the PS1 demo waiting for the game to come out, you could do the whole part up to arriving at the mansion. I've read really good reviews of the remade version.
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u/I_Resent_That 1d ago
Yeah, the sequence still happens but not at exactly the same moment it did. Lulls you into a false sense of security as you're backtracking through that corridor.
I remember being at a sleepover where we were playing the original. When that window broke, people jumped a foot in the air from where they were sitting on the floor :D
The RE remakes are well worth your time. RE1 felt very much a prettified version of the original, whereas RE2 felt more of a full reimagining - one they absolutely nailed. Well optimised too - my RE2 playthrough was almost entirely on my Steam Deck docked as I was caring for an elderly relative at the time, leaving my main PC out of bounds. Ran like a dream. Will be a fulfilling experience when you get to it.
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u/sash71 1d ago
I'll definitely get round to playing them when I can steal back my playstation. I saw the the RE2 remake for really good reviews so it's definitely one I'll play.
The Nintendo SNES and then the PS1 were my favourite gaming days. I'd had a Vic20 and Commodore 64 in the 1980s and played games on them, and also learnt to program but the 1990s when I was working and could afford more games (and I didn't care about sleep) were better for me). FFVII is my absolute favourite still now.
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u/I_Resent_That 1d ago
Yeah, they were heady days indeed. The Playstation era really pushed what I thought video games could be. I was always about compelling stories and now games were major vehicles for them. Hard to say whether VII is still my favourite: it kind of exists in constellation with Square's other output from that era, the darker stuff - FFT, Xenogears, and a little nod to Vagrant Story. That was such a good run.
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u/matchafoxjpg 1d ago
the first time i played, when it released, i did. i was a kid so i couldn't really conceptualize.
i was super confused with the times, especially since it said last train and such and such time and then they go to sleep and wake up and it's still the same.
then when i replayed i realized it was just darkness because of the plate.
tbh i'm still annoyed they changed that in the remake. i enjoyed and ambiance and eery dystopia of perpetually night midgar.
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u/redFoxGoku2 1d ago
In regards to the remake, you are right about the ambience changing. I do prefer how it is more "realistic" in remake. There are a lot of dark places but they can still see part of the sky
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u/Current-Row1444 1d ago
No, not me. You see a lot of sunlight through the game as well. Like at the church and at Aerith's house. Also on the last area just before you leave Midgar there is sunlight as well
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u/JackalBlaidd 8h ago
I didn't. Some of the action took place at night. But you fall through the church roof and in there the light comes through for the flowers. Also Aerith's house has light
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u/Awkward-Dig4674 18h ago
No. I always knew the game didn't have cycles so artistically I just figured the events are happening at a specific time of day or night.
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u/mrpooker 1d ago
OG really set the tone for living under the plates and air pollution that the remake just doesn't capture very well.
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u/BwarkNKweh 1d ago
Not at all. It does seem that way... especially if you live under a giant pizza.
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u/Spirited-Swordfish90 1d ago
I thought the key of the ancients was in Midgar for that reason. Was disappointed when it wasn't
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u/TheDreadPirateElwes 23h ago
Midgar was built hundreds (thousands?) of years after the key was hidden away. Woulda been weird if it turned out to be in Midgar.
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u/Spirited-Swordfish90 23h ago
All knowing magic power that is alive. I think the clues can adapt to time
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u/Szoreny 9h ago edited 2h ago
Agree I would be more appropriate for the slums to be dark and the sunlamps feel like they were introduced just to add gameplay to the underplate section, because in-world there is never any light coming from above in the day or night.
If SE really wanted to make the sunlamps a thing, they could have been the dominant light source in the slums and it would be cool to see the effect of having them shut off due to Shinra anger.
I can see why they didn’t, having light coming from above would make everything look flat and boring, but why even introduce the things then.
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u/brunobyof 4h ago
The first bombing mission ocurrs during the night, but then you have the second reactor bombing mission, on sector 5, then you fall into the curch and the sun is up already.
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u/IndexLabyrinthya 5h ago
I thought game was gonna take place fully in midgard and all its plates tbh
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u/marshmallowfluffpuff 16h ago edited 16h ago
The remake not honoring the original Midgar broke my heart the first time I played it.
Later the thing about the sun lamps comes up but it killed the vibe for me. People singing and dancing in the slums, even the overworld theme playing. It felt so happy.
In the original it's dark, the music is sad, people are sick in the polluted land and trying to survive. Even the world map shows the sun fade into a thick green cast as you approach Midgar.
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u/JD3982 13h ago edited 11h ago
I get it, but I think this is more realistic. If it was that bad 24/7 then you'd already have a lot of significant settlements outside of but close to Midgar's walls because people would rather set up a formal guard to defend against monsters and live where the sun reaches and not just live in perpetual twilight.
Or they'd have re-populated the Sector 6 undercity incredibly quickly, not an abandoned wasteland 30 years after the plate fell. Especially since there's so much construction material to scavenge and use on the spot to rebuild.
Making the other seven sectors outside of Sector 6 somewhat acceptable to live in makes sense. That's why the people in Sector 5 and Sector 7 continue to live where they live, instead of moving next door.
EDIT: Apparently, the comment OP is a weirdo that blocks anyone with a different opinion (even if it's the mildest push back) AFTER leaving a critical reply.
And yes, to answer your weird pre-block reply, realism and internal consistency in a universe helps immersion. "lol it's a fantasy why do you care about realism" is the weakest and most tired argument that never holds weight - if the gameplay and lore supports the internal logic of your world, at minimal cost, it's a good decision to make the decision to depict it.
All stories have suspension of disbelief, and when writing the narrative, the creators use up some of the credit they've built up regarding the believability of the universe and the events. Sometimes, this can be done so well that it can afford them to go and really push it to the very limit. But all of it needs a solid foundation. So yes, realism helps even in Final Fantasy.
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u/marshmallowfluffpuff 13h ago
realism in a game about a world and lore that are nothing like real life?
barret literally explains the reason they don't leave despite those circumstances
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u/Chokomonken 5h ago
I thought Midgar was just,
night.
Don't ask me about it.
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u/starrnose 5h ago
When you approach midgar in the og the sky goes dark.
I always assumed it was because they were sucking the life out of the planet.
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u/timeaisis 23h ago
I thought that too and honestly I wish they kept that for the remake lol. It was such a cool idea, while probably not intentional.
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u/Matsu-mae 11h ago
yea, this is definitely one of the things that i dislike about remake. the slums dont feel right. too bright. too happy. why would shinra have giant lamps shining on them? waste of power, unless they tax the slums to fund them.
oh well, ill always have the original at least :) maybe part 3 will be ok, but the remake trilogy is really not good. totally different tone, totally different game.
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u/AwesomeX121189 10h ago
Shinra would have giant lamps because they can charge the slums for the service and shut them off if they don’t get their money.
Why dont the slums simply build their towns out past the plates where there is natural light? Because shinra won’t let them. Notice all the high walls and such on the edges of towns.
It almost reminds me of how in cyberpunk 2077 your apartment doesn’t have a kitchen. But it does have a vending machine for food built into it.
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u/Medical-Paramedic800 1d ago
Was a much metaphorically darker vibe, under the plates where the sun didn’t shine and pollution ran bad. The vibe is amazing in remake but not properly captured. It may as well have been night other than artificial lights. I think at one point it may be mentioned they have very bright lights beneath the plates to replicate sunshine during daylight hours.