MIDGAR POST

Everything and anything from the world of Final Fantasy VII

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Stat Change: Farming For Sources

After finishing the game and seeing its ending, you come to wonder, what's left for me to do? But truth be told there are still lots of things to do in the world of FF7; there's beating Emerald and Ruby, Chocobo breeding and racing, mastering materia, maxing your characters' levels, Battle Square Arena, the list goes on.

One of the goals of every hard core RPG enthusiast is to max out their characters' level, and I'm no exception. But the thing that really eluded me after doing so, was that I felt Cloud and company's stats were still too low and weren't enough to make me feel Sephiroth-like.

I'll let you in on one of my secrets. Being the explorer that I am and not really having Internet access back in the day, I chanced upon an easy (or not, depending on your perspective) on how to farm sources! All you need to do is Morph all the enemies (6 in total) located in the Crashed Gelnika dungeon.

Each monster transforms into one of the six sources (Power, Mind, Magic, Speed, Luck, Guard) that can increase your stats exponentially, even up to the 255 maximum limit! Searching through the net, Caves of Narshe has a good explanation of each enemy and their location here.

It was such a joy for me when I got to discover this by chance. Ever since then, and even now, I've been morphing galore to max my characters' stats. Nothing beats feeling powerful in front of your enemies (Battle Arena is a breeze!). Whether that be through Ultimate Weapons, max stats, or even the Ribbon accessory.

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What to do? Have you lost your way? When that happens we each have to take a good look at ourselves.

Bugenhagen

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Accessory: Ribbon

Today, let's take a look at the most commonly used accessory in the game, the Ribbon.

Attribute: Prevents user from all status ailments

The Ribbon has been my best friend over the years. It's considered the ultimate accessory because, let's face it, all status effects won't affect you! We're talking about sleep, poison, fury, sadness, petrify, confusion, silence, hyper, paralyze, darkness, frog, small, and death sentence. You are however, still not safe from slow and instant death, but these can be remedied nonetheless.

You get a first taste of this baby when you go to the Temple of Ancients dungeon near the end of the Disc 1. But along the way, you'd come to wish that you had extra Ribbons so that all your characters are protected!

That's where I discovered by accident that you can. I think it was back in 2001, I was having a morphing spree and then when I got to morph Master Tonberry in the Northern Crater dungeon, it morphed to a Ribbon! I was initially shocked at first, but when I did a second try, it was legit! Farming Ribbons galore it was.

Moving to present day 2013, and just recently completed my 30th run of the game, it still proves to be the most valuable and must-have accessory my characters should be equipped with. At the end of it all, Cloud and company shouldn't go to battle without it. With the Ribbon in hand, you're sure to be protected against the Marlboros and status effects casters out there!

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Vector and Wallpaper By: Milfeulle30

This is currently my Facebook cover photo. Sauced this from Google.

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Character Spotlight: Rufus Shinra

The legitimate son of President Shinra, Rufus was a rich, spoiled kid (and Vice President of Shinra Corp.) who always seemed to get his way with anything and everything. He immediately took over the company after his father was killed by Sephiroth (spoiler alert!) in the earlier part of the game. Rufus wanted to control the world through fear, unlike his father, who believed that money was the way through the hearts of the general populace.

You get the opportunity to face Rufus once in battle. This is right after he declares himself as the new President on top of the Shinra building. Compared to his father, he actually has some battle experience with him, but this wouldn't help as you would easily defeat him. During the battle, he uses a shotgun as his weapon of choice, and is partnered alongside his pet Dark Nation, who casts Barrier or MBarrier respectively.

Aeris mentions during the game, "I've hear that no one's ever seen him bleed or cry." Personality-wise, he is seen as a somewhat serious, cruel, and calculative individual. This can be seen often when he reprimands Heidegger's "Gya Ha Ha Ha" during their short cut scenes Although not very evident, but upon close observation, Rufus is quite close with the Turks as well, especially with Tseng. It would seem that their relationship goes far back than the FFVII timeline.

During the course of the game, Rufus' focus on world domination shifted to chasing after Sephiroth and defeating him - seeing as he's a threat to his "rulership". And although Cloud and company have foiled his plans time and time again, he was able to actually destroy the barrier in the Northern Crater!

Sadly, Rufus wasn't able to accomplish his goal of defeating the One-Winged Angel. We see him one last time on top of the Shinra building's President office when Diamond WEAPON takes a shot at Midgar and Sister Ray and blows off the area where he was. It is presumed that after those events, Rufus is declared dead. Or is it?..

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Ultimate Weapon: Princess Guard

Today, let's take a look at Aeris' Ultimate Weapon, the Princess Guard.

Slot: 7 (3 linked slots, 1 singe slot)

Growth: Normal

Attack: 52

Attack %: 111

To be honest though, I really don't consider this an Ultimate Weapon at all. But due to the fact that this is the last staff you'd get for Aeris before she dies (spoiler alert!), most gamers consider this her best one yet. And for an Ultimate Weapon, it actually has materia growth as compared to the rest.

Another thing unique about the Princess Guard is that it powers up whenever you protect an ally. This means that when Aeris' party mates are dead or in a critical state, her attack power increases! Yes folks, attack power only. Magic not included. Tried and tested. The Final Fantasy Wiki also gives an interesting explanation of the staff here.

I never really got to appreciate and maximize the weapon, given that you only get this at the Temple of the Ancients dungeon and you won't be able to control Aeris after that arc is done. Unless of course you grind to your hearts content before you actually finish the stage.

Overall, controlling and maximizing Aeris to her fullest potential in the game is something some players don't do. I being somewhat of a completionist got her Ultimate Weapon and Limit Break 4, though given the short usage of both, I still had fun! And I encourage everyone to try and get these items too to get the full Aeris experience!

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You can't change anything by just sitting back and looking at it.

Young Cloud

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7 Going On 30

I first played Final Fantasy VII back in 1998. When it comes to repetitiveness, I never really thought of playing the game after all this time since my last run through in 2009 on my PS1. And yet, here I am 15 years later and just recently finished my 30th FFVII NEW GAME.

I had to admit I was a bit rusty. Having played the new generation of JRPGs has really made me dull and uninterested in the genre (I'm talking to you White Knight Chronicles!). I yearned for a challenge, something that would keep me hooked for a long period of time. Then came the opportunity last February when PSN had their Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary sale: 50% off select FF games, and FFVII was one of them! I instantly grabbed it.

I was excited! The thought of playing my favorite FF game of all time was something I looked forward to. I quickly finished up on the remaining games that I was playing during that time (sorry PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale and Guardians of Middle-Earth, you will be missed but it's time for me to go back to FFVII - my first love).

Nostalgic. That was the first word that came to mind when the intro ran: Aeris the flower girl walking along the busy streets of Midgar, the iconic FFVII logo appearing on the screen, and the grand entrance of our hero, Cloud, on top of the train to kick start your mission and the game itself.

I was instantly hooked! Frantically, I searched for my old FFVII notes that were hidden in my closet (yes folks, I seriously took notes while playing, but didn't back when I was still studying haha). The game was on. Breezing through the Mako Reactor stage, I suddenly realized how time flies. Back when I was a kid and playing through this the first time, the game felt slow. But now, I'm guessing because of the knowledge kept in my heart, everything was easier and faster than ever before.

Playing through the game again also made me realize how FFVII was technologically advanced during its time. It was a big leap from the cartridge and 8-bit era and into the 3D and CD-Roms that Sony used, that to some, this revolutionized how JRPGs, and games, would be for the years to come.

During the course of the game, there were some things that I now realize that I didn't back when I was an innocent kid. There was the cross-dressing in Wall Market and the cussing of Barret to name a few. A funny story actually happened too when I was playing, my Nanny suddenly came in my man cave, then she said: "Is that the game you've been playing when you were a kid?". Classic!

Spoiler alert! Halfway through the game, Aeris dies. Sephiroth with his victory pose. Cloud in shock. Sad, sad scene after all these years. And the background music isn't helping either! Truly, this was something myself, and fans alike of the game, still couldn't get over. But hey, she's alive in the Lifestream, right?

Other highlights of my gameplay this time around was my date with Tifa! After all these years, I've never really dated a different character apart from Aeris, and since I was on my 30th NEW GAME I said, what the heck. Getting it on with Tifa was easier and I may attempt to date Yuffie the next time around as a challenge, or God forbid, Barret.

Overall, FFVII still touches my heart, where no other game, JRPG and Final Fantasy series, has ever done. At the moment I'm still grinding and leveling up my characters, materia, and even Vincent's Death Penalty, so I could max myself out and really complete the game. Heck, Emerald and Ruby aren't dead yet.

Hopefully in the future, this blog will encompass experiences, tips, and insights on everything and anything Final Fantasy VII. Knights of the Round!