Fantastic Game, but I've only played it once through because...
... I find it so laborious to make it through the early part of the game. Particularly the prologue stageplay/forest sequence. It just drags a little too much, and by the time I've been able to power-through it, I'm too fatigued and bored to continue.
Anyone else have this problem? I played the game once as a kid, and I adored it, but the few times since then I've tried to replay it, I just can't make myself get past the first disc, because it takes so long to make it through the first few hours.
I think part of it has to do with the fact that a few years back, my copy stopped working due to some light disc-damage, and it would freeze up during the FMV right before the forest scene, so I could only really play through the opening stage-play, and I ended up playing through it about 5 or 6 times and having it freeze, so I got totally jaded and bored of that scene, and the prospect of me replaying it AGAIN (even though I now have a downloaded PS3 digital copy from the PSN that won't freeze) and wasting another 2 hours on it and the forest scene just drives me batty.
Plus, that part of the game does drag a bit. Wheres in VII, the game puts you right into the action and gives you a lot to do while you catch up the the story. Or VIII, where after the short prologue, you are sent on real missions with real dangers and a quicker pace... The opening of this game just feels a bit too slow, and too much time is devoted to establishing every-other-character fully with copious dialog, jokes, etc. It felt like the game should have been quicker here, and the establishment and development of the characters could have been spread out more, rather than crammed into the first two hours.
And FURTHERMORE, this is my signature! SERIOUSLY! Did you think I was still talking about my point?