Ep 19: Childhood Favorites - The Lion King & Final Fantasy VII

<p>In this episode of Parallel Fiction, Heather and Jeff breathe life into Childhood Favorites from their own youth.  The stories covered today were very impactful on the duo, and stay with them to this day in their own special way.  Listen as Jeff and Heather discuss how two seemingly different pieces of work fit together through the scope of a pair of maturing adults, and how holding on to some things from their childhoods help them grow into the people they are today.</p><p> </p><p>Jeff starts off the outline portion of the show by presenting the Squaresoft (now Square Enix) mega hit <i>Final Fantasy VII</i>, which was released in the US in 1997.  Jeff compresses a 40+ hour experience into an easily digestible summary, taking us through protagonist Cloud’s struggle to find his place in a work being slowly destroyed by big corporations and genetic anomalies.  Jeff explains how he used to stay up late at night and play through this game, often losing track of time at the sheer mass of this world.  A completely immersive experience, <i>Final Fantasy VII </i>was a powerhouse of a video game in the 90’s and one that Jeff will always remember fondly, especially for a genre defining masterpiece scene.</p><p> </p><p>Did you know?  <i>FFVII was originally developed for the N64, but file storage restrictions made the game impossible to squeeze onto 1 cartridge, hence why the 3 CD game was released for Playstation 1.</i></p><p> </p><p>Heather picks up part two of the presentation portion with her movie pick of the week, Disney’s 1994 masterpiece <i>The Lion King</i>.  Heather explains that even from an early age, she was obsessed with this film in a way that most people can relate to.  Heather’s enthusiasm for this movie shines through her outline, with storybook retellings of key scenes (complete with some fine acting skills).  Heather tries to explain just how much <i>The Lion King</i> means to her, but it is so massively influential that it’s hard to even put into words.  She really does speak of this film with the wo