hahaha, I know right!?
So, when I first got the PS1, my dad didn't realize you also needed the memory card. I had the console and the game. That's it. But I had initially rented Final Fantasy 7 from Hollywood Video (that makes me feel so super old...) so I knew what to expect while trying to get out of Midgar. Everything past that was new.
I decided against doing the side quests like Wutai and getting Vincent because the first time I tried those I died and was SUPER mad. I didn't rush off to the next area until I was confident in my ability to beat the enemies where I already was. On top of that, I sold off restore materia once it got to 3 stars so I could keep buying potions, phoenix downs, and tents, just in case I needed them. (I would always have at least 2 Restore materia with at least cure 3, so I wasn't relying solely on items). I stole like a maniac for ethers around Rocket Town until I literally had 99 of them. I avoided the Weapons (Ruby and Emerald Weapon specifically) like the plague. I also kept all the weapons I found or bought so I could switch. Like, once I was comfortable in an area and knew I could win, I would switch a high powered weapon for something with triple growth to get my materia stupidly powerful before moving on. Then I'd get to the next area, switch out for my high powered weapons with normal growth and go from there.
I had to beg my dad not to turn off the game because I was just barely past disc one and he did. I died a little on the inside that day.
I think it took me 3 times to beat Sephiroth. Like...not counting the ones where I got game overs in-between. I had to fight Sephiroth at the end 3 times to figure out how to beat him.
When I replay FF7 I totally feel like a badass because I'm like, "If I can do this without saving, I got this!" But now I can actually go and do all the side quests.