So I wandered around for an hour, having important diplomats tell me they don’t know who sent these letters and say they have no idea who the missing parents are. That’s all. I also went into the sewers, because it was more run than playing this game, to hunt a monster and find some gear, but that's all.
I thought something was gonna pull me in at the end, but nope. It was just more casual pedophilia. Which is when I put the game down
It’s not the glacial pace of plot with the, “and then" storytelling. It wasn't the trope filled, whimsy devoid of teeth and grit. It’s not the boring, repetitive battle system. It’s the casual pedophilia from every character. Oliver, Shera, and, as the last line of my playthrough will attest, Father Kevin.
Maybe game three doesn’t suck? Maybe game two gets better? I don’t know, and I don’t care. I cannot, nor will I, sit through another line of dialogue where an adult male hits on a teenage girl/boy. I’ve ranted enough about it in the past, so I won’t continue here. Trails in the Sky is a terrible story and game, filled with terrible mechanics and characters, marred with terrible and repetitive tasks. It's a real-world simulator disguised as a video game aimed at perverts.
Now, I’m gonna go play Chrono Cross, assuming I can emulate it properly. I own the game so I feel like it’s legally alright.
Monday, August 31, 2020
Sunday, August 30, 2020
I was wrong.
Nothing happened.
Today, I finished the side quests in Zeiss and climbed the local tower I never bothered to learn the name of, which I should have done earlier. I thought it would be a part of a quest, like the one in Ruan, or more pertinent like they were in game one. All I found was a few pieces of gear. After I maxed out my Orbments, I boarded the ship to Grancel.
I spoke to my party on the ship. Tita, Kloe, and Sieg bonded, which is nice since I like them. Zane told us the rest of the truth between Him, Walter, and Kilika. Walter killed Kilika s dad in a duel. They both agreed, so there’s no revenge quest going on. Shera and Pedo talked about stuff I didn’t care about. I don’t think I’m interested in Shera anymore. I wasn't big on her to begin with, and with her spending so much time with my least favorite character ever, I think I hate her.
When we landed in Grancel, we were informed we would be meeting with a military liaison in a few hours. But since he’s not here yet, we're then told to go find a family at the Royal House. We reached the house and played an impromptu game of hide-n-seek with a girl who didn’t seem to mind her parents were missing. This section took an hour and meant nothing. It was even worse than the mayor thing in Ruan. We then took the girl, Renne, back to the guildhall and met with our liaison, Cid.
He told us that several organizations across the city have received threatening letters from an unknown organization about the upcoming Peace Treaty Signing that I’ve been neglecting to mention. We’re to investigate these letters by talking to people who’ve received them, and I’ll be doing that tomorrow.
Yeah, that’s it. I played as much as I usually do, but that’s all I accomplished. The game loop in SC is terrible. Do a meaningless quest, side quests, and then a secondary plot quest before entering the dungeon. It’s the same game as game one, and I don’t get why people enjoy this series. If something game changing doesn’t happen tomorrow, it’s over.
And I’m already dreaming of another world.
Today, I finished the side quests in Zeiss and climbed the local tower I never bothered to learn the name of, which I should have done earlier. I thought it would be a part of a quest, like the one in Ruan, or more pertinent like they were in game one. All I found was a few pieces of gear. After I maxed out my Orbments, I boarded the ship to Grancel.
I spoke to my party on the ship. Tita, Kloe, and Sieg bonded, which is nice since I like them. Zane told us the rest of the truth between Him, Walter, and Kilika. Walter killed Kilika s dad in a duel. They both agreed, so there’s no revenge quest going on. Shera and Pedo talked about stuff I didn’t care about. I don’t think I’m interested in Shera anymore. I wasn't big on her to begin with, and with her spending so much time with my least favorite character ever, I think I hate her.
When we landed in Grancel, we were informed we would be meeting with a military liaison in a few hours. But since he’s not here yet, we're then told to go find a family at the Royal House. We reached the house and played an impromptu game of hide-n-seek with a girl who didn’t seem to mind her parents were missing. This section took an hour and meant nothing. It was even worse than the mayor thing in Ruan. We then took the girl, Renne, back to the guildhall and met with our liaison, Cid.
He told us that several organizations across the city have received threatening letters from an unknown organization about the upcoming Peace Treaty Signing that I’ve been neglecting to mention. We’re to investigate these letters by talking to people who’ve received them, and I’ll be doing that tomorrow.
Yeah, that’s it. I played as much as I usually do, but that’s all I accomplished. The game loop in SC is terrible. Do a meaningless quest, side quests, and then a secondary plot quest before entering the dungeon. It’s the same game as game one, and I don’t get why people enjoy this series. If something game changing doesn’t happen tomorrow, it’s over.
And I’m already dreaming of another world.
Saturday, August 29, 2020
I think something happened?
I finished up a few of the side quests, which means I brought pedo along to one and, because I’m looking for an excuse to put this down, I brought him with me to the Hot Spring. He was there. No one told him not to enter the baths with 10 and 16-year-old girls, but no one told him no. Estelle threatened to kill him if he did anything, but didn’t disinvite him or make him stand outside. He acted fine, but it was still gross, and I hate it.
Afterwards, the party planted the three sensors at the locations. At the fortress, we spoke to Cassius for 10 minutes, exchanging pleasantries, until he had to talk to General Morgan. The next location was in the caves where we saw Agate and Anelace again. We get the hint Tota has a crush on Agate, and I’m reminded I should have brought him instead of Shera. The third and final place was out in the open in an ancient Stonehenge thing. We return to the Central Factory, where the Russells work, and immediately get earthquaked.
The location is Leiston Fortress. Cassius, “having the danger sense of a fox”, foresaw it and secured everything, meaning there was no damage. Suddenly, some dude shows up and tells us there is a problem in Elmo, where the hot spring baths are. We make a b line there.
When we show up, the proprietor of the baths shows us that the springs are boiling! The technology is fine, and there was no quake here, though, so it must mean there’s something wrong at the source. Into a nearby cave, the party goes. It's a cave filled with ground wells that randomly boil up and, if hit, lowers our HP. Finally, a dungeon with puzzles and a gimmick! It really is an RPG, everyone! Praise Gary Gygax!
Sadly, it's short and trivial, with the sprouts being few in number and only a minor threat. Once we get to the boss room, we see Reno from Final Fantasy VII, but he calls himself Walter, The Direwolf here. He’s legitimately evil, gaining pleasure from the idea of people being crushed or suffering from long term dismemberment. Rather than fight us, however, he sicks his pet worms (and bats) on us, and this battle is somehow kinda rough. The worms have a hit all spell they often use, so while only doing okayish damage, does a lot when hit by four of them in a round. It’s a good thing I brought Kloe. Eventually, the worms die, and Walter punches all of us at once, knocking us out. He’s disappointed we’re weak and mad at his boss for promising him we were a worthy opponent, so he plans to kill us. Estelle promises him her fury for mentioning Joshua, which makes him respect her a bit to kill her in one blow.
But, before that blow comes, a ki blast knocks him off and the “Eastern Giant” goes blow to blow with Reno. It’s Zane, one of my final four party members from game one. They talk as if they know each other, and, in the end, Walter gains the upper hand and takes his Gospel after Zane mentions Kilika. Kilika is the Zeiss Bracer Guild liaison. We’re then teleported back to the guild. The pedo was also there, but whatever...
In the hall, Zane and Kilika tell the party their history; the three of them were trained by Kilika’s father until Walter left and joined Ouroboros. He, and Tita, join the party, and we end Chapter 2: The Raging Lands.
Something is actually happening! Although, does that mean there’s gonna be more exposition? More people to talk probably means more people will talk. These games pride themselves on their massive speech bank so...oh dear. My party is coming together, and the plot might be going places, but is it too little too late? Has the ship sailed? Probably. I actually decided to put it down before going to the last dungeon tonight but opted to man through it to at least end the chapter. Who knows what happens tomorrow?
Afterwards, the party planted the three sensors at the locations. At the fortress, we spoke to Cassius for 10 minutes, exchanging pleasantries, until he had to talk to General Morgan. The next location was in the caves where we saw Agate and Anelace again. We get the hint Tota has a crush on Agate, and I’m reminded I should have brought him instead of Shera. The third and final place was out in the open in an ancient Stonehenge thing. We return to the Central Factory, where the Russells work, and immediately get earthquaked.
The location is Leiston Fortress. Cassius, “having the danger sense of a fox”, foresaw it and secured everything, meaning there was no damage. Suddenly, some dude shows up and tells us there is a problem in Elmo, where the hot spring baths are. We make a b line there.
When we show up, the proprietor of the baths shows us that the springs are boiling! The technology is fine, and there was no quake here, though, so it must mean there’s something wrong at the source. Into a nearby cave, the party goes. It's a cave filled with ground wells that randomly boil up and, if hit, lowers our HP. Finally, a dungeon with puzzles and a gimmick! It really is an RPG, everyone! Praise Gary Gygax!
Sadly, it's short and trivial, with the sprouts being few in number and only a minor threat. Once we get to the boss room, we see Reno from Final Fantasy VII, but he calls himself Walter, The Direwolf here. He’s legitimately evil, gaining pleasure from the idea of people being crushed or suffering from long term dismemberment. Rather than fight us, however, he sicks his pet worms (and bats) on us, and this battle is somehow kinda rough. The worms have a hit all spell they often use, so while only doing okayish damage, does a lot when hit by four of them in a round. It’s a good thing I brought Kloe. Eventually, the worms die, and Walter punches all of us at once, knocking us out. He’s disappointed we’re weak and mad at his boss for promising him we were a worthy opponent, so he plans to kill us. Estelle promises him her fury for mentioning Joshua, which makes him respect her a bit to kill her in one blow.
But, before that blow comes, a ki blast knocks him off and the “Eastern Giant” goes blow to blow with Reno. It’s Zane, one of my final four party members from game one. They talk as if they know each other, and, in the end, Walter gains the upper hand and takes his Gospel after Zane mentions Kilika. Kilika is the Zeiss Bracer Guild liaison. We’re then teleported back to the guild. The pedo was also there, but whatever...
In the hall, Zane and Kilika tell the party their history; the three of them were trained by Kilika’s father until Walter left and joined Ouroboros. He, and Tita, join the party, and we end Chapter 2: The Raging Lands.
Something is actually happening! Although, does that mean there’s gonna be more exposition? More people to talk probably means more people will talk. These games pride themselves on their massive speech bank so...oh dear. My party is coming together, and the plot might be going places, but is it too little too late? Has the ship sailed? Probably. I actually decided to put it down before going to the last dungeon tonight but opted to man through it to at least end the chapter. Who knows what happens tomorrow?
Friday, August 28, 2020
Whimsy and capricious.
But, so far, devoid of depth.
We march on to chapter two, The Raging Land, but first, we have to solve a mystery. But even before that, we see a scene with Bleublanc on the roofs of the dock house as “Lawrence?” shows up, and they talk about stuff. They hear a noise and go to investigate before the drunk Ravens show up, and they disperse. The camera pans to Papa Kevin as he’s hiding behind a box praising Adios, the goddess of this world.
We then return to the party, and I do a few side missions, realize I missed one, and go to say farewell to Nial and Dorothy. She’s asleep, but he’s busy writing away and tells us we’re, finally, not likely to see him for once in the next chapter. On our way out, a man working for one of the mayoral candidates rushes up to us. He needs help figuring out who assaulted a member of his team. The story is, a member, Dias, was knocked unconscious by an unknown assailant. The assailant also might have stolen something, or at least tidied up the place. To find the culprit, we have to talk to everyone in the hotel. All seven of them, or we just talk to fishermen outback a bunch. We then collaborate his story with the questioned parties, and that's it. Seriously, we talk to him four times for three of the keywords. We talk to the concierge once, and only any of the mayor’s team to make sure we know where they were. It’s an almost fun side quest, but it all comes undone at the end. We find out the bad guy is the mayor’s son! But it was an accident, and all he did was open a door too fast and eat a sandwich. This quest took nearly an hour of randomly walking back and forth between people asking and re-asking about the same few keywords. It all seems like a giant waste of time. I think I could have just skipped it, but that’s lazy. For our efforts, we get 5000 Gold (Mira) and continue with our journey.
The party goes to the airship station only to be interrupted by the orphans. They’re upset they didn’t get to say goodbye, so here they are. Kloe’s friends and Dean also show up, and it takes time away from the game for this sappy stuff that wasn't necessary. Most games skip this, or shorten it, for a reason. We then go about talking to our party members on the ship, which amounts to a lot of nothing. We learn a bit more about the circus and transportation in other countries from Shera and that Sieg, Kloe’s bird, is better than an airship. Pedo does nothing.
We land in Zeiss, only for an earthquake to hit at the same time. No damage, but earthquakes are rare, so it’s shocking nonetheless. We make our way to the Bracer Guild and learn what’s next. There was an earthquake a few days ago, as well, and we’re to look into it. First, we go and see Tita and her grandpa. Pedo says how much he wants to hug her, and I'm seriously considering dropping this game...again. Jokes like this aren’t funny. They don’t lead to interesting characters or twists. There is no point in this, and it not only derails the game but makes a bad game. At least Estelle makes mention of his attacks and threatens to call the cops if he touches the 10-year-old girl, but at this point, don’t threaten and do it! Awful, awful, awful!
We have a quick hello to the Russells and have some tea before carrying on with the quests. I finish a few sides, and accidentally spoil a small upcoming part about a man wearing sunglasses, which are cool and rare. We then head to Wolf Fortress and learn about their earthquake three days ago. We talk to a man who mentions the man in sunglasses. As we leave, we’re interrupted by a soldier informing us about a third earthquake at Shankheim gate, and the game teleports us there. Damn good idea, Falcom. We go around and talk to people in the fort until we come to a maid who mentions the sunglassed man. She fell in love instantly with his low-cut, v-neck shirt. Sadly, before she could talk to him, he disappeared. Estelle and Shera are reminded of Lawrence, from game one, and how he can fly.
I return to the guildhall, where Tita shows up and asks is to track the earthquake by placing three sensors across the province. She joins the party so we can finally remove the pedophile from the active team, and I called it a night there.
I’m not having fun. Not just the pedo, but with everything. Too much exposition and world building, and not enough plot and action. While I have the game on easy mode, this is insultingly easy. I’m also dreading what’s coming up. There’s a hot springs village nearby, and we’re probably going there with the 10-year-old girl and 26-year-old sex offender. It’s Friday morning, and I’m giving this game until Sunday night to change my mind. If it doesn’t pick up, I’m dropping it. Assuming I don’t do it sooner...
We march on to chapter two, The Raging Land, but first, we have to solve a mystery. But even before that, we see a scene with Bleublanc on the roofs of the dock house as “Lawrence?” shows up, and they talk about stuff. They hear a noise and go to investigate before the drunk Ravens show up, and they disperse. The camera pans to Papa Kevin as he’s hiding behind a box praising Adios, the goddess of this world.
We then return to the party, and I do a few side missions, realize I missed one, and go to say farewell to Nial and Dorothy. She’s asleep, but he’s busy writing away and tells us we’re, finally, not likely to see him for once in the next chapter. On our way out, a man working for one of the mayoral candidates rushes up to us. He needs help figuring out who assaulted a member of his team. The story is, a member, Dias, was knocked unconscious by an unknown assailant. The assailant also might have stolen something, or at least tidied up the place. To find the culprit, we have to talk to everyone in the hotel. All seven of them, or we just talk to fishermen outback a bunch. We then collaborate his story with the questioned parties, and that's it. Seriously, we talk to him four times for three of the keywords. We talk to the concierge once, and only any of the mayor’s team to make sure we know where they were. It’s an almost fun side quest, but it all comes undone at the end. We find out the bad guy is the mayor’s son! But it was an accident, and all he did was open a door too fast and eat a sandwich. This quest took nearly an hour of randomly walking back and forth between people asking and re-asking about the same few keywords. It all seems like a giant waste of time. I think I could have just skipped it, but that’s lazy. For our efforts, we get 5000 Gold (Mira) and continue with our journey.
The party goes to the airship station only to be interrupted by the orphans. They’re upset they didn’t get to say goodbye, so here they are. Kloe’s friends and Dean also show up, and it takes time away from the game for this sappy stuff that wasn't necessary. Most games skip this, or shorten it, for a reason. We then go about talking to our party members on the ship, which amounts to a lot of nothing. We learn a bit more about the circus and transportation in other countries from Shera and that Sieg, Kloe’s bird, is better than an airship. Pedo does nothing.
We land in Zeiss, only for an earthquake to hit at the same time. No damage, but earthquakes are rare, so it’s shocking nonetheless. We make our way to the Bracer Guild and learn what’s next. There was an earthquake a few days ago, as well, and we’re to look into it. First, we go and see Tita and her grandpa. Pedo says how much he wants to hug her, and I'm seriously considering dropping this game...again. Jokes like this aren’t funny. They don’t lead to interesting characters or twists. There is no point in this, and it not only derails the game but makes a bad game. At least Estelle makes mention of his attacks and threatens to call the cops if he touches the 10-year-old girl, but at this point, don’t threaten and do it! Awful, awful, awful!
We have a quick hello to the Russells and have some tea before carrying on with the quests. I finish a few sides, and accidentally spoil a small upcoming part about a man wearing sunglasses, which are cool and rare. We then head to Wolf Fortress and learn about their earthquake three days ago. We talk to a man who mentions the man in sunglasses. As we leave, we’re interrupted by a soldier informing us about a third earthquake at Shankheim gate, and the game teleports us there. Damn good idea, Falcom. We go around and talk to people in the fort until we come to a maid who mentions the sunglassed man. She fell in love instantly with his low-cut, v-neck shirt. Sadly, before she could talk to him, he disappeared. Estelle and Shera are reminded of Lawrence, from game one, and how he can fly.
I return to the guildhall, where Tita shows up and asks is to track the earthquake by placing three sensors across the province. She joins the party so we can finally remove the pedophile from the active team, and I called it a night there.
I’m not having fun. Not just the pedo, but with everything. Too much exposition and world building, and not enough plot and action. While I have the game on easy mode, this is insultingly easy. I’m also dreading what’s coming up. There’s a hot springs village nearby, and we’re probably going there with the 10-year-old girl and 26-year-old sex offender. It’s Friday morning, and I’m giving this game until Sunday night to change my mind. If it doesn’t pick up, I’m dropping it. Assuming I don’t do it sooner...
Thursday, August 27, 2020
Enter the pedophile.
A teenage girl and a seductive dominatrix walk Papa Kev through a scenic beach...you finish the joke.
Anyway, after Kevin shoots things with his crossbow, doing negligible damage, we reach Ruan, where Shera says how good a shot he was. He humbly accepts the compliment and returns to the church in town. The Bracers follow suit and return to their HQ to fill the receptionist in on the details.
As we walk in, we see Nial and Dorothy, Liberl’s top news team we were always running into in game one. They’re in town trying to get the scoop on the upcoming city/province election. Suddenly, a man rushes into the guildhall and tells everyone that a fight is fixing to break out on the bridge between the two political sides. This game hits real close to home, ya? The news team rushes out first to get the headline (and, somehow, a better view), while the Bracers straggle behind just in case something does happen. The two politicians yell and bicker until the worst character in the franchise shows up and confuses everyone with his worthlessness. Oliver, the true main antagonist from game one, rows a boat up to the bridge and sings everyone a song about love or something. There was no music accompanying, and I couldn’t find the rhythm and just gave up. Dumbfounded, yet calmed, everyone goes their separate ways while, The Bracers, the mainstream media, and the bard return to the guildhall.
Estelle and Shere tell the guild of their findings, and everyone comes up with a plan. All the stories indicate the problem is coming from the nearby high school, The Jenis Royal Academy. Dorothy comes along to take pictures for the news, and, knowing Oliver is gonna force his way into the party anyway, Shera invites the Erebonian along.
Once at the academy, we quickly find Kloe, another character from game one (I need a shorthand version of this sentence) and her pet bird Sieg. There’s also Juli and Hans, who also performed in the play alongside Kloe and the Brights I mentioned in the game one blog. We showed up just in time for exams to end, meaning everyone is free to enjoy come what may. Our party informs the high school kids about the ghost, and everyone volunteers to help. They break into four groups, and Estelle and Kloe ask the students if they’ve found anything.
While asking around, we find Oliver, a 26-year-old man, wishing he could get into the girl's dorms at a high school. There’s another dialogue that reminds me how much he hit on both Joshua and Estelle in game one, both teenagers, as well as why he’s even in Ruan, to begin with. This guy is a pedophile. Oliver shouldn’t be allowed near the party because of his sexual harassment, let alone an entire high school. Shera, no Virgin Mary herself, just invited him along. Does this kingdom not have sex offender laws?
It’s at this point where I feel like dropping the game, but I’ll, foolishly, continue for now despite everything telling me to stop. The short of it is, three people tell us to go to the old school building, and there we go. We solve a simple riddle, which leads us down to a secret basement, and we explore that. In the end, we come to a masked man, who’s just as annoying as Pedophile.
He’s a part of the Ouroboros organization, and his name is Blueblanc, Enforcer X. He’s in possession of a Gospel, a McGuffin of last game, which has the power to astral project himself across space. He can also make flame sconces grow, thus causing shadows to grow. What a lame ability you say, not so! An enlarged shadow is more prone to being struck with a magic knife, which stops our characters from moving. So, he has ninjitsu Shadow Parayalis. Sadly, the character's mouths can still move, so Bleu and Pedo wane philosophical about beauty and other creepy stuff that makes me hate them more. If you’re similar to the enemy, you might be the enemy. We’re saved when Dorothy shows up and takes a picture. She has her flash on, which temporarily removes our shadows and frees us.
Rather than fight us himself, Bleu summons a giant centaur robot to attack us. I’m reminded that I’m playing on easy mode, so we manage to take out his 11000 HP before he takes out 150 of ours. We do away with his adds, and Shadow Thief B gets away.
We all return to the guild to turn in our report. Guild business happens, and all four people decide to carry on together to the next adventure. But that adventure will have to wait until tomorrow.
So, I’ll start with the good things. I like Kloe. Not only does she start as a white mage-esq build, but she has an interesting arc. She’s not actually named Kloe but is Klaudia van Aulesse, the de-facto hair to the Liberl Kingdom. She’s the only grandchild/descendent of the current queen, Alicia. She’s a kind, but just girl who’s unsure of her place in the world. She’s not even sure if she wants, or deserves the crown.
There was character growth today. Estelle saw the ghost, and it scared her so much sue fainted. When she woke up, she was furious and just wanted to,= “polish her staff on the ghost”. I don’t know what that means, but it sounds fun. I know it’s not much, but I’m easy to please right now.
And the negatives, Oliver is a pedophile. He’s a sexual deviant, and I hate it. Even without his illegal lusts, he exemplifies my least favorite trope in any form of entertainment. The overconfident, shameless troubadour, who is only here for comic relief is awful. It's not funny. It's doesn't help the plot. It's not relatable. Maybe there’s something cool about him we’ll learn later, but his creepiness has ruined him already. I don't care about getting to that later. There’s no reason to hit on teenagers. There’s no reason to want to sneak into the girl's dorms at a high school. You’re 26, bud, go die.
My rope here is getting flayed, and it’s running out of time. I don’t see the hype, and I’m only barely enjoying my time. I'm sure it gets, undoubtedly interesting eventually, but will I get there? Will I be able to suffer through the entire backstory of no named NPCs? I kinda want to skip and go to the next game, which you better believe I know is great. But, if I do, will be able to listen to mu podcasts?
Oh, and also, the Aurelian Causeway music is really, really amazing. The beach stuff is okay-ish in comparison.
Anyway, after Kevin shoots things with his crossbow, doing negligible damage, we reach Ruan, where Shera says how good a shot he was. He humbly accepts the compliment and returns to the church in town. The Bracers follow suit and return to their HQ to fill the receptionist in on the details.
As we walk in, we see Nial and Dorothy, Liberl’s top news team we were always running into in game one. They’re in town trying to get the scoop on the upcoming city/province election. Suddenly, a man rushes into the guildhall and tells everyone that a fight is fixing to break out on the bridge between the two political sides. This game hits real close to home, ya? The news team rushes out first to get the headline (and, somehow, a better view), while the Bracers straggle behind just in case something does happen. The two politicians yell and bicker until the worst character in the franchise shows up and confuses everyone with his worthlessness. Oliver, the true main antagonist from game one, rows a boat up to the bridge and sings everyone a song about love or something. There was no music accompanying, and I couldn’t find the rhythm and just gave up. Dumbfounded, yet calmed, everyone goes their separate ways while, The Bracers, the mainstream media, and the bard return to the guildhall.
Estelle and Shere tell the guild of their findings, and everyone comes up with a plan. All the stories indicate the problem is coming from the nearby high school, The Jenis Royal Academy. Dorothy comes along to take pictures for the news, and, knowing Oliver is gonna force his way into the party anyway, Shera invites the Erebonian along.
Once at the academy, we quickly find Kloe, another character from game one (I need a shorthand version of this sentence) and her pet bird Sieg. There’s also Juli and Hans, who also performed in the play alongside Kloe and the Brights I mentioned in the game one blog. We showed up just in time for exams to end, meaning everyone is free to enjoy come what may. Our party informs the high school kids about the ghost, and everyone volunteers to help. They break into four groups, and Estelle and Kloe ask the students if they’ve found anything.
While asking around, we find Oliver, a 26-year-old man, wishing he could get into the girl's dorms at a high school. There’s another dialogue that reminds me how much he hit on both Joshua and Estelle in game one, both teenagers, as well as why he’s even in Ruan, to begin with. This guy is a pedophile. Oliver shouldn’t be allowed near the party because of his sexual harassment, let alone an entire high school. Shera, no Virgin Mary herself, just invited him along. Does this kingdom not have sex offender laws?
It’s at this point where I feel like dropping the game, but I’ll, foolishly, continue for now despite everything telling me to stop. The short of it is, three people tell us to go to the old school building, and there we go. We solve a simple riddle, which leads us down to a secret basement, and we explore that. In the end, we come to a masked man, who’s just as annoying as Pedophile.
He’s a part of the Ouroboros organization, and his name is Blueblanc, Enforcer X. He’s in possession of a Gospel, a McGuffin of last game, which has the power to astral project himself across space. He can also make flame sconces grow, thus causing shadows to grow. What a lame ability you say, not so! An enlarged shadow is more prone to being struck with a magic knife, which stops our characters from moving. So, he has ninjitsu Shadow Parayalis. Sadly, the character's mouths can still move, so Bleu and Pedo wane philosophical about beauty and other creepy stuff that makes me hate them more. If you’re similar to the enemy, you might be the enemy. We’re saved when Dorothy shows up and takes a picture. She has her flash on, which temporarily removes our shadows and frees us.
Rather than fight us himself, Bleu summons a giant centaur robot to attack us. I’m reminded that I’m playing on easy mode, so we manage to take out his 11000 HP before he takes out 150 of ours. We do away with his adds, and Shadow Thief B gets away.
We all return to the guild to turn in our report. Guild business happens, and all four people decide to carry on together to the next adventure. But that adventure will have to wait until tomorrow.
So, I’ll start with the good things. I like Kloe. Not only does she start as a white mage-esq build, but she has an interesting arc. She’s not actually named Kloe but is Klaudia van Aulesse, the de-facto hair to the Liberl Kingdom. She’s the only grandchild/descendent of the current queen, Alicia. She’s a kind, but just girl who’s unsure of her place in the world. She’s not even sure if she wants, or deserves the crown.
There was character growth today. Estelle saw the ghost, and it scared her so much sue fainted. When she woke up, she was furious and just wanted to,= “polish her staff on the ghost”. I don’t know what that means, but it sounds fun. I know it’s not much, but I’m easy to please right now.
And the negatives, Oliver is a pedophile. He’s a sexual deviant, and I hate it. Even without his illegal lusts, he exemplifies my least favorite trope in any form of entertainment. The overconfident, shameless troubadour, who is only here for comic relief is awful. It's not funny. It's doesn't help the plot. It's not relatable. Maybe there’s something cool about him we’ll learn later, but his creepiness has ruined him already. I don't care about getting to that later. There’s no reason to hit on teenagers. There’s no reason to want to sneak into the girl's dorms at a high school. You’re 26, bud, go die.
My rope here is getting flayed, and it’s running out of time. I don’t see the hype, and I’m only barely enjoying my time. I'm sure it gets, undoubtedly interesting eventually, but will I get there? Will I be able to suffer through the entire backstory of no named NPCs? I kinda want to skip and go to the next game, which you better believe I know is great. But, if I do, will be able to listen to mu podcasts?
Oh, and also, the Aurelian Causeway music is really, really amazing. The beach stuff is okay-ish in comparison.
Wednesday, August 26, 2020
So, yeah, it’s the exact same game.
The first thing we see is the final dungeon of game one. But why is Kevin here? He’s being led to the final boss fight by Julia, a high ranking military member from the first game. There he says some stuff that’s probably foreshadowing about a litany of proper nouns. It all goes over my head for now.
So we jump back to Estelle and Anelace as they return to Grancel, the Liberl Capital City. They head to the Bracer Guild, where they’re paid for training and learn of their next mission. Shera and Agate walk into the room and tell them the four of them are going to investigate Ouroboros. They will split into two groups, each going to a different part of the country. While there’s unlikely to any overt signs of the secret group, they’re to inspect anything even remotely suspicious. We get to pick who Estelle travels with, and I choose Agate. I regret this as I learn he’s going to Ruan, his home, while Shera is going to Rolent, the home of both Shera and Estelle. So I reset the game and pick Shera only to learn the plot forces us to Ruan. While I wish I would’ve gone back to Agate, I decided I’m going to stay as is to punish the game (somehow) for questionable railroading. Before Agate and Anelace leave, there’s a scene where Anelace wants to take her and Estelle’s relationship further. This makes everyone excited/embarrassed until she states she wants to be rivals. Lesbian jokes!
While Estelle is on the airship to Ruan, she meets people who she saved during act two of game one. They act like it’s been forever since they last met, but it’s only been a month. Due to lockdown, I haven't seen my friends in four months, so this means nothing to me.
The same happens in Ruan. Before the shortly awaited reunions, The Bracers learn that a mysterious ghost has been sighted, and they’re to get to the bottom of it. The guild suspects it is a harmless story but, the fact that there were three separate calls, from three types of people, across three regions proves something is strange. We go to each of the three people and get their story, as well as do minor guild missions along the way. I start by killing two sub bosses, collect ingredients, and take a picture.
The first person we're forced to talk to (before even leaving the city to side quest) is a dockhand. Belden says it appeared above the docks at 2 AM and scared him away from the Ravens, the gang who inhabit the warehouses, who we had issues with in this city during game one. After his ordeal, the ghost went to the northeast.
The second person was a soldier/guard along the south gate. We take notice of how scared Estelle as she even refuses to say the ghost is a ghost and just calls it by various other pronouns. Talking to the guard, he says he shot the ghost, and the bullet did nothing. It then left traveling to the north.
The third is an orphan girl who we met in game one. Before talking to her, we stop by the orphanage, and we drink some tea made by the Matron and catch-up. Estelle cries over Joshua again, and then we head to the village of Manoria, where the kids are. It’s Sunday, apparently, and this kingdom is very religious. We see Kevin, from the prologue, not as he's teaching Sunday School to the kids, but telling them a story called the Doll Knight. We get there at the end, so miss the whole story. All 22 chapters of it...
We return to the orphanage and have a nice reunion with the kids in their rebuilt home. Polly, with a few accomplices, tell us the ghost was a nice and courteous man in a mask. As it is getting late, Estelle and Shera offer to escort Father Kevin back to the city, and I called it a night there.
Does it feel like I did very little? I feel like I did very little. However, this took four hours to play through because of all the talking. It’s the start of a JRPG, so this should be expected, and I’ll keep on keeping on. Not much action yet, no plot advancement, but it’s just six hours. When the game gets dark, it’s gonna get reaL dark, ain’t it? At the very least, I’m enjoying not writing for an hour the last few nights. Right now, I feel like it’s the exact same game as the first one. Am I gonna tour the country doing subplot after subplot again?
So we jump back to Estelle and Anelace as they return to Grancel, the Liberl Capital City. They head to the Bracer Guild, where they’re paid for training and learn of their next mission. Shera and Agate walk into the room and tell them the four of them are going to investigate Ouroboros. They will split into two groups, each going to a different part of the country. While there’s unlikely to any overt signs of the secret group, they’re to inspect anything even remotely suspicious. We get to pick who Estelle travels with, and I choose Agate. I regret this as I learn he’s going to Ruan, his home, while Shera is going to Rolent, the home of both Shera and Estelle. So I reset the game and pick Shera only to learn the plot forces us to Ruan. While I wish I would’ve gone back to Agate, I decided I’m going to stay as is to punish the game (somehow) for questionable railroading. Before Agate and Anelace leave, there’s a scene where Anelace wants to take her and Estelle’s relationship further. This makes everyone excited/embarrassed until she states she wants to be rivals. Lesbian jokes!
While Estelle is on the airship to Ruan, she meets people who she saved during act two of game one. They act like it’s been forever since they last met, but it’s only been a month. Due to lockdown, I haven't seen my friends in four months, so this means nothing to me.
The same happens in Ruan. Before the shortly awaited reunions, The Bracers learn that a mysterious ghost has been sighted, and they’re to get to the bottom of it. The guild suspects it is a harmless story but, the fact that there were three separate calls, from three types of people, across three regions proves something is strange. We go to each of the three people and get their story, as well as do minor guild missions along the way. I start by killing two sub bosses, collect ingredients, and take a picture.
The first person we're forced to talk to (before even leaving the city to side quest) is a dockhand. Belden says it appeared above the docks at 2 AM and scared him away from the Ravens, the gang who inhabit the warehouses, who we had issues with in this city during game one. After his ordeal, the ghost went to the northeast.
The second person was a soldier/guard along the south gate. We take notice of how scared Estelle as she even refuses to say the ghost is a ghost and just calls it by various other pronouns. Talking to the guard, he says he shot the ghost, and the bullet did nothing. It then left traveling to the north.
The third is an orphan girl who we met in game one. Before talking to her, we stop by the orphanage, and we drink some tea made by the Matron and catch-up. Estelle cries over Joshua again, and then we head to the village of Manoria, where the kids are. It’s Sunday, apparently, and this kingdom is very religious. We see Kevin, from the prologue, not as he's teaching Sunday School to the kids, but telling them a story called the Doll Knight. We get there at the end, so miss the whole story. All 22 chapters of it...
We return to the orphanage and have a nice reunion with the kids in their rebuilt home. Polly, with a few accomplices, tell us the ghost was a nice and courteous man in a mask. As it is getting late, Estelle and Shera offer to escort Father Kevin back to the city, and I called it a night there.
Does it feel like I did very little? I feel like I did very little. However, this took four hours to play through because of all the talking. It’s the start of a JRPG, so this should be expected, and I’ll keep on keeping on. Not much action yet, no plot advancement, but it’s just six hours. When the game gets dark, it’s gonna get reaL dark, ain’t it? At the very least, I’m enjoying not writing for an hour the last few nights. Right now, I feel like it’s the exact same game as the first one. Am I gonna tour the country doing subplot after subplot again?
Tuesday, August 25, 2020
Trails in the Sky: Second Chapter...prologue...blog post one...
Welcome back to the Kingdom of Liberl. Darkness looms ahead for our great nation and wonderful people! The only thing that might save us are teenagers who are highly trained mercenary soldiers. Child soldiers will always save us!
SC starts the morning after game one ends, with Estelle waking up in her adopted brother/boyfriend's bed. She wakes up confused and rushes out of the room to be greeted by her mentor, Schera(zade), who teases her about sleeping with her brother/boyfriend, Joshua. Estelle then realizes Joshua is missing and runs to tell her dad, Cassius. He informs her of what happened; how Joshua left the family to rejoin his evil cult, Oroborus, and about how the two met one night. Five years ago, the greatest Bracer in the world was nearly felled by a child before being invited to join the Bright family and live a normal life. Estelle refuses to acknowledge any of that and rushes off to find her brofriend back at home.
She takes an airship home and meets a creepy priest, who ends up not being that creepy after all, named Kevin. Being the kind, wandering priest he is, Kevin gives her a shoulder to cry on, and oh boy, does she cry. They both admit it’s embarrassing for a trained child soldier to cry like a baby, but they bond over it, and he escorts her home, sensing something is amiss.
When they get to the Bright house, Joshua isn’t there. He’s not even doing anything with her underwear (I didn’t get it either). The two adults mentioned paragraph two appear, and everything ends on a somber note as the opening theme plays because this is a slice of life anime.
We skip ahead two months and see Estelle and Anelace, a minor character from game one, fighting in a way we can’t actually do in official battles. The prologue chapter is a training exercise for new Bracers, mercenaries, and teaches you proper field etiquette. I kinda wish there were more than two people, but I think there are enough characters to remember as is, so I’ll take it. We then tutorialize game mechanics and learn why all the orbal arts, magic, I collected last game are now useless. It’s still kinda the same, but with more potential. Everything else is exactly the same: battle system, food, character equipment, and craft techniques. I kinda like that everything is the same. I didn’t like how much Xenosaga changed over the saga and felt that they were changing for the sake of change. It's like Trails planned to be consistent, at least, over two games. I'm a bit annoyed I don't have a headstart from game one, but characters do start at the same level I was when I ended game one, so maybe that's it. I should test it out tomorrow and start a new game just too see.
Tutorial dungeon part one (re)introduces the battle system, and that dungeons have puzzles, chests, bosses, and plot twists. We then return to the house where, that night, it gets raided by an opposing mercenary band named The Jaegars. They wound the man in charge, Kurt, beat-up the girls, kidnap the cook, and leave the girls at a nice campsite nearby. They’re fine, but their equipment is missing. They still have all their items and non-equipped equipment. The Jaegers are terrible kidnappers. The girls fight through a forest, find their stuff scattered about, and get back to the house. Are you sensing something is fishy, yet? They investigate the area and come to some conclusion, which means nothing as the mechanic man shows up and tells them The Jaegars are probably at the nearby fortress. Estelle and Anelace head there to solve moving wall puzzles and fight the big boss at the end. After an easy fight, he reveals himself to be Kurt! It was all a ruse to see how much our young Bracers have grown in the last month of training. The two Jaegers who raided the house the night before reveal themselves as two other minor Bracers from game one. I don't know about you, but I could smell the fish from a mile away!
The next scene takes us to a band of clearly bad men planning their clearly bad plan. We learn somethings about why they staged the coup in the first game, and get an idea of what’s going to happen in the coming two games. Everyone has some mysterious edgy name, and there’s a reference to “he” at one point.
Another scene change, and it’s the sky pirates/mid bosses from the previous game looking over a burned down town. They met up, walk down a path, and talk to...Joshua. They have some dealings of unknown business, and Joshua tells the pirates, Josette, Kyle, and Don Capua that he’s changed. We’re then asked to save the game as we’ve reached the end of the prologue.
So far, the game feels exactly like the first game, with all of its pros and cons. There’s a lot of discussion between events and dialogue between not important NPCs, which, as this is a two disk game, is worrisome. I know the characters are teenage girls, but they’re still trained mercenaries in a life or death situation. Stop being so catty! All the tropes are here (Anelace loves cute things and Estelle is lacking in common sense), but we’re only three hours in, and I have no reason to be obnoxious about things yet. Have some patience, me, and trust the process. I’m looking forward to a massive amount of world building and character in this game, and I’m gonna try to be hopeful that it doesn’t interrupt the gameplay as much. Let’s get to the meat tomorrow!
SC starts the morning after game one ends, with Estelle waking up in her adopted brother/boyfriend's bed. She wakes up confused and rushes out of the room to be greeted by her mentor, Schera(zade), who teases her about sleeping with her brother/boyfriend, Joshua. Estelle then realizes Joshua is missing and runs to tell her dad, Cassius. He informs her of what happened; how Joshua left the family to rejoin his evil cult, Oroborus, and about how the two met one night. Five years ago, the greatest Bracer in the world was nearly felled by a child before being invited to join the Bright family and live a normal life. Estelle refuses to acknowledge any of that and rushes off to find her brofriend back at home.
She takes an airship home and meets a creepy priest, who ends up not being that creepy after all, named Kevin. Being the kind, wandering priest he is, Kevin gives her a shoulder to cry on, and oh boy, does she cry. They both admit it’s embarrassing for a trained child soldier to cry like a baby, but they bond over it, and he escorts her home, sensing something is amiss.
When they get to the Bright house, Joshua isn’t there. He’s not even doing anything with her underwear (I didn’t get it either). The two adults mentioned paragraph two appear, and everything ends on a somber note as the opening theme plays because this is a slice of life anime.
We skip ahead two months and see Estelle and Anelace, a minor character from game one, fighting in a way we can’t actually do in official battles. The prologue chapter is a training exercise for new Bracers, mercenaries, and teaches you proper field etiquette. I kinda wish there were more than two people, but I think there are enough characters to remember as is, so I’ll take it. We then tutorialize game mechanics and learn why all the orbal arts, magic, I collected last game are now useless. It’s still kinda the same, but with more potential. Everything else is exactly the same: battle system, food, character equipment, and craft techniques. I kinda like that everything is the same. I didn’t like how much Xenosaga changed over the saga and felt that they were changing for the sake of change. It's like Trails planned to be consistent, at least, over two games. I'm a bit annoyed I don't have a headstart from game one, but characters do start at the same level I was when I ended game one, so maybe that's it. I should test it out tomorrow and start a new game just too see.
Tutorial dungeon part one (re)introduces the battle system, and that dungeons have puzzles, chests, bosses, and plot twists. We then return to the house where, that night, it gets raided by an opposing mercenary band named The Jaegars. They wound the man in charge, Kurt, beat-up the girls, kidnap the cook, and leave the girls at a nice campsite nearby. They’re fine, but their equipment is missing. They still have all their items and non-equipped equipment. The Jaegers are terrible kidnappers. The girls fight through a forest, find their stuff scattered about, and get back to the house. Are you sensing something is fishy, yet? They investigate the area and come to some conclusion, which means nothing as the mechanic man shows up and tells them The Jaegars are probably at the nearby fortress. Estelle and Anelace head there to solve moving wall puzzles and fight the big boss at the end. After an easy fight, he reveals himself to be Kurt! It was all a ruse to see how much our young Bracers have grown in the last month of training. The two Jaegers who raided the house the night before reveal themselves as two other minor Bracers from game one. I don't know about you, but I could smell the fish from a mile away!
The next scene takes us to a band of clearly bad men planning their clearly bad plan. We learn somethings about why they staged the coup in the first game, and get an idea of what’s going to happen in the coming two games. Everyone has some mysterious edgy name, and there’s a reference to “he” at one point.
Another scene change, and it’s the sky pirates/mid bosses from the previous game looking over a burned down town. They met up, walk down a path, and talk to...Joshua. They have some dealings of unknown business, and Joshua tells the pirates, Josette, Kyle, and Don Capua that he’s changed. We’re then asked to save the game as we’ve reached the end of the prologue.
So far, the game feels exactly like the first game, with all of its pros and cons. There’s a lot of discussion between events and dialogue between not important NPCs, which, as this is a two disk game, is worrisome. I know the characters are teenage girls, but they’re still trained mercenaries in a life or death situation. Stop being so catty! All the tropes are here (Anelace loves cute things and Estelle is lacking in common sense), but we’re only three hours in, and I have no reason to be obnoxious about things yet. Have some patience, me, and trust the process. I’m looking forward to a massive amount of world building and character in this game, and I’m gonna try to be hopeful that it doesn’t interrupt the gameplay as much. Let’s get to the meat tomorrow!
Monday, August 24, 2020
Whoops pt. 1
So I hae planned to talk about WWE Summerslam tonight, but I forgot what time it started so I just kinda...didn’t. I thought about watching one of the Timeline episodes the Network released; but thanks to an invading cicada that disrupted my night, I didn’t. Rather than feign or rehash, I’ll say I hope you enjoyed your day, no class. Good night. Get hyped for tomorrow!
Sunday, August 23, 2020
Onward, ever onward.
To the Skies, to the Trails in the Sky. To a legend of heroes who are barely old enough to drive, but can fight in an international, cult, war...thing.
Let me put it in a way that isn’t stupid. On Monday, I’m gonna start playing Legend of Heroes: Trails on the Sky SC. I played the first one a few years back after Reddit/JRPG kept proclaiming how amazing the series is. I replayed it again a few months ago, on a whim, because I had no memory of it. I thought it was an alright game. Nothing groundbreaking or terrible. I didn’t buy the hype, but I’m carrying on with the saga, so I guess that means something.
If a slice of life anime could be made into a game, it would be Trails in the Sky (TinS). It’s a trope-filled romp around a small country, rich in history and world building. So, so much world building. Probably too much world building. While I can’t find anything disastrous with the game, my biggest gripe is how much dialogue there is. Every random NPC talks your ears off, and it just drags the game. Not only that, but the characters talk so much between battles that it ruins the action. It’s a long exposition before we go to the dungeon. More talking when we get there. Long speeches before the boss. More afterward, as we leave, and when we get back to town. So much plodding in the plot.
As for the plot, there’s no real threat or gravitas until the very end. It's all just whimsey adventure. It’s about two, by adoption, siblings as they quest around the Liberl Kingdom to begin their role as Bracers, or mercenaries. Their dad is the greatest Bracer to ever brace, so to fill his shoes, they travel, introduce themselves, and accidentally get swept up in chaos. Not only monster slaying, but in sky pirates, corrupt mayors, and espionage. Just for fun, they join.a gender-bending school play in chapter four. They also get caught in an ancient civilization revival brought on by an assassin guild to start a World War. Some teenage couples get pregnant. Estelle and Joshua save the world.
The graphics are cute; modern day sprites. I wish the main characters had a bit more contrast to everyone around them since I often can’t tell the difference between them and a random NPC. It’s a very bright and colorful world, and it all just kinda blends together. It’s stuff that will age well and looks good.
The music is, likewise, colorful and cheery. It’s all so peppy and upbeat that I kinda hate it. It’s not bad, but I’m secretly an edgelord, and I refuse to enjoy any of it. If you’re feeling down, find some playlists, and it’ll kick you up.
The battle system is...interesting. It’s a mix between Final Fantasy Tactics with FFVII’s materia system. You put magic rocks into a medallion, and they allow you to cast magic. A proper combination lets you cast an ever expanding repertoire of more powerful and interesting spells. There are also fun special attacks and techs unique to each character. I have problems with it being repetitive and exploitable, but I’ve played worse and it’s only game one. The battle sequences are a grid like floor where you move your characters as far as needed to reach or position yourself, similar to a TRPG. There are not height positions, it's all just flat, so it's not like a good TRPG.
So I just spend 30 minutes saying how I didn’t enjoy the game so, why am I playing the sequel? I like grand epics: operas, books, concept albums, video games. The idea of a grand story is why I played the Xenosaga games. It’s why I cling to grand franchises like Final Fantasy and Star Ocean. I think most people are actually. Brand loyalty, sports teams, the Marvel Universe, even politics are all multipart, grand journeys. While Trails in the Sky got good at the end, the ending made me curious. What's the deal with Orobolus? Estelle and Joshua’s relationship? The ancient civilization and the pending war? It’s part one of a three part journey. It wasn’t supposed to change the world, only introduce you to it, and make you ask questions. And it’s worked its magic on me. I don’t know if I’ll hang out ‘til game three, but I’m looking forward to this. Don’t fail me r/jrpg.
Let me put it in a way that isn’t stupid. On Monday, I’m gonna start playing Legend of Heroes: Trails on the Sky SC. I played the first one a few years back after Reddit/JRPG kept proclaiming how amazing the series is. I replayed it again a few months ago, on a whim, because I had no memory of it. I thought it was an alright game. Nothing groundbreaking or terrible. I didn’t buy the hype, but I’m carrying on with the saga, so I guess that means something.
If a slice of life anime could be made into a game, it would be Trails in the Sky (TinS). It’s a trope-filled romp around a small country, rich in history and world building. So, so much world building. Probably too much world building. While I can’t find anything disastrous with the game, my biggest gripe is how much dialogue there is. Every random NPC talks your ears off, and it just drags the game. Not only that, but the characters talk so much between battles that it ruins the action. It’s a long exposition before we go to the dungeon. More talking when we get there. Long speeches before the boss. More afterward, as we leave, and when we get back to town. So much plodding in the plot.
As for the plot, there’s no real threat or gravitas until the very end. It's all just whimsey adventure. It’s about two, by adoption, siblings as they quest around the Liberl Kingdom to begin their role as Bracers, or mercenaries. Their dad is the greatest Bracer to ever brace, so to fill his shoes, they travel, introduce themselves, and accidentally get swept up in chaos. Not only monster slaying, but in sky pirates, corrupt mayors, and espionage. Just for fun, they join.a gender-bending school play in chapter four. They also get caught in an ancient civilization revival brought on by an assassin guild to start a World War. Some teenage couples get pregnant. Estelle and Joshua save the world.
The graphics are cute; modern day sprites. I wish the main characters had a bit more contrast to everyone around them since I often can’t tell the difference between them and a random NPC. It’s a very bright and colorful world, and it all just kinda blends together. It’s stuff that will age well and looks good.
The music is, likewise, colorful and cheery. It’s all so peppy and upbeat that I kinda hate it. It’s not bad, but I’m secretly an edgelord, and I refuse to enjoy any of it. If you’re feeling down, find some playlists, and it’ll kick you up.
The battle system is...interesting. It’s a mix between Final Fantasy Tactics with FFVII’s materia system. You put magic rocks into a medallion, and they allow you to cast magic. A proper combination lets you cast an ever expanding repertoire of more powerful and interesting spells. There are also fun special attacks and techs unique to each character. I have problems with it being repetitive and exploitable, but I’ve played worse and it’s only game one. The battle sequences are a grid like floor where you move your characters as far as needed to reach or position yourself, similar to a TRPG. There are not height positions, it's all just flat, so it's not like a good TRPG.
So I just spend 30 minutes saying how I didn’t enjoy the game so, why am I playing the sequel? I like grand epics: operas, books, concept albums, video games. The idea of a grand story is why I played the Xenosaga games. It’s why I cling to grand franchises like Final Fantasy and Star Ocean. I think most people are actually. Brand loyalty, sports teams, the Marvel Universe, even politics are all multipart, grand journeys. While Trails in the Sky got good at the end, the ending made me curious. What's the deal with Orobolus? Estelle and Joshua’s relationship? The ancient civilization and the pending war? It’s part one of a three part journey. It wasn’t supposed to change the world, only introduce you to it, and make you ask questions. And it’s worked its magic on me. I don’t know if I’ll hang out ‘til game three, but I’m looking forward to this. Don’t fail me r/jrpg.
Saturday, August 22, 2020
Off day: Number One
I did nothing; played some baseball, watched some wrestling, goofed around in CKII. I thought about pretending to make myself look productive by feigning a philosophical inquiry on something, talking about something borderline nonsensical, or just taking a day off. However, since I want to update this daily, I came up with the idea to repost some 'deep' stuff I’ve posted elsewhere. So here is a...thing...to my beloved Lucy.
I've been in an...unfortunate mood for the last few days, and, for whatever reason, decided to think about all the opportunities where Lucy could have left my life. That I could remember (so not counting all the innumerable times when infants destroy things);
There was the time when I was ~3, and I burned her with a blow dryer that left a scar. What if my mom/grandma (it was one of them) decided not to try to sew it up (or whatever it was she did).
In kindergarten, we went to visit my great-grantparents in Ohio, and I forgot her there. What if my grandparents didn't think anything of her (and the other seven I left because kindergartners can't be trusted)? What if my parents never made the call to ask them to mail them back?
I had lice in third grade, so we had to put her and all my other stuffed animals in a bag to kill the pests. At some point that year, Central School had a "Dog Days" thing where they encouraged us to bring in canine paraphernalia. Some people whore shirts with dogs on them, but I got Lucy out of the bag and brought her to learn with me. What if the school never had that, as far as I can remember, random celebration? What if I didn't feel like celebrating? What if I forgot about her?
In fourth grade, she fell into my trash can and went missing for a week. What if I didn't think, "Maybe she's in my trash, and I should look"? And, yes, my mom cleaned her, so all that came from it was Lulu getting a mild case of claustrophobia.
In high school...I was a high school dude still sleeping with stuffed animals. What if I finally decided that I was too old? What if my friends acted like they always did and made fun of me? What if I caved to peer pressure?
In college, I was a college dude still sleeping with stuffed animals.
What if I didn't bring her to Utah with me? I'm sure all of my roommates thought it was perfectly normal of this Heroin Jesus looking dude to sleep with two to six stuffed animals. What if one was a terrible person? What if one pulled a prank that went horribly awry?
If I left her in Ottawa, would she still be here? Would my mom have made the "too old for stuffed animals" decision for me? Would I even care or remember when I came back?
What if I were a normal, sane person who didn't rely on a stuffed dalmatian to supply all of my mental health needs? If I were a normal, sane person and followed the course of human procreation, would I have given Lucy to protect my child? The answer is yes, of course, but how would I react when I had to relive all of these events through the eyes of a parent? Although, if I were a normal, sane person, would I have the deep connection I claim to have with Lucy?
I started to seek comfort in Lucy shortly after High School, the time when my depression became unbearable. She was the only thing around and could help get through the abyss. I've never felt close to my family, and my friends were busy with their own lives. Meanwhile, I was unable to start a life. Anxiety, depression, a bad job market bought by the 2009 recession, and being in the middle of nowhere made it hard to find employment. And even then, there's more to life than money and work. Would I have been happy with a minimum wage gig? Doubtful. So Lulu was the only one to help me live. It was mostly just me wrapping my arms around her just to feel something. When kids are scared and alone, they go to their teddy bear. When adults are scared and alone, they go to their dalmatian, I guess.
After my second suicide attempt in 2012, I got closer and dove into the crazy. I started talking about Lucy more in public and acting like she was a real person. A part of me hopes I continue to embrace the crazy and go wherever it takes me.
Which leads me to wonder, would I even be around without her? Would I be dead? How the hell would I have managed through this apocalypse without her? I'm just as alone now as I was a decade ago, but I'm significantly less likely to jump off a bridge now. Life isn't perfect, and we need to find whatever light in the darkness we can. For me, that gloriously incandescent light is Lucy.
I could go on with a love letter to a stuffed animal, but it's 7AM, which is past my bedtime. So goodnight.
I've been in an...unfortunate mood for the last few days, and, for whatever reason, decided to think about all the opportunities where Lucy could have left my life. That I could remember (so not counting all the innumerable times when infants destroy things);
There was the time when I was ~3, and I burned her with a blow dryer that left a scar. What if my mom/grandma (it was one of them) decided not to try to sew it up (or whatever it was she did).
In kindergarten, we went to visit my great-grantparents in Ohio, and I forgot her there. What if my grandparents didn't think anything of her (and the other seven I left because kindergartners can't be trusted)? What if my parents never made the call to ask them to mail them back?
I had lice in third grade, so we had to put her and all my other stuffed animals in a bag to kill the pests. At some point that year, Central School had a "Dog Days" thing where they encouraged us to bring in canine paraphernalia. Some people whore shirts with dogs on them, but I got Lucy out of the bag and brought her to learn with me. What if the school never had that, as far as I can remember, random celebration? What if I didn't feel like celebrating? What if I forgot about her?
In fourth grade, she fell into my trash can and went missing for a week. What if I didn't think, "Maybe she's in my trash, and I should look"? And, yes, my mom cleaned her, so all that came from it was Lulu getting a mild case of claustrophobia.
In high school...I was a high school dude still sleeping with stuffed animals. What if I finally decided that I was too old? What if my friends acted like they always did and made fun of me? What if I caved to peer pressure?
In college, I was a college dude still sleeping with stuffed animals.
What if I didn't bring her to Utah with me? I'm sure all of my roommates thought it was perfectly normal of this Heroin Jesus looking dude to sleep with two to six stuffed animals. What if one was a terrible person? What if one pulled a prank that went horribly awry?
If I left her in Ottawa, would she still be here? Would my mom have made the "too old for stuffed animals" decision for me? Would I even care or remember when I came back?
What if I were a normal, sane person who didn't rely on a stuffed dalmatian to supply all of my mental health needs? If I were a normal, sane person and followed the course of human procreation, would I have given Lucy to protect my child? The answer is yes, of course, but how would I react when I had to relive all of these events through the eyes of a parent? Although, if I were a normal, sane person, would I have the deep connection I claim to have with Lucy?
I started to seek comfort in Lucy shortly after High School, the time when my depression became unbearable. She was the only thing around and could help get through the abyss. I've never felt close to my family, and my friends were busy with their own lives. Meanwhile, I was unable to start a life. Anxiety, depression, a bad job market bought by the 2009 recession, and being in the middle of nowhere made it hard to find employment. And even then, there's more to life than money and work. Would I have been happy with a minimum wage gig? Doubtful. So Lulu was the only one to help me live. It was mostly just me wrapping my arms around her just to feel something. When kids are scared and alone, they go to their teddy bear. When adults are scared and alone, they go to their dalmatian, I guess.
After my second suicide attempt in 2012, I got closer and dove into the crazy. I started talking about Lucy more in public and acting like she was a real person. A part of me hopes I continue to embrace the crazy and go wherever it takes me.
Which leads me to wonder, would I even be around without her? Would I be dead? How the hell would I have managed through this apocalypse without her? I'm just as alone now as I was a decade ago, but I'm significantly less likely to jump off a bridge now. Life isn't perfect, and we need to find whatever light in the darkness we can. For me, that gloriously incandescent light is Lucy.
I could go on with a love letter to a stuffed animal, but it's 7AM, which is past my bedtime. So goodnight.
Friday, August 21, 2020
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Shoutout to Crackle for having FFVII: AC for free. Sots of adds, but it’s free
The movie opens up to a scene that looks familiar. It the final scene of VII, as Red and his children overlook the ruined Midgar.
The words 498 years earlier appear, and we skip to a volcano with a lot of steam emanating from it as a woman and a man discuss their find. A helicopter, pilot led by Reno of the Turks, descends in as we hear gunshots. The woman, who the subtitles spoil is Elena, makes a paining sound. Some swears are heard, and the helicopter flies out.
I turned subtitles off for the rest of the movie.
The next part is the voice of a child retelling the game. About the Lifestream and Shinra's abuse of it. SOLDIER and Jenova. Sephiroth going mad, Aerith’s funeral, and finally, the day Meteor fell and ruined Midgar. “Sadness was the price to see it end.”
We’re next in a bustling metropolis filled with kids playing, as the voice tells us the planet it pissed off and introduces us to a new disease called Geostigma. The voice is revealed to be Marlene, Barrett’s daughter. We see Tifa at a bar and learn Cloud, who started a delivery service, is missing. The Buster Sword is friends with a wolf as Cloud is in the desert, being edgy with a phone. Three wannabe Sephiroths pick up the abandoned Buster Sword and give chase to Cloud, all on motorcycles The wannabes attack with shadow dogs and ask Cloud, who they call brother, where Mother is
After one gets a phone and asks for the president, everyone disperses, as the scene switches again to a jungle. Barrett is saying, via voice mail, how he found oil and wants to see Marlene. I’m only updating during commercials. These are so long.
Tifa calls Cloud telling Reno called and that he sounds strange. Cloud goes to the Turk HQ, in the jungle, fights Reno, and meets the still alive, but wheelchair-bound, Rufus Shina. The two talk over each other as Rufus tries to hire Cloud, who wants nothing of it. Rudus takes the blame for being the one who messed up the planet. Rufus informs him the Turks weren’t in a volcano; they were in the North Crater and were attacked by the same people who attacked Cloud. Cloud leaves, and we switch to the Sector Five church: Aerith’s church.
Tifa and Marlene walk around wondering if this is where Cloud lives and discover he too is sick with Geostigma and promises to give our spikey headed hero a lecture.
The scene returns to Shinra HQ, as Reno and Rude are beaten up by a wannabe. Kadaj and Rufus talk where the bad guy reveals his plan. They’re looking for Jenova to recreate the Reunion. Geostigma seems to be from either her or Seph and Rufus is also sick with it.
Cloud returns to the Buster Sword overlooking Midgar and talks to Zack before having a good, old breakdown. Back to the church again, and Tifa dights the short-haired wannabe who hates flowers. A piano rendition of the battle music plays. I’m not gonna describe the fight, but it’s super anime and fun. A bit short, though, as the guy's cellphone goes off, with victory fanfare theme ringtone, before knocking out Tifa, because he can shadow step. Marlene, in a fruitless endeavor, tries to help by throwing Cloud’s stock of materia at the man.
Another scene switch as we see Denzel, Marlene’s friend, being brought, by another kid, to an old fashion snake oil salesman. That seller is one of the wannabes. The scene returns to the church as Cloud walks in and discovers an unconscious Tifa, who asks for Marlene. Marlene isn’t there, and Cloud has another breakdown and melts. He then passes out, aa music that shouldn’t be playing is played. He waka up in bed, next to Tifa, saved by the Turks. They inform him the kids are missing. Cloud acts edgy.
We’re now with the wannabes in, what is unmistakably, the Forgotten Capital as they absorb Clouds materia. Cloud acts edgy when Tida wakes up and wants to help him overcome his Geostigma. “Dilly dally. Shilly sally”..... The Turks inform, again, that Kadaj, the lead wannabe,j and his wannabe gang has taken all the kids to the Forgotten City, and Cloud goes alone. Kadaj rallies the kid to join his cause. It’s a suicide cult as Kadaj walks into Aerith’s water and drinks ls it. The kids follow suit, and everyone now has cat eyes.
Cloud gets lost in a daydream and talks to Aerith. Cloud showed up to save the kids because he wants to be forgiven. Aerith asks by who as we hear gunfire, awaking Cloud. Knocked off his bike, Kadaj makes everyone hate Cloud as a fight scene starts. Despite the New Buster Sword being multiple swords, Cloud gets his ass kicked until a mysterious red blob saves him. The blob is revealed to be Vincent, who's been tracking the wannabes, and saved the missing Turks. Marlene finds them, hates Cloud's edge, and a flashback to before Cloud left happens.
Cloud wants to go to Shinra, and Tifa tells him to stop running and let people in. I already hate Dilly Dally Silly Shally. Cloud and Marlene, together, go off somewhere.
Clouds phone, which was lost in the battle, falls to the lake floor as we hear the voicemails, and the voice of Aerith tells him she never blamed him. “You came for me, and that's all that matters.” As we return to Midgar/Edge, the suicide cult is acting up.
The kids surround a fountain roundabout as the wannabes summon dogs to attack the concerned populace. Tifa finds Denzel as the Turks show up to stop Project Mayhem. The statue everyone is surrounding has something to to with Jenova. Meanwhile, Rufus and Kadaj have a discussion about Sephiroth, Jenova, the Lifestream, and the ebb and flow of the world. Kadaj says lets put an end to all this and causes odd weather to form, from which Bahamut is summoned. Bahamut attacks the statue while the Turks, who I'm just noticing are comedic relief, save a few kids, and get attacked in kind. Everyone is fine. Turks and Wannabes fight. Guess who wins?
Back to Tifa: Denzel wakes up, swears, and goes to punch Bahamut. He’s stopped by a finally appearing Barrett and his new there gunned arm. Red and Cait show up and aid him, to no avail. Yuffie then shows up to help, and Cid follows suit, saving Tifa and Denzel. Cid also says he named his new airship Shara II, so that's nice. Vincent asks to buy a phone as he slowly walks away, and we hear the sound of a motorcycle as Cloud shows up. He says he took Marlene home and states he lost weight. Denzel goes home too as the whole party, minus the white mage, do battle.
Bahamut is immune to bullets, takes normal damage from spears, and is weak to swords. In the end, it is an utterly nonsensical and physics-defying power of friendship which, literally, throws Cloud upwards and through Bahamut’s Megaflare, slaying the beast. Even Aerith shows up to give the final push/defense proving once more that nothing gets done without the white mage.
We cut back to Rufus and Kadaj as Rufus reveals he is holding Jenova’s head (in a box) as he stands up, calls his enemy a bad son, and drops the box from a large building. Kadaj is upset, and both guys fall as well. Rufus is saved by...someone with net guns and Kadaj is part dragoon so he, and the other wannabes, are chased by a seemingly teleported Cloud and his bike.
Here’s a bike fight straight outta Bollywood! Eventually, the Turks show up with a bomb that is "Shinra's beat" and "flashy". Reno says their clocking out early, and the bombs go off, stopping the back-up wannabes from interfering any longer. I think everyone dies. The chase takes Kadaj and Cloud to the Church, where the bad guy reminds us he’s the bad guy by running over the flowers. Kadaj looks into the box with Jen's head it in and cries for reasons never explained. When Cloud shows up, Kadaj destroys parts of the church and shoots a lightning blast towards Cloud, opening up the Lifestream, causing it to sprout up and rain on Cloud curing him of his Geostigma. Cloud gives chase again and catches back up, calls Kadaj a remnant, and they fight for real this time. The entire party shows up and just watches while giving exposition. Barrett and Yuffie want to fight, but no one does because of toxic masculinity, and the trope of this is his fight. Blah blah blah. Barrett gives him 10 minutes until he gets involved.
Eventually, Kadaj is able to absorb/injects whatever was in the box, and he turns himself into Sephiroth. A high-quality One Winged Angel plays as Cloud and a new, but still strong, Sephiroth do battle. Every time I hear Sephiroth’s voice, I get upset it’s not Lance Bass. During the fight, Ol’ Sephy gives off edgy AF one liners as they fight through the ruined Midgar. He also gives his plan; to clog up the Lifestream with Geostigmaed souls, which would allow him to control the planet and travel through space doing exactly what his mother tried to do. Sephiroth keeps the upper hand until Cloud throws off his edge and claims he cherishes everything. His sword turns in to eight swords, and a modified Omnislash takes his master down. Sephiroth claims he will never be a Memory and returns to Kadaj. He tries to keep fighting, bit flails. It isn’t until the voice of Aerith echoes through to him where he gives up and turns in to dust. The rest of the party looks on and celebrate in a fun fashion.
Out of the shining glory, a gunshot is heard as we see a mark go through Cloud, indicating he got shot. The other two wannabes didn’t die, nor did the Turks. It also shows that it was Elena and Taeng who saved Rufus during the celebration scenes.
A wounded Cloud runs toward the remaining remnants, who blow everyone up. Cloud, surround by whiteness, is all alone until a hand is placed on his forehead and Aerith’s theme plays. He mistakenly calls out for his mother, to which Aerith asks why everyone keeps calling her that. There’s a male voice in the background telling Cloud he doesn’t belong here. He’s back alone in the white void, and the Buster Swords wolf friend shows up, only to be replaced by a group of kids in the waters of the church. A real baptism moment. Red has his first speaking lines of the whole movie, reminding everyone that not everyone is cured yet, so Cloud invites everyone who hasn't been cured yet to join the pool party. Prooving, once again, Aerith is the main character of Final Fantasy VII, and nothing gets done without her.
He looks out one last time and sees Aerith walking away as Zack gives a nonchalant wave farewell. I get a little weepy, not gonna lie. The last words are Cloud saying, “I’m not alone. Not anymore.” And the credits roll.
I don’t know why Advent Children was made. It wasn’t that good, but it didn’t add anything to the story. I’m not a fan of when old, dead characters keep reappearing, and this entire movie is about Sephiroth. He’s dead; let him lay. It’s nice that it gives some real closure which the game didn’t do, so I guess there’s that.
I found the fight scenes to be WAY over the top and a bit nonce. In the Bahamut fight, why did everyone need to throw Cloud up when, in the Sephiroth fight, he’s capable of flight? I’m not a fan of over the top action, I’m not even big on action, full stop, in my movies, and I'm all about story.
The story was fine. It doesn’t damage VII proper, and it doesn’t ruin itself here. Sephiroth comes back, infects people to clog up the Lifestream, and uses random clones or something as a vessel. Not world-altering, not franchise ending, either. Overall, I thought it was a perfectly fine movie. It’s not something I plan to rewatch again, at least not the original (I hear the Complete/Director’s Cut is better, even if it’s got more action). I felt like there some missing scenes because of how often people moved across the world, and I think the scene where Aerith “forgives” Cloud wasn't a big deal. Cloud’s guilt wasn’t even a big deal. Both of those should be more impactful, and I hope that was fixed. I also didn't like how The Turks were comedic relief. I still hate Reno. He shouldn't be a joke, he should be in jail. Ultimately, any form of entertainment that gets me welling up will always be something I suggest, at least once. It won’t ruin your night, but won’t make for great memories. Can you tell I’m lukewarm on this movie?
Also, I looked into it, there’s only one side movie, so I’m skipping that one to review, so there go my plans for tomorrow. Look out for my One The Way to A Smile review in three years!
I somehow ended making over 2000 words over something that didn't need to be over 2000 words, so forgive my sloppy editing.
The movie opens up to a scene that looks familiar. It the final scene of VII, as Red and his children overlook the ruined Midgar.
The words 498 years earlier appear, and we skip to a volcano with a lot of steam emanating from it as a woman and a man discuss their find. A helicopter, pilot led by Reno of the Turks, descends in as we hear gunshots. The woman, who the subtitles spoil is Elena, makes a paining sound. Some swears are heard, and the helicopter flies out.
I turned subtitles off for the rest of the movie.
The next part is the voice of a child retelling the game. About the Lifestream and Shinra's abuse of it. SOLDIER and Jenova. Sephiroth going mad, Aerith’s funeral, and finally, the day Meteor fell and ruined Midgar. “Sadness was the price to see it end.”
We’re next in a bustling metropolis filled with kids playing, as the voice tells us the planet it pissed off and introduces us to a new disease called Geostigma. The voice is revealed to be Marlene, Barrett’s daughter. We see Tifa at a bar and learn Cloud, who started a delivery service, is missing. The Buster Sword is friends with a wolf as Cloud is in the desert, being edgy with a phone. Three wannabe Sephiroths pick up the abandoned Buster Sword and give chase to Cloud, all on motorcycles The wannabes attack with shadow dogs and ask Cloud, who they call brother, where Mother is
After one gets a phone and asks for the president, everyone disperses, as the scene switches again to a jungle. Barrett is saying, via voice mail, how he found oil and wants to see Marlene. I’m only updating during commercials. These are so long.
Tifa calls Cloud telling Reno called and that he sounds strange. Cloud goes to the Turk HQ, in the jungle, fights Reno, and meets the still alive, but wheelchair-bound, Rufus Shina. The two talk over each other as Rufus tries to hire Cloud, who wants nothing of it. Rudus takes the blame for being the one who messed up the planet. Rufus informs him the Turks weren’t in a volcano; they were in the North Crater and were attacked by the same people who attacked Cloud. Cloud leaves, and we switch to the Sector Five church: Aerith’s church.
Tifa and Marlene walk around wondering if this is where Cloud lives and discover he too is sick with Geostigma and promises to give our spikey headed hero a lecture.
The scene returns to Shinra HQ, as Reno and Rude are beaten up by a wannabe. Kadaj and Rufus talk where the bad guy reveals his plan. They’re looking for Jenova to recreate the Reunion. Geostigma seems to be from either her or Seph and Rufus is also sick with it.
Cloud returns to the Buster Sword overlooking Midgar and talks to Zack before having a good, old breakdown. Back to the church again, and Tifa dights the short-haired wannabe who hates flowers. A piano rendition of the battle music plays. I’m not gonna describe the fight, but it’s super anime and fun. A bit short, though, as the guy's cellphone goes off, with victory fanfare theme ringtone, before knocking out Tifa, because he can shadow step. Marlene, in a fruitless endeavor, tries to help by throwing Cloud’s stock of materia at the man.
Another scene switch as we see Denzel, Marlene’s friend, being brought, by another kid, to an old fashion snake oil salesman. That seller is one of the wannabes. The scene returns to the church as Cloud walks in and discovers an unconscious Tifa, who asks for Marlene. Marlene isn’t there, and Cloud has another breakdown and melts. He then passes out, aa music that shouldn’t be playing is played. He waka up in bed, next to Tifa, saved by the Turks. They inform him the kids are missing. Cloud acts edgy.
We’re now with the wannabes in, what is unmistakably, the Forgotten Capital as they absorb Clouds materia. Cloud acts edgy when Tida wakes up and wants to help him overcome his Geostigma. “Dilly dally. Shilly sally”..... The Turks inform, again, that Kadaj, the lead wannabe,j and his wannabe gang has taken all the kids to the Forgotten City, and Cloud goes alone. Kadaj rallies the kid to join his cause. It’s a suicide cult as Kadaj walks into Aerith’s water and drinks ls it. The kids follow suit, and everyone now has cat eyes.
Cloud gets lost in a daydream and talks to Aerith. Cloud showed up to save the kids because he wants to be forgiven. Aerith asks by who as we hear gunfire, awaking Cloud. Knocked off his bike, Kadaj makes everyone hate Cloud as a fight scene starts. Despite the New Buster Sword being multiple swords, Cloud gets his ass kicked until a mysterious red blob saves him. The blob is revealed to be Vincent, who's been tracking the wannabes, and saved the missing Turks. Marlene finds them, hates Cloud's edge, and a flashback to before Cloud left happens.
Cloud wants to go to Shinra, and Tifa tells him to stop running and let people in. I already hate Dilly Dally Silly Shally. Cloud and Marlene, together, go off somewhere.
Clouds phone, which was lost in the battle, falls to the lake floor as we hear the voicemails, and the voice of Aerith tells him she never blamed him. “You came for me, and that's all that matters.” As we return to Midgar/Edge, the suicide cult is acting up.
The kids surround a fountain roundabout as the wannabes summon dogs to attack the concerned populace. Tifa finds Denzel as the Turks show up to stop Project Mayhem. The statue everyone is surrounding has something to to with Jenova. Meanwhile, Rufus and Kadaj have a discussion about Sephiroth, Jenova, the Lifestream, and the ebb and flow of the world. Kadaj says lets put an end to all this and causes odd weather to form, from which Bahamut is summoned. Bahamut attacks the statue while the Turks, who I'm just noticing are comedic relief, save a few kids, and get attacked in kind. Everyone is fine. Turks and Wannabes fight. Guess who wins?
Back to Tifa: Denzel wakes up, swears, and goes to punch Bahamut. He’s stopped by a finally appearing Barrett and his new there gunned arm. Red and Cait show up and aid him, to no avail. Yuffie then shows up to help, and Cid follows suit, saving Tifa and Denzel. Cid also says he named his new airship Shara II, so that's nice. Vincent asks to buy a phone as he slowly walks away, and we hear the sound of a motorcycle as Cloud shows up. He says he took Marlene home and states he lost weight. Denzel goes home too as the whole party, minus the white mage, do battle.
Bahamut is immune to bullets, takes normal damage from spears, and is weak to swords. In the end, it is an utterly nonsensical and physics-defying power of friendship which, literally, throws Cloud upwards and through Bahamut’s Megaflare, slaying the beast. Even Aerith shows up to give the final push/defense proving once more that nothing gets done without the white mage.
We cut back to Rufus and Kadaj as Rufus reveals he is holding Jenova’s head (in a box) as he stands up, calls his enemy a bad son, and drops the box from a large building. Kadaj is upset, and both guys fall as well. Rufus is saved by...someone with net guns and Kadaj is part dragoon so he, and the other wannabes, are chased by a seemingly teleported Cloud and his bike.
Here’s a bike fight straight outta Bollywood! Eventually, the Turks show up with a bomb that is "Shinra's beat" and "flashy". Reno says their clocking out early, and the bombs go off, stopping the back-up wannabes from interfering any longer. I think everyone dies. The chase takes Kadaj and Cloud to the Church, where the bad guy reminds us he’s the bad guy by running over the flowers. Kadaj looks into the box with Jen's head it in and cries for reasons never explained. When Cloud shows up, Kadaj destroys parts of the church and shoots a lightning blast towards Cloud, opening up the Lifestream, causing it to sprout up and rain on Cloud curing him of his Geostigma. Cloud gives chase again and catches back up, calls Kadaj a remnant, and they fight for real this time. The entire party shows up and just watches while giving exposition. Barrett and Yuffie want to fight, but no one does because of toxic masculinity, and the trope of this is his fight. Blah blah blah. Barrett gives him 10 minutes until he gets involved.
Eventually, Kadaj is able to absorb/injects whatever was in the box, and he turns himself into Sephiroth. A high-quality One Winged Angel plays as Cloud and a new, but still strong, Sephiroth do battle. Every time I hear Sephiroth’s voice, I get upset it’s not Lance Bass. During the fight, Ol’ Sephy gives off edgy AF one liners as they fight through the ruined Midgar. He also gives his plan; to clog up the Lifestream with Geostigmaed souls, which would allow him to control the planet and travel through space doing exactly what his mother tried to do. Sephiroth keeps the upper hand until Cloud throws off his edge and claims he cherishes everything. His sword turns in to eight swords, and a modified Omnislash takes his master down. Sephiroth claims he will never be a Memory and returns to Kadaj. He tries to keep fighting, bit flails. It isn’t until the voice of Aerith echoes through to him where he gives up and turns in to dust. The rest of the party looks on and celebrate in a fun fashion.
Out of the shining glory, a gunshot is heard as we see a mark go through Cloud, indicating he got shot. The other two wannabes didn’t die, nor did the Turks. It also shows that it was Elena and Taeng who saved Rufus during the celebration scenes.
A wounded Cloud runs toward the remaining remnants, who blow everyone up. Cloud, surround by whiteness, is all alone until a hand is placed on his forehead and Aerith’s theme plays. He mistakenly calls out for his mother, to which Aerith asks why everyone keeps calling her that. There’s a male voice in the background telling Cloud he doesn’t belong here. He’s back alone in the white void, and the Buster Swords wolf friend shows up, only to be replaced by a group of kids in the waters of the church. A real baptism moment. Red has his first speaking lines of the whole movie, reminding everyone that not everyone is cured yet, so Cloud invites everyone who hasn't been cured yet to join the pool party. Prooving, once again, Aerith is the main character of Final Fantasy VII, and nothing gets done without her.
He looks out one last time and sees Aerith walking away as Zack gives a nonchalant wave farewell. I get a little weepy, not gonna lie. The last words are Cloud saying, “I’m not alone. Not anymore.” And the credits roll.
I don’t know why Advent Children was made. It wasn’t that good, but it didn’t add anything to the story. I’m not a fan of when old, dead characters keep reappearing, and this entire movie is about Sephiroth. He’s dead; let him lay. It’s nice that it gives some real closure which the game didn’t do, so I guess there’s that.
I found the fight scenes to be WAY over the top and a bit nonce. In the Bahamut fight, why did everyone need to throw Cloud up when, in the Sephiroth fight, he’s capable of flight? I’m not a fan of over the top action, I’m not even big on action, full stop, in my movies, and I'm all about story.
The story was fine. It doesn’t damage VII proper, and it doesn’t ruin itself here. Sephiroth comes back, infects people to clog up the Lifestream, and uses random clones or something as a vessel. Not world-altering, not franchise ending, either. Overall, I thought it was a perfectly fine movie. It’s not something I plan to rewatch again, at least not the original (I hear the Complete/Director’s Cut is better, even if it’s got more action). I felt like there some missing scenes because of how often people moved across the world, and I think the scene where Aerith “forgives” Cloud wasn't a big deal. Cloud’s guilt wasn’t even a big deal. Both of those should be more impactful, and I hope that was fixed. I also didn't like how The Turks were comedic relief. I still hate Reno. He shouldn't be a joke, he should be in jail. Ultimately, any form of entertainment that gets me welling up will always be something I suggest, at least once. It won’t ruin your night, but won’t make for great memories. Can you tell I’m lukewarm on this movie?
Also, I looked into it, there’s only one side movie, so I’m skipping that one to review, so there go my plans for tomorrow. Look out for my One The Way to A Smile review in three years!
I somehow ended making over 2000 words over something that didn't need to be over 2000 words, so forgive my sloppy editing.
Thursday, August 20, 2020
I’m lost without video games.
So, tonight I did nothing. I edited the last, stupidity long, post and planned my next move, but otherwise did nothing. I just kinda floated around for a few hours wondering what to do. Eventually, I pretended to be productive, and I came closer to finalizing my plans for this thing, all of which are scheduled to change. As I’ve said, I have four goals with this blog. I want to keep my writing skills up, take a closer look at my favorite games, replay games I once played, and play new (likely retro) games to expand my horizons. To properly accomplish this, I've opted to schedule a vague...uh...schedule:
Game to replay
Games I love
New game
I might switch it up as I see fit, and I might throw in some random posts about other stuff, but that’s what I’m going with. So, I’ve replayed a game (Vagrant Story) and played a game I knew (Final Fantasy VII), so this means I’m up to new a game. I have it ready and set up, and I think I’ll start Monday. It’s strange that it’s game two in a series, but I’ll do something about the first one over the weekend. For the rest of this week, though, I will finish the FFVII movie sequels. Advent Children tomorrow, and the other smaller stuff on Friday. Assuming nothing comes up like my CoP guild raids or my computer breaks. I even have the next two games after that ready, as well. You can't tell me I don't prepare, every teacher I've ever had!
But I also want to mention games I probably won’t be playing. As much as I'd like to take an in-depth look at them, there are just reasons I won't be. For starters, the games I wrote about in the first week of this blog. They’re too recent, and I’ll probably skip over important details. As much as I’d enjoy writing less, it seems unfair. There are also a few games I played over the last year and a half or so; Chrono Trigger, Star Ocean I and II, and pretty much the entire Ys series. The absolutely loved the Ys games, all of them, but I've played them since the spring of 2019. I played 1+2 twice over that timeframe, actually. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, so maybe in another year.
I won't be playing games I outright hate. Tales of Symphonia was the worst game I've ever played, and I refuse the relive that torture.
This goes without saying, but games I physically can't play anymore. My Xbox-360 bought the farm in 2015, so the first Assassin Creed games, Skyrim, Infinite Undiscovery, and Final Fantasy XIII are all out. As are anything new and system-intensive because my computer is old and worn out. An eight-year-old laptop just can't play Ys VIII, IX, Witcher 3, or Fallout 4. I'm not against emulating retro games you can't buy anymore, but that only goes so far. I will try to keep emulation to a minimum, but if I legally bought the game, I think I'm allowed to download it. That being said...
Man, I should write less more often. I’m so relaxed now.
Game to replay
Games I love
New game
I might switch it up as I see fit, and I might throw in some random posts about other stuff, but that’s what I’m going with. So, I’ve replayed a game (Vagrant Story) and played a game I knew (Final Fantasy VII), so this means I’m up to new a game. I have it ready and set up, and I think I’ll start Monday. It’s strange that it’s game two in a series, but I’ll do something about the first one over the weekend. For the rest of this week, though, I will finish the FFVII movie sequels. Advent Children tomorrow, and the other smaller stuff on Friday. Assuming nothing comes up like my CoP guild raids or my computer breaks. I even have the next two games after that ready, as well. You can't tell me I don't prepare, every teacher I've ever had!
But I also want to mention games I probably won’t be playing. As much as I'd like to take an in-depth look at them, there are just reasons I won't be. For starters, the games I wrote about in the first week of this blog. They’re too recent, and I’ll probably skip over important details. As much as I’d enjoy writing less, it seems unfair. There are also a few games I played over the last year and a half or so; Chrono Trigger, Star Ocean I and II, and pretty much the entire Ys series. The absolutely loved the Ys games, all of them, but I've played them since the spring of 2019. I played 1+2 twice over that timeframe, actually. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, so maybe in another year.
I won't be playing games I outright hate. Tales of Symphonia was the worst game I've ever played, and I refuse the relive that torture.
This goes without saying, but games I physically can't play anymore. My Xbox-360 bought the farm in 2015, so the first Assassin Creed games, Skyrim, Infinite Undiscovery, and Final Fantasy XIII are all out. As are anything new and system-intensive because my computer is old and worn out. An eight-year-old laptop just can't play Ys VIII, IX, Witcher 3, or Fallout 4. I'm not against emulating retro games you can't buy anymore, but that only goes so far. I will try to keep emulation to a minimum, but if I legally bought the game, I think I'm allowed to download it. That being said...
Man, I should write less more often. I’m so relaxed now.
Wednesday, August 19, 2020
A look back at the new era.
Final Fantasy VII is regarded as one of the best, and most important, video games, regardless of genre, ever made. During development, it was marketed as being groundbreaking and revolutionary. Squaresoft (at the time) put millions of dollars into advertising, and the results had to be a rousing success. VII is the highest selling game in Square’s catalog and fourth highest-grossing with just over a Billion Dollars, but it wasn't just hype that sold FFVII. It was the story, characters, battle system, music, and graphics combined into one behemoth. Even those who consider FFVII to be only alright when compared to the rest of the franchise still recognize its greatness and deserving place in any top 10 lists. For the sake of it, I did Google, FFVII sucks, and only found sarcasm, questionable Devil's Advocates, and posts about the Remake.
Before I begin, I will state that many of these comparisons are foolish, since they’re across gaming generations with limitations, but I will fully accept my dunce cap. I also assume much of the depthless characters are such because of hardware limitations. I've always thought FFVI is just as deserving of a 3D Remake as VII is. The disk and PS1 hardware were so vastly superior to SNES specs that this really is just a waste, but, yadda yadda yadda, easy answers, train of consciousness, and whatnot.
Why the game is so well regarded, by critics and fans, is a many-fold discussion, but I'll keep it to two. My first object of note is the game's depth and expanse in storytelling and characters. While VI has a similar vein of cast members, Shinra and the Gestalt Empire play second fiddle to their more memorable creations, Sephiroth and Kefka. Even the secondary characters have breakthrough moments. There is no one to compare the Shinra Executives, Scarlet, Heidegger, and Palmer too. Shera, Bugenhagen, Marlene, Dyne, and Gast all play pivotal roles on account of their unique personality. There's no room for secondary antagonists like the Weapons, Turks, and Jenova. And the excessive characters get in the way of depth, except for six of them; quality over quantity. The Empire has four named characters, half being the main villains. The Returners have only Bannon. Ultros is rad, but what's his story? Does he really add anything to the game, as Jenova does? Final Fantasy V has a secondary cast that shines but are fewer in number. Cid/Mid, King Waltz, and Gilgamesh. IV has groups that are memorable, like the Sylphs, Summons, and Troia Epopts, but no one shining star. I suppose The Mysidian Elder comes close, but he doesn't even have a name! Cid, Unei, and Doga try their hardest in III, but II does do a great job. Besides Hilda and Cid, the number of fourth party members that made an impression is astronomical for its time. Ricard, Leila, Minwu, and Josef are all more interesting than Leon. Gordon even has character growth. Sadly, the antagonists are all lacking, including The Emporer, who is just evil for the sake of evil.
As I just said, two-fold, and the first thing I think of when I think about VII is the characters. Except for Yuffie, everyone has some plot relevance. While I’ve said Cid has no reason to be in the party, he is a part of the plot. It is his rocket that goes to space, men (and name) on the Highwind, and plane that works as the boat. Compare him to Gau, Relm, Krille, or Edge. Remove them, and the game is the same. While I’m not sure about Cid’s motivation, he is pivotal. Now compare the party dimensions to party members in other games.
Krille is the granddaughter of a Warrior of Light and barely speaks when she's in the party. Besides the destiny trope, why her?
Relm can draw pictures and has no relation to the Empire, Kefka, or the party.
Edge is a ninja prince who had his home destroyed by Golbez. That doesn't make him special in this world.
Sabin is a forlorn prince turned wayward monk.
Locke is just a thief with woman issues.
Setzer is a wannabe rapist with an airship and woman issues. Meanwhile...
Barrett is a coal miner whose life was destroyed by an evil corporation. So he raises his friend's daughter and turns into an eco-terrorist. He's similar to Edge, but Shinra doesn't randomly destroy everything (intentionally). And his counter-part, Dyne, creates a foil adding depth as the player wonders how the game work if Barrett went the same route as his childhood friend.
Red XIII is the last of his species and has spent his whole life believing his father was a coward only to learn how he sacrificed for the future of the town, which encourages Nanaki to become the great destroyer of space aliens. But first, he's kidnapped by Hojo and experimented on.
Cait Sith is a stuffed animal made to spy on the party. He’s willing to sacrifice himself, several times (which is more than you say for Fawkes from Fallout 3), who ends up being a double agent, and even a voice of reason at one point.
Tifa is a childhood friend, who is with you for all of your drama, a cause of said drama, helps you through that drama, becomes a bartender (life outside the plot), and becomes your love interest, maybe.
Cid is a gruff engineer who wants to go space, helped create several of the technologies used in the game, and has a toxic relationship with his assistant. That is, until he goes to space, realizes she was correct, and makes amends.
Yuffie is a ninja who plans to steal your Materia, is in a personal war with tradition and modernism, and ends up still wanting to steal your Materia...they can't all be zingers.
Cloud is a former soldier who just had his brain wiped, so he doesn't know who he is until he meets his best friend's old girlfriend. When she dies in front of him, he re-vows revenge on his enemy and saves the world.
Couple those with the grey morality of VII. None of those names are good for the sake of being good. Hell, the first mission of the game has you blowing up a power plant, killing an untold amount of innocent people. And the second mission has you doing it again! AVALANCHE are not the good guys. Red only joins the party to escape being a test subject. Cait is actively working for the bad guy. Cid is abusive. Aerith is the only truly kind person in the group (and another reason she's the main character). Others mean well and have their moments, but they're concealed out by bombing a power plant. Although, I guess Red doesn't have any negative qualiti4s about him, either. Speaking of negative qualities, is Sephiroth even the real bad guy? Sephiroth is how he is because Shinra made him that way. And Shinra only made him because Hojo found the Jenova cells. Who's the real villain in Final Fantasy VII? Hell, we see Sephiroth before he becomes the great evil, where he's just a normal guy. At least as 'normal' as a super-soldier can be. We meet him in Cloud's flashback, and in Crisis Core, where he's a down-to-earth person with a personality and is, ultimately, fighting for good. Well, he's fighting for Shinra, so 'good guy' may not be the operative word, but you understand. The point I'm trying to get at is, Sephiroth has more growth and development than every other Final Fantasy main villain combined. Everyone else, from Garland to Kuja, is evil for the sake of evil. No one shifts from good guy, or even neutral guy, to bad. Kuja has backstory, but he's always evil in his game. It's debatable if he has a face turn late, but I'll not sold on that theory. There's grey morality on the evil side, as well.
Returning to the protagonists, Cloud doesn’t want to be the main character. For the first part of the story, he’s being led around (paid) by Barrett. Once they're out of Midgar, he gets, unknowingly, pulled around by Sephiroth because of an event from five years ago. And them he rights for Aerith and the planet, at last becoming the good guy. As someone who wants to fight for Aerith (and the planet), I can identify with that. He grows into the hero role, and until then, it's a revenge quest. And if you've ever fought a Tonberry, you know revenge is something to avoid.
Bart lucks into it, and Cecil is fated. Cloud was the first anti-hero who turns into a full-fledged hero. Squall, at no point, even pretends to be or is worthy of the title, hero. No one comes close. Cloud, himself says that he shouldn’t be in the party since he can’t be trusted. He, while mind-controlled, handed Sephiroth the key to destroying the world, which was the event leading to Cloud uncertainty about himself.
To say nothing of Aerith. I talked about her comparisons when she died, so I’ll keep this short. No other death in FF has had the same effect on gamers. Galuf gets forgotten, and his death isn’t a driving force behind the plot. FFII has characters who die, left and right until it becomes a gag.
But, even on the same, or better, hardware, VII has amongst the beat growth in the franchise. For the reasons stated above, no one in VIII grows. XII only has Ashe change as the penultimate event. XIII has little change, with every character being the same on game one as game three. Drink every time Snow yells for Sarah, or when Lightning acts edgy. In other franchises, Serge is a silent protagonist. Roddick wants to save his friend until he gets swept into a galactic war through space and time. He ends up being the inspiration for a dog's name in the sequel. Claude is just looking to get home, due to his mistake, until he falls in love with the alien and abandons his old life. There's no destiny there, but there's also no connection between him and Wise Men. Fate follows the Roddick route until he learns he's a genetic experiment. And that is repeated by Edge. Fei is how God communicates with the human realm. If you think I need to expand my horizons and ploy non-Square games, you'd be correct, and I plan on fixing that over the course of this blog.
Everyone has an interesting personality, during, as well as before the playtime starts. Costa del Sol is one of my favorite places because the parry separates and does their own thing. In other games, characters simply hang out and say generic things. Everyone is unique and memorable regardless of it they're active in the party or not. Now, there is one thing VII doesn’t do well with uniqueness and that is the battle system.
Which brings us the second part of that two-fold discussion:
The materia system is a mechanic I’ve never liked. That is, until the job class challenge. The other thing VII gets praised for is the battle mechanics, which revolve around the materia system. In other games, Final Fantasy or otherwise, characters tend to do their own thing in battle. Some characters are fast, get multiple hits, but have low HP, while others are big, slow, and tanky. Some buff, while others debuff. Some specialize, while others generalize. In VII, everything revolves around the magic rocks. In normal playthroughs, this usually means the party shares the same 20 magic rocks making them boring and samey. However, thanks to the JCC, everyone retains their differences. Like in the real world, it’s our differences that make the whole world work properly. In normal playthroughs, this great customization is lauded as everyone can be ready for every possible outcome. You're never caught unprepared. It makes proper set-up feel rewarding, and also really easy to do. I, however, have felt that makes everything bland, boring, and simplistic. None of the characters mean anything. You can throw three of anything, Moogles, Meeseeks, random NPC characters, into the fight, and it doesn't matter. If Yuffie is the same as Barrett, why does it matter who's in my active party? Why switch it up? With the challenge, the customization is still there, and everyone actually has gravitas. Want Cloud to be the white mage? Feel free, nay, encouraged. Barrett, the Black Mage, enjoy your pun. And the characters feel like they should be super villain stomping WMDs while being set apart from random chaff. If anyone can use everything, you are not unique. Jobs are just as customizable as they are in III and V. It’s always been there, but I just never saw it through my terrible eyesight. It’s given me a new love and respect for VII. It takes a long time to get into, and an even longer while to fully finish, but that's a good thing. You always want to be striving for something, wanting to grind out that one last materia. I don't think it's good for a first-time playthrough, but as a veteran player, I think it's how the game should be experienced. Many of these blog updates are filled with me praising the challenge, so I'll cut to the chase and end this long-winded speech now.
I’ve been writing for three hours and prooving, once more, I need to stop and, actually, plan out my thoughts ahead of time. And writing on a phone sucks! I’m sick of typing, but I’ll reiterate once more the greatnesses of Final Fantasy VII. This challenge run has helped to recognize just how good the game is. I’ve always considered VII a second-tier experience in the franchise, but I’m rethinking it now. The more I'm ruminating over everything, the more I think it is deserving of its masterpiece status. It's making me think about the game, want to play it again, and even try other games in the franchise with a similar challenge. I suddenly want to try FFVI, but limit what espers can be equipped to who. Look out for that in the eventual future!
Before I begin, I will state that many of these comparisons are foolish, since they’re across gaming generations with limitations, but I will fully accept my dunce cap. I also assume much of the depthless characters are such because of hardware limitations. I've always thought FFVI is just as deserving of a 3D Remake as VII is. The disk and PS1 hardware were so vastly superior to SNES specs that this really is just a waste, but, yadda yadda yadda, easy answers, train of consciousness, and whatnot.
Why the game is so well regarded, by critics and fans, is a many-fold discussion, but I'll keep it to two. My first object of note is the game's depth and expanse in storytelling and characters. While VI has a similar vein of cast members, Shinra and the Gestalt Empire play second fiddle to their more memorable creations, Sephiroth and Kefka. Even the secondary characters have breakthrough moments. There is no one to compare the Shinra Executives, Scarlet, Heidegger, and Palmer too. Shera, Bugenhagen, Marlene, Dyne, and Gast all play pivotal roles on account of their unique personality. There's no room for secondary antagonists like the Weapons, Turks, and Jenova. And the excessive characters get in the way of depth, except for six of them; quality over quantity. The Empire has four named characters, half being the main villains. The Returners have only Bannon. Ultros is rad, but what's his story? Does he really add anything to the game, as Jenova does? Final Fantasy V has a secondary cast that shines but are fewer in number. Cid/Mid, King Waltz, and Gilgamesh. IV has groups that are memorable, like the Sylphs, Summons, and Troia Epopts, but no one shining star. I suppose The Mysidian Elder comes close, but he doesn't even have a name! Cid, Unei, and Doga try their hardest in III, but II does do a great job. Besides Hilda and Cid, the number of fourth party members that made an impression is astronomical for its time. Ricard, Leila, Minwu, and Josef are all more interesting than Leon. Gordon even has character growth. Sadly, the antagonists are all lacking, including The Emporer, who is just evil for the sake of evil.
As I just said, two-fold, and the first thing I think of when I think about VII is the characters. Except for Yuffie, everyone has some plot relevance. While I’ve said Cid has no reason to be in the party, he is a part of the plot. It is his rocket that goes to space, men (and name) on the Highwind, and plane that works as the boat. Compare him to Gau, Relm, Krille, or Edge. Remove them, and the game is the same. While I’m not sure about Cid’s motivation, he is pivotal. Now compare the party dimensions to party members in other games.
Krille is the granddaughter of a Warrior of Light and barely speaks when she's in the party. Besides the destiny trope, why her?
Relm can draw pictures and has no relation to the Empire, Kefka, or the party.
Edge is a ninja prince who had his home destroyed by Golbez. That doesn't make him special in this world.
Sabin is a forlorn prince turned wayward monk.
Locke is just a thief with woman issues.
Setzer is a wannabe rapist with an airship and woman issues. Meanwhile...
Barrett is a coal miner whose life was destroyed by an evil corporation. So he raises his friend's daughter and turns into an eco-terrorist. He's similar to Edge, but Shinra doesn't randomly destroy everything (intentionally). And his counter-part, Dyne, creates a foil adding depth as the player wonders how the game work if Barrett went the same route as his childhood friend.
Red XIII is the last of his species and has spent his whole life believing his father was a coward only to learn how he sacrificed for the future of the town, which encourages Nanaki to become the great destroyer of space aliens. But first, he's kidnapped by Hojo and experimented on.
Cait Sith is a stuffed animal made to spy on the party. He’s willing to sacrifice himself, several times (which is more than you say for Fawkes from Fallout 3), who ends up being a double agent, and even a voice of reason at one point.
Tifa is a childhood friend, who is with you for all of your drama, a cause of said drama, helps you through that drama, becomes a bartender (life outside the plot), and becomes your love interest, maybe.
Cid is a gruff engineer who wants to go space, helped create several of the technologies used in the game, and has a toxic relationship with his assistant. That is, until he goes to space, realizes she was correct, and makes amends.
Yuffie is a ninja who plans to steal your Materia, is in a personal war with tradition and modernism, and ends up still wanting to steal your Materia...they can't all be zingers.
Cloud is a former soldier who just had his brain wiped, so he doesn't know who he is until he meets his best friend's old girlfriend. When she dies in front of him, he re-vows revenge on his enemy and saves the world.
Couple those with the grey morality of VII. None of those names are good for the sake of being good. Hell, the first mission of the game has you blowing up a power plant, killing an untold amount of innocent people. And the second mission has you doing it again! AVALANCHE are not the good guys. Red only joins the party to escape being a test subject. Cait is actively working for the bad guy. Cid is abusive. Aerith is the only truly kind person in the group (and another reason she's the main character). Others mean well and have their moments, but they're concealed out by bombing a power plant. Although, I guess Red doesn't have any negative qualiti4s about him, either. Speaking of negative qualities, is Sephiroth even the real bad guy? Sephiroth is how he is because Shinra made him that way. And Shinra only made him because Hojo found the Jenova cells. Who's the real villain in Final Fantasy VII? Hell, we see Sephiroth before he becomes the great evil, where he's just a normal guy. At least as 'normal' as a super-soldier can be. We meet him in Cloud's flashback, and in Crisis Core, where he's a down-to-earth person with a personality and is, ultimately, fighting for good. Well, he's fighting for Shinra, so 'good guy' may not be the operative word, but you understand. The point I'm trying to get at is, Sephiroth has more growth and development than every other Final Fantasy main villain combined. Everyone else, from Garland to Kuja, is evil for the sake of evil. No one shifts from good guy, or even neutral guy, to bad. Kuja has backstory, but he's always evil in his game. It's debatable if he has a face turn late, but I'll not sold on that theory. There's grey morality on the evil side, as well.
Returning to the protagonists, Cloud doesn’t want to be the main character. For the first part of the story, he’s being led around (paid) by Barrett. Once they're out of Midgar, he gets, unknowingly, pulled around by Sephiroth because of an event from five years ago. And them he rights for Aerith and the planet, at last becoming the good guy. As someone who wants to fight for Aerith (and the planet), I can identify with that. He grows into the hero role, and until then, it's a revenge quest. And if you've ever fought a Tonberry, you know revenge is something to avoid.
Bart lucks into it, and Cecil is fated. Cloud was the first anti-hero who turns into a full-fledged hero. Squall, at no point, even pretends to be or is worthy of the title, hero. No one comes close. Cloud, himself says that he shouldn’t be in the party since he can’t be trusted. He, while mind-controlled, handed Sephiroth the key to destroying the world, which was the event leading to Cloud uncertainty about himself.
To say nothing of Aerith. I talked about her comparisons when she died, so I’ll keep this short. No other death in FF has had the same effect on gamers. Galuf gets forgotten, and his death isn’t a driving force behind the plot. FFII has characters who die, left and right until it becomes a gag.
But, even on the same, or better, hardware, VII has amongst the beat growth in the franchise. For the reasons stated above, no one in VIII grows. XII only has Ashe change as the penultimate event. XIII has little change, with every character being the same on game one as game three. Drink every time Snow yells for Sarah, or when Lightning acts edgy. In other franchises, Serge is a silent protagonist. Roddick wants to save his friend until he gets swept into a galactic war through space and time. He ends up being the inspiration for a dog's name in the sequel. Claude is just looking to get home, due to his mistake, until he falls in love with the alien and abandons his old life. There's no destiny there, but there's also no connection between him and Wise Men. Fate follows the Roddick route until he learns he's a genetic experiment. And that is repeated by Edge. Fei is how God communicates with the human realm. If you think I need to expand my horizons and ploy non-Square games, you'd be correct, and I plan on fixing that over the course of this blog.
Everyone has an interesting personality, during, as well as before the playtime starts. Costa del Sol is one of my favorite places because the parry separates and does their own thing. In other games, characters simply hang out and say generic things. Everyone is unique and memorable regardless of it they're active in the party or not. Now, there is one thing VII doesn’t do well with uniqueness and that is the battle system.
Which brings us the second part of that two-fold discussion:
The materia system is a mechanic I’ve never liked. That is, until the job class challenge. The other thing VII gets praised for is the battle mechanics, which revolve around the materia system. In other games, Final Fantasy or otherwise, characters tend to do their own thing in battle. Some characters are fast, get multiple hits, but have low HP, while others are big, slow, and tanky. Some buff, while others debuff. Some specialize, while others generalize. In VII, everything revolves around the magic rocks. In normal playthroughs, this usually means the party shares the same 20 magic rocks making them boring and samey. However, thanks to the JCC, everyone retains their differences. Like in the real world, it’s our differences that make the whole world work properly. In normal playthroughs, this great customization is lauded as everyone can be ready for every possible outcome. You're never caught unprepared. It makes proper set-up feel rewarding, and also really easy to do. I, however, have felt that makes everything bland, boring, and simplistic. None of the characters mean anything. You can throw three of anything, Moogles, Meeseeks, random NPC characters, into the fight, and it doesn't matter. If Yuffie is the same as Barrett, why does it matter who's in my active party? Why switch it up? With the challenge, the customization is still there, and everyone actually has gravitas. Want Cloud to be the white mage? Feel free, nay, encouraged. Barrett, the Black Mage, enjoy your pun. And the characters feel like they should be super villain stomping WMDs while being set apart from random chaff. If anyone can use everything, you are not unique. Jobs are just as customizable as they are in III and V. It’s always been there, but I just never saw it through my terrible eyesight. It’s given me a new love and respect for VII. It takes a long time to get into, and an even longer while to fully finish, but that's a good thing. You always want to be striving for something, wanting to grind out that one last materia. I don't think it's good for a first-time playthrough, but as a veteran player, I think it's how the game should be experienced. Many of these blog updates are filled with me praising the challenge, so I'll cut to the chase and end this long-winded speech now.
I’ve been writing for three hours and prooving, once more, I need to stop and, actually, plan out my thoughts ahead of time. And writing on a phone sucks! I’m sick of typing, but I’ll reiterate once more the greatnesses of Final Fantasy VII. This challenge run has helped to recognize just how good the game is. I’ve always considered VII a second-tier experience in the franchise, but I’m rethinking it now. The more I'm ruminating over everything, the more I think it is deserving of its masterpiece status. It's making me think about the game, want to play it again, and even try other games in the franchise with a similar challenge. I suddenly want to try FFVI, but limit what espers can be equipped to who. Look out for that in the eventual future!
Tuesday, August 18, 2020
No Winged Angel
Step one in my last day preparations involves getting the rest of the Ultimate Weapons. I stop by Cosmo Canyon where the gate watcher tells Nanaki that something is wrong with Bugenhagen. We b-line it up to the observatory, and Nanaki runs up to talk to his grandfather. How a canine climbs a ladder is beyond me, but what can ya do? Barrett and Cloud leave the room, so the family members can speak privately. Bugenhagen tells Red to fight for the planet and go on a journey to learn about the world, become a strong warrior, and maybe even find a wife. He then gives his grandson his Ultimate Weapon, Limited Moon. Its attack stat is based on how close to max MP Red has. Bugenhagen then seems to pass out or, more likely, dies. Red returns to the party, waiting at the Cosmo Flame, and tells them Bugenhagen is going on a trip. We're reminded that Bugenhagen once said Red’s age is the equivalent of 15 or 16 in human years. This means our Purple Mage is now an orphan, all alone.
Cid’s weapon, Venus Gospel, is boring to get, and you just need to talk to a guy four times in Rocket Town. I think it should have been Shera giving it, after a nice heart-to-heart with a repentant Cid.
I level up Nanaki and Tifa’s Limit Breaks to use their level fours. I forgot to set Red’s limit, so guess what I never used... Lastly, I stop by Cosmo Canyon again to fill out my materia slots with HP and MP Pluses, increasing my pool of resources. Preparations complete, I head off for the final confrontation. I thought about going into the Ancient Forest, but the reward was a Materia I’d put on Yuffie, so I opted not to.
In the Northern Crater, we fight our way down, from cliff to cliff, fighting somewhat strong mobs along the way. I say, "somewhat" because I have Cloud attacking twice a turn (added-cut paired with Steal/Mug) with a Holy Sword doing 14000 to 19000 damage, which makes short work of everything down here. On the way, we find several stat boosts and armors. I missed the W-Magic Materia, so Red will be a full-fledged Red Mage. I also miss a third Mystile, my favorite armor in the game, so I’m slightly underprepared for what’s to come.
At one point, we have to split the party, and I get confused. I somehow went the wrong way with Tifa and Yuffie. Yuffie was actually pretty good, though. She did 5K a swing from the back row, so I may have underestimated her. Apparently, her Ultimate Weapon is slightly broken, so that's fun. When the party gets back together, we’re in a room called Inside the Planet, where we have to jump from rock to rock again, fighting monsters along the way. I manage to get Pandora’s Box, a Blue Spell for Red. It’s the last Blue Magic I get, and I missed the other four we can find in this dungeon. Maybe Cait Sith would have been a fine parry member down here, after all. I'm realizing so late the perks of alternative characters. I guess I've always know Cait, but I just never trusted him.
Down we go until we fight, one last time, Jenova. Jenova•Synthesis has a unique appearance; the missing head Sephiroth was holding in the True Cloud flashback. She also has her own theme. She does 999 damage to Tifa, and I defeat her. I thought she’d be harder. I prepared for something harder. She was not hard. I even cast Big Guard and was ready to waste MP summoning Alexander. Duel attack Cloud may be another broken strat I just learned of. Barrage Spellblade was the key to breaking FFV, so it's nice to know it works even in future installments.
After minor matricide, the whole party is teleported in front of Sephiroth, who himself is in front of a bright light: Holy. He says nothing but throws everyone aside and into the rocks. The sight of Holy compels Cloud to remain resolute and rallies the rest of the party from their despair. We then have to make two parties for stage one of the boss battle. I do and Yuffie and Cait ‘mysteriously’ disappear as the two pointed final battle commences.
I don’t think the two parry thing worked. The mechanic here is, whenever one party defeats a section of Bizzaro Sephiroth, the player can switch parties. Usually, there’s no reason to do so as the other party doesn’t have materia equipped, but with the Job Class Challenge going, it might be viable. The thing is, 1.) it takes too long to load from party to party, and 2.) every time I switched, the parts came back. They do that eventually regardless, but It was mildly confusing, and towards the end, I stopped switching altogether. Barrett shot a grenade, and Vincent used Ultima, but I didn’t use them that much. Once again, Cid had nothing to do. Of all my mistakes in this playthrough, not using him is my biggest regret. How much personality did I pass? Why do I have such an aversion to Time Magic?!
After Bizzaro fades, Sephiroth returns with his final form, Safer Sephiroth (a mistranslation of Seraph). One Winged Angel plays, and there’s no doubt that this is the climax. He’s not terribly hard with this setup, but he has one trick up his...wing, Supernova. Supernova summons a blast of light that destroys Pluto, Saturn, and Jupiter. It hits the Sun, causing it to expand and eat Mercury, Venus, and Earth doing MASSIVE damage to the party and causing status effects. Also, it destroys the solar system, a solar system I didn't even know we were in. It destroys the players' solar system. Sorry guys! If I hadn’t just cast Big Guard, I might have died and had to redo ALL of this dungeon. I misused my mobile save point, you see. Despite learning I failed to set Red’s Limit Break correctly and suck with Tifa’s slots, a well-timed Alexander Summon finished off our Big Bad Guy. As Sephiroth fades into the sky, the music ends, and the party returns to the cliff at the planet's core.
Holy still hasn't activated. As the party returns to the Highwind, with their heads held high for they've done all they can do, Cloud says the Sephiroth is still alive. And he’s laughing. Cloud, the last remaining clone, has another breakdown and shoots his psyche into the Lifestream for a one on one battle with his master. This fight starts off with an old school western camera cut between the two combatants, but, if you notice, Cloud’s Limit Gaige is slowly increasing. As you gain control, the gauge fills up, and Cloud has access to his Level Four Limit, Omnislash! It is because of this fight that I kinda don’t like grinding for the limit proper. It just feels so fitting to use it for the first time here, as Cloud forcibly removes his genetic parasite. Omnislash makes quick work for the shirtless Seph and Cloud jumps back to himself as the final FMV cutscene takes us home.
An earthquake happens, and the cliffs begin to collapse. Tifa nearly falls in but is saved by Cloud. The rest of the party is nearby and continues to feel confused about Holy. All of a sudden, The Highwind falls down the crater, which is perfect because, with Sephiroth gone, Holy can now activate right up from the crater they're in. The blast sends the airship back into the atmosphere, but it’s being torn apart by energy, so Cid pulls the escape plane switch (it makes sense if you see it), and they fly off to Midgar.
The scene cuts to Marlene, in Kalm, seeing Meteor falling onto Midgar. Just before it lands, a wave of Holy stops it. Sadly, Holly did little to end the threat. Holy isn’t strong enough. Midgar is still being torn apart by red tornadoes, and Meteor is still complying with gravity. As the party is about to give up hope, the Lifestream sprouts up from all over the planet and winds its way to Midgar, teaming up with Holy. I think Holy is the will of the Cetra while the Lifestream is the will of everyone and everything that has ever lived on the planet. The whole planet is turned green, and as the screen fades once more, the face of Aerith appears, just as it did in the first cutscene on disk 1. Cue the credits.
After the credits, the words “500 years later” appear, and we see Red XIII and his two children climbing up some cliffs. They howl, and the camera pans up to reveal Midgar, covered in moss. The Final Fantasy prelude plays, and we rush through space, ad nauseam until we turn off the console.
Final Fantasy VII has aged pretty well. I’ve enjoyed this play through more than I have of recent playings dating back some time. The Job Class Challenge really makes the game more entertaining. It shows off character strengths and weaknesses and makes you use characters you don’t normally use. It helps to gain any modicum of respect for people you don’t often see. Or, in my case, fills me with regrets that I couldn’t figure out how to fit Cid in my party. Will I go back to so the missing side quests; I want to. Not sure, though. At least right now. I have time until my next game, so who knows? For now, I’m putting my controller down, satisfied I replayed this now. The Job Class Challenge is how I’m going to replay the game going forward, including the Remake if I ever get to play it.
Final thoughts tomorrow!
Cid’s weapon, Venus Gospel, is boring to get, and you just need to talk to a guy four times in Rocket Town. I think it should have been Shera giving it, after a nice heart-to-heart with a repentant Cid.
I level up Nanaki and Tifa’s Limit Breaks to use their level fours. I forgot to set Red’s limit, so guess what I never used... Lastly, I stop by Cosmo Canyon again to fill out my materia slots with HP and MP Pluses, increasing my pool of resources. Preparations complete, I head off for the final confrontation. I thought about going into the Ancient Forest, but the reward was a Materia I’d put on Yuffie, so I opted not to.
In the Northern Crater, we fight our way down, from cliff to cliff, fighting somewhat strong mobs along the way. I say, "somewhat" because I have Cloud attacking twice a turn (added-cut paired with Steal/Mug) with a Holy Sword doing 14000 to 19000 damage, which makes short work of everything down here. On the way, we find several stat boosts and armors. I missed the W-Magic Materia, so Red will be a full-fledged Red Mage. I also miss a third Mystile, my favorite armor in the game, so I’m slightly underprepared for what’s to come.
At one point, we have to split the party, and I get confused. I somehow went the wrong way with Tifa and Yuffie. Yuffie was actually pretty good, though. She did 5K a swing from the back row, so I may have underestimated her. Apparently, her Ultimate Weapon is slightly broken, so that's fun. When the party gets back together, we’re in a room called Inside the Planet, where we have to jump from rock to rock again, fighting monsters along the way. I manage to get Pandora’s Box, a Blue Spell for Red. It’s the last Blue Magic I get, and I missed the other four we can find in this dungeon. Maybe Cait Sith would have been a fine parry member down here, after all. I'm realizing so late the perks of alternative characters. I guess I've always know Cait, but I just never trusted him.
Down we go until we fight, one last time, Jenova. Jenova•Synthesis has a unique appearance; the missing head Sephiroth was holding in the True Cloud flashback. She also has her own theme. She does 999 damage to Tifa, and I defeat her. I thought she’d be harder. I prepared for something harder. She was not hard. I even cast Big Guard and was ready to waste MP summoning Alexander. Duel attack Cloud may be another broken strat I just learned of. Barrage Spellblade was the key to breaking FFV, so it's nice to know it works even in future installments.
After minor matricide, the whole party is teleported in front of Sephiroth, who himself is in front of a bright light: Holy. He says nothing but throws everyone aside and into the rocks. The sight of Holy compels Cloud to remain resolute and rallies the rest of the party from their despair. We then have to make two parties for stage one of the boss battle. I do and Yuffie and Cait ‘mysteriously’ disappear as the two pointed final battle commences.
I don’t think the two parry thing worked. The mechanic here is, whenever one party defeats a section of Bizzaro Sephiroth, the player can switch parties. Usually, there’s no reason to do so as the other party doesn’t have materia equipped, but with the Job Class Challenge going, it might be viable. The thing is, 1.) it takes too long to load from party to party, and 2.) every time I switched, the parts came back. They do that eventually regardless, but It was mildly confusing, and towards the end, I stopped switching altogether. Barrett shot a grenade, and Vincent used Ultima, but I didn’t use them that much. Once again, Cid had nothing to do. Of all my mistakes in this playthrough, not using him is my biggest regret. How much personality did I pass? Why do I have such an aversion to Time Magic?!
After Bizzaro fades, Sephiroth returns with his final form, Safer Sephiroth (a mistranslation of Seraph). One Winged Angel plays, and there’s no doubt that this is the climax. He’s not terribly hard with this setup, but he has one trick up his...wing, Supernova. Supernova summons a blast of light that destroys Pluto, Saturn, and Jupiter. It hits the Sun, causing it to expand and eat Mercury, Venus, and Earth doing MASSIVE damage to the party and causing status effects. Also, it destroys the solar system, a solar system I didn't even know we were in. It destroys the players' solar system. Sorry guys! If I hadn’t just cast Big Guard, I might have died and had to redo ALL of this dungeon. I misused my mobile save point, you see. Despite learning I failed to set Red’s Limit Break correctly and suck with Tifa’s slots, a well-timed Alexander Summon finished off our Big Bad Guy. As Sephiroth fades into the sky, the music ends, and the party returns to the cliff at the planet's core.
Holy still hasn't activated. As the party returns to the Highwind, with their heads held high for they've done all they can do, Cloud says the Sephiroth is still alive. And he’s laughing. Cloud, the last remaining clone, has another breakdown and shoots his psyche into the Lifestream for a one on one battle with his master. This fight starts off with an old school western camera cut between the two combatants, but, if you notice, Cloud’s Limit Gaige is slowly increasing. As you gain control, the gauge fills up, and Cloud has access to his Level Four Limit, Omnislash! It is because of this fight that I kinda don’t like grinding for the limit proper. It just feels so fitting to use it for the first time here, as Cloud forcibly removes his genetic parasite. Omnislash makes quick work for the shirtless Seph and Cloud jumps back to himself as the final FMV cutscene takes us home.
An earthquake happens, and the cliffs begin to collapse. Tifa nearly falls in but is saved by Cloud. The rest of the party is nearby and continues to feel confused about Holy. All of a sudden, The Highwind falls down the crater, which is perfect because, with Sephiroth gone, Holy can now activate right up from the crater they're in. The blast sends the airship back into the atmosphere, but it’s being torn apart by energy, so Cid pulls the escape plane switch (it makes sense if you see it), and they fly off to Midgar.
The scene cuts to Marlene, in Kalm, seeing Meteor falling onto Midgar. Just before it lands, a wave of Holy stops it. Sadly, Holly did little to end the threat. Holy isn’t strong enough. Midgar is still being torn apart by red tornadoes, and Meteor is still complying with gravity. As the party is about to give up hope, the Lifestream sprouts up from all over the planet and winds its way to Midgar, teaming up with Holy. I think Holy is the will of the Cetra while the Lifestream is the will of everyone and everything that has ever lived on the planet. The whole planet is turned green, and as the screen fades once more, the face of Aerith appears, just as it did in the first cutscene on disk 1. Cue the credits.
After the credits, the words “500 years later” appear, and we see Red XIII and his two children climbing up some cliffs. They howl, and the camera pans up to reveal Midgar, covered in moss. The Final Fantasy prelude plays, and we rush through space, ad nauseam until we turn off the console.
Final Fantasy VII has aged pretty well. I’ve enjoyed this play through more than I have of recent playings dating back some time. The Job Class Challenge really makes the game more entertaining. It shows off character strengths and weaknesses and makes you use characters you don’t normally use. It helps to gain any modicum of respect for people you don’t often see. Or, in my case, fills me with regrets that I couldn’t figure out how to fit Cid in my party. Will I go back to so the missing side quests; I want to. Not sure, though. At least right now. I have time until my next game, so who knows? For now, I’m putting my controller down, satisfied I replayed this now. The Job Class Challenge is how I’m going to replay the game going forward, including the Remake if I ever get to play it.
Final thoughts tomorrow!
Monday, August 17, 2020
From whence we came...
We got right into it tonight, no side missions, no grinding, no procrastination. We flew the Highwind over Midgar and let the FMV cutscene take me away.
With Midgar under martial law, and the party unable to enter via land, Cid states the only way in is by air. Everyone straps on a parachute and skydives into sector five. I have no idea how Red pulled his string, but I have complete trust in my Purple Mage. I still don’t care about Cait Sith. We land in the streets of the plate and quickly duck into the sewers/underplate. It’s an area that looks like the section before Reactor Five blew up. As another callback to the earlier portion of the game, Bombing Mission, the first song we heard from the OST, plays as we travel. We find a few good treasures, including a good weapon for Barrett, and enter into the same train tracks we once ran on before the aforementioned reactor mission. It is here we find the Turks, one last time. I had the option to not fight this boss, but, look. Reno is entirely responsible for the death of everyone in the Sector Seven Slums. Rude was elsewhere, and Elena was still in training, so I’ll give them plausible deniability in the act, but Reno was there. We fought him after he planted the bomb and before he flew off with a kidnapped Aerith. Reno is not a good guy.
I steal their treasures and beat up on Elena for a while because she was in the front row. Sadly, you only need to defeat one before they all run away and, “call it a day". The most deserving death in the game just casually walks away, and we let him. Really disappointing. Barrett doesn't even have extra dialogue towards the guy who destroyed his home and fellow AVALANCHE members.
In the train tunnels, I go the wrong way and find several stat boosts and the W-Item Materia. With Cait no longer being a mine, since I'm not doing the Chocobo sidequests, I make him a Chemist and gift it to him. I continue the correct way until I come to another wrong way and wind-up in front of the Shinra HQ. Despite it recently being bombed by Weapon, people are still working. You can’t talk to most of them, and you’re only here to collect stuff, though. We find Cait’s Ultimate Weapon, good back-ups for Red and Cid, and a few more stat ups.
Returning to the correct path, we’re ambushed by the remaining Shinra Big-Wigs, Scarlet and Heidegger, riding their Anti-Weapon...weapon, Proud Clod. It’s not a strong enemy, and once it’s shut down, the two are gone for good. The only thing left to do is defeat the last Shinra Executive, Palmer. No, wait. Hojo. Yeah, Hojo. What happens to Palmer?
We climb the scaffolding in sector eight, the same sector we first met Aerith in. With Barrett in our party, we find his Ultimate Weapon, Missing Score. With that in hand; I run back down to replace my parry with Vincent and Red. Vincent has some unique dialogue with Hojo, and Red is OP AF. He’s so OP that he makes this three staged battle easy. Hojo’s status effect moves don’t affect my guys, his adds die quickly to magic breath, and his HP is insignificant. The only thing of note is is that he reveals that HE is the true biological father of Sephiroth. It upsets Vincent, who says Hojo should have slept for all those decades and not Vincent. Vince got the final kill in his Limit Break form, so there's some justice for him.
I don’t know if I believe Hojo is the father of ultimate evil, though. Everything I’ve read online indicates I’m wrong and misread Vincent’s backstory, but I’m sticking to my conspiracy theory. I know, during development, Sephiroth and Aerith were going to be siblings, so I’m basing my theory on that and inability to read. Hojo is also pure evil and, therefore, an unreliable narrator type character.
Regardless of my literacy, after Hojo dies, Shinra is left without any Board of Directors, besides Palmer. With it’s power structure nonexistent, it crumbles, and the world is now free of its tyranny. Capitalism is again able to create the next Shinra as there is still no governing force to control the markets. We never see just how that affects the world, as there are more pressing matters to attend to about the longevity of Gaea.
The night before heading to the North Cave, Cloud decides that everyone needs to find their reason to fight. Not just for the planet, but in their personal life. Red wants to see Cosmo Canyon again, despite us just being there, and Barrett wants to see his daughter, Marlene. Barrett also shows signs of remorse about the bombs and admits he went about it all wrong. It was just to get back at Shinra and not for the planet. Cid, I hope, treats Shera like a person, Reeve moves in with a random couple. Cloud and Tifa, with nowhere to go, just hang out and get close. I didn’t get the scene where they made love, but at least they’re still friends. In the morning, Cloud and Tifa, prepared to face Sephiroth alone, is surprised when all of their friends show-up ready to fight. It's even more surprising because no one landed the Highwind; it was airborne all night, and the whole party was scattered across the world. How did five people sneak past the two and into a floating airship? I have no idea where Vincent went, by the way. I am looking forward to this scene in the remake. Lastly, Cid pulls the new levers he’s been wondering about since we got the ship, and the propellers drop and turn into jet engines. This affects nothing, but the FMV does look nice, as the party jets off to the North Cave. Finally. We are then asked to insert disk 3!
But not yet. Now is the last time to side quest, and, while I’m not doing the tedious stuff, I will do some. I plan to get the Ultimate Weapons and do some Limit Break grinding, but I’ll do that tomorrow. Except for Cloud. I beat Ultima Weapon tonight getting Shadow Flare for Red, as well AND then called it a night (45 minutes to kill that cowardly douche). I’m looking to finish this Job Class Challenge tomorrow. Sad to see it go, but happy to have played. Sorry I haven’t been exploring more characters and describing the challenge better. Gotta figure out how to use Cid for awhile. Maybe I will do the Ancient Forest...
With Midgar under martial law, and the party unable to enter via land, Cid states the only way in is by air. Everyone straps on a parachute and skydives into sector five. I have no idea how Red pulled his string, but I have complete trust in my Purple Mage. I still don’t care about Cait Sith. We land in the streets of the plate and quickly duck into the sewers/underplate. It’s an area that looks like the section before Reactor Five blew up. As another callback to the earlier portion of the game, Bombing Mission, the first song we heard from the OST, plays as we travel. We find a few good treasures, including a good weapon for Barrett, and enter into the same train tracks we once ran on before the aforementioned reactor mission. It is here we find the Turks, one last time. I had the option to not fight this boss, but, look. Reno is entirely responsible for the death of everyone in the Sector Seven Slums. Rude was elsewhere, and Elena was still in training, so I’ll give them plausible deniability in the act, but Reno was there. We fought him after he planted the bomb and before he flew off with a kidnapped Aerith. Reno is not a good guy.
I steal their treasures and beat up on Elena for a while because she was in the front row. Sadly, you only need to defeat one before they all run away and, “call it a day". The most deserving death in the game just casually walks away, and we let him. Really disappointing. Barrett doesn't even have extra dialogue towards the guy who destroyed his home and fellow AVALANCHE members.
In the train tunnels, I go the wrong way and find several stat boosts and the W-Item Materia. With Cait no longer being a mine, since I'm not doing the Chocobo sidequests, I make him a Chemist and gift it to him. I continue the correct way until I come to another wrong way and wind-up in front of the Shinra HQ. Despite it recently being bombed by Weapon, people are still working. You can’t talk to most of them, and you’re only here to collect stuff, though. We find Cait’s Ultimate Weapon, good back-ups for Red and Cid, and a few more stat ups.
Returning to the correct path, we’re ambushed by the remaining Shinra Big-Wigs, Scarlet and Heidegger, riding their Anti-Weapon...weapon, Proud Clod. It’s not a strong enemy, and once it’s shut down, the two are gone for good. The only thing left to do is defeat the last Shinra Executive, Palmer. No, wait. Hojo. Yeah, Hojo. What happens to Palmer?
We climb the scaffolding in sector eight, the same sector we first met Aerith in. With Barrett in our party, we find his Ultimate Weapon, Missing Score. With that in hand; I run back down to replace my parry with Vincent and Red. Vincent has some unique dialogue with Hojo, and Red is OP AF. He’s so OP that he makes this three staged battle easy. Hojo’s status effect moves don’t affect my guys, his adds die quickly to magic breath, and his HP is insignificant. The only thing of note is is that he reveals that HE is the true biological father of Sephiroth. It upsets Vincent, who says Hojo should have slept for all those decades and not Vincent. Vince got the final kill in his Limit Break form, so there's some justice for him.
I don’t know if I believe Hojo is the father of ultimate evil, though. Everything I’ve read online indicates I’m wrong and misread Vincent’s backstory, but I’m sticking to my conspiracy theory. I know, during development, Sephiroth and Aerith were going to be siblings, so I’m basing my theory on that and inability to read. Hojo is also pure evil and, therefore, an unreliable narrator type character.
Regardless of my literacy, after Hojo dies, Shinra is left without any Board of Directors, besides Palmer. With it’s power structure nonexistent, it crumbles, and the world is now free of its tyranny. Capitalism is again able to create the next Shinra as there is still no governing force to control the markets. We never see just how that affects the world, as there are more pressing matters to attend to about the longevity of Gaea.
The night before heading to the North Cave, Cloud decides that everyone needs to find their reason to fight. Not just for the planet, but in their personal life. Red wants to see Cosmo Canyon again, despite us just being there, and Barrett wants to see his daughter, Marlene. Barrett also shows signs of remorse about the bombs and admits he went about it all wrong. It was just to get back at Shinra and not for the planet. Cid, I hope, treats Shera like a person, Reeve moves in with a random couple. Cloud and Tifa, with nowhere to go, just hang out and get close. I didn’t get the scene where they made love, but at least they’re still friends. In the morning, Cloud and Tifa, prepared to face Sephiroth alone, is surprised when all of their friends show-up ready to fight. It's even more surprising because no one landed the Highwind; it was airborne all night, and the whole party was scattered across the world. How did five people sneak past the two and into a floating airship? I have no idea where Vincent went, by the way. I am looking forward to this scene in the remake. Lastly, Cid pulls the new levers he’s been wondering about since we got the ship, and the propellers drop and turn into jet engines. This affects nothing, but the FMV does look nice, as the party jets off to the North Cave. Finally. We are then asked to insert disk 3!
But not yet. Now is the last time to side quest, and, while I’m not doing the tedious stuff, I will do some. I plan to get the Ultimate Weapons and do some Limit Break grinding, but I’ll do that tomorrow. Except for Cloud. I beat Ultima Weapon tonight getting Shadow Flare for Red, as well AND then called it a night (45 minutes to kill that cowardly douche). I’m looking to finish this Job Class Challenge tomorrow. Sad to see it go, but happy to have played. Sorry I haven’t been exploring more characters and describing the challenge better. Gotta figure out how to use Cid for awhile. Maybe I will do the Ancient Forest...
Sunday, August 16, 2020
Why does “Where’s the flower lady” make me feel things...
A lot of behind the scenes stuff happened, and I didn’t play much tonight. I’ve decided I'm gonna start winding down this playthrough, and I won’t be going for most of the extra stuff. Sorry. I don't think the Chocobo Breeding rewards much for the job challenge, nor do I even like it. And I hate grinding for Omnislash.
What we did do today was continue to procrastinate on going to Cosmo Canyon! First, I went back to Bone Village to look for a key. On the second dig, I found the Key to Sector Five, which allows me to return to Midgar. There’s not much here, but we pick up Tifa’s best weapon, Premium Heart, and see the ghost of Aerith in the church. She’s still there, tending the flowers. As though nothing happened. The ghost disappears as we get close, and the two children in the room say nothing about it.
Unable to wait any longer, I replace Cid with Red and return to his hometown. We climb up through the caves, and into the observatory at the top, to hang out with the oldest man on Gaea. We ask him how to save the world. He can't answer and offers us a riddle, which the three characters in the party are unable to guess, so Cloud calls the whole party in. The party begins to reminisce about Aerith until Bugenhagen suggests we take a trip to where Aerith died. He thinks it might lead to a clue to what she was planning when she left. Before leaving, we store the Huge Materia there, examine them, and get Bahamut ZERO (the non-diet Bahamut). We leave Cosmo Canyon and return to the Forgotten Capital.
We find an old amphitheater looking thing where Bugenhagen finds some barely translated text of Cetra Script. It mentions a key where the sun doesn’t shine. Taking the sub to the one place we haven’t been, finds a key in an ocean cave directly under the capital. I stop by and get Vincent’s beat weapon and limit break and return to Bugenhagen. He sticks the key in a nearby receptacle, and water crashes down from above, creating a waterfall around us. It turns into a projector, making us relive Aerith's death. It also shows the “useless” Materia that dropped into the water. It’s glowing and means it’s currently active. Bugenhagen magically knows that it’s the fabled spell Holy, the only magic that could stop Meteor from crashing into the planet. But why isn’t it working? Sephiroth must be stopping it. As the party plans to head to North Cave, an earthquake happens, and Diamond Weapon rises from the sea.
As it begins marching towards Midgar, Cait Sith spies on Shinra and informs us what happened to the Mako Cannon on Junon. It was moved to Midgar to use all the Mako Reactors' energy as a mako bullet and shot the barrier over North Cave. Scarlet renames it "The Sister Ray" for reasons. For more reasons not entirely clear, the party decides to fight Diamond.
In a fight I didn’t fully understand, I managed to defeat it and gained about two levels and nearly 10k AP. I don't feel like I earned it, seeing as I accidentally beat it. Plus, I didn't even kill it. After the fight, Diamond, “sensing murder in the air”, begins to retreat. We cut back to Shinra as Rufus gives the okay to fire...at the North Cave. Fortunately, Diamond is directly in the way of the blast. Before being struck, Diamond fires a barrage of his own back at Midgar. As the mako bullet pierces Weapon, killing him and knocking him back what might be a full mile, it continues until it strikes it's intended target. Keep in mind the Weapons are the size of a mountain. Has anyone thought about shooting Meteor with it? Yes, I’m aware that makes me sound very American. No, I won’t apologize (for that, at least). The barrier over North Cave dissolves, and we can now fight Sephiroth.
But first, we see Rufus, alone in his office, as the explosions Diamond shot strike the Shinra HQ. It’s implied he dies, but Advent Children shows that he is alive and well. For now, though, everyone loses contact with the President and begin to go rogue. Including, Hojo. We cut to Hojo, on the Sister Ray, planning another shot towards the North Cave. Using the cannon, he plans to 1.) give more mako to Sephiroth, and 2.) destroy Midgar by draining its' energy too fast and too soon after the last shot. The party makes plans to return to Midgar, rather than defeat Sephiroth for now. En route, Cait Sith and Barrett exchange wards. Barrett calls out Cait, who we know now is Reeve of the Turks, over his hypocrisy about saving the world while being with Shinra. Reeve then reminds Barrett about all the people he killed bombing the Mako Reactors. The argument ends when everyone yells at both of them, so this argument is never concluded.
And sadly, it never will because we have to go skydiving tomorrow. Back to where the game began, Midgar. In order to kill Sephiroth, we first need to finish off Shinra and Hojo.
What we did do today was continue to procrastinate on going to Cosmo Canyon! First, I went back to Bone Village to look for a key. On the second dig, I found the Key to Sector Five, which allows me to return to Midgar. There’s not much here, but we pick up Tifa’s best weapon, Premium Heart, and see the ghost of Aerith in the church. She’s still there, tending the flowers. As though nothing happened. The ghost disappears as we get close, and the two children in the room say nothing about it.
Unable to wait any longer, I replace Cid with Red and return to his hometown. We climb up through the caves, and into the observatory at the top, to hang out with the oldest man on Gaea. We ask him how to save the world. He can't answer and offers us a riddle, which the three characters in the party are unable to guess, so Cloud calls the whole party in. The party begins to reminisce about Aerith until Bugenhagen suggests we take a trip to where Aerith died. He thinks it might lead to a clue to what she was planning when she left. Before leaving, we store the Huge Materia there, examine them, and get Bahamut ZERO (the non-diet Bahamut). We leave Cosmo Canyon and return to the Forgotten Capital.
We find an old amphitheater looking thing where Bugenhagen finds some barely translated text of Cetra Script. It mentions a key where the sun doesn’t shine. Taking the sub to the one place we haven’t been, finds a key in an ocean cave directly under the capital. I stop by and get Vincent’s beat weapon and limit break and return to Bugenhagen. He sticks the key in a nearby receptacle, and water crashes down from above, creating a waterfall around us. It turns into a projector, making us relive Aerith's death. It also shows the “useless” Materia that dropped into the water. It’s glowing and means it’s currently active. Bugenhagen magically knows that it’s the fabled spell Holy, the only magic that could stop Meteor from crashing into the planet. But why isn’t it working? Sephiroth must be stopping it. As the party plans to head to North Cave, an earthquake happens, and Diamond Weapon rises from the sea.
As it begins marching towards Midgar, Cait Sith spies on Shinra and informs us what happened to the Mako Cannon on Junon. It was moved to Midgar to use all the Mako Reactors' energy as a mako bullet and shot the barrier over North Cave. Scarlet renames it "The Sister Ray" for reasons. For more reasons not entirely clear, the party decides to fight Diamond.
In a fight I didn’t fully understand, I managed to defeat it and gained about two levels and nearly 10k AP. I don't feel like I earned it, seeing as I accidentally beat it. Plus, I didn't even kill it. After the fight, Diamond, “sensing murder in the air”, begins to retreat. We cut back to Shinra as Rufus gives the okay to fire...at the North Cave. Fortunately, Diamond is directly in the way of the blast. Before being struck, Diamond fires a barrage of his own back at Midgar. As the mako bullet pierces Weapon, killing him and knocking him back what might be a full mile, it continues until it strikes it's intended target. Keep in mind the Weapons are the size of a mountain. Has anyone thought about shooting Meteor with it? Yes, I’m aware that makes me sound very American. No, I won’t apologize (for that, at least). The barrier over North Cave dissolves, and we can now fight Sephiroth.
But first, we see Rufus, alone in his office, as the explosions Diamond shot strike the Shinra HQ. It’s implied he dies, but Advent Children shows that he is alive and well. For now, though, everyone loses contact with the President and begin to go rogue. Including, Hojo. We cut to Hojo, on the Sister Ray, planning another shot towards the North Cave. Using the cannon, he plans to 1.) give more mako to Sephiroth, and 2.) destroy Midgar by draining its' energy too fast and too soon after the last shot. The party makes plans to return to Midgar, rather than defeat Sephiroth for now. En route, Cait Sith and Barrett exchange wards. Barrett calls out Cait, who we know now is Reeve of the Turks, over his hypocrisy about saving the world while being with Shinra. Reeve then reminds Barrett about all the people he killed bombing the Mako Reactors. The argument ends when everyone yells at both of them, so this argument is never concluded.
And sadly, it never will because we have to go skydiving tomorrow. Back to where the game began, Midgar. In order to kill Sephiroth, we first need to finish off Shinra and Hojo.
Saturday, August 15, 2020
The one where we go to space.
So, yeah, I had to fight Ultima again because there’s no save point in Cloud’s Subconscious, but oh well. I planned for that!
In the depth of the Lifestream, Tifa and Cloud are forced to figure out the truth about Cloud’s past. Despite trying to go to one of three paths, Tifa decides the best place to start is Nibelheim, five years ago. This is the shortest of the branches as it only replays the entrance part from Cloud’s Kalm flashback. It confirms that Sephiroth showed us the truth as Cloud is nowhere to be found, replaced by the man with Black Hair. Tifa even confirms this as well by saying, Cloud was never there. She even waited for him.
The second part is Tifa and Cloud giving developers commentary over their Well flashback from Seventh Heaven. Cloud’s request came out of nowhere for Tifa. He thought she’d blow him off since she hated him. All Cloud wanted was to be Tifa’s friend and get her attention, and that's why he went to Midgar to join SOLDIER.
The third branch is a memory only Cloud has from when they were young kids. On the day Tifa’s mother died, she went to cross Mt. Nibel because she thought that’s where dead people went when they died. Cloud was the only person who stayed with her, even as she fell from a cliff, he was blamed for bringing her out there, and Tifa spent a week in a coma while Cloud was unharmed. There’s a quote from when Cloud fell through the church roof here about skinned knees.
The first scene prooves that Cloud is broken, the second prooves that Cloud and Tifa share some memories, the third proves that Cloud wasn’t made five years ago. He existed before the Incident. Somewhere in his psyche is a real Cloud.
This next fourth scene answers all of our questions. The short story is, Cloud WAS there during the Nibelheim Incident, just not as the lead character. He was the lone infantryman who accompanied the party we saw during the flashbacks. He hid his face because of the shame of promising Tifa he’d join SOLDIER and failing. The real lead was Zack. Everything Cloud recalled was from the point of his friend Zack. We also learn that it was Zack who attacked Sephiroth in front of Jenova but failed to give any damage. Cloud sees Zack fly out of the room, moves Tifa to the aide, and, as he picks up the Buster Sword, Zach fells him to kill Sephiroth. Cloud is then able to get a sneak attack in on Sephiroth, leaving him wounded. Cloud walks out of the room with the goal of saving his childhood crush only for Sephiroth to walk out past him, holding Jenova’s head for some reason. Cloud gives chase only to be stabbed through with the Masamune. A, what I imagine, surge of emotion allows Cloud to get the upper hand. Cloud saw his home burnt down, mother killed, friend wounded, and love on the verge of death. Combining those experiences with a wounded Sephiroth, he’s able to turn the fight around and throw Sephiroth into the bottom of the reactor and into the Lifestream.
All of these new revelations allow Cloud to learn that he’s not a fake, he’s real, and is his own person. The personas floating around the Lifestream return to the body, and our heroes float back to the surface. They’re found by the rest of the party soon after and wake up in the ruined Mideel. Reunited at last, minus the white mage, Cloud tells the others the truth, apologizes, promises to save the world, and is re given the role of leader.
Before carrying on, I return to Nibelheim, as there's a secret scene there. It shows how Cloud and Zack survived the Incident. Hojo brought them back to the basement, and, a year later, during feeding time, Zack beat up the caretaker, and the two left the town. Despite Cloud practically being brain dead, Zack carries him all the way to Midgar, byway of hitchhiking. There’s a scene that shows how cool and charismatic Zack is while alluding to his girlfriend. Thanks to the FFVII prequel, Crisis Core, we know this girlfriend to be Aerith. So this confirms the scene in Gongaga, as well. At some point after that, Zack is killed by the Shinra army, and Cloud is left to die. As the camera pans up, we see Midgar just a short distance away. So Zack and Cloud were experimented on by Hojo with Jenova Cells, causing Cloud, a lowly infantryman, to be able to perform actions like that of a SOLDIER elite. I've always assumed there was some cell transfer between the two while in the science jars, some Zack got into Cloud and vice versa, but this is unconfirmed.
While in the town, I visit Tifa's house to get her level four limit, and, after playing her theme on her piano, find a letter addressed to her. It's from her instructor Zangan and it relates to how she survived the Nibelheim Incidnet. Zangan, after fruitlessly trying to save people from the fires, also went up to the Mako Reactor. There he saw the aftermath, and decided to try to save Tifa over anyone else. It makes sense, Tifa being his student after all, while Cloud and Zack being nobodies to him. He picked up Tifa, hid from Hojo (who picked up the SOLDIERS), and took her to Midgar. Besides telling Tifa his body has gotten old and is confused how the town is standing, gives no further details of himself, or Tifa's recovery.
Before that flashback, Cait Sith informed us that the next location we should go to is the underwater reactor in Junon. It’s a short dungeon where we have staged fights with Shinra infantry until we meet with Reno. We don’t fight Reno, but he sicks a giant robot on us who might be the easiest boss in the game. A few Blue Mage Trines and some Electric Swords dwindle it’s HP quickly. We then gain a few MISC items and hijack a submarine filled with some old friends from the Junon disguise section. I let them live. However, I don’t let the sub that has the Huge Materia on it live and sink it in 10 seconds in the submarine mini-game. It’s a fun game, and I look forward to replaying it in the Gold Saucer.
With submarine in hand, I explore the underwater bits of Gaea. There's a sunken airplane named The Galenka with loads of treasure and enemies I can't yet beat. I did manage to beat up the Turks, steal their gear, and loot all the treasures. I find Yuffie's best weapon, Cid's Level Four Limit, the Hades Summon, and an assortment of other stuff.
The next plot location is back in Rocket Town. Another short section, but we go FREAKIN’ SPACE!!! This rocket was supposed to be filled with Huge Materia and rammed into Meteor, hopefully destroying it. Instead, we stole it all, and the ship harmlessly crashes. Were we the bad guys in this? Besides ruining Shinra’s plan to save the world, there’s a scene where Cid learns that Shera was correct, and the oxygen tank was bugged. So bugged, it explodes onto him. Cloud and Tifa are unable to free him, but Shera is, for reasons, nearby and is able to provide the muscle needed to lift the steel off Cid. Shera, a scientist, is able to add strength necessary to move something that a genetically enhanced SOLDIER and trained martial artist couldn't alone... After this, Cid apologizes and begins to treat Shera better. They don’t have any more scenes in the game, so I can only surmise to the extent. The four of them get into the escape pos, Cid nerds out being in space, and the party lands safely somewhere and is picked up by the Highwind. Everyone opts to go to Cosmo Canyon, which is NOT where I went first.
I added Vincent to my team for the first actual time and explored his backstory. Using the submarine, I find a small waterfall which, if you take the emo vampire to, reveals the truth about Sephiroth. Once upon a time, Vincent was in the Turks. He fell in love with a woman named Lucrecia, who wound up impregnated by Professor Gast. Hojo experimented on the woman and her baby with Jenova Cella. Lucrecia reveals her guilt, and we tell her that her son is dead. It just occurred to me that Sephiroth and Aerith are half-siblings. AHHhHhH!! Also, Vincent was sleeping right next to where all the stuff in Nibelheim happened. Did no one bother to check the room next door at any point?
The last thing I did was finish Yuffie’s plot. I climbed the pagoda, which houses great warriors from the city. It's there we beat up Yufie's dad, gain the Leviathan Summon (the only water attack in the game), and learned Yuffie is, indeed, her father’s daughter. He, too, has a thing for materia. There was also a tradition vs strength thing, bit Yuffie sicks, and I didn't pay attention. Wutai is a strange place. It used to be a world power until it got beat by Shinra, and now it's a tourist town. While many people are okay with the present state of things, many want it changed/returned back. Some want to return to traditional reverence of the water god and Da-Chao, while others, like Yuffie, believe power by any means necessary are keys to Wutai's future. I also finished exploring the mountain range near Wutai to pick up the Steal-As-Well Materia and a weapon for Yuffie that already obsolete. I could have done the Pagoda part the first time, but, because of the Job Blass system, would have very hard. Now, however, it was EZ-PZ.
Tomorrow, I continue with the plot and return to Cosmo Canyon and see what happens after and maybe, start creating the ultimate Chocobo.
Friday, August 14, 2020
Main characters keep leaving me!!!
Last time, Tifa woke up in a Shinra hospital prison cell...thing and discovered that Cloud was missing, she and her friends failed to stop Sephiroth from summoning Meteor, and that she is to be executed by the only corporation in the world in about five minutes.
Barrett, locked in handcuffs, is led, along with Tifa, to a conference room. Tifa is shoved into a gas chamber as Scarlet has decided she dies first. Barrett, always the hero, offers to go first. The camera swings to him as the first known case of public execution in the world is about to take place. While Heidegger admits they don’t deserve it, he also admits it’s about blaming someone, anyone. It’s all to qualm a failing public opinion.
As Tifa is locked into the chair by Scarlet, but before the gas pipes open, an alarm claxon whales. Weapon is approaching. Sapphire Weapon, to be exact. Fortunately, Junon is a town with a giant gun attached to it. Why there is a giant gun is never explained, but it’s here, so Heidegger and Rufus are going to use it. The first shot hits the water and misses. In response, the army and smaller gun turrets open fire, all into the water. All of those fail to damage the Man of War looking thing, so Weapon crashes into Junon. He just tackles it. This tackle turns on the gas, and Tifa begins trying to hold her breath. Fortunately, Scarlet dropped the key as she left. As a mini-game, Tifa is able to contort her body to pick it up and free herself. While this takes place, Cait Sith, disguised as the fattest man on Gaea, puts Scarlet to sleep and frees Barrett. The two then walk off to save Tifa. They meet up with Yuffie, pretending to be a reporter, and find themselves at the airport, under an airship. Sapphire attacks Junon again, this time with a mouth laser, which hits the room Tifa was locked in. The Junon gun (Mako Cannon) fires once more, before Weapon, taking its head off and killing it.
As Tifa climbs out the hole Weapon made, Scarlet bursts through the door and gives chase. There are also a few infantrymen, who fall to their deaths, but the survivors have no place in the final act. They follow her to the barrel of the cannon, where the two women slap each other. It’s weird. I get Scarlet slap fighting, she’s just some middle-aged woman, but Tifa is a trained martial artist. She couldn’t take her down? Stop her from slapping? Punch her in the mouth? It doesn’t even matter who wins, but Tifa lost on my playthrough. Before anything bad happens, Tifa hears a voice telling her to run to the front of the cannon. She does, and the airship flies up to save her. Tifa geta on and all of the party is there. I assume the voice is from a speaker, and our new main character isn't hearing things.
I have questions. Where was Red? Vincent? Cid? What was the plan to save Tifa if Weapon didn’t attack? Or if Scarlet hadn't dropped the key? You can ask the crew why they mutinied, and they say it’s because Cid is legendary, and was nice to them. Why isn’t Cid nice when we interact? It’s all just a strange segment filled with way too many coincidental events
Now airborne, the party then decides to look for Cloud. The only person I spoke to figure where I was supposed to go was Pricilla (via Me. Dolphin). I don't know if this is just an explore the world bit, which is fine, but Pricilla seems like that most random person to get directions to an isolated southern town from. Regardless, we head south to the town of Mideel. It’s a town filled with old people, a crazy Chocobo lady stockpiling toilet paper, a weapons dealer, a Chocobo that gives you late game black magic materia, and a clinic. In that clinic is a pointy-haired man with sharp blue eyes. It’s Cloud. Cloud is in a similar state as he was in the Tifa flashback when she passed out. The doctor calls it Mako Poisoning. Tifa then decides to leave the party and stay with Cloud in hopes he recovers.
Barrett, now leader, instantly relinquishes the leader role to a sleeping Cid. This scene really gives off the Square didn’t work on side characters enough vibe, as I'm still not sure why Cid is in the party, nor do I think he's the best fit to lead. Cid doesn't even want to lead, but reluctantly accepts it anyway. Cait Sith then spies on Shinra for us and informs the parry Shinra is looking for Huge Materia to launch them into Meteor. Their first target is the Corel Reactor.
Cid, Barrett (though not required), and Nanaki head to Barrett’s home town to steal the materia. This starts a train race mini-game, which is simple. Once they've caught-up, the party jumps on to the materia train, and we fight, in every train cart, all the way to the front. Then we have another mini-game I didn’t understand but won anyway, thus saving Corel from another destruction. We’re rewarded with the Ultima Materia by a child. I don't know about you guys, but I think every child should have access to the deadliest black magic in the world. I also find Barrett’s level four limit.
Out next target is Fort Condor. This could have been a multiple part fight with rewards every time you backtracked to the fort, but I didn’t want to do it. It’s a tower defense/RTS mini-game, and it's boring. It also cost me 15 thousand Gil!. We save the condor living up top, and it turns in a Phoenix while also dropping the Phoenix Summon. Would be a great addition to a white mage...
The party then heads back to Mideel to see Cloud just in time for Ultima Weapon to attack. The town is destroyed, and Tifa and Cloud fall into the Lifestream. Tifa has her own breakdown, hearing sounds and other hallucinations, and ends up calling out to Cloud for help. As she wakes up, she sees a surreal scene in Cloud's subconscious.
It’s here I called it. Tomorrow we try to fix Cloud and learn his real backstory. It’s gonna be a long write up tomorrow...
Barrett, locked in handcuffs, is led, along with Tifa, to a conference room. Tifa is shoved into a gas chamber as Scarlet has decided she dies first. Barrett, always the hero, offers to go first. The camera swings to him as the first known case of public execution in the world is about to take place. While Heidegger admits they don’t deserve it, he also admits it’s about blaming someone, anyone. It’s all to qualm a failing public opinion.
As Tifa is locked into the chair by Scarlet, but before the gas pipes open, an alarm claxon whales. Weapon is approaching. Sapphire Weapon, to be exact. Fortunately, Junon is a town with a giant gun attached to it. Why there is a giant gun is never explained, but it’s here, so Heidegger and Rufus are going to use it. The first shot hits the water and misses. In response, the army and smaller gun turrets open fire, all into the water. All of those fail to damage the Man of War looking thing, so Weapon crashes into Junon. He just tackles it. This tackle turns on the gas, and Tifa begins trying to hold her breath. Fortunately, Scarlet dropped the key as she left. As a mini-game, Tifa is able to contort her body to pick it up and free herself. While this takes place, Cait Sith, disguised as the fattest man on Gaea, puts Scarlet to sleep and frees Barrett. The two then walk off to save Tifa. They meet up with Yuffie, pretending to be a reporter, and find themselves at the airport, under an airship. Sapphire attacks Junon again, this time with a mouth laser, which hits the room Tifa was locked in. The Junon gun (Mako Cannon) fires once more, before Weapon, taking its head off and killing it.
As Tifa climbs out the hole Weapon made, Scarlet bursts through the door and gives chase. There are also a few infantrymen, who fall to their deaths, but the survivors have no place in the final act. They follow her to the barrel of the cannon, where the two women slap each other. It’s weird. I get Scarlet slap fighting, she’s just some middle-aged woman, but Tifa is a trained martial artist. She couldn’t take her down? Stop her from slapping? Punch her in the mouth? It doesn’t even matter who wins, but Tifa lost on my playthrough. Before anything bad happens, Tifa hears a voice telling her to run to the front of the cannon. She does, and the airship flies up to save her. Tifa geta on and all of the party is there. I assume the voice is from a speaker, and our new main character isn't hearing things.
I have questions. Where was Red? Vincent? Cid? What was the plan to save Tifa if Weapon didn’t attack? Or if Scarlet hadn't dropped the key? You can ask the crew why they mutinied, and they say it’s because Cid is legendary, and was nice to them. Why isn’t Cid nice when we interact? It’s all just a strange segment filled with way too many coincidental events
Now airborne, the party then decides to look for Cloud. The only person I spoke to figure where I was supposed to go was Pricilla (via Me. Dolphin). I don't know if this is just an explore the world bit, which is fine, but Pricilla seems like that most random person to get directions to an isolated southern town from. Regardless, we head south to the town of Mideel. It’s a town filled with old people, a crazy Chocobo lady stockpiling toilet paper, a weapons dealer, a Chocobo that gives you late game black magic materia, and a clinic. In that clinic is a pointy-haired man with sharp blue eyes. It’s Cloud. Cloud is in a similar state as he was in the Tifa flashback when she passed out. The doctor calls it Mako Poisoning. Tifa then decides to leave the party and stay with Cloud in hopes he recovers.
Barrett, now leader, instantly relinquishes the leader role to a sleeping Cid. This scene really gives off the Square didn’t work on side characters enough vibe, as I'm still not sure why Cid is in the party, nor do I think he's the best fit to lead. Cid doesn't even want to lead, but reluctantly accepts it anyway. Cait Sith then spies on Shinra for us and informs the parry Shinra is looking for Huge Materia to launch them into Meteor. Their first target is the Corel Reactor.
Cid, Barrett (though not required), and Nanaki head to Barrett’s home town to steal the materia. This starts a train race mini-game, which is simple. Once they've caught-up, the party jumps on to the materia train, and we fight, in every train cart, all the way to the front. Then we have another mini-game I didn’t understand but won anyway, thus saving Corel from another destruction. We’re rewarded with the Ultima Materia by a child. I don't know about you guys, but I think every child should have access to the deadliest black magic in the world. I also find Barrett’s level four limit.
Out next target is Fort Condor. This could have been a multiple part fight with rewards every time you backtracked to the fort, but I didn’t want to do it. It’s a tower defense/RTS mini-game, and it's boring. It also cost me 15 thousand Gil!. We save the condor living up top, and it turns in a Phoenix while also dropping the Phoenix Summon. Would be a great addition to a white mage...
The party then heads back to Mideel to see Cloud just in time for Ultima Weapon to attack. The town is destroyed, and Tifa and Cloud fall into the Lifestream. Tifa has her own breakdown, hearing sounds and other hallucinations, and ends up calling out to Cloud for help. As she wakes up, she sees a surreal scene in Cloud's subconscious.
It’s here I called it. Tomorrow we try to fix Cloud and learn his real backstory. It’s gonna be a long write up tomorrow...
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