First-Class Asshole.

[rionaleonhart]

Final Fantasy VII Remake continues, by which I mean it continues to confuse me. I'm in chapter fourteen; we've just set out from Aerith's house and we're planning to head to the Shinra building.



Tifa: Wait a minute... Cloud? Is that you? Oh, my God, that makeup! And that dress!
Cloud: Nailed it. I know. Thank you. Moving on.

Both my housemates and I broke into delighted laughter.

I'm a little sorry they cut the opportunity to make Cloud say, 'Whatever you want, daddy.'

Tifa and Aerith's interactions are absolutely delightful. I've always loved that they get along so well, rather than falling into rivalry over Cloud. High-fiving! (They're also, I'll be honest, extremely shippable.)

Aerith likes to think the future isn't set in stone. Interesting thing for someone to say in a remake of a game that's been out for two decades.

Cloud sends Tifa and Aerith away so he can fight a bunch of monsters alone. 'But there's too many of them!' 'Not for me.' Goddammit, Cloud, we've already established that I am incapable of fighting without backup. Don't you dare get me a Game Over because you're trying to look cool.

Interesting: Reno doesn't like the Sector 7 orders. I don't remember if we got a sense of his opinion on them in the original. In any case, I'm always a fan of characters doing horrible things and not feeling good about them.

...Marlene is... a ghost?

'Please let us be in time.' This is agonising to watch if you've played the original.

I'm loving this tense, dramatic music with elements of the Turks' theme, though.

I'll be honest: I probably shouldn't be stopping to rest on so many benches when they're preparing to drop the plate.

AERITH, THIS IS NO TIME TO GET ABDUCTED BY GHOSTS AND HAVE A FLASHBACK. When the plate falls, I'm going to blame it on that rather than on all my bench breaks.

I haven't been looking forward to seeing Biggs, Wedge and Jessie die. I can't believe this remake fleshed them out so much just to break our hearts.

I'm curious to know what this chapter is like for people who haven't played the original. There are some very famous spoilers for Final Fantasy VII, but I feel new people playing this might not know the fate of Biggs, Wedge and Jessie in advance.

'But the Turks - ah, but Shinra - that's us—' Oh, Reno. You're so endearing I can almost forget you're about to kill tens of thousands of people.

Wedge wants to believe they can somehow prevent the plate from falling, but he has a gut feeling that's not how it goes. I'm putting this in the 'support for my bullshit time loop theory' column. (Although I think Wedge died before the plate fell in the original, so you wouldn't expect him to retain knowledge of it in a time loop.)

THE NERVOUS, POLITE NEW GUARD RECRUIT REBELLED AGAINST HIS HARDASS PARTNER TO HELP US

Aerith trying to reassure Marlene in the face of her home's destruction is heartbreaking.

There was a 'Cloud is losing it' visual effect over Aerith and Marlene hugging, even though Cloud isn't in this scene! What does that mean??

It's Tseng! Why is everyone in the game so hot?

Rude couldn't bring himself to shoot Tifa!

There are ghosts floating around Jessie right now, and there were ghosts floating around Biggs earlier. Do they surround characters who are about to die?

That suggests some level of destiny at play. These characters are destined to die because they died in the original game?

I'm bullshit theorising again. Even if this isn't a weird time loop thing, though, I'm going to be very tempted to write weird time loop fanfiction.

'I had it coming.' Oh, Jessie.

Cloud sits down to rest on a bench as the pillar burns around him, because he's just that cool.

'It's nothing personal, bitch.' 'No time to dick around.' I'm really enjoying Reno.

Reno is relieved that Rude survived the helicopter crash! I've got a bit of a weakness for villains who care about each other.

And then Rude carries Reno to safety! You know, after authorising the plate drop that is going to kill TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE.

It never really hit me, before this remake, that Jessie, Biggs and Wedge die in a push that ultimately fails.

At least Wedge dies trying to evacuate people in the remake; that does some good. But nooooo, his cats! (Again, ghosts surround him just before he's killed.)

I cannot believe they inserted Cait fucking Sith into this horrific scene.

I really like Barret hugging Tifa after the plate falls, though.

Elmyra's wearing trousers in this flashback! I feel we don't often get to see female Final Fantasy characters in trousers.

wait what

Wedge dies in the plate drop in the original. Explain.

WHY IS WEDGE STILL ALIVE, I'M NOT COMPLAINING BUT I DON'T UNDERSTAND

Maybe Aerith was right; maybe the future isn't set in stone.

I'm highly in favour of Tifa carrying a cat. I'm really liking Tifa in this remake, actually, more than I did in the original. I never disliked her, but she didn't interest me that much in the original game.

I hope the cat joins our party.

Aerith: No matter what, you can't fall in love with me. Even if you think you have, it's not real.
Cloud: Do I get a say in all this?

I'm really curious about this, and especially Aerith's 'it's not real'.

Barret is so sweet with Marlene.

seriously, how is Wedge alive

also where is Wedge's cat

that's important

If they're changing this, what else could they change??



Probably not that long to go, unless I get distracted by sidequests. (I am definitely going to get distracted by sidequests.)

Comments

[runicmagitek]

Rude couldn't bring himself to shoot Tifa!

If you have Tifa attack Rude in the boss fight, he never attacks her back; he just incapacitates her and moves along 💕

I cannot believe they inserted Cait fucking Sith into this horrific scene.

I love that they added him in the cut scene! And it was really tragic, knowing Reeve was explicitly against Shinra's plan with dropping the plate. Perhaps he was trying to do some last-minute sneaking around work as Cait Sith and ultimately failed? He really cares. Even in the original, towards the end of disc 2 he chews out Barret for never having thought of the lives of innocents when Avalanche bombed Sector 1's reactor. I wouldn't be surprised if Reeve's been working behind Shinra's back to help the people of Midgar as best he can.

And Tifa holding a cat is some quality content I didn't know I needed in my life 😍

[rionaleonhart]

he just incapacitates her and moves along

I noticed that! I was going 'goddammit, Rude keeps knocking Tifa out' and then 'wait, Rude keeps specifically knocking Tifa out; he doesn't want to fight her!'

Perhaps he was trying to do some last-minute sneaking around work as Cait Sith and ultimately failed?

Oh, that makes sense! I was going 'why on Earth is Reeve here as Cait Sith to watch the carnage? Reeve is physically here in the city and probably has access to live footage, or even just looking out of a high window!' If he was trying to carry out some sort of goal as Cait Sith, that makes Cait's presence more understandable.

[soranokumo]

In OG, when Wedge falls, Aerith says she'll take care of him... so you don't ever actually see how he dies then. It's just assumed. So, I actually thought it made sense you see him trying to help evacuate people.

I am also in the camp of people who actually liked seeing Cait Sith show up, because Reeve is losing it over this. I can't help but think that people who are new to the story are probably very, very confused, though.

I've heard that what Aerith says in the Japanese for that Chapter 14 cutscene is more along the lines of "don't fall in love with me because you'll get hurt," but my casual Japanese isn't up to snuff well enough to have picked that out. Some of the localization choices have made me scratch my head, though, so I wouldn't be surprised.

Other things I could say, but... Well.

(I know this was another one of your posts, but you mentioned maybe if Zack's voice is in that one cutscene of Cloud talking with Cloud. I listened to it in the Japanese to be certain, but Zack's voice isn't there.)

[rionaleonhart]

In OG, when Wedge falls, Aerith says she'll take care of him... so you don't ever actually see how he dies then.

Ah, right! I evidently didn't remember the scene that clearly.

I can't help but think that people who are new to the story are probably very, very confused, though.

Ha, true! Once I've finished the game and no longer have to worry about spoilers, I'll have to look for the reactions of people who aren't familiar with the original.

I know this was another one of your posts, but you mentioned maybe if Zack's voice is in that one cutscene of Cloud talking with Cloud. I listened to it in the Japanese to be certain, but Zack's voice isn't there.

Alas! I liked the idea. I'm going to pretend it was.

[samuraiter]

At Chapter 16. There are limits to what I can say, especially regarding your theory, but ... keep going.

I do like that a character beat was added for Reno to show his misgivings about dropping the plate. It bothered me that he was so popular among fans after he callously murdered thousands of people in the original game, but this addresses that.

One item that I noticed about Cloud that you have also noticed: Around Tifa, he flashes back. Around Aerith, he flashes forward. And Sephiroth ....

[rionaleonhart]

Reno's instantly much more interesting to me if he doesn't want to drop the plate, and yet is still prepared to do it with his usual irreverent attitude. He's not entirely without conscience; he just doesn't give that conscience a say in anything he does.

[thenicochan]

Tifa and Aerith's interactions are absolutely delightful. I've always loved that they get along so well, rather than falling into rivalry over Cloud. High-fiving! (They're also, I'll be honest, extremely shippable.)

Yeaahhhh... I really ship this now. Like burning.


Reno is relieved that Rude survived the helicopter crash! I've got a bit of a weakness for villains who care about each other.

This was one of my big ships from the OG, and I'm very pleased to have it persist here.

I really like Barret hugging Tifa after the plate falls, though.

Agreed! I adored how close they made these two. It feels so uncommon for have opposite gender (any gender?) friends show physical closeness without it being aluding to some romance or something. But Tifa and Barret are demonstrative quite a few times, and the game is very clear it's just a very close friendship. They are totally bros and I love it.

WHY IS WEDGE STILL ALIVE, I'M NOT COMPLAINING BUT I DON'T UNDERSTAND

This was my exact reaction!


I'm highly in favour of Tifa carrying a cat. I'm really liking Tifa in this remake, actually, more than I did in the original. I never disliked her, but she didn't interest me that much in the original game.

Tifa's always been one of my favorites, and after this she might just be my favorite lady in the series.


Aerith: No matter what, you can't fall in love with me. Even if you think you have, it's not real.
Cloud: Do I get a say in all this?

I know of this scene, but I didn't get it! I need to. I got the one for Tifa instead. It got me misty-eyed. Maybe the best Tifa scene in the whole game. I'm gonna go for Aerith's soon (and then Barret's on my hard mode PT!)

[rionaleonhart]

Oh, wow! I'd heard there was a choice-dependent scene in chapter 14, but I hadn't realised it was that one. I'm going to have to look up the Tifa and Barret scenes once I've finished the game. I'm sort of delighted that, even if this game isn't going up to the Gold Saucer, they've still managed to include an equivalent of the date sequence.

(Is Barret going to tell me not to fall in love with him? I'm looking forward to finding out.)

[wheatear]

Ah, I got the same ending to Chapter 14 that you did. I'm replaying because I'm determined to get the scene with Tifa.

Cloud: Nailed it. I know. Thank you. Moving on.

Best line in the game. :D

Interesting: Reno doesn't like the Sector 7 orders.

The parallels between Reno and Cloud really struck me this time. The Turks are doing a job. They're being paid to do what they do, like Cloud is being paid to help terrorists blow up a reactor. I dunno, I just found it interesting.

There was a 'Cloud is losing it' visual effect over Aerith and Marlene hugging, even though Cloud isn't in this scene! What does that mean??

Yeah, I found this super weird. And then Marlene immediately calms down... is it meant to imply that Aerith showed her a vision of something?

[rionaleonhart]

The parallels between Reno and Cloud really struck me this time. The Turks are doing a job. They're being paid to do what they do, like Cloud is being paid to help terrorists blow up a reactor.

Oh, I really like this observation! Two people who are only really on opposite sides because of who happens to be paying them.

[wheatear]

Yep! It's like Reno says, it's nothing personal... bitch.

I love the Turks in this game.

[thebaconfat]

Tifa: Wait a minute... Cloud? Is that you? Oh, my God, that makeup! And that dress!
Cloud: Nailed it. I know. Thank you. Moving on.

YES!


Interesting: Reno doesn't like the Sector 7 orders. I don't remember if we got a sense of his opinion on them in the original. In any case, I'm always a fan of characters doing horrible things and not feeling good about them.

In my speed-replay I'm doing of the original, I have just left Midgar and thus far at least had no indication of how the Turks felt about it, except Tseng who showed up in a helicopter in the middle of a firefight and structural bombing solely to laugh maniacally and tell he has Aerith. Also in the original Reno does the plate separation by himself. Presumably Rude is driving the helicopter the whole time, but I don't think he makes an appearance at all until he shows up on the elevator in Shinra HQ and captures everyone.


AERITH, THIS IS NO TIME TO GET ABDUCTED BY GHOSTS AND HAVE A FLASHBACK. When the plate falls, I'm going to blame it on that rather than on all my bench breaks.

hahahah I appreciate them adding new stuff but this whole ghost quest really broke the tension of the trying to prevent the platefall. Which was sort of nice because I was NOT looking forward to it but also I was very stressed out and just like GO AWAY GHOST CHILDREN the whole time.

(Although I think Wedge died before the plate fell in the original, so you wouldn't expect him to retain knowledge of it in a time loop.)

He does! He falls off the pillar pretty much as soon as you get there, and Jessie is the one who expresses the "We killed so many people, I guess we deserve this" sentiment.

THE NERVOUS, POLITE NEW GUARD RECRUIT REBELLED AGAINST HIS HARDASS PARTNER TO HELP US


THIS MADE ME SO HAPPY, and I'm so happy the game let us evacuate lots of people instead of going for Maximum Impact/Sadness.

Rude couldn't bring himself to shoot Tifa!

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH. "Hand slipped."

'It's nothing personal, bitch.' 'No time to dick around.' I'm really enjoying Reno.

YES, the fact that he called us shitbirds makes me so excited for Cid. The Turks have been utterly delightful here, and I appreciate that they gave all three of them some direct responsibility for the platefall. Also the way he says 'bitch' is extremely personal. Delightful. (Also I guess one of Cloud's battle banter things is 'Nothing personal', but he said it at one point while fighting Sephiroth later on and I laughed.)

I cannot believe they inserted Cait fucking Sith into this horrific scene.

Hilarious. Imagine how that looked to people who hadn't played the original.

Aerith: No matter what, you can't fall in love with me. Even if you think you have, it's not real.
Cloud: Do I get a say in all this?


We didn't get this scene! (I'm guessing maybe because we checked on Tifa first in the sewers?) We got a really lovely scene with Tifa, though. I'm so happy they're giving these characters the chance to actually process some of their emotions on screen. AND HUGS.