Game Diaries – Final Fantasy VII New Threat Arrange Episode XIV

Final Fantasy VII

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Wutai. When I first played Final Fantasy VII, I just stumbled into Wutai. I freaked out when my party of Cloud, Aerith, and Tifa suddenly had no options in a battle against Shinra troops. The journey to track down Yuffie and get the Materia back was very scary. The vanilla game rewards you with plenty of X-Potions, which fully heal the group. Made acquiring any other recovery items pretty redundant for the entire rest of the game. I assumed New Threat wouldn’t be as kind, and I was right. Although Hi-Potions are still dropped from the enemies in the area.

Interesting enough, I had one set of basic Materia left: Fire, Ice, Lightning, and Restore. I doubt I had enough Materia to fill Yuffie’s pockets, so I’m guessing the mod lets you have a set to get through the journey. Although they’re available everywhere, I think Yuffie would still take everything.

Cid’s innate is pretty amazing. Essentially makes most damage half. He’s already considered one of the best characters in VII thanks to his Limit Breaks and weapons, and this ability is very good. However, I wonder if it’s less effective in Boss fights. I could see while waiting for one Barrier to expire could throw off timing to reapply it.

Just like last time, one fight in Death Gigas unlocked Hellmasker for Vincent. I guess the mod wanted players to be able to freely choose which one you wanted without having dead weight for so long? Anyway, maybe once I get Chaos, I’ll put him back, but for now, he’s staying on the bench. Do hope in Remake his transformations are either temporary or that he can still use his Materia when transformed. I mean, what, is he going to just physically attack when an enemy absorbs Fire? For an entire Boss battle?

Another part where I can see some changes happening. How did the Don put Elena and Yuffie on the Da Chao statue? And WHY? And does Rapps follow him everywhere? Does he smuggle him on a ship? Or is Rapps strong enough to drag his fat butt all around the world?

SO. MANY. QUESTIONS.

Rapps in vanilla has his Aero3 attack, which can be devastating with its 1,500 damage. I charged up the character’s Limits, so of course I took a chance and brought Aerith for her Seal Evil. Barret is often recommended for Mindblow, but I thought Cid’s innate would be very powerful here. Cloud had the Protect Ring for Auto-Wall, so that just left Aerith unprotected. She still had a healing weapon, and everyone had a Magic Materia to help discover Rapps’ weakness.

… Well, now I regret not using Seal Evil first. I could have had a no-damage fight. Otherwise… yeah. I guess that’s how you do it.

Now, I guess I’ll try tackling the Pagoda with Yuffie. A lot of people wait so they can get Trine on the fourth Enemy Skill Materia, but I don’t even know if there’s a second one in this mod. Besides, I like early access to Leviathan Materia. Only other option for Water damage is Aqualung. Only learned years later how powerful the Bahamut Materias are, but I usually have a few levels on Leviathan by the time I get Bahamut ZERO. Besides, three Enemy Skills are more than enough for most players… well, even one with the skills like Trine, Big Guard, and Aqualung are enough for most of the game.

I’m debating on whether to upgrade everyone’s equipment. I usually only buy the Razor Ring here. I wait until Icicle Inn to upgrade the entire party’s equipment and then do the same in Mideel. But that extra slot is mighty tempting.

Also looking to do some grinding. I don’t think the Temple itself will be too bad, but the Great Glacier and the Gaea’s Cliff can both be long and dragged-out. (Will this be corrected to Gaia’s Cliff in Remake?)

KO KOunter: 34

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4 Comments

  1. The Otaku Judge

    I guess that Vincent’s transformations won’t be an issue in Remake. All the footage I have seen makes the game look like an action title were you control Cloud. The other characters might just be AI controlled allies who do their own thing, like FF15.

    Reply
    1. Krystallina (Post author)

      There will be character switching, but it’s possible that Vincent’s transformations will automatically lock him into a berserk-like AI state instead of being controlled. Of course, if he’s still player-controlled outside of battle, it will be funny to see everyone following a purple monster around.

      Reply
  2. TPAB~

    i love the wutai side quest. seeing Don all over again is fun, and getting Leviathan is also sweet. I grind my game, so I got beta in my first encounter with the midgar snake, so i mostly use that as my attack ends a lot of boss fights, lol.

    Reply
    1. Krystallina (Post author)

      Leviathan was always my most-used summon in FFVII until KOTR. But you got Beta right after Kalm?! That’s something I’ve never done, even though I know it’s possible at level 7.

      Reply

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