Game Diaries – Final Fantasy VII New Threat Arrange Episode XVIII

Final Fantasy VII

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It’s time to finish Disc 1.

Now, before Cloud and company head to the Forgotten Capital, I do want to talk about the ending of the Temple of the Ancients. The ending parts of Disc 1 are arguably the most important in the entire game, and it will be interesting to see how Nomura and the team tackle these segments.

First we have Cait Sith’s sacrifice. It’s one of his few moments of characterization, but it’s lessened by the immediate replacement of Cait Sith #2 and, of course, Aerith’s death. But now that we’ll have access to the full cast’s reaction to these types of scenes, I do wonder how they’ll play out. Even if Wutai becomes required right after Rocket Town, Cid (and even Vincent) haven’t known the others for very long. But while Vincent is a listener, Cid sleeps through the entire recap about Sephiroth’s plan at the Gold Saucer. Considering how foul-mouthed and impatient he is, I wonder how Cid will come across here.

Also, unless they’re retconning again, isn’t it confirmed there are even more Cait Siths? So I wonder what number he actually is. I think in Dirge he says 9, but that of course is years later. I do wonder if we’ll at least hear how Cait Sith got teamed up with the ugliest (and fortunately fake) moogle in the Final Fantasy universe. Will Remake keep Cait Sith’s creator a secret though? Or will they show cutscenes of the real Reeve talking through Cait Sith because, let’s face it, most players will have played the original or have had it spoiled.

Next is Cloud flipping out. If you are one of the few readers who hasn’t played through FFVII, Cloud loses his mind again and starts hitting Aerith repeatedly. When he meets up with her again, he almost kills her. But how graphic will Remake be? A man punching out a woman and then begging for forgiveness is a little too close to so many domestic violence situations. It’s one thing in PS1 graphics, but another with realistic visuals.

Also, I hope Zack doesn’t see this, his living legacy attempting to kill his girlfriend. It’s Young Cloud urging Cloud to stop, but I could also see Zack’s influence flaring up in these moments. And again, with a full party now, what is everyone doing as Cloud hits her? Even if a couple have gone ahead to scout, it’s still at least 4v1.

Anyway, off to go dig up a Lunar Harp which I guess no one else really cared for in at least 100s of years. Water Ring is replaced with Typhoon Ring which halves Water/Wind. Would DEATH still use Water attacks? I took a chance and equipped it.

Again, another disappointing JENOVA fight. For most players, even if they got stomped on the first time since they didn’t equip the Water Ring, all it takes is a quick change to make this perhaps the most laughable Boss in the game. But even with the whole undead aspect, DECAY just melts under Quake spells and the new Enemy Skill Magnitude8 (learned from Satan Wall).

Also, I debated back and forth whether to save Aerith or not. I did keep an extra save so in case I ever want to experience a more authentic runthrough in the future. However, there is no way to get Princess Guard or Great Gospel before she dies. I decided I wanted to see all the things the New Threat mod did, and so ultimately I let her live. I’ll try not to rely too much on Planet Protector (and later Great Gospel) though.

Coral Valley… man, some bad luck here. First, the crab monster has high stats, and the only thing that seemed to work was Bolt2… for a whopping 300 damage. I drained almost all my characters’ MP fighting that thing. But no worries, I’ll get all my MP back when I have to reclimb the shell and the cracks because my power went out right in the middle of the game. (No, it wasn’t storming, but the sound nearly gave me a heart attack!) Fortunately, my computer was OK.

So climb #2… recording software and FFVII game crashed. *headdesk* Third time, I said screw it, put on Enemy Away Materia and tried to get out of that cursed place as fast as I could. I didn’t let a young woman die, and this is how you repay me, game?!?!?!

Icicle Inn real quickly. No, Aerith doesn’t have any dialogue if you watch the tapes of her parents. New fight with Elena.

Not much to say. Bio wrecks havoc on humans.

Elena will still throw a punch (which I meant to dodge, but oh well), but only after fighting her. Also, quite a bit of dialogue change. In the original, Ifalna says WEAPON has never been used, but here Weapon(s) fought “agents of the Calamity” and was infected itself/themselves. The Crisis (never named as JENOVA here) infected others in a “Communion”.

I think I’ve mentioned this before, but the whole section from Coral Valley until Whirlwind Maze is my least favorite part of the game. Easy to get lost in these maps, nothing much story-wise, just dull. Perhaps Modeoheim will be added to get a little story, at least maybe everyone thinking about what just happened and characters like Cid/Vincent really pledging to be a part of this AVALANCHE. And memories of Zack flaring up?

KO KOunter: 41

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2 Comments

  1. The Otaku Judge

    Thank goodness that the internet wasn’t so fast back when FF7 came out. Rather than print multiple discs I bet Square would expect players to download the rest of the game upon reaching the end of the first CD.

    Reply
    1. Krystallina (Post author)

      Man, I remember having to leave my computer on overnight and then some just to download The Eternal Calm from FFX. Hard to believe now it can be streamed anytime in like a minute!

      Reply

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