No Promises.
I've just finished Final Fantasy VII Rebirth!
I've always found the relationship between Aerith and Tseng interesting. I'd like to know more about their history.
The temple traumatic backstory parade feels a bit much, even for me, but I'm pretty into this homoerotic Cloud/Sephiroth stabbing scene.
When Cait Sith is being crushed in the Temple of the Ancients, you can hear the exertion in his voice. Important question: is Reeve roleplaying the effort despite feeling absolutely fine in reality, or did Reeve develop a robot that allows him to feel its pain? I can't decide which possibility is funnier.
I'm really touched by Zack choosing to prioritise helping Cloud because Aerith likes him. Choosing Aerith's happiness, even if Aerith's happiness might not necessarily mean being happy with Zack.
wait, are we in a third universe now
what is going on
I laughed aloud at Zack going SCREW FATE and vaulting over the reactor barrier. That's the spirit!
This is some absolutely classic 'dissolving into confusing nonsense at the end of a Square game' bullshit and I love it. Makes me strangely nostalgic for when I first discovered the Final Fantasy series and found myself going '?????' at the end of every game.
I wonder if this 'Cloud and Aerith on a date in the alternate universe' sequence is different if you haven't been prioritising Cloud's relationship with Aerith as hard as I have.
Every time Cloud and Sephiroth are in the same frame, I find myself expecting them to make out. I suspect that's by design.
'Let's go get our girl,' Barret says of Aerith, and I continue to ship Cloud/Aerith/Tifa/Barret pretty hard.
Yuffie hiding behind Barret is also pretty cute.
I've been wondering the whole game how they would handle the iconic stabbing scene. Would they go ahead with it? Would they prevent it? Turns out they went with 'ambiguous and confusing', which I'd consider a bad decision; when you're remaking the most famous scene in the game, you want the player to know what's going on!
I'd also consider it a misstep to throw the player into a series of boss fights before they can emotionally process whatever the hell just happened.
'It's been awesome having me on the team, right?' 'Hasn't been boring' is a very endearing exchange between Yuffie and Cloud.
I have no idea how Zack is here, but I will accept it because it's cool and fun. I enjoyed a) Zack getting so close to Cloud's face that it looks like he's about to kiss him, and b) the two of them standing back-to-back with their giant swords.
Delighted by Cloud going 'LET'S DANCE, ASSHOLE' when I used his second-level limit break on Sephiroth.
I am emotionally destroyed every time Cloud and Aerith hold hands. The most surprising thing about this remake is how it's made me realise that I am actually a massive Cloud/Aerith shipper.
'Getting me interested in Rufus Shinra' is another thing I wasn't expecting from the remake, but perhaps I should have seen it coming; I do love a shitty young man.
Zack going 'Seeya!' while falling through the floor into eternity is extremely funny.
I still have very little idea of what's going on, but if Cloud is hallucinating Aerith, or somehow communicating with a version of Aerith from another reality, I'm here for it; that's a theme I can never resist! In the original game, of course, it's important that Aerith is just gone, but I've had time to come to terms with the fact that this isn't a straight remake.
Is Cloud... trapped between two realities? Somehow living them both at the same time? I am bewildered but fascinated. Does Cloud not know that Aerith is dead??
And now the credits are rolling, so it's time to reflect! God. How did I feel about that game?
I'm not sure the Final Fantasy VII Remake series entirely knows what it wants to be. Does it want to retell the story of Final Fantasy VII? Does it want to do its own thing? Given that the whole of Remake led up to the characters destroying the chains of fate binding them to the events of the original game, Rebirth cleaves surprisingly closely to those events; it ends up feeling a little strange. I'd be happy with either a remake or a new story, but the effort to do both simultaneously is confusing!
The rest of my overall thoughts are less spoilery, so I'll pop those outside the cut.
I still feel this game could do with about thirty percent less of everything. Shorter dungeons, fewer mechanics, fewer side activities; I think it could benefit from being a more focused game all round. That's ultimately a matter of taste, though; do you prioritise pacing, or do you prioritise having plenty of things for the player to do?
Honestly, if you gave me completely free rein over the Remake series, I'd focus the game by narrowing the party down to the core four of Cloud, Tifa, Barret and Aerith and giving everyone else minor roles, and then I would be horribly murdered by fans. I like the other party members, but they often ended up feeling a bit extraneous! Also, get rid of Chadley.
Despite my issues, though, I really enjoyed Final Fantasy VII Rebirth overall! It looks gorgeous, the music is fantastic, the battle system feels good, the characters and their relationships are lovingly depicted, and I have to admit that I had a good time with some of the side content; Queen's Blood in particular really won me over. I'm looking forward to the final instalment!
I've always found the relationship between Aerith and Tseng interesting. I'd like to know more about their history.
The temple traumatic backstory parade feels a bit much, even for me, but I'm pretty into this homoerotic Cloud/Sephiroth stabbing scene.
When Cait Sith is being crushed in the Temple of the Ancients, you can hear the exertion in his voice. Important question: is Reeve roleplaying the effort despite feeling absolutely fine in reality, or did Reeve develop a robot that allows him to feel its pain? I can't decide which possibility is funnier.
I'm really touched by Zack choosing to prioritise helping Cloud because Aerith likes him. Choosing Aerith's happiness, even if Aerith's happiness might not necessarily mean being happy with Zack.
wait, are we in a third universe now
what is going on
I laughed aloud at Zack going SCREW FATE and vaulting over the reactor barrier. That's the spirit!
This is some absolutely classic 'dissolving into confusing nonsense at the end of a Square game' bullshit and I love it. Makes me strangely nostalgic for when I first discovered the Final Fantasy series and found myself going '?????' at the end of every game.
I wonder if this 'Cloud and Aerith on a date in the alternate universe' sequence is different if you haven't been prioritising Cloud's relationship with Aerith as hard as I have.
Every time Cloud and Sephiroth are in the same frame, I find myself expecting them to make out. I suspect that's by design.
'Let's go get our girl,' Barret says of Aerith, and I continue to ship Cloud/Aerith/Tifa/Barret pretty hard.
Yuffie hiding behind Barret is also pretty cute.
I've been wondering the whole game how they would handle the iconic stabbing scene. Would they go ahead with it? Would they prevent it? Turns out they went with 'ambiguous and confusing', which I'd consider a bad decision; when you're remaking the most famous scene in the game, you want the player to know what's going on!
I'd also consider it a misstep to throw the player into a series of boss fights before they can emotionally process whatever the hell just happened.
'It's been awesome having me on the team, right?' 'Hasn't been boring' is a very endearing exchange between Yuffie and Cloud.
I have no idea how Zack is here, but I will accept it because it's cool and fun. I enjoyed a) Zack getting so close to Cloud's face that it looks like he's about to kiss him, and b) the two of them standing back-to-back with their giant swords.
Delighted by Cloud going 'LET'S DANCE, ASSHOLE' when I used his second-level limit break on Sephiroth.
I am emotionally destroyed every time Cloud and Aerith hold hands. The most surprising thing about this remake is how it's made me realise that I am actually a massive Cloud/Aerith shipper.
'Getting me interested in Rufus Shinra' is another thing I wasn't expecting from the remake, but perhaps I should have seen it coming; I do love a shitty young man.
Zack going 'Seeya!' while falling through the floor into eternity is extremely funny.
I still have very little idea of what's going on, but if Cloud is hallucinating Aerith, or somehow communicating with a version of Aerith from another reality, I'm here for it; that's a theme I can never resist! In the original game, of course, it's important that Aerith is just gone, but I've had time to come to terms with the fact that this isn't a straight remake.
Is Cloud... trapped between two realities? Somehow living them both at the same time? I am bewildered but fascinated. Does Cloud not know that Aerith is dead??
And now the credits are rolling, so it's time to reflect! God. How did I feel about that game?
I'm not sure the Final Fantasy VII Remake series entirely knows what it wants to be. Does it want to retell the story of Final Fantasy VII? Does it want to do its own thing? Given that the whole of Remake led up to the characters destroying the chains of fate binding them to the events of the original game, Rebirth cleaves surprisingly closely to those events; it ends up feeling a little strange. I'd be happy with either a remake or a new story, but the effort to do both simultaneously is confusing!
The rest of my overall thoughts are less spoilery, so I'll pop those outside the cut.
I still feel this game could do with about thirty percent less of everything. Shorter dungeons, fewer mechanics, fewer side activities; I think it could benefit from being a more focused game all round. That's ultimately a matter of taste, though; do you prioritise pacing, or do you prioritise having plenty of things for the player to do?
Honestly, if you gave me completely free rein over the Remake series, I'd focus the game by narrowing the party down to the core four of Cloud, Tifa, Barret and Aerith and giving everyone else minor roles, and then I would be horribly murdered by fans. I like the other party members, but they often ended up feeling a bit extraneous! Also, get rid of Chadley.
Despite my issues, though, I really enjoyed Final Fantasy VII Rebirth overall! It looks gorgeous, the music is fantastic, the battle system feels good, the characters and their relationships are lovingly depicted, and I have to admit that I had a good time with some of the side content; Queen's Blood in particular really won me over. I'm looking forward to the final instalment!