cryoftheplanet

[cryoftheplanet]

don't you think cloud's words after aeris' death was him expressing for the first time his feelings on his mothers murder, at the hands of the same man? feelings until now due to everything that happened and all the ways cloud has suppressed his true self, he never had the opportunity? shall we say, to express? that with the shock of aeris' death came undone?

yes he felt extremely guilty about all the ways he felt he caused this death but also you know how aeris and elmyra at times made cloud think of his own mom? he thought he was hearing claudia when aeris was trying to wake him up in the church.

and you're right about claudia feeling like a throw away character when compared to all the ways the other mothers affect the story and the party members. I think it makes sense to think about it this way especially considering claudia dies the exact same way hironobu sakaguchi's mother was killed, in a fire when she was the only one at home and this loss affected so much of the plot.

in nibelheim he's only able to express rage at sephiroth for his actions, I suppose because he had no time to process any other emotion at the time among all that chaos. I would think his words in the forgotten city mirror the grief he's been feeling over his mothers death.

I can't say I particularly agree with this, but it did teach me that Sakaguchi's mother died in a fire. Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20150426013925/https://ch.nicovideo.jp/indies-game/blomaga/ar772866

Anyway, posted for the consideration of others.

[cryoftheplanet]

Thank you for arguably the best and most insightful close read of FFVII on the internet so far. I wanted to ask: what other video games do you think reach (or approximate) FFVII’s life-changing status or literary and philosophical depth for you? I can think of a few others for me (Xenogears, NieR: Automata etc.,) but I’m curious to hear your thoughts!

Hey, thank you! That means a lot, especially after this blog has lay dormant so long.

I think it's always a little subjective what kind of art speaks to you, and that many games are art, but Nier Automata absolutely came to mind as the one to recommend. I'm not sure I'll ever have another experience quite like the ending of that game. It's beautiful. I think it's most like VII in how comfortable it is exploring questions and feelings it has no concrete answers for.

Disco Elysium would be next on my list. Like FFVII, DE feels like fresh perspective on personal and political struggles from the real world that are current and pressing. It's also best enjoyed when you let it challenge you and your preconceptions of people and what makes them good and bad. At one point in time I might have said Planescape: Torment but I think DE is such an effective spiritual successor that you could jump right to it (though PS:T is still very much worth a play).

I'll have to think on some others - and finish Xenogears at some point - but thanks for the question anon, and I'd love to hear your own recommendations if you want to send me a tumblr message.

[cryoftheplanet]

With the leftover sale completed and all zines delivered, the Return to the Planet print run has come to a close. Thank you to everyone who bought a copy, we hope you enjoy it!

Proceeds from the print run came to $562.02, which works out to an 11% margin. Combined with our total for donations/at-will digital merch sales ($1368.01), we’ve raised $1930.01 for Rainforest Foundation US, putting us $67 shy of our $1997 goal.

Before the 26th anniversary of FFVII on January 31st, can you help us reach our target?

[cryoftheplanet]

Our leftover sale has now started! Visit https://ff7ogzine.bigcartel.com/ to grab your copy before it's too late! ☆彡

[cryoftheplanet]

☆彡 Zine Flipthrough! ☆彡

We'll be placing the order for the physical print later tonight! In the meantime, enjoy this little preview of what will soon be arriving in your mailbox. Music provided by @tofuthebold, our art mod!

[cryoftheplanet]

Made a what ffvii character are you uquiz

Options are all pcs + Sephiroth and Zack

[cryoftheplanet]

☆彡 TWO WEEKS LEFT! ☆彡

Haven't ordered your copy of Return to the Planet yet? Don't worry, there's still time! Preorders close on June 15th ✨

ORDER HERE: https://ff7ogzine.bigcartel.com

[cryoftheplanet]

☆彡 Preorders are open! ☆彡

Preorders for Return To The Planet's print run are now open! Open from May 1st to June 15th. To help our Planet, all additional proceeds will be donated to Rainforest Foundation US! ✨

Shop: https://ff7ogzine.bigcartel.com/

[cryoftheplanet]

☆彡 Stretch goal! ☆彡

But wait, there's more! If we get 50 preorders, we'll include a set of @yinza's brilliant FFVII OG stickers with every order! For free? Off course! 

Shop: https://ff7ogzine.bigcartel.com/

[cryoftheplanet]

Start your timers! The preorders for the physical print of Return to the Planet open in ONE WEEK (on May 1st, 11 AM EDT)! ✨ We may also have a merch stretch goal in store for you... 👀

[cryoftheplanet]

Have you been wanting to hold our zine in your hands? You're in luck! Return to the Planet will be getting a print run! More info coming soon ☄️

[cryoftheplanet]

Do you like moogles? Postcards? Both? You're in luck! This amazing augmented reality postcard by @kleptoyade has the cutest animations--you can even feed the moogle kupo nuts! Donate here to access, kupo (^=˃ᆺ˂) https://tiltify.com/@ff7ogzine/ff7ogzine/

[cryoftheplanet]

Curious to see what's inside our digital merch package? We have phone backgrounds, custom-made fonts, AR postcards and more—all available with a minimum $1 donation to Rainforest Foundation US! Stay tuned in the coming days for some special sneak-peeks ☆彡

Our first merch spotlight is @birdblacksocialclub's phone background! A stunning homage to FFVII 90s posters, this background might inspire you to dig your PS1 out of storage. Donate here to access: https://tiltify.com/@ff7ogzine/ff7ogzine/

[cryoftheplanet]

Speaking of politics though… man, I thought FFVII was already **really** blatant with their anti-corporation, anti-military, anti-capitalist, anti-exploitation of the environment messaging.  

In Junon, where the fishing village at the bottom of the cliff is poisoned and impoverished because of the Mako reactor, but the military base at the top is doing booming business and has tons of open shops and bars, the contrast between the mass who are exploited and the small group who benefit was already very blatant, but comparing Barrett’s hometown with the resort town for Shinra personnel the contrast is even MORE blatant. 

I mean, obviously the point is to contrast them, since they come one right after the other.  Both towns even have a group of kids playing soccer in the main square.

Then just to rub in the point even MORE, there’s an optional side-trip you can take to a town that’s in ruins because the Mako reactor blew up, killing half the population.  So far not a single town or village with a Mako reactor in it has been anything but an environmental disaster zone, and Shinra in this world is just a company, not a government so they don’t even pretend to do SUPERFUND cleanup. 

I also think it’s probably not a coincidence that both the playgrounds for the rich and famous, Costa Del Sol, and the casino town, Golden Saucer, have all the signs in English. It’s the language of the hegemons.

(Something something Marx’s analysis of Capital originating from “the free gifts of nature” something something.)

[cryoftheplanet]

FINAL FANTASY VII

[cryoftheplanet]

☆彡 Happy 25th anniversary, Final Fantasy VII! ☆彡

Our free digital anniversary zine, Return to the Planet is now available to read and download (link to Google Drive). A lot of love went into this project, and we're so excited to share it with you!

Our digital merch bundle is also live! Available with a minimum $1 donation to Rainforest Foundation US. Please check out our campaign on Tiltify at https://tiltify.com/@ff7ogzine/ff7ogzine. More info coming soon!

This project was made possible by the efforts of our artists, fanfiction and nonfiction writers. If you enjoyed the zine and would like to leave your thoughts, please sign our guestbook: https://forms.gle/xzUetHjnC4spPUFJ9 We can't wait to hear what you think!

If you'd like to find out more about the project, please visit our website http://whitemateria.net/ff7ogzine/. We're also running an interest check for a physical print of Return to the Planet--if you enjoyed the zine and would like a print copy of it, fill out the form here! https://forms.gle/Q5nbBaeERorCYNL97

We're so excited to celebrate this anniversary with you! We hope you enjoy the zine! And now...

[cryoftheplanet]

We're excited to announce that we made CRISPY CRITTERS of our fundraising goal! Our digital merch bundle has raised $731.97 for Rainforest Foundation US! But what if we could raise MORE? Help us get to our new goal, $1997, and you'll get all of these fun goodies in return ☆彡

This bundle includes an AR postcard, print-at-home stickers, a custom FFVII font, phone and desktop backgrounds, colouring pages, and a quiz that tells you your Jenova infection level!

Thank you so much to everybody that has purchased this bundle! It's for a good cause 🙏