#I'm STILL playing it though - I still have all the sidequests aside from the one regarding 'I wanna be like Zack' guy to do

[sakurarisen]

So a quick update before I take my headache and go work on a new theme for @shinrarisen, I've been working here and there on Sera's divergences page! I'm still working on the sidequests for Gongaga and really refuse to leave the area until I've seen all of it, but I have finished the primary storyline there regarding the reactor - And because of this, I've gone and decided it was time to get things rolling on long overdue updates:

From here on I'm open to writing up to the end of the events with the reactor in Gongaga! I've been holding off specifically because Zack, Sera, and their family are settled there, and I didn't want to do anything without knowing what was going on with the village through playing it myself. Small reminder though that since Remake introduced the idea of of multiple timelines, the one @honorisen and I write is not the canon timeline; 98% of the canonical Remake/Rebirth events do happen here, but there are some divergences - And that's why I've been updating!

I will not be following the 'Aerith meets Zack's parents' scene as it was portrayed on any of my blogs. Personally, the more I think about it, the less sense it makes to me, especially given Cissnei is in Gongaga, and for that alone I'll be moving forward with the idea his parents are somewhat aware of what's happened with Zack even prior to Sera bringing him home, and have been taught to cover for both Zack, Sera, and their family by pretending he's missing - Prior to meeting Sera after the reactor explodes, they're under the impression he's been KIA, learn he's actually MIA after meeting her and later having this confirmed by Cissnei when she moves to Gongaga, and then further become the family's greatest allies when Zack comes home. His parents are unaware Sera's Zack's fiance until Cissnei tells them - So when Cloud and Co. come to Gongaga, his parents are able to convincingly come off as parents missing their son. This also applies in OG settings, where even though Cissnei is not involved, Sera has told them Zack is MIA, and they've previously thought him to be KIA.

Following from the above, I've adjusted my timeline to fit in the Rebirth events; Sera is in town prior to the reactor's explosion, meets Zack's parents after, and moves closer to them on earning their (and the other villagers') trust. She befriends Cissnei when she also moves to the village, then later leaves for the Midgar area to meet with Zack and bring him home and adopt their second son, Yuga, on the way back around the end of Remake. They later marry and start up a jack of all trades type business, and due to this job, are out of the village when Cloud's group comes by. They're unable to return to Gongaga until after they leave due to infantry in the area. Shayan spend their entire visit locked up in the Fair family home, unseen, while Yuga tends to everything else for him, both boys checked on occasionally by Cissnei until Sera and Zack return.

I've adjusted the timing of events to more closely follow OG's, given the timing of events in Remake seems to be a little different/off from OG, while also being very vague and seemingly (to me) a little contradictory with itself. This helps me personally keep track of things a bit easier.

I've really made OG verse request only. As much as I love the original game, what Sera ended up dealing with and the path she takes in OG is incredibly restricting and angsty at best, and I can't find a way around that that would make any kind of sense, for either Sera OR Shayan. As a result, my canon follows CC into Remake/Rebirth, and I won't be touching OG without some super heavy plotting and requests, first.

Further reading on any and all of this can be done over here, on my divergences page! <3

That's pretty much all of it for now! Kasa and I are still heavily working on Halcyon lore and how it ties into things, while I'm looking for ways to list it out and be easy to read and make sense of, so that's for a future update! <3 For now, I'm off to my FF multi to get some work done over there~

~Pom

[carewyncromwell]

MerMay is coming soon. How you any plans for that this year? Also, I'd like to know if you've played/seen the TLSQ with Andromeda and the time we got to spend with her.

Not any plans that are HPHM-related as of yet...though I have been working on my first novel, which is mermaid-centric, so hopefully I can really put in some hard work into that this MerMay! ^.^

As for the Andromeda sidequest, I watched a playthrough of it and...eh. I would've normally been happy to see more content with MC's friends' parents, especially Tonks's parents, since Andromeda is one of our few examples of positive Slytherin representation in the original books...but I dunno, something really felt off with the quest putting so much focus on the "sisterly" relationship and Andromeda even saying she had some fond memories of those days even despite everything. The Blacks were by all accounts a pretty messed-up and dysfunctional family, and although I could potentially see an AU where Narcissa and Andromeda at least could make up, it would've had to have been one where Narcissa reached out to Andromeda and actively apologized for marching so lock-step with their blood purist family that she cut her older sister out of her life. It was a good thing Andromeda got out of that house, and quite frankly, Hogwarts should've been such a happy place for her because it opened her up to how the world truly was and helped her break free of her family's toxic, bigoted ways. Andromeda's happy memories at school should've been focused around her school friends and her future husband, who helped her come into her own and chase a happier and more fulfilling life -- not her sisters. My feelings about Lane Cromwell, whose backstory mirrors Andromeda's in some key ways, might be coloring my opinion a bit here, but my point still stands.

Oh, yeah, and on the note of Tonks's dad -- I'm sorry, his absence throughout the entire quest really bugged me. We learn so little about Ted Tonks in the books, aside from the fact that he was a Muggle-born wizard and Andromeda was disowned for marrying him, and the game really could've developed Ted the way it has bit-part book characters like Bill, Charlie, and especially his daughter Tonks: given him depth in a way that makes us all the more sad that he dies during the Second Wizarding War! It would've been such a great opportunity to learn more about Tonks by meeting both of her parents -- see how much Ted and Andromeda love each other, see how the three interact as a family that's far more functional than anything Andromeda grew up with. Again, this quest should've been about finding a home at Hogwarts that you didn't have at home -- something I think a lot of Potterheads would've felt for. And even though Andromeda ends up saying something to that effect at the end of the quest, the storyline still focused so much on the Black sisters that I think that message is lost.

[darthkvznblogs]

I actually am looking for more PS5 games to buy. A more detailed review/recommendation of Spider-Man 2 would be appreciated if you have the time.

Alright, I'm gonna try to keep this as spoiler-free as possible!

THE PROS:

-Story's great! Perhaps not as emotionally resonant as the first game (they really did knock it out of the park with the Otto-Li-Osborn story), but still very impactful, and I loooved everyone's characterization. The setpieces were freakin' wild, so much more intense than almost anything in the previous entries, but the smaller, quieter moments were also very well done. Dialogues are great, can range from corny to eye-roll worthy, but in such a way that it matches Spider-Man's vibe very well.

-Traversal is the best in the series, with multiple new options that feel seamlessly integrated and a boost to swinging speed that can genuinely get you across the city in just a couple minutes, if that.

-Combat has been streamlined in some ways, deepened in others. YMMV on some on the missing gadgets from previous games, but I found the new ones and the new abilities (and the much simpler activation mechanic, ditching the slow "weapon wheel" style for an L1/R1 + assigned button method) an overall positive change. You kinda need it, because this game has a much steeper difficulty curve than the previous two.

-Aside from some facial oddities (I do find it a bit annoying that they keep changing how Peter looks, and even though it's the same MJ face model she looks super different from the 1st game to me, too, while the characters from Miles' side of the story look better but still perfectly recognizable), game looks incredible. Visual design, costumes, special effects, just all around a gorgeous game, and incredibly well animated, too.

-Practically zero loading times or any sort of performance issue (I did play on the 60 fps performance mode, tho)

THE CONS:

-Some real narrative Choices(TM) are made that could definitely be divisive if you're expecting more of a traditional Spider-Man story. I personally wasn't bothered by most of these (especially as this is its own universe), but I could understand some ruffled feathers.

-The expanded map can get a bit same-y, outside the obvious landmarks, especially with the added speed which blurs things together a bit more.

-Like I said, some facial models/animations kinda dip into uncanny valley territory, at least for me. It's not game breaking, but it could potentially take you out of a scene if you're more bothered by it.

-Less activities/sidequests than the first game (but what's there is very good!)

-This is mildly spoilery, but my biggest complaint with this game is that they got rid of minor but valuable worldbuilding elements like the Twitter-esque social feed or the in-universe character bios. I get that that's a lot of writing that a lot of people are gonna skim or skip, but you want to see people's reactions to the crazy stuff that happens in this game, trust me. Also, if you miss the podcasts or they get cut off when you're swinging around, there's no way to replay them this time around, for some reason? Maybe I just didn't find them?

So, yeah! I think it's an easy 8.5 or 9 out of 10 for me! I had a blast, and even if I don't agree with some of their choices, I respect the hell out of them for making them. Insomniac!Spidey remains my favorite of all the Peters in the Multiverse <3

[krshush]

Finished the Knight's Tomb sidequest in DA:I like a bit ago and I'm still thinking abt it bc like. I remembered that That's What Happened at Red Crossing, which is already just heartbreaking, right, the whole star-crossed lovers thing being what set off the war proper that lost the Dales.

But, to read the part of the codex with Elandrin's letter to Adalene while playing Elrevas... I cannot fucking describe. Especially if you believe that there was a transcription or s/t of the letter beyond the one buried w/Elandrin and the Inquisitor actually gets to read that part (bc. like hell are we diagetically tomb-raiding for that letter given context, but I digress)

"What care have I for gods I have never seen, for a Maker I do not know? Let others distract themselves with such lofty concerns. I know only this life, I have seen only this world, and I care only for you."

For Elrevas to see his same similar sentiments carried by an Emerald Knight seven hundred years ago. Even putting aside the in-love-with-a-human part of the parallel for a second, just the sentiment of caring for the current life and world over gods who are no longer present is. A Lot for Elrevas, who oft hides that same belief away.

(Perhaps Elrevas should believe there's a god somewhere given everything that's happened to him which, to be fair, he'd then be correct in that one way, but it just doesn't make a difference to Elrevas atm)

But then, circling back to the loving-a-human thing, Elrevas would find making a complete one-to-one comparison between Elandrin & Adalene and him & Dorian laughable; Dorian is not a blushing bride from a humble village, nor Elrevas anything Knight-like in the typical or even Dalish sense in his opinion, nor are either of them aiming for marriage at the point this information is found, they've just agreed to discuss what their relationship could further be after defeating Corypheus (and this is pre-Temple of Mythal with Dorian making his choices)

But. That seven centuries ago, a Dalish elf loved a human, despite the foolishness of it at the time. That seven centuries ago, they died for their love, and the truth of it got swept away under the rush of the history around them.

"I know only this life, I have seen only this world, and I care only for you."

Elrevas looks at Dorian exactly once after finding the scroll, and then cannot quite manage it again on the walk back out to the Emerald Graves, not even when he lets Cassandra lead them instead to keep pace with Dorian at the back of the group.

But he does reach his fingers out to brush Dorian's, a small but familiar affection between them now in lieu of holding hands, and in his periphery he sees Dorian look at him. He can't imagine what could be running through the mage's mind, what reasons he could imagine Elrevas is reaching out for after what they've learned, and which of those reasons are correct. But then he simply reaches back too, their fingers lacing together a long moment, and it loosens the lump in Elreva's throat.

"Your god intercedes as much as ours. My life will not change.

I will return in two weeks' time. My heart longs for you 'til then, and will remain with you forever after."

Neither man can guess what their futures will look like, separately or together, but Elrevas can only hope --despite all his lackluster faith in any one god-- that their futures will end better, perhaps even together.

(He can't ignore the chances that it won't though.)

[peeporoons-notes]

back —— next [GLD] [PGL] [THM]

MSQ 1.0 [Ul'dah] — Close to Home

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⚫ Close to Home

📖 Description — Lv. 1 Momodi, the proprietress of the Quicksand, wants you to perform three tasks that will help you learn the fundamentals of adventuring.

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Momodi "Before you go chargin' off to find your fortune, I've a few basic tasks I'd like you to perform so as to help you get to know the place.

First of all, I want you to visit the aetheryte plaza. To get there, head west from here till you reach Emerald Avenue, then look to the north. You should see a giant, floatin' crystal called an aetheryte.

If it weren't for aetherytes, travelin' around Eorzea would be a damn sight more troublesome than it is. 'Course, you still need to attune with 'em before you can use 'em, so be sure to do that with the one in the plaza. You ever attuned with an aetheryte before, FN? If not, just lay your hand on the thing and you'll see what I mean.

* If playing Gladiator starting class: "When you've done that, I want you to pay a visit to the Gladiators' Guild, over at the Coliseum."

Assumin' that [sword/scepter/those hora] ain't just for show, you might consider trainin' there.

And finally, I want you to visit the Sapphire Avenue Exchange, over on the Steps of Thal.

Goods from all across Eorzea and beyond turn up there every day. You'll have no trouble findin' armor, weapons, or anythin' else a fledglin' adventurer like yourself might need.

You might say that everythin's for sale here in Ul'dah—as long as you've got the gil. Just make sure as you don't pay more than you ought, FN.

There's plenty as won't scruple to swindle unsuspectin' foreigners like yourself, 'specially if they think no one's lookin' out for their best interests.

Which is why I'm givin' you this letter. When you visit the exchange, find a gentleman named Seseroga and give it to him. He'll be happy to tell you about the markets once he's read it."

Momodi "In short, then: visit the aetheryte plaza, the Gladiators' Guild, and the Sapphire Avenue Exchange. Simple.

Oh, but before you go, a word of advice: while there're more than a few unsavory characters out there who'll try to take advantage of you, there are also some with honest-to-goodness problems who you should consider offerin' a helpin' hand to.

A lot of folk are lured to this city by the promise of wealth and power. What many of 'em fail to realize is that instead of chasin' after gil the moment they get here, they ought to be makin' friends.

Let it be known that you're willin' to give as much as you get, and opportunities will come your way.

Speakin' of which, you should speak with the Smith over yonder—those lads always have some good advice for up-and-comin' adventurers. Otherwise, that's about it from me. It's past time you got goin'. Oh, and let me know when you've finished, will you? That way, I won't spend my days worryin' that you're down to your smallclothes without a gil to your name."

Quest Accepted

* Note: At this point, other player characters become visible to you, and the instance no longer bars you from the rest of the city.

💬 What the Smith has to say (new player guidance) 💬 Flavor text inside the quicksand (post-tutorial) 💬 Flavor text in Ul'dah - Steps of Nald from East to West

🟠Sidequest: Due Diligence — Wymond

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◾* Attune yourself to the aetheryte found inside the city.

* Walking along the wide, curved street, though your attention may be drawn aside by shouting merchants, it is hard to miss the recessed entrance to the aetheryte. It glows vibrant and blue in the center of its dim underground plaza.

* Reaching out to it, a beam of blue light sings between you and the crystal. You can feel your aether synchronizing with it, until you're sure a sort of equilibrium has been reached. It's then that a voice calls out behind you.

Nenebaru "Hail, adventurer! Might you have come at the behest of Miss Momodi of the Quicksand?

* You nod.

Nenebaru "Excellent. Which brings us to the matter of the attunement fee—that will be one hundred thousand gil, if you please, [sir/madam].

* You step back with a start. He is dressed in the Brass Blades' uniform, after all...

Nenebaru "...AHAHAHAHAHA! Apologies, but I do so relish the opportunity to make that jest. The look on your face was absolutely priceless! Ah, but the fact that you were so easily deceived suggests to me that you are unfamiliar with the use of aetherytes. Allow me to explain.

These crystalline agglomerations tap into aetherial energies, and are primarily used as a means to travel swiftly from one place to another.

Perchance you have heard of Return and Teleport? Well, these transportation spells make direct use of the aetherytes and their connection to the flow of aether.

Given that there is an aetheryte in almost every corner of Eorzea, any adventurer with a mind to explore the realm will wish to seek out and attune himself to each and every one!

But even if you have no intention of wandering beyond the sultanate's borders, it would be prudent for you to attune yourself to any aetherytes you encounter from now on.

I pray you found that informative. Should you wish to learn more about aetherytes or transportation magic, I should be happy to answer your questions."

💬 Flavor text: More about Aetheryte 💬 Flavor text in Ul'dah - Steps of Nald - Emerald Avenue and Westward

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back —— next◾* Visit your class's guild. [Gladiator] [Pugilist] [Thaumaturge]

💬 Flavor text in Ul'dah - Steps of Thal

[necromancy-enthusiast]

I've been playing Dave the Diver and I'm really loving it but if I had one gripe it's how they portray sharks. See the game kinda has some roguelike elements, you explore this location called the Blue Hole in the ocean. As you might expect there are a lot of fish, and most fish just swim away from you when you approach them. Some actively attack you though, and sure, not all of them are sharks, but l've encountered six or seven species of shark so far and every single one of them has been portrayed as aggressive and willing to chase you down and kill you on sight.

This is incredibly weird to me because the game devs are clearly concerned about ocean conservation and did a lot of research on oceanography for the game, yet portraying sharks like that only hurts them. Blah blah Jaws effect, you know the drill. I'm not against them having species that act more aggressively towards the player since it spices up the gameplay, or even a few sharks, but like. Seriously. Every shark so far?

Even species that absolutely do not act like that at all. They have megamouth sharks and yes, at one point you encounter one on a sidequest and it attacks you unprovoked. Like... What? Those goofy looking filter feeders? Them? These guys?

Ok, if you don't know much about them I can see how they still might seem intimidating but like I said, they're filter feeders. They swim around with their mouths open so they can catch plankton like some whales do. I dunno, I have a hard time seeing them as anything but sock puppet versions of great whites. I mean look at this video of one, they're trying *so hard* to make this shark look scary and it's just hanging out. (this clip is from Shark Week and as an aside, fuck Shark Week because it also loves spreading misinformation about sharks)

They also portray cookie cutter sharks in a similar way, which are another albeit very different species of goofy looking deep sea shark. Their deal is more of a hit and run kind of thing, they find a big animal, bite a chunk out of the side, and swim off as fast as they can.

They have given people nasty bites, but they're by no means man-eaters. The biggest ones only clock in at about 2 feet or 60 cm long. See, it would be fine if the devs of Dave the Diver made them ambushers in the game because it reflects their real world behavior and doesn't stigmatize them as relentless, bloodthirsty monsters, but no, they actively chase you around and try to kill you.

And oh, apparently there's a boss fight with a great white shark at some point like oh wow, how original and unexpected, never would've seen that one coming. So yeah I still really love this game overall and highly recommend it, but I find this aspect of it deeply disappointing.

[good-prog]

ff7 impressions

I'm overdue on a 7/7 remake review. I played the two games in conjunction with each other, which is to say, I got somewhat bored of FF7 after the Kalm flashback, went to play FF7R, then came back with a renewed interest in the original game.

FF7:

Main campaign date: 2023/11/28-2023/01/02 Playtime (Steam) to roll credits: 57.2 hours (I afk'd/wiped a lot :() Playtime (in game) to roll credits: 38.5 hours

FF7R:

Main campaign date: 2023/12/18-2023/02/27 Playtime (Steam) to roll credits: 50.2 hours (including DLC)

Spoiler warning as always. Not super polished, just wanted to compile my notes.

On FF7 (original):

This was my first playthrough of FF7. I didn't experience it as a child, so I don't have nostalgia or context for that era of video gaming to positively affect my impressions. I'm glad I played it and was able to experience a piece of gaming history; sure, it's made a significant cultural impact, but it's not some serious epic 100% of the time. The sidequests and minigames throughout provided some levity, whether it was Wall Market or piloting a bike or submarine with counterintuitive controls.

Going in, I was aware of the major story beats (Cloud takes on Zack's persona, Aerith dies, the lifestream is involved) but not too much about their execution.

gameplay:

I liked the flexibility of the materia system. Most of the game I was running cloud as a tank (counter + cover + HP up), until I couldn't guarantee that he could stay alive through a turn of attacks toward the end of the game. I tried to set up materia loadouts in accordance with different characters' strengths and/or personalities (e.g., Vincent as a magical glass cannon, Yuffie as a thief, Cait Sith as blue mage for manipulating enemies). I had trouble juggling the number of party members (9!); emotional impact aside, Aerith's death at the end of disk 1 was ironically somewhat welcome from a party management perspective.

I typically kept Cloud + 2 of the least leveled characters in my party. I couldn't always find time to swap in party members due to laziness (not enough materia to go around), so I neglected Cid and Vincent until the game forced the player to have Cid in the party.

I've been babysat too much by modern games. I had difficulty figuring out where to go after Midgar (to the point where I ended up using a walkthrough for major story objectives). I also lost a significant amount of time due to limited save/checkpoints (e.g., wiping to a morbol high up on the Great Glacier, losing an hour of progress as a result).

graphics:

Despite the graphics being dated, I still liked the visual quirks/personality each character got (e.g., Rufus Shinra's hair flip, "gya haa haa"/"kya haa haa" Heidegger/Scarlet, Tifa tucking a strand of Aerith's hair behind her ear). There were also nice details in the overworld (e.g., the Mako-polluted sky above Midgar, or the perpetual sunset near Cosmo Canyon). The summon animations are cool the first time, but take forever to resolve after, same as Sephiroth's Supernova attack.

story:

Aerith's death hit really hard, even though I knew it was going to happen--she looked so hopeful as she prayed for holy, and then Sephiroth comes down from who knows where suddenly, kills her, then immediately leaves, leaving the party to deal with the JENOVA flesh that remains (all while her theme plays).

I loved how willing the story was to to bring its protagonist so low in contrast of to a more generic video games protagonist embodying some sort of power fantasy. One of these days I'll think through how relatable Cloud's arc of putting on a front (both pre and post Nibelheim incident), dealing with memory loss due to trauma, totally breaking down then having his friends work with him to accept his "true" self perhaps in the form of a "cringe" "personal" "essay" but today is not that day.

Story beats that I was confused about, but didn't really detract from the overall presentation (presumably some of these are addressed in the FF7 Compilation):

Why did Hojo think combining Mako and Jenova cells in his subjects was a good idea, besides "comically bad and unethical science experiment"? Seems like he's introducing confounding variables. (Maybe offscreen he experimented with each separately and got desireable, but distinct results?)

How is a rocket functional after 25 years? (Sure, you can argue that it was well engineered, but that's in stark contrast to the lack of thoroughness with preflight procedures (see: Shera and Checkov's rocket))

Jenova (as alien, rather than supposed "ancient") wasn't well explained--could be the fault of me not paying attention, the translation, or the original writing. Perhaps she's just meant to be unknown/incomprehensible.

Is Sephiroth (as human) or Jenova driving the events of the Jenova reunion? (if it's Sephiroth, how is he able to maintain autonomy via strength of will when Jenova has destroyed uncountable civilizations previously?)

Not sure if humanity still exists 500 years in the future (re: ending FMV), though it doesn't negate the overall impact of the story. After all, the party manages to save the world the best they can in their particular time.

highlights:

The opening bombing mission is so strong and immediately drew me in, even if Cloud himself isn't invested in Avalanche's mission. The music helps: it starts with peaceful opening strings/mallets, then all the other parts come in, culminating in the piano/timpani urging the party on

Escaping the Shinra building on the double elevators took forever, since Barret was my only ranged attacker (I didn't realize materia had been removed from Aerith/Nanaki)

Tifa helping cloud reconnect with his inner child in the lifestream

Turning Shinra's weapons against themselves (e.g., highwind crew mutiny)

Bugenhagen! Old men (see: Maechen, FFX) always have so much to teach the party. Loved seeing him tease Nanaki and telling him the truth about his father.

FMV where Shinra diverted Midgar's mako output to power the Sister Ray (leaving the entirety of the city dark): chilling! visually representing the human cost of their work (even if said work at that point in the story was self preservation (and by extension, saving the planet))

"I'm Cloud--the master of my own illusionary world" or "Let's mosey!" and other endearing turns of phrase that show off Cloud's true self, in an endearing/dorky way

Fighting Bizzaro Sephiroth: this fight took a while because I didn't understand how to damage the core with two parties. I thought I could just rely on the main party, but I needed the secondary one to do damage to expose the core.

I never actually used Omnislash during the final 1v1 confrontation; I hesitated too long and Cloud defeated Sephiroth with a counterattack.

music highlights (in no particular order)

Everyone loves the soundtrack, but here are a couple of my favorites:

Marching theme (even if I failed the parade minigame)

Jenova's theme (especially when descending past the point of no return)

Aerith's leitmotif as the party descended Northern Crater

One winged angel kicking in after Bizzaro Sephiroth was defeated

Notes on 7r:

7 Remake was a decent game that at its best, made the Midgar section of the original more impactful. At its worst it was a hallway simulator with too many cutscenes or forced walking segments that interrupted the flow of gameplay, but hey, at least they were pretty! The characters look fantastic in high resolution, and battle animations feel stylish and forceful (with the exception of Aerith's standard magical attack).

big fan of the character development (really came through in the localization/voice acting), especially for minor characters like the Turks or Rufus that don't really come into play until later in the main game. Contrary to the other parts of the Compilation that make Cloud come off as edgy and cold, Remake brings out the insecure/immature/awkward parts of Cloud's personality. After all, he's spent 5 years in stasis, and is arguably still a teenager mentally.

That being said, I wish there was more banter when the party was just walking around without triggering a cutscene (see: FF15).

gameplay

Combat was fun! I liked learning how to effectively use the ATB system by being proactive about healing/barriers/mitigation, but also knowing when to play more aggressively. Stacking % stagger on Tifa is super satisfying. I don't know if I'll do a full hard mode playthrough but I might pick at it a bit in advance of the second part of the Remake trilogy.

In typical fashion, I barely made it through the bike game (in no small part due to the poor KB/M controls); Jessie even called me a bad driver.

On the remake's changed elements

I don't have strong feelings about the whispers, but i knew going in that they were meant to keep the original story on rails (so it was more a given rather than me reacting and going "wtf are they doing here").

I enjoyed how much the cheesy/cool factor of the game got amped up, like fighting the motor ball while on a bike, or turning forgettable trash mobs into full spectacles (see: Hell House, the Swordipede in Hojo's lab, even Rufus Shinra's boss fight).

I was very annoyed having Sephiroth dangled in my face but never getting to fight him; to be fair, the original game does that to the player (but arguably to better effect, since he doesn't actually show up in person: just signs of his power/destruction).

music

The music had to grow on me -- the full orchestral arrangements toward the beginning of the game felt almost too rich, like the sonic equivalent of expecting crackers but getting a three layered cake instead. It wasn't bad (quite the opposite!!), just wasn't what I expected.

favorite tracks that come to mind:

The arrangement of j-e-n-o-v-a that plays when fighting the tentacles

Collapsed Expressway theme (robot hand minigame)

Yuffie's theme in the DLC (really captured her mischief)

closing thoughts

After beating FF7, I immediately watched Advent Children with friends. It was less comprehensible than the Kingsglaive movie, though it had a lot of cool fight choreography (and I'm sure the CGI was a landmark for 2006). The main villains were Sephiroth remnants, but their personalities were terrible; I didn't find their motivations to be well communicated or compelling. Also, without reading the novels addressing the years following the main game, I was unable to take Rufus and the Turks' good intentions for the world seriously. I definitely squealed when Sephiroth actually showed up, though (and blocked original Omnislash!)

I'm looking forward to how the next installments of the Remake continue and remix the story. I'd also eventually like to play Crisis Core to see the additional characterization Sephiroth and Zack get. (Of course, the cynical part of me thinks this is primarily a money grab by SE, but I've enjoyed the entries in the Compilation I've played through.)

[z-cerulean]

Xenoblade Chronicles: Future Connected

As part of the Definitive Edition remaster, an additional epilogue story, Future Connected, was also included as an extra, and presumably as incentive for anyone who already played Xenoblade to get that version of the game.

Once again, these are my spoiler-free thoughts on the game from my run through of it.

Setting

This takes place a year after the original game, and takes place on the Bionis' Shoulder, an area that was intended to be in the base game but was cut during development, though it still appears in a few cutscenes in the base game.

To not say too much that hints at the base game, the story primarily focuses on Melia, with Shulk here in a mainly supporting capacity. Though if you liked the Xenoblade 1 cast, that's... pretty much it, only a couple other characters are returning from the main story and the others are all original, including the other two playables, Kino and Nene, of whom are Riki's children.

On the whole the story was what kept me interested, I like both Melia and Shulk a good amount so it was fun to have something a bit extra with them. Though I'm unsure how necessary it was for this game's plot to exist, not everything here was necessarily a loose thread that needed addressing. Not really a complaint per se, but still.

Also as an aside, this is my favourite outfit for Melia.

Gameplay differences to the main game

Future Connected actually makes a few changes to the base game formula. This includes, but probably isn't limited to: - Chain attacks are removed, instead their place is taken up by a sidequest with the Ponspectors, a group of Nopon on an expedition you can recruit through sidequests that perform all-out-attack like actions with a full party gauge. - Visions are removed - Skill trees are removed - Area affinity is removed - Heart-to-hearts are gone, replaced with functionally similar 'Quiet Moments' - As mentioned before, Shulk and Melia are the only returning party members, with Kino (taking Sharla's moveset) and Nene (taking Reyn's) padding out the roster.

Admittedly, I... don't really like these gameplay changes too much. Both for making the gameplay a bit on the basic side, especially compared to base game, but also for how much of the game's skillsets, especially Shulk's, was built around you having access to visions.

The knock-on effects of no visions are twofold: - it's much harder to take on larger groups/stronger enemies as you'll often get your ass kicked out of nowhere with no chance to respond. - Functionally, the majority of the Monado arts are now useless. The only one I got any use out of for the entire game was Monado Armour, which is damage reduction for non-Talent arts.

The Ponspectors though, though it takes a while for them to start being useful, are kind of fun and fine enough in place of chain attacks. The 12 that are obtainable are split into three groups: offense, healing and support, and give you a choice of which form of attack to do on triggering it. The support one is noticeably useful for forcing everything in the battle into Daze for a time, which is as good as you'd expect.

Overall

It's... hard to complain about Future Connected without feeling petty, admittedly. It's a roughly 10 hour extra that you got with the pretty good base game, and while it does have issues I never found them as intrusive to say that I particularly disliked it for them.

Is it a particularly strong recommend, no, but I can't say it's not worthwhile, especially if you happen to be a big enough fan of the base game.

On the whole, it's like a 7/10 'sure why not if you can play it', it's short enough for me to overlook it's shortcomings and does have some good moments in its Quiet Moments. Though given its premise, I'd say play the base game first for sure.

[anime-grimmy]

random HFW thoughts (Spoilers):

Last time I played I went through a bunch of sidequests and eventually ended up doing Erend's sidequest with the Sons of Premetheus again. Still one of my fav quests bcs the beginning of the quest is pure gold.

What caught my attention though was how it ended, with Erend lamenting how the bloodshed never seems to end and he just hopes that stuff was over now.

And that kinda made me think about how much stuff most characters in this world have been through.

Like, playing as Aloy in HZD with her solo mission to stop the world from ending, you kinda forget that she lived in "blissful ignorance" for 19 years of her life. Not saying her life was easy, HECK no, with training day in and day out and being shunned for it all, not to mention having as much drama and bloodshed in just a year aint easy, but you still kinda forget what all went down.

Like, yeah, we know the Derangement and Red Raids happened, but it's still kinda hard to think about what that means for characters close to us.

I mean, in our close friend group at the base, Erend, Kotallo and Zo have been fighting tooth and nail during the Red Raids. I also wondered if Varl had been involved in fighting the Carja to protect the Nora or he's lived too deep in the Embrace for that to have happened.

Aloy's been fighting with everything she has for two whole games now, but other characters have been struggling even longer.

This made me think, what if one of them decides to give up?

It never really occured to me how weirdly "optimistic" everyone is in Aloy's new friends group. Zo, Kotallo and Alva needed some prodding and proving that Aloy's cause was worth fighting for, but once they were on board they stuck with her till the end, no questions asked. And we don't have to talk about Varl and Erend bcs those boys were ready to charge at death itself for Aloy after the first game. The only one that called everything a lost cause was Beta, but even she worked with some encouragement of GAIA and Varl, and a good, long talk with Aloy is all it took for her to change her mind and help out in the end.

But what if a good talking to just doesnt work anymore?

I know I'm rambling here but with all that has been established in HFW I can't help but think about how they'll spin things in the next game. Bcs in this game, they pushed Aloy to accept friends and accept that she is NOT alone (even though they could have done that a little better). Aloy learns to trust, so obviously the next step would be to challenge that trust / challenge how far she'd go for people she cares about.

Short side tangent, but I wish the whole "Varl dies" part of the game was handled better. Bcs the moment it happened, I was SO sure it would have been the part Aloy starts to question if it really is worth keeping people this close to her if the thing she's afraid of the most still does happen, i.e. them dying on her (like Rost did). They brushed that whole thing aside way to quickly to wrap up the story, but in my eyes that was still that scene, the story challenging what Aloy had involunaterily learned to accept - that being help and friends.

But the thing is, at this point her lil group is just "convenient". She's accepted them for the thing Varl even wanted her to keep them close in the first place - help. Heck, even all their sidequests are about stuff that helps them either with their fight with the Zenith (Kotallo's arm) or with saving the world (the Land Gods).

What I want to see is a moment in which Aloy has to help someone out to keep them around, not because of what they bring to their cause but just because she doesn't want them to give up and leave. It just feels like the natural progression of how stuff's been going.

Circling all the way back to the start, I think Erend would make a fine candidate for that. And no, it's not (only) bcs he's my fav and I would like to see a lot more of him, but also bcs at this point, he's the one of her closer friends group who's known Aloy the longest. And, as she puts it, "he sure is loyal."

Imo, Erend got way too little to do in HFW (tho I do think Varl did deserve that spotlight he got), but if there's one thing he did do, it's telling Aloy he's got her back and doing all he can to support her. He may say he don't got anything to offer, but he's still the loyal, supporting force if Aloy ever needs it.

However, he's also the one who explicitly said that he wants shit to be over TWICE in the game, one time at the very end of the freaking main quest even.

So, give him a reason to finally throw in the towel. Something big, something that even drinking yourself numb can't make disappear for a while.

I say let Nemesis destroy Meridian.

It sure as heck would make a great low point to kick off the third act of the story. Let's say, Nemesis maybe gets ahold of data on Aloy's focus, and since it's a malicious bundle of hateful thoughts, it starts out its apocalypse with destroying places that have importance to Aloy.

It would also be the perfect catalyst for Erend to just give everything up. Bcs, yeah, they've been saving the world for 2 games straight, but Meridian is still the place that he's supposed to protect, to keep save. And now that's gone. (it also has big significance for the player, so it would be a gut punch no matter the context)

And in this point of the story, he and the others probably already have got most clans to help out, so one less dude in a mass of ppl rly shouldnt make a difference. There's enough Oseram with hammers to hit stuff, enough burely ppl to carry Sylens' weird contraptions and enough ppl who're fast learners to give his focus to.

So, from a logical standpoint, Aloy doesn't need him to be there, doesn't need him to fight. But (and oh god, I hope so) at this point, Aloy knows what the value of family and friends means to her and how emotional support makes even fighting the most dangerous of enemies easier, so she still tries to get him back on his feet.

All I'm saying is, my man just wants a break, Aloy needs some better represented emotional developement and I just love seeing my fav characters suffer a lot.

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

Good morning/night/afternoon/evening/day/time hello!

So after seeing how many friends mc have, like wait let me count-----

26! in the friendlist not including, the unofficial friend like Corey,...

With how many friends there are, are there any friends that you would delete in favor of flashing out the other characters or would you like to keep it that way?

I have some ideas on who to delete in favor of flashing out the more main characters, but i fear that this might be a bit... yikess.. I understand that people like this characters and me saying that they "should not exist" might get people mad, i hope this does not give you to much problem.

1. Tulip to Penny ( thks one is still debateable)

I know we have too much Penny especially at year 5/6, sidequest and all tht, but I feel like Tulip doesn't have to exist because her existance can be taken by Penny which flashes her character more.

Hear me out, Tulip is great. But after year 3 or maybe 4 her existence is uneeded anymore. In year 3 we can instead use Penny, Penny is a popular person with many friends. It wouldn't be out of character for her to try to understand Merula maybe try to befriend her ( i mean she did befriended Talbot, who isn't exactly the nicest or the most approachable ) but later, on something happend and now there is more substance in Penny hating on Merula rather than yeah, she such a bully or smth.

2. Barnaby to Ben

Ben is really untouched at the early years ( 1 to 3) I feel like the whole ark of Barnaby can be dealt with Ben. Like imagine Ben was Merulas lab dog, but because of Jacob's sibling kindness and all that, he finally have the courage to stand up to Merula proving his Gryffindor side. This could also explain Rowan sudden suspicions of Ben in Year 4, (its quite mean of Rowan tbh) I mean like after year 3 aside from the dating tlsq, Barnaby doesnt really do much does he? I mean you can argue that he have some influence on the last curse vaults but nah-

3. Badeea Ali to Rowan

Simple, we need more Rowan! I think the thing Badeea did in year 5 can easily be done with Rowan, i mean she just disappears later on anyways.

4. Instead of Bea, Rowan should be in the potrait.

5. Talbot as Ben? I'm not so sure about this one but yeah, they could put aside Talbot so we can flash out Ben. The flying solo quest can be switch into Ben losing his Bear again but we get more background to what the Bear meant to him ( maybe about his muggle life?? ) the tlsq could be at around year 5 or 6 to help Jacob's Sibling understand more about whats going through Ben's mind.

6. Diego = Ben

Ben is told to be good at charms we never really get to see it until around year 4 with the red cloak shenanigans. I would like to see JC explore more of his charms ability by teaching mc.

Anyways im not here to bash on your favorite characters im just saying that a lot of the characters are wasted pottential. To much characters can kill a story, rather than adding more characters jc should focus on the current one.

Sadly, they never did

Year0 Rowan

Year 1 Ben, Penny, Merula, (Chiara)

Year 2 Bill, (Chiara)

Year 3 Barnaby, Ismelda, Tulip, Andre Tonks, Talbott. Year 3 is definitely the worse case of it.

Year 4 Charlie

Year 5 Bea, Jae, Badeea, Liz, Diego

Year 6 Alanza

Year 7 Corey

The problem is, the more jc adds the characters the more they just stack up in the background, clogging the story. Imagine the characters as dept and the currency is good writing.

Anyways love your content, keep it up!

Personally, I couldn't begin to imagine doing this.

Not that I'm saying it's a heartless idea, mind you. I've worked with this line of thinking before. I work in children's theatre, and when we adapt scripts for different sized casts, we have to often cut characters or absorb them into others. So this isn't unheard of, and I get it. Still, having grown emotionally attached to each and every one of these little misfits, and feeling like they all have potential in different ways...cutting them is not what I would do at this stage. I believe the TLSQ system should be completely overhauled, and in doing so, used to give screen-time to characters that don't always get a lot. Imagine if each character had a TLSQ that starred them at maybe LV 5, and then a sequel quest at LV 10. Might seem excessive, like too many quests...but again, this goes back to the idea of a revamp. Allow players to hit pause, and put a TLSQ on a "waiting list" so to speak. Allow them to reroll so they can skip one if they want to for whatever reason. Stop having TLSQs disappear forever if they're failed twice.

As far as your first suggestion...I realize that my status as a Tulip fan might be affecting my reaction, but absolutely not. I have no issue with Penny, but if it comes down to omitting one of these two...well, Penny does come with Beatrice, and that whole emotional arc during Years 5 and 6. But I'm not sure if keeping that is worth losing Tulip. Because her storyline with Merula is quite compelling, and it adds to the backstory of one of the mainstay characters. Plus...Tulip is kind of way more interesting than Penny, if I'm being honest. Actually, if I was to have anyone be "absorbed" into anyone else...I feel like Tulip could have easily been the "detention" character in Year 5? And that would have been a way to keep her relevant? Again though, I love Jae so much that I couldn't imagine doing this. But it's one example of how this idea could be done give more focus to fewer characters. You know who could be absorbed into Penny, though? Andre. Just, so long as we're actually thinking about this.

Barnaby is a character who sadly has not done much since his arc ended in Year 3, you're right about that. However, I feel like Ben is just too complicated and too tied to the main story for him to be shuffled with anyone. We still have unanswered questions about the gaps in his memory from Year 2. Did he cross paths with R? With Merula? Then there is the question of his time as the Red Cloak in Year 4. His transformation into "New" Ben, after going into the Portrait Vault with MC. I suppose these things could be transferred over to Barnaby, but that would leave the Year 2 stuff up in the air. And as for transferring it the opposite way, cutting Barnaby to give Ben more prominence...I mean, it could be done, but Ben already has plenty, if you ask me. And I don't see him being able to take on the role of Merula's lapdog, given their history from Year 1.

I'll never say no to getting more of Rowan, and this is something I could actually see working. The idea of Badeea being absorbed into Rowan and that screen time being given to them. I love Badeea, but it's definitely tempting. By in large, the Year 5 characters did feel at least a little gimmicky. They're all wonderful, but the fact that there were four of them, one for each House, and they all had a specific interest that was central to their character? The fact that all things considered, they didn't really matter to the story apart from perhaps Jae? Yeah, I would never want to lose any of them, but I can see why that might work. As for Rowan taking the place of Beatrice...well, that's an idea. For sure. It could give MC the same kind of immediate emotional context. Allow Rowan to be heavily relevant without them actually needing to have any lines. But their entire character would have to shift after that point. If they're absorbing Beatrice' character arc...I mean, the Forbidden Forest comes to mind. Does that still happen? Does Rowan's personality change? What becomes of them after Year 5?

I still believe Ben is doing just fine in terms of his relevance, but I'll admit there's definitely something to the idea of Diego being absorbed into him. And I've grown to truly like Diego. Ben having talent at dueling could show how far he's come. If they depicted it prior to the end of Year 4, it could be foreshadowing of him being the Red Cloak. If he still helps MC prepare to challenge Rakepick in Year 5, it could play into his fear of her. And I like what you're doing with the idea of Talbott being absorbed into Ben....but no, I can't endorse that one. It's just not needed for Ben's story, and Talbott is already so fascinating on his own. I dig the Ravenclaw representation, I dig the Animagus representation.

Either way, it's an interesting topic to think about. Not to worry, I don't take offense at all. I get that people have different opinions and there are certainly valid critiques of this game's writing. I still enjoy it though, and I think the characters are the strongest suit. Their placement in the game, perhaps not quite so much. But it's because of this that I wish for all of them to be handled better, without having to lose any of them. Thank you for the kind words and I hope to hear from you again!

[silver-wield]

If ff7r was my first introduction to the final fantasy series and Cloud is my favorite character, what game do you recommend I should play next? I see a lot of people talking about XV and XIII? Honestly I'm just looking for another character/game in the franchise to hyperfixate on XD. Have you played any of the other games?

I've played 15 and 13.

15 is good but the story is thin and you need the dlcs to get the fuller picture, but even that is still missing stuff because there's cancelled ones too. But the chocobros are the best and if you want a bro oriented adventure then they deliver and then some! You will love them ❤️❤️❤️

13 has Lightning and she's a great protagonist. Designed to be a female soldier Cloud, so she's got the badass down. It's a hugely linear game though, with no sidequests except monster hunts, but the story is interesting and the team is great 😁

I'd also recommend 10 because it's got all the classic FF stuff, and aside from a bit of dodgy voice acting in places is really great. Lots of interesting characters, a sweet love story, a huge overarching plot, no love triangle lol