#final fantasy intergrade spoilers

[imustbenuts]

the trend of metafiction in video games is here, real, and messing with everyone. (a ramble on a trend in japanese media writing)

Fair warning. Full spoilers for the following games: Doki Doki Literature Club (DDLC), Dangan Ronpa 2 and 3, Nier Automata, Bravely Default, Fire Emblem Series, AI the Somnium Files, Final Fantasy 7 Intergrade.

"Everything that lives is designed to end. We are perpetually trapped in a never-ending spiral of life and death. Is this a curse? Or some kind of punishment? I often think about the god who blessed us with this cryptic puzzle... and wonder if I'll ever get the chance to kill him."

unfortunately, 2b never gets to kill yoko taro but i bet the man would love to be grinded under her heels. instead, we the players get to blow up the names of the creators of Nier Automata in the credits sequence.

rambling time

anyway, hi. metafiction is here and i can prove everyone is getting played. for the past... idk 10 odd years there's been a slow simmering of this trend popping up in video games.

i define metafiction as a method where the creators of a media asks the engage to engage with the media in a way that essentially ties the audience's existence to the game's world itself.

it doesn't always mean the player is supposed to play gods in the creator sense, but rather that the players guide the characters we play in video games to a specific outcome through some level of interference. this might be as light as guiding the characters through a series of choices to a good ending, to downright damning as self-inserts or brute forcing them through insane amounts of torture to reach the golden ending, with the game being self-aware throughout.

though the roots of this metafiction writing can be traced to Visual Novels debuting in the early 2000s, JRPGs in particular have been getting really spicy with the way they're taking this.

but before that, i need to highlight a clear extreme example of metafiction. here is Doki Doki Literature Club. a romance horror VN released in 2017. (which is not made by jp devs but is still important in explaining this trend:)

DDLC is the easiest to understand what i mean by metafiction. this game plays out like a dating sim, with the very rightmost girl, Monika, being a non-romancable wingman at the start. eventually, she becomes self-aware of you, the player, in the game and then proceeds to slowly corrupt, then kill the other 3 girls the game so she becomes the only romance option. Monika knows she's stuck in a game world, and she even reads the name of your steam account. :)

and in the end, she even talks to you and reveres the player as a god, saying she'll be the perfect girlfriend if it means for the game not to be shut off. there's a lot more going on with DDLC, but the gist of it is, the player is an entity which exists in the context of the game's world in some form.

and this shit. has been happening more often as time goes on. a bunch of examples:

Danganronpa 2 has already been messing with the players way back in 2012. by essentially revealing that the characters were in a simulation all along, and then intentionally messing with the UI in chapter 6 as if the world knows we are there. Danganronpa V3 goes full throttle with this, the whole game turns out to be a spectacle of commenting on how the game exists only because the audience (the players) are there clamoring for more dangan ronpas to consume. which, true, and this was released in 2017.

the main character in Bravely Default (2012), Tiz Arrior begins in the game by nearly getting killed, and at the ending, relinquishes an entity saying 'thanks' before falling unconscious and falling to the ground. this entity was not brought up at any point and is heavily hinted to be the player. and indeed, this is explicitly stated in Bravely Second (2015) the sequel. referred to as a Celestial, this entity possessed him and basically kept him alive. people have tried to analyze this and came to the conclusion that the Celestial being is basically the player. by playing the game, Tiz is forced to live and be our lens into the world of Bravely Default.

(bravely default 2 sucks and i wont talk about it)

Nier Automata (2017) is an action hack and slash game where it's just. insane. a masterpiece. 2 examples are up there already. but in short, Nier Automata seems to be a meta commentary on how they are forced to fight in a never-ending cycle (because we want a game like this). after going through a couple of New Game+ where the playable character goes between 2B to 9S to A2, eventually the player is outright given a choice to delete their save file to break the cycle.

AI: The Somnium Files (2019) also plays with this outright in its story telling. There are multiple branching paths in the first game, and 2 parallel paths in the sequel, AI: The Somnium Files Nirvana Initiative (2022). in order to achieve the golden ending, the player must go through every single branches and gather information... that somehow can be told to the characters at critical points to help them achieve a good ending. The characters in here interestingly remark how they should have no way of knowing, but also cannot answer how they do.

the extreme version of this lies in the 'Secret' Ending known as Ryuki Diverge, where the player is given a string of numbers after getting the golden ending. Go back to a certain point in the story and tell this number to a certain someone, and the game breaks.

In Final Fantasy 7 Remake (2020), there are points where Cloud, Aerith, and even possibly Sephiroth are given visions of the original game's future, and react to it. The metafiction player entity here is non-existent, but arguably simply by wanting a remake there are divergences in place to entertain us, the audience.

these are what I know of the games who outright does this. there must be more out there but this would probably good enough to stop.

so the question is now, why?

and the short answer I've got is basically... Asia's religious and cultural beliefs. (is there a better term for this idk...)

there's a lot sloshing about in this bowl, but a lot of it can be attributed to Buddhism. In Buddhism, the world is understood as layers existing on top of each other. the higher layers reside the higher beings who can watch the ones below if they wanted to. mix a bit of taoism and existing belief system in to this, and it starts to look complicated.

basically, the higher beings are mixed with Gods and Deities. one may pray to them and gain their boon, or revere them and gain their favor. and in this understanding, it is possible for anyone of any tier to move up and down through their actions in life, and after death. but these myriad Gods in eastern understanding are not creator gods. unable to sculpt from nothing, these are more akin to spirits than anything else.

a word for these gods could also be devas. residing in their realm and talking to each other, enjoying their time in pleasure and luxury, tied to the whims of their own fate until they too die, and/or move again in their tiers. their lives are incomprehensibly long, so it is said, and thus as good as an immortal. they are said to sometimes whisper in people's ears to guide them.

translating this into video game terms and it starts to get meta. we players are the metafiction entity, the guardian spirits, the devas or deities or gods watching down from our realm being entertained by media. In terms of morality, we are often more amoral and ambiguous than clearly good or bad - our purchases of a video game only says how much we hope or trust this world can entertain us. In terms of time's passage, a month in a video game world is something like 5 minutes to us.

and of course, if there are weak-ass gods like these, out to just watch and enjoy, then there are creator gods. and those Gods are the people 99% of us can't even touch -- the creatives and writers behind each and every game they made.

you will notice that all games i mentioned up there, sans DDLC, are all made by JP devs. metafiction has definitely proven itself to be interesting if done right, and there will absolutely be more to come.

and while all of these sound like mad fan theory, buddhism and taoism aren't just things that exists in books. to the many living now and even for the past 2000 years, these are living beliefs that has shaped many people's understanding of the world. even right now. and it's so pervasive that even if one can't identify it clearly, one can certainly feel its presence. this isnt abrahamic religious understanding at work behind all those games. it's something else, and it is this.

once you understand that cultural thread, the customer is a god is not a hyperbole here. metafiction is not just some one-off trend.

and once you understand this, Fire Emblem Three Houses' buddhism analysis looks less insane, while the rest of the series look even more insane.

#rambling #video games #metafiction #Youtube

[autisticwriterblog]

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth made me cry so hard I got a headache.

Spoilers for chapter 13 under the cut.

All the trials the characters take are heartbreaking, because they're basically being forced to relive their worst memories. Yuffie's got me choked up because I remembered how sad Sonon's death was in Intergrade.

But the one that got me sobbing was Aerith's trial. Playing as this little kid who grew up in a lab desperately searching for a doctor but getting ignored by all these people was so sad, and then the poor thing got knocked down and laughed at. When her mother passed away and she started crying, I burst into tears and couldn't stop crying for several minutes. It really got to me.

#ff7 rebirth #ff7 rebirth spoilers #ffvii rebirth

[aeriscallanga]

I recently checked my account settings and guess what? I already earned 72 followers and I would like to thank all of you for the love and support on my main blog (even it's messy) , my heart is full 💜

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Though I'm currently taking a break for my upcoming songfic project I'm going to held a one week celebration. But instead of ask games, I'll be hosting an OC Ask session to get to know more about my Original Characters from different fandoms

Here are my OCs from their respective fandoms together with their representing emojis

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🔱: Jasmine Felizarta (Final Fantasy XV x Narnia)

✨: Tengku'Anitun (The Chronicles of Narnia)

🦋: Viviana Cristobal (The Vampire Diaries)

🦆: Keith Sinclair (Miraculous Ladybug)

💣: Xzavien Oliver (Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intergrade)

🛡️: Hertz Wallace (Crank Palace: The Maze Runner Novella)

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All you need to do is to send an OC's name and their emoji together with your question and I'll try to answer them as much as possible, there will be spoilers but I'll keep it minimal and again, no smut-related asks okay?

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The mini-celebration will be held from August 5 to August 12, anons and non-anons are welcome to send questions just visit my account and tap the person icon

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my lovely moots: @ocappreciation || @arrthurpendragon || @deliahscrush2003 || @moonrainbowfish || @fuckitup-in-style || @foxesandmagic || @justafairytailofinnocence || @multifandomfix @randomfandomimagine || @yourmoonmomma || @tada-lol || @the-second-tonks || @virginia-peters || @stingrayextraordinaire || @scvrllet || @electric-turks || @okarawrites || @nelabelievesindragons || @jemmalynette || @fiction-is-life || @ourbonesmccoy || @erynv

#aerith speaks #aerith satos ooc-ness #oc community #oc hub #ffxv oc #narnia oc #tvd oc #ladybug oc #ffvii remake oc #tmr oc #ffxv jasmine #narnia anitun #tvd viviana #mlb keith #ffvii xzavien #tmr hertz #aerith's 70+ celebration #70 followers celebration #ocappreciation #ocapp

[rathalost]

welcome to the dragon's lair

28 / uk. just a place to dump my years-worth of videogame screenshots! find out more about me + what i play

details on spoiler tags, trigger tags and mature content can be read here.

i'm only posting screenshots here, i'm not here to interact w others. sometimes i might add some commentary about the game, characters and such if i have smth to say

all notifs and interactions turned off. blog runs on a queue!

trigger warnings are tagged as: tw (word), so tw blood.

story spoilers for games / remakes of games that came out before 2010 won't be tagged, except for where plot or something else in a remake is different. be sure to block all tags for games you don't want spoiled.

tags for each game are below and also on the archive.

feel free to use any screenshot without an original character in it for artwork refs, desktop backgrounds, profile pictures, tumblr page headers etc.!

some are edited with colour overlays in an art program, most aren't

i hope you enjoy looking at these as much as i enjoyed taking them and playing these games!

tags / links

a few extra notes on my bg3 shots / playthroughs, with links to each character's tag and some extra backstory. rathalost rambles - sometimes i have more to say about a screenshot / game than just a description, this tag is for those screenshots where i talk a bit more about it.

baldur's gate 3 • genshin impact • jurassic world: evolution resident evil 4 remake • resident evil: village • red dead 2 monster hunter: world • crisis core: reunion • kingdom hearts 3 assassin's creed: origins • final fantasy 7 remake: intergrade breath of the wild • final fantasy x pkmn let's go eevee • pkmn violet • pkmn legends: arceus

[the-fandom-crossroads]

Final Fantasy vii 1/2 | End of FFVIIR Intergrade

Terry and Light are finishing Yuffie's DLC in the count down to Rebirth! It's time to Complete Mission and Save the Day!

No Rebirth spoilers please!

#final fantasy vii #final fantasy 7 #ffviir #yuffie #ff7 remake #ff7 rebirth #ff7 yuffie #ff7r #blind playthrough #final fantasy 7 remake

[meltykarasu]

Final Fantasy VII Remake Advent Calendar

Welcome to the Final Fantasy VII Remake Advent Calendar, a series in which I attempt to beat Final Fantasy VII Remake between December 1 and 11:59 PM on December 24th whilst liveblogging (and this time, streaming) the experience. (Spoilers abound, naturally.)

This year, rather than the original FFVII, I'll be tackling the Remake. Specifically the Intergrade version for PC, because I upgraded my PC just for it and RE4 Remake. It's a substantially streamlined game without, for instance, an entire sidequest about breeding chocobos that will eat two or three days of my time. But on the other hand, unlike the original which I had beaten at least three times by the time I played it last year and successfully completed the challenge, I've only played the Remake through once.

Today's Predictions and Strategy For Tomorrow:

I think this is pretty doable. My original run took roughly a month, and that was coming at the game with zero systems knowledge. FFVII Remake on howlongtobeat.com clocks in at 33-42 hours, which were around the times on the last saves of my FFVII playthroughs for this. It's also broken into chapters which give me a decent guide of how fast I should be going (despite slightly uneven size).

Come watch on Twitch! Follow for when I go live!

#ffvii advent calendar #final fantasy vii

[onewinged-sephiroth]

WEISS & NERO

#weiss #nero #ffgraphics #final fantasy #video game #vgedit #ff7r spoilers #final fantasy intermission spoilers #final fantasy intergrade spoilers #ffedit #final fantasy 7 remake #myedit

[zxal]

“Like this?” “Yup. Just like that.”

#final fantasy vii #final fantasy 7 #final fantasy vii remake #final fantasy 7 remake #ffvii #ff7 #ffviir #ff7r #ff7r intergrade #intergrade spoilers #aerith gainsborough #tifa lockhart #gamingedit #ffedit #ff7edit #mygifs

[hyruule]

“I'm back! ... ..... Aerith?..”

#zack fair #ff7 intergrade #ff7 remake #ff7edit #ffgraphics #final fantasy #gaming #ending spoilers #mygifs

[thechocobros]

“IT’S BEEN A WHILE, HUH?

                                             ... AERITH?” 

#ffgraphics #ffvii remake intergrade #gaming #gamingedit #zack fair #ffviir spoilers #final fantasy vii #obina edits

[kuuras]

✧ ° T i f a  L o c k h a r t : S t u n n i n g  B e a u t y ° ✧

#ffgraphics #gamediting #ffviir spoilers #videogamewomen #dailyvideogames #final fantasy vii remake #ffvii remake intergrade #final fantasy vii #final fantasy #tifa lockhart #mine

[princessstabbity]

#final fantasy vii #final fantasy vii remake #ffedit #gamingedit #ffvii scarlet #Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade #FFVII #ffvii remake spoilers

[nalle]

Why me?

#gamingedit #ffgraphics #final fantasy vii #ffvii remake #episode intermission #yuffie kisaragi #sonon kusakabe #ffviir spoilers #me before intergrade dropped: i will not get attached to sonon #me an hour into playing intermission: 🤡 #gifs: ffvii #mine

[halfwayriight]

My name is Yuffie, materia hunter and elite special forces operative for the new Wutai government. I have orders to infiltrate Shinra headquarters and steal their ultimate materia. To prove to our common enemy that Wutai is not to be trifled with. Members of Avalanche, with your full support, we got this!

#ffedit #ff7edit #ffviiedit #gamingedit #Final Fantasy #ffvii remake #final fantasy vii #final fantasy vii remake #ffvii remake intergrade #Yuffie Kisaragi #ff7r spoilers #myedits #*gifs #myff #250

[churchofclerith]

#FFVII #FFVIIR #FF7 #FF7R #final fantasy vii remake #ffviir intergrade #final fantasy vii #ffvii intergrade #ff7 intergrade #ffvii intergrade spoilers #ffviir intergrade spoilers #cloud #aerith #cloud strife #aerith gainsborough #clerith #cloud x aerith #aerith x cloud #ffvii aerith #ffvii cloud #aerith ffvii #cloud ffvii #my gifs

[icyanz]

Roche is in Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade!!

#I haven't been active here Ik but I just love him so much guys... #final fantasy vii #final fantasy vii remake #final fantasy 7 #final fantasy 7 remake #final fantasy vii remake intergrade #final fantasy 7 remake intergrade #Roche #Roche ff7 #Roche ffvii #ff7r intergrade spoilers #ff7r #ff7 #ffviir #ffvii