#the whole defy destiny thing has more to it Im sure

[existential-fox]

It’s a Remake not a Remaster

Final Fantasy VII Remake is not Final Fantasy VII.

This is a significant fact that will influence how you experience the game.

I understand how people feel however as I was, and still am to some extent, one of them. When I first heard that the game was in development, and especially when I heard that it would be in parts, I had serious, serious doubts. Despite my fondness for XIII that game is a mess and its sequels do little to amend its flaws. XV I have ranted many, many times about as being a massive disappointment to me in its story telling, world building, and character development. The game play was also woefully disappointing.

The recent Final Fantasy entries didn’t fill me with confidence. And then I played the original again earlier this year and found what I now consider a masterpiece of gaming history.

So I when I decided to buy FFVII Remake I had to wonder if I was leading myself to disappointment again.

What I found was that FFVII Remake is so much better than it has any right to be.

I’m not sure how they did it but they actually managed to deliver a game that feels like a worthy successor to the original. 

But that doesn’t mean it is perfect. Oh no...its not perfect at all. When I say ‘is so much better than it has any right to be’ I am also saying that the overall package manages to be ultimately satisfying despite its many, many flaws. Its frankly ridiculous that I can see so much wrong with a game and yet still look back fondly on it without a hint of regret at my purchase. Weird.

Lets start with graphics because they’re objectively easier to review.

Graphics- In some ways I think the graphics are the perfect representation of the game’s overall feel. Because there are so many beautiful moments- the main characters are stunning, the cut-scenes are polished and smooth, the battle scenes and executions are breath taking and spit like an energetic fire and then....you see a NPC. Or you see an ugly textured background. Or you look down at what should be an awe inspiring sight of the slums miles below and yet all you see is a fixed ugly image that couldn’t possibly be anything but a badly glued on wallpaper for your horizon. I don’t get it. I really don’t. Because this game is beautiful and yet if you’re not a main character you’re reduced to looking like someone modelled your face off a cardboard box. This doesn’t take away from the amazing beauty of scenes like Aerith’s house or the colourful energy of Wall Street but it does make you scratch your head and go ‘huh?’.

Music- Every single track that has been taken from original FFVII and remade into a fresh take is amazing. I love that music is dynamic and slides into battle music as you encounter an enemy, and I also love that it will slide back into a more peaceful tune as you emerge in triumph from the scrap. The boss battles are to die for as well- Scorpion Sentinel was my first experience as I played the Demo like everyone else, and it hooked me straight away. The refreshed soundtrack slams.

And then there are the other tracks.Which apart from Hollow Skies (and its accompanying vocal track) are a bit lacklustre. There were moments like the Bombing Mission where I was bobbing along to the music as I made my way through the level. This never happened with the added tracks. I also hate Wall Street’s new track though I appreciate how it changes depending on where you are in the town. They had a perfectly good track already for it and yet... *sigh* Moving on...

Gameplay- Probably my number one surprise from this game, and possibly my favourite thing about the game, is the gameplay. It’s so well done. They went from XV which was boring and involved little to no strategy, and turned it around so fights and bosses actually made you think and rely on your different character’s strengths. I love using every single one of the characters because every single one of the four playable characters is a different experience and with unique skills you will need in different fights. Cloud is a counter hitter with strong sweeping attacks, Barrett is a ranged tank. Tifa is a hard hitting speedster, and Aerith is a powerful mage and healer. I liked that the boss battles often pushed you to discover what could be done with each character, and I liked that none of them felt useless or underused despite everyone but Cloud disappearing for chunks of the story. I also adore what they did with the Materia system, updating it for the more active gameplay while still keeping its roots intact. I like that you can update weapons and learn skills from them. I like that each character has a different ability unique to them, and that their skills reflect their playstyle. I think the majority of the bosses are great and I think whoever was responsible for the game play really knocked it out of the park big time as this is the best battle system I think Final Fantasy has ever had.

However- the camera is sometimes crap when you get shoved in a corner, the lock on is disastrous in moments as it jumps around with its own mind on who you should attack, and aerial combat needs fixing. I appreciate that you’re supposed to use Barrett or Aerith for aerial combat but: 1) They aren’t always with you 2) If you use Blizzard or Aero spells they are so slow that the enemy has usually flown away by the time they hit 3) Aerial enemies are way too fast for something so difficult to hit.

Those are my only complaints by the way. 

Characters- I think in a lot of ways this is what Remake really sells itself on. The extended story of Midgar allows you to get to know these characters and really feel them as people before the later events happen. The time given to them allows you to understand Avalanche and their motives as well as learn more about the world around you that they exist in. I want to tell you that of the main cast there was a weak link but I actually don’t think there is at this stage. They feel like they are exactly where they need to be.

I think if you didn’t know the original story Cloud could come off a little too much like ‘stoic hardass Soldier’ but tbh that’s hilarious to me because that’s how he wants people to perceive him. And, while fleeting and few the game gives you moments where Cloud doesn’t live up to that image. Cloud is a very broken boy and it is shown in his inability to understand Aerith’s high fives, his inability to understand how to hug someone, in his moment with Biggs in chapter 12 (which honestly nearly broken me most out of the ENTIRE game), and how he reacts to Rufus in the end. And Cloud does develop but the game doesn’t make a song and dance about it. Cloud holds on so tightly to his ‘I’m out for myself’ mentality but during the game- with these small moments- he eventually learns to trust and rely on others, and in turn stand up for them when he faces Rufus on the Shinra building. I honestly love Cloud because he really flips his character archetype on its head in the original game, and its starting to show slowly in this one too. 

Tifa, Barrett, and Aerith are all good too. On the opposite scale to Cloud, I do feel like Barrett could do with a bit more subtley. It would bring so much more to his character. I mean obviously I know he’s an angry dude and I also know why that it is but sometimes his lines felt  just a bit too hammy and over-dramatic to me. It was when he was worrying about Marlene and the other members of Avalanche that I felt he was at his best. Tifa’s great because the game shows her conflict and her guilt, while also hinting early at how she tends to keep her feelings and worries inside rather than voicing them. She also felt mature and just...like a normal person which is weird when talking about a JPRG. Aerith is...look Aerith, Cloud and Nanaki are my faves after this game. Aerith was perfectly done with all her sass, cunning, and inner loneliness intact. I also ship Cloud/Aerith < < though I can see why there’s such contention since there is a strong case for Cloud/Tifa too. I just like tragic stuff ok?

The side characters- Jessie, Biggs, Wedge, Nanaki (sadly), Marlene, Reeve etc. etc. were all fine for what they were. Though I wish Japan would stop with making fat characters a constant food/hungry joke. Wedge was actually a rather admirable character in the end but his introduction wasn’t great.

Story- I’ll just say straight up that this game has serious pacing issues. I don’t think it kills the main story but sometimes it kills the build up of story beats. The main villain of this piece is Hojo’s lab. I wish this was an added dungeon you could explore end game or something because I actually quite liked it for the introduction of Nanaki as an AI party member, being able to use all four characters in different scenarios, and the horror game like exploration of Hojo’s experiments. But oh boy...does it kill the pacing between freeing Aerith and following the trail of blood to President Shinra’s office. I literally don’t know why they scrapped the four of them being locked in cells and waking up to the cell door unlocked. If there is one thing I hate about this game its that they got rid of that scene build up. It was perfect in the original game...why would you...? 

The other thing that bothers me is Sephiroth. I got sick of seeing his pasty thin face pop up everywhere. I never liked the guy in the original but I could at least appreciate the mystery the game built up around him and not being able to predict when he would show up next. But no...if Cloud starts walking slowly and tense music starts playing you will be sure to see him in this one. I feel it ruins a lot of what made him an antagonist. Not to mention the ending where he starts babbling nonsense at you like he’s from Kingdom Hearts. I kind of liked that in the original he didn’t give a shit about Cloud or who he was because it added a lot to Cloud as a character but all he wants to do in this one is jump out of corners and freak the poor boy out.

I like chapter four though. Weirdly I feel like an arbiter of fate because I’m really fond of what they did with the story as long as it didn’t upset the beats of the original. Adding development to Jessie/Biggs/Wedge was fine. Adding conflict to Tifa’s feelings on Avalanche was fine. Playing as Aerith finding Marlene and finding out how she got her to her house was fine. I just don’t like how the game often bloated itself in moments that needed to be faster paced, or changed scenes in a way that made them lose a lot of their significance.

I’m okay with the ending weirdly though.I thought the fights were a bit ridiculous but I understood the message. I think the thing about Remake is it doesn’t want to be VII. It wants to be something new and exploratory. And it already has done that in a lot of ways...I just hope it follows that with the strength of the character writing and not with the haphazard pacing that pads this game. I think it could do a lot of great things to be honest- expand on Wutai and the war, look more deeply into Cosmo Canyon’s background, give Avalanche more of a presence after leaving Midgar, learn more about Aerith’s mum and her materia etc. etc. I actually took the ending as an opportunity for this rather than an off the rails experiment into noman’s land. It will be the same story but with a chance at new experiences and encounters. 

As Aerith says ‘I already miss the steel sky’. We all miss VII and the wonderful memories it gave us but it will always be there waiting for us. Remake is a chance for exploring new ground, learning more about the characters, and potentially widening the plot of what VII left behind. There is a lot of doubt in me moving forward. The second game could be a disaster in story but...I’m willing to give it a chance because this first game was ultimately a game that didn’t disappoint me. 

Perhaps its because it reminds me quite a bit of Cloud. By the end of the game it wasn’t selling itself on its strong lineage anymore, it was brave enough to step forward and ask us to trust it with the daunting task of developing into its own skin. 

#ffvii remake #ff7r #I had so much more to say #this game is just such an experience for me #I thinks its brave yet often stupid #and I think its observant of its characters while negligent of its plot #and yet I admire it for it #because even though there are parts where I was like WUT R YOU DOING??? #I think if the future games learn from this and refine themselves into better paced games it will be a pleasure to experience that journey #the whole defy destiny thing has more to it Im sure #I think its more to do with the planets destiny #and Aerith is connected to it #but it will change them to change things soo.....

[eldritch-elrics]

more svsss notes! from “shen qingqiu’s short but aggravating time in jail” to “shen qingqiu Fucking Dies” :]

...this got long. oops

so the book does this a lot but i’m always a huge fan of when a character (in this case little palace mistress) spouts off a cliche and sqq internally goes “oh my god here we go again. cringe.” it’s like... the reader gets to experience the drama of the cliche but also laugh at it

airplane has gay and homophobic vibes. or like...... araki jojo vibes. it’s so funny

the system keeps forcing sqq into plots that were originally meant for binghe’s harem members, which is of course hilarious (more so now that binghe’s not a teen anymore) - but i’m thinking about the fact that the system is literally powered by binghe. i wonder if binghe’s feelings are subconsciously influencing the system/the rest of the plot? like we know he has plot armor; does he also have enough influence to shift the story’s genre without knowing it? shit like this is why i love this novel. i’m really curious if it’ll be addressed

more of sqq being absolutely terrible at communication <3 please sir. say your FEELINGS. i’m sure you could figure out some way to explain without revealing that you know how the og plot goes...

another thing i find super interesting about sqq’s character is how sure he is that lbh’s gonna turn out how he did in og pidw. he’s just refusing to accept that lbh’s changed in any way, or that he cares about sqq at all anymore. there’s some line somewhere where sqq is like “oh no, being nice to him just made it worse... i’m stuck with him hating me even more now...” like NO. you’re just refusing to see all the signs of lbh’s hidden feelings. love unreliable narrators lmao

fate/destiny is such a big theme i keep noticing stuff about it

the system giving him a multiple choice answer to binghe’s “do you regret it” question, dating sim style, is of course hilarious, but it’s also a fascinating moment for a couple reasons. first, it shows how much of a crutch the system is for sqq - sqq’s leaning on it to fix his problems instead of actually putting in the work himself to get better at interpersonal communication. i hope that in a key moment later he’ll choose to defy the system. i think that would be a nice pivot point for three themes: first, accepting that sometimes he needs to fix problems on his own, without any omniscient outside guidance, second, accepting that not everything is written in stone (either by airplane or by the system), and third, recognizing that binghe and the rest are “real people” (ymmv on whether or not you think they are, but i think this is where i think sqq’s arc is headed) rather than video game objects to be manipulated.

i think that some shifts in his attitude do start to happen in chap 43 though when he sacrifices himself

back to slightly less analytical observations! sqq getting his clothes torn up. oh my god. and lbh’s REACTION...

dying at shang qinghua’s “coded” letter and the fact that its content basically amounts to “i fucked up, please escape from jail asap thanks bro”

gongyi xiao my BELOVED that prison break was pretty great. also i am so fucking sad about him. binghe WHY

so lbh wasn’t actually a disciple of meng mo? huh...

seems like the words of sqq’s vengeful ex weren’t completely true. i very much doubt the trial’s gonna happen now but i bet this will come up later

seriously losing it at sqq’s tavern disguise? smeared his face with dirt and drew on whiskers?? CATBOY SHEN QINGQIU???

love this development ning yingying’s gotten. the disciples’ relationships with their shizun in general are so cute omg

liu qingge keeps saving sqq from situations and it’s very fun. bros :)

also how lqg was like SO down to fight binghe at the end of that chapter?? king shit

binghe held out his hand to sqq when they were on the roof..... what was he planning to do.........

oh my god that whole confrontation. what is it with mxtx and Climatic Fights On Roofs

here is where the fate theme gets REALLY clear. sqq uses “we can’t avoid fate” as an excuse/coverup but lbh is like “no. was it fate that made you do all those horrible things to me?? i’ve decided that fate doesn’t actually exist. fuck the world i do what i want!”

which like. YEAH. protag energy. the rules of the world don’t apply to lbh so much do they???

im so excited for these themes to be explored more

also like. hell yeah. binghe finally sharing his emotions at a super climactic moment

and then sqq SACRIFICES HIMSELF...

god damn.

it’s a bit out of nowhere but also like. i kinda love it? because sqq knows he can’t talk his way out of this. he can’t say “hey it wasn’t me who abused you/made the choice to push you off the cliff.” so he goes and does the most drastic action he can think of. and it WORKS

now initially i was a lil mad about lbh changing his mind so quickly but i actually think it fits for 2 reasons. first, he’s a webnovel character. they do that. second, his mind has just been cleared of xin mo’s influence, which had been plaguing him during his most angry/violent moments, so with all that anger suddenly gone it makes sense for his feelings to shift. and deep down, he really does care about sqq!

sqq fuckin DEAD and finally binghe is sharing his feelings,,

i do think that lbh should be allowed to feel mad about what og!sqq did to him in the past though? like. it was wrong, and though sqq may feel like he’s made up for it, i do think he owes lbh a proper apology and (if possible) an explanation. there’s much more work (and communication) to be done between them but i’m glad they’re finally getting somewhere...

but of course i don’t think they’re gonna be seeing each other again anytime soon :]

#svsss #svsss spoilers #my post #analysis #oh god this is so fucking long. sorry #after i finish the novel i might come back to some of this analysis and clean it up and post it as its own thing #because i have a lot of thoughts #finn reads scum villain

[thursdaygirlgn]

my friend i am here with the self insert oc sam parallel episode, i have a history exam tomorrow and i refuse to revise in favor of writing this. let me take you on a journey.

this is very self indulgent and spans kind of the entirety of the series (because im nosy and want to be involved in every cool plot) so im not gonna embarrass myself OR bore you but the general gist of the first episode is this:

i am an 18yr old psychic kid raised by a hunter, meeting the boys in s2 through a “my father was also murdered by a ghost of his past”, except he did not immediately assume i am the antichrist while i was an infant and raised me relatively normal, thus demonstrating that john winchester was a fucked up parent because he allowed himself to be.

i am what sam could’ve been and he is once again reminded that all he ever wanted was to be normal and loved and how that was taken away from him, unfairly. he is angry. he is jealous. he feels bad about being jealous because “her dad’s dead, what the fuck,man”. he wants me to be ok, ultimately, ofc he does, but he doesn’t understand why i got it, why he didn’t, why couldn’t john do it. this serves as more material for soul-searching bc i am a firm believer that understanding the circumstances of abuse and neglect and wrapping ur head around them helps lift the guilt we often burden ourselves with: it’s not that if sam had been a better son john would have loved him more, it’s that john refused to look at sam for what sam really was: a child wracked by generational trauma and unprocessed grief, whose autonomy was violated before he could say his first word, in need of love, and chose to instead look at sam through his own grief muddied goggles and link him to mary’s death. insane how this is turning into sam analysis isn’t it.

i am also angry because im still sort of a child but not really, not anymore, im on the cusp of adulthood and going into it knowing that the world is unfair and hateful, grief is written all over me and sam thinks oh nono, because hope’s kind of the whole point isn’t it, and i had it and now it has been taken from me along with my parent and sam feels so alone and furious with everything, he’s plagued by skull cracking demonic visions, and he doesn’t want this idealized version of himself to ultimately end up like the version of himself that he is now, the one he doesn’t understand, the one he’s afraid of. he’s looking in a weird funhouse mirror, sees a kid who was different like he was but was cherished, and sees her end up in the same position he is now: fatherless, on a quest for revenge. he thinks that if we get the monster of the week, ill be better and he’ll find his hope in that. all roads lead to rome but he wont allow this one to reach the colosseum (defying destiny theme, hello).

the monster of the week hunt begins thusly, with sam generally uncomfortable. i confide in him about my psychic abilities and i explain to the brothers that i can help. both are opposed, but i am a chaotic little bitch and get involved anyway. throughout my involvement, sam learns more about the world of psychic mediums and thinks aha! hope! maybe if i dig deep enough (whore for lore amirite babes) ill find someone who’s lived an experience similar to mine! miss oc what are ur book recs for “i think i am psychic and terrified of it” and i say “fear not nerd have a very small cup of coffee and let me tell you about this great college course on divination”. this is relevant because i wanted to see more of sam desperately trying to fit into some sort of community, even a community of supernatural folk john and dean might’ve disapproved of, and finding that, at this point in time, he does not. he’s an outsider to normal people, he’s an outsider to those in contact with the paranormal. really hammer in that freak (affectionate) tagline. (he WILL build a safe haven in the men of letters bunker for all misfits in his adulthood, party city wig sam i do NOT perceive you)

the hunt culminates in an impressive showdown that includes the following: pyrotechnics, a cool spell, seeing things that aren’t really there, the power of friendship and a butter knife thrown like a frisbee. at the end we all look like final girls because im gay so blood is sexy. sam, who has come to regard me like a younger sibling/some sort of manifestation of his inner child, learns what it’s like to be deeply concerned with a youth’s safety and has a heart to heart with dean about how yeah, handling a teenager with incredible amounts of simmering rage and unprocessed grief while being barely equipped for any guardian-like role IS hard, man, is this what it felt like every time i busted out a batshit plan last minute and barely executed it in time to survive??? “yeah. bitch” “jerk.”

the epilogue is as follows: we see sam feeling many complicated things, but he is satisfied for the moment. we have a little heart to heart while laying flowers on my father’s grave. we both look a little worse for wear, but hopeful. “what’re you gonna do now?” “im not sure. college, maybe?” we keep in touch. i go on to art school and make homoerotic art pieces, as is my right. i make guest appearances whenever they need a deus ex machina bs spell to get out of trouble.

maybe in later seasons i go a little ape shit and commit some magical atrocities in the name of the greater good. maybe i get a little antagonized and he gets to offer me the understanding he couldn’t get when he needed it. i see you, sam, treating all misfits in later seasons with kindness, and i offer you a claire-like parallel to be there for through the tough times, thus healing some of your own wounds. everyone deserves an angsty wlw teenager to bond with . (i am only on season 9 of my rewatch and i have not seen seasons 12-15 in their entirety, if he does get one im not disrespecting that character and i love them probably)

the boys hit the road. vienna by billy joel plays, because it makes me feel things.

Slow down you're doing fine

You can't be everything you want to be before your time

Although it's so romantic on the borderline tonight

Too bad, but it's the life you lead

You're so ahead of yourself that you forgot what you need

Though you can see when you're wrong

You know you can't always see when you're right

You got your passion, you got your pride

But don't you know that only fools are satisfied?

Dream on, but don't imagine they'll all come true

When will you realize... Vienna waits for you?

end scene.

this is poetry. i will cherish this forever thank you for sharing with me and good luck on your exam

#all roads lead to rome but he won’t let this once reach the colosseum.... #clown posting #asks #sammy #i guess lol #sammy tag is needed for the sam analysis