SPOILERS FFVII:R Chapter 1 Spoiler Discussion

[Lex]

Discuss chapter 1 openly here! No spoilers for anything beyond chapter 1 please <3

 

[Lex]

Hey how about that Nibelheim scene cut from the demo? Neat right. I didn't remember Nibelheim being sandy then I looked at the OG background and it is indeed sandy.

 

[Eerie]

Yeah what struck me about it was really how far west Nibelheim looked. Now Tifa's outfit as a cow girl makes sense! I'm also very curious because it does look like they are adding layers to Cloud and Tifa's friendship as kids (she looked bummed he ignored her when in t he OG they never really talked?).

 

[Lex]

Yeah in the OG it was kind of ambiguous but you got the impression that Tifa ignored Cloud and not the other way around

It'll be an interesting dynamic to watch.

 

[Tetsujin]

Exciting to actually see Nibelheim apart from just the well. Would've thought they modeled just that and a few rooftops for the background of the promise flashback

 

[Lex]

Same! I'm wondering if we'll maybe control Cloud there in a dream or something. It seems unusual they'd recreate it like that just for cutscenes? But equally likely I suppose.

 

[Tetsujin]

I mean they might as well do the whole thing, it's one map less they'll have to do for part two then.

I was just thinking about that out of bounds video of the demo and how you could see the president's office there. I assume if you do that in the full game you'd have Nibelheim hovering somewhere right next to the Mako Reactor map as well...
Even if it's not playable, people will likely find a way to traverse Nibelheim at some point...

 

[Lex]

Looking forward to some out of bounds Nibelheim exploration :3

 

[Pizzachu]

The Security Officers' description reads that "Many are new recruits with little training." Those poor guys are just doing their job and we have to kill them. It makes me feel sad.

 

[Tetsujin]

LOL yeah my reaction was basically "oh cool we're killing the interns then I guess"

 

[Lex]

That feel when it's meant to be a canon explanation as to why they're so easy to beat but it ends up a moral conundrum

 

[jazzflower92]

LOL yeah my reaction was basically "oh cool we're killing the interns then I guess"

Well, this takes hazing to a new level.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

That feel when it's meant to be a canon explanation as to why they're so easy to beat but it ends up a moral conundrum

I recall XIII doing something similar with the initial PSICOM enemies, though it was a lot less of a moral conundrum there what with the trying to kill innocent civilians thing.

 

[Kain424]

The morality of a lot of what is happening is fairly loopy now. I am interested to see how they implement the change of Shinra being responsible for the reactor's final demise.

 

[rkss]

Yeah in the OG it was kind of ambiguous but you got the impression that Tifa ignored Cloud and not the other way around

It'll be an interesting dynamic to watch.

Didn't Cloud say he was the one avoiding them in the Lifestream event?

At first I thought the flashback was Jenova's mindtrick but it was in-line with the OG' plot so not sure what that cut scene was all about. Maybe they just wanted an excuse to show loli Tifa early.

 

[Eerie]

Cloud never hung with Tifa and the other kids, and when he tried, Tifa fell in the mountain (after her mother's death), and her father forbade him to talk to her so uh.

 

[rkss]

In the lifestream event. He said he wanted to play together but never could open his mouth to ask.

All I'm saying is this flashback is his real memory. Just find the timing is weird

 

[Eerie]

Ah yeah but I never said otherwise tho, I do think it's his real memories, which will make the whole thing later on really more interesting "but I saw his memories with Tifa as a kid, how can he be a clone?" etc. As a player, we learn more about who Cloud is and who he was when he was a kid, so I think that's neat.

 

[Kain424]

All of it will be interesting to see, especially how it wraps up together for the end.

 

[Kratos]

I actually agree the timing is weird - I prefer the glitch-effect-only version from the demo. The final scene would work better during downtime, like right after returning to 7th Heaven. Maybe after greeting Tifa at the entrance but before the bar conversation.

 

[ExampleZ]

I don't remember Tifa actually trying to talk to Cloud with all her other friends around, or Cloud just straight up ignoring her like that. I thought him not being able to talk to her or make friends with anyone else was one of the reasons he wanted to join SOLDIER.

 

[Theozilla]

It’s obviously part of the expansions to the narrative that SE has repeatedly stated will be part of the Remake. And the brief flashback is perfectly inline with previously established characterization of Cloud as a child, he was antisocial and shy as a kid. Tifa attempting to be social with Cloud as kids doesn’t contradict that.

 

[cold_spirit]

I'm keeping a log of my thoughts after each chapter. Here's Chapter 1!

• I like and don't like the addition of names in opening. I get what they're doing, showing the lead developers before the logo, but I wish they had crammed them all in the new Midgar shots and left the original opening untouched
• Love seeing the inside of the train terminal. In the original the terminal was only used as a transition between fields. Little things like this are what really stick out to me in the remake
• I think it's great that Avalanche treats Cloud like a real mercenary. They rely on his skillset and it gives him a special purpose in the group
• Why do you need to hold triangle to pull levers? Cloud doesn't even exert extra effort as you hold it down, he just stands there. That's AAA game design bullshit #1
• You can't see the slums below the bridge connecting the sectors, though you could see it in the original. As a trade off, you can pan the camera over to view the Shinra building now
• Cloud and Barret's exchange in the elevator is great. Barret's "while you shit" line always gets me
• Dodged some lasers, then turned around to see Barret getting caught in them. That's AAA game design bullshit #2
• Between Barret being able to shoot at distant enemies and characters being trapped by enemies, there's a lot of good incentives to switch characters
• I LOVE that the Scorpion Sentinel boss fight is so punched up. And judging from previews, future bosses will be the same way. As someone who loves a good fight, this is an exciting realization
• The damage sustained to the mako storage room was great to see as you escaped. Again, environmental details like that make me the most happy
• Cloud saves Jessie twice in this chapter, which happens in the original scenario as well, and I'm just realizing how ridiculous that is

 

[Theozilla]

Are you talking about this bridge from the OG? Because I don’t think that’s supposed to be the Slums at the bottom. I am pretty sure that’s just more machinery/architecture from the reactor/upper plate.

 

[cold_spirit]

Are you talking about this bridge from the OG? Because I don’t think that’s supposed to be the Slums at the bottom. I am pretty sure that’s just more machinery/architecture from the reactor/upper plate.View attachment 5254

I figured it was the slums since Cloud falls off a similar bridge later and lands in Aerith's church. So below is the slums area.

 

[Theozilla]

Oh doy, that was a brain fart on my part. And I now understand you were referring to the camera angles (since the OG was overhead), not a change in the architecture itself. I could even see the exposed gaps that lead to slums in the opening of the Remake.