Indeed. I took more notice of that during my current 'paparazzi playthrough'. Special mention to the facial expression in chapter 9, I posted some pics in the corresponding thread.
Some of Tifa's disgusted expressions during Corneo's audition were priceless
Sooooooo. Took me almost the entire working week to finish this chapter, but oh how much joy it brought me!
I spent ages only looking at the interior of the church. All the little design elements, all the grass making its way through the wooden floor, the light pouring through the roof-- I'm just-- *hugs the screen, hugs the game, hugs the forum*
Fans have been speculating whether the second hole (the one placed somewhat to the right) is Crisis Core heritage.
Cloud lands right on the flower bed, whereas in CC, Zack landed on the floor, so the location of both gaps kind of fits. Besides, Cloud's hole is smaller. Forgive me Planet for my tongue is my enemy.
The fight with Reno could have had more grace, but I only managed to jump over him just once... Bad timing, or the Deadly Dodge was getting in the way? By the way, Deadly Dodge has been doing wonders. I always keep it equipped, just have to try it out with the other characters too, for science. Anyway, some people in this thread complained about the pacing, but I'm in the same boat with those who thought it was a perfect chapter. I love exploring and doing sidequests in general, and there was enough fighting to keep it entertaining, too.
The gashtrikes at the cemetary destroyed me more than once. Surprisingly, one of the most challenging battles so far. But Aerith equipped with Steadfast Block, elemental ninjutsu properties of her staff, spamming magic out of the Arcane Ward, and constantly healing the entire party is a game changer. I currently play as Aerith way more often than I thought I would. She's fantastic, both as a character and a fighter.
When the TV announcer reads the weather report, he says, "We're looking at another cloudy day in Midgar, with overcast skies through tomorrow." Cloudy. Uh-huh. "There's also a chance of rain in some areas." Ooohh... And then orphans with their tiny buster swords. Then a scenario called "The Price of Strength." Then the housemother telling Cloud that the kids were talking about him as if they'd found themselves a new hero. Game, stahp, don't make me think about Zack over and over again т__т
The longer I walked in Sector 5, the more I pondered why I could see Sector 6 plate above me... And then I realised that it was the exact same issue with the skybox the forum has been arguing about ever since It still doesn't belong right above us even if we assume that Aerith lives very close to Sector 6... which she does, actually, but it isn't helping matters. I have zero theories about that, other than the ones already pointed out in the thread (technical difficulties with transitioning and such).
And speaking of reusing assets...
Well... A spinning good-bye from Rude, and off to Chapter 9!
All the mako in the water results in a very high incidence of identical twin births!
I was wondering if Oates was supposed to be the same kid who stole Zack's wallet in CC, but then I realised that kid would be in his late teens by the start of FFVII.
I forgot to mention another thing I did intentionally while playing through Chapter 8. I remember being annoyed with streamers because they never backtracked when Cloud escaped from Aerith's house. I was dying to see the church at night. So I met Aerith, who had been waiting round the corner, immediately turned away and headed for the church. Imagine the disappointment! The way to the church is completely blocked at night.
Well, I was able to run a few circles in the detour area of the slums instead. It looks amazing at night. Everything is hazy and teal-lit. The enemies still respawned, so I leveled up a couple of materia quite unexpectedly before leaving the sector.
Is it possible to summon during the boss fight against Rude?
I thought it was possible, but I've been replaying it and... I don't get a prompt to summon any of the DLC summons. But I've seen it happened before, so I'm confused. Did something change?
It still doesn't belong right above us even if we assume that Aerith lives very close to Sector 6... which she does, actually, but it isn't helping matters. I have zero theories about that, other than the ones already pointed out in the thread (technical difficulties with transitioning and such).
