I'm glad so many people are so head-over-heels for this chapter, but it was another mixed bag for me.
There were, again, plenty of things I liked, so I'll start with those:
The highway was neat. Not as good as the sun lamp dungeon, mind. But it was fun, the high five thing was an adorable gag, and I enjoyed exploring it. Somewhat-related, Cloud and Aerith trying to say goodbye was very appropriately awkward. The performances just shine so much in this game.
Visually, Wall Market is pretty much perfect. I'm firmly in the camp that mourns the loss of the original music - it
feels so much less seedy without that dark reggae beat - but the twisty-turny nature of it felt very true to Wall Market. I liked that there were parts that were just inaccessible to me, like those back-alley chests. I liked the kitschy appropriation of the Eastern aesthetic that screams "plundered wealth". Once again, the game has nailed the feel of a Sector's slums without making it anything like the ones we saw before.
I liked the Trio, and I liked the Colosseum mini-arc. They felt like an organic addition to the world, much like Roche (though obviously in a different way). On that note, I also liked Johnny (and his dad, diligently delivering a pillow) and Leslie. I didn't die against Hell House, but it was definitely a long fight, and there were a couple times it came close. I really feel like I'm under-leveled, because any guides I peeked at recommended third-tier Materia, which I didn't get until I hit the midpoint of the Sewers. Oops!
I liked everything from the moment Cloud got into his dress onwards. I ended up with the tacky blue corset, which I think looks better than the lacy black dress. Aerith got the red gown, and Tifa got her sporty look, which...whew, momma. Once again, Aerith is adorable with her Tifa Moves and WWE chair smacks.
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What did I
not like? Well, I found most of the dress-up sequence underwhelming, I guess. Messy, I think is a better word. The progression of events in the original were very elegant:
- Cloud can't get into Corneo's as a dude.
- Not going in isn't an option for him.
- Aerith has the idea to dress him up as a lady, which leads to a madcap adventure through a den of vice that serves to build up that little corner of the world.
In the Remake, the sequence of events is more like:
- They want to rescue Tifa, so decide to audition Aerith.
- They need to gain approval for her, so they get involved in a battle tournament.
- After the tournament, Cloud does some unrelated busywork to "learn about Wall Market."
- Around that time, Cloud just up and decides it's time to present himself to Corneo's lackeys because Johnny is in a panic (???). He learns he won't be able to join in because dude, and decides to storm the castle without her (???) but doesn't because Aerith shows up.
- Aerith, acting on a plan developed off-screen and a-propos of nothing by Madame M, takes Cloud to see Andrea, who surprises him with a dress-up.
The original is just so much more...organic, and it's a shame to lose its fun little adventure. And yes, I know you can get a set of quests that have you do the same
actions as that adventure - that was the set which I unlocked - but they're presented in a way that's completely divorced from their original purpose (what's even the point of the dress shop if you don't use it to make the damn dress that you wear? what even does determine Cloud's dress?). Making them into time-killers is even weirder than just cutting them completely, because with a slight tweak, you could still have Aerith come up with the cross-dressing idea on her own, maybe after the tournament, and then do those quests to gain the materials for, I dunno, an audition with Andrea.
I just liked it when Cloud learned about Wall Market and put together a pretty outfit at the same time, I guess.
