Hopes for Remake & Rebirth (story/content)

[LicoriceAllsorts]

My favourite is Final Fantasy VII

 

[jazzflower92]

A good story element is maybe having flashbacks of the Cetra fighting Jenova.

 

[Jairus]

Just thought of something recently and wondered if there was anything to it. A lot of people seem to think that the new motorcycle chase with Cloud and the AVALANCHE trio is part of the escape from Reactor 1, but I'm not so sure. Back in the Symphonic Reunion trailer, you could see Cloud clearly wearing the flower he got from Aerith. But in the new bike chase scenes, it's not there. Which makes me wonder if this is actually a completely new part of the game instead, not connected to any original scenes.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

I lean towards your interpretation, Jairus.

 

[Jairus]

Thanks, Lic. And speaking of the flower, we know Cloud meets up with the AVALANCHE crew on the train before getting back to 7th Heaven. Jessie would have to be blind not to see the flower, and given how flirty they've made her, it doesn't seem unreasonable to think she'd comment on it during her scene alone with Cloud in the train. So maybe we'll have the option of giving it to her this time as well if we want or save it for Tifa or Marlene as per the original. We know there are many choices-dependent events and scenes in the game (Nomura confirmed that), so a Gold Saucer-type date event sometime in the game seems like it could be possible (Loveless or something, maybe), and who you go with would be determined by certain choices you make in the game up to that point, just like with the Gold Saucer. Aerith and Tifa would naturally be options, but with all the choices we'll have in the game, it seems like they could have Jessie as a third option for it like they did with Yuffie in the original, and maybe Barret as fourth for the comic route. I guess we'll see, but it does seem possible, at least, and without affecting the overall story, just as who you go with in the Gold Saucer in the original doesn't really affect the overall story of the game.

 

[Alex Strife]

The moment I read "speaking of the flower", I knew you were going to "Jessie-town" .

 

[Jairus]

Ah, well, it was just a thought, nothing more. Not going to blow anything up here, hehe.

 

[pxp]

^^^ I agree it’s not from the escape from a reactor 1, but not because of the flower or love interests. I just don’t see them introducing Mr. SOLDIER antagonist right off the bat like that.

 

[jazzflower92]

As said before, I would love to have more of Mama Jenova expanded upon. And I would have to give her some Raygo aspects, because her theme in my opinion would go great with Jenova's character. Seriously, I would love humanoid Jenova to have a body looking like Ragyo's.

 

[Cannon_Fodder]

As said before, I would love to have more of Mama Jenova expanded upon. And I would have to give her some Raygo aspects, because her theme in my opinion would go great with Jenova's character. Seriously, I would love humanoid Jenova to have a body looking like Ragyo's.

Jenova looking like that would certainly explain why Sephiroth shows as much chest as he does

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

Is Jenova a "she" though? Or is she an "it" that happens to be occupying the body of a long-dead Cetra, who mutated in response to the invasion of her cells by alien matter?

 

[Theozilla]

I think it doesn’t really matter. But IIRC Kadaj and co. refer to Jenova with she/her pronouns in English. Don’t know how the third person pronouns would work in Japanese.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

Yes and Sephiroth calls it mother, but then again he is deluded. As an organism in its own right, can Jenova be said to have a gender?

 

[ForceStealer]

I agree that, as a shapeshifter, Jenova cannot (reliably) be considered a "she." I don't think it's stuck in the form of a Cetra though. Jenova Synthesis, which is just crafted from the Jenova cells that Sephiroth gathered after rebuilding his body, still maintains the "feminine" traits. It might just look like that.

 

[Jairus]

One of my hopes for the remake, in terms of story and content, is that they really do the AVALANCHE trio justice and give them plenty of time to shine in Part 1 and not just throw in a couple scenes and a minigame or two and call it done. But really give us time with them both as a group and individually while they're still around so that people playing the game will talk and think about them just as much as they talk and think about the rest of the crew. Give us some unique things to do with them - fun little things or places to go - that we can't do with the rest of the cast and that could possibly add little gameplay bonuses if we do them or go to them, bonuses that possibly can't be gotten any other way. Set the trio apart and make them memorable in ways other than their ultimate fate. Give them center stage for a bit and really develop who they are, where they came from, and where they want to go so we'll really miss them when they're gone and feel like we've lost more than just a few tagalongs but rather, people we knew and cared about.

 

[ForceStealer]

I mean it seems pretty clear that we're going to go on different missions with them than were in the original game. Potentially even without Barret or Tifa.

 

[Jairus]

I guess I just meant stuff outside the missions as well. Extra scenes and all that. Really let them step out of the shadow of the rest of the cast for a while.

 

[Yunipan]

Hope they do better with the translation and stay true to the OG Japanese translation also on the website

 

[Clean Cut Chaos]

I agree that, as a shapeshifter, Jenova cannot (reliably) be considered a "she." I don't think it's stuck in the form of a Cetra though. Jenova Synthesis, which is just crafted from the Jenova cells that Sephiroth gathered after rebuilding his body, still maintains the "feminine" traits. It might just look like that.

Was it ever explained why Jenova chose to take form as a woman? Were they a matriarchal society and it would be easier to gain influence or was a woman the first being she encountered or something?

 

[ForceStealer]

That's what I'm saying, it might just be what the alien looks like. That it has nominally "female" features could be incidental. It is an alien, after all. Somehow I don't think glowing eyes, eye boobs, and grotesque wings would have fooled any of the Cetra

Ifalna refers to Jenova as "he" at one point in the English game, which is a localization error, but I actually kinda like it, given the shapeshifting nature of the creature.

 

[mandelbrot86]

So my biggest concern for the story is actually the inclusion of Cait Sith and how to explain his nature...
Unfortunately Cait Sith's nature is not clean cut or well defined, but I think AI would be the way to go. That way he could be "Controlled By Reeve" but still be autonomous (that would cover the whole "how is Reeve controlling this 24/7 and doing his job?" issue.)
It would also be a little more emotional when you get to the whole Temple of the Ancients bit and maybe he'd be saying, it's okay, I'm just a robot, but his tone and his eyes convey that he's really not okay and he really has some level of sentience and fear of death. His sacrifice might actually have some redeeming value then.
Also, I feel like it was cheap that he just popped right back up after that. It would make more sense that you don't find Cait Sith number 2 until after the crater when you are in Junon and he helps get you out.

 

[Clean Cut Chaos]

I hope SE spent some time gathering every bit of confusion and debate over all these vague story elements and takes some time to flesh them out. Hopefully over all these games they will be able to do that satisfactorily.

 

[ForceStealer]

Also, I feel like it was cheap that he just popped right back up after that. It would make more sense that you don't find Cait Sith number 2 until after the crater when you are in Junon and he helps get you out.

That was intentional, to show a traditionally melodramatic, immediately un-done death to contrast the much quicker and permanent death not long after. But getting the replacement could still get shifted around I guess.
The AI-that-can-be-directly-controlled is what I always assumed growing up. Depends how much they decide to stick to that stupid Inspire thing.

 

[mandelbrot86]

Even if they have him show up rather quickly, it shouldn't be immediate. They figured out the whole Shrinking Temple thing right before that and then he gets crushed. The time it would take for the replacement to get there wouldn't make sense for him to just be there at the pit. I mean the immediate next scene is in Gongaga and Aerith has had time to make it to the Northern Continent so it wouldn't be too nuts to already have Cait Sith No. 2 meet the party there, but I still think they need to make his loss a tiny bit more dramatic than it originally was. Especially if it's not until Junon you get him back and new players are starting to wonder if they are just going to have to watch their characters killed off one by one. (Cait Sith, Aerith, and at this point potentially Cloud all while the current scene where he shows up, they are insinuating that Tifa's about to die. I might be morbid...)

 

[Erotic Materia]

stupid Inspire thing.

What's that?