On two occassions, before leaving Midgar, we have flashbacks to Cloud remembering things said by Sephiroth.
The first time is in the No.1 Reactor with the following line:
Watch out!
This isn't just a reactor!!
We only "know" that this line belongs to Sephiroth because a similar line (I'm not sure if it is identical) is found in the
Early Material File from the UO. In the final game, this line doesn't appear again, not even in the flashbacks to Nibelheim. If I recall correctly, this is even commented on in the Ultimania Omega.
The second time is after the fall of Sector 7, where Cloud briefly collapses and the following message appears in a black background:
In my veins courses the blood of the Ancients.
I am one of the rightful heirs to this planet!
There is no identical line matching up with this in the Nibelheim flashbacks either. I reckon it is from an earlier version of familiar scenes, just like with the "
This isn't just a reactor" line.
The disconnect between Cloud's spasms and the more "ordered" flashbacks is not without appeal, but I would still vote for a change to make the narrative more coherent. I can see three options...
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Option #1:
Change the two brief flashback lines to those used in the final game's Nibelheim flashbacks.
Replacing "
Watch out! This isn't just a reactor!!" is NOT easy. I find no fitting line from the final flashbacks that fit the context of making the player suspicious about why Cloud reacts this way to the mako reactor.
The second one is a bit easier.
"In my veins courses the blood of the Ancients.
I am one of the rightful heirs to this planet!"
I see two possible bits (or retranslated versions of them) to take from the final flashbacks.
A: From the Shinra Mansion.
“The Jenova Project wanted to produce people
with the powers of the Ancients…
Or, the Cetra.”
“…I am what was produced.”
This works because it states the lineage Sephiroth believed he was part of it, but it also doesn't work because the declaration is not powerful or scary in the slightest.
B: From the Jenova Chamber.
“I am the chosen one.
I have been chosen
to be the leader of this Planet.”
“I have orders to take this planet back
from you stupid people for the Cetra.
Unlike option A, Sephiroth's Cetran quality is not explicitly stated (only implied), but at least it holds the ominous declaration of Sephiroth thinking himself to be chosen.
Neither A nor B fit perfectly, which leaves us with...
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Option #2:
Change the Nibelheim flashbacks. This requires a lot more thought, as the discarded pre-release material now has to be re-worked into the flashbacks. I don't want to add or edit too much to the Nibelheim reactor scenarios, because those have already been tampered and revisited enough in Last Order, Crisis Core and Before Crisis.
The Shinra Mansion scene where Sephiroth calls Cloud/Zack a traitor is important, but less iconic. I would extend this scene slightly to fit with both of Cloud's flashback spasms from before the player leaves Midgar.
Sephiroth
“The Jenova Project wanted to produce people
with the powers of the Ancients…
Or, the Cetra.”
Sephiroth
“…I am what was produced.”
{CLOUD}
“Pr…produced!?”
Sephiroth
“Yes.”
“Professor Gast, leader of
the Jenova Project and genius
scientist, produced me.”
Sephiroth
"In my veins courses the blood of the Ancients.
I am one of the rightful heirs to this planet!"
{CLOUD}
“Se…Sephiroth?”
Sephiroth
“Out of my way.
I'm going to see my mother.”
NOTE: I removed the intermittent line by Cloud "How...how did he?" because after Sephiroth's outrageous statement that he is the planet's rightful ruler/heir, I think Cloud's/Zack's closest concern is questioning Sephiroth's sanity, rather than wondering just how Sephiroth was produced.
As for the "
Watch out! This is not just a reactor!" line, I am honestly not sure if it matches up perfectly with the version from the UO Early Material File. The Japanese line in the final game is this:
　　　　　　目をさませ！
ここはただの発電所じゃない！！
The exclamation marks don't appear to fit with the Early Material File, so perhaps what we have are two versions of the same corresponding line. The exclamation marks add a sense of great urgency that simply doesn't fit with the Shinra Mansion scenes, which brings me to our next option...
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Option #3:
Edit BOTH the brief lines flashbacked in Midgar and the final Nibelheim flashback script. Our two anomalies would be edited, then inserted into new parts of the Nibelheim flashbacks.
I'm most keen to edit our first anomaly. Remove the exclamation marks from "
Watch out!! This isn't just reactor!" and rewrite it slightly so that it can be worked into the Shinra Mansion flashbacks. While comments on the reactor not being ordinary could be easily worked into the scene where Sephiroth and Zack/Cloud investigate the reactor and the mako pods with the monsters in them, this should only be done as a last resort, seeing as these scenes have already been tampered with enough in the Compilation.
