SPOILERS INTERmission Chapter 1 Spoiler Discussion

[Lestat]

I mean he's a robot so was he ever really alive?

Do robots dream of electric sheep?

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

Be aware that I have not seen or played this DLC. That's why I asked - after you fight and defeat him, is he dead?

 

[looneymoon]

I find it really weird being able to praise the music in this so much when the sound mixing is borderline abysmal. I say borderline because it's still better than FFXV. I've tried to fix it on my end, is there something I'm missing? Do I need to try playing with headphones?? Am I (legitimate worry) going deaf in old age!?

I feel like this wasn't a thing I noticed/remember in the main game so I'm wondering what happened there.

I need to hear my anime grunts with crisp clarity, otherwise I feel like I'm missing out ok.

Spoiler: I turned on to play a bit more and could not hear wtf yuffie or sonon were saying, fiddled a bit, and immediately turned off when it wasn't any better I wish I could enjoy things rn without the little things feeling like overwhelming flaws.

 

[Shademp]

*LicoriceAllsorts when she hears that Chadley is still alive*

And yes Chadley has indeed NOT been erased in any shape or form yet.

@looneymoon
The playthrough I watched had the BGM volume set to 7 in the game's menu which made a big difference to me compared to when the BGM was maxed out at 10 along with all other sounds. I was able to hear dialogue much easier after this. But I suspect you already tried adjusting these settings.

 

[looneymoon]

I did but i go impatient I'm just where to whine

 

[Makoeyes987]

I set the music volume to 6. Might want to try that.

The music is amazing but it is too loud during battle and sometimes overtakes the dialogue. I also set the sound effects to 7 as well. That made it to where I could hear in-battle dialogue clearly.

 

[cold_spirit]

My setup as well. Music and sound effects at 7, voice at 10.

The worst moment of bad audio mixing I found is when you complete the Turtle's Paradise sidequest. Old Snapper congratulates you at the same time the Happy Turtle jingle explodes your eardrums. Plus the NPCs you ran by on your way there are still chatting away. It's pretty bad.

 

[looneymoon]

I fiddled with it some more and it's still bad even in cut scenes o_O

I'm just dealing. My soundbar is a bit cheap which is probably part of the problem as well. I'm done chapter one though and almost done chapter 2! Yuffie is really great in this.

 

[cold_spirit]

Maybe a controversial take but I like the Avalanche HQ group more than Biggs, Jessie, and Wedge.

Admittedly, Polk and Billy Bob have big NPC energy and contribute nothing. But Zhijie and Nayo are cool. I especially like Zhijie. He seems sketchy! His face looks a bit too distressed when Yuffie suggests that they pick up the IDs together. I think it'd be a good plot development in a future part if he turns out to be a snitch. Nayo is just chill. Nothing wrong with that.

I think another part of it is that Biggs, Jessie, and Wedge are just... silly to me. I know that's part of the point, that they're in over their heads, but I don't really care for it. Plus their rebel attire sticks out like a sore thumb in the slums. Like, clearly they're the people involved in the mako reactor bombings, how is that not obvious to every passerby?

The Avalanche HQ group is down to earth and I like their strategic alliance with Wutai. They come off as competent. I consider their addition to be some great worldbuilding. Not every cast member needs a quirk or sappy backstory. It's nice to just have some people.

 

[Makoeyes987]

Zhijie is my favorite due to his hidden Wutai heritage he keeps under wraps.

And if you lay attention to the NPC dialogue by the base, you'll hear 2 dudes talking about how they went drinking together with Zhijie and when one of them bragged about how many Wutai soldiers they killed, Zhijie became infuriated and started to beat him up. I don't see him being a snitch though, given he's definitely loyal to the cause of taking Shinra down.

Zhijie's attitude and humor amused me the most. Nao is adorable and mature, and I can see her as a leader of a more mature and person-centered AVALANCHE. The others however, as you said... Have big NPC energy

 

[Jimmy XH]

The balance between the build up on social media versus the output was odd, for sure. Certainly in the case of Billy Bob and Polk.

Billy Bob was described as someone who gathers intelligence in the local bars. Might have been an interesting angle to explore, but he was relegated to cracking his teeth on a Da Chao bean as far as I could see...

As for Polk, his main role seemed to be to introduce us to Fort Condor. I think that most of his lines were covered in the trailers!

I don’t think they were bad characters per se, but they could’ve been given a bit more to be involved in.

Maybe I’m splitting hairs...?

 

[Torrie]

I don’t think they were bad characters per se, but they could’ve been given a bit more to be involved in.

What a funny coincidence! I brought the exact same topic up in the sister thread on chapter two last night If we keep being curious about them, here's to hope they will reappear in Remake II. I can easily imagine a cutscene Barret spoke about: Billy Bob walking into Seventh Heaven with a bunch of flowers and Tifa telling him off.

Oh yeah, and I didn't find those cracking teeth scenes even a tiny bit funny. Hurting yourself is never funny :/

 

[Obsidian Fire]

I took it as less "they're hard" and more "they're spicy". With the Midgar natives not used to the spice flavour while Yuffie grew up eating them her entire life.

 

[cold_spirit]

Yuffie says "Foreigners and their weak jaws..." after sharing a da-choa bean with the ID counterfeiter. So they defs hard.

 

[looneymoon]

There's a lot of anime humour out there I really don't enjoy in general tbh.

Not that anime can't be funny, it's just one of those things where certain modes of humour make feel more dead inside than amused. The Da Chao bean thing definitely fits into this.

in any case I thought the avalanche npcs were fine. I didn't have a problem with any of em, but wasn't in love with em either. so they served their purpose.

My favourite new character was Happy Turtle guy tbh.

 

[Jimmy XH]

If we keep being curious about them, here's to hope they will reappear in Remake II.

It could just end up being a big Avalanche reunion party in Wutai at this rate. See you all in The Happy Turtle for Da Chao Beans and the Fort Condor championships.

 

[Dark and Divine]

It could just end up being a big Avalanche reunion party in Wutai at this rate. See you all in The Happy Turtle for Da Chao Beans and the Fort Condor championships.

Or maybe it could be the full Avalanche group in Fort Condor protecting the condor during the Huge Materia quest. A full-on battle between Shinra Forces and Avalanche, with some support from Wutai, either directly or indirectly.

 

[Makoeyes987]

One thing that blows me away is the fact that the AVALANCHE HQ main branch is just like, the equivalent of a block from Barret's AVALANCHE.

Replaying FFVII-R with the awareness of where the other AVALANCHE is located makes me notice just how close it is in the main game and no one's the wiser.

Hell, they live across the street from Biggs. How'd that happen?

Was that to keep an eye on what Barret and the others were doing?

 

[Obsidian Fire]

I wouldn't be surprised. They'd want to know what the "loose canon" branch is doing, if just to make sure their own Branch doesn't get caught up in the middle of it unawares.

 

[Clement Rage]

That plan went well.

 

[ForceStealer]

Went over to @AvecAloes' house to use her PS5 to play it with my vacation day today!

Chapter 1-specific thoughts: Great time once again. I think Yuffie controls great. Their ability to make all the characters feel distinct continues to impress. I remember wondering, after experiencing how fast Tifa played, they would make Yuffie stand out. And they did perfectly. Just as fast, but also the ninjutsu. The way you can toss her shuriken and basically leave it out there and cast free magic before calling to back or going to get it is great. And the synergized moves with Sonon are very satisfying to pull off/time correctly.

I was also pleasantly surprised at Fort Condor. I didn't go through the whole sidequest because I wanted to clear the whole DLC today, but I found it genuinely fun. I love how the units are all FF7 monsters/enemies, and that, as game pieces, they look like the old polygonal lego guys. And that song

Well, the music overall, continues to be phenomenal. Loved that Yuffie-theme stuff in the intro area, and the battle version of it. I'm not sure the music in that conveyor belt dungeon wasn't lifted straight out of Cowboy Bebop But, "this song sounds like Cowboy Bebop" is never going to be an insult, I guess, lol.
As with the music, the DLC basically automatically fulfills what I want from any piece of entertainment: allowing me to spend time in FF7's world. Looking up at the underside of the plates remains possibly the single purest joy in the remake.

I waited to take Ramuh with Sonon. It took me many tries, and then suddenly in one battle I completely curbstomped him. That happens to me in this game, lol. Running into a wall and then suddenly I'll stagger the enemy without quite knowing what I did and just completely melt their healthbar. Loved that Automata-esque final boss, too. And Yuffie's Sailor-Moon-AF introduction was hilarious. She's great. As others mentioned, I like the way she flops onto benches. It does a great job of endearing me to a character that I still liked as being part of FF7, but was generally neutral towards.

I think my only Rishi-style complaint is the change of "Turtle's Paradise" to "The Happy Turtle." The former's way better.

 

[looneymoon]

don't put bad words against Happy Turtle man in my mouth

edit: you are right tho

 

[Clement Rage]

The da-chao bean is more than just a joke, it's something Yuffie does to people she regards as friends or allies. It's also a cheap easy way for her to identify Wutai people who are probably allies, like Happy Turtle Man.

Spoiler: CHAPTER 2

That's also why Sonon can use them to help her calm down, it's a subtle 'hey, we're Wutai's finest, we're in this together, we got this'

 

[Mayo Master]

Finally happy to join this thread (I noticed there are more than 30 pages of comments for the end of Chapter 2, I'm having flashbacks of last year when I went through 120 pages of comments on chapter 18 before posting...)

I spent roughly 4 hrs on Chapter 1, with a decent amount of "screwing around". My first impressions are very much in line with @ForceStealer's, overall. In more details:
- Very impressed with how they gave Yuffie her own distinct gameplay flavour. And it stood out right away, just in the first couple of fights. And the ability to synergize with Sonon gave very interesting depth to the combat mechanics. Great stuff.
- I really loved Yuffie's characterization. While she was not among my favourite characters from the OG cast, I'm having a lot of fun with her in this episode. I think they really nailed her energetic, boastful demeanor and her teenage spirit (as in "stop treating me like a kid, I'm an adult!" -> Look, you're totally a kid). The way she sits on a bench is almost a summary of her character - and when you manage to describe a personality through body language alone, you've really done a good job. Again, it really gives me the impression that Remake is delivering the best characterization of FF7 characters to date.
- Yuffie's grand self-introduction before the final boss fight was amazing, I absolutely loved it. To me, that was one of those highlights on par with the treats from Chapter 9 in the main game. Cherry on top was the guard's reaction "yeah, whatever, she's just a kid". In the same vein, I also was really amused by the banter with Corneo's lackeys, when they tried to nab Nayo. By the way, thanks @Eerie for the note about Tifa being referred to as "megabombe" in French, it really goes to show that translations have come a long way since the OG (if people thought the English OG translation was poor, French folks know how worse it can get)!!!
- I keep on being pleasantly surprised about the enemies' designs, very much in line with what Remake had to offer in terms of modernizing the OG designs. It's awesome stuff.
- I found it quite interesting to see so many Sephiroth's "clones" roaming around, and that you're confronted to some of them in the first minute of the game.
- Stuff I didn't like so much: how moronic the Shinra troopers are portrayed, as they can be fooled by a "Over there, look!" or equivalent. The chase when following Zhijie was quite symptomatic of that. I wasn't annoyed by the Da-Chao beans joke though (as a "white weakling" who can't tolerate as much spiciness in food as my Latin American and Asian friends).
- The different versions of the Happy Turtle tune cracked me up, especially the metal one It didn't take me took long to find all the flyers, but for some reason Marle's dog gave me a lot of trouble (I couldn't see the prompt and thought I had to go for the ladder).
- I tried to solo Ramuh's boss fight at first, and got completely toast. I gave up on trying solo after getting a Judgement Bolt in the face. Once Sonon tagged along, I was able to defeat him on the first try: I managed to stagger him, then do a Synergized attack, followed by Limit Break - Ramuh's HP were at 75% and this combo managed to take him down. Oh, and for some reason, I found endearing that Chadley used "kicking butt" as a scientific term.
- I really enjoyed the Fort Condor mini-game for several reasons. The game was enjoyable to play, and offered a good visual re-creation of the OG minigame, down to having the pieces being chibi equivalents of their "real" counterparts. It was also fun to encounter some of the prominent NPCs (namely our flamboyant, pansexual Roche, and it was good to kick Kyrie's butt). My strategy for Chadley: get the Assassin board III, and try to be super aggressive and "blitz" him. His strategy is always to spam bases and win by swarming your units, and you'd have to take his bases down as soon as he spawn them. Buying a MOTH unit from the weapon store was extremely useful for tearing down the bases of offensive infantry units.

I think that's about it! Onto chapter 2...

 

[ForceStealer]

- The different versions of the Happy Turtle tune cracked me up, especially the metal one It didn't take me took long to find all the flyers, but for some reason Marle's dog gave me a lot of trouble (I couldn't see the prompt and thought I had to go for the ladder).

I had the same problem. Spent several tries trying to get to that damn ladder. Once I even started climbing the ladder only to get caught Then I saw the flyer