SPOILERS LTD Remake — It's like New Coke except ... no, it's exactly like New Coke

[faefolk]

Those are all really good points, for sure, especially with someone who has a savior/failure complex like Cloud.... with his current scrambled egg brains on top of it. It's funny because shipping doesn't even matter at that point and even with Tifa, I think she's back to being somewhat scared of Cloud, given his behavior after Aerith's death.

Was anyone else super disturbed by that final scene with the Tiny Bronco? I felt so much dread as everyone climbed into the plane while Cloud was just pretending everything was okay, that he was a mentally sound leader, that he would willingly pick up the slack if anyone fell behind. Like..... what the fuck. I am SO stressed lol.

I agree. In fact I think overall shipping shouldn't matter (no matter how much I enjoy discussing it) to the story. It's themes run so, so much deeper than that. But I think Clouds intense love for Aerith post death is an extremely natural psychological response to such a traumatic event. I would just disagree with anyone saying that means he loves her more than Tifa.. because that's really not how grief functions at all. Those intense feelings don't last forever and often they aren't a genuine reflection of a stable mindset because no one is stable when experiencing intense grief. Add that to the pre existing scrambled egg brain too. (Loved that description btw)

Tifa is absolutely scared of/for Cloud. She doesn't know what's going on and probably doesn't understand who he is. Especially since he's acting like... chipper when she's just seen Aerith dead.

And yes, deliciously disturbed lmao. Clouds arc is my favourite without a doubt. His struggles with sanity, identity and being controlled are such compelling plot points. I thought they did such a good job with him falling under Jenovas influence in this game. I was unbelievably impressed. But yes, horrified in a 'manically grinning during the final scene because they really nailed how disturbing this is' kind of way

 

[r_monk]

I would just disagree with anyone saying that means he loves her more than Tifa.. because that's really not how grief functions at all.

Anyone who would try to quantify love that way is more nuts than Cloud lol.

 

[r_monk]

And yes, deliciously disturbed lmao. Clouds arc is my favourite without a doubt. His struggles with sanity, identity and being controlled are such compelling plot points. I thought they did such a good job with him falling under Jenovas influence in this game. I was unbelievably impressed. But yes, horrified in a 'manically grinning during the final scene because they really nailed how disturbing this is' kind of way

My face the entire time O_O

It's the perfect fever pitch following everything that happens at the temple of ancients. But them throwing in No Promises to Keep made things feel even more dissonant. I went to bed feeling so, so unsettled lol.

 

[faefolk]

Anyone who would try to quantify love that way is more nuts than Cloud lol.

It feels like everyone tries to quantify love in this game it's such a complex emotion though. To be fair - I think people try to fit love into neat little boxes in real life too and also disagree with that. Humans are messy, emotional things.

My face the entire time O_O

It's the perfect fever pitch following everything that happens at the temple of ancients. But them throwing in No Promises to Keep made things feel even more dissonant. I went to bed feeling so, so unsettled lol.

It was pretty unsettling for sure.

But yeah, I agree with that assessment. I know people have their problems with the ending - but Clouds mental struggle is like.. the main driving plot point for me, so I'm not at all mad that they're choosing to zoom in on that. People are saying Aerith didn't get her moment properly with the alterations to her death scene but the fact is the main focus of the story was never Aerith - it's Cloud. I am really enjoying that the attention is being put on his fragile mental state and how it makes him even more vulnerable to Jenovas influence. I think that unsettled feeling you have will have an absolutely outstanding payoff in part three when he properly snaps. What an amazing build up!

 

[Rin]

While I do think we can interpret romantic undertones to the ending with CA, I believe their interactions are meant to be creepy and unsettling to the viewer. We're not supposed to be romanticizing it or thinking about them as a couple at all.

Similarly, they've used platonic framing for her death so that when his true self is restored the romantic undertones will probably be gone (for example, if you watch the scene where Sonon's sister dies it's the exact same framing as CA with the hand on the face and everything).

 

[r_monk]

While I do think we can interpret romantic undertones to the ending with CA, I believe their interactions are meant to be creepy and unsettling to the viewer. We're not supposed to be romanticizing it or thinking about them as a couple at all.

Similarly, they've used platonic framing for her death so that when his true self is restored the romantic undertones will probably be gone (for example, if you watch the scene where Sonon's sister dies it's the exact same framing as CA with the hand on the face and everything).

Yeah the entire thing just felt off and sad to me. Aerith is having an understandable slightly manic moment grasping for some sweetness before the end—it's clear she knows she's going to die. And that all coinciding with the fever pitch of Cloud's mental collapse leading up to the dream sequence. Ugh.

 

[Rin]

Yeah the entire thing just felt off and sad to me. Aerith is clearly having a slightly manic moment grasping for some sweetness before the end—it's clear she knows she's going to die. And that all coinciding with the fever pitch of Cloud's mental collapse leading up to the dream sequence. Ugh.

Yeah, it was really sad. It's even worse if you watch Red's HA date scene and then watch the ending right after (did I do that? Yes bc I like pain)

 

[null]

I’m surprised when I saw everyone is happy with the trilogy leads to ACC. I mean ACC even though they tried really hard is a bad movie. The graphic is awesome, But thinking about Cloud abandoning his family for weeks just iterated me. This is not the Cloud from the game. And if they need several novels to explain a movie, it is not great storytelling.

Trust me, I have the urge to bitch about AC every single time it’s mentioned. I only find the strength to stfu out of respect for the fans who enjoy it.

 

[starcape91]

You guys have got me so scared to get to the end. I’m at the beginning of Chapter 12 and am doing side quests.

I’m not a fan of AC either btw. I would really like for them to remake it after the trilogy and do it better.

 

[r_monk]

You guys have got me so scared to get to the end. I’m at the beginning of Chapter 12 and am doing side quests.

I’m not a fan of AC either btw. I would really like for them to remake it after the trilogy and do it better.

I just told someone I would rather eat glass than rewatch AC. I would also love a remake sans the Three Stooges.

 

[starcape91]

Maybe the trilogy will lead to AC but since Sephiroth will be purged from the Lifestream there will be no Geostigma and we’ll get a different story. Maybe less grayscale too. One where Cloud is more like the post-Lifestream dork Cloud.

Extremely low chance of that. But would be nice. Retcon AC!

 

[Rin]

Extremely low chance of that. But would be nice. Retcon AC!

You never know! Hamaguchi said it would be a dream come true to remake AC

 

[shady]

Had an interesting thought.. though it's probably no more than a thought, i'll share it here too.

Looking at the S5 Dream Date, I also wonder if it's an allegory for player choice too. As in, yeah you can make Cloud choose different paths whether that's who to date or what dialogue option to select, but in the end it doesn't matter because Cloud is only presented with the option that the story/narrative presents, hence why no matter what you pick on this date he's forced by the NPC's themselves to only go with the option they present to him. You can choose to romance one girl in the game, but the reality is that the story is pushing you in another direction kinda deal? Probably nothing just popped into my head

Also regarding AC It wouldn't surprise me if they did something in P3 regarding it.. even if that's just a soft remake of some scenes, or maybe an post AC epilogue at the end.. it'd be nice to see something since I doubt they'd remake the entire film, it would probably feel like a waste of money on their part at this point.

 

[starcape91]

I’d like to see domestic Tifa, Cloud, Denzel and Marlene while Cloud is happy. And with their current character designs.

 

[Rin]

I've realized that their commentary about the remake project being the final entry in the compilation can mean a lot of things since they added CC to the project as well, they could easily add AC and DoC as well.

 

[r_monk]

I've realized that their commentary about the remake project being the final entry in the compilation can mean a lot of things since they added CC to the project as well, they could easily add AC and DoC as well.

Maybe they'll add a "cozy" game set in the new Seventh Heaven where you get to bartend and cook and come up with recipes (wishful thinking).

 

[Rin]

Maybe they'll add a "cozy" game set in the new Seventh Heaven where you get to bartend and cook and come up with recipes (wishful thinking).

Wait... now I want this real bad Can they at least make it a mini game?

 

[r_monk]

Wait... now I want this real bad Can they at least make it a mini game?

My only real complaint for FFVIIR is that they don't let me eat or drink or cook or fish!!!! Like seriously there's dog soccer but no cooking?? (((

 

[faefolk]

Maybe the trilogy will lead to AC but since Sephiroth will be purged from the Lifestream there will be no Geostigma and we’ll get a different story. Maybe less grayscale too. One where Cloud is more like the post-Lifestream dork Cloud.

Extremely low chance of that. But would be nice. Retcon AC!

This is what I want too and I liked Advent Children haha. But it wasn't a happy ending and I would like that for our characters.

 

[faefolk]

Looking at the S5 Dream Date, I also wonder if it's an allegory for player choice too. As in, yeah you can make Cloud choose different paths whether that's who to date or what dialogue option to select, but in the end it doesn't matter because Cloud is only presented with the option that the story/narrative presents, hence why no matter what you pick on this date he's forced by the NPC's themselves to only go with the option they present to him. You can choose to romance one girl in the game, but the reality is that the story is pushing you in another direction kinda deal? Probably nothing just popped into my head

I would agree it's an allegory for choice but not necessarily in the way you frame it. For me Remake and Rebirth have been largely about the illusion of choice. I feel like one of the main themes of the game is that you can't change destiny. You can alter the journey and do things differently - but the end result will always be the same. So I saw Aeriths increasingly manic behaviour during the date as her realising that she can't fight fate. I think romance is perhaps a part of this, but ultimately I think these themes have a larger importance than that one aspect of it.

Just like I saw someone theorising that the empty white material had to do with Aeriths interactions with Cloud being meaningless. But I didn't really get anything LTD related from the materia thing - instead I thought it was really interesting that we found out the materia is connected to memories.. and when Aerith seemingly gets her memories back with the possession of the white materia from the other timeline - she hands the empty materia to Cloud, who is devoid of his memory.
Even more interesting is that it seems to me that the materia seems to be corrupted by his false memories and persona in the end. I'll be interested to see what happens to that materia when he gains his memories back.

 

[r_monk]

I would agree it's an allegory for choice but not necessarily in the way you frame it. For me Remake and Rebirth have been largely about the illusion of choice. I feel like one of the main themes of the game is that you can't change destiny. You can alter the journey and do things differently - but the end result will always be the same. So I saw Aeriths increasingly manic behaviour during the date as her realising that she can't fight fate. I think romance is perhaps a part of this, but ultimately I think these themes have a larger importance than that one aspect of it.

Just like I saw someone theorising that the empty white material had to do with Aeriths interactions with Cloud being meaningless. But I didn't really get anything LTD related from the materia thing - instead I thought it was really interesting that we found out the materia is connected to memories.. and when Aerith seemingly gets her memories back with the possession of the white materia from the other timeline - she hands the empty materia to Cloud, who is devoid of his memory.
Even more interesting is that it seems to me that the materia seems to be corrupted by his false memories and persona in the end. I'll be interested to see what happens to that materia when he gains his memories back.

This 1000%. Thanks for articulating it so well.

 

[Maidenofwar]

Hi. I'm Sakura Happy to be here and meet you.
I used to be on the Forgotten City forums as KageSakura decade and change back and I think I remember you and some others there but I usually just lurk so I think this is our first time interacting. I enjoy reading your posts too. ^^ And yeah I really just appreciate what we got. No need to try to win, just to find joy.

I guess I rep multiple ships lol since I'm a multishipper. I like CT and ZA too. I have nothing against any ship really. But my OTPs are actually CA and Aeriseph (which is not even a little bit canon but hey the heart wants what it wants lol)

Thank you

Oh wow a lot has happened in ten years or so, real life can be tough, I need the escapism of video games sometimes. Heheh I get that, we were robbed of early initial content AeriSeph when they changed that dynamic.

Welcome back to Eerie also.

 

[starcape91]

Just did a side quest in Gongaga and Cissnei talks about Zack. Confirms she never saw him as more than a friend but misses him, and said she feels guilty for stealing a part of his life from him. Then she says “Now I know what he saw in you” to Aerith.

 

[r_monk]

Just did a side quest in Gongaga and Cissnei talks about Zack. Confirms she never saw him as more than a friend but misses him, and said she feels guilty for stealing a part of his life from him. Then she says “Now I know what he saw in you” to Aerith.

Oh shoot, which side quest is this? I blew through a few because I wanted to get to the story beats.

 

[Maidenofwar]

I saw that one too on friend's stream and I got a different impression.