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

Ryushikaze

Deus Admiral Parsimonious, PHD, DDS, MD, JD, OBE
AKA
Tim, Ryu
I wish i could still remember how i initially reacted to Aerith dying in OG but i just can't anymore. It's a real shame honestly.
I knew it was coming. Her weapons were literally becoming too good to just give to a player compared to everyone else's gear, so I knew to expect a rug pull. It also wasn't the first time I'd had an RPG kill off the sisterly cleric-y type character. Hell, I'd had to kill one myself in Breath of Fire. I was mad about it, but it didn't shock me or make me cry.
 

Eerie

Fire and Blood
I played the OG on PC, must’ve been 25 or 26 at the time. My husband warned me: “don’t level her up, she dies”. Being kind of a completionist, I was glad to know beforehand lol.

But anyway I disliked her from the get go. Because when she started flirting I went “wtf, ok I’m going to tell her that I already have a gf” and she didn’t stop. Plus she was a hassle because she also was my first game over (Barret Aerith Red fight in the lift 😬). Anyway I didn’t like her from the get go. But the thing is, I didn’t like Cloud either lmao. I thought he was an arsehole. So while I liked Tifa, I didn’t ship CT until the LS, even kept telling Tifa she could do so much better since I felt the game was pushing CA.

So when Aerith died, I went “omfg finally!” followed by “noooooooo my materia!!!!”

Nowadays when I replay the OG I’m more like “come on Aerith, it’s time to go now” 😅

For Rebirth when Holy hit the ground I went “ohhh… she’s gone for real” and finally felt sad. I am however not liking her as much as I did in Remake, and I’m not sure if that’s the result of her characterisation or of the horrible PR for this game. Only time will tell I guess.
 

GamerSkull

Pro Adventurer
I played the OG on PC, must’ve been 25 or 26 at the time. My husband warned me: “don’t level her up, she dies”. Being kind of a completionist, I was glad to know beforehand lol.
Was this the Steam rerelease? Or the original PC version? I’ve always been curious about the latter. How well did it hold up? Were the keyboard controls bad? Did game pads work? Were there any weird bugs exclusive to it?
 

Ryeleigh

Pro Adventurer
AKA
Rye
Hell, I'd had to kill one myself in Breath of Fire.
Which one was this? I immediately thought BOF4 but I'm not sure it was the one you meant.

Was this the Steam rerelease? Or the original PC version? I’ve always been curious about the latter. How well did it hold up? We’re keyboard controls bad? Did game pads work? Were there any weird bug exclusive to it?
I played the original PC version (disk and all, borrowed from my brother). I don't remember any problems with it aside from the chocobo races in the Gold Saucer, I think. I had to download a patch for that. I think I still have it saved somewhere. Admittedly, my memories are also very faint of that first experience, lol.
 

GamerSkull

Pro Adventurer
Which one was this? I immediately thought BOF4 but I'm not sure it was the one you meant.


I played the original PC version (disk and all, borrowed from my brother). I don't remember any problems with it aside from the chocobo races in the Gold Saucer, I think. I had to download a patch for that. I think I still have it saved somewhere. Admittedly, my memories are also very faint of that first experience, lol.
How were the controls? And what was the problem with the races? That PC release is probably rare nowadays.
 

Eerie

Fire and Blood
Was this the Steam rerelease? Or the original PC version? I’ve always been curious about the latter. How well did it hold up? Were the keyboard controls bad? Did game pads work? Were there any weird bugs exclusive to it?
It was the original PC version I played when it was released I think lol. Which is why I lost materia when Aerith died 🤬

The controls were shit and I didn’t have any pad to play. There was an exclusive bug that came with it IIRC, the Junon parade had a bug that made it impossible to get a good score and I concur it was SHIT lmao I hated it.
 

Ryeleigh

Pro Adventurer
AKA
Rye
How were the controls? And what was the problem with the races? That PC release is probably rare nowadays.
Honestly, I don't remember any problems with the controls? But I still play original Tomb Raiders without any problems whereas my brothers tried the first one a couple of years ago and was like, "the controls were terrible", lol. I was just ??? what are you talking about??? the controls are fine??? Of course they need a bit of getting used to since they're different from the WSDA + mouse combination.

As for the races... I think it was some kind of bug that crashed the game?

It was the original PC version I played when it was released I think lol. Which is why I lost materia when Aerith died 🤬

The controls were shit and I didn’t have any pad to play. There was an exclusive bug that came with it IIRC, the Junon parade had a bug that made it impossible to get a good score and I concur it was SHIT lmao I hated it.
Oh, I vaguely recall doing TERRIBLY at it, maybe that's why lmao.
 

GamerSkull

Pro Adventurer
Honestly, I don't remember any problems with the controls? But I still play original Tomb Raiders without any problems whereas my brothers tried the first one a couple of years ago and was like, "the controls were terrible", lol. I was just ??? what are you talking about??? the controls are fine??? Of course they need a bit of getting used to since they're different from the WSDA + mouse combination.

As for the races... I think it was some kind of bug that crashed the game?


Oh, I vaguely recall doing TERRIBLY at it, maybe that's why lmao.
I actually do pretty bad on the Junon march even now. But I don’t have trouble with the Rufus send-off.
 

Suteki

Lv. 1 Adventurer
But anyway I disliked her from the get go. Because when she started flirting I went “wtf, ok I’m going to tell her that I already have a gf” and she didn’t stop.
This is exactly my problem with the LTD and the reason I used to despise Aerith (to my own detriment). If you're in the camp of "it's player choice", the game is still not really taking it into account and then at least one character is going to come off terrible, which there's no way is how the developers intended us to view them. But having a character constantly push for intimacy/flirting when the other has given nothing but "no thanks"/"I don't know what you're talking about" answers just makes players dislike the other side. Note that this applies to all three characters in the original depending on which lens you see them through. "Wavering between two heroines" paints all three of them as terrible friends.

Then REmake and REbirth come along and the developers completely change and add scenes just so we are not in the same situation again and it still doesn't matter cause well, it was LTD related back then, so clearly the [insert any moment between Cloud and either of the girls] is still LTD related and not just the developers trying to show you how they intended you to see the characters the first time around. It being Cloud and Tifa opening up and slowly growing to have the kind of relationship where you don't need words to understand how the other is feeling (as shown in OTWAS/ACC, however successfully that was), and Aerith being an extremely lonely girl experiencing boundless freedom for the first time and trying to engrave every moment of joy into her heart no matter how small while seeing those around her take the things she is cherishing so much for granted (as shown in pretty much all of her scenes with her trying to decipher the resentment/anger growing inside her but not wanting to change her positive outlook)

Cloud kissing Tifa in her date but then having the sector 5 dream date with Aerith is a great example of what I am trying to say, if you didn't see the first one, the second one can be read in multiple ways as has been discussed by better wordsmiths than me here. But if you have seen the kiss, it leaves a sour taste for a moment that is supposed to be bittersweet. All the love Aerith is showing towards everything and everyone gets tainted and confused instead of remaining an extreme expression of familial love as it was probably intended. Just like it happened with NPTK.
 

Ryushikaze

Deus Admiral Parsimonious, PHD, DDS, MD, JD, OBE
AKA
Tim, Ryu
Was this the Steam rerelease? Or the original PC version? I’ve always been curious about the latter. How well did it hold up? Were the keyboard controls bad? Did game pads work? Were there any weird bugs exclusive to it?
There were plenty of bugs exclusive to it. The any% FF7 speedrun is a split category because of the Yuffie time travel glitch.

Which one was this? I immediately thought BOF4 but I'm not sure it was the one you meant.
The original one. Near the end of the game you have to fight your sister Sara when her body is being manipulated, and it's the perfect time to uncork the bottled Dragon hurt.
 

Ryeleigh

Pro Adventurer
AKA
Rye
The original one. Near the end of the game you have to fight your sister Sara when her body is being manipulated, and it's the perfect time to uncork the bottled Dragon hurt.
Oh, of course. I think the "cleric-y type character" confused me, lol.
 

imach0c0

Pro Adventurer
I was quite shocked we got a scene with her in the water tower. Granted, it was a scene of her lamenting her lonely childhood but still. That place is sacred for CT imo. It makes me a little skeptical of how the devs will handle part 3, romance wise.
The water tower scene was an interesting choice to have that dialogue seeing how iconic it is to CT.

Having said that, perhaps there is relevance to Aerith because before she climbs the tower, she is standing at the same place Zack did (when he made the promise to visit her). And it was the last time they spoke to each other. With that context, it kinda adds weight to her lamenting over being lonely and not having what CT had. Though she was not childhood friends with Zack, he was the only person whom she shared a relationship where she could share moments of nostalgia and not feel lonely.

I wonder if the water tower is symbolic of "promises". One is fulfilled (CT) and the other is not (ZA).
 
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nars305

🎵 I am so, so bored 🎶
I tried to play the OG myself but I cannot deal with the battles spawning every five seconds when I’m trying to figure out where to go.
 

Eerie

Fire and Blood
Today, a big CT account posted about Sephiroth using “Ai” when talking about “the things we love” and Cloud using it too to describe Tifa (I still don’t know why the LTD is a thing BTW considering the depth of “Ai”).

And Nojima himself weighed in about “Ai” vs “Koi” (if you wonder “Ai” is husband/wife type of love, “Koi” is considered more selfish). Anyway will we get Aishiteru from Cloud to Tifa in p3 is what I ask xD because damn, how did Nojima ended up there on a CT thread lol.

IMG_9492.jpg
 

Rin

Pro Adventurer
Today, a big CT account posted about Sephiroth using “Ai” when talking about “the things we love” and Cloud using it too to describe Tifa (I still don’t know why the LTD is a thing BTW considering the depth of “Ai”).

And Nojima himself weighed in about “Ai” vs “Koi” (if you wonder “Ai” is husband/wife type of love, “Koi” is considered more selfish). Anyway will we get Aishiteru from Cloud to Tifa in p3 is what I ask xD because damn, how did Nojima ended up there on a CT thread lol.

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They were actually responding to a tweet Nojima made about researching the differences between 「総受け」(total acceptance) and 「愛され」(loved), so the big CT account asked whether or not it's true that "Ai" /「愛 」(love) is not commonly used which led to that exchange you posted. (: Just for some additional context
 

Eerie

Fire and Blood
They were actually responding to a tweet Nojima made about researching the differences between 「総受け」(total acceptance) and 「愛され」(loved), so the big CT account asked whether or not it's true that "Ai" /「愛 」(love) is not commonly used which led to that exchange you posted. (: Just for some additional context
Thanks, I didn’t have the context since I don’t have twitter right now xD

Also for reference, Peko who is Japanese born, told me she’d would never use “Ai” to her mum she loves. “Ai” is so serious I was shocked when I saw that Cloud used it in JP for the Gongaga scene.
 
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GamerSkull

Pro Adventurer
Thanks, I didn’t have the context since I don’t have twitter right now xD

Also for reference, Peko who is Japanese born, told me she’d would never use “Ai” to her mum she loves. “Ai” is so serious I was shocked when I saw that Cloud used it in JP for the Gongaga scene.
I think people would argue it’s a general statement and not directed at Tifa (even though it is).
 

abzy1200

Pro Adventurer
No, the one i'm thinking of is when they're climbing up the Corel mountain and Elena sends a mech for them to fight. Aerith asks which way Midgar is, Nanaki shows her, and then Aerith wonders how her mom is doing and worries that Elmyra hates her for leaving w/o a word. Cloud says she just needs to talk to Elmyra once they go back to Midgar and Aerith is like, "Yeah.... Really looking forward to that conversation." And that's pretty much the end of the interaction but I'm just happy the convo was actually Aerith-centric.
Isn't there also some Zerith overlap there though? Isn't that also when it cuts to Zack's interlude with him looking back at the sky (with withered flower petals in the wind), essentially mirroring what Aerith is doing? It feels very soul-matey, especially with other moments where Aerith senses Zack (Cosmo Canyon).

Do you think Nojima sees all the horrible takes by Cult Clerith and opens his notepad every time to write down every sentence in order to destroy them one by one through in-game dialogue or a future novel?
Well, Nojima did recently like a tweet that said Tifa was a devoted, great wife, or something along those lines.
 

Eerie

Fire and Blood
Do you think Nojima sees all the horrible takes by Cult Clerith and opens his notepad every time to write down every sentence in order to destroy them one by one through in-game dialogue or a future novel?

Personally, it's my biggest FF7 headcanon.
Seeing ToTP destroying 20+ tears of bad Tifa takes and Remake + Rebirth? He’s 100% keeping notes lol. Don’t forget he said he wrote ZA to protect Aerith from bad takes, so I am sure he does the same with Tifa.
 

imach0c0

Pro Adventurer
Also, if you're trying to romance Aerith the best answer is to have him agree that he used to go up there to be noticed by Tifa, soooo...

It is interesting that the CA watertower moment is really more of a CT moment, similar to when they climb the clocktower in Kalm or have that talk in Junon about the flower. I'm not entirely sure why the devs framed their interactions like that in Rebirth. I mean, I do know why, but at the same time I think it's kinda sad that there's so few moments that are just about Cloud and Aerith.

The scene before they fight the Turks in Corel is nice but I don't really consider it a CA moment since Nanaki was also apart of it, but at least it wasn't a conversation about Tifa. I'm still sad that there's no promise to take Aerith on the Highwind and that the whole convo about it was given to CT. Which, like, again, I understand why (foreshadowing) but it's just like ... Damn lmao. A lot of the iconic CA moments were taken away.
Though Aerith was wondering about her mom, the Corel scene seemed to also have a ZA undertone to it. In the scene prior, its in Zack's world and as he looks to the broken sky, wilted yellow flower petals are carried away in the breeze. Then it cuts to Aerith looking at a "fair" sky. The fair sky is often associated to Zack whereas yellow flower petals (or reunion flower) are associated to Aerith.

Regarding CA scenes, there aren't really moments that show them bonding in the main story like it did in Remake.
 
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GamerSkull

Pro Adventurer
Though Aerith was wondering about her mom, the Corel scene seemed to also have a ZA undertone to it. In the scene prior, its in Zack's world and as he looks to the broken sky, wilted flower petals are carried away in the breeze. Then it cuts to Aerith looking at a "fair" sky. The fair sky is often associated to Zack whereas flower petals are associated to Aerith.

Regarding CA scenes, there aren't really moments that show them bonding in the main story like in Remake.
Interesting. I never noticed that. Wonder if it was intentional.
 
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