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

[GamerSkull]

I’m sure we’ll be with Cloud for most of the story. I’d say at least 70%. Like the original, we’ll start off with him but he’ll be out after the Northern Cave. Then he’ll be back after the Lifestream sequence.

I just wonder how they’ll structure Wutai into it.

 

[Eerie]

I think we still need at least 2 chapters without him with stronger ennemies to show people why Cloud is important and why the team needed him even when he started to loose it in Remake/Rebirth.

Same reason I don't want Aerith around. You have to show you miss them with game design.

I think one chapter with Tifa and one chapter with Cid or Barret as the leader would be the best. Also that doctor in Corel will definitely play a part in streamlining this part of the game: we're likely to hear about Cloud from him now or to go get him when we'll find him which will launch the huge materia quest in Corel (and finish Barret's arc).

The doctor will definitely get a blood sample from Cloud, and then explain that he isn't degrading at all, that his blood structure is vastly different from the clones. This is important for players who don't have the whole CC/R background to understand this.

Edit: the idea of the group falling apart is good, but then how do you get to Mideel if there's no Cid around for the Highwind lol.

 

[Yoru]

Edit: the idea of the group falling apart is good, but then how do you get to Mideel if there's no Cid around for the Highwind lol.

When Tifa leaves.

World is at war. Cloud is a vegetable. Tifa wants to stay with him. "Fuck this, the world is doomed, I'm going home" (Cid to rocket town, Nanaki to Cosmo, Yuffie to Wutai, Vincent to his waifu cave etc.

 

[pxl_pushr]

I think one chapter with Tifa and one chapter with Cid or Barret as the leader would be the best. Also that doctor in Corel will definitely play a part in streamlining this part of the game: we're likely to hear about Cloud from him now or to go get him when we'll find him which will launch the huge materia quest in Corel (and finish Barret's arc).

The doctor will definitely get a blood sample from Cloud, and then explain that he isn't degrading at all, that his blood structure is vastly different from the clones. This is important for players who don't have the whole CC/R background to understand this.

Edit: the idea of the group falling apart is good, but then how do you get to Mideel if there's no Cid around for the Highwind lol.

Not really sure how the fragmentation could go down, but I do know Tifa leaving would either be the final straw and the group fragments, or Tifa’s the last to leave and her and Barret have somewhat of a falling out, looping in her growing distaste for Avalanche’s methods.

One thing that could really permeate through the group is that anger/vengeance can’t be the primary driver for their journey. Barret needs to remember he’s fighting for Marlene’s future, not to get back at Shinra for example. This also makes Vincent’s role inherently more interesting because his whole thing with Hojo ( which is why I think we get to Lucrecia’s cave before the raid on Midgar )

 

[Eerie]

When Tifa leaves.

World is at war. Cloud is a vegetable. Tifa wants to stay with him. "Fuck this, the world is doomed, I'm going home" (Cid to rocket town, Nanaki to Cosmo, Yuffie to Wutai, Vincent to his waifu cave etc.

This would kill the last week they spend before killing Sephiroth. It's something I see more happening towards the end of the game, when they have to think about why they want to fight. We're definitely going to see them all, I think, and we're going to see Cloud and Tifa be like "yeah I can fight because I have you" (and kissing + sex implied). So it would be repetitive to have it beforehand.

And yeah they have to go back to Mideel to get back Cloud and Tifa. We're also definitely going to have whoever is the leader tell how good of a job Cloud did, etc.

What I could see though is Yuffie leaving the band and them going after her once they get Cloud back.

 

[pxl_pushr]

This would kill the last week they spend before killing Sephiroth. It's something I see more happening towards the end of the game, when they have to think about why they want to fight. We're definitely going to see them all, I think, and we're going to see Cloud and Tifa be like "yeah I can fight because I have you" (and kissing + sex implied). So it would be repetitive to have it beforehand.

And yeah they have to go back to Mideel to get back Cloud and Tifa. We're also definitely going to have whoever is the leader tell how good of a job Cloud did, etc.

What I could see though is Yuffie leaving the band and them going after her once they get Cloud back.

I think Cid is going to really shine for that segment after Tifa leaves, maybe even show that salty side of him is still there somewhere.

Yuffie is maybe the most obvious one to ditch, and also is convenient excuse to reset the materia we have available ( maybe including the clear materia which will be the story reason we gotta go after her )

 

[Yoru]

This would kill the last week they spend before killing Sephiroth. It's something I see more happening towards the end of the game, when they have to think about why they want to fight. We're definitely going to see them all, I think, and we're going to see Cloud and Tifa be like "yeah I can fight because I have you" (and kissing + sex implied). So it would be repetitive to have it beforehand.

And yeah they have to go back to Mideel to get back Cloud and Tifa. We're also definitely going to have whoever is the leader tell how good of a job Cloud did, etc.

What I could see though is Yuffie leaving the band and them going after her once they get Cloud back.

It depends.

When they all leave at the end, we don't have to see what they're doing. So it's not repetitve. You can do their "recruitement" quest with Cloud and Tifa. It's even better because you can live an entire intimate day before the final fight with only Cloud and Tifa while the team is away off-screen.

As for getting back Cloud and Tifa in Mideel... we don't know if we'll find them there this time. Maybe in RE part 3, whales land you somewhere in the world.

 

[Eerie]

When they all leave at the end, we don't have to see what they're doing. So it's not repetitve.

We don't see them in OG, but they do send them away for this very reason. If you don't do that there is no under the Highwind scene between Cloud and Tifa and you don't see the reason why they keep fighting, even if it's Sephiroth. I do believe we're going to see everyone's reason this time around.

The group remains together because they want to fight for the Planet. It's important that the distinction between them and Tifa is made; Tifa stops everything because she chooses the Hero over the Planet (as opposed to Aerith who chose the Planet over the Hero). If everyone stops then her choice of staying with Cloud loses its weight. It's also part of her own arc where she finally stops putting everyone before her own needs and desire, the others don't have that.

 

[pxl_pushr]

We don't see them in OG, but they do send them away for this very reason. If you don't do that there is no under the Highwind scene between Cloud and Tifa and you don't see the reason why they keep fighting, even if it's Sephiroth. I do believe we're going to see everyone's reason this time around.

The group remains together because they want to fight for the Planet. It's important that the distinction between them and Tifa is made; Tifa stops everything because she choose the Hero over the Planet (as opposed to Aerith who chose the Planet over the Hero). If everyone stops then her choice of staying with Cloud loses its weight. It's also part of her own arc where she finally stops putting everyone before her own needs and desire, the others don't have that.

I don’t personally think everyone goes home, but I do think they split off into multiple directions because they can’t agree on what’s the most important thing to do ( do you go to Corel or do you go to Rocket Town or do you go to Wutai or do you go to Fort Condor ). Tifa bows out because, as you say, she makes a “selfish” decision based on her love for Cloud and unwillingness to lose anything else in a fight she’s growing tired of.

But I also think there needs to be a moment where everyone gets on the same page, and I think that moment is the second visit to Forgotten Capital where we get the playback of Aerith’s death and maybe even echoes of her prayer. That refocuses everyone that we’re fighting for the planet.

The scene where they go off to find their own specific reason to fight can still happen, in fact it will need to happen because you’ll know the answer to everyone’s reason by then… save for Cloud’s and Tifa’s. Then we spend extended time with them so it’s clear what they’re fighting for.

 

[Yoru]

We don't see them in OG, but they do send them away for this very reason. If you don't do that there is no under the Highwind scene between Cloud and Tifa and you don't see the reason why they keep fighting, even if it's Sephiroth. I do believe we're going to see everyone's reason this time around.

The group remains together because they want to fight for the Planet. It's important that the distinction between them and Tifa is made; Tifa stops everything because she chooses the Hero over the Planet (as opposed to Aerith who chose the Planet over the Hero). If everyone stops then her choice of staying with Cloud loses its weight. It's also part of her own arc where she finally stops putting everyone before her own needs and desire, the others don't have that.

You don't understand me. I'm not saying they don't leave at the end.

What I'm saying is the team is splitting when Tifa wants to stay with Cloud. They can totally put them in different place on the world and when you try to get them back in, you have to resolve their problem. It doesn't have to be about their family.

And it doesn't stop you to make them go see their loved ones before the final fight. And during your intimate date with Tifa, you can have interlude where you see what the other are doing.

 

[Eerie]

I don’t personally think everyone goes home, but I do think they split off into multiple directions because they can’t agree on what’s the most important thing to do ( do you go to Corel or do you go to Rocket Town or do you go to Wutai or do you go to Fort Condor ). Tifa bows out because, as you say, she makes a “selfish” decision based on her love for Cloud and unwillingness to lose anything else in a fight she’s growing tired of.

But I also think there needs to be a moment where everyone gets on the same page, and I think that moment is the second visit to Forgotten Capital where we get the playback of Aerith’s death and maybe even echoes of her prayer. That refocuses everyone that we’re fighting for the planet.

The scene where they go off to find their own specific reason to fight can still happen, in fact it will need to happen because you’ll know the answer to everyone’s reason by then… save for Cloud’s and Tifa’s. Then we spend extended time with them so it’s clear what they’re fighting for.

You don't understand me. I'm not saying they don't leave at the end.

What I'm saying is the team is splitting when Tifa wants to stay with Cloud. They can totally put them in different place on the world and when you try to get them back in, you have to resolve their problem. It doesn't have to be about their family.

And it doesn't stop you to make them go see their loved ones before the final fight. And during your intimate date with Tifa, you can have interlude where you see what the other are doing.

I think both of you don't really understand but we're likely to cut corners rather than add too much in the main story in p3. Do you realise how gigantic the story from 2 discs that is left remains to be told? We have so much shit to do and that with a completely redone Wutai plot.

What they are going to do is streamline this to the ground so it makes sense to follow a main storyquest and not be like in the OG and have plenty of threads to follow or not. We're going to have nods to the Compilation, but things like splitting the party after Tifa leaves etc. creates too much confusion when we have the huge materia quest brewing since p2 already, the Weapons awoken, Meteor summoned etc. And with probably new parts for Aerith and Zack too!

I mean really look at what we have to do and what you ask for: that's several hours of gameplay for something that is truly not necessary, especially if you consider that Kitase was ready to cut off Barret's back story in Corel. I'm just saying, but honestly when I make predictions I try to remain reasonable considering that they have to cram the two heavy story discs into one game.

 

[GamerSkull]

I don’t think the party will split up until after the Midgar raid. I think it will likely be the same in which Tifa stays with Cloud while everyone else goes after the huge materia. I think we will see everyone’s “reason for fighting” scene though with Cloud and Tifa’s being the last.

I definitely think they have quite a bit to get through in Part 3 so I actually expect the pacing to quicken.

 

[Yoru]

I think both of you don't really understand but we're likely to cut corners rather than add too much in the main story in p3. Do you realise how gigantic the story from 2 discs that is left remains to be told? We have so much shit to do and that with a completely redone Wutai plot.

What they are going to do is streamline this to the ground so it makes sense to follow a main storyquest and not be like in the OG and have plenty of threads to follow or not. We're going to have nods to the Compilation, but things like splitting the party after Tifa leaves etc. creates too much confusion when we have the huge materia quest brewing since p2 already, the Weapons awoken, Meteor summoned etc. And with probably new parts for Aerith and Zack too!

I mean really look at what we have to do and what you ask for: that's several hours of gameplay for something that is truly not necessary, especially if you consider that Kitase was ready to cut off Barret's back story in Corel. I'm just saying, but honestly when I make predictions I try to remain reasonable considering that they have to cram the two heavy story discs into one game.

I'd just like to point out that CD3 only contains the final dungeon.

I'm not saying you're wrong. Sure there is a lot to cover. But for example... we didn't see rocket town. So you can streamline your main quest and do it with this idea of re-assemble the team. Same with Wutai. You can make it work without adding that much. These are places we have to go whatever happens. So we might as well do it the easy way, with Tifa and Cloud picking up everyone along the way.

 

[pxl_pushr]

I think both of you don't really understand but we're likely to cut corners rather than add too much in the main story in p3. Do you realise how gigantic the story from 2 discs that is left remains to be told? We have so much shit to do and that with a completely redone Wutai plot.

What they are going to do is streamline this to the ground so it makes sense to follow a main storyquest and not be like in the OG and have plenty of threads to follow or not. We're going to have nods to the Compilation, but things like splitting the party after Tifa leaves etc. creates too much confusion when we have the huge materia quest brewing since p2 already, the Weapons awoken, Meteor summoned etc. And with probably new parts for Aerith and Zack too!

I mean really look at what we have to do and what you ask for: that's several hours of gameplay for something that is truly not necessary, especially if you consider that Kitase was ready to cut off Barret's back story in Corel. I'm just saying, but honestly when I make predictions I try to remain reasonable considering that they have to cram the two heavy story discs into one game.

I’ll be honest, I think the giant materia plot point is the most likely to get streamlined as a whole, especially if we’re keeping Weapon encounters. You’ll still go where you should go, but it’ll be less fetch questy and a more logical point A to B to C with moments to go do overworld stuff in between.

 

[Yoru]

Imagine that after the LS, the baby weapons leave you on the coast near Rocket City. You reach the town and bump into Cid, and the game introduces you to his personal quest linked to his character and his town (because since we already know him and we already had the tiny bronco, whatever happens we can't follow OG anymore, all the events in Rocket Town must be different now).

So it's a good way to introduce this place, with a quest linked to it (like every other place in Rebirth)

 

[GamerSkull]

I would imagine they’ll probably combine both Rocket Town visits from the OG into one longer visit. It will start to get messy and the pacing might suffer if we suddenly have to go around recruiting everyone again.

 

[Maidenofwar]

The Aerith in trailer, I won't be baited I'll probably wait until five minutes before release before deciding whether to preorder or not again ;p

 

[pxl_pushr]

View attachment 16778

Imagine that after the LS, the baby weapons leave you on the coast near Rocket City. You reach the town and bump into Cid, and the game introduces you to his personal quest linked to his character and his town (because since we already know him and we already had the tiny bronco, whatever happens we can't follow OG anymore, all the events in Rocket Town must be different now).

So it's a good way to introduce this place, with a quest linked to it (like every other place in Rebirth)

It makes way more sense for Rocket Town to be about the HW instead of the Tiny Bronco, holy shit

 

[GamerSkull]

It makes way more sense for Rocket Town to be about the HW instead of the Tiny Bronco, holy shit

But the Highwind is already at Junon. Why would Rufus go there to get it? It would also have to be stolen at Junon too.

Likely, they’ll cut out the stealing of the Tiny Bronco since we already have it. Rufus and the company will show up to launch the rocket with the Huge Materia this time instead. And they’ll combine both Rocket Town visits into one.

 

[Yoru]

I'm not saying "my idea is better than yours."

I'm just trying to find a way to make their journey coherent. Because in OG Wutai/Rocket/Midgar/Fort Condor etc. it goes all over the place. So I think this idea of a reunion with the disbanded team works very well with a game built in chapters.

In any case, I liked the idea of having Tifa and Cloud as a duo now that Cloud is himself. Gives us more time to play with him like this. And more interactions with Tifa. And a cool way to show every party member how Cloud has changed. It's stronger if it's one by one than a simple meeting in the HW to say "hi guys I've changed. let's go save the world uwu".

 

[Eerie]

Yeah for Rocket Town that's basically my stream of thoughts. We'll also discover Cid's grumpy side there, no doubt.

They have to finish Barret's arc and the huge materia in Corel while Tifa and Cloud are in Mideel. It makes so much sense for us to get the doctor from Corel to Mideel for Cloud. And like this it streamlines the huge materia quest in Corel, the doctor's help for Cloud, Mideel all together in a coherent setting. But that means no member goes away, except maybe Yuffie. I imagine Rocket Town will be on the way to Wutai so we'll be able to go to space before going to fetch her or something.

 

[Maidenofwar]

Also I am not saying I won't ever play the game, it's just with no magical girl I'm in no rush, unless Vincent steps up.

 

[Eerie]

Also I am not saying I won't ever play the game, it's just with no magical girl I'm in no rush, unless Vincent steps up.

I certainly hope Vincent and Cid will be playable in p3! They better be!

 

[Hellenic]

I certainly hope Vincent and Cid will be playable in p3! They better be!

I mean, that's a no brainer. Vincent will probably join us first from the get go similarly to Red in Rebirth when we get to Icicle Inn or whatever the first area will be and Cid will officially join later when his arc happens.

 

[pxl_pushr]

Yeah for Rocket Town that's basically my stream of thoughts. We'll also discover Cid's grumpy side there, no doubt.

They have to finish Barret's arc and the huge materia in Corel while Tifa and Cloud are in Mideel. It makes so much sense for us to get the doctor from Corel to Mideel for Cloud. And like this it streamlines the huge materia quest in Corel, the doctor's help for Cloud, Mideel all together in a coherent setting. But that means no member goes away, except maybe Yuffie. I imagine Rocket Town will be on the way to Wutai so we'll be able to go to space before going to fetch her or something.

This is kind of what I’m getting at, and it’s my fault for maybe wording it poorly, but do you see how you’re weaving these disjointed plot points together that leaves room for character-driven plot progression?

If Barett recruits the doctor from Corel because Tifa gives him a plate of humble pie, that advances his character and justifies their going back to Mideel in one stroke. I want part 3 to find ways to bring the characters together so it makes sense when Cloud has his “For Frodo” moment at the end.

And if they manage to make Vincent fun to play, then gimme a redo of Dirge as an Integrade dlc lol