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

[pxl_pushr]

Re This Plus Pxl_Pushers question. You can encounter SOLDIER 3rd's in the Shinra Bldg. Officially listed as encountered on both 67 and 68th floor. Just a personal note, however, I only ever encounter them AFTER the part where the party wakes up and suddenly their cells are open (the one where the creepy music is playing). They're carrying the Hardedge which you can steal.

Sort of funny if you ever do a replay. There is another enemy (MOTH Unit) in that exact same sequence that has the Carbon Bangle. Stealing 3x of those + the Hardedge is pretty insane power wise. You won't replace the Hardedge until you get to Costa Del Sol and the next best armor you can get is on the cargo ship.

Thank you! Now I remember. They can also kick your ass if you’re not careful, so save often lol

Looping it to Remake, you can encounter 3rd class SOLDIERs in the parking garage of the Shinra Building, and it’s a great place to farm levels. This also backs up what Cloud says to Barret that if they had encountered SOLDIER during the first bomb run, they’d wreck face.

Remake definitely did a good job showing you that SOLDIERs are weirdos even for the setting, and it’s likely why some of Cloud’s own eccentricities are overlooked

 

[ViolaaFox]

I agree with this because…I was a casual. Maybe I still even am I don’t know, I’ve only been a fan of FF7 for 2 or 3 months now.

The game seemed pretty obvious on setting up CT and ZA from the very beginning. I couldn’t really understand how significant it was that Zack “reunited” with Aerith and reached Midgar (I didn’t know CC when I was playing Rebirth), even if she was not conscious. That’s the very start of the game and is a huge follow up for their relationship.

Then the next is Cloud and Tifa being at odds and making up. If it’s not Sephiroth making you aware of them being significant to each other, then it’s Aerith saying don’t take her for for granted, or poking fun that he’d go up to the water tower to have her wave at him.

It’s…so obvious. It really is just so obvious what they’ve set up.

Fully agree on that. They also make it more obvious that Aerith is coping with her dream date in chapter 14. Or how Aerith even copies some of Zack's gestures in Remake and Rebirth.

They still going after shady for that church thread i shit you not XD or a zelink and cloti artist like
what are these people miserable seriously

With Zelink artist... do you mean the incident that recently happened on Twitter? Where someone got mad over an artist that did a fanart with Zelda wearing Tifa's outfit?

Oh god it seems like it’s getting crazier and crazier. The nitpicking I’ve seen at the Gongaga near kiss is just BAFFLING. People are like adding lines, zooming, flipping, reversing, and doing everything frame by frame to prove it’s not just a simple near kiss scene.

I really love how parts of the fandom even read symbolism into this scene that wasn't actually there. Haha

 

[Ryushikaze]

With Zelink artist... do you mean the incident that recently happened on Twitter? Where someone got mad over an artist that did a fanart with Zelda wearing Tifa's outfit?

It went further than that. Some said the artist had a mental illness to think Link and Zelda were anything like Cloud and Tifa.

I really love how parts of the fandom even read symbolism into this scene that wasn't actually there. Haha

Welcome to the wacky world of the Crazy Clerith, where everything is made up and Tifa never matters.

 

[abzy1200]

That she was most interested in pursuing it, I think was the line there.

I wouldn't really place too much stock on what the manual says anyway, seeing as Cloud and Tifa's relationship is kinda supposed to be the plot twist, they're hardly going to spoil it in a small booklet that's only trying to key you in on the basics.

It also probably refers to Cloud as "EX-SOLDIER".

Insert my very long rant about Marketing materials here.

And how the guy lies again in the same breath.

I know, I just decided to make a Maiden joke since they keep saying how CA it is when it really really isn't.

Yeah, Maiden can't even be canon anyway, it conflicts with Crisis Core.

When he said fans, he meant himself. MAN ON THE INSIDE! (I kid, I kid)

Well, yeah. I remember he liked fanart of him basically as an arbiter and had Cloud and Tifa in his hands with love hearts and all that, and he also liked posts that said Tifa was a great wife. Intriguing.

She was also named Tifa.

And was siblings with Sephiroth who, at the time, looked like Vincent.

The funny thing is those people don't realize how bad they're casting Cloud. To them Tifa is the villain of the piece.

She's certainly a villain to them, for reasons

Give them time. They're still hyperfixating on the kiss and Gongaga.

Even if Cloud didn't move in there - he certainly didn't move away. And given the stricken look on face afterwards and what he makes of Tifa saying "maybe I'm getting ahead of myself again", I think he was definitely clued in as to what was happening there.

Welcome to the wacky world of the Crazy Clerith, where everything is made up and Tifa never matters.

And neither does Zack.

 

[Ryushikaze]

I wouldn't really place too much stock on what the manual says anyway, seeing as Cloud and Tifa's relationship is kinda supposed to be the plot twist, they're hardly going to spoil it in a small booklet that's only trying to key you in on the basics.

It also probably refers to Cloud as "EX-SOLDIER".

It does, yes.

And how the guy lies again in the same breath.

Oh, I know. And it's not like anyone takes any other FF commercial as 'true' to the source material.

Yeah, Maiden can't even be canon anyway, it conflicts with Crisis Core.

And DoC as well.

Well, yeah. I remember he liked fanart of him basically as an arbiter and had Cloud and Tifa in his hands with love hearts and all that, and he also liked posts that said Tifa was a great wife. Intriguing.

Nojima is not hiding things. He's not announcing it, but he's making things obvious.

And was siblings with Sephiroth who, at the time, looked like Vincent.

Also correct. Reno and Rude also looked like each other, more or less.

She's certainly a villain to them, for reasons

The sins of being Cloud's love interest and attractive.

Even if Cloud didn't move in there - he certainly didn't move away. And given the stricken look on face afterwards and what he makes of Tifa saying "maybe I'm getting ahead of myself again", I think he was definitely clued in as to what was happening there.

Regardless of whoever 'moved in first' Cloud absolutely made the move on the date, so if Cloud knows Tifa is down, he is more than down.

And neither does Zack.

He matters only so he can 'bless' the new pairing and remove uncertainty for CA.
It's funny how CA is taking Marlene's very simple explanation of Aerith's feelings in Rebirth as evidence she's totally moved on from Zack, because it makes Marelene's actions in remake come across as needlessly cruel in retrospect. Like, she gets granted knowledge of Aerith, the meaning of the flower, and Aerith's feelings, and immediately goes and points out "He gave it to Tifa!"

It's like Marlene doesn't want Aerith to be with anyone.

 

[abzy1200]

Oh, I know. And it's not like anyone takes any other FF commercial as 'true' to the source material.

The whole campaign was misleading, Sony was going to sell copies of that game no matter what, they had already pumped too much money into it for it to fail.

And DoC as well.

I haven't actually played DoC, what do you mean by this?

Nojima is not hiding things. He's not announcing it, but he's making things obvious.

I mean, he technically has in stuff he has said ages ago.

Also correct. Reno and Rude also looked like each other, more or less.

Interesting.

The sins of being Cloud's love interest and attractive.

New post on twitter doing the rounds that Tifa needed a hero and Aerith doesn't since she's the heroine. Gotta love the enthusiasm people show for these characters.

Regardless of whoever 'moved in first' Cloud absolutely made the move on the date, so if Cloud knows Tifa is down, he is more than down.

After gawking at her, at that.

He matters only so he can 'bless' the new pairing and remove uncertainty for CA.
It's funny how CA is taking Marlene's very simple explanation of Aerith's feelings in Rebirth as evidence she's totally moved on from Zack, because it makes Marelene's actions in remake come across as needlessly cruel in retrospect. Like, she gets granted knowledge of Aerith, the meaning of the flower, and Aerith's feelings, and immediately goes and points out "He gave it to Tifa!"

It's like Marlene doesn't want Aerith to be with anyone.

It's funny because Clerith is already dead, Zack can't really sign off on it.

And the Marlene situation is funny since in the og she had that line "I think she likes you!" "I won't tell Tifa!"

----
Also, who was it that said in the Rebirth Ultimania that they didn't want to end the Re;trilogy with "unresolved feelings", because that alone solidifies Cloti and Zerith lmao.

 

[Yoru]

New post on twitter doing the rounds that Tifa needed a hero and Aerith doesn't since she's the heroine. Gotta love the enthusiasm people show for these characters.

Nice ! So Tifa can have Cloud ! Aerith is already filling the hero trope for her couple.

 

[abzy1200]

Nice ! So Tifa can have Cloud ! Aerith is already filling the hero trope for her couple.

Ah, you misunderstand! The hero and the heroine get together, so Clerith is bound to happen you see!

Another take from the same account: "you can take out CT scenes with creating continuity errors, you can't do the same for CA"

...just have to wonder if these people are even fans, like have they even played the games?

 

[pxl_pushr]

Ah, you misunderstand! The hero and the heroine get together, so Clerith is bound to happen you see!

Another take from the same account: "you can take out CT scenes with creating continuity errors, you can't do the same for CA"

...just have to wonder if these people are even fans, like have they even played the games?

You know what, screw it. Someone do the edit lol I gotta see it, because it’d still be weird just how much Aerith brings up Tifa when it’s just her and Cloud if you don’t show Cloud and Tifa scenes.

 

[Yoru]

"you can take out CT scenes with creating continuity errors, you can't do the same for CA"

Funny because you can totally do this with Aerith. Doesn't change nothing in the story except the end.

Tifa ? FF7 can't even start. Period.

(I am not saying I like it.)

 

[Ryushikaze]

The whole campaign was misleading, Sony was going to sell copies of that game no matter what, they had already pumped too much money into it for it to fail.

Marketing is misleading by its very nature. The goal is sales, not accuracy.

I haven't actually played DoC, what do you mean by this?

Hojo does not go into the lifestream on his death, basically. I could go on but it's complicated BS.

I mean, he technically has in stuff he has said ages ago.

Yeah, but he's just saying it very casually, like it's already understood.

Interesting.

Early development. A bunch of what was FF7 early dev was spun off into Parasite Even and Xenogears.

New post on twitter doing the rounds that Tifa needed a hero and Aerith doesn't since she's the heroine. Gotta love the enthusiasm people show for these characters.

That has to be bait. Like that was posted knowing it would get people going "what are you talking about" so other people could complain about a swarm and how the CT side is insecure.

After gawking at her, at that.

Sorry, you'll need to narrow down which gawking you mean. It's basically the default state of Cloud. (ba dum tish)

It's funny because Clerith is already dead, Zack can't really sign off on it.

Not that he plans to.

And the Marlene situation is funny since in the og she had that line "I think she likes you!" "I won't tell Tifa!"

Marlene just loves the hot goss, really.

----
Also, who was it that said in the Rebirth Ultimania that they didn't want to end the Re;trilogy with "unresolved feelings", because that alone solidifies Cloti and Zerith lmao.

Nojima, IIRC.

Ah, you misunderstand! The hero and the heroine get together, so Clerith is bound to happen you see!

Another take from the same account: "you can take out CT scenes with creating continuity errors, you can't do the same for CA"

...just have to wonder if these people are even fans, like have they even played the games?

Whether or not the mean "remove the character from the game" or even just "skip over the scene" you lose a big chunk of Disc 2 Cloud. He's leading the party, he talks to Sephiroth, suddenly it's a week later and you're controlling Tifa, then you go to mideel, you find Cloud is a vegetable and suddenly you're controlling Cid, you do a couple plot beats, and suddenly Cloud's A-OK again. And it keeps going. And as Yoru said, you can't have Cloud without Tifa.

Meanwhile you could excise Aerith's brief moments from Disc 2 and 3 and lose... a hand and a smile?
I mean, if we're rewriting shit, let's go whole hog!

 

[pxl_pushr]

Marketing is misleading by its very nature. The goal is sales, not accuracy.


Hojo does not go into the lifestream on his death, basically. I could go on but it's complicated BS.


Yeah, but he's just saying it very casually, like it's already understood.


Early development. A bunch of what was FF7 early dev was spun off into Parasite Even and Xenogears.


That has to be bait. Like that was posted knowing it would get people going "what are you talking about" so other people could complain about a swarm and how the CT side is insecure.


Sorry, you'll need to narrow down which gawking you mean. It's basically the default state of Cloud. (ba dum tish)


Not that he plans to.


Marlene just loves the hot goss, really.


Nojima, IIRC.


Whether or not the mean "remove the character from the game" or even just "skip over the scene" you lose a big chunk of Disc 2 Cloud. He's leading the party, he talks to Sephiroth, suddenly it's a week later and you're controlling Tifa, then you go to mideel, you find Cloud is a vegetable and suddenly you're controlling Cid, you do a couple plot beats, and suddenly Cloud's A-OK again. And it keeps going. And as Yoru said, you can't have Cloud without Tifa.

Meanwhile you could excise Aerith's brief moments from Disc 2 and 3 and lose... a hand and a smile?
I mean, if we're rewriting shit, let's go whole hog!

I mean, in terms of Cloud’s character arc, Aerith doesn’t really apply that much… which is because Tifa exists… because she was made to be the heroine that stays by his side until the end.

I feel like I’m looking at 4-piece jigsaw puzzle here

 

[Ryushikaze]

I mean, in terms of Cloud’s character arc, Aerith doesn’t really apply that much… which is because Tifa exists… because she was made to be the heroine that stays by his side until the end.

I feel like I’m looking at 4-piece jigsaw puzzle here

It's not complicated, no.
I was just thinking about a version of the game where we just... remove Aerith, like someone wanted to do for Cait Sith. Whatever his name was. Hated the word flunkies.

Let's just limit it to Midgar for now.
Anyways, nothing changes of note until Cloud falls after the Airbuster fight where instead of the church he falls into a trash heap. He doesn't wake up to anyone, there's no Turk escape. Instead Cloud makes it back to 7th heaven before Tifa goes undercover, and he and say, Jessie tag along as backup. When Jessie brings up the details of the mission he still gets antsy and we do the wall market sequence with her instead.
Sewers, pillar- Jessie goes to grab Marlene. leaves her with Marle, Gets captured or even killed here. It changes the assault on ShinRa to a vengeance mission rather than a rescue but it was already partly that anyways. You lose a bit of exposition but Red can take up the slack?

On the other hand, I'm trying to figure out what the first scene with Tifa you could remove her from and NOT fundamentally change the plot in a "Cloud wouldn't even be there" sense. It's after Don Corneo for sure. In Shinra tower, maybe?

 

[nars305]

I mean, in terms of Cloud’s character arc, Aerith doesn’t really apply that much… which is because Tifa exists… because she was made to be the heroine that stays by his side until the end.

I feel like I’m looking at 4-piece jigsaw puzzle here

I used to understand how someone can think Cloud and Aerith are it. This is besides shipping, everyone is free to ship who they want of course. However, I can’t even say that anymore honestly.

 

[pxl_pushr]

It's not complicated, no.
I was just thinking about a version of the game where we just... remove Aerith, like someone wanted to do for Cait Sith. Whatever his name was. Hated the word flunkies.

Let's just limit it to Midgar for now.
Anyways, nothing changes of note until Cloud falls after the Airbuster fight where instead of the church he falls into a trash heap. He doesn't wake up to anyone, there's no Turk escape. Instead Cloud makes it back to 7th heaven before Tifa goes undercover, and he and say, Jessie tag along as backup. When Jessie brings up the details of the mission he still gets antsy and we do the wall market sequence with her instead.
Sewers, pillar- Jessie goes to grab Marlene. leaves her with Marle, Gets captured or even killed here. It changes the assault on ShinRa to a vengeance mission rather than a rescue but it was already partly that anyways. You lose a bit of exposition but Red can take up the slack?

On the other hand, I'm trying to figure out what the first scene with Tifa you could remove her from and NOT fundamentally change the plot in a "Cloud wouldn't even be there" sense. It's after Don Corneo for sure. In Shinra tower, maybe?

Well, you’d have to make a decision, does the scene of Tifa finding Cloud count since it chronologically happens first, or do you figure out a different reason for Cloud to… oh wait… he’d be a vegetable still. Hmm

 

[Ryushikaze]

Well, you’d have to make a decision, does the scene of Tifa finding Cloud count since it chronologically happens first, or do you figure out a different reason for Cloud to… oh wait… he’d be a vegetable still. Hmm

Exactly. And it goes back even further than that. If Tifa was for some reason not in Nibelheim during the incident, that boy was gonna go AWOL to find her. If she wasn't in town beforehand, he doesn't decide to try and become SOLDIER to impress her.

 

[Ryeleigh]

On the other hand, I'm trying to figure out what the first scene with Tifa you could remove her from and NOT fundamentally change the plot in a "Cloud wouldn't even be there" sense.

Exactly. And it goes back even further than that. If Tifa was for some reason not in Nibelheim during the incident, that boy was gonna go AWOL to find her. If she wasn't in town beforehand, he doesn't decide to try and become SOLDIER to impress her.

But Tifa's the unimportant side character who's just a plot device to fix Cloud in the Lifestream so he can go on pining after Aerith, lol. And don't you know, Cloud wanted to become SOLDIER to impress Sephiroth.

 

[abzy1200]

Marketing is misleading by its very nature. The goal is sales, not accuracy.

They didn't even say it was an rpg did they?

Hojo does not go into the lifestream on his death, basically. I could go on but it's complicated BS.

Well, I could see an easy workaround for that, that because of the Jenova cells, he refused to assimilate like Sephiroth did, no?

Yeah, but he's just saying it very casually, like it's already understood.

At this point they really are going to have do a livestream like they did with NPTK with the announcement of what's actually going on here, because if part 3 doesn't get the message across, nothing will.

Early development. A bunch of what was FF7 early dev was spun off into Parasite Even and Xenogears.

Masato Katou also wrote in a similar scene to UTH into Xenogears, didn't he?

That has to be bait. Like that was posted knowing it would get people going "what are you talking about" so other people could complain about a swarm and how the CT side is insecure.

Surely. Really don't put it past them, though.

Sorry, you'll need to narrow down which gawking you mean. It's basically the default state of Cloud. (ba dum tish)

Tifa literally says it lmao: "Hey, Cloud? Y'know when we were kids and you'd always be...y'know, watching me?"

First thing he does when he got home to Nibelheim was sit atop the water tower and stare at Tifa's house.

Not that he plans to.

Honestly, the whole angle of adding more angst to Zerith with that Marlene interaction kinda rubs me the wrong way...was there not already enough angst between Zack and Aerith? You had to add even more?

Marlene just loves the hot goss, really.

Just can't stop spreading juicy rumours about who fancies who

Nojima, IIRC.

That instills even more confidence in me.

Whether or not the mean "remove the character from the game" or even just "skip over the scene" you lose a big chunk of Disc 2 Cloud. He's leading the party, he talks to Sephiroth, suddenly it's a week later and you're controlling Tifa, then you go to mideel, you find Cloud is a vegetable and suddenly you're controlling Cid, you do a couple plot beats, and suddenly Cloud's A-OK again. And it keeps going. And as Yoru said, you can't have Cloud without Tifa.

Meanwhile you could excise Aerith's brief moments from Disc 2 and 3 and lose... a hand and a smile?
I mean, if we're rewriting shit, let's go whole hog!

Something I've always thought about is how you could remove Aerith from the game and the only substantial difference would be that the ending changes. As far as I can remember, Cloud's character arc goes completely unchanged.

However, if you remove Tifa you need to rewrite the entire game.

 

[pxl_pushr]

They didn't even say it was an rpg did they?


Well, I could see an easy workaround for that, that because of the Jenova cells, he refused to assimilate like Sephiroth did, no?


At this point they really are going to have do a livestream like they did with NPTK with the announcement of what's actually going on here, because if part 3 doesn't get the message across, nothing will.


Masato Katou also wrote in a similar scene to UTH into Xenogears, didn't he?


Surely. Really don't put it past them, though.


Tifa literally says it lmao: "Hey, Cloud? Y'know when we were kids and you'd always be...y'know, watching me?"

First thing he does when he got home to Nibelheim was sit atop the water tower and stare at Tifa's house.


Honestly, the whole angle of adding more angst to Zerith with that Marlene interaction kinda rubs me the wrong way...was there not already enough angst between Zack and Aerith? You had to add even more?


Just can't stop spreading juicy rumours about who fancies who


That instills even more confidence in me.


Something I've always thought about is how you could remove Aerith from the game and the only substantial difference would be that the ending changes. As far as I can remember, Cloud's character arc goes completely unchanged.

However, if you remove Tifa you need to rewrite the entire game.

Maybe the ending changes. I’ve always found the line between the planet doing what it wants and Aerith doing her thing to be blurry. One does not tell the planet what to do, you petition it, which is the main power of a Cetra from my understanding.

If the white materia can only be activated by a Cetra, then you may run into an issue without Aerith

 

[Yoru]

Something I've always thought about is how you could remove Aerith from the game and the only substantial difference would be that the ending changes. As far as I can remember, Cloud's character arc goes completely unchanged.

However, if you remove Tifa you need to rewrite the entire game.

It's as if the character of Tifa had been created as an afterthought because Aerith was there for shock value and we needed another female character to link up with the hero to keep us interested until the end of the game... oh wait.

 

[Ryushikaze]

They didn't even say it was an rpg did they?

Nope. Closest was calling it an epic adventure.

Well, I could see an easy workaround for that, that because of the Jenova cells, he refused to assimilate like Sephiroth did, no?

He avoided the lifestream entirely, because he had a backup plan involving a giant pool of stagnant mako and another WEAPON.

At this point they really are going to have do a livestream like they did with NPTK with the announcement of what's actually going on here, because if part 3 doesn't get the message across, nothing will.

Maaya and Briana may need to make the announcement in character as Aerith for it to sink in.

Masato Katou also wrote in a similar scene to UTH into Xenogears, didn't he?

Yes. Very early on in the story, in fact.

Surely. Really don't put it past them, though.

I mean, it fits with the "CT have been assaulting and abusing us since the game's release" victim narrative they have going.
I was there in the day. No one was fucking innocent. No one.

Tifa literally says it lmao: "Hey, Cloud? Y'know when we were kids and you'd always be...y'know, watching me?"

First thing he does when he got home to Nibelheim was sit atop the water tower and stare at Tifa's house.

Cloud knows what he likes to look at and does so.

Honestly, the whole angle of adding more angst to Zerith with that Marlene interaction kinda rubs me the wrong way...was there not already enough angst between Zack and Aerith? You had to add even more?

I have to think that entire sequence is supposed to be shorthand for telling us what a good guy zack is for anyone that hasn't played CC/R, not for the 'angst.'

Just can't stop spreading juicy rumours about who fancies who

She lives for it.

Something I've always thought about is how you could remove Aerith from the game and the only substantial difference would be that the ending changes. As far as I can remember, Cloud's character arc goes completely unchanged.

You need to come up with a way for the party to meet Red XIII otherwise you miss out on his story and a lot of lore dump, but yes, Aerith is a valued member of the team but she sort of by design not vital to the furtherance of the character plots.

However, if you remove Tifa you need to rewrite the entire game.

Even if you just skip her scenes rather than rewrite it becomes an incredibly disjointed mess.

 

[abzy1200]

He avoided the lifestream entirely, because he had a backup plan involving a giant pool of stagnant mako and another WEAPON.

Always heard this game was terrible - damn.

Maaya and Briana may need to make the announcement in character as Aerith for it to sink in.

Put it in part 3.

I mean, it fits with the "CT have been assaulting and abusing us since the game's release" victim narrative they have going.
I was there in the day. No one was fucking innocent. No one.

No one is innocent still, not even artists who like the Legend of Zelda.

Cloud knows what he likes to look at and does so.

Has been since childhood and continues to do so for the rest of his life.

I have to think that entire sequence is supposed to be shorthand for telling us what a good guy zack is for anyone that hasn't played CC/R, not for the 'angst.'

Yeah, but was the rest of the game not enough? Excluding that scene, if somebody was to think Zack was anything but a good guy it really wouldn't be Square's fault.

You need to come up with a way for the party to meet Red XIII otherwise you miss out on his story and a lot of lore dump, but yes, Aerith is a valued member of the team but she sort of by design not vital to the furtherance of the character plots.

They're at least having her make a mark on Cloud's psyche this time around.

Even if you just skip her scenes rather than rewrite it becomes an incredibly disjointed mess.

Probably why some of these people have such different reads of the game. They skipped said important scenes.

 

[imach0c0]

Honestly, the whole angle of adding more angst to Zerith with that Marlene interaction kinda rubs me the wrong way...was there not already enough angst between Zack and Aerith? You had to add even more?

I think that scene served more than one purpose:

1. Zack's selfless character
Although we get an idea of how kind he is (in which he is always helping others), this is first time we see him get tested in regards to something very important to him (his love for Aerith). The fact that Zack is willing to sacrifice his feelings to do what's best for the greater good (and possible let Aerith go) not only shows how pure and unconditional his love for Aerith is, but it shows that he is simply a genuine person.

2. Angst
This makes Zack more likeable which in turn makes the player sympathize with Zack and want to root for him. To me, this will add more satisfaction to the payoff (if he gets one).

3. Narrative setup
Zack needs to be aware of Aerith's true feelings before he can be with her. Now that he has this information, I imagine he will be the one to bring it up to Aerith.

On a side note - I find it interesting that scene was placed right before the dream date sequence. Although it sets up the idea that Aerith has "feelings" for Cloud, by the end of the dream date, Aerith doesn't know what "suki" she has for Cloud.

 

[abzy1200]

I think that scene served more than one purpose:

1. Zack's selfless character
Although we get an idea of how kind he is (in which he is always helping others), this is first time we see him get tested in regards to something very important to him (his love for Aerith). The fact that Zack is willing to sacrifice his feelings to do what's best for the greater good (and possible let Aerith go) not only shows how pure and unconditional his love for Aerith is, but it shows that he is simply a genuine person.

2. Angst
This makes Zack more likeable which in turn makes the player sympathize with Zack and want to root for him. To me, this will add more satisfaction to the payoff (if he gets one).

3. Narrative setup
Zack needs to be aware of Aerith's true feelings before he can be with her. Now that he has this information, I imagine he will be the one to bring it up to Aerith.

On a side note - I find it interesting that scene was placed right before the dream date sequence. Although it sets up the idea that Aerith has "feelings" for Cloud, by the end of the dream date, Aerith doesn't know what "suki" she has for Cloud.

Deep down I know it's purpose, it's just that obviously they didn't swing the sledgehammer hard enough on Aerith being confused about her feelings to get it through to people. Now I'm going to have to listen to them moan for the next 3 years about how much Aerith is head over heels for Cloud and has completely and utterly forgotten about Zack. That's where my frustration is coming from.

And yeah, I feel like it was placed before the dream date for a reason, Marlene introduces the idea of Aerith liking Cloud, and then Aerith herself elaborates a bit more on it.

Thanks, anyway.

 

[pxl_pushr]

Deep down I know it's purpose, it's just that obviously they didn't swing the sledgehammer hard enough on Aerith being confused about her feelings to get it through to people. Now I'm going to have to listen to them moan for the next 3 years about how much Aerith is head over heels for Cloud and has completely and utterly forgotten about Zack. That's where my frustration is coming from.

And yeah, I feel like it was placed before the dream date for a reason, Marlene introduces the idea of Aerith liking Cloud, and then Aerith herself elaborates a bit more on it.

Thanks, anyway.

Yeah, it just opens up for bad takes, and I’m not entirely sure it was necessary to do so… unless the goal really is to show that Cloud’s more aloof personality just doesn’t match to what Aerith is really looking for.

Even then, ehh maybe I’ll appreciate it more in retrospect. Just let my man Zack be happy lol