[Mideel] In this topic I comment on all of the towns of FF7.

[Lord Noctis]

There's actually something I wanted to address before I moved on to Nibelheim.

About the Gi Tribe. In the Cave of the Gi, Bugenhagen mentions that "It's unfortunate that the Gi Tribe were larger than us. If they attacked through here, we wouldn't have stood a chance."

Now uh, for years, I thought he meant 'larger than us' in terms of numbers, but looking at some of the skeletons around the cave...could the Gi Tribe have been literal giants?

I think they were giants.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

That's what I thought as well.

 

[Althea]

Only thing is the ghosts of the GI apart from Nattak don't look overly huge..

 

[Loxetta]

I never thought they were giants. If they were giants, attacking through a cave system probably wouldn't have been the best idea, one would think. My thought were numbers.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

My thought was Bugenhagen's surprisingly bad grammar, as he ought to have said "If they had attacked through here." I thought he meant they were larger in physical size than the inhabitants of Cosmo Canyon. But whichever way you take it, his comment doesn't seem to make much sense: whether they were giants or simply numerous as ants, attacking through the narrow and low-hanging caves makes no tactical sense, and therefore what Bugenhagen should have said was: "It's lucky they were so big and so stupid that they attacked us through these caves; they couldn't get more than one man through at a time and so we were able to hold them off like the Spartans at Thermopylae."

 

[Cat Rage Room]

I never thought they were giants. If they were giants, attacking through a cave system probably wouldn't have been the best idea, one would think.

It obviously wasn't, because Seto fucked them all up.

But whichever way you take it, his comment doesn't seem to make much sense: whether they were giants or simply numerous as ants, attacking through the narrow and low-hanging caves makes no tactical sense,

Sure it does. At least, you could form a strategy around it. Remember, that cave leads right into the heart of Cosmo Canyon. Not only would they have been fucked if the Gi got through there, but they could be fucked if anyone with ill intentions got through that cave.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

But then again, this is coming from the same old man who brought us gems such as "I'll be stand there" and "You want an old man like me should go first?"

...Maybe we should consult the Japanese translation.

 

[ForceStealer]

I always liked the Cosmo Canyon theme, but it was when i met my one friend who absolutely adores this song that I started to really appreciate it. (Incidentally, a lot of the OCRemixes of it are great. I recommend Ascension to Cosmo Canyon and Stone Eyes off of Voices of the Lifestream (yes, I realize that's Great Warrior).

As you said, the scene with Seto crying and the howl is an incredible scene and very sad, especially the conversation that triggered it. I really like Red XIII too. That sadness of that howl actually makes his howl at Aeris' death that much more powerful for me.

Also, Bugenhagen's death too - specifically Red's reaction. It's a very...childish reaction, though appropriate for Bugen. He lies to Cloud, saying that the trip excited him so much he wanted to go on another. Cloud, understanding, just nods and says that maybe they'll run into him again sometime.
It's an optional endgame sequence, but I thought that moment was a pretty good indicator of Cloud's skill as a leader. Though the centerpiece scene for that is the "find what you're fighting for" thing.

 

[looneymoon]

I remember getting to Cosmo Canyon for the first time and being rather surprised at Red's character development. From what we see of him prior to this point, I got the impression he was a wise old owl type. Then when we get to Cosmo Canyon he starts acting like a child. It really brought his whole character into a better perspective, not to mention make him much more likeable than I initially took him for.

Aside from Mukki, Bugenhagen was probably one of the most odd named NPC that comes to mind. He reminds me of Dumbledore. He's like, that weird hippy grandpa who'd probably give you a share of his weed stash if you asked nicely.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

...Maybe we should consult the Japanese translation.

Yep, he was referring to their body size:
http://www.geocities.co.jp/Playtown/5186/novel/nov04_3.htm

見ての通り、この洞窟はコスモキャニオンの裏へと続いておる。ギ族はワシらより体も大きく、何より残忍じゃ。
　ここから攻め入られたらひとたまりもなかったじゃろう……

 

[Cat Rage Room]

Thanks, Tres! What does that say, though?

 

[Cat Rage Room]

HEY YOU

 

[Ghost X]

Cosmo Canyon took too long to navigate in my opinion. I liked the dungeon in it though; all nice n' treasure-hunty. I like Bugenhagen (sp?) and his animations n' such as well.

 

[Strangelove]

Thanks, Tres! What does that say, though?

見ての通り、この洞窟はコスモキャニオンの裏へと続いておる。ギ族はワシらより体も大きく、何より残忍じゃ。
　ここから攻め入られたらひとたまりもなかったじゃろう……
"As you can see, this cave leads to the back of Cosmo Canyon. The Gi['s bodies] were larger than us, and above all merciless. If they had attacked from here we probably wouldn't have stood a chance..."

To me, it looks like he means if they had used the caves, they would have come straight out into the back of Cosmo Canyon's forces/in the middle of their camp, where they probably weren't as well guarded.

 

[Tennyo]

^That's the idea that makes the most sense.

 

[Gym Leader Devil]

Hey MOG, you know that complaint about XIII you've got where you find it exhausting to go cutscene/battle/cutscene/battle/etc/etc/rinse/repeat all the time with no towns or safe havens to rest up in and calm down? Next time it starts to overwhelm you, come update this thread with the next town, we miss it!

 

[Cat Rage Room]

I promised I would update this, and I like to be a man of my word. So, here we go!

NIBELHEIM

For Cloud Strife and Sephiroth, this is where it all began. This town has a lot of (recent) historical significance as far as events and people in the world of FFVII. This is where life began for the two greatest warriors on the Planet. Okay, the people who insist on Sephiroth's place of birth as UNKNOWN/UNKNOWN/UNKNOWN would probably debate he was born in Nibelhiem, but that's neither here nor there nor the point. My point is that Nibelhiem is pretty fucking important!

It's just amazing how much happened here. The Jenova Project. Sephiroth's insanity. Vincent's 'death' and 'rebirth'. Tifa's involvement in the whole fiasco. Cloud's experimentation, and the beginning of the end for Zack. We all know that, so let's save the time from rehashing it. As for what I think?

Wow. Nibelhiem has a lot to answer for. Honestly, sometimes I think it would be better off it was burned down (and stayed burned down) to serve as a final tombstone for everything that happened there and everyone who died. But alas, that's not what happened, and it just serves as an unnerving pit stop on Cloud's journey, and another testament to the bizarre shit that Shinra is willing to do to maintain their global hegemony. I'm not really upset about that, either way is fine.

I remember being really freaked out about how all the Sephiroth 'Clones' congregated here on your first visit, and them moaning about 'Sephi...roth' and 'Went over mountain...gone' and all that shit. I remember being REALLY freaked out when I saw those two kids turn out to be Sephiroth Clones. It just made me think how REALLY fucked up Hojo is and how REALLY fucked up Sephiroth is by extension.

I guess one thing I wish they did was elaborate a bit further on the Shinra Mansion. Is it just property that the family owned? Is that where the Shinra family originated? The history of the building itself? I dunno, I just wish we found out more about the past. Well, what do YOU guys think?

Next up is home to my favorite FFVII protagonist, Rocket Town!

 

[Lord Noctis]

HOLY SHIT! You actually updated this! Took you long enough. Anyway, I pretty much agree with what you said regarding Nibelheim.

And for the record, I do firmly believe Sephiroth was born in Nibelheim, and nobody will ever convince me otherwise.

 

[ForceStealer]

Its a good question. Mt. Nibel was the site of the first Mako Reactor, correct? Maybe it was just built to give all the Shinra scientists that would be monitoring it a place to stay?

I wanna know why so many of the Sephiroth clones have such great items liek Turbo Ethers and Elixirs.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

Its a good question. Mt. Nibel was the site of the first Mako Reactor, correct? Maybe it was just built to give all the Shinra scientists that would be monitoring it a place to stay?

The Jenova Project was BEFORE the Mako Reactors, though. Plus keep in mind that the mansion, (along with the town itself, I'm sure) is alluded, actually, stated by Cloud, to be old, as in, very old.

 

[ForceStealer]

Was it? Where was Jenova kept before that then?

 

[Cat Rage Room]

The Mansion, I presume.

 

[Tennyo]

I know what you mean about being freaked out by the copies, Mog. Especially the little kids that you had seen running around before. I wanted to cry.

 

[ForceStealer]

Just something else about your first visit through Nibelheim, I really like Cloud's reaction to the NPCs and theirs to him. You also have a lot of dialogue choices between being polite or calling them out on their bullshit. My first instinct was to call them out as, as the player, you're inclined to believe Cloud. But the fact remains that the town is there so you kinda want to hear them out. (Unless you find that letter on Tifa's desk which spills everything)

Another thing, it is AMAZING how accurately Shinra reproduced the town. Down to every little trinket in the houses, its pretty amazing.

 

[Tennyo]

Oh yes, amazing.

Or more like, "We are reusing the same model and here's why..."