A+, Ody! Lol, j/k
Anyway, since we're on the topic now of why we like Jessie, I guess I'll share my story. I've always liked her ever since I first played FFVII back when I was in college and it had just come out - yeah, I'm 42 and a geezer, lol. I almost missed FFVII entirely, since that year I had originally gotten an N64 for Christmas like I had asked for. I didn't know anything about Playstation or Final Fantasy at the time. But my mom and my older brother convinced me to let him exchange the N64 for a PS1, and since I didn't know what games there were for it, I pretty much let my brother decide. FFVII was one of the two that he got me, but I never actually got around to playing it until that spring (I had played the other game, MK Trilogy, instead since I was really into MK at the time). But while on spring break, I got curious about FFVII so I decided to try it out.
I was hooked right away, and Jessie's cute, geeky nature appealed to me. Still does, hehe. I had originally thought she would be Cloud's love interest or part of a triangle and didn't realize Aerith was more than just another random character until I met her in the church later - the first time I played, I didn't buy a flower and I just sent her on her way, lol. Anyway, I could tell right off that Jessie had a crush on Cloud, and I hated losing her in the pillar. That's gonna be hell in the remake, and I hope they make it a real tearjerking, gut-wrenching moment - the big emotional blow of FFVIIR Part 1, in other words, like Aerith's loss was for the original game.
But while I liked her, I never really thought much about her until the remake came along and we got those new trailers last year. And, ahem, I have to say that Jessie's gotten hotter with every new bit of footage they've shown us. She also gives a whole new meaning to the term "breastplate", hehe. It was also when I started writing Lifestream, and doing that made me like her even more since it was an opportunity to give her and Cloud a lot more interaction together than what was shown in the game and expand her character and story, especially when it came time to write her end in the pillar. As it got closer to the time to do that, I found myself reluctant to do it. I'd gotten attached to her and didn't want her to disappear from the story, but I didn't want to diverge from canon and make it AU, either.
Also, writing that part of the story - Jessie's death - brought up a lot of thoughts and feelings of my own from when I lost my girlfriend back in 2011. She didn't look like Jessie, but she was like her in some ways. Caring, a bit goofy sometimes, energetic, and no stranger to computers - she wasn't really a tech whiz like Jessie, but she knew her way around and could get to where she wanted to go without much trouble. She was also flirty, and when we were first going out, it was actually more her pursuing me than the other way around, since I was so shy and had never had a girlfriend before. I remember she came to my door once with one of those big vinyl roses for me, and she was the one who initiated our first kiss, the first one I had ever had. Like Jessie, she didn't do much to hide her feelings.
So when writing Cloud's feelings about losing Jessie, I ended up drawing on my own to do it. It was hard at times, and I don't know if writing Aerith's loss will affect me in the same way. Well, to some extent, probably. But Jessie got there first, and so that experience bonded me to her and her tragic story. I ended up writing in a few post-death appearances for her in Shinra HQ - her spirit appears now and then to help Cloud in his efforts to rescue Aerith - and once more when she comes to him in a dream while he's in the cell with Tifa.
The dream wasn't an idle idea, either, and it had more than one purpose. It wasn't just to let Jessie show up again but also to bring her and Cloud's part of the story some closure that they weren't able to have when she was alive. There was also a personal, real-life influence for the dream. I haven't told very many people about it, as it's something very special and private for me. Let's just say that art sometimes imitates life.
Final Fantasy VII: Lifestream
Anyway, seeing how much Jessie was featured in the trailers and how likeable they made her really got me excited about the possibilities for her and Cloud in the remake. They could have left her out of the trailers entirely and just focused on Aerith and Tifa, but they didn't. Jessie's gotten almost as much screen time as they have. All she needs now is a nice, shiny, hires profile render to really show off her beautiful figure.
I've also been developing a mod for the PC version of FFVII that, unsurprisingly, involves Jessie - yeah, you knew that would be part of it, lol. It was originally just going to be a simple vanilla enhancement mod with a script revision based dialogue changes from my story - better drop/steal rates, additional item and equipment locations, etc. - but as I've gotten better at using the modding tools (many thanks to Ody for his continued help with Makou Reactor!), it's ballooned into something much more.
I'm implementing features such as an expansion to the affection system which not only includes notifications whenever a character gains or loses affection but also adds Jessie to the system, though her affection value has a different purpose and doesn't tie into the Gold Saucer date for obvious reasons. So you'll still take one of the original four on the date, but now you'll be able to earn rewards - items, armor, an accessory, or even a weapon - for winning a character's affection. Each character will give you a different reward. And you'll also be given a new key item, a token of affection that will let you get a further reward later in the game by talking to certain NPC's. For Aerith, Tifa, Yuffie, and Barret, I plan to have them give their rewards once you get off the gondola but before returning to the station to start the Cait Sith chase.
Jessie, due to her much shorter time in the game, is a bit different. To compensate for how little time you're able to have with her, she will give you two rewards instead of just one, as well as her token of affection key item - which, like the others, will be able to get you further rewards late in the game (again, two instead of one). She'll give you her rewards during your last encounter with her in the Sector 7 pillar if you've treated her well enough before that. She'll also have expanded dialogue which again, will only be seen if her affection level is high enough. Otherwise you'll get her standard speech. I've added new dialogue and interactions to give you several opportunities to boost Jessie's affection. Here's one of them, which allows you to do something for her that you previously never could before:
I've also added several new scenes to show what before we only heard about from Tifa - what went back in Sector 7 while Cloud was with Aerith. Here's the first of them, showing Tifa and Barret arriving back home after escaping from Reactor 5:
Return to the 7th Heaven
Probably my biggest addition (other than the script revision) - and my most recent - is going to be what I call the AVALANCHE Database. It's basically an in-game information source that you'll be able to access from any save point and can tell you about the enemies and treasures in the area, things to watch out for, and more. Storywise, it was created and designed by Jessie, and she'll give you a new key item early in the game for it. It's not just a series of info pages though. At least, that's the idea. Jessie herself - well, an AI patterned after her appearance and personality (as far as the story is concerned) - is your guide in the ADB and will talk from time to time about things that are happening in the game. She'll also introduce you to the ADB the first time you open it. I may come up with other things for her to say as well, such as when going from one part of the ADB to another, to make it feel like she's really interacting with you. Here's the main screen of the ADB, it's all I have done so far since I just started it recently:
It's gonna be a lot of work to make, but I'm hopeful I can pull it off. And it has the very nice (and very intentional, hehe) side effect of keeping Jessie in the game long past the time she would normally be gone. So yes, I like Jessie very much. She's a bright, beautiful, but tragic character, and I guess that's part of what draws me to her. Also the fact that she's the underdog to Aerith and Tifa, and I've always had a soft spot for such characters. I've also begun writing a Lifestream side story about Jessie and her background, so keep an eye out for it, I think I'll be starting to post it soon once I get the next chapter of Lifestream itself up. Jessie's such a good, underrated character and deserves to have center stage for once, so I decided to give it to her.
Aaaand that's my story, folks! So, who's next?