Remake Interviews: Catch-all Thread

[Makoeyes987]

I'm glad they've kept Rude's personality here. I noticed that in the fight against Aerith and even the pillar. Rude goes out of his way to not punch girls.

Hey, he's no simp. He ain't trying to get laid, he knows better than that. He just has a code. For a Turk that has to shed layer upon layer of themselves to do some pretty terrible, awful and dirty things, the little things he can exert agency over matter the most for him.

 

[Obsidian Fire]

The large river running through the outskirts of Sector 5's undercity brings fresh water, rich with nutrients from the planet's lifestream, to both Aerith's house and the dilapidated church. This is the same water Aerith uses to lovingly tend to her flowers. Also, the fact that Aerith is an Ancient could be another reason for the vibrant vegetation there.

I like this explanation for why Sector 5 is unusually green.

 

[cold_spirit]

Pat myself on the back for this one. We both even use the word 'cozy'.

We were surprised to hear “Main Theme of FINAL FANTASY VII” playing in the Sector 7 slums! Was there a reason for that song choice?

Toriyama: In FFVII REMAKE you return to the Sector 7 undercity many times and we intended for it to serve as your central hub over the course of the story, so we wanted it to feel like home—a cozy place you could come back to. To that end, we chose to use “Main Theme of FINAL FANTASY VII”—which played on the world map in the original game—there.

Me in the Chapter 3 Spoiler Discussion thread:

The Main Theme of FF7 plays as you get cozy with the Sector 7 slums. The main theme also played on the world map in the original. It's like they're trying to establish that this place is important. Maybe Sector 7 slums is to the remake what the world map is to the original. A place of worth protecting

 

[Fade]

worth protecting

Whoops.

 

[Maidenofwar]

The Aerith bit made me chortle ... maybe she's playing or maybe it's terrifying!

(I honestly thought while I was playing it was just a gameplay mechanic/element and didn't think too much of it at the time but interesting )

I've always loved his takes and writing of Aerith.

 

[Yumelinh]

The Aerith bit made me chortle ... maybe she's playing or maybe it's terrifying!

(I honestly thought while I was playing it was just a gameplay mechanic/element and didn't think too much of it at the time but interesting )

I've always loved his takes and writing of Aerith.

Same! I thought it was just a game mechanism to make that part more interactive because as he said, that doesn't really matter since she waits for him anyway....guess I was wrong

dunno if she was just playing or trying to spook him it's funny either way lol

 

[Odysseus]

Rude just having a soft spot for women in general does make the helicopter scene make more sense. I was plausible that he already knew Tifa, but nothing explicitly made that clear. Now we know he just hates fighting women in any context.

 

[Yumelinh]

The large river running through the outskirts of Sector 5's undercity brings freshwater, rich with nutrients from the planet's lifestream, to both Aerith's house and the dilapidated church.

Oh! That's why this shot cuts to the river shining like the Lifestream. Nice foreshadowing!

 

[cold_spirit]

Part 2 of the Digging Deep into the World of FFVII REMAKE interview is available:
https://na.finalfantasy.com/topics/205

Interesting tidbit on the train graveyard:

Toriyama: ...the Sector 7 plate collapse kills a countless number of citizens, causing a disturbance in the lifestream. The boss monster at the end of this chapter, Eligor, foresees this and works to stop Cloud and friends from reaching the pillar in time.

If that was their intention for Eligor it certainly was not conveyed like that at all in the game. Seemed to me like Eligor was a monster that manifested from a whole lotta sorrowful memories/spirit energy and kept other souls from returning to the planet. And, like, was just naturally aggressive, I mean there's an urban legend about it and everything.

 

[a_apple 2.0]

Part 2 of the Digging Deep into the World of FFVII REMAKE interview is available:
https://na.finalfantasy.com/topics/205

Interesting tidbit on the train graveyard:



If that was their intention for Eligor it certainly was not conveyed like that at all in the game. Seemed to me like Eligor was a monster that manifested from a whole lotta sorrowful memories/spirit energy and kept other souls from returning to the planet. And, like, was just naturally aggressive, I mean there's an urban legend about it and everything.

How is it possible for Eligor to sense something that's gonna happen in the future in the first place?

 

[rkss]

How do we know this piece of important information without this interview?
And kind of weird they don't talk about deepground lab in chapter 13. The pacing of part is kinda strange.

 

[Wol]

How is it possible for Eligor to sense something that's gonna happen in the future in the first place?

He touched Aerith's toes.

 

[Shademp]

Go home Toriyama you're drunk

 

[Odysseus]

"We upgraded the Hell House to be a boss, but even then it was still a bizarre enemy, and it would have been strange if it appeared out in the world without any run-up "
I dunno, the idea of a monster disguised as a house preying upon the citizens of a ramshackle slum made a lot of sense to me, personally.

 

[Fade]

Honestly, I always considered it somehow related to all the random-ass giant mech parts in the slums.

 

[a_apple 2.0]

Seriously how are we suppose to get from the game that Eligor felt a disturbance in the Matrix and that's why he wanted to stop Cloud and his harem? I really don't get this, it feels like such a odd statement

EDIT:
Okay I take everything back this is some level 10 big brain shit
From Wikipedia:
Eligos (also Abigor or Eligor) is a Great Duke of Hell, ruling 60 legions of demons. He discovers hidden things and knows the future of wars and how soldiers should meet. He also attracts the favor of lords, knights and other important persons. He is depicted in the form of a goodly knight carrying a lance, an ensign and a sceptre (a serpent to Aleister Crowley). Alternatively he is depicted as a ghostly spectre, sometimes riding a semi-skeletal (sometimes winged) horse, or the Steed of Abigor. This is a minion of Hell itself, and was a gift from Beelzebub. It was created from the remains of one of the horses of the Garden of Eden.
Maybe that's Toriyamas way to tell us that the names of enemies actually have a deeper meaning

 

[Shademp]

I'm wondering if something got lost in translation and/or if Toriyama just had a brain fart.

There was obviously already lots of violence going on at the pillar and Eligor *might* have drawn the conclusion "If I let this chaos continue then that means more souls for me to trap". I could sort of see that working. But a pre-emptive lifestream disturbance the way that the interview is currently worded? That's needlessly complicated. I can see how it might tie into fan theories about

Spoiler

timeline/universe splits, the Whispers of Fate etc

, but if the game wanted to convey that type of connection then perhaps they should have had the team fight Eligor and the Whispers both at the same time. *shrugs*

 

[Fade]

I think they essentially stopped caring too much about the limitations of VII's pre-established world. It's something they do often with sequels, prequels etc. For some reason, they come up with these quite detailed worlds with pre-defined sets of rules and then sort of throw it out the window when they return to that world. It's a definite pattern for this team. Once you've retrofitted time travel into a story, all bets are off, really.

 

[Shademp]

I hope Ottoman gets spoken lines in the future and that he gets a whole arc about becoming free from Scarlet.

 

[Odysseus]

Once he is free from Scarlet, he will no longer be "Ottoman" but rather "Auto-Man," having finally tasted the sweet taste of autonomy.

 

[ForceStealer]

Ottomans and Turks, who could've have foreseen that

 

[Makoeyes987]

I really don't see what's so strange or universe shattering regarding the information on Eligor... What's the big deal again?

What Toriyama is describing Eligor as, is essentially a malevolent psychopomp. A death omen. In folklore, there exists beings who, upon sensing upcoming great loss of life, come to witness it and serve as heralds of death. Psychopomps are beings drawn to death and mass losses of life, who then lead those souls to the next world, like in essence, the Grim Reaper. Or the Mothman. Or any other death omen creature. Time travel doesn't have to factor in with the sensing of impending death, it's something those connected with death and upcoming tragedy can sort of just "sense." Like a feeling in the air, or an observation of circumstances around the area.

Eligor is a "A ghastly fiend that haunts the train graveyard and feeds on human fear to grow stronger. It is a manifestation of the memories and sorrows that linger in the train graveyard." And I think it's a fair assumption that the mass loss of life and destruction that would result in the Sector 7 plate collapse would give it a feast that it would not want interrupted. It would easily sense the life-threatening terror, potential for more carnage and then wish for that to happen without interruption. Like a twisted Bodach Glas ensuring death comes for those it targets.

I think that's an incredibly cool detail of lore for it. I sorta got the feeling the ghosts and Eligor were somehow mocking/taunting Cloud and the others with the upcoming plate collapse, with the train radio suddenly being able to magically pick up the radio chatter of the Turks just when they confirm they are actually going to drop the plate.

And then right after, more ghosts and monsters attack, as if trying to obstruct your progress. Then of course Eligor himself stopping you at the exit. I didn't think it was that explicit but it certainly was a feeling that was conveyed by the events... That the malevolent ghosts and Eligor wanted the deaths to happen. So this confirmation is certainly pretty awesome and interesting.

 

[Saven]

This also retroactively explains why Cloud and co failed to stop the plate from falling in the OG since it usually takes 20+ minutes to steal that goddamn Striking Staff.

 

[Fade]

I really don't see what's so strange or universe shattering regarding the information on Eligor... What's the big deal again?

You go on to describe a lot of cool stuff, but not necessarily things that fit into VII's world as established. Though, as I said earlier, the existence of the Whisper plot sort of means that ship has sailed. If you remade Star Wars and included liberal time travel, you've already bucked the world as fans currently understand it. Given some of the nonplussed reactions, I think it's fair to say that some inclusions leave a lot of questions as to what rules the VII world has in this iteration, or if it's just sort of a general kitchen sink setting now. VII, in its previous form, was quite a "tight" setting in terms of world-building. It's a similar issue to how people didn't really know how to respond to Minerva in Crisis Core.

 

[kathy202]

I think that's an incredibly cool detail of lore for it. I sorta got the feeling the ghosts and Eligor were somehow mocking/taunting Cloud and the others with the upcoming plate collapse, with the train radio suddenly being able to magically pick up the radio chatter of the Turks just when they confirm they are actually going to drop the plate.

Damn, I like this explanation. I've always assumed that unencrypted communication was either a screw up in Shinra technology, or an oversight in the writing. Honestly, I still think it's just a writing thing, but this interpretation feels way more appropriate than screwed-up Shinra technology.