Revising the Midgar Zolom

[JechtShotMK9]

Before the arrival of the Weapons, the Midgar Zolom is the only enemy type that appears as an encounterable entity on the World Map itself.


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Well, there is the Materia Keeper.

Because being nitpicky about year old threads is what I do

 

[Tetsujin]

There's also that snow woman at Gaea's Cliff

 

[JechtShotMK9]

Don't you run up and touch the Demon Wall to start the fight?

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

None of those are on the world map. =P

 

[JechtShotMK9]

Curses, foiled again!

 

[Ite]

World Map monsters are as BIG AS TOWNS! If they treat the Zolom like Leviathan in FFXV, except you're hella under levelled, I be very happy.

 

[Keveh Kins]

In the absence of a world map, I'd really like for the Midgar Zolom to be something that actively stalks you through a substantially sized marshland, Alien Isolation style almost.

The way it was implemented in the original game was terrifying in its own way, having this thing beeline towards you as soon as you step foot onto the marshes. I'd like them to replicate the sheer panic with a new spin on it

 

[Pixel]

It should appear suddenly as they approach the cave, scaring the chocobos. It lurches down to bite into one of them, but Barret starts shooting, allowing it to escape. Then it pursues the party to the cave entrance, blocking the way back.

 

[X-SOLDIER]

An overwhelming hell yes to all of that!





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[Turlast]

And here I thought I was the only person who was a huge fan of the Midgar Zolom! Looks like I was way off on that! Great topic, X-SOLDIER.

Funny enough, I've had some hilarious encounters with him on my latest playthrough.

1) I tried fighting him after leaving Kalm. Despite being at low levels, I nearly defeated him. Unfortunately he removed Cloud from the battle (Cloud/Barrett/Aeris) and took the other two out with Beta. I thought it was game over, then I felt relieved to see that it wasn't. I had gained a lot of levels before fighting Zolom and forgot to save.

2) When I thought I was tough enough to handle Zolom, I tried fighting him a bit later. I pushed him to the limit again, only for him to remove Barrett. No big deal; I still have Cloud. Zolom then goes on to use Beta, which I obtained as an Enemy Skill through Cloud. The bastard then decides to remove Cloud from the battle. As expected, Aeris had no chance alone. When the battle was over, I excitedly checked the Enemy Skill list thinking I acquired Beta. It wasn't there....

3) After leveling up my characters a whole lot, I was quite sure Midgar Zolom would be no trouble now. I also wanted that Beta skill so bad. This time I had Vincent on my side and an additional Enemy Skill Materia. Same strategy as usual, only Zolom stood up far quicker than before. The Enemy Skill Materia was equipped to both Cloud and Barrett, so I knew I was going to learn it.

Sequence of events: Cloud got knocked out of the battle, Beta was cast, Barrett learned it, yay. Barrett got KO'ed right after I decided to use Vincent's Limit Break, which means I couldn't revive Barrett. Vincent destroyed Zolom...and Beta was still not learned.... Why must you be so stubborn, Zolom?

4) After awhile, I was able to acquire Beta and continue on...

All of your ideas sound cool for Zolom in the upcoming Remake. I just want him to be as annoying as he was in the OG. That would be enough to make me happy.

 

[hian]

Defeating the Zolom at first encounter is actually pretty easy if you know what to do.

I defeated him at level 14 or something like that. I also got beta.

If you just want to kill him, just enter the fight with Barret, and make sure you have the "Mind-Blow" limit break. Use it, and the Zolom will loose all its MP in a single blow, and won't be able to cast Beta, which turns the fight into a pretty straight forward brawl where you just need to keep on healing and attacking.
Using Matra Magic enemy skill, and limit breaks should do the trick.

You can also manipulate how the Zolom knocks people out of battle.
The Zolom will knock people out depending on which ones do the most damage to it.
If you have a character you don't want knocked out, just make sure that character isn't attacking the Zolom until it has knocked out the two other characters.

Also, to lessen the damage the Zolom deals, put all your characters on the back row, and have them induced with the "sadness" status effect using tranquilizers.

If you want Beta, just have one character, preferably Barret (since he has mind-blow), equipped with the elemental effect materia paired with a fire materia, and of course with the "sadness" status effect as well as the enemy skill materia. Also have as few magic materia as you can on him (just fire and cure) to avoid his HP decreasing too much.

Keep Barret from attacking, using him only as the healer, and when the others are knocked out of battle, start the offensive until it casts Beta. Heal, and then use Mind-blow to stop it from doing it again.
Then alternative between attacking/using magic attacks and healing until it dies.

It's relatively simple.

After having cleared Gold Saucer and gotten the manipulate materia, and having a second enemy skill - I went back to the main continent after having gotten Big Guard, then got White wind, and then went back to the Zolom to get Beta again.
When you have Big Guard and White wind, pluss the extra levels, it's even easier.

So essentially, you'll have two Beta enemy skills before even reaching Cosmo Canyon, which makes the rest of disk 1 a cake-walk.

You're welcome =P

 

[ForceStealer]

I usually just go back when I have the Tiny Bronco, I find then I'm at the perfect strength level to get Beta. (Not hard to stay alive, but not so strong that it's hard to avoid killing it either.)

 

[hian]

I usually just go back when I have the Tiny Bronco, I find then I'm at the perfect strength level to get Beta. (Not hard to stay alive, but not so strong that it's hard to avoid killing it either.)

Yeah, you could just do that. Initially I wasn't really trying to get Beta or anything - I was just curious if I could cross the desert without a Chocobo because I was low on cash and didn't want to grind until I had enough to buy the chocobo lure =P

It escalated pretty quickly though when I realized blasting away the Zolom's MP essentially just turns it into another random boss monster essentially, and from that I started thinking I could get Beta early so I could use it to stomp the other bosses early on, like the guy in the safe you have to fight to get Vincent etc.

I wonder if I've done something to the game in my process of being super powerful though, because Life and Phoenix downs didn't work on Gi Natak this time around, which I distinctly remember them (or at least one of them) doing in the European version.

 

[JechtShotMK9]

You can also get a Fire Ring 5 minutes after arriving in Costa del Sol, in the basement of the Villa. That makes learning Beta a piece of cake. Just hop back in the cargo ship and run to the marshes again.

As for the Gi Nattak, Phoenix Downs don't do anything, but X-Potions will 2-shot him.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Phoenix Downs will do the trick, but they sometimes miss. X-Potions won't.

 

[paleofan]

It's not exactly the Midgar Zolom in itself that I'm crazy about, it's rather the scene of the dead Midgar Zolom. It was one of the most striking image in the game, even now it still sends chills down my spine. It is the best exemple to remind us that sometimes Final Fantasy VII did get scary, mimicking the vibe and atmosphere of the horror games from this era. I don't like how they made the Midgar Zolom seem like just a regular monster in Final Fantasy XV and I hope they won't handle it the same way in Final Fantasy VII Remake. In Final Fantasy VII, the Midgar Zolom wasn't just a monster, it was a character that helped setting the tone for an important moment and showing how strong and scary Sephiroth was. Not only is the picture unsettling but they also make your imagination work. In the original picture of the dead Midgar Zolom, you could barely make out it's face, especially since they only show a glimpse of it in the game. Moreover, you just have to wonder how tf did Sephiroth impale this beast on a tree. Knowing his powers there are many ways he could have done this but whatever your imagination comes up with, it will automatically be something that will make him appear stronger and more intimidating in your mind and THAT was genius!

 

[X-SOLDIER]

I'm really looking forward to seeing how the Midgardsormr in XV turns out as a seemingly more regular monster type to get an idea of how the Remake might treat it as more of a boss-like enemy.



(The low-quality above images are from 1:36 & 2:06 in the below video)

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[The Twilight Mexican]

If those are any indication, it will be fantastic.

 

[X-SOLDIER]

If those are any indication, it will be fantastic.

Right!? All I could think of when I saw those in the trailer (since I'm diving into the XV hype train and going to watch all the things) was, "Oh my science, this is exactly how I imagined the Midgar Zolom as a real thing. The FFVII-version is going to be so damn spectacular!"




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[jacoobmiller]

I, Cloud Mf'n Strife, once walked jogged across the marshes and dodged the Midgar Zolom. There were no mass casualties (from a violent Beta). I have seen the light; I have walked with gods!

 

[Theozilla]

I do wonder though if there'll be any significantly noticeable differences in how the Luminous Studio engine renders monsters/creatures compared to how the Unreal Engine 4 would/will.

 

[Lulcielid]

I do wonder though if there'll be any significantly noticeable differences in how the Luminous Studio engine renders monsters/creatures compared to how the Unreal Engine 4 would/will.

This will depend on what tech, tool they chose to use and what art direction they want to follow.

 

[X-SOLDIER]

So, having fought FFXV's Midgardsormr twice when I was a bit too under-leveled to've gone up against, it I have a good number of comments about it as a Midgar Zolom analogue for the Remake.

• The FFXV Midgardsormr has an utterly MASSIVE variety of attacks, and is just spectacularly designed all around. Of all the creatures that I've fought in the game at this point, it is far and away my favourite just in sheer terms of the fluidity of its movement and its overall design (even without my innate biases to love it). The way that it actively coils and swipes at you and you get tangled as you move is PERFECT, and the wide variety of long and short range attacks it has is amazing.
• It's also immediately wickedly intimidating in the ways that I'd want FFVII:R's Midgar Zolom to be in terms of how it moves and attack, and especially its overall difficulty (though probably less of a grind at higher levels).
• FFXV's Midgardsormr is smaller and much more agile than I'd expect FFVII:R's Midgar Zolom to be. This snake is big, but it's nothing like the absolutely gargantuan monster that FFVII had. The Midgardsormr moves like a Cobra/Viper whereas I'd expect the Midgar Zolom to move more like a Python just due to its sheer size and having a thicker body, its brute strength is more of its power than its lithe speed and agility. The Midgar Zolom is a stalker patrolling its homeground and not an active hunter.

If you get those tweaks together and add in the beast stalking you through the murky depths of a swamp added in, it's clear that this beast has all the design elements that it needs exceedingly well-implemented in XV to make the Boss-like version of the creature in FFVII:R basically flawless (I can't even imagine the terror of seeing it rear up to its full height and drop Beta in graphics like this).

Also, you can watch my second fight with it here, if you're so inclined. I'll probably make a point of going back to fight it a few different times after I've finished the campaign, and get better video clips of it as well as some pictures, etc. (the whole reason I'll eventaually teach Prompto the camera Tech move).


1:15:00 - 1:29:30 (Click this to jump to the Timestamp & watch on YouTube)
You'll have to skip there manually if you watch the embed below.

EDIT:

Here's gameplay from IGN's Live Exclusive Final Fantasy 15 Gameplay and interview livestream from London showing a higher-leveled battle with it and an interview/conversation about its design:

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[JechtShotMK9]

OhmyGod, that is a beautiful fight.

 

[X-SOLDIER]

So, moving from least awesome to most awesome:

Their faces are cool and you can see their open jaws here really well (despite its HILARIOUSLY twisted body), and I've always envisioned the Zolom as much larger – i.e. totally capable of chomping you down in a gulp with a much larger skull.

A better look at its face & some other combat.

This one is easily my smoothest battle with the best look at its animations, counters, and you can even see one of its horns shattering off when it breaks. It's also Chocobos & the Zolom for maximum FFVII-esque-ness.

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