Snowboarding after Aerith...

[Pixel]

I've always thought snowboarding could never work at that point in the story, and they'd have to work around it. Maybe have them walk down to the snow fields.

Then I remembered "Journey". They have sections where you glide down on the sand. It has this melancholy, peaceful feel, which I think could work. Strip away the game mechanics, which can be put back in for the gold saucer

https://youtu.be/5EJ_MpxJ7wk?t=11m41s

 

[ForceStealer]

I have always felt that people really overreact about the snowboarding. How long after her death would snowboarding become "appropriate?" Walking down the mountain would be wildly inefficient in-universe, and outside of universe, it would make the longest, worst dungeon in the game even longer.

And by get rid of the game mechanics...you just mean the balloons? Because there isn't anything else in the in-game version. There's no music, it's just sound.

 

[Pixel]

Well, it's presented like a minigame, which it shouldn't at that point. It might just be the clunkiness of the gameplay that gives that disconnect. Having graphics and light effects can give it a different feel

 

[Jason Tandro]

Cloud on snowboard everybody else on snowmobile and theyre being chased down by shinra troops. throwback to crazy motorcycle and reason for action sequence. Boom. Problem solved.

 

[Stryfe]

Haha, I remember arguing with my brother about the whole party's reaction to Aerith's death. I understand that they can't spend a whole lot of time grieving ('cause they have to go save the world and all), but it seemed to me that after the FMV of Aerith's body sinking, the entire party doesn't REALLY mention her at all until nearly the end of Disk 2. When Bugenhagen tells them to "look inside their hearts" and all that, then they begin to talk about Aerith and her death again. I'm not asking Squeenix to throw in an entire FMV of Cloud and Co. crying, but it would be nice to get at least a few more lines throughout Disk 2 showing that they actually DO care about that one flower girl that died that one time.

As for the actual snowboarding minigame that occurs right after, I think it's appropriate given the situation they're in, but it would still be better if we threw in some Shinra soldiers chasing the party, just to make the minigame more exciting as a whole (or make into a cutscene, either one works for me). And this is pretty much a given with the new hardware, but I'd like them to tighten up the controls, too. I was too busy laughing at how poor my snowboarding skills were to worry about the emotional context surrounding the minigame. XD

 

[Ite]

I have no real way to solve this problem. I'm not even sure there is a problem. The game doesn't dwell on Aeris's death, because it did the job properly -- *we* were distraught (or we weren't) for however long, and that informed how we interpreted the emotional state of the characters. (role-playing?)

I guess I'm trying to say that the fun aspect of the game didn't distract from my emtional feelings about Aeris. The rest of the game shouldn't be mired in manufactured sadness. That's what made FFXIII so bland. FF7 had real sadness, while never apologizing for being a video game.

Addendum: snowboarding is not quite the first thing you do after she dies. There is still the second half of the hidden forest, the snow field, about an hour of random battles, an encounter with the Turks, an (optional) viewing of Gast's videos, and about 20 minutes of figuring out how the hell to get past Icicle Inn. That amounts to about 3 hours.

 

[Jason Tandro]

^ I don't know if I agree with you about FF13. Sure it was a touch heavy-handed, but japanese games tend to pontificate and I'm used to that. Watch any anime and tell me they don't go over the top with the emotions. Was FF7 better handled? Of course no question, but I don't think that made FF13 neccesarily bland. I really liked how they handled the internal conflict between Snow and Hope. That's a really interesting dynamic that we haven't seen much of. The closest we get is the one between Cyan and Celes; initial distrust and outright hatred being swept away as they fight alongside one another. And the difference there is it's nothing personal it's just he hates the empire and she used to be with the empire.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

it would make the longest, worst dungeon in the game even longer.

The Great Glacier is the worst dungeon in the game?

 

[Jason Tandro]

it would make the longest, worst dungeon in the game even longer.

The Great Glacier is the worst dungeon in the game?

Most frustrating because Great Glacier/ Gaea Cliffs / Northern Cave are all one massive haul with only one cabin and a recovery spring to ease the burden. But I don't think it's the worst by any stretch of the imagination, in fact I can't wait to see how they handle this area in the remake (though I am a sucker for snowy areas).

 

[Starling]

Haha, I remember arguing with my brother about the whole party's reaction to Aerith's death. I understand that they can't spend a whole lot of time grieving ('cause they have to go save the world and all), but it seemed to me that after the FMV of Aerith's body sinking, the entire party doesn't REALLY mention her at all until nearly the end of Disk 2. When Bugenhagen tells them to "look inside their hearts" and all that, then they begin to talk about Aerith and her death again. I'm not asking Squeenix to throw in an entire FMV of Cloud and Co. crying, but it would be nice to get at least a few more lines throughout Disk 2 showing that they actually DO care about that one flower girl that died that one time.

As for the actual snowboarding minigame that occurs right after, I think it's appropriate given the situation they're in, but it would still be better if we threw in some Shinra soldiers chasing the party, just to make the minigame more exciting as a whole (or make into a cutscene, either one works for me). And this is pretty much a given with the new hardware, but I'd like them to tighten up the controls, too. I was too busy laughing at how poor my snowboarding skills were to worry about the emotional context surrounding the minigame. XD

Not talking about Aerith's death can be viewed as the main way in which the party initially copes with it. When they finally do, it's because they've had enough time to feel ready to face it again. It's not that uncommon for people to need some time before they're ready to talk about someone's death.

 

[Octo]

Welp, I dunno how it all works liek, but I would imagine that in universe it would take a couple of days to get from the City of the Ancients to Icicle Inn, even though it only takes five minutes for us. So theres that.

Also, I guess in the remake they could make an alternate route down the mountain, but have one of the guys at Icicle say that snowboarding is the fastest way down, and then have Cloud or someone say that they have to catch up to Sephiroth asap. Then leave it up to the player.

 

[ForceStealer]

Also, I guess in the remake they could make an alternate route down the mountain, but have one of the guys at Icicle say that snowboarding is the fastest way down, and then have Cloud or someone say that they have to catch up to Sephiroth asap. Then leave it up to the player.

How about 60 flights of steps?

Addendum: snowboarding is not quite the first thing you do after she dies. There is still the second half of the hidden forest, the snow field, about an hour of random battles, an encounter with the Turks, an (optional) viewing of Gast's videos, and about 20 minutes of figuring out how the hell to get past Icicle Inn. That amounts to about 3 hours.

Also this. In my original playthrough of FF7 it took me forever to figure out what I was supposed to do there.

 

[Clement Rage]

It's a means of transport, not a fun holiday activity. If Cloud can get away with breeding seven generations of Chocobos in the seven days before Meteor, he can snowboard in the wake of Aeris' death.

 

[Jason Tandro]

It's a means of transport, not a fun holiday activity. If Cloud can get away with breeding seven generations of Chocobos in the seven days before Meteor, he can snowboard in the wake of Aeris' death.

To be fair it's a means of transport with all the practicality of a skateboard. I'm sure in the age of Shinra the folks of Icicle Inn have snowmobiles and it's not like Avalanche never purloined a vehicle before.

 

[chasesummers]

There are hints in the original FFVII that Aerith was suppose to die later in the game, however these are just theories but they might explain the fun-aspect still being very present in the game by then. After the snowboarding the game takes a much serious tone, having Cloud lost, Tifa and Barrett arrested and meteor about to crash.

I always thought how maybe the gang was suppose to pass through the snowy fields first and end up in the forgotten capital later in the game. It would make sense really, Aerith's character has 4 limit levels which, unless you're levelling her up, she won't get near that level and even if you do! by the time you get her Great Gospel she only has the Temple of the Ancients (and optionally, Wutai)

However looking at the final game, I never seen the snowboarding as a negative thing. I was just upset not to see Aerith with the whole gang and not because it's Aerith but because it's a missing character, but now... I took care of that haha

 

[Flare]

The snowboarding part was funny to me, not because it happens shortly after Aerith's death, but because like Jason said, in that day and age, they're using snowboards to get down a mountainside. What happened to snowmobiles? Or heck, what about chocobos? They can be extremely sure footed if you have a mountain one. Wouldn't that be safer than taking your chances on a snowboard when probably most of your party had never done it before? maybe the remake will give you more options; that would be great, and probably have some hilarious dialogue depending on what you choose.