Where "The Reigning Deity" falls...

[Andalegogo]

Minerva is the intriguing new character on the block, and the UOG makes mention of her encounter with Zack in "The Reigning Deity." There's sporadic debate as to whether this battle ever actually occurred, but I would say that it did. If the event warrants mention in the Ultimania Omega Guide I simply feel obligated to take it into consideration.

So my question is, assuming it is a canon event in the story, where exactly would it fall in the timeline?

While we're at it, would anyone happen to know what portion of the side-missions are to be taken as canon? I know Zack, in the original FF7, said that he signed up on as many missions as he possibly could to prove himself a worthy 1st Class since he had missed most of the front-line action in Wutai, so the 300 missions might make sense amidst the gaps in time riddling CC.

So what's known?

 

[Makoeyes987]

Minerva

So this thread is to discuss the nature and appearance of the mysterious "Goddess" of Gaia and LOVELESS that appeared in Crisis Core.

One thing that truly struck me as strange was how Minerva apparently wanted Genesis to live on, and literally fulfilled his dream of curing his degeneration and sending him back to the world of the living. I wonder what it is that she saw in him to do such a thing?

And what about the fact that apparently, Minerva tried all that she could to keep Shinra, Genesis copies, Wutai, etc from getting to the Northern Cave by making them all go crazy and shit with her immense energy? Was that a manifestation of the planet's dislike of its power being exploited selfishly?

Anyways, just some thoughts. Discuss away

 

[Strangelove]

Re: Minerva

I'm tired of the missions and all the random enemies and their cheap attacks keeping me from getting to Minerva.

And my cba-ness.

That is all

 

[Makoeyes987]

Re: Minerva

The enemies get monstrously brutal, especially in the "Doors to the Unknown" set of the "Great Cavern of Wonders."

In mission 9-6-5, you fight hyped up Shinra, Wutai, and Genesis troops who are apparently so infused with the crazy Mako energy of Minerva, they go berserk and fight anyone and anything in front of them.

I think Minerva seriously wanted people to just leave her alone

 

[Makoeyes987]

Wow, we made the exact same topic...except mine was a minute after yours

I'll merge my topic with yours and answer your question.

The time the actual mission takes place is really up to interpretation but it must've been after Angeal died and Zack became SOLDIER 1st Class because Zack will ALWAYS be shown as a SOLDIER 1st Class in that battle and referenced as a SOLDIER 1st Class in the mission story text. I think it probably takes place during the month long break after Angeal's death and before Genesis reappeared and attacked Junon.

And yeah, I'd say the missions save for the Hojo laboratory missions where Zack fights characters in Hojo's lab he could never actually fight again (i.e. Sephiroth, Hollander, etc) are canon since the missions offer valuable insight and back story into what SOLDIER members do for their job and how the inner workings of the company go. The mission text and stories are pretty funny and interesting at times.

 

[Strangelove]

[quote author=Makoeyes987 link=topic=224.msg5053#msg5053 date=1230756946]
The enemies get monstrously brutal, especially in the "Doors to the Unknown" set of the "Great Cavern of Wonders."

In mission 9-6-5, you fight hyped up Shinra, Wutai, and Genesis troops who are apparently so infused with the crazy Mako energy of Minerva, they go berserk and fight anyone and anything in front of them.

I think Minerva seriously wanted people to just leave her alone
[/quote]
I'm talking about the Genesis Army ones

Those stupid copies and that attack where they throw a knife at you. Takes like 30,000 HP, and they do two of them. And I only have 60,000-ish HP.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

And yeah, I'd say the missions save for the Hojo laboratory missions where Zack fights characters in Hojo's lab he could never actually fight again (i.e. Sephiroth, Hollander, etc) are canon since the missions offer valuable insight and back story into what SOLDIER members do for their job and how the inner workings of the company go. The mission text and stories are pretty funny and interesting at times.

I agree. I remember saying before that unless the mission happened in totally impossible circumstances (like the Sephiroth simulation, etc), or unless it's referenced specifically when (like Zack always being 1st Class in the Minerva fight), the missions simply took place 'whenever' in Zack's career and didn't really occur during a specific time or year unless common sense states so.

 

[OWA-2]

Someone could explain to me, why is so hard to believe that Zack fought digital copies of previous enemies, in Hojo's Lab?

 

[Cat Rage Room]

Because there's no way he could have fought Sephiroth and Hollander in the simulation because he was on the run when he fought them originally. Sure you can argue that perhaps he fought them beforehand, but the mission description and the circumstance says otherwise.

 

[Andalegogo]

What's given me the most trouble is Kunsel's mail, which is received immediately after the mission. I guess I've always assumed that his mentioning of the return of some "SOLDIER legend" was a reference to Sephiroth's disappearance.

At the moment I wonder what the "SOLDIER legend" is referring to. Only things I can think of would include the legendary 13th Unit: Ragnarok, the 14th Unit: Lost Force/Restrictors, and of course Sephiroth.

The most feasible of the three seems to be Ragnarok, since they were well known in a time when Sephiroth might not have been the only legend that younger SOLDIER looked up to (in CC, many of them think of Genesis and Angeal as legends on par with Sephiroth). Kunsel could be referring to a member among them who was well-respected within SOLDIER, though not as hyped as Sephiroth was in the mainstream.

Obviously, it'd be hard to have Kunsel refer to Lost Force, since they didn't even officially exist. But who knows, perhaps their rumored existence is what led to the development of the SOLDIER legend that Kunsel heard about.

Finally, there's Sephiroth, the original beast of legend. If Kunsel is referring to Sephiroth in his mail, then that means that Sephiroth has already disappeared, which would put The Reigning Deity after the Nibelheim Incident. This is why I doubt Sephiroth is the SOLDIER legend Kunsel writes about.

It's been a while since I've actually read it, so maybe I've missed something that can close the book on this. If not, then maybe there's some other reference to this SOLDIER legend in the Compilation?

Anybody got a clue?

 

[Makoeyes987]

You know, Sephiroth isn't the only legendary SOLDIER. The legendary SOLDIER they're talking about in that email is Zack.

The point of the email is to show the reputation Zack has built doing the missions, and eventually taking down Minerva. That, coupled with how he even gains his own fanclub shows that Zack ends up becoming a SOLDIER legend in his own right.

That's why Kunsel asks Zack if he's the SOLDIER legend because....Zack was the one who gained all that respect and fame from the missions and stuff. He's piecing together all the info and asking Zack if he's the one that the title belongs to.

 

[Andalegogo]

Haha, wow, I always thought of myself as a guy who gave Zack his fair credit for his accomplishments, so it's kinda funny that I completely excluded him from possible candidates, especially after reconsidering his portrayal in the Comp.

Thanks all for the input.

 

[ForceStealer]

Zack's only fault was not having some fancy enigmatic name, otherwise people would refer to him more

 

[Tennyo]

[quote author=hitoshura link=topic=224.msg5055#msg5055 date=1230757757]I'm talking about the Genesis Army ones

Those stupid copies and that attack where they throw a knife at you. Takes like 30,000 HP, and they do two of them. And I only have 60,000-ish HP.
[/quote]

Materia fusion is your friend. I have a Cura materia that boosts my HP by over 200%. Do that.

Also make sure to cast barrier/wall.

 

[Strangelove]

I have a HP Up Ex2 that boosts my HP 999%

I haven't been using Wall, though. But I haven't played it in a while so don't remember all the tactics to it. And my defense stats could do with boost when I cba

 

[ForceStealer]

Damn...I thought I was good with my Curaga that boosts HP 150%... Then again I haven't gotten to Minerva yet.

 

[criesoftheplanet]

my 3rd time playing through is when I got serious about doing every mission including the goddess. Here are my materia and accessories...took me a while to get it there but if you have this the fight goes pretty well.

Materia:
Costly Punch VIT+100
Mug AP+100%
Dualcast MP+30%
Healing Wave SPR+15
Curaga HP+999%
I don't remember the last materia i had equipped....

Accessories:
Genji Helm
Ziedrich
Genji Armor
Genji Glove

The accessories are a guess. I know it's really close to what I had but it was a while ago and I think I might have gotten one of those accessories after killing Minerva...anyway that's it..

 

[Celes Chere]

I just saw my friends brother beat Minerva the other day. He didn't have any Phoenix Downs, but luckily, he was able to steal 99 of them from her. It took about.... 6 or so tries, I believe. He let me try beating her, but I failed.

 

[Tennyo]

[quote author=hitoshura link=topic=224.msg5386#msg5386 date=1230940463]
I have a HP Up Ex2 that boosts my HP 999%

I haven't been using Wall, though. But I haven't played it in a while so don't remember all the tactics to it. And my defense stats could do with boost when I cba
[/quote]

Well then why the flip do you only have 60,000 HP? What level are you at?

 

[Strangelove]

Lv. 83.

Am I supposed to have more?

 

[Tennyo]

I would think so, but maybe not? I'll have to go play again, I can't even remember where I'm at exactly.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

Oh God, Crisis Core's combat system is so broken. I could spend days criticizing it.

 

[Strangelove]

I'm going to leave it as "I wish you could select who you want to attack better" and "I wish the enemies weren't so cheap sometimes"

 

[Tennyo]

I don't mind it.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

The balance is just completely off. It pales in comparison to games like God of War, Devil May Cry, and a few others. Normal Mode is far too easy, and don't get me started on how wonky Hard Mode is.