#I mean who at square enix came up with that

[maeve-99]

Don't mind me, just thinking about Final Fantasy 15. The game that started as a slightly ridiculous and cringy road-trip but turned into a heart-wrenching drama. It is something I always loved about it.

[shuttershocky]

Penny for your thoughts about this thread? Just wanna hear some more opinions from people who work in the industry.

I don't want to fucking talk about pricing and monetization and markets and how F2P live service titles have warped the industry beyond recognition anymore.

The insights look good (of course they look good, this guy literally worked with Square Enix) I just can't fucking take it anymore I know what he says before I even finish reading the tweets and it's reminding me of how I started getting into learning game development in 2010-2011? (I don't remember anymore it's been that long) and EVERY SINGLE TALK AND MEETUP AND LECTURE WAS ABOUT MONETIZATION (to be fair, my local industry was a small one that could only really support mobile back then)

I watched all of this happen. I saw how the mobile industry's designs slowly bled out of mobile and into the AAA industry, warping it forever. I was in college when I first learned what minnows, dolphins, and whales were and why your games ought to be fishing for whales. I watched Team Fortress 2 go from a premium game you got all the content at the start to introducing lootboxes (they popularized that shit outside the gacha sphere btw, people blame Overwatch, but TF2 started that trend) to going F2P. I've been an active Dota player since 2012, meaning I was there when the concept of Battlepasses were first birthed into the world during 2013's The International 3 and which made other companies realize live service titles could gain yet another psychological hold on people to add on to World of Warcraft's skinner boxes.

"We are seeing standard singleplayer games no longer able to gain new audiences as they are crowded out by increasingly growing live service titles like Fortnite" "Why would someone spend 60 dollars to play FF16 for 100 hours when they could continue playing Fortnite and Minecraft and Roblox for free where all their friends are"

I have seen all of this before I remember when Overwatch first came out in 2016 a peculiar statistic was that almost every popular title at the time saw their playerbase drop as everyone moved to Overwatch, EXCEPT for Dota 2's because of how hard Valve had captured their audience to the point where they would not play other games. Of fucking course everyone else learned that was actually an incredibly efficient way to make money forever and they should do that too (except Dota was free and had all characters and all game mdoes unlocked for free, but these other games would now ask you for 60 dollars to play as 4 guys with a 100 hr grind for the rest)

I might feel a little unhinged right now because I have worked for two weekends straight and it's a Sunday night (EDIT - put it in drafts and it is now Monday and I am at work) and I'm still at work working on video games and tomorrow will be Monday and another work week working on video games where if we don't sell our upcoming titles my job is toast but fuuuuuuccckkk dude I just wanted to help make things that people would find fun

Capitalism and corporate greed (but I repeat myself) has twisted an industry that was already shitty in the 90s to be something hideous and completely hostile to the idea of creatives being able to make games that are meant to be played, finished, and remembered fondly and even wholly single player one and done experiences like Insomniac's Spider-Man games need to fill themselves up with checklists or else their audience will claim they got ripped off because the time they spent on it was simply not worth the money which STILL happened with Spider-Man 2 anyway

I'm not against live service games as a concept I love seeing a title like Dota get constant support since 2011 (or 2003ish if you want to count the original WC3 mod) and witness it grow and evolve with the times but I hate how it's become increasingly difficult for other games to exist.

I don't actually have a point to make here I'm just rambling. FF7Rebirth was fucking great though (and I hated FF7Remake as a game) so I hope it actually makes its sales target eventually so it doesn't scare Square into adding even more bullshit filler or worse into the 3rd game. I need to play Vincent Valentine with Rebirth's combat system. it's not a want, but a need. A thirst even.

[talysalankil]

Fabula Nova Crystallis: The Mythology

I was trying to dig this video up to show a friend and it occurred to me that holy shit, it's become almost impossible to find this video that Square Enix only showed once at a conference in January 2011, and we're lacking in a proper English translation for it.

So I'm going to put it here for archival purposes and hope tumblr doesn't take it down, along with a translated transcript. I'll be working off Lissar's and FFWorld's translations of the video, using the canon names for the various entities (yes I know "soul" is technically a mistranslation of 心 heart but it is the canon one so hush).

Since I had extra time on my hands, I also put it up on Vimeo with subtitles on. I can provide the srt file (the syncing isn't super tight but since there's a lot of blank space around each line I decided to leave each subtitle for longer than necessary), if anyone's willing to work on translations, you can DM me.

The full transcript is under the cut:

Fabula Nova Crystallis, the new tale of the crystal

Once upon a time, the god Bhunivelze ruled the world. Bhunivelze defeated his mother, the goddess Mwynn, and took control of the world for himself. Mwynn disappeared into the unseen realm.

Bhunivelze was troubled: the world he now ruled over was destined to die. He believed this was a curse laid on the world by his mother Mwynn. He knew he had to destroy her to lift the curse. To do this, he set out to search for the door to the unseen realm where his mother waited. Using his will alone, he created the first fal’Cie.

First, he created the fal’Cie Pulse. The Focus he gave him was to clear out the world, and search for the door to Mwynn.

Next, he created the fal’Cie Etro. But it was a mistake. Unknowingly, he created her exactly in the image of Mwynn. Bhunivelze feared her, and gave Etro no power of her own.

Instead, he created the fal’Cie Lindzei. The Focus he gave him was to protect Bhunivelze from all who might seek to destroy him. Bhunivelze gave Lindzei one special duty. To wake him once the time came. Then he turned to crystal, and fell into an endless sleep.

Pulse wished to expand the world, so he created many fal’Cie and l’Cie.

Lindzei wished to protect the world, so he created many fal’Cie and l’Cie.

But Etro was powerless, and could make nothing of her own. Lonely, she thought of her mother, who she so resembled. Etro tore her own body apart, letting her blood flow to the earth, and disappeared from the visible world. From that blood, torn from her body, sprang humankind. Creatures that were born only to die.

The destruction of the visible world was no curse, only fate. The world was divided into two halves, the visible and the invisible. If the balance between these two were destroyed, the world itself would be destroyed.

The goddess Mwynn could do nothing to stop this fate. She was being swallowed into the chaos of the unseen realm. Just before her last moment, Etro came to her side. Mwynn told Etro that she must protect the balance of the world, before slipping into the chaos forever. But Etro was ignorant of the meaning behind Mwynn’s words.

Etro was lonely, but she felt affection for those humans who live only to die. As they died, she smiled, and gave them chaos. The chaos Etro gave them, the humans named “souls”. Their hearts would become their power, but the humans did not yet know this.

Soon, they called Pulse the all powerful ruler. Lindzei they named their protector, and Etro they named their goddess of death. The humans lived on the world, hold chaos inside their hearts. Because they held chaos so close, the world once again was in balance.

And Bhunivelze still sleeps in crystal stasis. Until the end of days, awaiting the right time.

[selenityshiroi]

I can't even begin to explain how much Square Enix truly surprised me with Clive in FFXVI.

I stayed away from most of the marketing so I knew only his image and that SE wanted to appeal to Western Gamers with this game. Which led me to believe that he would be gruff and tough and vengeful. Because, let's be real, that is the impression we tend to have of Western Video Game protaganists.

And when the game opens we see a man who is fighting, doesn't seem to be invested in the cause but is just going along with the mission. Doesn't care too much about the bloody battle going on beneath his feet. So my impression wasn't really shaken by this introduction.

And then we go back. And oh boy.

Teenage Clive was a delight. Humble, compassionate, understood the difference between being handed something and having to work for it. His mother hated him for something he couldn't control but he didn't resent his brother who had the mother's love he was denied. He adored his brother who had 'the birthright' that could have been his. I adored this boy within minutes and I was shocked that this was the protaganist from the promo materials. So different than I was expecting.

And then Phoenix Gate happened. And I was filled with dread. Because that boy was probably going to gone. Destroyed by grief and vengeance. This was the event that was going to turn that nice young boy into the gruff and tough and mean older protaganist I was expecting.

But then it didn't.

Once we fell in with Cid and rescued Jill we start to see the older Clive. And he is after vengeance and he is hurt and he is suffering. But he is also still compassionate. He also still has a sense of justice. He also still understands that there is no job beneath a person and no person beneath a job (which is a very big theme for the game).

That vengeance, which I'm so used to seeing as a 'and I don't care what I have to do or who is in my way for me to get it' sort of thing, was not all consuming. It was something he sought but not at the expense of others.

When the first sidequest of 'take these plates of food to the tables' came up I genuinely believed that Clive was the sort of man who wouldn't bat an eye at waiting a table for the sake of the team. That it wasn't a task below him. And that single moment changed my entire impression of him.

When the story of the night of the Phoenix Gate unfolds it is painful. Grief and guilt that would tear someone apart. And it could have easily destroyed Clive. But then it didn't.

Because we get to the other surprising thing about Clive (and the story). And that is about acceptance and atonement.

Clive accepting the things that he did is something that is not only addressed in the story but it's also a major story point. But in a typical Western story I would expect atonement to take the shape of punishment and suffering. Self flogging guilt. Which are very Christian ideologies that are widespread in Western media. But that isn't the path this game took. It takes the path of atonement meaning reparation and working to change things for the future you want to see. Which reminded me very, very much of Fullmetal Alchemist (which I'm told is a story that has strong Buddist themes).

And then, just to really twist the knife into the false impression I had, we get the final aspect of his character that I wasn't expecting.

His ability to be open and honest. Especially with Jill, who had suffered and holds guilt in a similar way. Who looks like (at my current point in my playthrough) is about to go through a similar arc of self acceptance. But instead of holding in their pain they share it. They pull each other forward. And it's not only super refreshing for a leading pair in a pretty dark story it also reminds me of something else from FMA.

Roy and Riza. Two characters who did unspeakable things who then turn that guilt into action. Who work to change the world into a place where those atrocities do not need to happen again. Who understand that they may not be thanked for what they do or what they have done but will suffer that gladly to let others live free of the blood that stains their hands.

At this point all of those impressions I had going into the game are shattered into dust.

I adore Clive. I am invested in him so much more than I ever expected. I couldn't have expected any of this going into the game and I have never been so pleasantly surprised.

Bravo, SE.

[ereborne]

Hello, happy holidays! For the End of the year ask meme if you'll like to answer any of the following: 8 (game of the year), 25 (a character you created), 14 (fav book), or 18 (a memorable meal)

Happy holidays! I hope they've treated you well <3

8: I don't play many games myself (only Stardew Valley, Minecraft, and silly seek-and-find puzzle games) and my laptop was too tuckered for games for most of the year, but even if I'd been farming nonstop I think the game of the year would still be Final Fantasy VII Remake. Pretty sure it'll be the game of every year until it's all out, and then maybe a couple years more for good measure. I am having such an incredible time following the game as it comes out and @kaylithographica plays through it, and I can't wait to see how Square Enix keeps going with the meta and story changes.

25: Some of the more complex edits I've been trying to work on this week actually revolve around a particular OC, so we'll talk about her. Her name is Mercy, and she was not supposed to be important (folks who have lived with me may be familiar with this refrain). She was supposed to be a filler character! She's an archetype! Her name is Mercy and she has none! Grr rar tragic backstory vengeance quest knife collection! But nooo now she's got layers. She's got depth. We're emotionally invested in her character arc. Damn it. Anyway she befriends her local main characters to use them as pawns in her revenge plot, spends a lot of time with them waiting for them to vouch for her to her target, gives up her first chance at revenge because she has to go save them instead (in a scene so terribly close to the classic 'stand at crossroad, look longingly at selfish goal down the left, turn back fully on goal to run to friends down the right path' that I may rewrite it to avoid cliche shame), and then eventually gives up her scheming entirely because it would be too much of a betrayal of her very best friends the main characters. She was supposed to die in the first rescue, and then the whole story locked up and I had to go back through trying to find the writer's block instigation point, and I realized I've made too optimistic a world to kill her off without friends or redemption. She's (big sigh) thematically significant now. At least she's also very cool.

14: I'm going with my favorite book that came out this year, to help narrow things down: "The Innocent Sleep", by Seanan McGuire. Seanan McGuire is one of my favorite authors and this is my favorite of her ongoing serieses, and usually we get one a year (usually just in time to be my birthday present to myself! a joyous coincidence) but this year we got two. "Sleep No More" and "The Innocent Sleep", paired stories, one from Toby's point of view and one from Tybalt's. The current state of their world means that these two POVs of the same happenings are wildly different, and it's fascinating (a little heart-wrenching sometimes) to see. Also, Tybalt and his friends dimension-door into Costco in the dead of night and steal all their catfood. It's amazing.

18: The vegeble man had a special on collard greens one time, and I bought a 'bundle' thinking it was your standard grocery-store greens bundle, a generous handful at most. It was more like an armful. Apparently the special was because they'd been sold a literal truckload of greens (perfectly good but disqualified as 'organic' by some neighbor shenanigans) and needed to offload them quickly because the fridge wasn't ready for such a bumper crop. I cooked them in batches with andouille sausage and bacon and just a touch of this amazing miso ghost-pepper hot sauce Duncan has, and we ate them for our next four meals (with grits, with cornbread and grilled tomatoes, with fried eggs and beer bread, and then the last of them mixed into red beans and rice). I really miss not just Southern food but access to Southern ingredients (the 'andouille' sausage I get here is pitiful, and bacon is no substitute for a proper salt-ham, and neither is beer bread always a good alternative to a buttermilk biscuit or quickbread) and it was so nice to have a proper mess of greens again.

[sapphire-weapon]

humor me for a moment: i think i saw you say cloti and clerith are both canon in the remake timeline and i agree! but what scenes were the ones that made you go: "oh this is CANON" the most for each ship? and do you think the scenes in remake gave any doubt that they would go this direction in rebirth? thank you!

i mean most of their sidequests are ship-focused. cloud and aeris literally get mistaken for being a couple and are forced to go on a date at one point. it's ridiculous. it was so obvious what SE was doing.

but in terms of main story scenes

cloti: when they have the heart to heart in gongaga and yufie's spying on them hoping that they kiss -- and they actually would have, if not for her. and anyone who tries to say otherwise is lying to themselves.

clerith: after the temple of the ancients, aeris being the only thing that could snap cloud out of sephiroth's influence, despite tifa desperately trying all game -- and that leading into the whole alternate timeline where they're a couple. especially the ending of that sequence, when they're back to back with clasped hands amidst the flowers. these scenes are then bolstered by zack giving up on his relationship with aeris thanks to marlene making him think that cloud and aeris are already together.

tl;dr the cloti canonization had fewer, bigger moments and the clerith canonization had a lot more small, subtler moments

but when square enix literally came out and said "fuck zerith actually" right to zack's face i was like okay lmao that's the final nail in the coffin, clerith is happening somehow, apparently

in terms of remake?

i was convinced that it was going to stay "neither canon" in remake, because remake was VERY loyal to the source material until about the time of hojo's lab. and then once i was done with the game i was like WOW NOMURA REALLY JUST WENT FUCK IT

FUCK ALL THE CANON

FUCK THE ENTIRE OG

and i had no fucking idea what they were going to do

[terraxcloud]

Yuffie 2 - Clerra edition

Hello everyone. I have to mention more about Yuffie since I remembered/noticed more.

According to FF7 fans, the relationship mechanic and the Gold Saucer date are like...50% of the game based on how much people mention it. It'd be surprising if it was even 5%. Well, get rid of it from your brain for now!

Unlike the last Yuffie one where I didn't really care what I posted, this one is more Clerra-related.

In Balthier's Lost Chapter in Opera Omnia, Yuffie says this line:

This cutscene (called "Best Buddies") released way before FF7 Remake (it's the 4th one from a couple hundred lost chapters in the game). Anyone's who has played her DLC understands why her words strike a cord as it is hinting at it years before the Remake released. Well, Sonon came and died, so it would have to be someone else, right?

Yuffie does not appear very often in Opera Omnia. In Act 3 and 4 (both Chapter 7s) she'd walk into a few scenes alongside Cloud (Cait is also involved to some degree). Cater's Lost Chapter much earlier in the game has some stuff too, but there's not anything "worth noticing".

With the scene above in mind, what does Yuffie say at the end of her DLC?

Who does she want to join her team?

A cloud...?

Oh, this reminds me. My interpretation about the beginning of "Hollow" was that of "a person flying in the sky talking to clouds as if they were talking to Cloud". Take out the "fly" part and this may apply here as well.

Moving on.

I'm not exactly sure if this camera trick is a "thing" (camera tricks have been used before), but it's easier to notice when you put the speed to .25x. At the end of Advent Children after Cloud wakes up in Aerith's church after Moogle Girl and the group talks to him, he turns his head around to look at everything in front of himself before noticing Aerith and Zack.

He turns his head around past them just enough that Yuffie's pretty much in the exact middle of the screen. I wouldn't find this odd if she didn't have that flowery shirt on.

That shirt has 5-petaled flowers. In the ancient year of 2005. I've mentioned a few times that 5-petal flowers signify Terra because they literally are from her clothes.

They also appear on:

The pattern on Miss Folia's shirt.

Sprinkled around a Dissidia Arcade (2015) screenshot of Cloud-Terra-Onion Knight fighting WoL-Lightning-Y'shtola.

All over the Aerith-Cloud synergy attack "Firework Blade" which looks like Terra's similarly named "Riot Blade" attack.

The 2020 New Year's card featuring Terra as a mouse ("year of the mouse") riding Magitek armor with the flowers trailing behind her.

I suppose there's more, somewhere. Yes, the year FF7 Remake released was the year of Terra Branford according to Square Enix.

To a person who just found this bit of information, it probably doesn't "feel" like it means much. Most people point at Aerith whenever flowers are involved, but there's a heavy consistency concerning flowers with 5 petals. What's weird about Yuffie is that I've had such a hard time believing that they were doing this all the way back in 2005. Terra wasn't even a 3D character until the end of 2008...maybe this is where the hint started? They have leaves, which may bring some doubt, but they still are 2d flowers with 5 petals.

I mean, this is the end of Advent Children. Yuffie does nothing significant...ever, so how do we get from her to all this random stuff involving Terra?

What's the theme of the Advent Children ending? "Cloud Smiles"? Maybe that's part of it.

Ever Crisis just had a Valentine's Day event called "The Secret Sweetheart" - <Click Here for All Cutscenes>

The background and the ticket pull for this event is Yuffie (who kinda just joined Ever Crisis). In the event, Yuffie is shown starting a rumor:

They all make cookies for Cloud after this.

Every single character says they started that rumor in their own cutscenes and Cloud just "believes them" (maybe I don't have the context?), yet Yuffie is the one that mentioned it first. Yuffie's solo cutscene is different to the others as Cloud doesn't mention to her how her cookies tasted like or all the "nice" stuff the others show (Ever Crisis is trying to be more OG-like than FF7R...although you get Yuffie right after leaving Midgar and she has a chocobo).

How can Barret start the rumor if he literally has no idea what Yuffie was talking about when she mentions it? (Is this actually a Valentines tradition?)

Well, beyond trying to find out what's up with the event, it sure seems like elements of Jessie (like telling Cloud to smile) are implemented into Yuffie even before we get to see Rebirth. We know very, very little about her role in Rebirth (probably in the same way they didn't show Zack much).

My mind tells me that she's more of a permanent low-key (or maybe the better word is "secret") Jessie. Thinking about it a bit, the characters so far can be split into duos. Aerith and Tifa are shown as a duo and I think Barret and Red XIII are a duo, so in this regard Yuffie and Cloud are the other duo with the DLC ending and DFFOO hint. I'm not sure of the other three characters, so my reasoning can be flawed, but it's there, isn't it?

If that's true, does that make her the "second-in-command"? How about that word no one wants to hear when describing Yuffie? THE HEROINE? Would a surprise Terra's reveal minimize Yuffie's role for the next game? Probably not since Terra can't bother the OG storyline with her presence (can she can appear in it tho'?).

Maybe a lot of the Terra stuff will be explained through Yuffie "emulating" it. By "stuff" I mean things that even I don't know.

There's another thing...

Yuffie started a rumor? How about Mireille in FF7 Remake and her "rumors"? How about Kyrie starting rumors? Y'know, Kyrie? That character that's literally "not-Yuffie"?

You first see her on the train from Chapter 2 all the way to the very end of the last side quest where she's...

Well, the entire conversation involving Kyrie and Mireille takes place in front of Aerith's flowers. She just walks to there and the quest stays there until Mireille takes her place at the very end of the side-quest...staring at the flowers just like she was in the exact same spot.

It could be that Kyrie represents Yuffie and Mireille (who is the "Guardian Angel of the Slums") represents Terra (outside of being made from Lucca and Robo of Chrono Trigger). This is why both of them stare at the flowers...it's a hint.

If Kyrie is staring at the flowers, this does mean she's taking the role of "the Angel" before Mireille replaces her.

Considering there are two timelines...maybe Yuffie and Terra are...ah...well, there could be two Yuffies...maybe I'm stupid and none of this is anything! Although I do wonder if they cut something from Yuffie's OG character and made her optional for that reason...and we'll get to see what "that" is.

Doesn't Yuffie's theme play around the point the Kyrie side-quest starts where Johnny gets his wallet stolen?

Unless the next part of the demo has something surprising, this may be the last post until the game.

(Yuffie calls herself "treasure princess" in Crisis Core). There's been "debates" on whether or not she's technically a princess.

There's also that thing where Priscilla is technically Rikku (FFX)...or literally Rikku. I'm not going to bother with that, but she does know Yuffie. It would be on-point since Rikku called Yuna "Yunnie".

To people who are unfamiliar with Clerra - the characters involved tend to be young, sometimes very young. Being young is part of the symbolism.

[rharyx]

I've been going through all the mainline Final Fantasy games (and such side games as well) since I've never really played that many growing up and felt like getting into them all. Doubt I'll ever play all of the main 16, since not all of them look interesting to me, but we'll see.

Final Fantasy X This was the first one I played, back in 2014. I wanted to have at least one FF under my belt before XV came out, and X looked the most appealing. Played it and loved it. Definitely a 10/10 game for me, and I think the Sphere Grid is one of the most fun leveling systems I've seen. The story is so good, the cutscenes go hard, and the characters are really well-designed and memorable. I think one of the most important aspects of FF is a good main party, and X is one of the best in that regard.

Final Fantasy X-2 I've tried twice to get into this game, and I couldn't do it either time. I love Yuna's development from X to here, and I love the aesthetic and vibe of the game, but I couldn't get into the gameplay or how the story was paced and broken up. Maybe I'll get back to it for a 3rd time someday...

Final Fantasy Type-0 I only got this because it came with the demo for FFXV, and I dropped it pretty quickly back in 2015. I only came back to it a couple months ago (2023) and played it to completion. It was definitely a chore. The gameplay itself can be fun/addicting, but everything else is just outright boring or done in a way that makes things as joyless as possible. Especially the story, which is handled super choppily. The cast was mostly one-note (which I get was intentional, in-universe, but still...) and I only really played as Ace and Cater. Machina is probably my least favorite FF protag I can think of while writing this up. I only did one playthrough, and I know there's more in NG+, but I just have no energy to go through it again. Overall, it's like a 4/10.

Final Fantasy XV To say I was disappointed is an understatement. Not really a hot take, shitting on XV, but I mean...it is what it is. I knew it was never going to be the game I was looking forward to back in 2006, but the final product was just so far removed from anything resembling a coherent thought. The combat isn't fun, the skill tree is so boring, and the "open world" is mostly lifeless. Noct and the boys had potential, but they're barely developed or given much to do -- and don't even get me started on Luna and the rest of the side cast. There's a really good story and setting somewhere underneath all the issues, and it's impressive they released anything at all, all things considered. But man, is it just disappointing. 6/10.

Final Fantasy VIII As someone who really loved Leon in Kingdom Hearts, I was always interested in seeing the origin of the character, but just like Type-0, I could just not get into this game. I tried it in 2019, after Kingdom Hearts 3 came out and let me down -- I wanted to pivot to something in the same ball park of Square Enix, so I tried seeing if other Final Fantasy games were up my alley instead. But unfortunately, I didn't click with the gameplay, and the writing felt all over the place. From the bits of it I did play, I did enjoy Squall, Rinoa, and Selphie at least. I plan on getting back to it later, but for now I just don't see myself completing it. And after dropping X-2 and Type-0, and being let down by XV, this was the moment that made me go, "Oh, maybe Final Fantasy just isn't for me."

Final Fantasy XIV The game that made me love Final Fantasy. I've never played an MMO in my life before, but I remembered watching Ray Chase (Noct's VA) stream FFXIV once or twice before and thought it looked cool. In 2020, I got Covid and was pretty much bedridden for the next nine months, so I figured then was as good a time as any to invest myself in an MMO world to whittle away the days. "If I can't live in this world, I way as well live in another," my thought process basically was. And it ended up being a great decision. I love so much about this game, from the stories, to the characters, to the world building, to the music, etc. It's just magical through and through, and I can't wait to see where the next story arc takes us. 11/10.

Stranger of Paradise Jack Garland is an amazing protagonist, and this entire game is so fucking cool. Anyone who hates it doesn't like fun. Chaos/10. The DLC is some of the worst DLC I've ever had the displeasure of paying for, though -- never managed to finish it.

Final Fantasy XVI After XV, I was reasonably hesitant to expect much from XVI, and I remember being turned off by the aesthetic and general art direction from the first trailer. But I was really surprised by how good the game ended up being. It does feel like they're sometimes overcompensating for what they got criticized on with XV -- like having so many cutscenes to the point it feels like a movie, as opposed to how chopped up and bare boned the story in XV was, for example. But the cast is likeable, the gameplay is fun, and boy howdy some of those boss fights will live rent free in my head for the rest of time. Also, the voice acting is on another level. I really didn't enjoy the ending, though, but overall it felt like a step in the right direction for future entries. 7/10.

Final Fantasy VI Man, I just love this game. It was after XVI that I decided to play the older games and finish as many as I could, and I started with VI. I didn't expect a game from 1994 to win me over so badly, but everything about it is so fantastic. I love the whole opera vibe where it's almost like the characters are actors performing a stag play, and it has some of my favorite characters in the franchise. I love Cyan, Terra, and Celes so much. I love the scene at the opera house, the phantom train sequence, the dream world, how some dungeons and parts of the game have you split up and utilize multiple parties in tandem. The music is great. I love Kefka. And dude, the ending is my favorite ending to a Final Fantasy game that I've played so far. It basically took everything I hated about XVI's ending, but did the opposite, and it was beautiful. It was exactly the kind of ending that I needed to see after all the previous games I'd been playing. 10/10.

Final Fantasy IX Another masterpiece. If VI was like an Italian opera, XI felt to me more like a post-renaissance Disney movie. The art direction is so good, and the story is really well written. That said, I don't really care for a good chunk of the main party (Quina and Amarant especially), and like I said above, a good party is one of the most important aspects of a FF game. Zidane, Garnet, and Vivi are all amazing, and I really like Freya as well, but beyond that...meh? I wish Beatrix was a party member. I will admit though, I cheesed it by using the handicaps on the Pixel Remaster version (dealing 9999 damage by default), so I can't actually say if I like the gameplay or not, but it seemed like standard FF gameplay, and the Trance system looked cool at least. But I was just super invested in the story, and didn't want to spend a lot of time fighting. The locations and cities in this game were noticeably good, I do want to say. Overall, a solid 8/10 for me.

Final Fantasy VII I almost didn't want to play this one. It's by far the most popular one and I already knew so much about it through two decades of cultural osmosis and Kingdom Hearts, I was almost content just continuing to be the guy who could say, "Yeah, nah, I've never played FF7" just to be a hipster or whatever. But I did play it. And I can see why it's so loved. The story is so good, and unlike with IX, I actually didn't use handicaps (besides the 3x speed for grinding), and I really enjoyed the gameplay. Probably one of the more addicting gameplay loops from a FF game. The main cast is really good, even if it does have its weaker links (Cait, Yuffie, Vincent). My only real complaint is the translation felt really stiff, like even the translators didn't know what they were reading sometimes. It's probably just because it was the 90s. Still, not a big enough nitpick to not give the game a 9/10.

And that's where I am now.

I want to play Crisis Core and the 7 Remake now, since I have context for what's going on due to playing the OG 7.

And then I think IV is the pixel game I'll tackle next.

I really want to play the XIII series, since I don't believe it's as bad as I remember people claiming it was back in high school. But they're not on PS5, so that'll have to wait.

[maguro13-2]

Darkness Reborn ~ Origins of the Ink Demon Final Chapter Pt.12 ~

Duo Maxwell : Ughhh! I think I managed to survive. Good thing I was able to survive that shock. I can't die if my Soul Data would be gone for sure. Still, I hope the guys of Wing would reunite with me very soon. But without any help from any of the Gundam Pilots, I just thought that we and Lain would appreciate the true kind of Deathscythe, but what's the use of it? Stupid Soul Eater and this stupid Square Enix. Those JRPG assholes are just a bunch of maggots.

Heero : Hey, isn't the time to give up. You still got some hope within us. Maybe it's time that you needed to find the true meaning of friendship in combat.

Duo Maxwell : Not now, Heero. I'm still waiting on something for you...[turns sees the Gundam Wing cast in suits] to return! Heero, Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei.

[S3&K Jingle : 1-UP - Howard Drossin]

Duo Maxwell : Guys! You all came back to me. I thought you were...

Heero : Alive? Yes, we were all alive and thanks to the help of that girl you fell in love with, we linked our Gundam's brains to become the robots that we piloted! We were lost in defeat to the hands of Necrodeus and that girl from the movie. Thankfully, we manage to use the ability to link with our robots' computerized brains. We knew it all along to finding out that Deathscythe was controlled by that Wired Girl.

Duo Maxwell : Yeah, that figures. She and I have a lot in common, but it's all good that we're finally back together. Listen, Necrodeus staged the Soul Eater thing, it was all a setup to bring the evil forces from Asura as a diversion for this galactic conquest thing from Demon Vibe. You all heard the thing right?

Quatre : Of course we heard the whole thing. Not just a thing thou, but the "entire" thing. Looks like the Ohkuboverse is was really facade the entire time and Demon Vibe behind all of this! The Real World AU got nothing on them. By the time, it's going to shatter Real World AU very soon.

Wufei : I will get the heartlesses' attention. Will call out our Gundams to distract the darksides and you meet Deathscythe at it's arrival to the city.

Trowa : With that in order, we can all finally have this world's moment of peace at last when the Ohkuboverse meet it's goodbyes. Real World AU won't be bothered by it for good.

Heero : So what do you say max? Need a hand to reunite us, Maxwell?

Duo : ....Yes, I'll give you a hand...for Earth! [shakes hands in agreement]

"REUNITED!"

Trowa : It's good to have you back, Maxwell! Now then, let's go kick some invading butts!

[Deathscythe arrives]

Deathscythe : DUO MAXWELL. I HAVE ARRIVED. LINK NOW TO BE IN BATTLE.

[the four other Gundams arrived]

Heero : Duo! That's our cue! Now's the time to link our souls to the Gundams.

Duo Maxell : Right!

ALL : DATA RESONANCE : GUNDAM LINK!

[The group transfers their bodies into the brains of their Gundams]

[Just Communication plays]

Heero : Aw, Yeaaaah-hahaha! WOOO-HO-HOOOOO! We are back! the Gundam Wing is back and ready to open our wings!

Duo Maxwell : And of course, I will make our revenge to complete option for ourselves!

Heero : And now we all finally knew that you were in engaged with Lain Iwakura at an age like this!

Duo Maxwell : Hey, don't get me starting the engage, you know that's our secret and the people will never know.

"Meanwhile..."

Inky Albarn : This world shall nothing become than a prison of mine. If only Bendy was here to see that...How much that I was going...to be a great mother. A mother that I was going to be proud of...

[images shows of Inky and Bendy on a date in the past]

Inky Albarn : What am I doing? What have I become? Who was I responsible for? This is not the Inky Albarn I know...

[Heart and Soul - Takahito Eguchi]

[a flashback shows Bendy and Inky in the 1930s]

Bendy : Inky. There's something that I needed to tell you this before.

Inky Albarn : Go ahead, my love. I'm ready to hear.

Bendy : Well...Ummm...okay! Here it goes. Inky Albarn, for having the best thing for taking me to a date and I've been waiting for this exact moment for us to be the love of my life. So, ummm, Inky Albarn I've been giving you this from a secret to keep it from those people in society.

Inky Albarn : What did you get for me?

Bendy : Uhhh...[thinking] roses that I gave her, giving a her good meal, and uhh, what was that last part again? [sees Boris behind the bushes]

Boris : [quietly] Go on! do it, man! She's all yours. Answer it and she will be yours!

Bendy : Okay...be brave! Let me show you a little magic. [straining]

*POP*

Bendy : Tada! Inky, will you be the woman that I wanted to be with? [opens a box that contains a wedding ring]

Inky Albarn : [blushes] I...I never been blessed like this before. [giggles] Yes, Bendy. I do.

[flashes back to the present]

Inky Albarn : [sobbing] Bendy...I promised that I would come back to you. I promise that...I wanted to bring everything back the way it was. [starts crying] What have I...What have I done!? Bendy! Please come back to me! Please come back to me! [her dress starts changing from black to white] Why did I let everything go, Why did I have my heart torn to pieces? Evans...I could never forgive you do such a thing! You will pay for everything what you've done! When I do...I will get my hands on that are really something, the hands of you that are red with humanity's blood, I will destroy you for everything, and for making me as a tool for destruction! I will have my revenge! I am going to make you pay for what you've done!

[door opens]

[To the World of Memory - Yutaka Minobe]

Inky Albarn : Hmm? Who's there?

Dr. Stein (?) : My, my. If isn't Inky Albarn. What are you doing here alone in this basilica of Italy, the one they call it the beautiful and famous Santa Maria?

Inky Albarn : How did you know about me that I was here in the Santa Maria and who the heck are you? Are you Inky Evans or are you some kind of trespasser?

Dr.Stein (?) : My, My. What cold receptions await you to have your exact revenge. Now then, don't you tell me you were interested someone. It was I who broke your prison along time ago after those technicolor maggots defeated you to stop your bad behavior. After all you are the mother of the new lord that I planned you to give birth. [takes his off clothes that appears to be a disguise and reveals himself as Sammy Lawrence]

Inky Albarn : [gasped in shock] It can't be...You? You're the one who broke my prison and set me free! Sammy Lawrence!

Sammy Lawrence : So nice of you to see in a fair reunion, I was hoping that I would see your face once again after your imprisonment in the place where I awakened the original Ink demon. Your husband is alive and he would await your return. After all, this is the place where you and him married at many years ago.

Inky Albarn : This is the place where I married Bendy? Many years ago?

[flashback shows Bendy and Inky at the altar, where Bendy is the groom and Inky herself as the bride]

Sammy Lawrence : That's right. Years before you escaped from your imprisonment, you were chosen as the bride to the Demon King's ceremonial marriage, a ceremony situated by the true ruler of his world, the King of all Ink Demons. And of course, you married the lord that was his "son".

[Bendy's Father is shown with Alice Angel and Boris]

Inky Albarn : His "son"? So I was there before I became queen of his world, Bendy's father was there and I knew him as well. So does that make me...

Sammy Lawrence : Yes, it is true. Very true. You are the mother of his "child", you were his spouse. A true heir that serves the royal bloodline of all Ink Demons! For Generations the bloodline has passed throuhout the ages and then when you will become part of that bloodline, an heir will become the part of it as well! The new lord is revealed to be the child you wanted to give birth. That is your wish that you must never forget.

Inky Albarn : My wish. I finally understand what my wish is form. If it means what it means to to be the part of the bloodline, then I will have my revenge, the one who betrayed me from the start and I will make their transgressions pay.

Sammy Lawrence : Hurry now, the door will vanish soon, we must be get going to get you prepared. Let's give them the meaning that anyone is the creator and lover who are traitors. And you Inky is alive and Immortalized.

Inky Albarn : Alive and Immortalized, When there is no vaccine to cure the dirty need, they will build the machine, which they will die tonight! That is what those wishes are for. Inky Eater Evans, you're next!

~ Ninety-First Scene : Inky Redemption ~

[icharchivist]

I’m convinced those people never played the game. Also there’s a thing called “this game may not be for you”

There's different layer to it mainly just on how the FF fanbase just.... is in general. It's a Final fantasy title, so pedant FF fans will come around about what makes a good or not FF (and trust me the Discourse is far past ff15 on that regard).

On a lot of major FF fans there is also just the belief that Squaresoft went to shit when it became Square Enix and there will be people who will twist it over backward to prove it

but mainly FF15 just suffered a lot of its ten years in production + Nomura leaving the project. A lot of FF15 complains aren't about what FF15 does... but about what it doesn't, based on the initial concept when Nomura was still on the project. As if it would have ultimately been better. ("yes but Stella had a better role than Luna!!" yeah maybe you want to recheck how Nomura writes his special women, just because she would have played a bigger part doesn't mean he would have written her better. "Yes but Nomura wrote very good FF" yeah and in recent years he's the type to constantly throw away the quality of what he's doing for meta commentary what do you want.)

The weight of expectations basically doomed the game from the start. Expectations from FF fans, from people who knew the production issues, from people who've been waiting this game for a decade.

I do think people played it. But i think they came at it with a pack of expectations that make them completely unwilling to interreact with the game once it didn't live up to them - despite the fact it just means FF15's strength were elsewhere to look at.

Then, it became the hype thing. The moment loud voices, especially in the FF fandom, established it was a flop, then people who never played it parroted it to hell and back.

I agree with the fact the game was just not for them -- though because it's a Final Fantasy, people who like FF did expect it to "be for them". In fact they expected it to actually "fix all the issues ff13 brought" (lol. lmao even. ff13 is also an overhated game btw).

(Also if FF fans cared about themes and stuff i wouldn't have had to see the most rancid takes everytime i lurk away from carefully curated inner circle).

So it was a mix of many things and ultimately the game's reputation completely shattered over the weight of the expectations that came with being The Big Final Fantasy Project After The Latest Biggest Disappointment. But since FF15, instead of just "trying to fix what the previous game did", actually just did its own thing, fans weren't happy.

it's so messy. This fandom is a plague.

[thedramaticduke]

Soo, because I'll otherwise loose my mind, here my ranking for the eight stories (of course, big spoilers follow, also for the endgame)

1. Osvald

This was pretty much a safe card to get into my favourites. A broken science man, who first starts out with wanting to avenge his wife and daughter, but then realises that his daughter is alive and saves her? That's good shit for people with father issues right there.

But what really got me with him was... everything around him. How he slowly warms up to the other travel companions, how he lets other close to him again. In the last travel banter with Partitio he talks about how he realizes that he managed his journey only because of his companions, and how he finally sees the sense behind small talk and. It's so great. He was my starter and even though it was really funny at the beginning how that lone wolf suddenly was surrounded by five children, Temenos and Castii, I could see him lead my squad at the end against Vide. That's what I call character development.

And I know that after the epilogue the first thing he did was run back home, confronted his fear and hugged his daughter. Trust me, I'm Square Enix.

2. Ochette

I'm sorry, but I couldn't put her lower. Ochette's story was so nicely put together - I love how all three legendary Pokémon beasts have separate stories, but one element that unites them all: how humanity destroys nature without reason or remorse. But still Ochette stays strong and kind and has hopes and... God, that was great to see. That moment when she befriended Glacis and the other companion was honestly beautiful.

The only thing that annoys me is the fact that the dark huntress was so... irrelevant at the end. I expected a plottwist around her, something like 'haha, this character from story X was actually her!' but... no. Shes just an evil fanatic who has only one appearance when she gets killed by the other companion. A little bit lackluster tbh.

But yeah, Ochette is my daughter and I would kill for her.

3. Castii

That third chapter. God damnit.

I'm really surprised how much I liked Castii at the end. Once again, family issues and all, but also... her story is so dark. She could save the day, but so many people had to pay for it and it was so brilliant how you could go into the empty village from the beginning (it was even part of the demo) and ask yourself "what the fuck happened here?" before all becomes clear. Its so bittersweet and I'm all here for it.

4. Partitio

I know, his story is not the most... logical one. But sometimes you want to live in an indulgent fantasy where you beat capitalists up and then they see the errors of their ways and where a rich sugar daddy aristocrat gives you 80 billion dollar because you inspired him enough. But yeah, he's just so fun and I love how, even though so many people change throughout OT 2, he always stays the same idealistic optimistic moron who inspires the people around him. And how Ori pretty much confirmed that the reason she saw hope again was because of Partitio? Whoof.

Also my head canon is that Mister Roque and Pepe had something going on while they built Orerush. I mean... come on. Two single men, with no woman by their side but really close, and Partitio even calls him uncle in german? Thats sus right there.

5. Throné

Technically, this story is right up my alley. I don't know what it keeps from being higher up except the fact that the Claude twist came a little bit out of nowhere. But there are so many small scenes that I love, how the girl in Mothers Garden swears revenge and still gets a happy ending, how happy Father is that he still got to be a father (his whole story was fantastic btw), how you're not thrown into Lostseed but travel there throughout her last chapter and then are met with such despair. And yeah, the end was similarly bittersweet as that of Primrose from the first game, what I love. At the end, freedom reeks of blood, but... it was worth it.

6. Agnea

The step up for the fluffy stories from the first to the second game is insane.

But yeah, I talked about it once already, but what makes this story special for me is the journey in her mother's footsteps. When her father gave her her dress at the beginning it nearly teared me up lol.

But yeah, her whole story is just so sweet and cute and anti-capitalistic (she kinda has Karen-energy but in a good way) and how it all tied together at the end with all the people from the different chapters coming together at the festival of graces was great. And this story has easily the most background lesbians (the traveling group, Dolccinea and Victoria...), it's amazing.

7. Temenos

...yeah. This is my biggest unpopular opinion from this game xD

But yeah, what really annoyed me about Temenos' story was, similar to Cyrus' story from the first game, that it tries to be a detective story, but... it's the most predictable story of all lol. From the beginning I was like 'yeah... the sacred guard was responsible, wasn't it?' and it kinda took my investment in that story out of it. Also I like Temenos and Crick, but not as much as most of the fandom, I'm afraid - there was something that didn't click with me, I guess. Even though the Stormhail-Route was still pretty sad ngl. And even though Kaldena was my third to last end boss, she still nearly killed me, so here's that.

8. Hikari

Hikari is really a sad case because his story could have been even more tragic and sad. But he suffers the most from bad writing - Mugen is such an 'evil for the sake of being evil' antagonist while being the stupidest person ever (that moment when he killed everyone because 'they could be vengeful later!' made me literally facepalm) and I still don't understand why Ritsu hates the emperors and their war mongering so much, but then ends up working for the biggest war monger of them all. I lowkey expected him to betray Mugen but... no. He's just vengefulTM and randomly turns good two seconds before dying.

But I liked Hikaris arc and turning the shadow hold into the light hold was a great idea. Generally his first and last chapter were pretty atmospheric and I really grew to like Kazan as a mischievous, but sympathetic ally that his betrayal really stung. Generally, the second game had much better written and more engaging stories than the first, it didn't have any Tressa-like story where I didn't particularly care about anything. But still, Hikari kinda deserves better.

[patricia-von-arundel]

The more I think about it, the more I wish that there was a completely independent FE game like Engage, but not Engage - one that isn't relying on nostalgia and recognition of past characters. Or if it does, have it be something fun where you can just pick whatever older characters appeal to you and put them on a team together, regardless of how ridiculous it would be to throw Tiki, Robin, Corrin, Ninian, Rhea, and Alear together (because they're all dragons, but very, very different types of dragons).

Before Engage came out, they literally made a video introducing the gameplay like you might have a "My First Book of Numbers" for a 3-year-old. But... Engage isn't that. It relies quite heavily on the player knowing the Emblem characters, and that comes at the expense of the new characters (who are tropier than a Disney princess movie).

But a similarly simple plot and solid gameplay (rather than social micromanaging) with either all original characters (who are well developed over the course of the game) or all nostalgia characters (as mentioned above) would be perfect to gently guide those who've never tried an SRPG into the genre. (Especially since until FE took off with Awakening, the genre had been all but dead in the water for quite some time. The only somewhat similar games I can think of from around the same time are XCom - which was M-rated sci-fi - Valkyria Chronicles, and Disgaea. Other games of the same ilk - FF Tactics, Tactics Ogre, and the Shining Force games come to mind - had not been dusted off for a decade or longer, but with FE's success, we got Triangle Strategy and Tactics Ogre Reborn, we're [theoretically 😭] getting a polished up version of Advance Wars, and I suspect Square Enix is watching sales of Tactics Ogre carefully before potentially announcing a new FF Tactics.)

What I'm trying to say is: as amazing as Fates and Three Houses (and to a lesser extent Awakening and Shadows of Valentia) are, they're a lot to deal with on top of the strategy if you aren't comfortable with the genre. Fates and Three Houses' route choices, Awakening's lean on nostalgia and uneven difficulty, and Shadows of Valentia's throwing in dungeons and retaining some really, really tedious maps that hinder progress (either because of terrain or because of the fucking witches) are a lot to take on if you're still trying to figure out the weapons triangle and permadeath and recruiting. Engage is much closer to old-school FE (games before New Mystery of the Emblem, FE12).

Especially considering how difficult it is now to track down the games before Awakening, a Switch (or next console) game that is battle-focused and possible to win without micromanagement and supports seems like it would be a perfect game to recommend to those interested in the genre but a little reluctant to try because of the possibility of multiple routes, rough difficulty curves, same-turn reinforcements, etc.

Just a thought. I usually recommend Awakening of the more recent games to total newbies, but it's over 10 years old (in Japan) and will likely get increasingly difficult to find (not to mention the option to buy it digitally will be gone by the end of March). Shadow Dragon might be even better, since it's absolutely barebones story and 99% battlefield, but it's already hard to find. Someone unfamiliar with the series would likely enjoy the gameplay and be able to handle Engage, but much of the fun of seeing older characters brought together would be lost on them, and the otherwise silly plot/new characters might be enough to see them dismiss the game quickly, and potentially then any future games. (I mean, look at how many people who came in with Three Houses are whining about Engage...).

Then again, Nintendo could just do what Square Enix has done, and make the older games available on Switch. 🙄 FE7's Lyn chapters, Sacred Stones' relatively easier difficulty, Shadow Dragon's straightforward "the plot is just there to justify maps," or Awakening's ability to grind would all make decent intros to someone who just wants to get the hang of the gameplay.

Plus, then, y'know, ALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO FOUND THE SERIES THROUGH AWAKENING OR THREE HOUSES COULD ACTUALLY PLAY ALL THE GAMES THAT ARE ALL BUT IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND, AND NINTENDO, YOU WOULD MAKE MONEY, NOT SCALPERS AND SECONDHAND SELLERS.

But... it's Nintendo. Not holding my breath on that one. 😕

[catierambles]

as referring to my last post, the said fictional situation went as thus...

(under a Keep Reading for choice sake and because the more I write it, the longer it gets)

I have a running, I dunno what you want to call it, RPF? Delusion? In my head where I have a friendship (just a friendship) with Henry Cavill because he started playing ffxiv. If y'all know me, I love this game. I (actually) have a toon on the EU servers (Chaos-Phantom) and the running thing is that he had just gotten into the game, I was hanging around the Limsa aetheryte plaza (as one does) and he came up to me and messaged me in the pink (private DM) saying basically "I'm new the game, I have no idea what I'm doing, can you help me out?" Does it denote a bit of arrogance on my part that he would come to me versus any other player in the game? A bit, but whatevs.

The thing to realize with the ffxiv community is that we (for the most part) love sprouts. The term "sprout" refers to the little icon next to a New Adventurer's (player's) name, it's a little green plant sprout, so the community calls them "sprouts".

I am no different. If you're a sprout and you ask for help either of me directly (it's happened) or in say chat, I will help out to the best of my ability. I will send you links and resources and help you on your journey in this wonderful world that is Eorzea. I'll even ferry you around on one of my two-seater mounts if need be. If you decide to part ways with me after you get your footing, by all means, I hope you enjoy yourself. If you decide to stick around and continue talking with me, that's your choice and I welcome you.

Anyroad...

So he comes up to me and says the aforementioned and myself, not knowing who it is behind the keyboard and mouse because how could I, do my usual and go "Absolutely, my dude, what's up?" And it goes from there. We go from ffxiv in-game chat to Discord just for ease and I basically go "It would be easier to do voice comms, here's a discord server I'm in, if you want to, hop on into voice chat. If you don't have a mic or are not comfortable talking, you don't have to, just listen." Because not everyone does or is.

Some time passes, I get him through the start of the game and he decides to stick around. Just from my personal experience, if a new player finds someone that is willing to help them out with no expectation of getting anything in return, they tend to stick around. Humans are pack animals, we intrinsically like grouping with others, especially if unconditional kindness is shown.

I still have no idea about this little sprout's true identity and when he does decide to share it, I'm basically like "Okay, cool, thanks for letting me know." *screaming internally* He starts posting screenshots of our toons on his insta (with our toon names turned off for privacy's sake) so the cat's out of the bag. The ffxiv community goes a bit nuts with the knowledge that Henry Cavill plays their game and Square Enix is also just tickled.

The internet being the internet, our toon names are eventually tracked down and the more...passionate among his fanbase are all "Why tf is he wasting his time with this nobody? She probably just wants something from him." I don't, but yanno, self-projection, and all that. Someone helping another person with no thought as to reward or personal gain? Unheard of.

Anywho...

With the decline of WoW, ffxiv saw a bit of an influx of new players, it became a big thing. Celebrity media outlets caught wind and I, all of a sudden, found myself with a lot more attention heaped on me than I'm used to. (Good thing I work from home and hardly if ever leave my apartment)

He messages me and is like "Hey, so and so wants the both of us to be on this interview show, you don't have to do it if you don't want to."

"Do you want me to be there?"

"...Kinda, yeah."

"Then I'm there." If a friend wants me to do something that would otherwise make me uncomfortable to do on my own, I'm going to be there because they want me there for whatever reason.

It's the first time he and I will have met in person, but at this point, he's not Henry Cavill to me, he's just Henry, the wee little sprout that could.

We go on the thing, I'm very uncomfortable but pushing through it. And then the interviewer drops a bomb

"So we found your tumblr..."

"Oh, really?" I ask.

"Yes, it's very interesting."

"You don't say." dread rising. They then proceed to pull up some of my thirstier posts about him (which have been few and far between since he and I started playing together, so they're quite dated) basically trying to be all "Aha! Isn't this dramatic and exciting! Oh, the ratings!" After a bit of neither myself nor him saying anything, I just kind of look at the interviewer and go:

"If you're trying to embarrass me, mission accomplished. If you're trying to embarrass Henry, by looking at him, mission accomplished. If you're trying to look like an asshole, mission accomplished." And I get up and walk off stage because fuck them, honestly. Bastards. Henry stays behind and I head back to the dressing room and send him a message via discord.

"I understand if you don't want to talk to me anymore. I understand if you don't want to associate with me anymore. I understand if the thought of seeing me or talking with me makes you uncomfortable. Trust me, I understand. What I need you to understand is that I never, not once, wanted or was going to ask anything of you that you were not willing to give. I didn't have any grand delusions or thoughts about our friendship or our relationship as a whole. I do not, and will not ever, ask anything of you or from you other than your friendship. But now that shit has been laid out, if you would rather not, I understand."

I basically just leave it up to him whether or not he wants to stay in contact, or cut off contact completely.

If you made it this far, congrats, you got to the end.

...I need coffee

[lord-radish]

God I need to compile a list of release dates for both Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy.

It's like:

DQ1

DQ2

FF1

DQ3

FF2

DQ4

FF3

FF4 (they caught up)

DQ5

FF5

FF6 (they took over)

DQ6

FF7

FF8

FF9 (what the fuck that's the peak of final fantasy's popularity between dragon quest games)

DQ7

FF10

FF11

DQ8

FF12

DQ9

FF13

FF14

DQ10

FF14: A Realm Reborn

FF15

DQ11

And then FF16 releases in 2023 and DQ12 is still in development.

So past a certain point, you end up getting two Final Fantasy games to every Dragon Quest.

I still want to play them all in order, but that means playing three MMOs - or two MMOs and one offline release of an MMO, but only if that offline release gets translated into English which it might not be.

And while I wouldn't count spinoffs, one thing that muddies the waters is SEQUELS. Dragon Quest tends to be an arc-based series, with trilogies of games in the same setting up to a point and occasionally setting later games and spinoffs in earlier settings. Every Final Fantasy game is a standalone world, and those games occasionally get direct sequels.

Final Fantasy X-2 came out after Final Fantasy 11, but before Dragon Quest 8. FF13-2 came out after 14, but before both FF14:ARR and DQ10 - and Lightning Returns came out between A Realm Reborn and FF15. Final Fantasy 4: The After Years came out between FINAL FANTASY 12 AND DRAGON QUEST 9.

It's so funny like, Dragon Quest 3 is arguably one of the biggest turn-based RPGs in history and it released before Final Fantasy 2, which is arguably the worst Final Fantasy game. But then in the 90's, Squaresoft released three of the best Final Fantasy games IN A ROW between Dragon Quest releases.

Past a certain point, though, comparison stops mattering as much. One part of that is because with the establishment of Square Enix, both series ended up being produced by the same company. But another part of it is that both franchises went from being industry leaders of their genre to contending with a wide ocean of other innovative RPGs and new franchises that did their own thing.

Both series still had their own flair and innovations, but we went from a handful of contenders in the SNES era to an unstoppable wave of turn-based RPGs between the PS1 and PS2. Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest were still big fish, but the pond got a lot more cramped and neither franchise could rely on their usual strengths because everyone else was catching up.

Dragon Quest survived by embracing its status as a "legacy" franchise, as a rock-solid foundation of the entire genre that set out to be the best damn turn-based RPGs that they could be on every conceivable level. Find a Dragon Quest fan who's hated a Dragon Quest game in the past twenty years.

Final Fantasy, whose more action-oriented combat system and impressive CG cutscenes were falling behind, told news outlets that "turn-based combat is dead" and pivoted towards action RPG mechanics. At best, the transition between FF13 and FF7-R was rocky.

That being said? Dragon Quest remained obscure and Final Fantasy remained popular. And a lot of those competitors between 1995-2007 have fallen by the wayside, and both franchises are kind of industry leaders again. So I guess none of that had a point in the end.

[dansantcaparet]

Case of Tifa: The Love Story That Never Was

Cloud and Tifa fans love to say Case of Tifa and Advent Children prove Cloud and Tifa started a family that solidifies their romantic relationship. This belief, however, is a dangerous distortion and a superficial look at the surface of what actually happened. But I don’t blame them for trying. 

Cloud and Tifa fans hope and pray you only look at the surface, because if you look any further, the truth paints a radically different picture. 

Underneath this false and simplified illusion, we know this family has zero romantic connotations and is primarily created by Barret Wallace. So let’s start from what Final Fantasy VII creator Nojima has to say about Case of Tifa:

"Episode Tifa" [Case of Tifa] - first off, there’s the premise that things won’t go well between Tifa and Cloud, and that even without Geostigma or Sephiroth this might be the same."

—Nojima; On the Way to a Smile interview; Square Enix

Did you catch that last bit? Even without circumstances such as Geostigma and Sephiroth, things still probably wouldn’t have gone well between Cloud and Tifa. This speaks to the inherent issues that have persisted between Cloud and Tifa since childhood, and are extremely apparent in Case of Tifa.  

Next, I shall take you through Case of Tifa and explore this family:

After promising to reunite one day, Tifa, Cloud and Barret separated from the others, leaving for Corel Village. 

After separating from the others, Cloud, Tifa, and Barret visit a few locations and pick up Marlene from Elmyra Gainsborough. They discuss finding a home together. 

“The rumor said it’s an epidemic. I don’t want Marlene to be infected. C’mon, let’s go home.” said Barret with a complete fatherly look on his face. “Yeah, let’s go home” Cloud agreed. “Where to?” Barret asked. “Our suspended reality.” “What the hell do you mean by that?” “Our normal lives.” “And where do we have something like that?” “We’ll find one.” Cloud looked at Tifa and said, “Right?” “Yeah!” cried the cheerful Marlene. Tifa nodded too, but just like Barret, she wondered where they had a normal life. The four of them arrived back at Midgar.

As you can see, Barret suggests the three of them return home together. They eventually decide to re-build a new Seventh Heaven bar and start a business like old times:

One day, Barret came back with a wine bottle, heater, and various fruits. They were given to him as thanks for helping someone dismantle a house. ... The next day, Barret looked serious and said, “How about we start a business and sell this alcohol?” “‘We’?” Cloud asked, surprised. “Don’t talk rubbish! We can’t draw customers! Tifa will do it.” “Me?” “You’re good at it.”

The three of them began preparations. They decided to build in the avenue that sprung up at the east of Midgar and transport the necessary materials from Midgar like everybody else. The people, who got helped from the information Tifa and the others shared, felt obliged and quickly gathered to help building the bar. All the people that Barret and Cloud had helped before gathered together. They transported all the materials that would be used to build parts of the store such as the walls and pillars. Barret shouted out his orders while Cloud went around correcting them in a low voice.

Cloud, Barret, and Tifa decide on creating this home together. Very soon, though, the bar becomes a success.

After the first week of being open, Barret said that he would go on a trip seeing how well the business was going. He was going to leave Marlene behind. “I wanna go on a journey to settle my past.”

Barret, despite helping form this family and business, decides he must settle some of his past issues. 

Marlene, who had always slept with Tifa, slept with her foster father Barret the night before he left. Their conversations could be heard late into the night. Early the next morning, Barret set off. ...

Notice: Marlene is said to have always slept with Tifa (not Tifa and Cloud) except the night before Barret left. This is an indication that Cloud and Tifa do not share a room, which is confirmed in Advent Children when we see that Cloud has a private room with a bed in it -- the same room Tifa tells Cloud to drink in later in Case of Tifa. 

“I’ll be a nice child of this family!” Marlene said. Hearing those words, Cloud and Tifa looked at each other. A child of this family? “I’ll take care of Cloud and Tifa!” Barret turned round and shouted, “Do your best!” His voice was a little shaky. “Unite the family’s strength and keep at it!”

Barret, who had just formed this family and re-built Seventh Heaven, tells them to unite the family’s strength while he is gone. Barret isn’t removed from this family -- he is simply a traveling Father that eventually returns to living with Marlene in DoC:

QUOTE

Tifa agrees that this is a family of friends:

Friends were a necessity to me so that I could live on without being supressed by the sins in my consciousness. Even if they were fellow companions that had the same wounds. Even if they were fellow companions who were burdened with the same sins. We couldn’t live without comforting each other and encouraging each other. Maybe you could call that family. We just had to keep the family together and do our best. Tifa thought she could get over anything while being with friends that she could call her family.

This is a ‘family of friends’ as stated by Tifa in the above passage and has zero romantic connotations. 

“A family.” (Tifa) “Yeah.” (Marlene) Marlene cheerfully answered in response to Tifa’s murmur. “I’ll put Cloud in our family too.” (Marlene) “I appreciate that.” (Cloud) After Cloud thanked Marlene’s innocent offer with his serious face, he looked at Tifa. Tifa nodded a little. Would there be various problems arising after this? However, Tifa decided that she would stop worrying about the relationship between the two of them.

Tifa says out-loud, “A family.” after realizing she could get over anything while being with friends she could also call her family. Marlene then invites Cloud into their family, the AVALANCHE family, which has existed since the beginning of Final Fantasy VII. 

After Cloud started his delivery service, their “family” life changed greatly. It wasn’t too good. Besides morning and late night, Cloud was usually not at home. And of course, there were less chances for the three of them to have conversations together. Tifa closed the bar for a day during the week, but it didn’t stop Cloud from doing his job. Cloud wasn’t likely to turn down requests. I just wanted us to be able to take a day off together now and then but, I suppressed that selfishness in me. During that time, it was Marlene who noticed a change in Cloud. She told Tifa how Cloud would sometimes space out and not listen to her. Cloud never really approached Marlene to talk in the first place. I’m sure he never ignored her when she talked to him. I knew that Cloud had his own ways of getting along with Marlene. I thought about how there were people everywhere that weren’t good with children but had their own ways of coping with them. I told her that Cloud was probably tired, but it bothered me. Marlene was a child who was sensitive about the changes in adults. During their holiday, Tifa and Marlene were cleaning the room that was now Cloud’s office. There were many slips that laid scattered about unsorted. One of them caught Tifa’s eye. Delivery Item – Bouquet Destination – The Forgotten City Client Name – Elmyra Gainsborough Tifa put the slip away with the others as if nothing happened, but she was trembling severely. Transporting mail around the world meant he was traveling around his past too. She knew that Cloud was in great pain because he couldn’t protect Aerith. Cloud was trying to overcome that and live on. But, going back to the place where he parted from Aerith might mean that his sorrow and regret was going to tear his heart again. It was night, and they had closed the bar. Cloud was drinking alcohol even though he rarely did. He drained his glass. Tifa thought about it before going over and filling his glass. “Shall I join you?” There was something she wanted to talk to him about. “I want to drink alone.” Hearing that, Tifa lost control and said, “Then drink in your room.” Barret called often. Most of the time, he hardly talked about himself and asked more about how Marlene was doing. Every time, he would talk to Marlene at the end. As Marlene wondered if Tifa was listening or not, she told Barret in a sad voice, “Cloud and Tifa aren’t getting along very well.”

After making certain that Cloud was asleep, she spoke to him. “We’ll be all right, won’t we?” Of course, there was no answer. I only heard the sound of him sleeping. I wondered if the fact that he was sleeping here meant that he was part of the family. “Do you love me?” Cloud woke up, a perplexed look on his face. “Hey, Cloud. Do you love Marlene?”

Tifa wondered if they became a real family after Denzel appeared. Cloud was clearly taking less jobs. At night, he would always make sure he had time to spend with the children. The silly little conversations he had with Tifa were also back.

“Hey, do you remember what you said when you brought Denzel here?” “What did I say?” “A lot of things. Even if I opposed it, you would bring him back with you. I could just feel it.” “That…” Cloud was making a face like a kid who thought he would get scolded. “Tell me. I’ll decide whether I’m angry or not after I listen.” Cloud nodded and continued. “Denzel had collapsed in front of Aerith’s church. That’s why I thought Aerith lead him to me.” Saying all that in one breath, Cloud looked away. “You went to the church.” “I didn’t intend to hide it from you.” “You did hide it.” “I’m sorry.” “I’m not saying you couldn’t go. But next time, I’ll go with you.” “I understand.” “And you’re wrong, Cloud.” Cloud was perplexed as he looked at Tifa. “Aerith didn’t bring Denzel to you.” “Ahh, I only thought that…..” “I didn’t mean it that way.” “Aerith brought Denzel to our home.” Cloud gazed at Tifa and finally smiled. ** Days after having that conversation, Cloud left. Tifa wondered if that smile he showed her was an illusion. After kissing the sleeping children on the face she went into Cloud’s office. She brushed away the dust on the family photo they had taken and then tried calling him. After several rings the messaging service took over.

[denble]

[ARCHIVED - TLTTNW] Which Gold Saucer date (FFVII OG) is canon?

Of all the optional scenes and choices dialogues, the Gold Saucer date (FFVII OG) is one that get much debated as to which of the four choices is the canon one. Yes, objectively, it's four, not two. Aerith, Tifa, Barret, and Yuffie. And in this post, I'm doing best to find the most plausible answer that question.

1. How to decide which option is canon

Now, when a scene has options, how to concretely decide which of the options is the canon? In my opinion, it's gonna be either or all of the below:

The chosen option itself is later acknowledged in a NON-OPTIONAL scene.

The chosen option is NOTICABLLY LONGER and provide USEFUL information to the plot as a whole

The chosen option is the MOST LIKELY to happen.

And as said in my opening post, I won't count any remarks outside the game itself. Some core personnel could go on an interview and said "this is the canon" and it's still an invalid statement. In case we still haven't noticed, up until the release of Remake trilogy, Square Enix has never made a conscious effort to clear up the Love Triangle Debate. If anything, they are actually encouraging it, keeping it flaming by having contradicting details spread throughout the side materials.

2. Case study: Shadow Hearts and Chrono Cross endings

Shadow Hearts

Let's move a bit from FFVII and turn to Shadow Hearts (if you don't know the game, please just google). Basically at the end of Shadow Hearts, if you go with the flow of the event, Alice will die. If you do a bit of extra fighting, she will live. Both ending gets its own FMV. So far, I would say both endings are canonical. Because while the good ending requires a bit more work, it's reasonable enough, and it still has its own FMV where Alice open her eyes (she lives!).

But then Shadow Hearts II came out, on the premise that Alice died in the previous game. Bam! Now we know of the two endings of Shadow Hearts, which one is canon... And Shadow Hearts II is neither side material nor spin-off game. It's the second installment, with Yuri remains the main character. So we can't invalidate its presence as to what really happened, canonically, in Shadow Hearts.

Chrono Cross

Another game from Square. Like Shadow Hearts, you can do a Good Ending or Bad Ending, all depending on how you tackle the final boss. Bad Ending is easier to achieve since you only have to attack randomly, whereas Good Ending requires a bit more planning.

Anyway, who to decide which one is canon? Unlike Shadow Hearts, there is no sequel to decide that for you.

By my definition, the Good Ending is probably canon, because you get a lengthy cut-scene, and after-credit FMVs, whereas you get nothing (just credit roll) with Bad Ending (that's more like a Game Over if you ask me...).

Now, back to FFVII

3. Barret or Yuffie is certainly not canon

None of the four dates get mentioned later in the game. So by my definition, point (1) can't be used.

Coming to point (2), Barret's and Yuffie's date are short compared to Aerith's and Tifa's, and add little value to the plot (except for a bit of character development on their sides).

Coming to point (3), then Barret and Yuffie are out of the picture. Because to get to date either of them would require you making very specific choices right from the beginning. Which means the chance that you get to date either of them is rather slim, under normal circumstances (ie. without a guide).

So we are left with just Aerith and Tifa.

4. Aerith or Tifa?

There are two points people present to argue that Aerith's date is canon.

It's because Aerith OFFERED Cloud a date as payment for his bodyguard work.

It's because Aerith started off with more affection points (50 vs 30 to be exact)

Let's discuss further.

The Date payment

Aerith OFFERED Cloud a date as payment for his bodyguard work. And the Gold Saucer date is THAT day. But during the scene, Aerith just asked Cloud to go on a date, without ever mentioning about the "date" payment (and it's Aerith who has to "pay" the date, she owes him that, not the other way around). And no matter what, THE date can still be missed altogether, because it's not non-optional. If it's so important, they would have made it non-optional.

The Affection Point Mechanism

Aerith starts off with more affection points than Tifa does (50 vs 30 to be exact), meaning it's easier to date her (or so they say). What people fail to mention is that, Tifa appears in the game earlier than Aerith does, and you can score points with her right from the beginning. Meaning if you start to favor Tifa from the beginning, by the time you meet Tifa again, the point gap might not exist at all. So from a gameplay perspective, I could argue that Aerith's higher point of affection compared to Tifa's is not because the game wanted to give her a head start with Cloud, but to give her a fair start instead. You can try to see how exactly the date mechanism work here.

It's also worth noting that:

It's easy to score big points with Tifa from the early chapters.

You don't score many with Aerith when you spend time alone with her in Sector 5 (suprised?!).

If Tifa was chosen as Don Corneo's bride, telling Aerith to help Tifa will upset Aerith (points deduced). If it was Aerith that got chosen, Tifa would prefer Cloud to go help Aerith instead of asking if her (Tifa) is alright (points added). Interesting eh? (only if it wasn't a coding mistake...)

I don't have a suitable explanation as to how the all points addition and deduction the works the way it does. The way I see it, the game just tries to make the chance equal to both girls. And through my experience of playing the game, it's most likely the case. You just have to make the obvious choices favoring your girl, and then keep her in your party once you leave Midgar and bam, you get a date!

The game code

Another piece of information that I MUST mention: in the game code (according to the internet), in case Aerith and Tifa gets equal points, Aerith's date will play out.

If that's the kind of proof that you need to prove that Aerith's date is canon, I won't argue with you. It's clear that Aerith's date does take a higher priority (albeit only ever slightly) than Tifa's date, according how the game is coded.

WHY is it, is another matter. We can only guess. You can say it's because the game wants us to see Aerith's date (well yeah..., the game totally doesn't want us to see Tifa's date, sure). My explanation? It's because Aerith's screen time is limited in the game, so the game prioritizes her, when there's a chance. Still, that doesn't make Aerith's date canon, because despite all the apparent "favor" the game has for her date, it can still easily be missable, as it's never hard to get Tifa's date.

5. Which date is the most appropriate to the flow of the story THUS FAR?

This part is purely my (a player's) opinion, and actually doesn't hold any weight to the issue.

Well, Barret's and Yuffie's are certainly just there for the laugh, and for THEIR character development, not Cloud's.

Aerith's shreds some light on her back story (she knows somebody whom Cloud resembles), her awareness of Cloud not being himself, and her desire to meet the "real" Cloud. That much is clear.

Tifa's date, on the other hand, is a bit more complicated to interpret. On the surface, it's easy to see that she was about to confess but failed. But with the knowledge of how the game story eventually unfolds, was that really the case? Or could it be that Tifa was actually trying to talk to Cloud about his mental state?

I don't know, honestly, but my thought on Tifa's date is:

The atmosphere clearly gears towards a romantic confession than to a therapy session. The game certainly wants you to think that it's a confession (whether or not it's true is another story; it's not exactly a new thing for FFVII narrative to be misleading).

It's a bit out of place at that point of the story for Tifa to try confess her feeling to Cloud. She has better concerns on hand (particularly, his mental state) than to get Cloud realize her feeling. Not totally implausible, but definitely not well handled in my opinion.

In FFVII Rebirth, Tifa really did confess in that Gold Saucer scene though (provided that you get to date her). Just saying. Not that what happens in the Remake Trilogy, stritcly speaking, matters to what happens in the OG though. BUT, I do feel that a confession in Rebirth is appropriate, because Cloud and Tifa's relationship has been developed steadily ever since Remake (that's not the case in the OG though).

So yah, all things considered, I think Aerith's date adds more value to the plot AT THAT POINT than Tifa's because it provides players more apparent information (Zack, Cloud not being himself, Aerith being aware of the situation and her wish to meet the "real" Cloud).

Tifa's scene is not bad, but if it was EVER the game's intention to mislead us that it's a therapy session instead of a confession, they overdid it to effectively convince me that it could actually be about her trying to talk about Cloud's mental state.

6. Conclusion

So, in my conclusion, either of the dates can be canon. Normally I would say it can also be that neither is canon. But then, the Gold Saucer date scene ought to happen (because you know, Cait Sith's betrayal came next). The Gold Saucer date scene is actually non-optional, only whom you go on a date with is.

In any case, having no clear answer to that means whom Cloud dated during the Gold Saucer scene adds no value to the love triangle debate (for all we know, he could just have had some bro time with Barret, or got pecked on the cheek by Yuffie). And even if one particular date is canon, it still doesn't say much or even anything about Cloud's feelings, with the way the scenes played out.

On a side note, the whole date mechanism is NOT to determine which one Cloud himself preferred to take on a date, but to determine which one would to drag Cloud on a date :))))))))))) Ie. it's about THEIR affection towards Cloud, based on how he behaves around them (based on HOW THE GAME WANTS to add or deduce points). Asking Tifa if she was okay in Don Corneo's mansion certainly showed care and concern to her, but will get your points deduced.

You see, you think you have choices in the game, but do you really though?

7. Extra: Cloud's reaction to the dates

I'm not including Barret's and Yuffie's here because we can all agree that their dates are just pure comedy.

Aerith's date

At the end of the date with, Aerith asked Cloud:

“Don’t you like being with me?”

To which Cloud can reply either “No, I don’t.” or “That’s not it.”

Tifa's date

At the end of the date, Cloud asked Tifa:

“By the way, what did you want to say a minute ago?”

I honestly can't get much from the dialogues. As far as I'm concerned, Cloud is pretty neutral and doesn't show much to both girls. If anything, you actually have the choice to be rude to Aerith by choosing to say you don't like being with her, whereas you're quite okay with Tifa. But as you know I don't do choice dialogues, we can skip that one.