FFVII Remake has CHANGED THINGS. I'm sure of it, now. I thought it at many points in the story, often just for a line here or there, and I'm still not certain about those little bits. But the ending of it was DEFINITELY changed, and I don't think they did that for the Intergrade DLC.
Cloud in the ending looks different. Like he has a new character model. Only very subtly, true. It's noticeable in his under-eye area and especially in his skin, which in Remake had always been...very faintly freckled, I guess I'll say, when the camera zooms in. But now in the ending scenes (which were very unfamiliar), his skin is as flawless and poreless as a china doll's. (And his eyes are faintly more cat-shaped at the corners, not quite as round as usual.)
The visual change in his style is what finally convinced me that they have indeed tweaked the story of Remake. That must be what those HUGE updates were about a few months or a year ago.
I don't like that they reached into my game and changed it from how it originally was. It's no different to me than an author trying to change the words in your book because they wrote themselves into a corner or something when about to release a sequel to their existing novel. It just doesn't fly!
Why'd they even do it? It didn't feel like the changes added anything. Made it faintly more ominous, I guess. And way more confusing, sticking [redacted]in there.
Spoiler:
(That's gotta be Zack. I've not played the first game beyond the first 25% but...gotta be. I think they said his name at some point, but I don't want to put money down on that.) I don't understand when Cloud is REALLY seeing what he's seeing, and when he's seeing one of his memories. Or maybe someone else's memories? As yet, I don't know what happened to Zack, but...I kind of think that Cloud must have died, or nearly died, and Zack saved him or tried to, and...well... Zach's gotta be dead, and now Cloud is alive and well. I think Zach's been missing a log time, right? I don't know for sure. But something is amuck! They added that, too, I think, where the two Shinra security guys were shocked and happy to see Cloud, saying they'd been sure he'd bitten the dust.
He DID bite the dust, did he? Or was it Zack, instead? Did they trade places or something? I am confused. I SORT OF know some things because spoilers for a game this old are everywhere. I know there's something about clones in this game. Did they put Zach AND Cloud into a clone of Cloud's body? Or maybe there was no cloning there. Maybe they were experimentally spliced or something, by that repulsive Hojo.
And they definitely did a bunch of little tweaks to Cloud's personality. I'm not sure why, but they reduced that feeling he gave me on my first play. I used to think that Cloud felt doll-like, sort of empty, or newly made, like he could WATCH life going on in front of him, but not quite partake in it, because he didn't understand it.
Like people's emotions just confused him and he wasn't sure how he was supposed to respond. I don't know the best way to put it, but they've definitely reduced that feeling.
WHY?
Anyway, I don't know what's going on. With the story, or the changes. Why even bother with those changes? They felt awkward to me, yet they were all small, nothing that felt game-changing (pardon the unintentional pun.)
Anyway, I'm done. Now to wait for the 23rd, because, guess what? It is Steam Deck verified already! So I won't have to wait. :D
Kikki wrote: ↑Jan 19, 2025 8:17 pm
FFVII Remake has CHANGED THINGS. I'm sure of it, now.
Yeah, it's... an experience. As someone who played through FFVII roughly three times (it's been YEARS since my last dance with it), Remake and Rebirth are more reimaginings than retellings. The bones of the original game are there, the central plot is more or less the same direction, but there's a ton more going on now. There's a whole new set of cast NPCs (or upgraded and expanded from the OG), the world is bigger, and the story itself seems to be on some divergent path to the original. Having decided to treat both of these games as movies rather than play them, as strictly an observer, I find it interesting to see what they're doing, but I don't really think they needed to overpad the already solid story, or change it. However, for completely newcomers, they seem to be having a blast, plus it's encouraging them to check out the original game too (which is more accessible than ever). Whatever the final game to this trilogy does, I hope it satisfies both the people who love the original and love these new games. FFVII was never my favorite, but it was my gateway into the FF series as a whole, so it's been an interesting ride watching how they handle this beloved game that has a shitton of side games and reading/watching material.
The thing is...I mean that they changed things not between ORIGINAL FFVII and Remake, but between Remake itself upon release and Remake in 2025. They've changed the content of FFVIIR itself. They literally changed (mostly added stuff to) the ending of Remake. I played it back around 2021 and replaying now...the ending isn't the same anymore. They've tweaked the game all over the place, and it's very confusing.
I became certain when I saw how clearly Cloud's character model had changed at a few moments during the ending, with the brighter, clearer skin with no visible texture, and the faintly differently-shaped eyes.
I only played a little of the original FFVII, so I don't know enough to see what they've changed between the two.
~
Echoes of Wisdom got hard! I've never been a fan of puzzles. Especially ones that require you to move fast and coordinate other things at the same time. I simply can't do that kind of thing. Stupid ice spouts and clouds that last 0.5 seconds before evaporating...
But I may only have one temple after this (and then probably an 'ending' temple?) and then I think I'll be done Echoes of Wisdom. It's very cute and the mechanics are fun. Definitely more for puzzle-lovers, but I like it more than dislike it. Still, I'm not the target market and it's more fun that I borrowed this from bro-in-law than if I'd paid AAA price for it.
I MAY be able to finish today. If not today, probably tomorrow. I'm hankering for DQB2 again, lol. At least the first chapter and the first interlude! (The best parts of the game...Chapter 2 is my least favourite, along with the interlude that follows it before Chapter 3.)
But I should have two completions within January, at least. Decent start.
Finished Echoes of Wisdom! The credits are rolling right now. I got every stamp, all but 5 or 6 echoes in the game, and most heart pieces, but I didn't go for 100%, cuz this isn't the kind of game where I feel the need for it. I do that in story-based or character-driven games where I just want to spend more time with the people or in that world, and to me, at the base, Echoes is a puzzle game.
The final...chapter or dungeon or whatever...was SO cute, I just about couldn't stand it. All the little looking over and the little nods every time...cute, cute, cuuuuuuuuuuute. Plus I had Zelda in the cat costume the whole time and she's extra adorable in it...holding her little paw up, lol, and her little whiskered face.
Anyway, two games for January! I would LOVE if I could also wrap up Ys X: Nordics. I wanted to start again, because I had to take so many long breaks from it that my immersion is long broken and details are forgotten, but I remember the overall gist, and I just can't afford to restart with how hard the game is on my...neck/arms/hands/whatever. So I'll have to wrap it up as it stands. I think I'm on the last chapter already, or about to start it. So it's conceivable that I can finish Nordics in January, too, and that would be fantastic. Super happy if I can do that. Nordics deserved to be marathoned and finished within 1-2 weeks of release day, but that simply wasn't possible.
Rebirth for me tomorrow! But I won't be able to play it, probably not until Saturday, or maybe not until Monday or later. Impossible to know right now. I should at least be able to start it downloading, though! I expect it'll take two or three hours. I can hope it'll be downloaded by the time I get home from work, but I'll conk out as soon as I get back, so...no idea when I'll first get to play it.
~
NEXT DAY EDIT: Oooh, no! Rebirth isn't unlocking at the standard time. Standard unlock time on Steam is 10AM PT. Which means it's 1PM ET, where I am. So I thought that was when. But no!
It is unlocking in ONE HOUR, so that's at 9AM ET...four hours earlier than standard, for some reason. But that means I can set it to downloading really soon and it MIGHT even be finished before I'm off to work for the afternoon/evening.
It also means the 30% discount on preorders is expiring VERY VERY SOON. Less than an hour now, if anyone was planning to nab the game on Steam.
An hour or so later edit: Well...it's downloading. 144GBs of game. 5GB are downloaded, took about 25 minutes. So it'll take all day, lol. That's fine! Got all my cards made already and the kitchen is tidy and my package is addressed and ready to go. Waiting on something to be done tends to make me productive, lol. Now I have nothing to do but shower, get ready, and sit around and play Nordics, probably, since I might be able to get some of it done on PS4 while my Steam Deck is downloading Rebirth. My lunch is already made and my things are ready to go so all my tasks before heading out are pretty much done and/or lined up for completion. Oh...I guess I could make some pasta salad, though...yeah, I'd love to eat that for supper.
END OF DAY EDIT: Yup, it's done now. And turns out there's a Twitch campaign. Watch ANY channel in their category (the link on Steam will take you to a list of videos) and watch 30 minutes (even in another tab you're not watching) and you'll get a free Kupo charm and a survival set. I don't know what the survival set is, nor what the Kupo charm does, but...why not? I'll leave it on while I go brush my teeth, and this guy only has...less than 100 subscribers, only 30-some viewers...why not? Even if the charm and set turn out to be garbage, I don't care, it's like getting a free grab bag. I'm a huge sucker for mystery purchases, like buying a tiny squishmallow in a packet you can't see through, so you've no idea which one you're getting.
Much too tired to play, of course, and don't think I can get to it tomorrow, but...yeah, Saturday might work out. Unless I've a bunch of chores at home, since I'm working Sunday and Monday.
Stillness was mandated on Saturday...lucky for me! I had an excuse not to do much housework and instead could play FFVII Rebirth all day. I even squeezed in an hour or two the first night. Uh...Friday, was it? Or Thursday. Anyway I'm pretty sure I played for a little then...just the prologue.
I am so confused, lol. Did the story...split in two? Are there two clouds, two Aeriths, two Tifas...two entire realities? One Cloud is...uh...mako-poisoned? (Is the entire rest of the crew dead in that one??) And one is the one we got to know in FFVII Remake. Or is there also a third? One where Cloud DIED? What about Zach? Did he die in this reality and not in the other? Or...yeah. I am SO confused. Why is there more than one reality? Do they intersect anywhere? And just how many are there? Knee jerk says two, but I think there must be three.
I hope this isn't a whole multiverse kind of a deal. I hate multiverse stories.
The gist is...I don't get it.
But the game is plenty of fun. I love games that encourage you to explore. It's nowhere NEAR as pretty as XCX, and I feel that is actually an even better game of exploration, but Rebirth is pretty decent. It might even rank 3rd on my 'best exploration games of all time' list. I'll have to finish the game before I decide.
I can play a few hours tonight, and I'll almost definitely play a few hours tomorrow morning before work. I'll crash after work, but I can play on Tuesday. I do need to get actual life chores done then, though. Grocery shopping and cleaning and so on. But I should be able to put in an other good chunk of time, and Saturday was ALL Rebirth. So I'm in...uh I think it was Chapter 4. Right now I'm working on combat simulations because I was ignoring them until now. And I have to do one more game of Queen's Blood in this chapter. UGH I hate card games inside other games...
First backlog post of 2025! My semester started with a heavier courseload that I expected and I'm working some extra shifts at work, so I've decided that my only goal for the time being is to make a little bit of time to play something.
And right now, that "something" is... surprise surprise, Sonic X Shadow Generations. I finished the story in a big marathon session Wednesday night, so that's my first completion of 2025. However, there's a lot more I want to do in this game - I want to at least get all the achievements for the Shadow side of the game, which involves S-ranking the main stages, getting all the collectibles, and beating the final boss without taking any damage (considering how much I sucked at the fight the first time I'm anticipating this to be the most difficult one). Being done the story makes it easier to play a short session every now and then, though, which is what I did tonight. Hopefully I'll stay on top of my courses enough to be able to do that a couple of times a week, at least!
Haven't been around in a weekish because I was suffering then recovering from pneumonia. It's not my first rodeo, I had it back in 2017 as well, but man, I didn't miss it! First two days were agony - just sitting/sleeping in a comfy as possible chair waiting for the hours to go by until I could take medicine again. Things progressed for the better after that, slowly but surely. I've been mostly watching shows or YT channels to pass the time, because my brain was too fried for games and my body was too sore to do anything else. However, the past twoish days have had me recovered enough to do a little gaming.
I did the final role quest for combat classes they added to tie it all together. It was cheesy as hell, but entertaining. I feel the reward should have been something more, but, whatever, it's done now. I also started and finished PARANORMASIGHT in around two sittings. I fell asleep playing it last night (not that it was boring or anything! I had just reached my limit and needed to get into bed!) and then I finished it off today. It was good, very put together, but had a few too many jumpscares for my liking. They're all mostly contained in the first act, but as soon as the game was like 'you can move the camera around', I knew there would be some. Nifty game though, made me want to replay Raging Loop.
Guess it's time for me to start Echoes of Wisdom now.
Made it through the first month of the year! Managed not to buy any games in January and knocked two off my backlog, which is an improvement over last year.
As well as Pentiment, I played Fable for the first time. It was okay, I think it's one of those games that was impressive for its time but probably doesn't hold up if you don't have nostalgia for it. By the time I reached the post-game DLC (I was playing the anniversary edition), I was honestly so sick of the combat that I ran past all the enemies on my way to the major story events / boss fights lol.
This week I went back to playing Olive Town - I've noticed I literally never see my children grow up in farm sims because I always quit so soon after getting married. This time I'm trying to do absolutely everything (museum / hydroplant / house upgrades / Lovett) to keep me in the game longer. It's mostly working and I'm having fun but I'll probably take a break before completing it again if I'm honest, getting orichalcum is such a nightmare, as is levelling cooking.
Rogue Trader is still in the mix as well, I really enjoy it when I play it but it can be overwhelming so when I sit down to relax I never feel like opening it lol. I'm around 30 hours in and still midway through the second act, when AFAIK there are 5 acts. I'm running into an issue where I hit a LOT of random encounters while travelling, sometimes I'm just trying to explore and don't want to be interrupted with a 10 minute long fight.
Also, the new Rune Factory information has me really wanting to replay RF4. I have it on Switch but I think I'm going to wait until it's next on sale on Steam and buy it there, I want to try and mod gay marriage in (I used to always want to marry Dylas as a teenager lol. Though I'm not sure if I want to get in the way of what he and Doug have going on). I'm kind of avoiding my Switch because my glasses prescription needs updating AGAIN which I really don't want to do since my lenses are still pretty new and it's crazy expensive nowadays - I can read on my phone just fine but games with lots of movement and visual noise are hard to deal with.
There are surprisingly large discounts on a few of my Nintendo wishlist games. AND I have a GC from my baby sis and bro in law. So I bought Sticky Business at -50%, and Storyteller at -33%. Came to $20 CAD for both. And they were both 'free' thanks to that GC, with another $30 left behind.
I may also get Terra Nil, which is on -50% as well. I would like to be able to tell my sis that I got 3 or 4 games with her GC, plus I do definitely want that one eventually. Same with Storyteller and Sticky Business. Not sure how much of my remaining wishlist is just on there for no good reason, at this point...there's very little left that I'm all that likely to buy, even on sale. Unless the big names go on sale, like LoZ Skyward Sword or Pokemon Arceus.
I think I WILL get Terra Nil.
Anyway, enough GC shopping talk.
I am in Chapter 10 of Rebirth, so...I'm not sure, but maybe 75% done? There's a lot to like about it, but it is NOT gonna make my list of best exploration games. Long chatter...
Spoiler:
It was super fun for the first chapter you could do it in (3?) but it's very boring after that because it's the same in every chapter. Every point is marked on the map, so you don't have to explore to find anything. Also, it's the same in every land. 'Find' (just see the marker and go to it) about 5 remnawave towers. 'Find' about 3-5 special fiend/fight encounters. 3 or 4 lifestream spots. 3-5 divine intel spots. And follow a bunch of admittedly ADORABLE chocobo babies to 'broken' chocobo stops where all you have to do to fix them is stand the sign up.
*insert eye roll here*
Playing this, I feel like when Monolith Software was formed, they took ALL of the A-team on world design with them. Monosoft is just vastly better at making beautiful worlds. The Square Enix team makes some pretty landscapes (but not as pretty as BotW or Xenoblade, so still losing out to Monolith Software!) and they have 'realism' in their favour...though I'm not partial to 'ultra realism' in gaming. But they don't know what makes a world fun to explore.
Though FFXIV is very fun. But it's MMPORPG. Kind of a different story. It's more 'alive'. Whoever made Rebirth doesn't seem to know how to give that 'alive' feeling that XIV has, or BotW or Xenoblade, especially XCX.
Anyway, I love the story and the characters, but the exploration's nothing special, and sadly, it is STUFFED FULL OF MINIGAMES, which I haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate. Each one uses different mechanics/a different controller scheme! I've never felt more demoralized while playing a game than while trying to make Cloud lead his company nicely in their choreographed routine, and that's not the only one that ruined me. No, almost every chapter has 1-3 minigames in it, every one requiring quick reflexes and an ability to remember and utilize a new control scheme instantly.
The minigames have made me HATE this game. I have to get far enough away from them again before I can remember that I actually love the story and quite enjoy the characters, too.
I'm also a bit soured any time the game forces me on a 'date' with Aerith. Don't get me wrong. I like Aerith. I think she's a sweet girl. But I find her creepy and unnatural as a romantic option for Cloud. Their interactions are painful. Cloud doesn't get her, and it feels like she's only looking at him as a substitute for something else. It never feels like they're on the same wavelength. I hate it. Tifa, on the other hand, works quite well. They feel like they ARE mostly on the same wavelength and their interactions have history and warmth to them. She's got issues with Cloud's...detachment, I guess I'll say? But who wouldn't? His behaviour is odd, because something is clearly wrong with him, and naturally that bothers her. It bothers me, too! What on earth is up in your head, our li'l Cloudy-boy? HAVE you got multiple people in there? Which of these people are even real? Which reality is real? Is the reality we play the dream, or is this Cloud dreaming the other reality, or are BOTH realities real? And who really has mako poisoning, here?
Well, anyway, I find Tifa and Cloud to be a pretty harmonious and healthy pair (if Cloud stops showing signs that he's about to lose his hold on sanity) but Aerith and Cloud just...no. YUCK. I like her, she's a sweetie, but...not with Cloud.
I don't like Yuffie one little bit. I'm glad now that I didn't play the intermission, lol. She's so annoying. I like Barret a lot, not fond of Red, Cait Sith is okay (though I don't know him very well...he sounds somehow like Pippin from the LotR movies...which isn't how I would have imagined Pippin from the books to speak, btw, but I do like the accent.) I like the other character but we haven't been shown enough there, yet.
Anyway, having lots of fun discovering what's up with the world/story/characters, but genuinely hating the minigames (of which there are SO MANY that it's hard to get past it) and not impressed with the exploration. The combat's pretty good.
So very much a mixed bag. Not sorry I bought it, though.
NEXT DAY EDIT: Ugh. I wanted to play Rebirth before work since I'm 1:30-10pm today, but noooo...Steam decided to download what it claims is a 128 GB update. (Everyone else says it is 17 GB but my Steam downloads page tells me I have 26GB of 128GB downloaded so far and that it'll be about 10 hours before it's done.) The patch notes say it 'improves game stablity' and that's about all there is to it.
SO annoyed. Why can't I choose when to update on my own? My game plays perfectly as it is, no bugs...I don't need this bloody update wasting my entire day's worth of opportunity to play. I could have set it to download while I was at work, or overnight.
I've changed this to 'only update when I launch', but it does no good now, and I'm not sure that option will work in the future, either. Guess I'll find out how that works next time. But seriously, WHY IS THIS UPDATE AS BIG AS THE ENTIRE GAME???
I completed Bakeru at the end of last month. Fun little 3d platformer games made by Good Feel which does have some Mystical Ninja vibe. Had a lot of fun with it.
To swap it out, I'm going back to Shantae Half-Genie Hero. I did completed the main game, but since then they had added DLC modes that I barely scratched the surface back then so now it the time. I enjoy the series. WayForward makes some good games.
I've been back at work lately not that I'm mostly over my sickness. Because I work in a cooler that sits at around 41 degrees, I've been taking precautions to not invite illness back with more layers. They're so comfy that I think I might keep them all the time now. I've gone from tolerating the cold to barely feeling it, which a win, but I will be roasting in the summer walking to and from my car lol.
Anyways, gaming. I haven't really had time for too much due to well, work. I started Echoes of Wisdom, finished the first dungeon and then wandered into the Zora area before stopping. I definitely vibe with the game, I have the desire to go back, just lacking the time for a proper play session. I also let my curiosity get the better of me in regards to Genshin. I have all the socials muted/blocked for the game, but the circles where people are more critical to the game have weaseled their way into my feed. They have very little positive things to say about the most current expansion, and then more evidence of this being a commonly shared thought elsewhere started cropping up elsewhere too. I just... have to know. Is it like, Inazuma writing bad, or are people just experience fatigue? From what I gather, everyone really likes the villain of this expansion, and not much else. Hell, even all the new characters are barely being pulled in comparison to reruns of older characters. So, yeah, I redownloaded it just to see how truly bad it is. I actually completely forgot it's Lantern Rite season, so I guess I'll get that done while I'm here - but wow, once again, English VA are missing or replaced. I just switched to Japanese of all the English VA drama.
Finally, I booted up Tears of the Kingdom for a rather... silly reason? I happened across a Legend of Zelda fanfic I wrote in 2017, finishing it just before Breath of the Wild came out and adding an extra chapter after I finished it later in the year. It really didn't do terribly well, and I can tell why by my horrible tagging and honestly, it being my second foray into writing fanfiction, the writing leaves a lot to be desired. There's some great ideas here, but the execution is rather lacking. Anyways, I want to rewrite it, and because it heavily relied on Gerudo lore based on all games before BoTW, I could do SO MUCH better with all this new lore under my belt. So, again, booted op TotK, and then went straight to Gerudo town, talking to all the NPCs to get a nice refresher on their culture, speech patterns, ect. I really, really shouldn't start writing it until I get finished with my current bigass longfic I'm working on, but alas, I shall. Motivation pulls me at the strangest of times lol.
Rebirth is doing my head in. So much that it's distracting me at home, at work, and in my sleep. I've had to start...well, I guess it's a fan fiction?...just to sort my thoughts. It's not for sharing, it's just for sanity-preservation. I'm basically musing 'aloud' to myself.
Cloud is so messed up that *I* am having an identity crisis just by being near him, lol. I'm not kidding; it's been personally rather painful at times. I was doing soul-searching on CLOUD, but it turned into being at least partly about me, which I haven't enjoyed. I'm probably mostly ignoring/suppressing that part.
Well, summary: I still don't know what's going on with our cute little soldier-boy. It's not helped by the fact that I only played the beginning of the original but have HEARD a few things about later game (nothing complete, though) and Remake/Rebirth are...well, totally remade. I don't know if I should believe that anything about the original is still true in Remake/Rebirth. Also, I was told that
Spoiler:
clones and aliens were part of the original, potentially alien clones, lol...I dunno!
However, I have seen no evidence of the former existing in Remake/Rebirth. I know of one of the latter. Or at least I think she qualifies. Unless the Whispers count? No, they're not even corporeal. The only other thing that seems like it could be would be the robed guys, who are all identical unless we knew them in life, and then they retain some defining features. But I think that's more cutting corners in development than evidence of, er...the former. They just used the same models for all the robe guys, is all.
I'm bothered. Don't click if you haven't played Rebirth. Or if you're not into baffled rambling.
Spoiler:
I could deal with Zack still being alive, and to some extent, even Biggs, but...why on earth are there TWO Clouds and Aeriths? Are we seeing split realities? Alternate universes? HAVE WE FALLEN DOWN THE TROUSERS OF TIME?? Or do the unconscious Cloud and Aerith (and the resurrected or mysteriously-saved Zack and Biggs) exist in the same world, at the same time as the Cloud and Aerith we have in our party?
They don't, right? I mean, that annoying fake 'merc' girl was in both as well, and other characters. So I'm inclined to think that it's some other reality. Though...maybe it's a shadow world? A reflection of the 'real' world where alternate possibilities take place, or where the Whispers whisked deviations to Fate. At first I thought the Zack reality contained people who are floating between life and death since Biggs may have just NEARLY died and maybe Zack had just NEARLY died and maybe magical-girl Aerith is always more spirit than flesh, I dunno, or maybe she can float around all universes at once! But anyway, it can't be that. Because horrible annoying merc girl is perfectly fine, not floating anywhere. (Seriously, Zack, of all the people to entrust your dying buddy to, don't give him to that one! She'd sell him to the first cougar who wanted a pretty boy toy.)
Summary: I'm confused. And that's just ONE aspect of my confusion. Cloud is so confusing all by himself that I don't even have enough time before I have to leave for work to start blabbering about it, lol. So I'm writing fiction just to have somewhere to store my confusion, since I kind of doubt that...Rebirth being only the second of three games...I'll have my confusion resolved any time soon. It's gonna be 2027 minimum before the next game is out and little chance it'll come to a console I have on initial release.
I'm starting to think Cloud is a little bit of a weenie. It actually makes him even more lovable, though. No matter what the truth is, one thing is clear: the lad is just so very screwed up. And honestly he doesn't seem that well-suited to being a soldier, let alone a SOLDIER. (Is that supposed to be an acronym?) He wanted to be a hero because he wants to know he has value (this is my opinion, of course) and because he's sweet and actually likes to help people, but he's so darned trapped within himself...he can't express himself at all. He doesn't understand how to connect to anyone. He's emotionally and expressively constipated, poor fella. It was embarrassing when he started to get really into people cheering for him after Dio, though. (Especially since I did a TERRIBLE job during that fight and Cloud lost BIG TIME. Well, I do terrible during all mini-games except the Moogle one and the Chocobo racing. I make Cloud look so bad I feel sorry for him, and guilty about it. I hate mini games...)
Kikki wrote: ↑Feb 05, 2025 3:18 amI'm starting to think Cloud is a little bit of a weenie.
The way I wheezed on reading this...!
I feel that most of your concerns/theories will be answered in the final installment, as it should wrap up all the redone build up. The original game sort of just, explained everything at a certain point or you just picked up on it via side quests and flavor text before the reveals (especially in regards to your first spoiler tag). The fact that they're saving Vincent and Cid as playable characters + barely touched on their story arcs in Rebirth probably means they're going all in on lore in the third entry. Though, all the timey-wimey dimension bull is all new, so I have no idea what they're trying to do with it.
But yes, Cloud is a loveable weenie in both the original and remake. He does have badass actions, but he's also a super dweeb at the end of the day. The early fandom really locked on to his 'emo' attitude, but they so soon forget this doofus also said "Alright, everyone, let's mosey" when they're off to the finale in the original. I think they've done a really good job with his characterization in Remake/Rebirth.
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Had a solid play session in Echoes of Wisdom yesterday. I actually had to stop myself from playing to go to bed for my early rising job, which means it gets a thumbs up for engagement in my books. Anyways, halfway through Hyrule Castle at the moment (where I forced myself to stop). My husband was taking a mental health day and watched me play for a few hours. Ever since Tri first made it's cutesy, otherworldly noise did I think it sounded like a specifc Pokemon cry, and my husband found himself agreeing the more he heard it too. He ended up looking up Pokemon cries, and we narrowed it down to Glaceon, but now I'm thinking it might sound more like Alcremie? Silly, I know, but it bothers me. Hubbo and I also dreamed about a Minish Cap remake in this style of game (it's my favorite title in the series and a big fave for him as well). I also think Oracle of Ages/Seasons would be perfect in this engine, but that would make too much sense as Nintendo famously hates money - but I would gladly eat my words if these remakes actually ever manifested.
I'm also debating on upgrading my Nintendo Online to have access to Minish Cap, and to a lesser extent, OoT. I have the latter on 3DS, so I could just play it there, but I'm tempted to play the original for some reason.
Sorry for making you wheeze? Or, you're welcome? Or both? Lol.
But I do think Cloud's a doll. I like him a lot. The games just keep showing very cute bits of him. SO MUCH BLABBER ENSUES...
Spoiler:
The way he's actually overwhelmed by and then really into praise/adulation, how he's SO agonizingly awkward and introverted (the type of introvert who is trapped in themselves but actually yearns to be with others, rather than the type who genuinely prefers being alone) show his desire to be loved/admired/connected along with his inability to actually reach for what he wants...and all his toughness and disinterest is, in my opinion, just a smokescreen to hide his shyness. He's more shy than emo, to me.
And I'm always unsure of 'emo'. To me emo is a manufactured state rather than a genuine one...expressing dark or negative emotions just for appearances. But if Cloud HAS those emotions, he has pretty good reason for it, I think...they wouldn't be manufactured or faked at all. So I've never thought of him as emo. I wasn't sure at first where his attitude came from. To me he seemed very blank or empty, in the beginning...like he wasn't connected to anything, including his own emotions. But yeah. I don't think I've ever thought of him as emo. At least not in the way I think of emo.
Yesterday (I think? No, probably the day before, now I wrack my brain.) I played an absolutely adorable scene where the gang's all together and Vincent has just left without a word, and Barret says something like 'one surly loner on the team is enough." (I don't think he said surly, but he definitely said 'loner'.) And Cloud emphatically agreed that one surly loner was MORE than enough...and then heard the silence. And looked back to see all the others looking at him. And he said "...wait. You mean ME?" in this tone. This unspeakably adorable tone, with an amazed expression, lol. Then he just gave half a sigh and turned around again as everyone laughed. It was painfully lovable, ime.
I was happy to see Tifa's...flashback? Her revelation flashback where she remembered the crossing-the-mountain incident. Proved for certain to me that Cloud was shy and that he actually really wanted to connect to people, he just didn't know how and was too uncomfortable with his...emotions or desires or fear of failure or whatever...to express it. I keep remembering all the high-five misfires in Remake. Boy couldn't even figure THAT out on the first go! He's that akimbo to everyone else's thoughts/feelings.
They've crafted Cloud in very fine layers in these games. (Don't know about the original. I don't remember my impression of him, there.) I love him, anyway. I think he's darling. If Aerith just wants to coax him out of his shell, I'll forgive her for always pushing and pulling him around. (This only occurred to me recently, lol. It's the only way I could get behind a Cloud x Aerith pairing...until the last few days it didn't occur to me that her annoying behaviour with him might be for his own good, rather than for HER own good/preferences. I prefer Tifa, who is pretty natural with Cloud just as he is, without needing him to change...much, anyway, since he DOES need to express his feelings/thoughts at least a LITTLE more if he's going to be in a romantic relationship with anyone.)
I think Cloud's happiest moment in the entire series so far has been when he was turned into a Moogle, and that tiny, tiiiiiiiny smile they mega-zoomed-in on when he said 'Kupo' after he turned back. These are not the actions of an emo man. He's adorkable. Plus his sword is too big for him. It gives me a smile every time he does that big flourish at the end of battle and ends by slamming it down onto his shoulders...and his whole body jars slightly, lol. It's like a kid dressing up in mom's clothes. He's playing with his dad's weapons, lol...he needs to be about 25% bigger to not be pushed around by the weight of it. No wonder he's got those arms, though, I guess. That sword is unrealistically large.
I'm in Chapter 12. The game has given me the impression that I need to wrap up anything else I want to do in this chapter, so I'm assuming this is a turning to endgame, but I don't know that for certain...it's just a feeling I got from something Cait said about finishing up business and so on. I left a LOT unfinished in the last two regions cuz I just wanted to chase t he main story (so many stupid required minigames got in my way, too! KEEP MINIGAMES OUT OF THE MAIN STORY, VIDEO GAME INDUSTRYYYYYY! Rebirth takes the absolute cake for number of frustrating unavoidable minigames.) I guess I'll finish soonish but...a week, perhaps? Probably not RIGHT away, as there are still some things I want to do, though I really have NO desire to go back and mop up all the Queen's Blood opponents I avoided. (I did everything in the first two regions and I did the Tournament, which I won, but then I Q-U-I-T. It doesn't require reflexes, but I don't find it fun, either.)