Cosmo Canyon

[Jiro]

I would have hated it if Nanaki's backstory was purely Shinra related. Everything is Shinra related. It feels trite. Nanaki a reason to fight them, which is good -- that's what brings the party together after all -- but to have Seto turned to stone defending from Shinra or something would've just been stupid. Like, "yes okay Square we get it Shinra is bad".

Going to Cosmo Canyon gives you the insight into Nanaki's character and it also makes dealing with stuff like the key to the ancients and whatever less of a deus ex machina. Instead of Nanaki going "oh hey I know just the dude to help us out", we already know Bugenhagen might be helpful.

Besides: Nanaki said he wasn't interested in sticking around. He was going as far as his home village and then leaving. You might not have it now, but the first time I played I was fearful that he would leave my party.

[Mercen-X]

When you think about it, while Cait Sith sacrificed himself to make the Black Materia, Barret began Cloud's crusade against ShinRa, and Cid had his rocket, Red XIII didn't really offer anything to the story plot-wise. Okay, stopping in Cosmo Canyon is a learning experience and you meet Bugen... but Nanaki isn't essential to any of that especially when the Buggy breaks down and forces you to stop there.

[Skyblade]

I wish we had some idea what Red XIII's backstory was about. Who are the Gi, who are Seto's people, why were they fighting, why did their spirits linger for an eternity of torment in the cave, where did they live, what happened to the rest of Seto's kind, etcetera. We get so much backstory about so many places and conflicts in this world, and yet that entire aspect just kind of gets dismissed with a "yeah, it happened".

[Mercen-X]

There, you see. We get this big infodump none-related to the main plot and then the story drops off the face of the Planet. I wouldn't hate being story-jacked like this if we had come back to re-visit Red XIII's story. At least give me some closure. Seto was crying wasn't he? Can he be saved like Palom and Porom? Like Blank? Are the Gi really defeated? What was their deal? Did any of it have some kind of connection to the Lifestream or the Ancients?

[Carl the Llama]

Seemed relevant.

[Mercen-X]

Call me old-fashioned... wait, I think you just did.

[Jiro]

Part of the magic of narrative is leaving room for interpretation. The Gi were an opposing tribe. Nanaki's father defeated them all, but their spirits lingered on. Seto himself was trapped after being struck by a poisoned arrow. I don't need to know any more than that to realise it is an emotional moment. I can speculate on the nature of the Gi, but because it doesn't relate to the main plot, I don't feel like Sephiroth or Shinra are literally the only things that are bad in this world. I mean, look at your life. Does everything make sense? Is there only one bad guy?

Could you imagine how little we would have to talk about if everything was explained? It would be horrible to sit around having the same threads where one person says "this was a thing" and everyone responds with "yes it was". Blech. I like opinions, even "wrong" opinions.

[Quindiana Jones]

Cosmo Canyon had my favourite music of the game. I, unfortunately, don't remember much about the game at all other than that but I, fortunately, just finished downloading it onto my PS3.

[Skyblade]

The Gi were an opposing tribe.

Where did they live (since there's no ruined town or anything to explore where they might be from)? What were they attacking Cosmo Canyon for? What happened to the rest of their tribe (or were they literally nothing but warriors, and they all kept fighting until they died)?

[Kalevala]

The Cosmo Canyon theme and the scene where "The Great Warrior" plays broke my little heart. Those howls

[Jiro]

The Gi were an opposing tribe.

Where did they live (since there's no ruined town or anything to explore where they might be from)? What were they attacking Cosmo Canyon for? What happened to the rest of their tribe (or were they literally nothing but warriors, and they all kept fighting until they died)?

Underground, I presume. They were using that tunnel to attack Cosmo Canyon, so I guess they had some kind of underground village. They were attacking Cosmo Canyon because they coveted the land and because they are evil jerkfaces, which is why their malignant spirits clung to life even after they were killed. They were like evil spartans so yes they were literally nothing but warriors. Perhaps their ruined village has been worn away by twenty years of exposure to the elements.

[Carl the Llama]

The Gi were an opposing tribe.

Where did they live (since there's no ruined town or anything to explore where they might be from)? What were they attacking Cosmo Canyon for? What happened to the rest of their tribe (or were they literally nothing but warriors, and they all kept fighting until they died)?

Given their Native American style I would have thought they were wondering nomads, and raided various villages for food and plunder, no need to settle for one particular place.

After all, when you live in tents, there is no need to have a settlement.