Quote Originally Posted by JJ Strife View Post
What plothole was there in the original?
Plothole might be the wrong word, poor writing would be better. The issue is the fact Tifa always knew Cloud's story about Nibelheim was wrong and went along with it cause she was concern despite it endangering everyone. Originally, there was meant to be a scene in the game where she tells the party that Cloud's story is wrong, but it was cut for some reason. The dialogue for this scene is still in the code of the original. It's a part of her character that has always bugged me and the only explanation I can give for why she does it is so the reveal would be a bigger surprise, but instead it just makes Tifa look dumb to me. I appreciate the fact the Remake has already dropped clues that Tifa last remembers Cloud from before he left the village to join SOLDIER, whereas Cloud's dialogue is implying he saw her five years ago in Nibelheim.

I'm also hoping the Remake addresses the fact that as Sephy pulls more influence over Cloud the more of a threat he is to the party and their goal, so you know, maybe have a scene where the party actually tries to sideline Cloud.

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I have just reunited with Aerith in the Church.

Pros:
  • Sector 7 Slums was interesting. I like the fact it gives a better idea of what life is like below the plate. The topside was interesting as well for what little we see of it. The best part is just noticing sections lifted from the original. I kept wondering what these two Shinra guards were there for when I suddenly realized from their familiar banter that they were guarding the entrance to the Plate tower.
  • Yeah the more characterization given to Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie is really nice. Though it is annoying that Jessie is the one getting the most backstory of the three.
  • It was also nice to see us ease into Tifa and Cloud's relationship. Did a better job of watching them reconnect.
  • Good to see old Johnny.
  • I'm glad the Sight materia is more useful in this entry.
  • I like the fact the weapons have more nuance to them in this entry. Cloud's second weapon is built to be more magic friendly with lower ATK power than the Buster Sword but more materia slots and situational bonus abilities. It really becomes apparent with Tifa's gear with her first weapon being balanced, her second weapon being pure melee focused, and her third weapon having all these elemental bonus powers making it perfect for a magic build. The one thing VII fixed for me that I always found annoying about the original was the lack of individuality among the cast in terms of gameplay. It's going to make the later Episodes tough to choose who is in your party now.
  • I also appreciate that I don't have to ration Skill points for weapons between all of them and they each get an equal amount when you level up, and new weapons will start with the accumulated points you've acquired up until that point to div out. That is some good QoL design.
  • Another improvement over the original is that I do appreciate the game giving me more materia so early. I'm actually really customizing characters in this one, and it's been tough since I actually have real options for a change and I'm not just working with three basic elemental materia, a healing materia, and a few not so useful Command materia. Not to mention my gear doesn't have enough slots to fit them all so I really do need to plan out builds. It was always a nagging issue for me in the original.
  • I'm happy to see Heideggar is just as boisterous and cartoonishly evil as I remember him.
  • It's interesting to see how many ideas have been taken from Tabata's games. The overall world and NPC interaction is very reminiscent of FFXV with a lot of the new NPCs feeling like cut characters from XV. It was also interesting how the scenario around Airbuster was lifted from the Type-0 mission where you deal with Brionic and have the ability to weaken it's functions before the actual boss fight.
  • Finally met Roche, and surprisingly, I really liked him.
  • The motorcycle minigame actually doesn't play like ass anymore. Yay! Sadly, I didn't do well enough in it to get the Trophy from Jessie.
  • Found the Darts game and got the highest score and prize. Suck it Wedge.
  • I've been really impressed with Barret's characterization in this game. I think he is honestly my favorite character so far. He's more boisterous than just racist stereotype "angry black man" which has been nice. He makes Cloud feel like the angry dull character.
  • Summon materia! and I actually like how it's implemented in this one. Choco/Mog is especially cute.
  • I forgot to mention this last time, but the scene where Cloud is in his apartment and has a vision of Sephy and he goes to draw his sword in the doorway and it gets stuck was hilarious.
  • I am digging all of the cats in this game.


Cons:
  • For anyone who is silly enough to think that Episode 2 is somehow going to magically cover the rest of Disc 1, just no. In the time it has taken me to finish what was originally the second dungeon of the OG, which you'll probably finish within the first two hours of the game, has been stretched out and taken the time it would have taken to finish the entire Midgar section in the original. I couldn't believe how I looked at my game time and realized I should be in the Mythril Mines in the original, and I'm just now meeting Aerith in the church. SE is going to stretch this game out as much as possible, especially if they can get a decent release schedule figured out.
  • Going with the above, the pacing of this game is not the best. There have definitely been a few sequences that have just been tediously stretched out to add clock time to this game. It was amusing how the Reactor 5 sequence, which is one of the shortest sequences in the original, was stretched out into three chapters in this game with each part being turned into a full dungeon. Between that and doing all the sidequests in Sector 7, my initial concern of this game feeling overly padded seems to be ringing true.
  • While Barret and the rest of Avalanche have been a hoot, I can't say the same for Cloud and Tifa. Cloud's "I'm too cool to be here" attitude is starting to get grating and while it's nice to see that facade get slowly chipped away, it has not been enough to make him endearing. Tifa on the other hand just bugs me. She's never been one of my favorites in this game but her wishy washy attitude, the Mary-Sueish chorus of the NPCs in Sector 7 singing her praises, and her annoying habit to emote her feelings through constant posing and gestures is starting to really irk me. I'm happy I'm going to have a small break from her for awhile.
  • Yeah, I'm really not digging the Whispers, their first real big sequence since the opening was really silly and stupid. I honestly feel they hurt the narrative more than help it. Like I was enjoying the plot twist (SPOILER) where Avalanche decided to kick Cloud out but the silly sequence of events the Whispers cause just so Cloud is forced to be put pack in is incredibly contrived and draws too much attention to the Whispers' purpose in this plot. I've actually been fine with many of the story changes so far, except for their inclusion.
  • Holy hell flame throwers are annoying in this game. I'm also finding it annoying how this game is trying hard to be an action title but it has these annoying little elements that keep it from being any good such as a lazy lock on camera that is bit too reminiscent of KH1's camera. Not to mention the fact that dodging is pretty much useless in this game because several enemy attacks have unnatural homing elements to them. It's been annoying thinking I can dodge some attacks only to learn I was suppose to block because the attack was guarantee to hit me cause the game is still treating combat like a turn based one on some levels.
  • I'm a little annoyed I finally finished two of the requirement that stupid and out of place researcher wanted me to do, but now I'm not sure if I'm going to see his sorry ass to turn them in since he was in Sector 7 and we all know how that turns out. I imagine he's going to travel but I really wish I could have finished it before leaving for the Reactor.