Midgar had to be the most engaging arc in any video game that I've ever played. Zeal from Chrono Trigger comes close.
Agreed with Midgar, but also agreed with Zeal (fine choice there). Zeal is so bizarre and mysterious and out of the blue (even after travelling to a destitute future) that it's hard NOT to be drawn in.
Yeah ;_; I think it was going to be Jenova as a single black caped figure leading you to the North Crater where Sephiroth is to give him the black materia. There was no Sephiroth 'encounters' (like on the Junon cargo ship) before then.
I kinda would have preferred that; the few "encounters" with Sephiroth are really strange before your figure out what's really going down. I think saving the "mystery" would have been great and expanding on Jenova as more than a Team Rocket, in-and-out, bad guy.
I very much agree. To be honest I'm never sure what people mean when they say they want a Final Fantasy VII remake. Do they want this? That's what all the remake talk started with wasn't it?
Because I know that's what later VII media generally goes with but that isn't Final Fantasy to me. Especially not Final Fantasy VII. That game is cartoony as hell, it's part of the charm. I know the game goes with more realistically proportioned characters during battles and CG but even then that's nothing like the Crisis Core / Advent Children etc look. That's the old Nomura art look, which is still very much a stylized one:
(It's also way better than his modern stuff and I
like his modern stuff.)
Yeah if you ask me a new script, remade backgrounds with chibi models for the overworld and old Nomura style for battles and cut scenes would be ideal. If not chibi Nomura style for the overworld too. You know, just like the original. Add an option for rearranged music and perhaps some tweaks to the battle system. (I love how fast you can let it go in Bravely Default) and you've got yourself a real gem there.
But I get the impression people generally want the former, it kind of disappoints me to be honest. Surely the latter would not only remain way closer to the spirit of the original game but it would also be far more economical? Surely it would be profitable. Whenever I hear S-E talk about how a VII remake they make it sound like it would be this huge undertaking but really that kind of game is the last thing I want. We've got VX for that. :S
(And obviously VIII & IX could use such a face lift too)
I'm really sad that for all the demand, it seems there is ONLY one-track thinking (for fans and Squeenix?) to have a remake done than a remaster. I hope I'm wrong and one day we get that remaster ... a "facelift" is definitely the best way to describe it.
FF9 got it, FF7 was good when it had a sense of balance; it knew when to be serious, when it could 'afford' to be silly, it had a good sense of its own vision. But a lot of the sequels became too serious... or at least, too obviously a product of "well the first game did well, what can we add?"
I actually think a modern-anime look would be intersting. We know Squeenix can make its Eurasian Hybrid Cosplay-looking people to an A+/S grade; but taking on an anime look again would be daring and interesting.
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AHEAD ON OUR WAY...!!
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After a small [Smash Bros] break;
The [literal] Prison Town, the Wonderland, The Canyon
= More adventures in great scenery. This game is not short of these.
= Seriously, the amount of metal and materials NEEDED to create something the scale and scope of The Gold Saucer is...baffling. I mean, the individual areas? Ok, but the
actual gold/metal pods and beam??. Goodbye, Gaia, your resources are fucked, with or without Mako/Lifestream energy.
= I think some of the greatest plot points in this game is how simply, effectively, and concisely the "Character Chapters" are told.
Both Barret and Red are great examples of side chapters that have no real bearing on the main plot of the game, but adds great backstory to their character. Red's misunderstanding about his father changes him from a coward to a still-suffering hero (the shot of his petrified body is really something to look at). Barret confronts his best friend; a man with the same gun-arm augmentation because they were involved in the same incident against Shinra that claimed their hands while they were trying desperately to flee.
Tifa too, I like how even though she shares most of her "character backstory" with Cloud, their accounts of the event are detrimentally different.
= Given the absolute motherfucking train wreck and state of North Corel, YOU'D THINK that the Gold Saucer execs, with its CLEARLY INFINITE resources, would buff up the state of the garbage heap shit-hole that transports people in and out of their park --- and more than just its cable cart boarding area (however, I do love the attention to detail that the ONE area does look better than the rest of the town).
= This song.
http://youtu.be/XvmbO9wXMkQ
While I find the FF7 OST much simpler compared to the almost operatic/symphonic style of FF6 (though FF8 is much more hit-or-miss to me), the simplicity and effectiveness of its melodies is perfect (and even despite the crap MIDI quality synths). Each song suits each location very well and really sets up the mood for the game.
= One stupid reason I love, love, love Tifa? Because she makes me feel
good for having BROWN EYES.
Squeenix LOVES blue eyes...
....sha la la la la la dee dah~
= I forgot Deathblow. Is it a good materia or can I just move on with my life?
= Yeah, I brought Tifa and Aeris to Gongaga. It's strange, creepy, and wonderful how both girls were involved with Zack, neither feels terribly contrived (although it does make you question Aeris' attraction to Cloud....though I doubt he'd care).
= Cosmo Canyon is so fucking cool. Some point between the literal down-to-earth decor, the mild native influence (a weapon shop called Tiger Lily's is a cute touch), that catchy tune, etc.
= On that note, Bugenhagen's lecture on the lifestream is brilliantly done. I love the song that plays and I love that the first few notes are the same heard in the opening Bombing Mission tune as well
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVuvUKTixes#t=19
