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styrmwb · 1 month

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I beat Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

There's gonna be spoilers in this just in case you care, hopefully I tagged it correctly, and also yeah this is a long one (I don't have it tagged game ramblings for nothing)

Anyways, loved this game. My gripes with it are very few, but unfortunately one of said gripes is very major and hasn't changed from Remake; but in the effort to Pretend like my thoughts are organized, I'm gonna section this cause sectioning is fun :)

Actually, one thing I wanted to note here (writing this after like, 3 paragraphs), is something that influences a lot of my love for this game is the fact that it... Doesn't suffer from translation problems like the OG. It brings factors that i never truly appreciated into the forefront, and clears up a lot of confusion. I wanted to put this here because I realized it would be weird to say all of my nonsense without clarifying this.

Gameplay

Rebirth (and Remake) is what I think is What modern FF should be. I absolutely love this style of combat so much. I do wish there was a very small passive ATB charge cause sometimes I get stuck in a situation where I can't do anything, but other than that the rotation of hack and slash then classic menu, and switch between party members is so fun, in the best of times I can make a really cool action scene, everyone showing off their own moves; it's a blast. I'll go a little deeper into the characters when I go to That section, but overall I found everyone really fun in some way, even though end game I ended up using the same party as I did in Remake (and also the OG VII lmfao).

I know to some/possibly most, the amount of open world (and Chadley) and the side quests might feel like a bunch of fluff and garbage, but I actually kinda really enjoyed it? I loved how the world intel all changed slightly as you progressed. Moogles as an example, annoying as they were, did add an extra level of challenge every time you saw them. When you had to catch a chocobo, it was a different style of stealth minigame. Summon crystals all had increasingly complicated patterns. Hell, even the towers were slightly different every time with how you had to climb or even reach them! I think this being the strength solidifies itself when I think of my least favorite intels being the Fiend Intel, because I think they were the most samey the entire game through. The side quests I compare to XVI. XVI's side quests were... like XIV. A LOT of dialogue, run here, more dialogue, fight one enemy or gather 6 items, then go back. Rebirth's quests felt... a little more alive? A little more varied? Sure, side quests are usually going to be the same in these styles of game, but I think of chasing a dog through the region while the dialogue happens along the way, I think of the options to gather more resources than the bare minimum for different rewards and dialogues, picking different flowers, having to pay attention to notes, having to interact with the minigames: it all felt more interesting and like I actually wanted to do them. The varied nature of everything is what made me enjoy it.

Oh and Queen's Blood? Greatest FF card game don't even @ me I had so much fun with it it better stay

Characters

One of my favorite parts of Rebirth is how much it helped or made me love the cast. Even characters that I did not care about or possibly actively disliked, this game made me enjoy. Main characters were all expanded on, side characters were silly, and brought back into relevance when I would never expect (Like holy shit I swear every named NPC from Remake came back which is so cool), and they all make the journey an absolute joy to take, and the world as colorful as FFVII SHOULD be. But let me talk about a cast that went from "yeah I like them" to possibly one of my favorite parties in the entire franchise.

Cloud

I honestly already considered him my favorite character in VII (which is a very hard thing to admit without the fear of people thinking you like him for the wrong reasons), and Rebirth being essentially half the game lets me get to see why again. A man who presents himself as serious and uncaring, but OOPS he actually does care and is really silly but unfortunately has some major mental problems! (please help him he is NOT ok). Sure, they kinda speed up his realization of certain aspects, and maybe they go a Little too hard on the fact that Something Isn't Right, but I really enjoyed seeing his declining mental state, its effect on the world, and his relationships with the party. The Sephiroth juice is intense at this point in the story, and I am very excited to see him in the next game. His gameplay is classic yet fun, with big swordy slashes and huge hits that don't have to be slow (they're sometimes slow).

Barret

My favorite part of Barret in Rebirth compared to Remake is how he didn't wear his sunglasses for most of the game. He's open, he's feeling, he's emotional; he's the big tough softy I love. This is where him and Cloud's relationship really gets to shine, where you can tell there is respect, trust, and concern between both of them. The Gold Saucer and side quests are where I think this is at its strongest, and I love seeing it. His gameplay makes him a really fun support, and just like Remake I had him as a sort of paladin healy tanky type, staying behind with GUN as he takes care of the party, which is really fun and consistent.

Tifa

This game does wonders for Tifa enjoyers (it's me I'm Tifa enjoyers), giving her a lot of focus and emphasis on that caring, observant nature that is her strongest suit. Her concern for Cloud and friendship with Aerith feel very strong here and it makes me happy to see. Her gameplay had her in my party the entire time no other reason, her fast attacks, dodges, ATB filling, and stagger damage multiplier being extremely huge in every single fight.

Aerith

The big one. Honestly, I'm gonna keep my real big story thoughts for later, but I will say I loved seeing her enjoy life, the open world, and helping others in the side quests. She's a great character to see happy :) Also, her scene in the Gold Saucer is probably now one of my favorite scenes in the entire series. It was so fucking stunning that I cannot get enough of it. Unfortunately, her gameplay is easily my least favorite out of the group, as her slow attacks and dodging (yes I know she has an ability to boost her attacks but that takes a while to get to) makes her kind of a slog in my hands, and better off in the computer's.

Red XIII

One of two characters that I did not expect to grow to love as much as I did. I'll prob mention this again later, but... I didn't REALLY know the extent of his change when I played the original. Yeah, I knew he was young for his race, but he always felt like just that wise grumpy dog man (some of this could be on me not reading well enough but between poor translation and Advent Children and the fact he didn't make it into DFFOO I'm gonna give myself a break). Rebirth showed me how much of a joy Red is. Despite the trauma and pain he went through, he's silly, he's excited for life, he has fun and loves his family. But also, despite this and his youth, he doesn't COMPLETELY lose his knowledge and wise nature after his reveal; he just relaxes more. I care about Red so much more than I originally did now because this change was made clearer. His gameplay is also really fun, fast attacks, strong defenses, and even stronger abilities (stardust ray my beloved).

Yuffie

We already got a good amount of Yuffie in Intergrade, so having her again here felt like anyone else from last game. However, I do absolutely love how she was integrated into the main plot instead of just being Girl in Forest. She served as great comic relief (and literally says this!) for her appearance in the story (although I do think there were a couple occasions where it was a bit much but that's ok her arc is next game), and I really enjoyed that she started to become a cared for member of the group (really shown by Cloud in the Skywheel date and her and Barret's relationship). Gameplay was just as fun as Intergrade, the throwing/ninjutsu swapping being a joy, and I loved using her doppelganger attack in combination with elemental weaknesses and Sonic Boom. Yuffie was key for some of the harder fights, the MVP fr fr.

Cait Sith

The other of two characters I did not expect to enjoy, and Cait Sith here is the absolute king of it, as I DID NOT like him in the OG. But here? He's a larger character, he's more sympathetic, he's a little more understandable, and his gameplay doesn't suck shit lmfao. His betrayal I think was done a lot cleaner this time around, where he really Felt like part of the group, and his return was done pretty smoothly but honestly doing anything other than being like "hi hello I'm back!" while Cloud beats the shit out of Aerith is an improvement I really enjoyed his melee/ranged nature being similar to Cloud, and his heavy hitting attacks. Despite the fact that he still had RNG, it was RNG that felt good no matter what and I appreciated that.

Cid and Vincent

Our poor poor "you're not allowed yet" boys. No gameplay section here cause they ain't got any! But that's ok, because for what little role they had, I really enjoyed their presence. Early Cid was very interesting to me, and while i do feel like he loses a little not being introduced as a complete dickwad, I still love having Cid around and giving him a little more connection to the party. He didn't seem as aggressive and %#*^-y, but I kinda hope we get more of that in part 3 when Rocket Town happens. Vincent, similar to Yuffie, gets tied into the story in such a great way. Getting to fight him was super super cool, and I loved that small amount of comic relief he gives by being Overly edgy yet out of touch with the world. I'm very excited to see where both of them go.

Zack

It took me some time to... Accept what Remake did to the timeline. Once I did, I was all in on the train for more Zack. I love Zack! He's my other favorite VII character other than Cloud! This game gave me more Zack, and I appreciate it for that. Not to mention his whole interactions with Aerith and Cloud made me very happy and filled a void in my heart I needed (that fucking synergy attack between the two of them???? DUUUUUDE) Unfortunately however; he didn't get to... get the story treatment I would have liked. Gameplay wise; I don't care much for his charge mechanic, sadly.

Sephiroth

I don't have much to say here. Sephiroth is Sephiroth. He appears, says "pee your pants cloud", then fucks off, and he's really good at that, and that's what he's supposed to be. My grudges against him aren't against him and more against who's writing him. Playing him was hype though, and I enjoyed his counter mechanic which I feel got later reincarnated into Red.

As for people other than in the playable cast, Dio was incredibly fun, Elena felt like a treat and a more threatening than the original but still showing that silly nature (pink gun???? no tactical advantage whatsoever I love it), Hojo is still the scum of the earth as he should be (he never gets better!), I got to actually understand what Bugenhagen is, and so on and so on. Nobody was worse than their original appearance and I loved that.

ALSO CISSNEI GANG RISE UP WE LOVE OUR GIRL AND I'M SO GLAD SHE GOT TO RETURN

Story

So. This is the big part. If I had to choose where my biggest gripe with the game would be, it would be in the aspect of story. This is the Exact Same Gripe I had with Remake, that being the aspect of whispers, alternate timelines, and whatever Sephiroth is cooking. This being.... I don't really like it? I don't think it adds anything?? It's confusing, intentionally vague, and it really ruins the flow that these games have otherwise. Cause aside from this singular (big) aspect? Dude! This game fucks! It takes every story beat that was in the original, and expands on it in a way that i feel makes me love the story and world way more! I feel like a lot of aspects got tied together a lot more smoothly (although again, I also attribute this to not terrible translation), and every experience that I expected from the original was a joy to watch in this game. The swamp, Junon, the boat, Costa del Sol, the Gold Saucer, Cosmo Canyon, Nibelheim, the Temple of the Ancients. These were all done so well. All of the side content and side stories were really fun, added a lot of character to the world. And with the slight changes they did make, like with Cait Sith's arc being changed to be more sympathetic instead of blackmailing and Cloud being controlled by Sephiroth NOT beating Aerith I think were actually done really tastefully and improved the experience (actually thinking about it Dyne's just felt like they wanted to hurt Barret more why would they do that). I just... I wish if they were going to do this whole alternate timeline dealy, they were a little more clear on it? i wish I could feel like it actually mattered to this series, but what i get is "oh wow the unknown journey" that turns into "yeah here are these extra bits that are confusing and don't change anything and actually instead ruin the impact of one of the most well known scenes in video game history)

With that I will talk about the ending. I was willing to ignore the fact that we didn't get to walk through the City of the Ancients more. I was still shaking and nervous until the very end, thinking "oh man what's going to happen???? oh fuck!!!" and what i was instead rewarded with was a constant whiplash of emotions and confusion that left me numb to what should have torn my heart out. I shouldn't have to be left wondering if a character truly died or not for the sake of "OHHH MAN TIMELINESSSSS WORLDS???" that didn't DO anything when I could have gotten either a successful changing of timeline, or a 4K edition of something to tear my heart out, and hearing the absolute pain in Cloud's voice in his speech afterwards. I am Really Hoping that part 3 will clear this up, and retroactively improve an ending and story beats that I think single-handedly knock this game down from a 10/10. I shouldn't have faith in them, cause they've beefed two endings in a row, but I do, because they've shown that everything else they can create are honestly perfect.

Graphics

shortest section in the world this game is beautiful the landscapes are beautiful the characters are beautiful (or ugly when they needed to be and it still worked) my eyes were given a treat this entire 80 hours

Music

shortest section in the world this soundtrack is amazing hamauzu and suzuki cooked and made so many good songs

it's like they knew tifa's theme was one of my favorites and proceeded to give me 20 versions of it also gold saucer getting individual remixes???? a top 5 battle on the big bridge? NO PROMISES TO KEEP???????? GOD FUCKING DAMN.

Unorganized Ramblings/Finale

I really did have a lot of fun with this game. I didn't feel soured until the end for the most part, even during some frustrating game segments (fuck you Rufus and Odin and then Odin again and also that last Fort Condor). I really appreciate getting to see the wider world of FFVII in a modern sense, and I think overall I appreciate what I didn't previously a lot more. I also loved how with the addition of a card game and Gilgamesh, it got to match up with VIII and IX, the other 2 PS1 FFs to really feel like a unified FF vision. This game kept the silliness that the original had on top of its incredibly dark setting for something that I love to describe as the same vibe as Yakuza. I laughed seeing Red get a whole scene instead of a single bit in his person outfit, and then cried at a newfound caring for Cloud, Tifa, and Barret seeing Jessie's poster in the Gold Saucer. The vibes were immaculate and I'm really really excited to see what they do for the final part (which is going to be called Reunion I'm betting my left materia on it)

9/10. The peak of modern FF gameplay that enhances a classic, but fails its mission of being different.

#final fantasy #final fantasy vii #textpost #games i beat in 2024 #jared's game ramblings #final fantasy vii rebirth spoilers #final fantasy vii rebirth

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sapphire-weapon · 3 months

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Is it worth it to get into final fantasy? If yes then from what game should I start in your opinioun? (I only know every game are separate from each other)

without knowing you or the kind of games you like, i have no idea.

it's not just the stories that are separate. the gameplay is completely different from title to title, too. like, x is a full-blown time-stop turn-based game like persona, but xvi is a character action game like devil may cry, and xiv is an MMO.

i will tell you that some of the most popular titles in FF are a commitment.

VII

XIII

all span multiple games over different platforms and books and movies, not all of which were translated into english, so you're going to have to go digging for fan translations of them. you can't just play the numbered title game and call it a day, because it won't make any fucking sense without the supplementary material (with the exception of VII OG).

XI and XIV are MMOs.

so i mean. you tell me if it's worth it for you to get into FF.

to be completely honest, if you're following me for RE and you're only a casual gamer, the answer is probably no. not because FF is a hard series or anything. but because it's a fucking time sink and there's no guarantee you'll enjoy any one given title, anyway.

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voicefromthecorner · 2 months

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Okay, so I’ve gotta know as someone who played the OG pixelated Final Fantasy game on Nintendo…what exactly got you into it???

In one word: Story

In more than one word: It started with Kingdom Hearts, really. I was one of the folk who saw those cool guys with anime hair in my Disney game and steadily wondered more and more what the deal with them was. Once I learned a bit more about the Final Fantasy series from that, I picked up more bits and pieces as I went.

I'd watch videos that cut together clips from some of the cool scenes in Advent Children, which led to me outright watching Advent Children with no context, which led to me reading wikipedia articles and the like that of course spoiled the magnificent story of Final Fantasy VII for my naive child mind. Not that I minded - I was still fascinated.

And by the time I got my first Final Fantasy game - Crisis Core on PSP, the prequel to VII, I'd more or less forgotten what little I knew by that point or at least still lacked all of the important context. But that game was so significant. I loved it and it set the ball rolling for my proper onslaught into the FF series. I played VII, I've started VI, VIII and X (and will finish them all...one day...), I watched a cutscene compilation of XIII and XIII-2 (I still don't really understand what I watched, but I liked the characters) and I've fully played through XV (sans DLC) and XVI (I'm...not sure anymore how much I like that one, to be honest).

Anyway, to get back to your question, all of this interest can be traced back to story. Honestly, while I like RPGs, super grind-y turn-based games need to do a lot to keep my attention and are a big part of the reason that there are so many unfinished or even unplayed FF games in that list. But in spite of the roadblocks of those gameplay issues, I've still ventured them and am still keen to keep venturing them (when I have the time) because they have stories (and the all-important characters that make the stories worthwhile) that I'm invested in.

I played Kingdom Hearts because I fell in love with the characters and story. I looked into Advent Children because the personal conflict between Cloud and Kadaj seemed to have a deeper story to it. I followed up on that film because Advent Children itself was the epilogue to another much grander story; incomplete without the story that preceeded it. I took a proper plunge into that story after the story of Crisis Core got me to fall in love with the world and characters and made me feel a desire to see where things went.

By this point I've made you hate reading the word 'story' I'm sure, and these experiences are largely centred on VII, but that's the source of my love of Final Fantasy. Every world, every plot and especially every cast of characters are the things that I'm drawn to these games for. It's fair to say that nobody quite makes stories like the ones in that series and I'm all the happier for it.

And it all starts when you see a really cool guy strut past you with a cool gauntlet, spikey hair, a tattered crimson cape, a bat wing and of course a giant heavy sword that he swings around with ease. You take one look at a guy like that and you know "Yeah...that guy has a story."

#final fantasy #final fantasy vii #ff #ff7 #final fantasy vii advent children #ffvii advent children #ffvii #cloud strife #zack fair #ask #text #me #carolinetano7567 #story

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sapphire-mage · 1 year

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So You Want to Get Into Middle Era Final Fantasy? (A Guide to Final Fantasy I-VI for Those Who Want To Check Them Out)

Some months ago, I posted a bit of an excerpt about Final Fantasy 1-6 (Oh look, here it is!), as they were coming out in Spring 2023. I kind of hinted towards the end that I’d be down to discuss the later games as well, and I suppose now would be a great chance. As someone who as played all the numbers except 11 (which is not listed), I feel it would help to go to bat on this conversation.

This is a dialogue about ‘which of these games should be you’re first FF’ and/or ‘whether or not you should give the game a go’. I won’t be bashing any of them, but instead, making a case for each of them as a way to draw points as to whether or not you would be interested in them. I may state my opinion on some of them, but overall, I have love for each of them. Let’s begin, shall we?

GENERAL TIPS AND INFO:

-Take note that MOST of these games are turn based combat RPGS, in varying degrees. With certain games, the genre does shift in a certain direction, but they still fit the RPG niche.

-FF7-9 have more ‘active mode’ style turn based RPGs, while FF10 has a more ‘wait’ style, giving you A LOT more time to breathe. FF12 functions more as a single players MMORPG with two AI bots helping you, and FF13 is more of a fast paced turn based style with two AI partners. There’s also.... you’ll see.

-If by some chance, Final Fantasy isn't vibing with you: By all means quit. Maybe pick up one with a story that interests you more. Maybe turn based combat isn't your thing. Maybe you want a better leveling system. Maybe you would rather do more modern adaptations. It varies, but don't be afraid to step away. If it's not your thing, it is not your thing. That's okay.

-When it comes to any of these games: Wait until they are on sale. Square tends to put their games on sale pretty often, and pretty often, those sales are a steal. So keep that in mind!

OKAY! Let’s begin!

Final Fantasy VII

To be clear, I am not talking about the remake. This is OG VII.

Gameplay-wise, VII takes a lot of notes from VI. Individually, characters have unique weapons and limit breaks, but you can equip materia that grant magic, skills, and stat boosts. THAT is where the strategy lies. Using what materia slots your character has, you can strengthen your materia while also making the right load out for upcoming battles.

The story is excellent on it's own. Without going into sequels or prequels, FFVII is actually one of the easiest to understand storylines of the bunch. Everything is pretty straightforward, and anything that isn't explained is left in mystery for mystery's sake (unless you go to prequels and sequels). Best of all: The character development is spread out neatly. Each character gets a lot of time to evolve as a character and improve, which is nice.

The music's fame precedes itself, though it has some that I'm not a fan of (namely 'Under the Rotten Pizza'). But if there is any real problem with FFVII, it's the graphics. Those polygons... have not aged well. I can look past it, but it may be a struggle for some. Especially in certain areas where it gets hard to SEE where to go.

But... It was my first Final Fantasy, and I think it's a superb 'first Final Fantasy' for ANYONE!

General Tip: VII isn't too difficult, as far as the series goes, so I don't have many tips. ...Save for two. First off, KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN EVERYWHERE FOR ITEMS! Especially materia! You can sometimes find materia just lying around, and that one chance to get it might to your only chance for a LONG TIME! So, keep your eyes open for green, blue, red, or purple orbs lying around!

And the second tip... At some point in the game, you'll end up going into some place called the 'Temple of the Ancients'.

When you think you're getting close to the end of that area, you should remove Aerith's/Aeris' accessory, give her a weak armor, and a somewhat weak weapon. It'll help you in a later battle.

You don't have to worry about materia, though. She can keep using whatever materia you want.

Final Fantasy Tactics

WAIT A MINUTE! Tactics?!? T doesn't come after 7!

You see, Final Fantasy Tactics holds such a big place in people's hearts, that many consider it as part of the numerical series despite being a spin-off. I AM ONE SUCH PEOPLE! TACTICS RULES!

First off, the gameplay is completely different. If you've ever played or seen Tactics Ogre, Triangle Strategy, or any '_____ Tactics' game, you should know that THAT is the gameplay styling. It can also be compared to Fire Emblem, but it's a much more different beast in a certain regard. Imagine chess, but with RPG numbers and equipment.

But to make it even better: It has a job system like Final Fantasy V. You can change the class of your characters and keep some of the things they learned from those classes. You can have a Ninja that steals like a thief, a Chemist that can dance, a Black Mage with any other magic, etc. THERE'S EVEN A CLASS THAT LET'S YOU USE MATHEMATICS TO FIGHT! AND IT'S OP IN THE RIGHT HANDS!

Storywise, this is one of the richest, yet most tragic stories in the series. It's not a story that will make your cry, per se, but it is a story that will speak of the struggles of the world. While many characters are lovable (especially the main character, Ramza), the story is very heavy and deals with heavy political themes and questions of morality. How the corruption of greed and power ruins innocent lives. That said, it does all of this quite well, and it makes for an excellent story.

This isn't a good 'first Final Fantasy' as it is a spin off that plays completely different from the rest of the series, but it is an AWESOME game that you should play if the sound of this game tickles your fancy. No requirement to play any other number in the series, either.

THAT SAID, I WOULD RECOMMEND WAITING A BIT, BECAUSE THE LIKELY HOOD OF A TACTICS REMASTER IS QUITE POSSIBLE AT THIS POINT! Especially after the success of Triangle Strategy and Tactics Ogre's remaster. But if you can't wait, be sure to play the 'War of the Lions' port, and not the OG PS1 version. The original had some bugs and poor translation.

General Tips: This game DOES have permadeath for all characters, so don't let that timer go past zero when your party members are KO'd. However, if you win the battle before their timers end, they'll be alive again after the fight.

Also: Ramza's 'Squire' class functions differently than the 'Squire' class does for most non-major playable characters. Keep an eye on it, as the class has some secrets that can benefit you later on. But of course, you can do as you please with Ramza's class and fighting style.

I'm so sorry, VIII fans, but from this bundle, this is my least favorite. But I'm still coming from a place of love and understanding.

VIII is quite different in gameplay compared to most of the previous ones. It works somewhat like 7 in that characters have unique weapons and limit breaks, but then the magic system makes things... interesting. You can equip summons still, but now, you have to 'draw magic' out from enemies and random locations. You can't equip and cast 'Fire' unless you draw individual 'Fire' spells out from your enemies to cast it for yourself. It makes a lot more sense in context.

One of the unique things you can do with your magic is augment your magic to your stats to boost them. You can also equip magic to your weapons to change them. Equipping 'Fire' to your weapons or armor could grant you Fire Elemental Attack or Immunity respectively. Same goes for Status Effects like Poison or Sleep. That aspect is really neat and creative for boss strats.

Since the gameplay is so different, it's hard to recommend as a 'first Final Fantasy', but it is not a bad follow up one.

The story is a bit strange and all-over-the-place at times, but the central focus is on a cute romance between a grumpy teenage boy and a hopeful teenage girl. She drives him a bit crazy, which gets cute and fun. There's also a neat flashback story involving a super awesome character named Laguna, but that's for you to figure out.

If this game has one massive selling point, it's the music. One of the best OSTs in the series. Battle themes, overworld themes, town themes, dungeons themes. STELLAR all around.

General Tips: Some might suggest drawing as much magic as you can until you hit max at the start. ...That is insanely boring and kind of torture. Go at your own pace. Draw when you can and have fun with it. There will be other methods to draw magic later in the game, too.

Also: Be careful over-leveling yourself. This game has a leveling system that levels boss battles along with you, so if you decide to max level, be ready for a difficult final boss.

Talking about this game is going to be difficult, because... this game kind of means so much to me, that speaking ill of it kind of hurts. But I have to speak the truth about certain things. I need to emphasize that this game has my favorite story in the entire series. Ever. Just... My god... It's so good. Maybe not perfect, but it's everything to me.

First, let's talk gameplay. Characters function like FFIV, where characters have predetermined classes and roles, but with IX, they learn new magic, abilities, and skills by equipping specific weapons, armor, or accessories. Even if the weapon or gear sucks, you need to master the spell/skill before moving on to better gear.

Also, worth mentioning: Recent ports have some 'aspect ratio' issues that mess with certain scenes. And sometimes, the game can crash after you beat the final boss. ...Yeah. I don't know why Square did a 'bleh' job with the port. Consider a PS1 version if possible, or be ready to watch the ending on YouTube when you get there.

But... This game's story... Holy moly... There has not been a video game, let alone a Final Fantasy, that has made me cry THIS MUCH! Endwalker came close!

Mind you: This is also, easily, the funniest Final Fantasy. The characters are very cartoonish, and this leads to many antics and running gags.

But the moral of this story... Without spoiling much, Final Fantasy IX talks about the value of life. It talks about coping with your own mortality and the mortality of the people you love. AND MY GOD, DOES IT RIP YOUR HEART OUT BUT THEN ALSO MEND YOUR HEART WITH LOVE AND KISSES! And as sad as it sounds, it's a sadness that gives you hope, and sometimes, changes you as a person.

If it weren't for technical issues, this would be my favorite FF. There have been rumors of either a remake or a TV adaptation. Keep an eye out for that, and hopefully, they won't pull their punches on some of the heart wrenching moments of the game.

But if you want to experience the story now... It's ready for you to take on. Be ready to laugh, but be ready with some tissues.

General Tips: Make use of what each character can offer! If a certain character isn't living up to their potential, but you HAVE to use them, don't be afraid to have them be an item healer.

Garnet has more powerful attack summons, while Eiko has more support driven summons. Zidane and Freya are secretly two of the most busted characters, but they require a lot of grinding to get them there. Vivi is low tier, but if I can beat final bosses and super bosses with Vivi on my team, you can do anything. And again, don't underestimate Blue Magic. EVER!

(EDIT: I made the fatal error to go watch ending reactions to FFIX after proof reading this, and my nose is clogged from how much I was crying. Again.)

I've heard many people point out that Final Fantasy X is the best 'First Final Fantasy'. It has voice acting. It has solid graphics. It's on every console. The story is easy to grasp (at least, the main two characters are). I'd agree, but I'd also say that that is still up to the eye of the beholder. Someone DYING to meet Sephiroth or having a preference for 2D games will point elsewhere in the end. But yes, FFX is a very safe bet.

From a gameplay standpoint, X SEEMS very forgiving, as it has a built in 'Wait Mode'. It could be one of your character's turn to attack, and you can take AS LONG AS YOU WANT! But it has some rough boss fights. Only bad part is leveling. It involves what is basically a 'giant board game where all characters start on different places, each space being a stat/ability'. IT'S HUGE! It leads to a lot of freedom, which is good, but it is extremely time consuming.

Story is... complicated. The lore and pace of the plot gets a little wonky and hand wavey. Like, "Oh! We need to move the plot to _____, so... RANDOM BULLSHIT!" But... that's not to say the story has no appeal!

The appeal of the story is the relationship between it's main characters, Tidus and Yuna. And not just in a romantic way. Yuna is quite honestly one of the most nuanced characters in Final Fantasy. She's absolutely fascinating, especially for people who have complicated religious history or family. And how Tidus and Yuna connect and lead each other to change is done so well.

And the music! Some of it has a strange bounce to it, but many other tracks are so incredibly beautiful.

General Tip: As mentioned above, the Endgame side quests can be really annoying. Be ready to brace yourself for some tedious or difficult tasks. ...Unless you have no interest in doing them, in which case, carry on with your playthrough.

Oh, and there is a segment where you get the chance to teach Tidus the 'Jecht Shot'. Try your best to get it right the first time. It'll take place after you meet Yuna and get on a boat.

Final Fantasy XII

XII is one of the biggest oddmans out. From this point on, 'turn based combat' is technically over. We're now dealing with more complicated gameplay styles.

Gameplay functions in what I can best describe as an 'auto battle programmer'. On one hand, you can tell your characters what to do, but on the other, you can 'program' them to attack using 'gambits'. For example, 'If Ally HP < 30, use Cure' or 'If Enemy has lowest Health, Attack'. Characters will function and respond to these set ups instantly, and even follow priorities depending on how important you consider each gambit to be for each character.

It's very different from the rest of the series, and it was controversial at the time. That said, I really enjoyed it. Definitely fed the former computer programmer in me.

Story is VERY different from most Final Fantasys. While character arcs and development exists, they do not take the forefront. XII, much like Tactics (which takes place in the same world), focuses more on political drama and revolution. That said, the characters are still fairly fun and interesting, so you're not entering a world of lifeless characters.

Music would probably be my biggest issue. I don't dislike Hitoshi's work. Obviously, I liked Tactic's OST, but XII doesn't have many tracks that stick with me. Still, it sounds better than the Tactics Advance games.

Should go without saying, but this one isn't a great 'First Final Fantasy'. I would recommend it to people who really enjoy computer programming or logic statements, though.

General Tips: This game does not have 'dropped gil/money' like most Final Fantasy games do. Unless your opponent is human, they don't drop money. Instead, monsters will drop spoils such as fur, bones, teeth, etc. THOSE can be sold for money.

Unfortunately, there is also an issue where there are certain items that you shouldn't sell, or else you will cheat yourself out of certain future prizes. You may want to look into that online.

The most controversial game on this line up. I lived through quite a fandom war over this game. Where I lie on that debate can be summarized in three statements. 1. I'm not going to deep into that, as I'm here to speak hope into the ether for this game. 2. The 'Hallway Simulator' criticism is a bit absurd, when MANY games do that. 3. Final Fantasy XIII needs friends and deserves friends, and that's what I want to fight for here.

XIII's gameplay is a step back to being somewhat turn based, but it is a lot more automated. You can only control one character, but you can change the 'classes' of your entire party mid-battle. You'll alternate to deal damage, heal, buff, debuff, and set up the right combo to break your enemy's defenses.

Biggest drawback is that if that character your controlling dies, it's Game Over. BUT the game works in a 'Would you like to retry the battle?' way, so retrying is no big deal.

The story... I'm not gonna lie, I am still SO CONFUSED by the general lore and explanation of what certain things are, but... I GET THE CHARACTERS! While some may say that it's a bit 'anime', the characters go through some great character arcs.

Lightning is controversial for... dumb reasons. Sorry, I like my 'big sister' protagonists, and she's no exception. Lightning is cool as hell. And Vanille is a very off-character whose voice acting and behavior will have you scratching your head... until you figure out what's going on with her.

And finally, the music. I don't know many games Masashi has led on his own, but OH MY GOD, I love the music of this game. Absolutely gorgeous! And the fact that the above song is the BASIC BATTLE THEME is crazy!

General Tips: A large portion of the game is pretty straight forward, though chest are scattered around. You may get the creeping feeling of "Oh god, am I missing side quests as I go through here?"

NOPE! The game will open up at a certain point, and it will be EXTREMELY obvious when it does. Then, and only then, do side quests show up. But it won't be for a while.

Alright, that about wraps it up. I'm not really planning to cover XI, XIV, or XV. Still haven't played XI, XIV is an entirely different beast, and XV is something I'm still processing. If I did anything beyond here, it would probably be spin-offs? I didn't mention X-2 or XIII's sequels (I haven't played the latter, maybe I should get on that), but maybe there I will.

Ranking the games from 'best Final Fantasy to start with'. Mind you, this isn't a ranking of 'Which games are best'.

Final Fantasy VII

Final Fantasy X

Final Fantasy IX

Final Fantasy VIII

Final Fantasy XIII

Final Fantasy XII

I'm a bit biased. VII was MY first! And I didn't rank Tactics because I feel like people searching for Tactics games will gravitate to Tactics on their own. Or at least, everyone should play/try FFT regardless of FF relationship.

Honestly, I feel like these six (or seven) are very much up to factor of 'Which one interests you the most?' And that drive will guide you more than anything. If you're just DYING to meet Cloud and Sephiroth, then you know the answer. If anything I mentioned got you interested, maybe that's the one to go for.

Even if I recommended AGAINST playing one of them first, do it if you want to. Honestly, everyone has something to gain from each of these. I truly don't believe any of these are 'bad'.

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frozen-fountain · 5 months

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I pinched this list of writer asks from @runicmagitek, and would love to read everyone else's answers if you have a few minutes to kill.

How many works do you have on AO3? 17

What's your total AO3 word count? 281,634. Not bad for three years!

What fandoms do you write for? Final Fantasies VI, VII OG, and X once when I was briefly possessed and wrote a fic from Anima's point of view.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? Into the Night Uncharted (Vincent character study exploring his relationships with all the other mains) You Grow the Flowers Yourself (Elmyra's time in Shinra captivity and the point at which the canon diverged) Prints (a series of four flash fics about FFVII couples post-canon and their pets; not that fluffy) Penitent (the abovementioned screed from Anima's point of view) Negative Space (brief flash fic about Relm painting, well, guess)

The top two are what you'd expect, but I love that some of my more out-there ideas were (relatively) well-received.

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Every single one. I wouldn't if it was hate, but if you've stopped by to wish me well and tell me you enjoyed something I created? Of course I'm going to respond. I write these for me, but I post them in the hope of finding those brief moments of connection.

What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Hard to say! Penitent is a miserable story about a woman stumbling from one nightmare to another and only finding relief when she's allowed to die; I intended for its ending to be salt in the wound, but a lot of people found it heartening, and I like that both options are there! My other foray into horror, Clownfish (the beginning of Jenova's influence on the Cetra), features the certain death of a child and imminent collapse of a civilization, so you can't get much bigger than that in terms of downers.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? My FFVII fics end on lighter notes of momentary resolution, even if there's always an element of bittersweetness and it's all building to something that's quite different. You could probably pick any one of the longer pieces.

Do you get hate on fics? Not regarding the fics themselves, no. I am on the mod team of r/FanFiction, though, and I think all of us have had a few nasty responses left on our fics when someone didn't like our decisions. But I don't take that sort of thing to heart, and it actually happens way less often than I expected when I took up the position.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Sometimes! I've written F/F, M/M, and M/F scenes, and something I'm chipping away at now also involves threesomes and group sex. What I've written is not purely vanilla but it's also nothing extreme. It's always there as another facet of a character study and contributes something I feel is important and powerful to the text, but I'm also not not trying to turn people on at the same time. To me a good sex scene is like a good horror – it's a good story even if it doesn't produce a particular kind of excitement in you.

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? Not really a crossover person. It's fun to have a long conversation about characters from different FFs hanging out, for example, but I don't feel inspired to actually make a story of it.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not to my knowledge.

Have you ever had a fic translated? As above.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Kind of! My partner beta reads all my stuff, but we're both on this Final Fantasy kick together and a lot of my analysis and headcanons have been built out of talks we've had and ideas we've grown together. I've even lifted things she's said and put them straight into the story (with permission and credit, of course). Even if the actual writing is done by me, she definitely deserves an extra special credit for much she's given to helping me.

What's your all-time favorite ship? I don't have a definitive one I'd single out.

What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I don't know if I'll see the FFVII series all the way through to the end, but I'd like to surprise myself! At the very least I want to finish the pieces I've actually started.

What are your writing strengths? General prose craftsmanship, having a distinct voice and style to all I do, being able to vary it up enough to characterise a protagonist through their narrative voice, creating evocative and immersive atmosphere and settings (and using a POV character's way of relating and observing their surroundings to say something about them), inner monologue, little human worldbuilding touches like Meteor truthers and the post-Meteor baby boom.

What are your writing weaknesses? Pacing, tension, trusting myself with what I have to say and whether or not it's worth saying at all, keeping it in the damn subtext.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? I can understand why some readers would find this jarring or distracting, so that's something to bear in mind as an author, but I love it! Some languages just have words and phrases that convey a particular nuance better than anything in English, I always think it's neat when an author pours some of their own knowledge and interests into a fic, and I like having the chance to learn. Recently I read a friend's fic that features for a protagonist a detective who needs to be a polyglot by nature of his work, and when she included lines in languages other than English, she provided translations and links back and forth at the bottom. I found that, rather than breaking my immersion, it added to it – putting me in the head of someone who has to quickly and readjust to different ways of speaking.

First fandom you wrote for? I'll never tell!

Favorite fic you've ever written? I'm proud of each of them for their own strengths and unique attributes, but I'm going to single out the four drabbles I wrote this year. I'm a maximalist writer by nature, so it was a serious challenge to pare down anything to a mere hundred words; nonetheless, I think each of them manages to suggest characters and relationships, create an atmosphere, and communicate a conflict and resolution (or deliberate lack thereof) in the limited space allowed. Makes me feel like maybe I'm not so bad at the storytelling thing after all.

#froze fics #writing

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korenlesthe · 9 months

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Final Fantasy VII Remake is garbage Part 2

And here's why

(7:57:47) Totally not inspired by Hbomberguy Note : this is a continuation of a repost of my twitter post with a few fixes here and there.

Chapter 4 : I'm a writer (Alan Wake, a writer)

Again, I really like what they did with the "timeline mixing". What I'm not a fan of are the TURKS. Already in Advent Children (the og one, not the Complete), I had TONS of problems seeing Reno & Rude hanging with Cloud and co. Like, "Hey, let's totally forget that you murdered thousands of civilians with the pillar including our friends Jessie, Biggs and Wedge ! ❤️". Advent Children Complete did acknowledge Reno & Rude still feeling that they can't be forgiven for what they have done and hope that someday they'll find a way for a redemption. It doesn't fix everything but it is still a massive improvement.

But in FF 7R ? Reno & Rude feel a bit guilt and then its ok, because Tseng says something "deep" (lol no). It's supposed to show that what Reno & Rude did actually hurt them and it is really troubling them. But nah, Tseng says "Well if you haven't done this, somebody else would've done it, so you helped someone, actually !". Yeah, fuck off Tseng. Reverse psychology my ass. Oh and speaking of the pillar.

Chapter 5 : La mu-si-que ! Oui, la musique !

When my brother played Secret of Mana for the first time with me, we let the game at the title screen for a moment because we saw many nice animations or story elements by just doing this in games like A Link To The Past or Link's Awakening. I was in awe with the Secret of Mana's title theme and the beautiful (yet very pixelated and compressed) artwork revealed (and the music goes even harder at that moment). So I did this too with FF 7 the first time I played it and got to hear the Prelude. And off course, when the music goes for the second part, I loved every bit of it.

When I was told that The Prelude was a very recurring theme in the series, I wanted to hear all versions of it. It's that important to me. I LOVE this theme. And while it's rendition in the remake is good, it's nowhere near the impact it had in the OG game.

And then there's the covers in FF 7 Remake. All around the maps, you can hear and purchase covers from the original game. And wether you purchase it or not, you are forced to hear it whenever you get close to where you can obtain the song. And they SUCK. They suck so badly. The Prelude cover is horrendous. It makes the FF X Prelude look like it's good ! None of the cover works aside for "Oh you hear ? It's that theme butchered from OG FF 7 !". But you know, it's just my opinion, people love it, I don't. But there's something I'm sure people agree.

The fall of the Sector 7 plate is a big emotional moment in the original game. Seeing the plate fall is showing that despite all your efforts, you failed. Your friends died and all of the citizens under the plate and on the plate died too. The CG animation in OG FF7 goes with no music, just a cold, silent, horrible depiction of thousands dying. And at the end, you see the Shinra President from behind, looking at the devastation from his window while listening to an opera music, the ONLY music you hear.

It shows how massively separated from the horror he is. He is listening to music. Outside his office, the sound of people dying is covered by explosions and then a terrible silence. This is incredible, especially for a 1997 videogame.

So off course the remake completely fucks this. In the remake, you get to hear, from start to finish, a rocky techno shit while thousands of people are dying and Wedge is supposedly crushed to death with his cats. WOW, DUDE ! And this time you actually see the President's face and he is smiling. But you don't hear the opera song.

Conclusion

The Nomurism are so full of their asses they can't even be bothered to respect "Show, don't tell". You don't have to see that he is smiling, you know it just by seeing him watching this with the opera music in the background ! It was more than enough to understand that he enjoyed what happened. What he ordered. What he did. Fuck this remake.

The same exact thing happened with Crisis Core's depiction of Zack's death versus Zack's death in OG FF 7. The exact same thing. A totally Overdrive-Nomurism Cosmo Nevismitical moment, if you will. The man can't help but make overtly complicated stories, UI, menus with pompous terms, pretentious writing (oh look, people are playing chess in KH, wow, so original) and it's not helped when his buddy from FF XIII is giving 80% of the lore and plot in the Codex you have to read instead of, you know, SHOWING IT.

Advent Children was the moment I gave up on Nomura and also made me stop watching shonens because I felt like they were all doing the exact same thing (oh, a tsundere, oh a geek, oh a woman with massive breasts, oh a pervert, oh a weird man with opaque glasses reajusting it all the time and saying "Fufufu" like a creep).

So for all of this, I didn't liked FF 7 Remake, a game I did twice (Steam & PS5).

Final note : Look at the pretty keys ! / 10

#final fantasy vii #final fantasy 7 #ff7 remake #final fantasy 7 remake #Cloud #Gaming #Cloud in OneDrive #Cloud in DropBox #Cloud in Google Drive #Barrett à cheveux #Tifal #tu penses à tout

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astrxealis · 7 months

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fun fact please know my arc with sephiroth is literally enemies to maybe-lovers 👍

#⋯ ꒰ა starry thoughts ໒꒱ *·˚#not even btw in a selfship way but that's possible to but like. just. how i feel for him in general !!!#i have feelings for him (complicated)#I'M NOT GNA REALLY EXPLAIN but it's really funny actually bcs this is the first time i've actually felt this way for a character me thinks #in this specific way ?? bcs even for other worse characters i am ..... a complicated being in a simple way #aka i already like them from the get-go :P tbh i've always loved sephiroth too but #admittedly i started thinking he was boring somewhere down the line and not very interesting even tho i loved him still #please note i have played og ffvii and remake ffvii and watched crisis core online bcs i didn't have access to it before #and also have cc reunion. and i know but haven't watched advent children. and a bit of dirge of cerberus.#i know a fuckton abt ffvii but tbh it's not my fav game nor ff even tho it is one of my favs ever and i love it so much #so what i'm trying to say is i still have more to understand better #BUT ANYWAY complicated explanation insert here but :3 so yeah #BUT THE THING IS i think sephiroth is obviously so cool and iconic and pretty #and that's been coming back to me. and i am no longer casting sephiroth to the side oh my GOD !!!#thank ever crisis for this and also rebirth lmfao #so yeah. fun rambles #<- reluctant (?) sephiroth liker #also my friend uhh who doesn't know ff much. she recently learned of sephiroth and it's so obvious she would like him tbh LMFAO <3 #honestly i might ask my other friend who i have funny history w regarding how obvious our tastes in characters are #ion think they know my vii favs. so. mhm

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h-worksrambles · 2 years

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I wanna talk about Cloud and Sephiroth in Kingdom Hearts

Oh boy. Final Fantasy characters in Kingdom Hearts. Now this is a controversial topic. While originally pitched as a Disney and Final Fantasy crossover, Kingdom Hearts is relatively sparing in its utilisation of the cast of FF. They’ve never had a dedicated world and they tend to serve as AU cameos to help populate the games’ original locales, such as Tidus, Selphie and Wakka being kids on the Destiny Island, or Squall, Aerith, Yuffie and Cid being in Traverse Town (having come from Radiant Garden). And when they do show up, their characterisation tends to be a point of contention. Some people want more of these guys in the series and are annoyed that their relevance has dwindled still further with time. Others dislike their KH iterations, finding them too out of character. And some of the most controversial have been the cast of Final Fantasy VII. Being the most popular entry in the series, VII has several representatives in Kingdom Hearts, and just as with the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII (which Nomura also had a pretty big hand in), their portrayals are pretty divisive. So I thought it might be interesting to try doing a little fix it fic of how the FF7 cast could have been handled in terms of their role and backstories in this continuity. My thought process has been to try and retain the core essentials of their character, and to find a reasonably close KH equivalent to their original lore without making it too complicated. They only have so much time after all and there’s a LOT going on in KH as there is. Also, I want to think about organic and fitting interactions they could have with the series’ original characters. With that said, I’ll be looking specifically at the archetypal JRPG protag and villain themselves: Cloud Strife + Sephiroth

Cloud first shows up in Kingdom Hearts 1 hired by Hades to take down Sora and Hercules, but ultimately sees the error of his ways and befriends Sora. In KH, he’s a swordsman wandering from world to world hunting for his nemesis, Sephiroth. We only get snippets of their history, but from what we can gleam, this version of Cloud succumbed to darkness in the past. He was saved from turning fully in some way by Tifa Lockhart, but this ended up creating Sephiroth, a being of pure darkness who torments Cloud, trying to push him back into corruption as the devil figure of his conscience. He can only be eliminated by Cloud himself.

The biggest issue with Cloud’s characterisation is really the same one that dogs a lot of the Compilation. Specifically, that a lot of Cloud’s quirks and insecurities are airbrushed away to make him stoic and ‘cool’. My stance on this is that, (and this goes for Dissidia to an extent too), KH and the Compilation treat Advent Children Cloud as the default. Thing is, Cloud is very different from his usual self in that movie, since he’s riddled with trauma and depression from the events of the OG game. Now Advent Children doesn’t handle this character arc super well, but there is at least a reason why Cloud is the way he is there. And yet, that version of Cloud is treated in wider media as how Cloud should act all the time. It’s almost like if you took the extreme version of Batman from something like the Dark Knight Returns, and made that your default Batman in a movie with no additional context. But no director would ever do THAT right?

Oh wait…

Normally, Cloud is a huge, socially awkward dork acting cool and hyper-masculine to hide his own insecurities. And there’s a lot of potential pairing him up with someone as earnest as Sora, who is so goofy and unapolgeticaly himself. If you wanna see what that dynamic would look like, just look at Cloud and Wedge in VII Remake. So as for Cloud’s character, sure he can be cool at first, but that facade can break after the fight with Hades and Cerberus. Let him be awkward, let him be snarky, let him and Sora have a proper dynamic. Sora indulges Cloud’s cool guy persona because he knows that, deep down, Cloud is a huge softy. Look, I’ll be real the cheat answer is just make him like he is in Remake. However, I am keeping his Vincent Valentine esque redesign because it is AWESOME.

He can still hunt for Sephiroth, he can still work briefly with Hades. But his overall character writing will hopefully be much more in line with the original game, which should help to give him better chemistry with Sora and even Hercules. Multiple times KH has made FF7 characters strive to become heroes at Olympus the same way they wanted to join SOLDIER in the OG (we see this with Zack in Birth By Sleep especially). You could do a lot by making Hercules an ideal of the kind of hero Cloud wants to be, in contrast to his former fallen idol, who himself was once a legendary hero...

And with that, let’s get to Sephiroth. Admittedly his actual demeanor is not too far off the mark and his boss fights are absolutely legendary. I’ve touched on what little we know of KH Sephiroth’s backstory already and I really don’t care for it. I think it represents a fundamental misunderstanding of Cloud and Sephiroth’s dynamic for one simple reason.

Sephiroth should not give a damn about Cloud.

In FF7, Sephiroth barely interacts with the party, and when he does, it’s usually Jenova taking his form. This is because Sephiroth is too concerned with his lofty goals of destroying the Planet with Meteor, and thus taking control of the Lifestream, to pay attention to the ragtag group following him. Because power wise, they’re practically ants to him. Why shoud he care if they’re following him? There’s a sequence in the beginning of the game where you have to take a huge detour to avoid a monster callled the Midgar Zolom. It’s far to powerful to defeat at your current level, you can only avoid it. About 15 in game minutes later, you see another one of these things impaled on a tree by Sephiroth.

It’s such a brilliant way to communicate that Sephiroth is on a whole other power level compared to Cloud and co. He is not just the man Cloud hates, but also the embodiment of everything he once wanted to be. He is an almost godlike mountain for Cloud to climb, symbolic of Cloud’s own self doubts. The only time he gives Cloud the time of day is when he can use him as a puppet for personal gain. Unravelling his false memories, realising he was strong enough to beat Sephiroth once, and can do it again, is a huge part of Cloud’s arc, piecing together his fractured identity, accepting himself for who he is and overcoming his insecurities. There’s a reason the final fight of the game is a scripted one hit kill against Sephiroth. Cloud has finally learned to believe in himself, and can overcome the man who once personified his fear and self-hatred, the man who underestimated Cloud to his cost. Cloud proves to be both the better warrior and the better man.

But in Kingdom Hearts, as in Dissidia and even Remake, Sephiroth is constantly popping up to taunt, torment and manipulate Cloud. He doesn’t seem to have a life outside of bullying the guy. Cloud should be the one pursuing Sephiroth, not the other way around. Which is why I don’t think the whole ‘Sephiroth is Cloud’s darkness’ thing really works. Sephiroth is more than an aspect of Cloud. As I said, he should feel like a demigod on a whole other level. Sephiroth’s goals should be far beyond Cloud himself. He should think of Cloud as no more than a flea, unworthy of his time.

The games seem to want to push Sephiroth as a symbol of Cloud’s old shame and past. Something he wants to escape but can’t, with Tifa trying to help him move on from it. Again, kind of like what Advent Children was trying to do. But without any details on any of these characters’ shared history, it just reduces their conversations to empty, pretentious refrains of “darkness, darkness, light, light, darkness” without any substantial character work behind it. It’s honestly just a worse written version of Riku and Ansem’s dynamic. Their portrayal is not just a disservice to their FF7 incarnations, it’s emblematic of all the worst excesses of Kingdom Hearts’ writing and none of the strengths.

So, here’s my take for a rewrite of Cloud and Sephiroth’s backstory. Cloud and Sephiroth were originally from the same world. However, eventually Sephiroth learned of legends of chosen warriors who travelled from world to world as protectors. It’s not said outright, but we’ll imply that what Sephiroth read about, was the existence of Keyblade wielders. Believing himself to be one of these chosen ones, Sephiroth opened the door to the heart of his world, causing it to be swallowed up by the Heartless. Cloud, only a child then, was one of several to escape, being flung to Radiant Garden (as would Aerith and Tifa but I may save them for another time). This allows for something that better parallels their FF7 backstory, with the destruction of their world mirroring the Nibelheim Incident, and Sephiroth’s goal of becoming a Keyblade wielder mirroring his delusions of grandeur as Jenova’s ‘chosen one’. But all in a way that isn’t too dark or complicated for KH. Hence, Cloud sets out across the worlds to take revenge on Sephiroth, and is willing to learn how to use darkness if that’ll get him what he wants.

This also makes for an easy way to get Sephiroth to fight Sora, one KH2 already hints at. Sephiroth takes an interest to Sora because he covets the Keyblade which is why he challenges Sora to fights. He doesn’t have to be a major villain. He can still be an optional superboss. But now his dynamic with Cloud and narrative role is much more true to the original. It also gives Cloud another interesting parallel with Sora. Sora and Cloud were both torn away from their original homes and want to recover what they’ve lost. But Cloud does so through revenge and is willing to rely on darkness to do it. This can allow KH1!Sora to grapple with whether using the darkness would be an easy shortcut to getting his friends back (which is exactly what Riku struggles with in KH1). I believe Disney worlds are at their best when they can meaningfully impact the heroes’ development. And I think that should apply to the FF characters too. Both should be more than filler episodes. This can also continue when we introduce Tifa in KH2. Now Cloud has reunited with another survivor of his world, he can begin to question whether his relationships with the people around him matter more than vengeance against Sephiroth. And that’s a lesson Sora, who values his friends above all else, can help to drill into him. Wait...have I basically made Cloud into Guts? Uhhhh...

If we’d actually gotten that long awaited Sephiroth superboss in KH3, we might even have been able to bring this to a conclusion. And there’s lots of different ways we could take it. Maybe Sora and Cloud could have taken on an ascended Safer Sephiroth, as Sephiroth’s quest for power ends not with a Keyblade, but a twisted angelic monstrous form. And so Cloud overcomes his self-doubts by defeating Sephiroth with the help of his friends. Or maybe Cloud chooses not to kill Sephiroth. He decides he isn’t worth it and chooses to put his friends over revenge, leaving Sephiroth to blindly wander the worlds, never getting the Keyblade he seeks because, ironically, he drowned himself in darkness in a way the Keyblade could never accept. Maybe Cloud could meet Riku in Radiant Garden after he comes back from the Dark Realm. Riku knows what it’s like to rely on darkness as a shortcut to power, and can relate to Cloud’s enmity with Sephiroth by comparing it to being haunted by Ansem. We could have fleshed out his dynamics with Tifa and Aerith or even Zack (assuming he’s not dead in this canon that is, BBS is a little unclear there). There’s lots of different ways you could go with it.

I love Kingdom Hearts. I love Final Fantasy VII. But I don’t think Cloud and Sephiroth’s showings in KH, cool boss fights notwithstanding, are a proper showcase of what makes these characters so great. I understand that this is a different canon, and these are alternate universe versions of these two. But I think they could be implemented in a way that is more true to why they were so compelling in the original, while still being thematically fitting for Kingdom Hearts. I’m not a writer, and I don’t pretend to be better than professionals just because I’m playing script doctor. But I hope I succeeded in doing these characters justice, even a little.

I hope you guys liked this. If you did, let me know and maybe I’ll evaluate/rewrite other Final Fantasy characters in Kingdom Hearts. Maybe I’ll even talk about ones who aren’t here already that I would like to see. Until next time, take care!

#cloud strife #sephiroth #final fantasy vii #kingdom hearts #character discusion #i rant about (not) obscure characters who i think could have been better maybe perhaps?#cw gore

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elegantmadness · 1 year

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Seeds of Doubt, Chapter 1

Fandom(s): Final Fantasy VII (potential spoilers for Crisis Core, OG game, Remake, Intermission, Dirge of Cerberus, and/or Advent Children), Final Fantasy VIII, and Final Fantasy XIII. Please note, however, that this is not a cross-over; the characters I've brought in are considered to be from Gaia/FFVII's universe. Knowledge of FF 8 or 13 isn't necessary to understand.

Summary: President Shinra's sons have concocted a plan: bring the Seven, Shinra's First Class SOLDIERs, into the fold, and begin to dismantle the company from within.

But even with the aid of the Turks and peripheral support lent to Avalanche, all does not go according to plan.

Main/Major Characters: Sephiroth, Genesis Rhapsodos, Angeal Hewley, Zack Fair, Cloud Strife, Lightning, Squall Leonhart

Please note: Cetra/Ancient!Squall Leonhart, and Odin-living-inside-Lightning-a-la-Chaos-in-Vincent.

Side/Secondary Characters: Lazard Deusericus, Rufus Shinra, Auron

Mentioned Characters (as of ch. 2): Hojo, Hollander, Seifer Almasy, Irvine Kinneas, Rinoa Heartilly, Gast Faremis, Ifalna, Jenova, Edea Kramer, Gillian Hewley, Jecht, Serah Farron

Rating: For this first chapter, it's T. The overall fic will be E.

Pairing/Relationships: Oof. The Seven will be swinging. Any combination you can imagine will likely be involved. Each chapter will have its pairing/poly specified, however. This opener has no explicit pairing.

AO3 Link

Sephiroth’s gaze drifted away from his slowly-dwindling stack of paperwork as he glanced towards the analogue clock on the wall, and once more considered the meeting that was set to begin in less than twenty minutes. Something was going on, though that much was obvious from the news that every first-class SOLDIER would be in attendance. Sephiroth couldn’t recall a single time they’d all been involved in the same mission, though such was to be expected unless there was a crisis on the horizon. Lazard hadn’t been forthcoming about the details when Sephiroth had asked the previous day, the man proving even more cagey than usual. It was possible Angeal might know more – he and Lazard seemed rather friendly, after all – but it was rare to see his friend at headquarters anymore.

No doubt Shinra was… concerned about the three of them being in close proximity, and while he’d argued at the time, he’d been soundly overruled. Genesis was now in charge of Zone Two, half a world away in a region of Gaia that included Wutai, and Angeal had been given Zone Five in the north, home to Modeoheim and the otherwise frigid region surrounding their reactor and the well-known Icicle Inn.

He had to shake the memory free from his thoughts or he’d never finish his work, however.

Or, at least, that had been Sephiroth’s intention. He hadn’t seen Genesis or Angeal in months, and the solitude had begun to wear on him. There was no shortage of people working for Shinra, but most seemed either afraid or in awe of him: an idol to be seen as more – and less – than human, and he hadn’t the patience to deal with such things.

“Knock knock! You ready for the meeting?”

There had only ever been one exception to this beyond Genesis and Angeal, and Sephiroth felt his lips curl up into a soft smile as he looked up over his computer console and met Zack’s gaze. “It doesn’t start for another ten minutes,” Sephiroth reminded him, not at all surprised when Zack dropped his hand from the door jamb and slipped inside, his nervous energy palpable as he wrung his hands together and quickly shifted his weight from one foot to the other multiple times.

“But I’m excited!” Zack replied with a grin, his blue eyes glimmering as he finally let himself drop into the chair on the other side of Sephiroth’s desk. “I haven’t seen Angeal in ages! And have you even met the other Firsts? I’ve only read Leonhart’s reports when Lazard lets me, and I didn’t even know Farron was a woman until Lazard mentioned it in passing yesterday!”

Sephiroth let out a low chuckle at that. “I have never met Leonhart, but Farron and I have exchanged messages in the past. Never in person, though,” Sephiroth added a little slyly, watching as Zack’s mouth parted and subsequently closed before he could even voice his question. “And Strife? You and he have been on assignment together lately, haven’t you?”

“Oh, he’s good. Still embarrassed whenever I mention you, but good,” Zack offered, a touch of mirth twisting his lips almost into a smirk.

Sephiroth let out a quiet sigh at the reminder. When Strife had been training to take his place as a First, Sephiroth had gone with Zack to observe just as Strife’s weight distribution shifted in the wrong direction and the sword he’d been holding fell out of his hands and clattered to the floor. He’d turned such a dark shade of red Sephiroth had even feared he’d cut himself inadvertently…

“You’ve told him he doesn’t need to be embarrassed, yes? None of us were born with sword skills,” Sephiroth reminded him, though Zack merely arched an eyebrow at him.

“You sure about that, Seph? ‘Cause if you ask around it sounds like you popped out of the womb with Masamune in your hand.”

“Now there’s an interesting image.” The pair turned towards the doorway, and Sephiroth’s brow smoothed as Zack all-but-leaped out of his seat and threw himself into Angeal’s arms. “I missed you too, Zack.” Angeal’s chuckles were quiet and warm as he returned the embrace a little more gently, Sephiroth standing in a seamless motion and approaching as Zack finally released his old mentor.

“It’s been too long,” Angeal greeted Sephiroth with a fond smile, though Sephiroth merely lifted an eyebrow at the hand being held out to him.

“Seriously? A handshake? You two have met before, right?” Zack teased Angeal readily, laughing at the exasperated roll of Angeal’s eye before offering Sephiroth a one-armed hug.

“I don’t suppose you’ve seen Genesis yet, you have?” Angeal wondered aloud, though Zack and Sephiroth exchanged a look before shaking their heads. His smile fell at that before he nodded and straightened just a little. “Well. I guess we’d better get down to the meeting, then. With any luck, he’s already there and waiting for us.”

–

The briefing room hadn’t changed at all, and Genesis wasn’t entirely sure if such a revelation annoyed him to no end or gave him comfort. He’d been out west for months now, gauging the Wutaians’ intentions and trying his best to maintain the ceasefire and negotiate for a reactor, but for every step forward he made, something else always seemed to impede his path and drive him three steps back.

The novelty of being away from Midgar had worn off quickly. He’d yearned to return for the art and culture he missed being in the middle of nowhere, not to mention the friendships he’d spent years cultivating. He trusted the men under his command, helped them train, saw them through the worst of the mako injections and wartime injuries, but comrades-in-arms simply weren’t the same as those on equal footing. Angeal had been his rock, Sephiroth his muse and constant drive to do better, and they’d been taken away as though he’d been a naughty child.

Genesis glanced up as the briefing room door slid open with a quiet hiss, and straightened himself when a pair of mostly-unfamiliar men strode inside. The blond was vaguely familiar, with a head of hair so spiky it could have given Zack a run for his money, but the other… his face bore a scar right across the brim of his nose. It was almost startling to see, considering how quickly SOLDIERs healed, and Genesis idly wondered if he’d received the scar before his mako treatments.

There was… something else, Genesis was noticing. The scarred brunet seemed almost… overwhelmed. If his arm brushed the blond’s he winced away and tried to hide his natural inclination to recoil, but he never actively drew away. Auburn eyebrows narrowed curiously just as the pair of them turned their gazes in his direction.

“You are… Zack’s friend, yes?” It wasn’t the most welcoming introduction, but the blond simply nodded before settling into one of the chairs at the briefing table.

“Cloud Strife. You’re Genesis, I take it?” Genesis didn’t even try to stop his lips from curling into a lazy smirk.

“What gave me away? The garishly-red coat, perhaps?”

“Among other things, sure,” Cloud replied with a shrug, not rising to the bait and leaving Genesis just a little disappointed. The brunet had yet to say a single word, and Genesis let his gaze wander to the other man just as the door slid open again.

“Welllllll! Looks like a party in here,” Zack announced, dropping a hand onto Cloud’s shoulder and squeezing before looking over at Squall curiously. “Nice to meet ya! I’m Zack. I understand you’ve been helping my buddy here on a few missions lately, yeah? Thanks!” He reached a hand out for Squall to shake, and Zack pointedly ignored the glowing redness on Cloud’s cheeks as Squall blinked at him owlishly before offering Zack the briefest shake of hands physically possible.

“Ah! Angeal! I’d nearly forgotten what you looked like.” Angeal’s eyes rolled at Genesis’ greeting, though he didn’t shy away from the embrace when it came. “And you,” Genesis turned his attention to Sephiroth after pulling back from the lulling warmth and breadth of Angeal’s chest. “You’d better be prepared to spar.” Sephiroth offered him a weak smile as he tried to contain his sigh.

“You never change, do you?”

“Of course I do. I’ll keep getting stronger until I finally best you.”

“Gentlemen.”

The conversations ground to a halt when Lazard stepped inside, though he was not alone. Rufus Shinra trailed after him, his suit and hairstyle immaculate as he looked over the assembled Firsts.

“I count six, Lazard,” Rufus spoke lazily, knowingly, his blue eyes glinting. “Where’s the last?”

“On her way. There was a storm north of Junon that delayed their helicopter,” Lazard explained before turning his attention to the Firsts. “First, allow me to thank you all for coming back to Midgar. I know a meeting of this magnitude is unprecedented.”

“Yeah, what’s going on, Lazard? Is there going to be another war or something?” Zack piped up, though Genesis crossed his arms over his chest as he slipped into one of the chairs.

“Hush now, Puppy. Let the director finish.” Zack bristled a little at the old nickname, though took a seat on Cloud’s unoccupied side before glancing back up at Lazard.

“There is something going on within Shinra itself that warrants a great deal of… scrutiny, perhaps even action,” Lazard continued, trying his best to sound diplomatic.

“We are all well aware of the ethical… concerns Shinra scientists combat, Director,” Sephiroth interrupted stoically, taking a seat next to Genesis and folding his hands on the table.

“Is that right?” Rufus answered knowingly, producing a golden coin seemingly out of thin air and letting it fall over his knuckles. “I fear even you are unfamiliar with just how deep the depravity runs, Sephiroth.”

Sephiroth’s lips thinned at that, his hands tightening until what pigment they contained readily dissipated. Rufus Shinra had not been born in a lab, had not endured the physical and psychological torture–

He froze in place when a red-gloved hand settled over his, Genesis’ eyes glinting dangerously as his shoulders tensed. Was Genesis angry… on his behalf?

“Sorry I’m late.” More than half a dozen pairs of eyes snapped to Lightning immediately, though she simply straightened and looked ahead, seemingly uninterested.

“Not at all, Farron. Take a seat.”

“We can finally get this meeting started.” With that, Rufus pulled out his phone and pressed a single button, though if it had any sort of effect, no one noticed. “Lazard and I have been digging into the science team’s misadventures over the years, and came across several projects that involve…well, everyone in this room save for the director and myself.”

That particular bit of information had everyone suddenly quieting, the heaviness in the air reminiscent of a gravity spell a new cadet had misfired and caught them all inside.

“You’re really just going to… air Shinra’s dirty laundry?” Zack was the first to recover, his face contorted as though he smelled something particularly unpleasant. “To us? Now? Don’t you think it could get a little personal–”

“Oh, it will mister Fair, I assure you.” Lazard’s glasses glinted in the glow of the overheard monitor as he pushed them back up the brim of his nose. “No one here has been exempt from Shinra’s misdeeds. Perhaps we are overstepping our bounds, but I see no alternative if you all are truly to grasp the lengths Shinra will go to in order to obtain power or further their own scientific interests.”

“Hmph. Nice way of saying shut up, Director.” It was the first time Leonhart spoke, and the sarcasm in his tone was heavy, his eyes slipping shut as he leaned further back in his chair. Zack’s smile spilled over into a grin as he tried to contain his chuckles, and even Genesis and Sephiroth exchanged amused expressions.

“It seems you’ve volunteered first, Leonhart, which is just as well. Your particular circumstances are the most peculiar and mysterious.” It was Rufus who addressed him this time, though Squall did little but eye him warily. He knew better than to interrupt the vice president of Shinra even if he thought this entire meeting was pointless.

“So you’re just going to do this out in the open? With an unlocked door, glass windows, and recording devices watching us all?” Lightning spoke up this time, one of her gloved hands smoothing onto the table as she gave Rufus a rather demanding look. She’d taken the last, empty chair since stepping into the room: the one at the end by Leonhart, and leaned out far enough to see the pair of blonds glance at one another.

“She has a point, Director. If anyone were to see what we were doing, well, being fired would be the least of our troubles.” Angeal had settled between Zack and Genesis, and the tension in his form was noticeable to Genesis; no doubt Angeal was dreading to hear whatever these men had to tell them, but Genesis, for one, was curious to hear what they had to say.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Rufus scoffed. “The Turks have dampened this room from security, and the room itself has been sealed and is currently projecting nothing more malicious than a briefing running long.”

Lightning seemed settled by that, though Angeal shifted in his seat only just – enough for Zack and Genesis both to notice. Zack even shot Genesis a tacit question with a raised eyebrow to which the redhead merely shrugged in return. Angeal had never liked secrets, had always preferred frank albeit hard conversations to hiding unpleasant truths.

“Now. If no one else has any objections…,” Lazard’s voice trailed off as he glanced around the room, waiting for several heartbeats before nodding to himself. “Very well.” The monitor came to life as he navigated to one of the files on the console, and Squall couldn’t quite help how his shoulders hunched and his jaw tightened as Lazard began to explain.

“Over twenty years ago, there was a scientist here at Shinra who was convinced that the way to procure the genetic material of an Ancient was to use Time Materia. This, of course, was before we made our discovery in the bowels of the Northern Crater.” The picture on the screen showed a slight woman, pale and dark-haired, and Squall’s jaw tightened even further. “Now, when I say Time Materia I refer not to that which we have now – these were not simple slow and stop spells she was attempting.”

“Wait wait. Ancients? Seriously? I thought they died out a long time ago,” Zack couldn’t stop himself from piping up, and Lazard inclined his head in Fair’s direction before answering.

“Precisely.”

“...She was attempting to use the Time Materia to travel to another time,” Sephiroth supplied for Lazard.

“We had no evidence of any remaining Ancients, so if Shinra wanted samples or specimens, returning to a time when they still lived undoubtedly seemed a logical step.” Genesis scoffed at that, though Angeal’s brows were furrowing. How did this relate to Leonhart…?

“So, what? You’re saying she succeeded?” Genesis offered mockingly, though the tense expression only grew on Lazard’s face.

“It’s impossible to say,” he finally offered. “The last of her logs were corrupted, though we suspect they were tampered with by Professor Gast.”

“Gast?” Sephiroth murmured softly, thoughtfully, a sliver of silver bangs falling against the long line of his nose. “Was he not the scientist who found Ifalna?”

“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised you know about that,” Rufus remarked, leaning back in his chair as Lazard cleared his throat to regain attention.

“Gast claimed that Dr Kramer died from her own experiments, and that Leonhart wasn’t connected to her, but the timeline fits. When he returned from dealing with the remnants of Kramer’s research, he brought a young Leonhart with him. He claimed you were simply… suited for becoming a SOLDIER, but we have our suspicions. Your sensitivity to mako is of particular note, and your affinity for magic and materia is… substantial.” It was here Lazard paused, adjusting his glasses once more as Squall openly scoffed at his theory.

“So that makes me an Ancient, does it?” It little helped matters that he couldn’t recall anything before meeting Professor Gast, though that didn’t prove anything.

“This is ridiculous,” Lightning practically hissed in the Director’s direction. “If you don’t have anything worthwhile to tell us, then–”

“Sit down, Farron.” Lazard was rarely the type to raise his voice, and Lightning froze upon hearing it, her eyes gleaming menacingly before she clenched her jaw and sat back down.

“Lazard, please. You have to realize how ridiculous this all sounds. Everything you’ve shown us is circumstantial at best, even if the timeline does somehow fit.” Angeal was ever the voice of reason, though his protest was met only with a soft sigh from Lazard before the monitor on the wall changed.

“I’m sure I don’t have to tell any of you how far Professors Hojo and Hollander are willing to go when in the midst of an experiment, though I think you’ll agree that Projects S and G are radical, even for them.” Rufus was silent as Lazard did his best to explain, his probing gaze assessing the room. Leonhart was, as ever, unreadable, though a muscle twitched in his jaw from how tightly he grit his teeth. Under different circumstances, Rufus might have teased the man about breaking his jaw if he weren’t careful, but now wasn’t the time for levity.

“The remains found in the Northern Crater were not, as first suspected, those of an Ancient, but rather, from an alien who crash-landed on the planet millennia ago.”

Lazard clicked once more before a picture of the alien’s remains appeared on the screen, and a foreboding sense of dread permeated the room. “Jenova, a powerful specimen whose genetic structure we still have yet to fully understand. Its cells have been used in research experiments for over two decades now, and one fact is undeniable: each host that comes into contact with its cells becomes immensely more powerful.”

“I don’t like where this is going…,” Zack muttered quietly under his breath, though everyone heard it and silently agreed.

“Project G, or Project Gillian as Professor Hollander dubbed it, exposed Jenova’s cells to a host, one Gillian Hewley–”

“What?!” Angeal’s eyes were as wide as saucers, disbelief coloring his tone. “You’re telling me my mother had something to do with Shinra and these so-called experiments?”

“Of course, but you were not the only subject, Angeal,” Lazard answered him gently, knowing this sort of revelation would be… difficult to digest for a multitude of reasons.

“Not the… only test subject?” Angeal furrowed his brows in confusion before he connected the dots and glanced at Genesis.

Lazard let out a heavy sigh before pressing on. “Gillian’s cells were exposed to Genesis Rhapsodos as an infant; however, once Hollander determined no meaningful difference, he considered that particular experiment a failure.”

Angeal winced at Lazard’s choice of words, though he knew something was amiss when Genesis’ shoulders began to quake. He fully expected an explosion of sorts, expected Genesis to lash out, but the man instead began to laugh, manically and loudly. “A failed experiment?!” Genesis demanded, slamming a fist onto the table, his laughter making way for the growl that spilled out of his mouth.

“Genesis…,” Angeal tried to placate him with a hand on his shoulder, though the redhead dislodged his hand forcefully, the tension in his body growing further.

“His assessment, not mine,” Lazard pointed out. “I cannot pretend to understand the nature of these experiments, but you have done nothing but exemplary work for SOLDIER, Genesis.”

The director’s words did little to quell Genesis’ growing fury. “Save you pity for someone else, director,” Genesis scoffed at Lazard’s meager attempts at pity or sympathy or whatever he thought he was providing.

Angeal had grown quiet at Genesis’ side, contemplative even, and his hands clenched together as he stared up at the overhead monitor, his insides twisting themselves into knots. “And? That isn’t all, is it?”

Lazard frowned at the tone of Angeal’s voice; no doubt he didn’t want the answer to his question, though now that he was being confronted with it, he couldn’t look away. Angeal was unflinching in that regard, and Lazard admired him for it even as he pitied him. “You, Angeal, were Hollander’s success. Being Gillian’s natural-born son enabled you to show results Hollander was looking for, but…”

His voice trailed off, and the image on the monitor changed again. “Professor Hojo’s experiment was ultimately deemed the more successful of the two, which is why he now heads Shinra’s science department instead of Hollander. Instead of infusing a host with cells and exposing those cells to specimens, Hojo cut out the middle man. He directly injected Jenova’s cells into his colleague’s unborn child, and his results are inarguable.”

“Project S?” Genesis sneered, narrowing his eyes over at Sephiroth. “Who else could be the pinnacle of Shinra’s research but the almighty Sephiroth?”

The man in question betrayed no emotion save for the subtle tightening of his fingers and the slight twitch at one of his temples.

“Holy shit!” Zack reacted for him, his expression a mixture of disbelief and disgust. “Who the fuck thinks it’s a good idea to inject alien cells into a baby? I mean, Seph’s okay, but for fuck’s sake! What is wrong with that asshole?”

“I don’t think we’d have enough time to discuss what’s wrong with Hojo if we were here all night,” Cloud piped up, his arms crossed and his gaze down, though there was an unmistakable smile tugging at his mouth.

His words made Angeal smile despite himself, and even Genesis snorted in amusement, the cloud of his anger finally beginning to dispel.

“All night? We would have insufficient time were we to remain all week,” Sephiroth added glibly, and even Lightning chuckled at that, Squall’s lips twitching despite himself.

“I know it’s a lot, and I apologize for dumping this on all of you, but there is, unfortunately, more to cover.” The room seemed to heave a collective sigh of exasperation, though no one offered any resistance to the idea. Angeal, however, did glance over at Sephiroth, concern furrowing his brows. Sephiroth inclined his head only once to indicate he was all right, though Angeal decided they’d have a talk about it later. A drink sounded like just what he needed right then, even if it was near-impossible to get drunk.

“I’m sure I don’t need to remind you all of the Nibelheim incident,” Lazard continued, the monitor’s image switching to a glimpse of the town and the reactor. Cloud tensed at the reminder, though Zack’s hand on his melted it away almost as easily as it had come. “Officially, there was an accident in the reactor, and one Cloud Strife and Zack Fair endured rather severe cases of mako poisoning. In all honesty, we weren’t sure you two would ever recover. Unofficially, however, Hojo engineered the accident to test another of his theories.”

“W-wait a sec,” Zack interrupted Lazard with a few, weak chuckles. “What exactly did he do to us? Because I don’t feel any different from before. Or, I don’t think so, anyway.”

“What does Hojo do best?” Rufus answered lazily, as though nothing in this meeting was of particular interest or importance to him. “Injects his test subjects with Jenova cells, of course, though in your case, S-cells from our dear General here.” Sephiroth flinched at the revelation, and Cloud merely shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“From what we can tell, Zack, you were resistant to them given your SOLDIER training and likely the mako infusions.” Zack breathed out a sigh of relief at that, though Cloud was holding his hands so tightly it was a wonder his bones hadn’t broken from the strain. “Cloud?” Zack whispered softly, laying a hand on his shoulder before the blond shrugged it off.

“I say we storm up to the science lab and torture the little bastard for a few days,” Genesis offered, settling back in his chair. No doubt he considered wheeling it back even further to rests his ankles on the table, but such was rather unseemly for a meeting.

“Because I’m sure Shinra would just love that,” Squall scoffed at the suggestion. No matter what horrors Hojo performed, all were things Shinra undoubtedly knew about and okayed before he set to work. After all, even a failed test subject could be a weapon against Shinra’s enemies.

“He’s right. If we touch Hojo you know they’d retaliate,” Lightning pointed out, much to Genesis’ annoyance.

“How, exactly? In case either of you have forgotten, we’re the best fighters Shinra has.”

“Did you forget the army of mechs they have in development? Or public security? Or all the SOLDIERs of second and third class they could throw at us?” Angeal snapped uncharacteristically, his lips thinning into a line.

“As pleased as I am to see that we’re on the same page, there’s still one more matter to discuss. Lazard?”

The spectacled man nodded as the image on the monitor shifted once more, though this time, it was a simple picture of a red sphere: summoning materia. “I’m sure you’re all aware that, while Shinra has been successful in replicating almost every type of materia, creating summoning materia remains out of our reach. Most have accepted as fact that it simply exists in nature, and there is no way to create it ourselves.”

“I sense a ‘but’ coming,” Genesis proffered when Lazard took a moment to gather his thoughts.

“It was believed that biologically engineering new summoning materia was a viable path, and so one of our scientists somehow managed to graft a summon’s consciousness onto a living being.”

“That sounds like a terrible idea,” Zack muttered, and Angeal could only nod wordlessly, the idea in conjunction with everything else making him almost sick to his stomach.

“As I’m sure you can imagine, this didn’t end well. The child was examined shortly after birth, and the experiment deemed another failure.”

“Until I lost control,” Lightning supplied, staring down at the table as numerous pairs of eyes landed on her. “I can take over from here, director. It’s my story, after all.” He nodded before Lightning swallowed and looked up with a renewed sense of determination. “The Turks watched me when I was kid, visited all the time, though I had no idea why. And then… the visions started, the dreams and nightmares. It was terrifying; some days I could barely tell if I was still awake or stuck in a nightmare. I could hear thoughts that weren’t mine, could recall things I’d never experienced; I almost felt stuck in someone else’s body, with access to someone else’s memories.” Her hand clenched suddenly, and her jaw trembled before she pressed on.

“I didn’t realize he wanted out so badly, or that I was the only obstacle in his way, but when he took over…I was just a puppet.”

“So what happened?” Cloud was the one to ask, neither judgment nor curiosity in his tone.

“The Turks weren’t enough to stop me, stop him, so they called in SOLDIER. If it weren’t for Auron, I’d’ve been locked up in Hojo’s lab after he’d subdued me. He’s the one who taught me control, who taught me how to look after myself, and Odin.” There was unmistakable shame in her downcast gaze; this was not a story she told often for obvious reasons. After hearing all the horrible things everyone else had gone through, though, she felt she deserved to be just as transparent.

“So, he’s still there? Odin?” Zack asked gently, trying not to pry or let his eagerness show.

“All the time,” Lightning answered, slightly bemused by his caution. “If I focus, I can hear what he’s saying, but he gave up talking constantly in my ear a long time ago.”

“Does he still take control?”

Lightning blinked at the question Sephiroth posed, her lips pursing. “I won’t say it’s not a struggle sometimes. He can be an opportunistic bastard when he wants to be, but for the most part, we’re in sync. If something happened to me, we’re not sure what would happen to him, so it’s in his best interest to help if I’m in danger.”

“Must come in handy, having a summon at your command like that,” Genesis wondered aloud, though Lightning simply shrugged in response.

“I’d prefer to be alone with my thoughts,” Lightning answered drily, earning a few chuckles for her trouble.

“So,” Squall began, looking back towards Rufus and Lazard. “Now that you’ve got all that in the open, what now?”

“Now? Now we let you all consider. And once you come to the inevitable conclusion that Shinra needs to go, we’ll give you more of an idea of our plans,” Rufus responded simply.

“And you’re just that confident we won’t expose you?” Squall asked pointedly, though Lazard and Rufus simply shared a look.

“After all that you’ve just heard? I sincerely doubt it, mister Leonhart. Even if you don’t necessarily believe everything right now, it must be enough to give you pause; your own experiences within the company have likely been enough for that. But for now? No one’s going to be assigned before the week’s end, so take some time and think it over. Dismissed.”

Next Chapter ->

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