MARREND PLAYS FINAL FANTASY 7 REMAKE!

Last time, Aerith was captured by Shinra, with Cloud, Barret, and Tifa barely escape alive from Sector 7's destruction. Naturally, the trio was knocked unconscious for a time due to the explosion and landing. However, players do not have a choice as to who to wake up first. At least, as far as I can tell. The cut-scene is from Tifa's perspective as her vision clears, and sees Cloud kneeling next to her. This could theoretically indicate relationship progress with her, but, it's probably that it's scripted to always be this way.

Either way, they do not exchange words as she gets up. The pair move ahead as they hear Barret's cries. Then, when they meet up with him, Barret is beginning to recognize...



...the depths of what Shinra's done. In the original FF7, I'm almost positive that it was Tifa that first recognized that Marlene was actually safe. In this game, it's Cloud that comes forward with that info, with Tifa adding support material. From there, the game pretty much forces a straight-shot to Aerith's house. The side roads aren't blocked off by rubble, but by the game. Okay-ku, then.

When the party arrives, Barret makes great noise that Aerith's mother, Elmyra, does her best to shush. The game made it sound like I might have to do another sneaking mini-game, but, thankfully, that didn't happen.

The game then moves into why the Turks are after Aerith. She's an Ancient. The last of an indigenous species whose values include being in a community with nature, and it's wonders. She goes into detail as to how Aerith came under her care, and a few anecdotes that provide clues to her unique heritage. This follows with the original FF7 in this regard.

After the blat, Cloud moves as if to go into a rescue operation, but, everyone, Elmyra, Tifa, and Barret, plead for him to think things through a little. Barret proposes a trip back to Sector 7 to see what could, if anything, can be salvaged. You can tell he's hoping his comrades made it out okay, but, I suppose we'll see if those hopes are dashed, or fulfilled, in due time.

Again, the game puts artificial barriers up so that I basically have no choice but to move forward with the story. The encounters in the Sector 6 slums aren't terribly different than before. The playground area has certainly seen better days. Sector 7 itself, well...



...yeah, same deal. Seventh Heaven is little more than a pile of rubble now. A cat's meowing gets the party's attention, and Cloud recognizes it as one of Wedge's cats. They follow it, only to have earthquake tremors open the paneling beneath them, and fall down.

The player now takes control of Barret for a while as he tries to reconnect with the others. He comes across Tifa first, but isn't terribly concerned about Cloud. A number encounters later is a rest stop, which gives me a number of premonitions about what might be coming up.

Barret and Tifa may have found their way back up to find an miraculously unconscious Wedge, but also find themselves against a host of...



...whatever the hell these things are. I don't know how many waves of these things there were before a big one came along to crash the party, and became the main target. Cloud arrived with it's defeat, and Barret shooting down walls brings them back to Wedge.

Barret wants Cloud to get Wedge to safety as he searches for Biggs and Jessie, but, Cloud can't help but to be realistic. He saw them at the pillar, and how wounded they were. Barret heaves the limp, but still alive, body of Wedge, and the trio marches to the only safe house they know, Aerith's house.

Thus ends this chapter. The question of what these three will do from here on out is still largely unknown. Maybe we'll find out next time, on the Final Fantasy 7 Remake LP!

Last time, Cloud and company used grappling hooks to zoom up a wall in hopes that doing so will lead them to the general direction of saving Aerith from Shirna's grasp. The party's landing point is somewhere on the Sector 7's collapsed plate. The fact that there's a vending machine and bench right before even the first ladder indicates to me this is going to be a long climb.

And climb the party does...



..and loooots of it. With intermittent encounters along the way, some of which feature aerial enemies. Not to mention a boss fight at the end of the chapter, also an aerial enemy. I'm inclined to point out that while Barret has used a machine gun in the past, and is the only ranged party member we've met so far, his most potent weapons have been melee. Now, I could be misremembering, but, I don't think Barret gets melee arm attachments in the original FF7 until after the party leaves Midgar?

I'm certainly glossing over a whole lot of details here, but, there honestly wasn't really that much stuff I found interesting to write about. Still, there's a ways to go. How far? Maybe we'll find out next time on the Final Fantasy 7 Remake LP!

Last time, the party infiltrated Shinra's HQ, but, Cloud kinda got knocked unconscious after yet another bout of headaches and visions. When he comes to, Tifa greets him (a relationship payoff?), then has a look-around. Where is this? Aerith explains that this is where she grew up as a child. No, people, this isn't Sector 5 with Elmyra, her foster mother. This is Shinra HQ, with Ifalna, her birth mother.

Aerith explains, in her own official capacity, that she's the last of the race popularly known as the Ancients, but is called the Cetra. Barret then spouts a few lines, mentioning the Promised Land. It doesn't take much for anybody to come to the logical conclusion that Shinra wants Aerith to guide them to that land, but, she claims she's incapable of doing that right now.

The way she talks, or maybe picking it up from various plays of the original FF7, finding the Promised Land isn't as-so-much a physical journey as it is a spiritual one. While I'm sure that the bigwigs at Shinra could appreciated that nothing worth effort is easy, I'm also positive that they wouldn't exactly believe in spiritual mumbo-jumbo, and concern themselves more with what is tangible.

Either way, a video conference feed breaks things up, the message sent by the mayor with Wedge by his side. Their message is that the old guard of Avalanche has launched an assault on Shinra's HQ, and the building has been set to high alert in response. This means, of course, various routes in the building are sealed off. However, there is a path to where the mayor has set up an extraction point on the roof via helicopter.

Things seem inordinately quiet for a building that's supposed to be under red alert. Sure, Cloud and company fight some leftover thingamabobs, but, they don't really pose any threat. As they move forward into Hojo's lab they come across a rather unique specimen that's been encased here. Barret has no clue what the hell it is, but Aerith knows. She calls it Jenova.

Cloud gets another bout of visions and headaches. However, this time, the visions aren't just visions. Both Tifa and Aerith recognize him, and respond to the presence that is Sephiroth. Cloud breaks out of his trance, only to attack the figure. A useless gesture, as he easily parries the blow, cutting the bridge, and Cloud ends up falling again. The fall isn't as great as before, but, the point still stands.

Red 13 finds Cloud first, and decides to give him a hand...



...as a guest character. I'll note that Red 13 was a fully playable character in the original FF7, but, that doesn't seem to be the case here. I also want to make note that there was a moment, albeit a brief one so far, where all playable characters could have been in the party, but, there didn't seem to be any way to switch party members. As stated, the moment was brief enough to not really matter, but, I'll also note that party-switching wasn't available in the original FF7 until after visiting Kalm. Which is very much after Midgar.

Anyways, we meet up with Barret soon after this. Cloud sees Tifa and Aerith on a floor above, but, even if they go downstairs, the room doesn't connect. Or, perhaps it's more accurate to say there's a security barrier that prevents the party from rejoining. This is apparently one of Hojo's tricks. Red 13 seems to think that we have to cooperate with Hojo's request for data collection, on the promise that he'll let the party out. I dunno if the guy is trustworthy enough to keep that promise, but, there's basically no choice here.

The dungeon becomes one where the player can switch between the two separate parties at certain points, with one party lead by Cloud and the other lead by Tifa. Both go through their own trials and tribulations that I don't care to recount before meeting up.

Up an elevator, back to the room that once held Jeonva. Yeah, she's gone, leaving behind a trail of... blood? The color and texture seems definitely off, but, I'm not sure what else it could be. The game makes no pains in telling the player that this is another point of no return. However, I was committed to finishing this game back in Chapter 14.

The party follows the trail into the president's office. The room is devoid of it's owner, and the trail of blood(?) ended at the entrance to the office. The only clue the party has is a voice coming from somewhere. They follow it to find... the president of Shinra hanging off a ledge of a building? How did he even get there?

I'm sure Barret was tempted to let him fall. Instead, he spares his life, and demands that he clears their names. The president, however, will do nothing of the sort. Pulling a gun on Barret, he makes his own speech about what a world without Shinra (or at least mako energy) might look like, and what kind of world Barret would bring if all he wanted was his name cleared, rather than concern himself with the health of the planet.

Just as he was about to pull the trigger, a blade runs through him from behind. It's Sephiroth. Again. He also runs through Barret like nothing, and a gaggle of ghosts appear to try and protect him. Maybe heal him? Not 100% sure. What I am sure of is that there's a boss fight against...



...Jenova. She gains invulnerability while spawning tentacles for the party to take out, which is... certainly annoying. But, the party manages, and Barret comes back to life, thanks to the ghosts. With Sephiroth gone to who-knows-where, it's high-time for the party to get to the roof, and hit up that helicopter.

If only it were so easy. The Avalanche helicopter gets shot down by a Shinra helicopter. The Shinra helicopter lands, and drops off some guards, and the son of the president, Rufus. Cloud stays behind to buy some time for Barret and the others to make their escape.

Rufus is a lot harder to deal with here than the original FF7. His guard dog isn't too much of a problem, but, the man, himself, counters quite a lot. The only opening he's got in when he reloads his shotgun. Still, Rufus gets away, with the helicopter providing cover fire as he boards. Cloud's brought to the edge of the platform, with the guard rail coming off. Cloud's finding himself hanging for his life now, and it looks like he's barely holding on. That is until...



...Tifa shows up, and saves Cloud's butt. Could be another relationship payoff? The only other character that could really fit here is Barret, so I dunno. Anyway, meanwhile, Aerith, Barret, and Red 13 are on the elevator, minding their own business. Except a gun-bot decided to crash the party, and the protective glass. The elevator went haywire, going right past the floor where Biggs was waiting for them, as he's accosted by ghosts. Again. Guy gets no break, I tell you, but, neither are we. I could really, really, use a hard save point, here, game. Darigaaz.

So, here's another boss fight. The game allows me to acess the menu to rearrange materia, or whatever, but, of course, the save option is grayed out. Of course it is. Whatever. Let's just do it.

Boss disassembled, Barret and the others make it to the ground floor. There, Heidegger had set an ambush for them. Barret is ready to pay Aerith back for taking care of Marlene, and just before she voices any kind of opinion on the matter, a motor is heard from somewhere.

Cloud comes from above on a bike, and clears off some of the guards with his landing. Tifa comes by later on in a mini-truck, with Cloud giving the others cover with his shenanigans.

They go up a floor, and Cloud uses the bike to break the glass, paving the way for Tifa. The vehicles land on the road in relative safety, and the chapter closes. The game isn't over yet, but I've a feeling there isn't much left. How much? I'll have to pick up from the autosave, but, otherwise, we'll find out next time on the Final Fantasy 7 Remake LP!