MARREND'S PROFILE

The original FF7 was very much on-rails for a good while, now that I think about it. Sure, players get access to the overworld map after leaving Midgar, and gain access to party-switching after Kalm, with the Chocobo Ranch not terribly far off. However, there's not a whole lot of places players can actually go with a chocobo at that point in the game. It isn't until players get the buggy that the player has free and open access from as far west as Neibelhiem (I think? It's been a while.) to as far east as Fort Condor.

Anyway, last time, the members of Avalanche just arrived at Sector 7, and moving to their base for a bit of R&R. All the while, Cloud is only looking to get paid at this point, and being directed to Seventh Heaven for that. Now, the game has name-dropped the proprietress of the Seventh Heaven a few times now. I glazed over them because they've been mostly incidental mentions, even if one such mention triggered a flashback. Now, the Seventh Heaven proprietress, Tifa Lockhart...



...gets some camera time. Marline, the girl sitting next to Tifa, rises to meet Barret, who lifts her on his shoulder, and carries her into the bar. Tifa notices the flower, and Cloud hands it over. His thoughtfulness lasts but a moment, though, as he desires to get right to business. Talking to Barret will have him direct Cloud to Tifa, who is busy at the moment (she sure doesn't look it!), which directs us to Marline.

This triggers yet another cut-scene, and within it is Cloud asking for his pay. Tifa nods, moves out from behind the bar next to Cloud, then mutters to him that they should discuss this outside. Well. That doesn't sound promising at all!

While the subject of payment is tossed aside for the moment, Tifa mentions that there's an empty apartment nearby that Cloud could move into. The landlady's a friend of Avalanche's cause, and Tifa is of the belief Cloud could stay rent-free. Which Cloud appreciates, and accepts, but, one gets the impression he does not consider that part of his payment.

When the two enter the room, with Tifa mentioning getting other things if he needs them, Cloud broaches the subject of his payment again. Tifa sighs, and only has 500 gil to spare of the 2000 that is owed Cloud. She mentions that she'll be selling air filters tomorrow, along with Barret, and that could cover the balance. Cloud agrees to the arrangement.

That night, Cloud hears a noise, and springs out of bed. That's more than a little jittery, there, Cloud, but, he did see a group of ghosts after leaving Sector 7 station. It turns out the noise wasn't ghosts, but, his next-door neighbor, who...



...I presume to be the "this guy are sick" person from the original game. Either way, let me rewind just a little bit, and mention that Cloud saw yet another vision, and had his sword drawn, ready to strike. Tifa stopped him before he took the swing, and the pitiful figure of a robed man lay on the floor, as per the above screencap. The guy's name is Marco, and has a "49" tattooed on his arm. Tifa, as it turns out, checks in on the poor guy from time-to-time, since he's clearly not quite with it, and asks Cloud to do the same.

The rest of the night passes uneventfully. The new morning is bright, and Cloud tries to check in with his neighbors, with no avail. He just shrugs it off when I tried to interact with the doors. Downstairs, he meets the landlady, and they have a short conversation before Cloud moves on to Seventh Heaven.

Cloud might be interested in getting his pay, but, he seems to vastly prefer to allow Tifa to do her rounds, and stay out of it. However, Tifa insists he go with her, as she makes more money with the whole selling air filter gig than running Seventh Heaven. Besides, it is not money that Cloud is after?

That done, and with Barret still out doing his own rounds for a while yet, Cloud is at a loss of what to do in the meantime. Tifa has a suggestion. Cloud's new in town, and it would not hurt if he had more connections in the local scene. For starters, she further suggests that Cloud looks into the neighborhood watch. The people he meets there are familiar faces...



...with Tifa mentioning to the pair that Cloud's name might have a greater reach if he works with the watch. Wedge seems to think this is a great idea, as does Biggs. Biggs then suggests Cloud could modify his sword. Cloud doesn't think that's necessary, but, the event unlocks the ability to do so regardless.

Outside of manipulating what materia was where, modifying equipment didn't really exist in the original FF7. So, let's take a brief moment to look at how that works.



So, this screen might remind you a bit of the Sphere Grid of FF10, or the Crystarium Grid of FF13. If you've played neither of these games, then, let me attempt a bit of a lowdown. The grid contains nodes with various bonuses. The screencap above features a node on Cloud's Buster Sword that would grant the weapon an additional +5 attack power when purchased. Skill points are used to purchase/unlock these abilities, and the number of skill points available for each weapon increases as a character's experience level grows.

Anyway, while Biggs and Wedge will spread Cloud's name on foot, Tifa joins with Cloud to the scrapyard, where monsters tend to roam. The stated reason for her joining is that Cloud doesn't know they way to the scrapyard, and she can guide him there. However, having another set of eyes on Cloud's considerable skills as a warrior certainly can't hurt his reputation either. I have zero qualms in admitting that Tifa is among my favorite FF heroines, and decide to set her as the default controlled character in combat.

The two make quick work of the enemies in the scrapyard. On their return, Biggs and Wedge have done a few rounds of their whispering campaign as well. The weapon's dealer downstairs was part of that campaign, and is willing to give Cloud one of his swords as to advertise his business, as well as open his inventory of armor and accessories. That done, Tifa suggest they now give a visit to Wymer, the guy in charge of the neighborhood watch. From what Tifa is saying, though, he kinda sounds like a job board. Regardless of what the game has the characters say, this event, incidentally, opens up odd jobs around town, and gives us the opportunity for a bit of free-roaming.

The initial array of quests before me involves scanning enemies with an Access materia, killing rats or maybe just the queen rat, defeating drakes, and finding cats. Of these, I finish the cat-quest first, as that's competed by roaming the town. Returning the the scrapyard, it seems the monsters respawned. How often they do so might still be in question, but, I hang around a bit longer than merely scanning enemies for the quest that asks me for enemy info.

Next up is the rat-killing quest, then finishing up with the drakes. After which, two more quests pop up, which I then complete. I'm definitely glossing over details here, but, I will note that Tifa mentioned Barret should be back at Seventh Heaven after completing the first of these quests.

After all the quests are done, Tifa suggests a bit of R&R at the apartment. Within this event, Tifa attempts to get Cloud talking about what happened to him since last they saw each other. It's not specified exactly how long that's been, but, Cloud does his best to relay his sense of disillusionment in working for Shinra as a SOLDIER. However, after this event clears, side-questing is done. At least for the moment. So, it's high time to get back to the main narrative.

It might not have been so long for those reading, but, for a quick refresher for my own purposes, Cloud hasn't been fully paid yet. Of the 2000 gil he was promised, Tifa paid 500 in on-hand cash, then paid him an additional 600 from her rounds of selling air filters. That's only 1100 gil. So, it would fall to Barret to account for the remaining balance of 900. At 200 gil a client for the air filtering gig, that translates to five additional customers. Which doesn't seem that hard when your customer base lives in the slums of an industrial city like Midgar. Which likely translates to all kinds of smog and filth being sent their way from Shinra's myriad factories, facilities, and what-not, on the upper plate.

However, before we even get to that, Cloud and Tifa observe a bit of a disturbance near the bar. Some guards are arresting a guy on suspicion of stealing some blasting agent. This apparently isn't the first time this guy has made trouble for Shinra, and Tifa thinks it best to save his butt, with Cloud tags along.

As an aside this chracter was given a name, in both this game, and in the original FF7. However, in the original, he was an incidental/recurring NPC that had little-to-no effect on the story. For now, I'll leave him anonymous, though, he'll probably turn up again at some point.

After taking care of the guards, the pair's attention moves to the guy they captured. He's a pair of loose lips, and those sink ships. Cloud is prepared to execute him now, and save Avalanche from future trouble he might make. Tifa stops him, and they decide to let him go, asking him to leave town. He runs off, saying they'll never see him again. Again, we'll see how true that is.

Tifa was a bit unnerved by Cloud's intended action, but, after a while, the two regroup at Seventh Heaven. Cloud's pay apparently has to wait a little longer, as the members of Avalanche move to their base to discuss their next move. Cloud isn't invited, and the player is stuck playing the waiting game for a while. I have Cloud take a few turns at darts before returning to the counter. After a while, Tifa returns, and takes a drink. Cloud attempts to lend an ear to her problems, and give some advise, but they are interrupted by the others members returning.

Barret wants to celebrate, asking for Tifa to bring out the good stuff, then hands over 1090 gil for Cloud's services, informing him the group doesn't need him for the next mission. Which is fine by Cloud. With the work he did with Tifa, he might be able to scrounge up some additional odd jobs in Sector 7. As Cloud exits the bar, he notices a gathering of hoodlums nearby. They ask him if they know where a man with a machine-gun arm might be located. Cloud might not be entirely loyal to the Avalanche cause, but isn't about to just spout that information at the drop of a hat either. Still, he agrees to follow the group to an alley where they ask him again of the location of said man. Cloud doesn't talk, and they guys draw knives on him in an attempt at intimidation. Except these guys aren't given names, even by the game designers, so, one can guess how well they stand up to a guy like Cloud.

After trouncing the ruffians, Cloud notes that, while they mentioned a boss, that person might not necessarily be within the ranks of Shinra. Oh well. Not Cloud's problem. With little else to do, Cloud decides to go back to his apartment to rest up a bit. However, Jessie was waiting for him, and has a job for him. This job involves going topside, and was supposed to be a secret to the others. Except Biggs and Wedge were able to read Jessie's intent halfway. They could tell she wanted to go topside, but, their stated reasons for her doing so aren't quite the reasons Jessie actually has. She's not going to debate the point, though, and let's them come too.

This conversion marks the end of the chapter, but, there's no opportunity to hard-save before launching into the next part of the mission. What that entails, and how Cloud and company will come out of it, stay tuned to the Final Fantasy 7 Remake LP!

Last time, a group of saboteurs, calling themselves Avalanche, had broken into Reactor #1, and blew it up. Though, unbeknownst to Avalanche, they had help from the mega-corporation, Shinra, who owns the reactors, and, one could argue, the city of Midgar, itself. Now, you might question why the owners of the reactors would want to cause their property damage on property they own. Perhaps we'll get to that later, but, for now, the game's focus is on the members of Avalanche, as they move towards Sector 8.

As the group emerges from an an alley, an announcement blares forward, informing the citizenry of the explosion at Reactor #1, and that both Sector 1 and Sector 8 are considered hazard zones due to how powerful the explosion was, and giving evacuation orders for people living in those sectors. Again, the group is surprised at the damage assessment, but, both Cloud and Barret are at peace with the results. Cloud comes off as an uncaring, but, Barret's angle is that what they are doing would ultimately result in people dying. While it would be better to minimize the death they do create, it is sometimes unavoidable when mounting a rebellion.

In any event, the group is to split up, and rendezvous in a train stationed in Sector 8, in the fright car. The player is given no context as to when this train is supposed to leave, but, this is not an indication of free-roaming, per say. However, the game Cloud receive a Healing materia, and this prompts the game to unlock the ability to equip/remove materia in the menu. This is a pretty straight-forward mechanic in this game, as materia acts similar to equipment. It grants whatever spells imbued on the materia, as well as various penalties and bonuses. As a brief example, magic materia tends to increase Max MP at the cost of Max HP.

That out of the way, Cloud maneuvers through the streets. He climbs a pile of rubble, only for it to fall apart from underneath him. While that doesn't really hinder his progress, and just keeps moving, a piece of an overpass falling from above does. This time, he stops in his tracks, and looks around to reassess the situation. Something feels a little off about this. He sees buildings on fire, and staring at them trigger a memory. A memory of a burning town, and the person that caused it.



This is an image the player sees a bit later in the original game. However, as one can see, it's being thrown at the player right now. Unlike the original FF7, there's no context behind this image, save for Cloud's reaction to it. Which is, at first, somewhat dismissive. Then, surprise, as the guy from the vision stands before him mere inches away. Cloud jumps back, reaching behind him for his sword, only for more rubble to fall down. Cloud briefly turns his attention to the sound, giving the figure an opportunity to casually walk away into the din of destruction before Cloud.

There's a bunch of questions in Cloud's head, but the first and foremost is what this guy is even doing here. Now, maybe the smart thing to do would be to make a mental note of this event, go to meet with the others at the train, and discuss it either on the way to base, or maybe after reaching base. However, Cloud gets it into his head that he should follow this figure.

It's pretty slow going. Sluggish, event. Part of that is from Cloud's vision being hampered by the smoke, but, it's being hampered by something else on top of that. Cloud does, eventually, meet with the figure, and they have a bit of a conversation.

Well, it's more a monologue on the figure's part, if one must be precise. After which, Cloud takes a mighty swing downward that would squarely on the head of the figure. However, instead of striking the figure, his sword makes a loud clang as it hits the street. The camera pans out, and the surroundings back to normal. No fire, no smoke, nothing. The only trace of what Cloud just experienced is the voice in Cloud's head that says, "Good. Hold on to that hatred." Which, if I must be honest, sounds a lot like what a Sith lord from Star Wars might say to a potential pupil.

Cloud's emotional state slowly returns to normal. He then reasons that those visions must have been a product of mako exposure. Or something. Let's move on.

Back on the open streets, Cloud moves forward, eventually coming across a flower peddler that seems to be brushing off something off. Suddenly, time stops as the figure appears again to taunt Cloud, and he gets another headache. After recovering, things are normal again, and he finds himself being offered a flower...



...in exchange for helping the peddler. Helping her do what might be in question, but, Cloud isn't going to turn down a gift. The two converse more, and the girl goes back into her dance of evasion. Confused, Cloud can only observe. Then, she takes his hand, which opens his eyes to...



...whatever these things are. The disturbance gets the attention of a group of guards, who notice more Cloud's drawn blade than the ghosts. The flower girl decides this is the best time to ditch. The ghosts follower her.

Cloud reaches out to stop her, but then, as she runs, his attention is turned back to stare down the guards. Even if he wanted to follow the girl, these guys aren't just going to let him go. So, he decides to make quick work of them. Which, naturally, alerts more guards to his presence. Cloud moves through Sector 8, cutting a path through the enemies as they try to block him. At one point during the chase, a truck pulls up both in front and from behind, with guards deploying from them as to surround and corner him.

At least, this was the idea, until Cloud makes a leap...



...onto a speeding train. Luckily, this is the train he was supposed to meet up with the others, as the next scene is in the freight car, with Barret, and the members of Avalanche making small talk until they hear a noise from above. They ready their weapons, then open the side door, and in Cloud comes. Now together, Barret orders the group to move out of the freight car, and up the train.

The train is a little cramped, but, the group manage. As he moves up, Barret overhears some Shinra office workers talking about the explosion, and decides to give them his five cents. The workers are clearly intimidated by the man, and eventually leave for another car, but, not before spouting their own lines about Shinra preserving peace and prosperity.

Jessie finds her way to this car, and gives Cloud an overview of the city of Midgar. Barret takes this opportunity to make another speech...



...where Cloud's answer is for people to move out of Midgar. Barret observes that a number of people can't do that for varying reasons. Which has even Cloud mutter about how people's lives are sometimes on rails, and have only one option. Which is somewhat ironic, as this game has been on rails with there being only one option. Anyway, the train arrives at the Sector 7 station without further incident, and Barret gives the order to return to base for rest an recuperation for the next mission. As for Cloud, he'll settle his bill at the Seventh Heaven bar. However, that's for the next chapter.

This last Christmas was very generous to me. With it, I was gifted three games. I don't know if I have the wherewithal to LP all three, but, nonetheless, I have the hankering for another LP. Though, part of that hankering is from reading through Xenogears whenever the topic arises in the Discord channel. Or, needing to get certain image(s) that are used within that LP for varying reasons. So, thanks a lot, Xenogears, and the Santas that got me these game!

So! This time, we're delving into...


...Final Fantasy 7 Remake. My copy includes the Intergrade content. I reserve the right to skip over it entirely, and focus on the core experience.

So, I kinda feel this game needs no introduction. However, let's have one anyway, and start with a the obvious. The game's original release was on PlayStation somewhere in the year 1997. So, like, about 25 years ago.

And just writing that sentence makes me feel old. ;_;

Like, I can barely recall seeing images from the game in a page from a magazine (might have been a guidebook?) during a lunch period of my last year at high school. I might not have been personally invested in the game at the time, it would later.

Let's jump ahead into the summer of '98. Maybe '99. My brother came home from college, and introduced me to the wonders of emulation. This was my first real exposure to the SNES FFs. I might have played a friend's copy of FF1 on the NES back in the day, but, I'll be damned if I got very far into it.

Anyway, I played the SNES FFs. A lot. Eventually, I put together a set of UGE modules that could apply to saved states created with ZSNES. And a bunch of other games that you might have heard of. Such as Earthboud, Breath of Fire 1 and 2, Chrono Trigger, Lufia 1 and 2, Super Metriod, Treasure of the Rudra. I still have them archived, but, I haven't used them in years.

It might have been after this that we got ourselves hooked up with a PC demo of FF7. The content of which was contained to arena battles, but, it kinda made us get the PC port of FF7. We had a lot of issues getting past the plethora of FMVs that occur at the end of Disk 1. From what stories I've heard about the PC port, we were not alone in this misfortune. We gave up on FF7 until, basically, we started messing with PS1 emulation. I might have mentioned this in my Xenogears LP, but, we started with a program called Bleem!, then got a physical PS2 to play on, but eventually got into ePSXe.

A PS3 tech demo for what Final Fantasy 7 could look like with said hardware was made in... hell, it was 2005? I'm not 100% sure if the intent for such a showcase was to make a full game. However, to say that people were impressed by what Square-Enix showed, and wanted to actually see it happen would be an understatement. Now, after some 17 years, they have made good on the promise.

Sort of.

The game is to be released in chapters/episodes, and this game (currently?) represents the first of such. Out of how many, I'm not sure, and I worry about how many episodes this game will have, when it all comes down to it. To say nothing about the price-points for episodes as they release.

If you can forgive another anecdote, I recall when Starcraft 2's Human campaign was released. At the time, I figured I could wait until all three campaigns were released until jumping ship, and getting a package deal. However, the game completely fell off my radar, and never got back on, even after the Protoss and Zerg campaigns were made available.

Getting back on track, this is not the space to speculate about how they will handle what's isn't resolved by the end of this episode. This is about exploring what is here, and, hopefully, have an entertaining time, and sharing it with you.

As an aside, what screencaps I may make will be scaled down from full-screen resolution. Also, unless otherwise noted, Youtube music links will come from this list, and, for the sake of completeness, I will also provide the name of the track used in the case the links to those videos die on me.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 - The Destruction of Mako Reactor 1
Chapter 2 - Fateful Encounters
Chapter 3 - Home Sweet Slum
Chapter 4 - Mad Dash
Chapter 5 - Dogged Pursuit
Chapter 6 - Light the Way
Chapter 7 - A Trap is Sprung
Chapter 8 - Budding Bodyguard
Chapter 9 - The Town That Never Sleeps
Chapter 10 - Rough Waters
Chapter 11 - Haunted
Chapter 12 - Fight for Survival
Chapter 13 - A Broken World
Chapter 14 - In Search of Hope
Chapter 15 - The Day Midgar Stood Still
Chapter 16 - The Belly of the Beast
Chapter 17 - Deliverance from Chaos
Chapter 18 - Destiny's Crossroads

I won't dare to read all of this in one sitting. It's just too much to digest. However, I really, really feel the spoiler section should be, well, under a spoiler tag.

I don't know about entire soundtracks, or even underrated games. But here's a few favorites of mine that might fall under those auspices?