FFVII Remake

So, helped Uni replay this, albeit on the Easy Mode (which was pretty good for her in beating things when she's primarily interested in the story).

Two main takeaways I got...

- The game is good for newcomers, but it seriously enjoys tossing about things that weren't explained at all in the game itself. I actually spent like 20 minutes explaining a majority of how the SOLDIER project worked, Cloud's deal with the flashbacks, and Hojo's Reunion Theory and Jenova because the Drum absolutely is full of foreshadowing to those plot points but it just... leaves them hanging. Uni was a little annoyed at how much the game seemed to be hinting at stuff like she should know it already but didn't actually explain much of anything.

- I'm actually wondering how deep the meta thematics rabbit hole goes. At the end, Aerith mentions "missing the metal sky" as they're out in the open and seeing rain for the first time. Early on, when you talk to her about it, Aerith mentions that she sees the plate as "a representation of lots of people working together to achieve something amazing", which it is. But by the same token, the plate also represents Shinra keeping everyone within their predesigned box. At the Crossroads at the end, Aerith describes what's on the other side as "absolute, terrifying freedom", with the open sky at the end as another bit of this. Which you could really see the metaphor for the plate and metal sky being "a work that a lot of people came together on to make something amazing" (FF7 original) but that "terrifying freedom" exists outside of it (as the Whispers defeat means that the plot isn't on destined rails anymore). And that freedom is both wonderful and frightening. In universe because they can choose their own fates, but also risk Sephiroth choosing *his*, out of universe because of the concern about a remake drastically changing things, even as some changes turn out good but others are worried about going too far.

Just... there's so much thematic commentary that I'm not sure was the actual staff intending that implication or me just reading into it (especially given the jokes about the Whispers being oldschool players that don't want the staff to deviate *at all* from the original in any way)

To be fair, the vagueness about the background stuff is just as vague and confusing in the original - you don't truly find out just how fucked up Cloud is in the head until WELL into the game, and in the source material they never really go beyond "Normal SOLDIERS are elite special forces infused with Mako". The biggest difference is that they intro Sephiroth himself MUCH sooner - in the original game you don't see him at all until his raid on the Shinra Building to obtain Jenova's remains, and even then he barely acknowledges you. Cloud has a few headtrips - which they've fleshed out into his visions of Seph in the remake (a bit I genuinely love), but by the close of the Midgar arc you're just being introd to the greater overall plot of Reunion and Jenova. From a breaking the game into episodes plan it really was the ideal endpoint for part one, but I agree with a lot of the Meta stuff, of which my own personal jury is still kind of out on. But the Whispers are *ABSOLUTELY* a shot at the fanboys.

Yep, I don't love it, but I understand with the budgets and development windows of modern games, to get a remake on the scale needed to live up to expectations and reputation, episodes is the way to go. I much prefer this to something like the debacle of Cyberpunk 2077.

Jury will be out on the story changes themselves until I see where they're going with it, but on the whole I was very happy with the first episode and will almost assuredly plop down the cash for a PS5 the minute Part 2 gets a release date.

Exactly, same here. I know it's inevitable I'll get one, but I'm well past the era of "OMG I need this new system right away!". Not killing myself to pay the most money it'll ever cost so it can sit and collect dust for 8 months til a game I want to play comes out. XVI gives me a real XII/Tactics vibe from the art and story in the trailers, so it's very much on my radar as well.