Parallel #1

well-adjusted young man

Parallel #5

Selling flowers in Evergreen Park

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FFVII Remake Easter eggs and compilation continuity - Part 2: CRISIS CORE

     RUDE BEING...RUDE

When Cloud and Aerith meet Rude in Sector 5 he unceremoniously asks if he’s “her new boy toy”, referring to Zack. Crisis Core established that the Turks knew Zack and were aware of his relationship with Aerith.

    THE PUPPY

Stamp is a new element introduced in the Remake, which makes a mysterious appearance at the end of the game when Zack seemingly subverts his destiny. In Crisis Core Angeal used to refer to Zack as “puppy”. 

“Are you Zack the puppy? My son wrote to me once about you, zero attention span, restless as a little puppy.”

    BANORA WHITE

There are lots of billboards and flyers of “Banora White apple juice” around Midgar. Both Banora and its apples were introduced for the first time in Crisis Core and linked to Genesis.

     ORPHANS

This may be not intentional but it’s still odd to be just a coincidence: one set of Crisis Core side missions involved some orphans who escaped from a Shinra “care facility”. In the Remake, the Leaf House is an orphanage and, according to the novel “Traces of two pasts”, it is under Shinra’s influence.

      DATING

Just like in the OG, Aerith asks Cloud to be her bodyguard in exchange of one date. Her gesture is exactly the same of Zack’s when he asked her for one date.

    SELLING FLOWERS

When Aerith and Cloud arrive in Evergreen Park, she mentions the time she used to sell flowers there, which happened 5 years before with Zack.

“You know, a long time ago, I used to sell flowers here.”

    YOUR EYES

In Chapter 9 Aerith comments about Cloud’s beautiful mako eyes the same way she did with Zack. In the Japanese version, Cloud and Zack answer her with the same sentence:

Aerith: きれい (...) 瞳 [Beautiful (...) Eyes]

Zack/Cloud: 魔晄を浴びた者の瞳　ソルジャーの証だ [Eyes of those exposed to Mako, the mark of SOLDIER]

    PINK DRESSES

In Crisis Core Zack asked Aerith to wear something pink when they'd meet again. Even though Aerith’s dress has always been pink since the OG, her new optional Wall Market dresses are pink as well.

“From now on, why don’t we make a promise every time we meet? (...) For example, when we meet, you always have to dress in pink.”

    TRAINING ROOM

In Shinra HQ there’s a battle simulator where Zack and the other SOLDIERs used to train in CC.  

    SOLDIER PROJECT

During the meeting with the President and the Shinra executives in Chapter 16, Hojo mentions SOLDIER types G and S. He war referring to the two main projects behind the SOLDIER program - Hollander’s Project G and Hojo’s project S.

CC: “Jenova project G gave birth to Angeal and monsters like myself [Genesis]. Jenova project S used the remains of countless failed experiments to create a perfect monster [Sephiroth].” 

7R: “We could have the Ancient reproduce. (...) I would start with candidates from SOLDIER. These would of course include S and G types.” 

    CELLULAR DEGRADATION

In Chapter 7 President Shinra points out that SOLDIERs usually die prematurely due to cellular degradation. Genesis, after being wounded in the battle simulator, started suffering of severe and irreversible cellular degradation.

“Once a SOLDIER, always a SOLDIER. Though not, alas, for very long. Accelerated cellular degradation being the most common cause of death by far.”

    FALLEN ANGELS

While Sephiroth’s black wing was shown for the first time in Andvent Children some visual elements of the Remake recall elements from Crisis Core related to Genesis and Angeal.

    KUNSEL

In Shinra HQ some troopers recognize Cloud and mention Kunsel, a SOLDIER and close friend of Zack’s.

“Cloud? You’re Cloud right? (...) We went through training together. (...) Hey, sit tight man - I’mma go get Kunsel.

    BARRET’S LAST STAND

“Worst route ever. Gimme a suicidal last stand. At least - At least - at least that’d have an end!”

Barret says this when he reaches the 49th floor of Shinra HQ backstairs - SOLDIERs floor. It’s a reference to Zack’s last stand.  

    THE LIFESTREAM 

After the defeat of Whisper Harbinger the protagonists end up in a place full of light and walk on a watery surface. The same happened in Crisis Core during Zack’s dream that foreshadowed his death, a representation of the Lifestream. 

    FREEDOM

Before entering the sincularity in Chapter 18, Aerith says that beyond the portal there’s “Freedom. Boundless, terrifying freedom. Like a great, never-ending sky.” These words are a callback to Zack’s iconic “The price of freedom is steep”.

    THE SKY

In Crisis Core Aerith told Zack that she felt safe under the plate because the real sky frightened her. She reiterates this concept at the end of the Remake when she said “I miss it, the steel sky” (aka the plate), in Japanese "The sky, I hate it”.

    ZACK’S LAST STAND

This scene is repeated shot-for-shot in Chapter 18.

For the other parts refer to the masterpost

One thing about fandom culture is that it sort of trains you to interact with and analyze media in a very specific way. Not a BAD way, just a SPECIFIC way.

And the kind of media that attracts fandoms lends itself well (normally) to those kinds of analysis. Mainly, you're supposed to LIKE and AGREE with the main characters. Themes are built around agreeing with the protagonists and condemning the antagonists, and taking the protagonists at their word.

Which is fine if you're looking at, like, 99% of popular anime and YA fiction and Marvel movies.

But it can completely fall apart with certain kinds of media. If someone who has only ever analyzed media this way is all of a sudden handed Lolita or 1984 or Gatsby, which deal in shitty unreliable narrators; or even books like Beloved or Catcher in the Rye (VERY different books) that have narrators dealing with and reacting to challenging situations- well... that's how you get some hilariously bad literary analysis.

I dont know what my point here is, really, except...like...I find it very funny when people are like "ugh. I hate Gatsby and Catcher because all the characters are shitty" which like....isnt....the point. Lololol you arent supposed to kin Gatsby.

Parallel #4

The first succesful high five

And of all the objects, scraps and debris that could be part of the environment...

[Previous]

SOMEONE IS FINALLY SAYING THIS

i see it's that time of the year again where people start hating on the english localization of remake/rebirth despite having next to no understanding of how large scale translation projects work 🙃

Talk about a coincidence!

Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII Remake Parallels

A TOKEN OF APPRECIATION

Crisis Core:

During their first encounter, Zack and Aerith spend some time together at the market, but a kid steals Zack’s wallet. Local people and shopkeepers are reluctant to help him find the kid, but in the end the Accessory seller apologizes with Zack for having misjudged him...

Clerk: Hey, Aren't you...You are! The guy who was chasing that kid around! I heard about you from the neighborhood folks. I thought you were just some dumb outsider, but it turns out you're a pretty good guy. I'm sorry we misjudged you, this is just a small token of our appreciation.

...and he gives him some items (best reward consist in: 1 Soma, 1 Hi-Potion and 1 Remedy). Then Zack buys the pink ribbon for Aerith.

Remake: 

In Chapter 3 Tifa and Cloud go around the slums of Sector 7 to change water filters and collect money (Water filters - Water tower...am I overthinking? Anyway). At the end of the side quests they head back to Stargazer Heights (that water tower again!) and have a conversation with Marle. At first Marle is rather prejudiced against Cloud, but she seems to change her mind when she sees Tifa happy after spending some time with him:

Marle: Take care you two! ...Oh? You're looking pretty chipper!

Tifa: Uh...I don't feel that different.

Marle: Must be my imagination then. Anyway! Keep your wits about you, merc! A token of my appreciation. Be good to her.

At the end of the conversation she gives him a Crescent Moon Charm. This accessory is used to reduce damage when equipped by non-active characters (so from the perspective of Cloud, he can use it to protect the others).

The description of this charm is VERY interesting...

A charm imbued with the fervent desire to be by one’s side for eternity.

And...it is identical to the earring Tifa wears with her default dress at Wall Market!  🌙

Or better: the moon earring already existed in the OG as it was part of Tifa’s outfit to see Don Corneo. The devs created this new accessory and shaped it exactly like her earring, giving it a new significance since it represents a connection between Cloud and Tifa. 

The same exact thing that happened in Crisis Core with Aerith’s ribbon! 🎀

What a coincidence!   

FFVIIR Yuffie DLC after credit’s scene

****MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW****

I’ll be going now. I’ll come back when it’s all over.

A few more for the FFVII minor arcana. 

I often get asked if the deck will be printed, and the answer is yes! The best way to keep updated is on Patreon, where you’ll also get card meanings, WIPs, and monthly prints of the cards and pretty much anything else I’ve drawn, if you so choose. Bonus being you’ll also be helping me pay my bills and ensuring I can keep creating. Please consider joining us over there if you can.

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