He's Correct And He Should Say It.

Ahhh yes! That ending scene with Zack was fantastic, what a range of emotions the first time I watched it. Confused, worried I’d see a sad ending again, confused again, dawning comprehension, then a ton of exciting and wtf combined. I think I’m still stuck in that last one, haha.

Thank you for putting in words what I was too sleepy to express last night! Yes, when I saw the last stand I feared I would have finished the game in tears like I did when I played CC, but I ended up in tears anyway when I saw him alive. This ending is so full of hope, expectations and misteries. I can't understand people who disliked it.

That hug hitted home so hard! Such a big load of emotions: need of comfort, trust, that "inexplicable something" buried inside Cloud that lead him to hug her... I really hope the devs will spend a scene in the future to show how he will re-evaluate this moment after regaining his true-self.

Barret is absolutely the cherry on top of this game and his English VA can't be prized enough for his amazing job. I don't know how he sounds in JP but the English one made a great job in conveying the essence of the character even in the perspective of non-native English players. I found him so grotesque in the OG but now I can't help but love him. His interactions with other characters are great but, yes, his bond with Marlene is priceless.

My very second favourite part of the game is Aerith rescuing Marlene (rescuing Betty, encouraging Wedge to save the Sector 7 citizens, all the scene), but your moments are close ones. There are so many beautiful well-developed and emotional scenes and so much attention to details that it's even difficult to establish a ranking. Otherwise we wouldn't be here after a year still noticing&analyzing new details :)

What are your expectations for the Intergrade? Since the devs had complete freedom about the setting of this episode I hope we could see the Sector 7 fall from the upper plate perspective and I'm really looking forward for any reference to Denzel.

happy ffviir 1 year anniversary! 🎉🎊🎈 do you have a moment or detail from the remake that's still your favorite even a year later?

Hi Hartofhearts!

Happy first year anniversary to you too!

Well there are MANY moments I really love about this first part of the Remake, but if I have to choose just one, I definitely take this scene, and all that follows it until the end. 

This is by far the most unexpected and most welcomed change of the Remake and it still gives me goose bumps! I can’t wait to see where this will lead, I really hope he could be reunited with Aerith this time…!

What about you??

Wutai: etymologies and possible real-life references

As suggested by my profile pic, Remake Yuffie stole my heart. The DLC made a great job introducing her and giving her deep characterization and motivations for the following parts of the story. I have no doubt Wutai is going to be great, and I had a lot of fun trying to find the possible sources behind the creation of Yuffie's homeland, anyway, I'm not a sinologist nor an expert of eastern religions, so everything in this post has to be taken with a grain of salt.

The following post has been inspired by this post by@allsortsoflicorice and the following TLS thread (thanks!).

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Wutai (ウータイ) is an island state in the far west of the FFVII world map. It had always been a proud and powerful nation, and when Shinra Electic Power Company menaced to establish its economical domain with the installment of Mako reactors on its soil, the nation wadged a war that lasted several years. In 0001, after the capture of Fort Tamblin, Wutai's leader Godo Kisaragi finally surrendered to Shinra and Wutai became a mere touristic attraction, even if resistance cells continued their work and became affiliated with Avalanche.

The village stands at the base of a mountain, immersed in a wide forest and crossed by a river. The architecture of the buildings is inspired by real-life far East style and there's a big statue of a local deity carved on the side of the mountain facing the village.

Wutai is the homeland of Yuffie Kisaragi. In the original FFVII, since Yuffie was an optional character, also Wutai was an optional and perfectly skippable location, nonetheless many cultural references were mixed to create this beautiful place.

Moreover, I think we can expect Remake Wutai to have a more influent role in the FFVII universe, since the shape of a pagoda already appeared in Aerith's mural painting, between Cosmo Canyon and the Cetras.

Final Fantasy games are well known to be based on a heterogeneus mix of cultural influences, from Polytheistic to Monotheistic religions and myths, up until Eastern religions and phylosophies that are especially prominent in Wutai.

One of the main themes of FFVII is the cycle of life, symbolized by the Lifestream as both the physical and metaphysical place where souls merge together and allow the rebirth of new life forms in a neverending cycle. This theme is reminiscent of the concept of Saṃsāra, originated in India and then exported to the far East lands through Buddhism (e.g. Melphie's pinwheel hair-clip could symbolize this theme).

Buddhim in particoular seems to have been a great source of inspiration for the creation of this amazing location.

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Wutai is the real toponym of a Chinese holy mountain, referring to its uncommon shape and it is one of the four sacred mountains in Chinese Buddhism (and Taoism). Interestingly enough there's an old legend about this mountain that involves the King of Dragons.

To provide context, dragons are sacred creature in Eastern folklore. Most of oriental dragons stem from the Chinese version, called Long, traditionally depicted as a snake-like creature with four legs and/or wings. Unlike their western counterparts, Longs are benevolent beings, associated with power, good luck, fertility and rain. They use to dwell in rivers, lakes, seas, they roam the skies and control weather ("Raya and the last dragon" provides good and simple examples of this folkloristic creatures and their legendary powers).

It's not farfetched to see the nod between the Dragon King and the presence in FFVII Wutai of Leviathan, a dragon-like summon that could be achieved in the OG after completing the Pagoda side quest, and that serves as Wutai guard water-deity.

Leviathan was introduced for the first time in the franchise in Final Fantasy II as a monster, while with Final Fantasy III it became a recurrent Summon associated to water, often known as "Sea King" or "Lord of all Waters". The name comes from the homonymous demoniac creature, a fearsome evil sea serpent of the Middle Eastern mythology that symbolizes chaos. FFVII Leviathan preservs just the name of this biblical reference but embodies perfectly the iconography and symbolism of Chinese Longs. Indeed the village is built on a big river.

(from the Fort Tamblin section of Crisis Core: Leviathan fountain on the left, and Wutais banners, depicting a serpentine creature wrapped around a sword, on the right)

As we said before, there's a huge sculpture carved in the side of the mountain facing the town, called "Da-Chao statue", a water deity.

It's hard to establish the real etymology of its name, since it's written in katakana (ダチャオ), but it could come from the chinese

This word exists also in Japanese (pronounced oosho) and it could be roughly translated also as "big tide" (spring tide is a phenomenon occurring twice a month during full moon and new moon, when Earth, Sun and Moon are aligned, affecting tide's range that reaches its maximum). Worth noting that Leviathan can perform "Tidal Wave".

The statue is also formed by four figures. It could be a loose reference to the myth of the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas: during a period of drought the four dragon managed to make it rain without the permission of the Jade Emperor, so he punished them imprisoning them all under a mountain, where the dragons decided to turn themselves in rivers.

The group has to use the "Scales of the Sea God" (or Leviathan scales) to extinguish the fire in the cave on Da-Chao mountain, and the item can only be found in Junon underwater reactor, which could refer to the legendary Dragon King that lived in an underwater palace.

Alternatively, since the central statue has four arms (six in the pagoda version), it could be a refernce to a Buddhist guard deity called Mahakala (derived from the Hindu Shiva). Notably, this deity is associated - at least in China - with sexuality and fertility, and Don Corneo made his last despicable attempt to choose a girl between Elena and Yuffie on this statue.

From Ultimania Omega: in the guest room there's a painting representing four Buddhist figures and a six-arm deity in the middle.

Among the enemies that can be found on Mount Da-Chao, there's Garuda (ガルーダ) a Hindu and Buddhist creature, while in Crisis Core there's another set of recurrent enemies called "Vajradhara", related to Buddhism as well, while the Wutaian organization "Crescent Unit" could refer to the lunar phases and so be linked to the aforementioned meaning of Da-Chao.

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During the pagoda side quest, after which the the group receives Leviathan summon materia, Yuffie is forced to fight five warriors, one for each stage of the building.

The names of these fighters probably come from the names of western playwrights, with the ecception of Yuffie's father, whose name is anyway related to theatre:

Gorkii -> Maxim Gorky

Shake -> William Shakespeare

Chekhov -> Anton Chekhov

Staniv -> Constantin Stanislavsky

Godo -> Godot

In Japanese, each one of them has a different way of speaking.

This odd relation with theatre could be explained by the fact that the chinese word "wutai" (same tones) can be written in two different ways:

The word 舞台 (butai) in Japanese specifically means "theatre stage" or "theatre setting".

The inspiration for this part of the game could be the traditional Japanese Noh theatre. Usually Noh plays are composed of five standalone pieces selected from five different categories, and many of the plays include shapeshifting creatures.

As stated before, Godo is the only fighter whose name is not that of a playwright but a fictional character, Godot. It could be linked to the fact that the word ゴドー in Japanese is homophone to 悟道, a Buddhist term referring to the path to the enlightment.

As a boss, Godo becomes a monster that, in my opinion, is a reference to Asuras, Hindu demigods with three faces and four arms that appear also in Buddhism. In the latter, it is traditionally told that Asuras were dismissed by the heavenly world they shared with gods, which could be a loose reference to Wutai losing the war (in this case "Godo" could be linked also to the English "God").

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Finally: Yuffie Kisaragi.

Yuffie is not a real name, especially not a Japanese one since the sound fi doesn't exist in that language. The only real-life connection I could find is a very similar Chinese female name, Yufei 雨霏, whose meaning is something like "happy even though it rains", which fits her personality.

Kisaragi is often mistankenly translated as February but in reality 如月 was the old name for the second month of the Japanese lunar calendar that, traditionally, marked the beginning of spring.

I'm totally clueless about the meanings of Melphie and Sonon's names.

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Sadly I haven't found any hint about what could be the origin of Da-Chao beans, nor any further reason behind the name of "Fort Tamblin" (タンブリン->tambourine).

If anybody has suggestions or corrections they'll be very well appreciated!

Different Stories Resonate with Different People

i love it when italians argue about italian. like we don’t even know how our language really works we just roll with it

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.

New headcanon unlocked

Sephiroth is constantly like nonstop scattering feathers in remake/rebirth even when his wing isn't out so either some other part of him is also feathered or he like collects all the ones he molts and tosses them like confetti whenever he wants to make an entrance

Icon next to Hollow’s arrangement in the ultimania: 

Opening to FF7R: 

Very end of Crisis Core: 

End of FF7R as Hollow begins to play: 

Ending of Crisis Core: 

Cloud alone on a barren wasteland of cracked earth, alone in the rain, a destined death he couldn’t stop, screaming at the top of his lungs (howling) outside himself looking in (remembering Zack, creating his false persona with Zack as a base) the storm clears, a new journey on the horizon. Remake opens up with Zack’s death place as the bird flies towards Midgar, the bird is pictured with Hollow, Hollow begins to play at the end as Zack comes into view and it begins to rain. Game opens with where Zack died and ends where Zack died. 

Zack and Cloud parallels

Crisis Core vs. Final Fantasy VII Remake

#no one can resist the puppy