Facts.

This moment is just...

AMAZING💕

Hi! I see many FFVII fans having great difficulties to accept Crisis Core as a legit canon entry of the compilation. Many of its scenes are often dismissed as fanservice or lazy copy&paste of the OG, and many lament that this game ruined the personalities of the characters. What do you think about it? Thanks!

Thanks for the ask!

I often think of this quote from one of my favorite shows, and even in the case of evaluating entertainment, I wish people would often think about this in how they move forward in discussions:

“If you stop seeing the world in terms of what you like and what you dislike, and saw things for what they truly are in themselves—you would find a great deal more peace in your life.”

— Patrick Jane, The Mentalist S2Ep.6

Without trying to sound too dismissive of people's free opinions, a lot of this type of commentary either doesn't come from a good, foundational understanding of canon or a more clearer-headed, objective understanding of the content within and of itself. Especially with the perspective of the writers and what they essentially wanted to achieve. The idea of everyone having their own personal takes is the way of being human, but once we enter discussions online, this becomes more like a plague that spreads and creates/shapes even more misunderstandings.

I've seen many things over the years so I can't exactly pinpoint everything, but the most direct is that there's no point in time where Crisis Core hasn't been a legitimate, canonical entry in the FFVII canon. There isn't any room for debate on that if we're talking about the FFVII canon as seriously as possible—you'd be having a laugh otherwise. Now, the evaluation of its actual materials? That's just the difference in why people say the things they do, spectrums between agendas, personal feelings, or inclinations with trouble accepting things that otherwise would cause them conflict. We can't allow these things to dismiss our understanding of storytelling, to dismiss the fact that, while a multitude of things can be included in any content that is simply there to be entertaining, this doesn't always reflect its actual nature in regards to canonicity, or to dismiss the prospects that the Compilation isn't just extra stories of the FFVII, but is a DEVLEOPMENT of the world first established—we need to be able to look at the growth and application of this content from a practical perspective, and if we're having discussions, try to be a bit more objective when making a point to another. The game sure isn’t perfect, in whatever standard that could ever be, but the conclusions reached like you mentioned are by people who don’t help things get done. Calling the game "fanservice" or disregarding intentional parallels as "lazy copy & paste" without looking at the context of WHY it was made—we're not going to get anything done.

That's why certain discourses in this fandom, lasting decades long, doesn't get done, and never will until people change the way they think about things and why.

FFVII Remake Easter Eggs and compilation continuity - Part 7: OG FINAL FANTASY VII

ELEMENTS ORIGINALLY SHOWED AFTER THE MIDGAR SECTION & VISIONS OF THE FUTURE

CAIT SITH

This character didn’t show up until the group reached the Gold Saucer. In the Remake he witnesses the plate fall.

YUFFIE

In the OG Yuffie could only be recruited after visiting the Mythril Mines and nothing hints she had ever been in Midgar before. Now she is the protagonist of Intermission, spending a whole day in Midgar, getting to see Barret’s cell and infiltrating in Shinra HQ thanks to Avalanche. Some main points of this character have already been shown like the rivalry between her and her father, some details of the Wutai war and even her motion sickness.

ROMANTIC RUDE

In the OG Rude confessed Reno that he liked Tifa. In the Remake, when he spotted her on the Sector 7 pillar, he deviated the chopper to prevent Reno from killing her.

Reno: Dammit! You wanna explain yourself, partner?

Rude: Uh... Hand slipped.

PALMER’S TEA

In the original, at Cid’s house, Palmer asked for some tea with “sugar, honey and lard”. In the Remake he walks in the corridor of Shinra HQ with a cup of tea, complaining that he ran out of butter (though in Japanese it’s still “lard”).

Oh dear, oh dear... A man of my refined tastes running out of butter! Shorn of its proper accompainment, this tea...might as well be boiled pond water!

BLACK-CAPED MEN

In the original there was just one clone in Midgar, in Sector 5, and he wasn’t wearing the black cape yet, while in the Remake they can be met also in Midgar. 

The Remake also confirms that also some former SOLDIERs can turn into caped men, something that the OG revealed only in an optional scene in Junon.

OG: I used to be in SOLDIER. Lately I’ve felt like dressing up like this...

Remake: My dad told me that that man, he used to be a SOLDIER when he was younger. I heard he came back because he got sick or something. Isn't that kinda weird? Can SOLDIERs even get sick?

This concept is further - more openly - reiterated also in Intermission:

Nayo: Mako poisoning. That's what happens if you don't make the grade as a SOLDIER...or when the military's done using you.

REUNION

When Cloud attacks Marco believing he’s Sephiroth he has a vision of the Reunion at Whirlwind Maze.

BARRET’S PAST

In the Remake Barret mentions the day he survived from the destruction of his home town, while in the original this happened one the group arrived in Corel.

Wouldn't be the first time I spit in destiny's eye. Whether you can see the seams or you can't...doesn't change that she's always trying to have it her way.

JENOVA

In the original game the first fight against Jenova took place on the Cargo ship, while in the Remake the group fights it in Chapter 17. 

Note: the first form of Jenova in the original was called Jenova∙BIRTH (followed later by Jenova∙LIFE, Jenova∙DEATH and Jenova∙SYNTHESIS). In Remake it is called Dreamweaver, referring to its ability to project illusions, while the Japanese sticks to the original calling it Jenova Beat, hinting to the prenatal heartbeat of fetuses. 

LIFESTREAM

During the presentation at Cosmo theatre (an allusion itself to Cosmo Canyion) the group can see a depiction of the Lifestream flowing throughout the Planet. In the original this only happened at the very end when Aerith summoned it. 

MATERIA

During the aforementioned presentation it was explained how the Ancients were able to create Materia with condensed Lifestream, while in the original it was explained during the flashback in Kalm.

7R: In the distant past, our planet was home to a people we call the Ancients. Many millennia before we discovered mako, these precursors were already pioneering its use. Somehow they learned of the great reservoir of energy pulsing beneath their feet. And once they had...the Ancients developed the means to harness this bountiful energy and bend it to their will. The fruits of their labors have survived to this very day in the form of certain kinds of materia.

OG: Materia. When you condense Mako energy, materia is produced. It’s very rare to be able to see materia in its natural state. (...)...the knowledge and wisdom of the Ancients is held in the Materia.

PROUD CLOD

During intermission Yuffie can see the Proud Clod still under construction stored in Shinra underground. Moreover, the Pride and Joy Prototype (in Japanese: Proud Clad Unit Zero) is a boss that can be fought in Shinra battle simulator.

MIND READER

During the second bombing mission Tifa jokingly asks Cloud if he could read her mind. This is a hint to Jenova’s ability to read minds.

7R:  I swear, your timing was perfect. It's almost like...you could read my mind. SOLDIERs can't do that, can they?

OG: Inside of you, Jenova has merged with Tifa’s memories, creating you.

CHILDHOOD MEMORIES

In the Remake Cloud "remembers” two episodes of his childhood in Nibelheim, scenes that originally were included in the Lifestream sequence in Mideel.

BURNING TOWN

During the first vision of Sephiroth in Chapter 2, Cloud re-experiences the distruction of NIbelheim. This info wasn’t revealed in the OG until the flashback in Kalm.

TEST SUBJECT

When Cloud, Barret and Tifa discover the secret underground lab with specimen detained in mako tanks, Cloud starts remembering his captivity in the basement of Shinra Mansion. This was originally revealed only in the optional cutscene in the basement of the Mansion, after the Lifestream sequence.

MAKO POISONING

Mako poisoning is an element that in the OG was explained just in Mideel, while in the Remake Jessie’s father suffers of the same condition. A sector 7 NPC also witnesses one of Cloud’s Jenova headaches and suggests he may be Mako poisonesd (before the whispers intervene).

7R: [Chapter 3] What the—You okay, buddy? Mako junkie, huh? Figures...

[Chapter 4] Jessie's got a theory about it. Thinks her dad's spirit is stuck now—between his body and the heart of the planet.

OG: He probably has no idea who or where he is now... Poor fellow, his voice doesn’t even work. He is literally miles away from us. Some place far away where no one’s ever been... All alone...

UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTH

Discovering that in reality Cloud never made it in SLDIER was a pivotal plot twist of the OG. In the Remake that’s hinted more than once, until Hojo openly reveals it. 

No, not quite. Oh, now I recall. My memory was mistaken. My boy, you weren't a SOLDIER...

SEPHIROTH’S DEATH

In Chapter 2 Cloud remembers he killed Sephiroth. This is surprising as in the OG, during Kalm flashback, he told the group that he didn’t know what happened to Sephiroth after Nibelheim incident, even pointing out that, in terms of strength, he couldn’t have killed him.

AERITH’S DEATH

Cloud has some visions of Aerith’s death: after falling in her church in Chapter 8 (pics 2 and 3) and at the beginning of Chapter 9 (pics 1 and 4). Moreover he and the rest of the group have a blurred vision of her death in Chapter 18, Aerith’s refers to death in her resolution scene and Sephiroth tells him he’s unable to protect people in Chapter 2 (while seeing Aerith for the first time) and in Chapter 13 (after she’s been kidnapped). 

METEOR

Cloud, and the others have visions of Meteor and the storm that destroyed Midgar at the end of the OG in Chapters 16 and 18. 

This might be the cutest FF VII lore fanart I've ever seen

oopsie, sketched some quick ff7 stamps bc i thought the idea of shinra making Stamp stamps was silly, and then i just had a great time playing crisis core reunion so here we are!!

so annoyed i couldnt remember if there is any unique identifiable flora to nibelheim, so i just decided cloudberries would be a good substitute since they are a) pretty damn hardy, b) punny and c) very tasty. these are based on stamps i vaguely remember from childhood, very cool!! :)

Parallel #4

The first succesful high five

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

[Previous]

Cloud’s character arc in a single sentence

Marle's dog...??

CUTE FS WALLPAPER FOR THE SCHOOL EVENT WITH THE BABIES AJDHDSJ

AND WE GET ANOTHER FS CHAPTER IN JUNE THANK GOODNESS

Talk about a coincidence!

(Previous post here)

On 14th February 2019, Square Enix decided to celebrate Valentine’s day with an article about 

5 great Final Fantasy love stories.

Here we find:

- Noctis & Lunafreya (FFXV)

- Tidus & Yuna (FFX)

- Maria & Draco (FFVI)

- Squall & Rinoa (FFVIII)

and..........

Zidane & Garnet? Celes & Locke? Serah & Snow?

No

Zack & Aerith. Crisis Core. 

Weird. This happened just one year before the release of the Remake, where, coincidentally, there are tons of Crisis Core references. Aerith almost cries while remembering Zack, Zack survives his last stand and there is a beautiful slow-motion scene where Zack and Aerith perceive each other’s presence while Hollow starts playing...

But don’t worry,

It must be just a coincidence!

Angeal always bothers me and idk how to word it!! Not sure your take on why or what you see with his character in general but I'd love to know bc this has been bothering me forever

so this got. a little more heated than i thought it would. sorry anon lmao

angeal stans this is your warning!! nice things are not said under the cut

so angeal exists in the narrative to be the dead mentor figure so we feel bad for zack and to infodump a little about his and genesis's pasts in the beginning so genesis gets a modicum of development as well. he also does some obligatory passing on of his legacy of soldier honor and morals to zack so zack has a clear model to follow and we as the audience can see his growth from somewhat careless and cocky to a little more serious and driven after angeal's death. on a deeper level, angeal also exists as a counterpoint to genesis's and sephiroth's respective models of heroism, where (simply put) angeal's is staying true to a code of honor to protect the people, genesis's is being recognized by the public for heroic deeds, and sephiroth's is manufactured success and perfection in performance

and like, crisis core shows that each of these models doesn't work. in the case of angeal, his rigid adherence to a code of honor to remain morally pure leads to his downfall. especially with the circumstances of his death-- like, death before dishonor is an incredibly strong concept in japanese culture, but it's pretty clear in cc that what angeal does in forcing zack's hand is somewhat backwards in logic. like, where was this revelation that he was hurting people back in the middle of the war with wutai where he was literally destroying people’s villages and livelihoods vs. now when the war is literally over and he isn’t actively hurting people?? but. whatever. sure, let's assume this was the turning point that finally made him realize what he’s done in the past

but even then he doesn't solve anything, he doesn't try to help anyone despite that being basically his motto, he just gives up because he himself doesn't fit into his strict worldview-- if he isn't the hero he thought he was, then he must be a monster, and he can't be tolerated to exist. angeal quite literally shatters under the weight of his morals

there's also the issue of the story from his childhood, which is supposed to show his character as honorable à la "honor can exist in unconventional ways" but. it fails to establish him as such imo. it's like, you're too proud to accept help so you're gonna steal from people instead? and not even the rich people because one of them is your friend?? like there's a difference between being honorable and being too proud, especially if part of your motto is to protect others. it feels like a weird blend of capitalist work ethic + robin hood-esque imagery while missing the part where robin hood didn't actually steal solely because he was poor, he stole because fuck rich people and so he could help other poor people. you know. by giving them the handouts angeal is apparently too proud to accept

he's just a huge hypocrite, which makes his lectures on honor and pride feel all the more sanctimonious. he tries so hard to keep the moral high ground that the moment he comes up against something that actually tests his self-perception, he just shrugs and goes "guess i'll die". i feel like that was the entire point of how crisis core wrote him, especially given the role the buster sword plays in symbolizing his honor (aka use it or lose it), but the overall fandom tends to treat him as objectively the best of the firsts, like this bitch didn't just nosedive into drama queen territory just as quickly as the other two. i think @ladylokiofmidgard put it best when she said he has the moral backbone of a chocolate éclair

like angeal is as bland as white bread but somehow manages to singlehandedly piss me off more than any other character in the compilation. i could go on more but this post is already too long as it is

anyways. angeal was wrong. the buster sword is a metaphor for his failure to uphold his own philosophies relative to the people who inherited it. fight me