This Isn't Even My Final Fantasy(many images)

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 65: The tropical episode

We managed to get to the western continent.

You'll get used to it, or at least tolerate it, eventually.

Don't pass up on good shops though.

Look up some fan art Aeris. You'll get your fix.

Wait, like Barret literally doesn't understand the concept of 'cute'?

(Ok that's just silly.)

I thought you just said you were glad to get out of that suit. ( )

Oh yeah, I kind of selfishly forgot about you.

Costa del Sol sounds like a nice place to vacation, so you can have fun here if you like.

But seriously, I don't want to have to conduct a search.

Also looking for places where there's shade might be good. (Jeez direct sunlight. Maybe in the north it's not as intense but sheesh it feels draining here.)

Ooh.

Did he commonly go to vacation here?

Not to defend Rufus but I think your reasons are a bit shallow.

This guy also apparently figured us out.

...Good to know.

Wait, THE manager. Is this the same guy that was complaining about his bed back in Junon?

(Not too well-versed in aviation.)

Strange term honestly.

(Shinra brass? A band, perhaps?)

Anyway, let's look around.

(I guess a few days must have happened but the game didn't show all of them.)

(But it's hard to say. After all, you can't tell with precision how fast and how far the boat went.)

(Unless the ship has official length in which case maybe you could do some loose calculations based on cutscenes.)

(Not that it would mean much because overworld models aren't to scale.)

(After all, Kalm is clearly over 343000[703 ][rough estimate] Clouds3, but the map would make it seem like barely 1.)

(Oh yeah, Rufus also scolds Heidegger for sucking.)

(Although Rufus didn't see through our disguises either.)

(Heidegger then punches people on the dock and we go back to us.)

You can't go wrong with the first building you see.

I wonder if this belongs to anyone.

Hmm...I wonder.

Oh. Of this particular building?

Leaving now?

Well not yet.

Well if you're so inclined.

Fire Ring. That has got to be a nice Accessory. (It absorbs Fire-elemental attacks.)

(The Motor Drive is a Tifa weapon.)

We are here as a bit of a break as a matter of fact.

Well this is nice.

(I infer that's the Item Store, although that tells you nothing about where it is. I guess "Show me around town." would show you, but you directly ask where the stores are.)

Bar.

Neat...but sadly I'm a little low on Gil right now.

(This lady hangs out on the window as can be seen from outside.)

NO NOT YOU. GET AWAY!

It's alright third man. It's understandable.

(Suddenly accent.)

Then why the hell are you in Costa del Sol? It means Coast of the Sun(alternatively: Sunny Coast); it can't be a worse place to snowboard.

I doubt you'll get a trifec-(*sentence is abruptly stopped by *)

Now THAT makes sense.

No drinks to take to battle? Meh.

These two women plot something. I don't know what that is.

That's literally the stereotypical line.

Yeah sure.

That is enough to know, I'd say.

Ok you're a bit weird.

You don't even have interesting new Materia.

(I infer this is Butch because Soft seems to be the Costa del Sol souvenir.)

(Surely you aren't going to tell me the Materia Store guy is the one the tour guides would recommend.)

(Anyway, Softs. They cure Stone. I'll buy a few I guess.)

Oh my.

He probably came alone, honestly.

Oh god what did he do.

Jeez.

Er...maybe.

Hold on, are your Inn prices...

...surpass Choco Bill's?

(He just kind starts flexing in front of the mirror, but Cloud doesn't 100% know that. If Barret's moaning, who knows what Cloud might be thinking.)

Time to go to the main attraction: the beach.

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 66: Chicks dig Hojo

At...

this?

Actually, come to think of it, why? He's not even a Shinra anymore. But if you want it, I guess I could go.

Spying on beach ladies, I see.

Well, it IS Hojo after all.

It could be done.

I think I'm someone Hojo knows.

Too busy for your good old pal?

Now we're talking.

You know, I generally consider you to be a man at least as insane as Sephiroth was, yet somehow it seems to be you the one who remembers me.

Gee Hojo how did you get these girls?

The great Hojo, taking a suntan? Hmm, I doubt it.

Wait, really?

Actually...*implicit long story*

I mean it was kinda funny but not that much.

Well there is a cryptic gray voice sometimes.

...Buddies, pals, bros. (Deliberate misinterprations of dialogue counter: Er....)

(Deliberately putting dialogue out of context counter: I guess also a large number?)

What a bold 'joke'.

(I'm sure this is supposed to be phrased less like a half-assed reason to stop.)

That's a bit rude, Hojo.

But humor us for a while and answer Aeris.

Funny you should ask, Hojo.

I wonder what you were expecting.

Actually, come to think of it, how come Jenova looks so different from Aeris and Sephiroth? Is she really similar to them?

(Suspense.)

He must not want to.

Let's humor this situation and talk with the ladies.

Okay what?

Thanks helpful lady.

Does he really already know where he has to go?

Possible petrifying attacks?

Well then, I guess that's it.

West we go.

Tent.

Party.

(That's real neat.)

(Why not, I guess?)

(Just some Materia.)

(Third snap.)

 

[LN1]

I accidentally sized the images on the last episode 30px taller than I usually do. >_>

Spoiler: Ep 67: (^^);

But really, you can only go west. Going south is just...not possible right now and Costa del Sol is literally the northeastern edge of this continent.

There's this curious random that spews smaller versions of itself as you damage it. The largest one is the one that matters the most, as all smaller ones will die automatically if the largest one does.

Ok, now we're really talking.

The first Level 2 Limit Break unlocked. Blade Beam is inherently slightly stronger than Cross-slash(3.5x damage of a basic physical for Blade Beam, 3.25x for Cross-slash) and is unlocked after Cloud kills 80 enemies(whether or not he has Cross-slash).

Level 2 Limit Breaks take more damage(How much exactly depends on which character, which Limit level, and how much max HP that character has.) to charge up than Level 1 Limit Breaks, but that doesn't matter too much in regular runs.

Also that.

Western continent is a bit more environmentally varied than the eastern one.

Nowhere else but forward.

Hello old man.

Should that be surprising to you?

(Was Sephiroth really standing still as this guy travelled or is the order of who passed who messed up in this sentence?)

(Maybe Sephiroth suddenly sped up when he saw that an old man was going faster than him?)

(Or maybe it's just one sentence in this game that ultimately amounts to an unimportant unseen event.)

Now the only way is up.

New randoms!...Their attacks aren't too interesting.

That's a curious sun glow. Green...could it be Mako?

Another reactor!

(At some point I decided that Yuffie could do with using her fan to raise a Fire Materia.)

Say hello to Bomb, that one explosive recurring enemy.

Bomb's damage doesn't completely suck.

At some point it can counter by killing itself to do massive damage. That hit happened to kill Red by the way. I just ended up avoiding all Bombs on the way through.

This is just a cliff.

(Giant chicken randoms.)

(They can Slow-numb you, so that's why you were advised to bring Softs. That being said, you can kill the enemies before the countdown ends, and even if you don't, Stone doesn't persist outside of battle.)

(They also happen to potentially drop Softs themselves.)

This reactor...what does it power?

Weird 6-legged reptile has Poison Breath which probably can inflict Poison status.

Let's check that Ifrit out.

Show em what you got.

(Hellfire is Ifrit ramming into the enemies, which is interesting because it generally has been Ifrit summoning intense fire as a non-contact attack. Oh yeah, the six-legged guy also is immune to Fire but happens to be weak to Ice.)

Where might the railroads lead to?

Are these rollercoaster tracks?

(-edly pressing O/Circle.)(Yes, tap O/Circle while holding a direction to get treasure.)

(I...got neither this time.)

(Barret weapon. Double growth, 3 unlinked slots. Nice.)

(Left gets you Wizard Staff, a weapon for Aeris which has the Double growth 3 slots we know and love.)

Another one to add to the collection!

(Right gets you another Star Pendant. Oh yeah, you have 3 chances at this btw.)

That would be...

Meh, not very good, but it's free and another Magic Materia to master.

Well hey.

The 3D shack?

(D-do I have a slightly faulty .iso or does this text actually appear to do a smiley?)(No I don't, that's exactly how the text should be.)

(Let's not be too hasty to change our party yet.)

The upper path has the shack.

This is not that hard. I got to Fort Condor on my own twice; give me a break.

It's probably good enough to fit our 3 party members, but still tight.

Levers are easy.

I'll get down, just let me do something first.

(This is an easily missable secret.)

(A cute chirping sound plays.)

You chicks are good but I'm sure you can live Itemless.

(Glug?)

(Identical to chicken randoms outside.)

(I'm sure that's not the proper plural for Phoenixes[neither is this one, though].)

Demonstrating Blade Beam here.

(After it hits an enemy it will diffuse into weaker beams[1x basic physical damage, don't ignore row?] that hit all other enemies. Oh yeah, it's also a down-slash towards the ground unlike the up-slash that it is in Smash.)

At some point Ice and Lightning Materia levelled up, so I felt like demonstrating the second-level spells.

(Actually those enemies on the ship used Ice2 and Fire2 before I could, but shh. Also this bird is Lightning-immune.)

(It even drops Bolt Plumes maybe. Bolt Plumes are Items that do a Lightning-elemental attack roughly equivalent to...Bolt2? Bolt3?)

Where else but forward?

I see a civilization ahead.

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 68: Possibly gratuitous grinding.

Well hello North Corel.

Huh?

What's going on?

This looks bad.

Barret...

Techno-freak? Where did that come from?

You looked so defeated and didn't bother responding. Are you alright?

Do tell.

(I know someone who likes junk.)

This isn't Midgar. What do you mean next train?

Mixed memories, it seems.

I don't like your small selection.

But a Tent will suffice.

Where does it go to?

I guess I could go there.

Anyway, what do you have?

Nifty.

(Some Maiden's Kisses[nobbc]

[/nobbc], some Cornucopias[nobbc]

[/nobbc].)

(It's not good to leave town without taking some extra Limit status items.)

Are they good?

(Yes, the Force Stealer that you could have gotten earlier as a prize from Heidegger. Which is why the HP Plus Materia is preferable generally. Also only one actual weapon.)

What to put for Materia?

(If nothing else, at least Steal can get some AP.)

! Well then.

I'm already playing what I want to play.

Them?

The Shinra.

What's in THIS tent?

Also considerable transportation: A boat to cross the ocean.

I guess it's just psychologically messed up overall.

(It's nothing you can do anything about right now. You'll certainly get the chance to get it later.

Hotel...probably the Inn.

Yup.

(This is probably going to sound stupid, but I'm taking a detour here to grind some Gil. How much? Oh, only about 33000. I figured I could go and develop Limits while I was at it too.)

(These goddamn enemies.)

(They're not difficult to beat in terms of HP, but they tend to go first.)

(And they have a goddamn possibility of doing an Instant Death attack[to be kind of fair, it does have some chance of missing]. The only non-Limit Break attack I have that can kill them in one shot right now is Beta.)

(They can potentially heal you I guess which is nice enough, if rarely useful.)

(Diamond is weak as shit.)

(Then there's these dragon enemies.)

(I didn't know how much health they had but now I know it's 330 which is irritatingly close and I don't even know if that means it was variance based right now.)

(They can drop T/S Bombs, which basically is an attack item that does a Gravity spell for 1/2 of the target's current HP.)

(Blah blah, at some point, Lunatic High. Nice boost I guess considering Haste is kind of not very accessible to cast right now unless you took the time to get Speed Drinks from that thief enemy in Midgar.)

(I don't remember how much Haste boosts speed[x1.5? Not sure but that figure would be between 6's boost and 5's boost], but I remember it being alright enough to at least be not worthless to cast.)

(Yuffie's second Limit Break is a healing one, surprisingly.)(Lunatic High is unlocked by using Sled Fang 8 times and Clear Tranquil is unlocked by using Greased Lightning 8 times.)

(Show us what you can do.)

(50% of the target's max HP[truncated] worth of healing. Basically Healing Wind.)

(I figured I should get Aeris's next Limit Break.)

(First the good old Double growth weapon.)

(Also some Materia to raise.)

(Yes, Aeris does happen to still have that Enemy Skill Materia by the way. Yes, I used Beta to quickly dispose of randoms.)

(I didn't snap them before this one, but there are some fish enemies that can drop Saraha Nuts.)

(This isn't too spectacular of a Limit considering that it only cures status, but it's usable I guess, even if I'd prefer Healing Wind.)(Breath of the Earth is gotten by getting 80 kills with Aeris.)

(That being said, I do need to use that Limit Break to get the other Level 2 Limit Break.)

(You can also just straight up steal T/S Bombs from the dragons[Flapbeats]. The little fish thing is what can drop the Saraha Nut.)

(Tifa was also someone who I wanted to get more Limit Breaks for, so here she is.)

(Again, that Double growth.)

(Tifa needs to get kills so she gets the Enemy Skills. Even with her low base Magic, Beta will work.)

(Also I guess some Materia to raise.)

(Throw throws weapons at your enemies, as in, weapons from your inventory. The ammo is just really too expensive to really use, so Throw is not a very popular Materia. It's usable in Command Materia Only challenges though.)

(This encounter always Back Attacks you I believe.)

(Also I don't know when Cloud's Restore levelled up, but...)

(Here we are with Cure 2's huge healing power.)

(So Tifa's next Limit is just strong attack.)

(But what about those slots?)

(Yup, she continues to get more slots, therefore more hits. That not-Yeah!'d Waterkick did 202 damage btw.)

(On the last stretch, Cloud got Climhazzard. Yes, it's just strong attack and no effect unlike Blade Beam. 4.375x damage from Climhazzard compared to 3.5x from Blade Beam though.)

(Also an exchange in commands.)

(It actually won't matter much, but what the hell. Anyway, next I'll really be moving on.)
​

​

 

[LN1]

This thread has surpassed my Gyakuten Kenji 2 SSLP in views. You guys really like Final Fantasy VII, huh?

Spoiler: Ep 69: Gold medal

Let's go to the Gold Saucer then.

Barret, your defeated attitude is worrisome.

Oh.

4 years, an instant...it's relative.

Could it really have been all your fault?

Used to be.

(Surely not? I just feel there's something wrong with this sentence. Am I just reading it wrong and thinking, "But Barret literally commanded us to blow up Mako Reactors 1 and 2 back then.")

Sounds like you.

(Without taking into account how Mako Reactors turned out, this is neither strictly right nor strictly wrong of a stance to take.)

Just like Nibelheim...

A wife, huh?

Sounds like you.

Just like Nibelheim learned, it wasn't a fantasy land energy.

But...

What the hell?

Damn Shinra!

Did they go insane because of it?

Sounds like it.

Nobody could have known ahead of time.

Don't kick yourself for it too much.

Sorry.

*sigh* Well, we can't stop our journey by mulling about this forever.

Let's just go.

You feel bad for failing him...But it's happened already.

(Although really, I can't blame Barret for clinging onto events that "already passed".)

Did you really always know by any chance, Yuffie?

(We all have those haunting memories, don't we? I know I do.)

(...Sorry for turning this scene to me. I didn't mean to be self-centered about it.)

(Let's get back to the game, alright. Here's a nice FMV.)

(These screenshots are kinda low-res, but really, it's dazzling to me. Just, such a huge and so illuminated place up in the sky.)(YouTube link to FMV, related videos may be spoilers.)

(Realistic theme park access mechanics?)

(I'm sure many people just buy the single passes they need. However, why not buy a lifetime pass if I'll want to revisit, possibly more than 10 times[maybe not, but maybe yes]? In the end, it's just a player's choice.)

It's easier to get hunting money when your game comes with it already.

(I don't think you can really lose it. Can you even Trash it?)

(How do you get it? We'll see.)

("Please be careful", as if you could somehow overflow your GP into negative values. That cap is plenty of GP.)

...Time to have some fun!

I have plenty of RPG urgency unawareness to use.

...Oh yeah.

"That's too bad."? Aeris, what the hell?

(Okay, what?)

(This might be obvious as hell to others, but I also don't know what the hell this dialogue actually means. "You were harsh; Oh just act normal; ORLY?" ?)

I mean, this is the largest amusement park in the world.

It would kind of be a waste not to play...

I mean, that was pretty insensitive of you, Aeris.

I guess I should go with you.

(Basically just choose who accompanies Cloud. Not extremely meaningful, but still.)

(If you don't choose a partner, the game chooses for you based on a [hidden-ish] mechanic. Maybe I should have considered not choosing to see how I was going with that.)

(I don't know why I thought choosing another person would give me a third partner.)

(Let's go with Tifa, alright?)

Well first the Wonder Square.

Clairvoyance, is it really a thing?

(You name it and it's not a special case like the Epoch; it's a party member.)

(And this is no Epoch.)

Yes, I just told you.

What is this?

(I hope this one applies irl.)

This purple uniform is special, alright?

You're not helpful.

Last chance.

Unbelievable.

A trade...A fair trade?...Wait, what does it matter? How do I know you really have such a thing as clairvoyance?

I'm going to guess it's because I'm the first person who actually had their fortune taken by you.

Dude! Wait, what are you actually?

I don't think that's what fortune tellers really do.

Wait please no!

*sigh* Of course.

Have to win at those fair games.

(Which is what I will do.)

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 70: No Fun Allowed

(I actually like using this minigame to get a quick GP.)

(It's not really very fast but it's easy enough to get a small amount of GP for your efforts.)

(The amount of GP you get is based on how many consecutive baskets you get in a row in a game. There is some golden timing that pretty much guarantees you'll make the shot. I just use the visual cue of the basketball appearing to touch Cloud's hair spike. I haven't quite mastered it yet though.)

(I played 4 games and ended up with 14 GP total, which is enough for what I want to do.)

(You can buy the prizes if you want, and yes, you can get the Lifetime Pass with GP. Keep in mind 300 GP takes a while to farm too, so it's up to you if you want to farm your GP here.)

That's what chance games are intended to do, pal.

Playing the crane game?

You'll feel that a lot.

(Anyway, I got my GP, let me use it where I want to.)

Slightly differently phrased Chocobos. Okay...

Gotta go fast.

21 years old is not a 'boy'.

Sure, okay.

Oh!

Dio, as in that Latin word that relates to gods? You had some parents. Then again...

That's not a color of Materia I know of.

If you really weren't going to believe me if I said I didn't know.

That's...a silly leap of logic.

Sephiroth's attire includes thick gloves though. I wonder.

I guess he could only have gotten outside of the Golden Saucer at any rate.

Sounds like a nice place.

I'll check it out later.

Right....I think I'll be going to the attraction already.

(Not gonna give this dialogue flak because I'm sure it's actually meant to be not in the usual English language order.)

(Even though the ones right after are actually orderly.)

(Oh yeah, the Speed Square laser has a power that gets lower as you continuously use it.)

(High scores on your PS1 memory basically.)

(Or is it just on the save file you're playing on? Not sure, never bothered with this on the first playthrough.)

(For 3000+ you get one of three possible items that only serve to increase the amount of different items you have. But I'm looking for 5000+.)

Oh boy here we go.

Let's do well, hopefully.

(The mini-game is a simple rail shooter with no inverted axis. That being said, getting to 5000 is not exactly easy. And it's kinda hard to concentrate on aiming and shooting and getting snaps, so just let me direct you to this guy's video where he got 5000+ so you can see how it is.)

(The Umbrella is a weapon for Aeris. It has a good power and a nice increase in Vitality and Magic. However, it has no Materia slots, which can be rather detrimental. I'll be keeping Aeris with weapons that have Materia slots, but the Umbrella is something that I have a limited timeframe to get, so I might as well.)

Let's check out Dio's work.

(You can't actually enter the Battle Square initially because of this Shinra troop. Just find Cait Sith in Wonder Square and talk to Dio in Speed Square.)

Not good at all.

What about the Battle Square itself?

But who, though?

Lady, please tell us.

No way. Could it be?

Ah!?

We can talk about this...

God damn it, Cait, we could have talked about this!

If you have to arrest the moogle, then do so.

(Then some robots appear to apprehend us. Er, yeah, I forgot to snap.)

Is it too late to say that we'll gladly let you arrest the moogle and just have a talk?

Of course it is.

Crap.

(Now that I think about it, the party literally got dropped from the goddamn Gold Saucer, which is most definitely way high up. That's another lethal fall that our characters survived.)

But what about the ethics of imprisonment? You can't just expect me to survive the desert heat.

Game over?

No, there's hope.

Barret, please.

What is his deal?

Barret's not telling us something. I can't risk to lose him without knowing why.

I'll have to get to the bottom of this.

I'm already feeling the heat.

(But isn't the prison already inside the desert. Bah, semantics.)

Suddenly Zozo.

Well that's something nice to know.

(All three of them speak but talking to a different one starts a different dialogue.)

You literally are Zozo inhabitants.

(Moderately useful lie actually.)

The one Northeast.

Not a laugh I like to hear.

Now just what might be in this house.

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 71: Not a suicidal mission.

I don't think you are the one who has room to say that, Cait.

It's like people try to be me right now.

We can't just leave without knowing what's up with you.

Please.

Do tell.

(By the way, Barret used to wear a white shirt, but now only wears the jacket. I find that interesting.)

Incinerated...

Dyne...sounds like he was a good friend.

But how did THAT go?

Not so well it seems.

How lucky that their aim wasn't very good. (Although it's not like those guns deal much damage anyway.)

There's the bitch.

Not looking good.

Dyne too?

Too bad, huh?

...

Not even friendship can stop bullets.

Only for a while?

(Final Movie VII.)

Well that's interesting...

Bullets don't discriminate.

(If you don't name it it's not a real party member.)

No, you haven't convinced me of that yet.

I already have enough with the gray voice.

I just can't see you ending it all right now.

Arguable, but I suppose it's fair.

(Party time.)

(Might as well let it get kills and EXP, no?)

(Minor trade of power and accuracy, but what I really want is that Double Materia growth.)

(Because why the hell not?)

(Cait automatically comes with a Manipulate Materia and a Transform Materia. Manipulate is something I'll want.)

(As a matter of fact, there's some Enemy Skills to work on right now.)

(Also I want Barret specifically to have a Restore for himself.)

(Might as well raise Throw, since I do kind of need to master it for a special Materia.)

(Cait's base Magic Power is like the third highest I believe. Basically just behind Cloud and Aeris.)

(And an All to make the Lightning at least be accompanied.)

(Cover is at 40% activation rate btw. It's basically 20%*current Materia level. Yes, Cover can be activated 100% of the time.)

Shop.

Sailor's item shop. Meh.

(The entirety of the outside has randoms by the way. They're still easy monsters to kill off though.)

I hope Coates has a warm reception.

Yeah.

You...asked if I wanted to go up.

Just use that Chocobo Lure and hope for the best, no?

I'll be back, Mr. Coates. Back with what you want.

(You might not know this but you can actually enter the front of the truck to use it as an Inn. I enabled Select's help to show it better.)

(Also these randoms that like to Mug you and steal items from your inventory. Kill them before they run away.)

The boss is not southwest, therefore he's probably northeast.

Okay, it most certainly couldn't have been Barret.

That's not a good thing to hear.

(I'm not sure if it's luck or not to get to the destination in one screen transition, but just go east if you encounter the desert.)

(I was a fool and thought the enemies I wanted were in the desert. Silly me.)

(You'll really only encounter Land Worms and maybe, just maybe, a Cactuar. Those have high evasion and immunity to many elements, but reward you well should you beat them. A single encounter will give you 10,000 gil, or about 4 CMD. Grand Horns worth of money.)

(Just go to the right and don't think too much about how the desert probably wouldn't geographically work[it loops for a while even if you go right immediately after entering from the left].)

(Great! Both monsters I want. Too bad I can only really get one skill right now.)

(You see, the second Enemy Skill would not have learned Matra Magic had any character had the first one equipped. That's because of the mechanics behind learning Enemy Skill.)

(By the way, Cait Sith's Limit Break.)

(It's RNG based but can deal heavy damage. 100*dice results(*some other number?). I believe Level has an influence in the damage although I'm not sure if it's dice roll luck or a multiplier or something else entirely.)

(The next one is one that neither Materia has learned, but it's single-target so it's most convenient to keep both on a single character. Manipulate will also help.)

No thanks.

Alright, but first let me introduce a friend of mine.

Who knows why his name, but you'll like him.

(Yes, Cloud leaps high in the air after stabbing just like the attack in Smash does.)

You'll follow my orders, pal.

Attack the moogle-bot!

(Laser deals Gravity damage equivalent to 1/2 current HP. It's cheaper than its spell counterpart and attainable earlier. Neat.)

Ok, now you'll die off.

(I want Barret to have the Enemy Skills.)

(And the best Summon I have right now would also be good.)

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 72: Stained hands

Destiny awaits us.

(By the way, that's yet ANOTHER improbable fall to add.)

Has it been that long?

(The Desert Prison is not that far from North Corel, but the desert sands make it hard to get there. That being said, how did the doctor manage to operate both Barret and Dyne? Surely if Barret never went to the destroyed Corel it's because he couldn't.)

(*bullet sounds*)

Ok, this is not good at all.

(Although I guess Dyne does have the ability to get past the desert sands.)

Barret, I think it's not something that can be helped as of now.

I don't think Dyne's mentally stable.

(Killing without motive pretty much seals the deal on Dyne's mental state.)

(Minor tense/number error.)

(That's extremely literal sociopathy.)

So sad, that it all came to this.

(Also depression.)

That wouldn't be enough for Dyne, I think.

He is mentally fucked.

I doubt a negotiation will be possible.

Hmm...

Oh no.

(Barret he literally just gave a speech about how he wants to destroy everything.)

That's the spirit!

I know it must be hard Barret. Please, find some will in you to fight.

Very well.

(Here we go, Barret by himself.)

(Dyne has 1200 HP which is fairly respectable[maybe?] for a single-character fight. That being said, he's not too tough. He happens to be vulnerable to the Poison status.)

(I didn't happen to have the Poison Materia on Barret but that's fine because you can just use hyper offense. Just be sure to heal with the Restore Materia and the battle should be easy.)

(Most bosses in this game are Gravity-immune except for one[arguably two])

(S-Mine is the name of an attack item we can't get for a while now, btw.)

(Dyne actually happens to have nearly 4 times the Magical Defense compared to his physical Defense, so it's not that surprising that Big Shot did better than Ifrit.)

(Don't be too cocky and you won't lose.)

(As usual, just violence him until he dies.)

(That's a nice armor drop.)

Congratulations Barret.

(I'd say around the part where he became a maniac is a good guess.)

At least he stands for his beliefs.

Well, YOU are her father now, no?

He's right.

What a shame...

...

...

I guess he's starting to get some sanity back.

Too bad that it had to be now. Now, that he decides to finish it all.

Were...

(Barret too killed many people with Reactor 1's bombing...But I don't know, is it comparable to Dyne's rampage?)

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 73: Not Guilty

Surely you understand our request.

Yeah, we heard.

I think you'll understand where we're coming from.

Soon please.

Barret could never have brought himself to kill Dyne...

...but believe what you want. I don't care.

(That's more or less what Dyne told us in his speech though.)

We went with your boss, and got approval.

Beh, stupid conditions.

That might be a bit of an incovenience.

Barret, this man really can't do anything about that.

Best to play along, unfortunately.

Okay. So then...

...Oh, okay.

(Had to look this idiom up.)

Oh please.

Hmm?

Hello...

(In the overworld we all do.)

(He's Coates, not Rude.)

You...really eavesdropped on us.

Gotcha.

Nobody actually competes because they like to (for fun)?

(Tutorial.)

(So yeah, the Chocobo can run on its[their] own.)

(You also can't do much about the quality of the Chocobos right now, but that's technically going too deep into this mechanic.)

(There's quite a lot to talk about Chocobos, but it's best to save it for later times, when we can really reap the benefits of it.)

(It's quite the sidequest, but the reward is really good.)

(Although you kind of tend to lose if you go slow.)

(Useful if you happen to lose horribly I guess.)

(Literally a Joe, in a world of Clouds and Esters.)

(It's almost like he stands out by not standing out.)

...Well then.

Already against the best, huh?

(Like half an hour maybe.)

(Barret house, go to northeast, Matra Magic and Laser, Dyne.)

Sorry, but may you perhaps also have a story?

Yeah, I'll keep you in mind.

(After you win the Chocobo race, you can never visit this room again and therefore can never get a Ramuh Materia. So consider that.)

(Just wait some seconds I guess. Half a minute about.)

Yes?

(Funny that.)

I understood the first time.

Thanks.

(The Chocobo races are pretty simple. Just follow the control tutorial well.)

(That being said, the Chocobo you get could not like you, and, well...)

(Yeah.)

(The following Chocobo will be better at racing than the last.)

(Taking an early lead is a decent tactic.)

(My first playthrough took 3 tries I think. So there's that.)

Heh.

How generous.

Not too busy to be on Speed Square to advertise Battle Square.

Well well well.

This is real nice.

(Oh he has fans alright.)

I guess that's a good place to go to.

I'll keep that in mind.

(Party.)

(Buggy's)

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 74: Goof a bit

(So first, going south a bit to the beach, since a certain enemy spawns there that has the next Enemy Skill I want.)

(Swapping that onto a member that is actually on the party.)

(Don't mind me, just trying to level Materia.)

(And also the All.)

(Like so.)

(Let's run around until I get the random I want.)

(First I killed the other 3 Beachplugs. Just to make it all that much simpler. They don't do much damage anyway.)

(Big Guard!)

(Big Guard is a pretty nice skill, if pretty costly right now.)

(The next skill I want was technically closer because it was in the desert, but Big Guard helps in getting this one. The random I want is not the Flapbeats though, or else I'd already have it.)

(Say hello to Harpy, the random I wanted. The name is another silly mistranslation. It's actually a Chimera. The Poison Storm attack happened to hit Cloud who happened to be having the Star Pendant equipped.)

(Alright, Big Guard. This spell has appeared in 5 and 6 too, so let's briefly compare. 6 only applies Protect and Shell, and those are only about a 33% decrease in damage compared to the sharp 50% cut that 7 does and iirc also 5. Not only that, 7 also applies Haste along Barrier and MBarrier and only costs 56 MP compared to 6's cost of 80 MP. Then there's 5's Big Guard which is nice. Safe and Shell are as good in 5 as Barrier and MBarrier are in 7, but 5's applies Float, not Haste. 5's Haste is absolutely splendid, but eh, it's alright since Haste2 is a thing. 5's mechanics makes it so that curing spells ignore Shell, unlike 7, but 5's Big Guard is kinda costly at 72 MP[recovering MP in 5 is only really significant with either Elixirs or Mixes]. Basically, it's debatable whether 5 or 7 has the more convenient version, but it's still a good spell.)

(Aqualung! That's the Enemy Skill I want. Basically, Aqualung is your alternative to Beta and much easier to get, but the opportunity arises later. Water-elemental, 34 MP, multi-target. A later boss gave me trouble because it has this spell and that one tends to hurt. Harpy only has 13 base Magic Power though, so while the attack will still hurt, it's manageable.)

(I want to have a strong setup for the next thing I'll do so if you'll excuse me.)

(I had some hoops to slam.)

(Battle Square. The thing about Battle Square is that it has some interesting rewards, but the prizes vary throughout story progression. So I'll be looking at what you can get right now.)

(Yeah, I got the idea that Dio really likes it.)

(Rest assured, I'm more than just all talk.)(I also personally associate this quote with GarlandtheGreat although it wasn't even him who ever referenced this quote.)

(Ought to be more than just a random encounter rush, no?)

(Note that these points are not GP. They're BP.)

(You really, really want to fight all eight battles if you want to gain a noticeable BP profit. The boost in BP that the eighth[sp?] gives you is tremendously more than the ones the first seven give you.)

(These are an interesting gimmick.)

(In reality you could cheese the hazards a bit, because they are controlled by slots.)

(There are only 2 prizes that cost nearly 65000 BP, and one of them lowers in price after a certain story point.)

(Stupid smart machine. How dare you not even show me prizes because I don't have BP whatsoever.)

I more than heard...

(Let's take a quick look.)

(Well that's...okay, I guess.)

(Okay, that one-on-one part is most definitely a lie.)

(We're going to be fighting purely randoms we [could have I guess] already fought, but that might be a bit tougher than you think.)

(Okay, real talk, I like the Battle Arena theme, Hurry Faster. It's pretty nice that it's not just regular battle theme, even if that one is pretty neat. Incidentally, the Battle Arena was the subject of a FF7 PC demo. That one demo has an interesting instrumentation for Hurry Faster. That version is nice too. Something about using a different sound synth than the PS1 MIDIs? Kind of like using a different soundcard, sort of. I'm not too tech-savvy to say exactly.)

(The enemies in the Battle Arena are actually not exactly the same as the original random encounters. Their HP stat is doubled, and their attacking stats are increased by 1/4. This doesn't make Reactor 1 encounters tough, but keep that in mind if suddenly even Beta/Aqualung doesn't OHK what you expected it to.)

(Ok, I can officially stop putting these typos under the joke counter of typo spoilers. There's just something absolutely astonishing about how a message that pops up frequently in a useful side game which I'm sure the testers actually played has these funny mistakes. Off course it had to be this [No, ]way.)

(Anyway, slots. You can actually pause slots in this game by pressing Square. The Battle Arena handicap, Tifa's Limit Break, and a certain other Limit Break all use slots and thus can be kind of cheesed with pausing. It can be a bit tricky to do but it's pretty useful to nail down what you want to get.)

(For max BP you want to nail the worst things like breaking Materia or prohibiting the usage of Items. However, just don't nail the non-handicaps honestly if you don't want to be too meticulous. Or heck, reserve your worst for the eighth battle, since that one gives the absolutely hugest boost.)

(Matra Magic barely failed to KO one of the Sahagins. I blame variance.)

(Sheesh did I ever snap what Aqualung looks like. Anyway, the damage is obscene, as shown.)

(Mythril Mines sneks. Huge groups can be annoying. I didn't actually bother to show all fights because honestly half of them are easily disposed with a few Matras or maybe an Aqualung if needed.)

(Blade Beam is nice.)

(Okay, pay attention here. I have 255 BP in my streak, and this is my seventh battle done. The next one is the eighth.)

(I fought a 1600 HP Harpy with the Mini handicap, and ended with a whopping 2900 added from the eighth alone. Mini is a low tier BP handicap by the way. Materia Breaking could add a whopping 7000+ if applied on the eighth. That's how important fighting all eight is.)

(You...also always receive a Tissue no matter how you get out of the Battle Arena. It does nothing special, it's just another Item. I guess of note was how I got Toad in the slots and had to use a Maiden's Kiss, and how a x6 Capparwire battle kind of almost killed me because of Grand Spark.)

(No matter how you end the Battle Arena, your HP and MP are restored to how they were right before starting. Kills in the Battle Arena don't count to raise Limit Breaks, using Limit Breaks in the arena doesn't count either, no Enemy Skills are kept when you finish, and Items are not returned if you used any.)

(These prizes are expensive right now, but some can only be gotten before the next change due to story progression. Potions, Shrapnels, Ethers, and Fury Rings are only available now. Shrapnel is fairly unique of an attack Item and although Gil can buy Fury Rings, why not get one with GP since I actually spent less Gil on getting the GP than I would have if I bought it directly?)

(Fury Ring automatically inflicts Berserk on the wearer. Note that is not too bad right now actually. Maybe not for bosses, but the nice boost in physical damage and catering to laziness makes it a decent accessory if you can't be arsed to tap O/Circle and want to do something like grind kills for Limit Breaks or you weren't going to use Magic/Items anyway.)

(1 Shrapnel, 2 Phoenixes.)

(Sprint Shoes! This is actually pretty neat. They're not missable, but the opportunity to get them again doesn't come until goddamn Disc 2 of later.)

(Yup, auto-Haste. Haste in 7 is nice. It doubles your Speed, which is literally the same as in 5[and trust me, 5's Haste is real good{possibly only surpassed by how good Haste is in 10}. I'm even willing to say that Sprint Shoes are the best accessory in 5 except for a few boss battles, some optional.]. It unfortunately happens to make barriers run out twice as fast too though. Of course, we did just get Big Guard which is basically Haste=All plus barriers, and soon we'll be able to cast Haste=All the normal way, but, you know, it can be nice on things like Battle Arena's solo battles.)

(Equip.)

(Return.)

(Filler.)

(Exit.)

(Goof.)

(Alright, so now that we have the Buggy we can travel between the east continent and the west continent.)

(And as a matter of fact, I need the Buggy for something in the east.)

(Be sure to enter Costa del Sol with the Buggy. That's how you get it through Junon to the east.)

(Also, Rufus did not fuck up at all.)

Yeah, sure. No thanks though.

(Movement between the two parts of Junon is also pretty easy.)

(Incidentally that is exactly the denotation of a taxi, just not that of the usual cab system.)

(K, let's move on then.)

(There's this one previously uncrossable river that leads to a previously isolated area.)

(An isolated area with a useful man. But we'll need to fight a bit more to get his help.)

(White Wind is a cool spell. It heals a set amount equal to the caster's current HP and also cures many statuses, along with ignoring the MBarrier decrease in healing due to being a set amount "damage" spell.)

(Ideally it can be even better than Restore Materia, but do be careful with things like Gravity-elemental attacks highly reducing your heals. Gravity=Elemental in armor is usable against that though.)

(When the last 2 digits of the number[e.g.: the 244 battles here] of battles you fought match, you get a neat reward.)

(Even matches gives you Bolt Rings. Odd matches, we'll see.)

(Let's be productive with the 11 battles we need to fight.)

(Fourth Fort Condor battle - right after you get the Buggy.)

(Partial refund.)

(Okay then. So that's how that is. Apparently fighting CMD. Grand Horn counts as skipping a reward. Alright, so when you skip a Fort Condor battle, you get the reward in the next one, replacing the one you would have gotten instead. I thought I'd get a Megalixir, but instead got 3 Ethers, which is Battle #3's reward. And yes, they really did translate them as Tinctures even though they're called Ethers in this game.)

(With 255 battles, I get another prize.)

(I won't be able to make use of it for a while, but it'll become something good.)

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 75: Back to business

(I briefly went on the Mythril Mines to teach the second Enemy Skill Flamethrower. I didn't bother with Chocobuckle, L4 Suicide, and Beta because eh, that'd require another Midgar Zolom fight and no thanks pls.)

(Also, Yuffie learned her first Level 2 Limit Break.)

(So I'm obviously setting her Limits to Level 2.)

(On the way through the Poison Materia levelled up, so new spell.)

(Bio 2, much alike to the other 2 spells we have.)

(Remember that Square calls the dolphin. Anyway, you can easily return to the cargo ship and thus easily return to Costa del Sol.)

(I had money so I bought a Seal. Gotta need to level this one up too.)

(Also some Maiden's Kisses, just as a precaution.)

(Alright, let's change our party a bit then.)

(Naturally.)

(I'll want someone with a White Cape.)

(Seal doesn't really provide many interesting status, but I guess it could be moderately useful if you restrict a certain Materia.)

(Also some Command Materia I'll want.)

(I guess I could technically get the next Enemy Skill I want without Manipulate, but it's ST, so yeah.)

(Filler.)

(I obviously also want both Enemy Skills to get the spell.)

(A fair trade I'd say.)

(I happened to find another Harpy, so I figured I'd demonstrate Ramuh.)

Zap!

(Anyway, current strongest Summon I guess.)

(Here we go, I found the random I wanted.)

(The dinosaur likes to use Stone Stare, which inflicts Slow-numb: a countdown to Stone. Barret is a Toad because he got Frog Jab. The Touch Mes(sing.: Touch Me) like to do that.)

(That's the Enemy Skill. Frog Song inflicts Sleep and Toad. Too bad this one happened to target Cloud, who has neither Enemy Skill.)

(So Aeris has it, now let Barret's Enemy Skill get it. Also used a Soft to prevent Aeris from getting Stoned and a Maiden's Kiss to return Barret to normal.)

(But before I use the Frog Song...)

(Pow!)

(Curious quirk of the Toad status. Anything that inflicts Toad also cures Toad if the target already has the status. Think of it like the Imp spell in 6.)

(It happens to be that Touch Mes can drop Maiden's Kiss. So there's that.)

So here's Gongaga.

How pushy.

Oh my...

Are you that kind of person, Reno?

Okay, what the hell?

You tell me.

Is there something behind me?

Aww, what a party pooper.

(Oh btw, Rude's AI is interesting.)

(Since I can't really show it, I'll just say it. Rude will not attack Tifa unless he has to, and will avoid using stronger attacks on her. How sweet.)

I don't know Reno. It was your side that managed to wreck Sector 7, so is it really YOUR payback?

Then let's do battle again.

(Both Rude and Reno have 2000 HP, but you don't really have to deal 4000 HP total in damage to win.)

(Defeating just either one of them should do.)

(Actually, which one you defeat affects your loot.)

(I wasn't actively thinking about it, but it's probably good that I focused on Reno.)

(Reno drops a unique weapon. Rude does give more EXP and AP, but his drop is just an item that although is nice to have can be farmed with ease not that much later on.)

(Rude has an annoying habit of using Cure on Reno.)

(I guess if nothing else, Sleepel's animation is okay.)

(Yes, it's unfair to say it's not good when I use it against a Sleep-immune boss...but really, Paralyze and Stop are functionally better and we just got Frog Song.)

(Only Land Worms and Harpies really warranted Sleeping them, and meh, they're still manageable.)

(Also Breath of the Earth only cures statuses, but I must use it if I want to get the second Level 2 Limit Break, so excuse that.)

(Violence either Turk to death and you win.)

(Reno drops a Fairy Tale: a 7-slot(all unlinked) Normal growth weapon for Aeris. You could technically buy it much later on...but yeah, just get this unique drop now. Rude drops 1 X-Potion, which is a full heal. Nice, but by the time I could need them I'll be able to easily farm them.)

Well I kind of doubt they'd be waiting upon Gongaga by chance, so they must have known anyway. Therefore...

Like, who would do that?

Our party of 5 trustworthy Midgar folks who fought against Shinra, a girl we found in a forest, and some moogle robot who forcefully went along with us for lousy reasons has no immediate suspects in mind.

 

[LN1]

I wonder if anyone saw the commentary of the last episode when it had a factual error that is now edited out.

Spoiler: Ep 76: A mystery man

(7 slots means I can hold even more Materia, so of course I'll equip it.)

(What the hell, might as well if I'll constantly keep Aeris in the back row.)

(Also some Magic. The last 2 are left unfilled.)

(There's this giant mantis encounter. Not too dangerous but it has a Stop-inflicting attack, and can come in encounters of 2.)

(In this part of the Gongaga area, there's this curious random encounter.)

(Meet Heavy Tank. It has 1600 HP and okay damage output I guess. It does drop a neat 1300 gil money reward upon defeat.)

Best we not let ourselves be seen.

What might they be doing here?

Although it is heavily destroyed, so I'd say it's kind of expected.

Or Scarlet's being ambitious. Hmm...

You mean an Atma Weapon.

At least Hojo's not getting budget for his monsters I guess.

I...kind of agree with her.

So all the Turks came here.

All the Materia we have seen was basically marble-sized.

Does Rufus perhaps plot to dominate the world? We'll have to see.

(A new Summon Materia.)

(Earth-elemental, inherently MT, you know the deal.)

(Why not demonstrate it on this other Heavy Tank?)

(Titan legitimately goes up and tears the earth beneath the enemies.)

(Sweet.)

(The reactor area was on the right path. We're going left now.)

(Going more to the left there's a Deathblow Materia. The path just leads to an exit to the world map.)

...

What's this place?

(...I think I was meant to go to the town area first. Funny that. But it doesn't matter.)

We can agree on that.

Well then, show me.

(We've seen all of this. However, the Time Materia and Mystify are of interest. I only bought a Time because that one's actually nice. Mystify is...eh, it inflicts some statuses that are okay I guess. Confuse and Berserk)

Tell please.

(Kind of?)

(Inn.)

X-Potion.

(That's a Cait Sith weapon.)

A reactor explosion you say?

(Same as Inn guy.)

(The stock is...not very interesting.)

(Bought nothing.)

Wait, hold on.

That somehow sounds familiar. Yet that name doesn't come to mind.

Something's not right here, but what is it?

Aeris?

Huh?

(She did say she had an ex-boyfriend in soldier(all-caps).)

I think I need to hear what Aeris knows.

He never told you, huh? Well that's odd.

Oh, him.

Hmm, that's funny.

Well that's worrisome.

5 years ago? No way, could it be?

Could it have been then, during Nibelheim?

This Zack...I wonder about him.

(The Deathblow command deals a guaranteed critical hit physical[basically double damage], but Deathblow command is inaccurate. It's literally 1/3 of the original accuracy, although I'm not sure if it's applied before accuracy boosts or not. Technically this means 255% is not quite perfect accuracy under Deathblow[255/3=85], but in practice I've never seen a 255% Deathblow miss. However, Dexterity and having a higher evade[yes, your evade% makes your attacks more accurate] does increase accuracy, so maybe that's why.)

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 77: Orange sky

(A pretty decent Magic Materia is an obvious equip.)

(Overworld random.)

(Grand Punch does not-shit damage, but it's a single monster that doesn't attack fast.)

(Transform levelled up, so now it also has the Toad spell.)

(The lighting of this particular canyon area changes to be more sunset-like which is interesting.)

(These weird penguins can ocassionally attack with Rage Bomber which if I remember actually kinda hurts.)

(But hey, Hypers are a good drop.)

(The buggy stops working if you try to skip the plot. So don't do that. I just saved before this happened to show it. You kinda want the buggy to not break down, believe it or not.)

Oh, so this is Red XIII's hometown. He said he'd only go as far as here, no?

Nanaki, huh?

Red said something about Red XIII not being his real name, no?

Well, if you want to go see this place, we can also take a rest here.

K.

Hey!

Well that sucks.

You really must love that guy.

I guess that's just how that is. (References to that phrase: 7[what, no counter when I referenced this in Ep 74? >_>])

It's always the sunset in here, it seems.

It's probably big enough to see if it's that good.

That's astonishing!

I can't deny a good luck charm.

If the canyon is still here and the flame was relit, then it mustn't have been catastrophic. Or could it?

Now what's in here?

We kind of saved him from an infamous lunatic. No biggie.

(A bar that warns its costumers to not get addicted to drinking? That's silly.)

(Rising Inn prices, whatever.)

Whatever could be here?

What is this room for?

I don't know, why don't you show me your stock?

(I could have bought some Hypers, but oh well.)

Aw come on, why the shame?

You have a grandfather, don't you?

(That's a word I don't hear much at all.)

So this is really it then?

Sounds good. We can't let this spot go to waste.

Thanks, Tiger Lily.

Then show me.

(Nice weapons, but I want that Silver Armlet.)

(Well, also to help Red XIII's weaponry out.)

(I like Cosmo Canyon's background theme [YouTube link, so beware of things like spoilers in comment and such.].)

Don't they all?

Oh, THAT's interesting.

Only like half the world across starting from Midgar.

Aww, cheer up. We'll be your AVALANCHE for you.

Now where did Red go?

Up, probably.

It's a machine most likely. But I don't know too much about how it operates.

(Can't wake up.)

Sorry, can't stay here to help with that.

A nice view.

This is the highest point, the one place I haven't checked, and apparently the observatory. Let's see.

A pleasure to meet you, Mr.

Huh?

Even older than Barret(although I'm not too sure about how old Barret is actually.)...

My age in the Nibelheim Incident. Geez!

You can't rush time, Nanaki. Well, at the very least, you can't really use Haste outside of battles.

It's true. How Shinra believed it I don't know.

I think he was kind of inside of a building most of his time in Midgar, funnily enough.

I'm not sure it's good to discipline your kids with "Oh you'll see when the apocalypse occurs", just saying.

With incredible longevity 100 years seems soon enough.

That sounds familiar. Are you perhaps an ancient, Mr. Bugenhagen?

(The sounds that play here are kind of eerie imo.)

(But I can't easily show audio so oh well.)

He's right.

Is it THAT funny?

Thank you for considering our absurd goal.

The rest must have gone up.

Good, because they should know too.

(Well, you can actually call 2 friends.)

Once again, thank you Mr. Bugenhagen.

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 78: Fire is funny

(Choose one, choose two, what's the difference?)(Also, I could have just talked to Barret since he's really the closest to the observatory. Oh well.)

Let's go.

(Of course there'd be a grammatical mistake here.)

This is nice!

(A simulation? A visual representation of what's actually happening?)

Whoa.

That's...interesting. (YouTube link to FMV, beware of possible spoilers from related videos.)

You did a really good work, Mr. Bugenhagen.

A good philosophical question. There are many sides on this.

(Hold on, returns?)

(All things considered, that would literally mean all people are not nearly as different as it might seem. They're literally extremely alike in the past and the present.)

(Or maybe I'm overthinking it. Still though, do souls increase in number or not?)

(Maybe I'm really just reading into this so incorrectly.)

What be those exceptions, I wonder.

(Yes please.)

Man is Spirit Energy and returns as Spirit Energy after life.

And that Spirit Energy helps future life.

(I'll just accept that what men become when they die forms what other men are by being born.)

Planets are just as much life as we are, then.

Welp. (YouTube link to FMV, beware of possible spoilers in related videos. I presume the overworld models are placed over FMVs and are not part of them so this might look weird without Bugenhagen's model.)

A non-flashy apocalypse.

The Materia...

Those reactors are literally using the life essence of the departed...That's evil.

So that's how it will happen, huh?

Very well.

I wonder what you know about that.

(Elder Hargo is by the room Barret was in: behind the Weapon Shop)

Don't you always?

What even IS it?

Oh? So then...

So as of the present, only Aeris will find her Promised Land?

(Produce animals? Maybe because I'm not a native English speaker but that sounds like a silly phrase to me, even if it's not technically wrong.)

All life eventually returns its Spirit Energy to the Lifestream...

(Released from their fate? Sorry, but weren't they supposed to like working? Sounds to me more like they escaped a harsh life into a Wonderland when they died.)

Oh, them.

Sorry Elder but I should talk to them.

Oh yeah, the members of AVALANCHE...

I'm sure they'd be glad at least you made it.

*nods*

Why would you need to be forgiven? You didn't do anything wrong; Reno just happened to outsmart us.

That's our Barret!

If it makes you happy, we'll be your AVALANCHE.

Maybe I should have brought you to the observatory. It looked so cool.

I don't know you much, Cait. I can't relate.

Yeah...

Are we not?

I can't help but have been born human. But if I could have helped it otherwise...I don't know.

Well, the destructiveness and protectiveness and fire is fairly interesting.

Yes, what of then?

Tifa, please.

What do you mean by that?

...

...

Huh?

Oh, them. Yeah, what was it again?

Bugenhagen knows something about that.

I wonder.

Come on.

Oh? That sounds interesting.

(Reasons.)

Eh, actually.

(Ok, so I could change the equipment inside, but I'm not going inside yet so I might as well do it now.)

(Weapon.)

(Armor.)

(There'll be an Enemy Skill to get.)

(Filler I guess.)

(Meh-gick.)

(Why stop at only 2 All uses?)

(Magia.)

(Todo.)

(Level the Summons, why the hell not?)

(After all, I'll want to master all Summon Materia.)

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 79: Gi Gi

(Fort Condor Battle after choosing the party. Yup.)

(I have something funny to admit. First attempt I lost the tower defense part so I just went back to before the tower defense part and sold a few Ethers[4 or 5, idr][750 gil each] to have a better finance for it.)

Yeah yeah.

(Money.)

(Would be Battle 4's reward. Megalixir fully heals and fully restores MP to the entire party.)

(A certain someone got to Level 2 in Limit Breaks.)(It takes 72 kills for Red XIII to do that.)

(Ok, now back to where we should be.)

Yep.

You did kind of send us here, so it's just seem kinda responsible.

That is alright.

This is quite deep.

Might there be Spirit Energy here?

(Welcome to the Cave of Gi.)

I...should have expected that.

(Base HP: 450; Base MP: 88)

(If you're kinda just rushing through don't forget to get Death Sentence in a battle.)

(Death Sentence inflicts the so-called status, which inflicts Death when the timer runs out. Meh honestly. Oh yeah it's also ST so I targetted on Aeris afterwards too.)

(I...want to train Limits a bit.)

Maybe this time?

Not at all, of course.

(That is the only rock that doesn't just trigger a random. Funny that.)

So, what happens to them after we defeat them in battle violently?

Speaking of Lifestream I would have believed you if you had told me this was the Lifestream.

(But before that, let me goof a little here.)

(Gi Spectors attack fairly fast so building Limits isn't so hard, but the problem with training Aeris's Limit Breaks is that Breath of the Earth happens to cure Fury...)

(There's also these randoms. Sneks have a basic physical that inflicts Poison status, and an attack that inflicts Paralysis sometimes.)

(Sneaky Steps REALLY like to cast Death Sentence. They REALLY do.)

(That lava is totally tomato sauce. Also be careful of the slippery oil, because it will slide you into a spiked wall. You have to go through like the very edge to avoid the slip. Added Effect is a Materia that is kind of like Elemental, but in a different way. Ok, so for example let's say you link Added Effect with Time. If on your weapon, it makes it so that your basic physical can inflict Slow or Stop. On your Armor, it makes you immune to Slow/Stop. The Weapon part can get some nice statuses going on with enemies, let's just say.)

(Blood Fang...or red Sled Fang, whatever.)

(Its damage and heal is alright though.)

(Yet ANOTHER Cait Sith weapon. I'll have to check those out later.)

(Aeris unlocks Fury Brand after 6 uses of Breath of the Earth, and it's pretty cool imo.)

(Bonus Ether.)

I wonder why they did not.

I agree.

(These 5 holes are a bit silly.)

(That spiderweb leads to a forced battle.)

(Say hello the PS1 Dweevil, I mean Stinger. Its health is actually moderately boss-like.)

(You have to fight 2 Stingers, so I guess they could count as minor bosses. Their Defense isn't amazing though.)

(They sometimes use Sting Bomb as either a normal attack or counterattack. It deals fractional damage which means it hurts a lot.)

(Holy lightning strikes down, filling the others' Limit bars. Awesome.)

(And...)

(...Boom.)

(Ok, that's clearly an accessory.)

(There's this optional extra Stinger.)

(Gives you an optional X-Potion and Stingers can have Ethers stolen from them. Not bad.)

(All 3 Stingers have identical stats and attacks, so yeah.)

A warrior from Cosmo Canyon.

Sounds brave.

We're finishing already?

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 80: In honor of

(Ignore the cursor on Turbo Ethers, I just used 2 or 3 Ethers.)

Bugenhagen do you actually not know what's up with this face?

Oh shit! (YT link to a face I couldn't snap. Beware of possible related videos/comments spoilers.)

(Say hello to Gi Nattak and his 2 Soul Fires. Soul Fire base HP:1300; base MP:220)

(The Soul Fires have a habit of attacking themselves with Fire 2 to heal. Don't think about them too much, as Gi Nattak is the main target. But do kill them if you want.)

(Gi Nattak will use the Soul Fires to use Take Over. That will 'possess' a character, which means that the Soul Fire will become unattackable and attack the character with Fire 2.)

(Curiously enough, Gi Nattak has a weakness.)

(You can't really get Holy-elemental attacks though. As a matter of fact there are only really 2 Holy-elemental attacks you can use, and one is via a Materia linked to Elemental on a weapon.)

(Fire 2 can be dangerous in LL challenges I guess. Use Fire Ring and Fire=Elemental in your Armor if you need to.)

(What I really want is to Haste all, and I don't happen to have the Time Materia linked to all, so Big Guard it is.)

(Spells.)

(DeBarrier removes both barriers. But Red's still Hasted so it's all good.)

(Soul Fires are not actually Ice-weak.)

(I kind of forgot there that these are Earth-immune. Oops.)

(I somehow didn't snap the attack name? What the hell? Anyway, Gi Nattak can use Drain.)

(It deals non-elemental damage and heals exactly as much damage as it does.)

(Soul Fires have 10 Magic Defense compared to Gi Nattak's 140 Magic Defense by the way.)

(Aspil is basically Osmose.)

(Or the MP version of Drain, if you're not familiar.)

(Let's get serious.)

(Go!)

(That's...actually the entirety of Gi Nattak's MP pool. I think I might need to look up just how much of its damage Blood Fang drains, because I don't remember it draining it entirely, or even 50%.)

(Bam!)

(What, another one?[no you dummy. The Wizard Staff is the one you already have, with 3 unlinked slots double growth. Wizer has 4 unlinked slots with double growth.])

Your Blood Fang exceed expectations for sure.

Were you actually unsure?

So this is what we came here for.

(Gravity Materia has the Gravity spells. They do fractional damage but it depends on the target's affinity with the Gravity-element. Like Laser.)

What an honor.

Such is a siege.

So that's what that was.

(YouTube link to FMV. Beware of possible related videos spoilers.)

A lot of work he did.

(I've heard some theories that the poison would make it so that Seto can't be unstoned with Softs. Or if he could, it'd be briefly and he'd painfully return to being Stoned. Then again, that's probably not canon whatsoever so think what you will.)

What a man.

(What is up with this text box's size?)

To keep everyone safe from the Gi's spirits...

Even if it meant their son would live thinking a lie...

We'll be going back to the Cosmo Candle.

(It doesn't end here for Red, hehe.)

(I gues I should say Nanaki, but, you know, his default name is Red XIII. Neither is wrong to say, at least as I see it.)

(So was it always a thing, even before Shinra's monopoly?)

(Come to think of it, Sephiroth being a direct menace to the planet is really only a supposition of Cloud stemming from his grudge with him as far as I can tell.)

(I know what really happens in the story, but )

(Fate...it's a funny thing.)

(We can say all things that happen were fated to be, but we don't really know before they happen...But this is not really the place for determinism.)

(After all, the spirit here is "Try, even if it all seems lost.")

(...)

(...)

(Grandparents...)

(...they're nice.)

(This is a nice moment.)

(Seto's body finds the strength to cry of joy, and Red howls with him. It's a nice moment.)(I'm just a bit sensitive I guess.)

We knew, but we didn't expect it to end anyway.

(Barret's comment sounds unintentionally[?] insensitive, heh.)

Huh?

Your hometown didn't satisfy you?

Thanks Mr. Bugenhagen.

Let's go!

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 81: Nibbles

(Naturally gonna give that new Materia a whirl.)

(Not a spectacular Materia to pair with All, but it does its job I guess.)

(Sure, why the hell not?)

(Filler offensive Magic.)

(Never bad to have.)

(Demi deals 1/4 of the current target's health, affected by the affinity the target has with the Gravity-element. I'm not too sure if MT halves Gravity damage.)

(Battle 6, after clearing Cave of the Gi.)

(They're not too tough if you have money to spend really.)

(Ok, clearly whoever did the translation work for Fort Condor was also disconnected from the main team because jeez! You actually get 5 Hi-Potions btw.)

(Bought some Hypers and a Mystify in Gongaga.)

(Also, along with that Heal, I never noticed that the Accessory/Materia shop had a pole that led to a second floor.)

(Like, sheesh, those small things you don't see on your first playthrough.)

(Impaler inflicts Toad, Shrivel inflicts Mini. The weapons are not too special. The Grand Glove is a stealable item from those ball-chain weirdos in the Mythril Mines, if you want to know.)

(Okay, who the hell wrote the exact same line for 3 people?)

(Eh, what the hell why not?)

(These have to be levelled too.)

(Ok, let's demonstrate Yuffie's Level 2 Limit Break.)

(Suddenly stronk punch.)

(Landscaper does 3x basic physical MT damage and is considered Earth-elemental, including the part where flying enemies are immune.)

(Mystify's Confu...inflicts Confusion. The sound effect is pretty goofy actually.)

Going up north from Cosmo Canyon.

(I used the guy to raise Yuffie's Limits a little by getting her to use another Landscaper.)

This is not right.

I remember it all clearly. But it's hard to deny what's right in front...

What does this mean, then?

The people here must know.

Please tell me why there's suddenly everything that shouldn't be.

No, that cannot be. Urgh.

Just...let me sleep.

Ok, maybe it was just the one person I talked to.

(Meh.)

That's funny.

Are you really asking me that, pal?

And once again when I was 16. You, you weren't here for a long time at all.

Believe what you want then.

This isn't Sephiroth, but...

I can't be too far.

You are on my mother's and my house; please tell me why.

The nice woman that lived here is forever gone.

And I hope you don't even remotely believe you are as good as she was.

Those kids, what about those kids?

This one's...smaller.

No way, please tell me they're not them. Please.

Tifa's house is the last one yet to be checked.

What do these numbers mean?

Why do these weird people carry Items with them?

Tifa's room is my last hope.

That's a weapon for Tifa. But why...?

What's this Reunion, what's the thing they want to give to Sephiroth?

So THAT's what happened(future LN1, please don't count this as a STHTI.) Shinraaaa! I will get to you.

If it still works.

(Just mash whatever, it doesn't matter.)

(Randomly you may get 1 gil. This can happen multiple times.)

They seem to still be around the Shinra Manor. Hmm...

Is that so? Then let's pay it a visit, shall we?

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 82: Stray Number

(An upcoming Enemy Skill, who'd have thunk it. It's more convenient to have it on a single character since it's ST and the enemy that uses it is immune to Manipulate.)

Hmmm...

A sealed Turk? I wonder.

Okay, let's see.

Oxygen? Whatever does that mean?

(Is this an alright way to express this sentence? I'm not familiar with this phrasing and trust me that it really confused me when I first played.)

(I actually don't really bother to remember this.)

4 clues then. Let's look for the other 3.

(This random. He does okay damage. You can knock him off the chain and he'll be unable to attack you.)

(Got to build my Limit Breaks, man.)

(Okay, so I have a silly anecdote with these randoms.)

(One of their attacks is Funny Breath, which inflicts Confuse on the party but is a bit inaccurate. So I had commanded Aeris to cast Aqualung when she got confused, and uh, yeah, that went horribly.)

(I forgot the manor had a Yuffie weapon. Maybe because I didn't get Yuffie for a while at first.)

(Gonna use the extra slot for Restore.)

? Left 10 ? Right 97

(More weapons for Cait Sith? Alright, sure.)

(Nice treasure.)

(Not gonna lie, I just spammed O/Circle as I was going down the hall.)

(Check the treasure twice. It's the one with most oxygen because photosynthesis, get it?)

(Enemy Launcher, Long Range weapon, 35 Attack Power, One pair of O=O slots, 3 unlinked slots[total of 5 slots]. Cosmo Canyon's Heavy Vulcan has 2 pairs of O=O slots[4 slots] and 39 Attack Power for comparison. I wouldn't mind the extra slot for less attack power actually, but it sucks there's only one linked pair.)

(You have 20 seconds to input the safe code, and you have to change the number by holding Left or Right to decrease and increase, respectively. The timing is a bit tight, so no snaps sorry. Remember: Right 36, Left 10, Right 59, Right 97.)

Haha, of course there'd be a monster in the safe. You smart scientist.

(Lost Number's basic attacks aren't too dangerous, but this boss might take you by surprise for reasons.)

(Haste and both Barriers are useful always.)

(He has 7000 HP which is a fair amount but nothing too dangerous.)

(You should be careful when his health is around halfway down though.)

(He can cast reasonably powerful Magic.)

(This form has 280 Magical Defense, so I guess that Aqualung damage is fair.)

(When he has lost half of his health, he changes form. If the last hit was physical, he changes to a physical form. If it was magical, it changes to this form. The physical form has a ridiculously powerful attack, while the magical attacks are more survivable.)

(His Quake 2 and Bolt 2 still does hurt.)

(The magical form has less physical defense, and the physical form has less magical defense. That being said, the magical form has less physical defense than the physical form has magical defense, so yeah.[80 magical form physical defense vs. 200 physical form magical defense])

(Case in point, this Climhazzard wouldn't have done as much even on the beginning form.)

(Same as any boss. Be strong and heal when needed. Oh btw, this item can't quite be used yet, but it's not really tied to plot or quests. Er, I'll get to it later.)

Right. So to the basement it is.

(I...want to get a specific random.)

(Yuffie got her other L2 Limit Break while I was at it.)

(Eh, what the hell, why not?)

(Also an Ether on Aeris.)

(THIS is the random. Meet the Jerseys. They are either physical-immune or magical-immune, and it changes when you hit them. They start the battle magical-immune. Yes, completely immune to even non-elemental physicals or magicals.)

(Of course. Well, when you have 60% Cover, it happens a lot. And ???? just happens to be considered physical. Ugh.)

(Bloodfest is fairly stronk.)

(It inflicts 10 randomly targetted hits with 0.625x the normal damage each. On a single target that'd be over 6x a normal physical.)

(Oh that's a nice drop.)

(Let's remove that Cover >_>)

(Fucking finally.)

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 83: The one where I link to dictionary.com

Where else but the basement?

So that's what the key was for.

Oh I thought it was some kind of monster. It's just a silly man.

But still, you were locked in here for long. Come on, get some fresh air.

I don't think that's how it works.

Is this how you thank us? Geez, did you actually sleep the entire time?

You're really right.

One that even Shinra itself fears.

He mentally broke when he saw his origin. To share ties with Hojo's monsters would do that to many.

Hey! Soda.

Bah, alright. *implicit timeframe where Cloud tells the Nibelheim flashback or something again*

Yup, that's how it so was(References to that phrase: 8).

Very bad indeed.

Oh, please.

I...think I agree with you, Yuffie.

The door is open. Get out already!

I didn't fight the forgotten number for you to just reject your freedom.

Wait, the what?

Yeah, yeah, but back to the last part.

Oh.

You'll be glad you asked.

Another one of those requests. Um...

Sorry.

You know, I didn't think about it that deeply, but...

Just a theory...What?

I can't say I understand, sorry.

Oh I get. She was your waifu. How sweet.

Oh, I see...

You know, I can understand that the loss deeply affected you, but...

...I think you've gone too far on that end.

Pfft, okay.

(New Summon? Time to use it on a random.)

(The horseman of the night.)

(Steel Bladed Sword inflicts Death on all opponents. It's slightly inaccurate but it's guaranteed to hit at least one opponent. If none of the targets happen to be vulnerable to Death, then you get a different attack. But that's for later.)

This is the library where Sephiroth officially went mad.

Painful ones I'm sure.

( http://www.dictionary.com/browse/reunion?s=t )(I don't care that Reunion is capitalized to note it's a proper noun. I sitll like to make fun of this silly dialogue that implies Cloud doesn't know a fairly common word.)

(I mean, yeah, but with the way Seph's dialogue was worded I would probably have thought something like Jenova would literally become the apocalypse, not caring about her previous state. That's just me though.)

There's not much to the north of this continent. Oh, I'll get to you.

(Okay, get this.)

(Sephiroth literally throws a Materia at Cloud like if it were a baseball and then flies like a human missile away.)

(Destruct has some interesting spells. It's fair.)

Well I've encountered him more times than some would believe.

So, what do you think?

We can't be picky about our 8 party members, now can we? (And Vincent's not even the last.)

(Oh yeah by the way the entirety of Shinra Manor was optional, Vincent included[just like Yuffie]. I could have just taken the north exit of Nibelheim if I wanted to.)

(Vincent starts with nice equipment.)(Oh yeah, that Destruct Materia part was also optional. However, Destruct Materia in general is not missable. Only that particular one I believe.)

(Surprise, here is the character that can use the Peacemaker that was in Kalm.)

(Don't get too attached to the Peacemaker.)

(Character swap=Materia swap, as per usual.)

(Odin.)

(Gotta get higher Demis.)

(And a connected All, of course.)

(Vincent's Limits are fairly distinct. I'd say only Aeris's Limit Breaks and Cait Sith's are possibly more distinct.)

(Vincent gets completely changed from a standard character to an uncontrolled beast.)

(Transforming completely heals Vincent and changes his HP, Attacking stats, and Defensive stats to that of the beast form. They're generally fairly stronk. However, although reasonably good Limit Breaks even for bosses[at least the simpler ones], I think the place where they let you get Vincent is unfortunately deterring. Err, I'll talk about why when we get to that.)

The buggy can't go past Mt. Nibel. Good thing there are no rivers on the north.

(Tifa will absolutely shine from here on out, trust me.)

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 84: The one where we learn to multiply(arithmetical operation)

(Naturally it makes sense to give Tifa Materia, and I kinda want to have her use her Limit Breaks. Although in retrospect maybe rashly giving her Cover was a bit bad, but eh, I still figured it out.)

(Another Enemy Skill to get. Surprise.)

(It hits the entire party though so I can spread the Materia out.)

(Even though I have Big Guard, the Haste spell is still nice.)

(Due to what I will want to do Summons will be sub-optimal ways of damage due to their long animations and my laziness to change battle settings.)

(It will also help to give Tifa Lightning immunity.)

Mt. Nibel. Still with its lost lush life.

Well, let's just get on with it then.

(These randoms can physically attack or use Harrier which apparently is magical because Cover never worked with that.)

(It's a bit weird but this doesn't interact like a chest. As in, after you collect the Rune Blade the chest will disappear in the same manner Bag-shaped treasures and Materia do. It's real weird, as if this was the one chest the devs didn't make interact as a chest[at least I hope it's the only one].)

(That sick Double growth is worth the loss of a link imo.)

(Oh, you have no idea how I hate these things. They don't have much health but attack like real fast even if it only does like 100 damage. Tifa died many times due to Covering Lay Flats from these things.)

(This is a bit of an odd detour, but the reward is fair enough.)

(There's something I couldn't show. Beast Flare is a fairly strong magical attack[magical meaning it uses Vincent's Magic stat which is 3rd-ish best out of all] that is Fire-elemental. Generally good when you get it but that Fire-elemental can be betraying.)

(These things are Fire-weak but 1800 without weakness is still real good.)

(Plus Barrette is a weapon for Red XIII with Double growth and 4 unlinked slots. Pretty good.)

(Ooh, an area that wasn't shown in the Kalm flashback.)

(Slide 2 OP.)

(Whoever programmed the Powersoul's multipliers clearly liked Tifa a lot, just saying.)

(Tifa could use the protection from the Back Row without forcing her to lose the damage of the Front Row.)

(Of course I didn't forget to put her in the Back Row.)

(Dragons[the same kind from the Nibelheim flashback] have a lot of health. Good to check my new nuke out.)(Don't use Galian Beast on Dragons btw; they absorb Fire.)

(That's a regular physical. When Tifa is at critical HP[less than 1/4 max HP], Powersoul physicals do x2 damage. When Tifa has the Death Sentence status, Powersoul physicals do x4 damage. That's literally almost as much as the multiplier for Cloud's Climhazzard Limit Break. And the 2 can stack for a total x8 multiplier, so far only outmatched by a critical Climhazzard or a Bloodfest with at least 3 criticals. Except that it's Tifa's basic physical[which can also crit]. Think about it.)

(On default battle settings hope that you don't run into long animations, or in general get a Death immunity from either Odin=Added Effect or Destruct=Added Effect in your armor.)

(Spoilers: I do neither.)

(Mystify and Restore. I dunno, I guess I really wanted Vincent to have a sometimes-Death physical so much that I didn't think about Death immunity for Tifa.)

(If you want to go back up, you need to take a way around.)

(I don't like those purple enemies either. They have a nasty habit of starting fast with Stare Down which inflicts Stop or Paralyze with incredible accuracy and ugh.)

This is where Sephiroth, Tifa, and I went.

The Mako spot is still here.

(Dragons drop Fire Fangs, an Item that basically casts Fire 2. And the Sniper CR is a new fancy weapon for Vincent.)

(The Peacemaker is legit stuff but the Sniper CR's whopping 255 Hit% makes Vincent's physicals not suck by allowing him to make Deathblow not so inaccurate.)

(But Double growth is real nice too. Eh, hindsight.)

(I still have Cloud equipped with the Shinra Inc. building's Four Slots, sheesh.)

(Goddamn Twin Brains are pretty annoying and common.)

(Alright then.)

(Screamers, the recolored ball chain weirdos, drop Earth Drums. Those are Items that cast Quake 2.)

The reactor is much the same as it was 5 years ago...

(That's a weird name, but I'm sure it's just literally Japanese for something that makes sense to the enemy.)

(Still annoyed me.)

(The Zuu is not an extremely strong enemy. Certainly not as tough to kill as its 5 incarnation.)

(The Bird Wing is an item that inflicts some kind of Wind spell. Not sure how strong it is though. Oh yeah, and the Zuu feels Fury after I D. Blow it with Vincent, so it's either when it loses health or when critted, not sure which.)

(Not that an enraged Zuu is that much of a danger.)

(All other paths lead to dead ends. They don't even have treasure. I got lost a bit.)

(I'm not gonna do this with low MP.)

(Say hello to Materia Keeper. You have to fight it to advance.)

(Btw, why is Vincent's introduction point deterring? Simple, because it's close to Mt. Nibelheim and his Beast Flare attack is bad on the strongest enemies. New character equals new Limit Break to try, but what do you think when the Dragon enemy absorbs its best attack and Materia Keeper is immune? It's frustrating to find that the Limit Break can work against you easily.)

(Vincent is nothing bad anyway. Maybe marginally bottom tier, but just marginally. The Limits are even decent against easier bosses. He's just a bit misplaced imo.)

(A Hasted party is a good party.)

(Vincent's Deathblow does nice damage despite Vincent's not so good Attack.)

(Spells are okay too.)

(Beat Rush Yeah!'d, the rest just Hit♥'d.)

(Still, pretty good.)

(Materia Keeper can eventually cast Cure 2 on itself. Yeah, tough luck if you can't outdamage it because of some challenge. But it's possible at Lowest Level No Materia No Items and also at Limit Breaks Only(not quite both at the same time as far as we know), so don't sweat it.)

(Trine: Lightning-elemental, 20 MP, automatically MT. Pretty stronk. Good Enemy Skill to learn. Since this boss isn't quite refightable, you might want to make sure you don't kill it before it casts it.)

(Climhazzard is never bad to use though.)

(Kind of a waste to not have Vincent cast it. My b.)

(It's just lovely.)

(Too bad the timer. But this is why we have Phoenixes and Life spells.)

Oh my god you have no idea how satisfying it is to land a critical HP and Death sentence boosted Powersoul physical and see a whopping 1832 damage.

(Jem Ring prevents some statuses. Decent accessory.)

(Counter Attack is a nice Materia. Can increase your damage output a fair bit.)

North of Nibelheim, there's not much more different land left.

I'm coming for you, Sephiroth.

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 85: The plot advances except it doesn't

Almost at the edge.

(These guys like to use their physical I guess.)

Here goes nothing then.

Oh, this is Rocket Town.

(Rockets generally are intended to go to space.)

A gun is a man's weapon? Well I can't argue when both our gunners are men.

(The Shotgun is a weapon for Vincent that is stronger than the Sniper CR but doesn't have that attractive 255 Hit% or Peacemaker's Double Growth. Pass imo since Vincent's Strength is eh with regular physicals.)

(Ok, Cloud has been going on with the Four Slots for too long jfc.)

(Earring adds +10 Magic Power when equipped. The other accessories do similar things and we've seen them.)

(Ok, now that Lightning immunity isn't as important, let's just buff Tifa's Attack.)

(Vincent can do Magic on the side too, maybe.)

What's up with the name; isn't this Rocket Town(also applies to other Inns named like this)?

(It's...cheaper than buying a Tent.)

The million-dollar question.

Representative, huh? Sounds pretty important.

Still, how would I go about seeing him?

Space Program huh? I wonder how that would have gone.

Still, how unfortunate.

Did he not appear here? But he said he went north past Mt. Nibel...

(Not much that can be done about it.)

But considering it was a Shinra project, I have to wonder what ambitions they had.

(That's...not entirely true.)

(Potion, Hi-Potion, Phoenix Down, Hyper, Tranquilizer, Tent. Items not too special. However...)

(Magic Materia to master, hoo boy.)

(I would think the first girl would have to have a really old gramps if he were still around. She just has that aged woman model.)

(Barret weapon: NOT Long-range, 37 Attack Power, 4 unlinked slots with Double growth.)

Hmm, they really were all mechanics.

(Not sure what's up with this guy actually.)

The rocket's base is fully climbable by anyone who wants to. Interesting.

Could it be open?

No it's not. (This confused me a bit since I forgot the order of things in Rocket Town.)

(Laugh guy has a Power Source in his house.)

Maybe there will be. Or maybe he went even more up north...but how did he do that?

(Drill Arm house has a door I forgot it had...)

This is not our plane though. Where's the owner?

Looking with a lot of desire but just looking.

Hi Shera.

You really wouldn't want to know anyway.

Not at all.

Is...is that a thing?

I guess I should get word with the Captain at any rate. Before Rufus does. (But before we do that...)

(Surprise, we're going all the way back to the eastern continent again.)

(A Hyper on Tifa to aid her with getting the second Level 2 Limit.)

(Geez, Cloud's Defense is now not that of a Midgar Armor, finally.)

(Using Waterkick 7 times unlocks Meteodrive.)

(Smoothly added to her slots so she now does 4 attacks.)

(Tifa can suplex every enemy in the game as far as I know. At least she can suplex Mus, to note. Take that, Sabin.)

(Vincent gains Death Gigas aftrer 40 kills.)

(I won't be demonstrating it very soon however. Give it some time.)

(As in, whenever I decide to put Vincent back in.)

(The Barrier Magics are okay.)

(Of note is that barriers run out quicker when under Haste, which is interesting since Big Guard applies both.)(Oh yeah, the Exit spells aren't too impressive either.)

(Might as well baby a few Materias since I have so many Slots.)

(And Enemy Skills are good to rack up kills.)

(Just some filler Summons I guess.)

(I went to farm some kills on the Junon area. The forests are pretty good. Capparwire x2, Formula x3, or Capparwire x5)

(Oohoo Planet Protector. Aeris has some pretty good Limit Breaks, I tell you.)

(80 more kills after unlocking Breath of the Earth to get Planet Protector.)

(Now that Aeris has to unlock her next Limit by using Limit Breaks and Tifa doesn't, the exchange is obvious.)

(I also had removed Counter Attack since Tifa had the habit of countering and killing enemies Aeris could use for kills.)

(Hyper is basically my favorite Item.)

(Battle 7, after talking to Shera.)

(Same usual battle.)

(That's actually 5 Hi-Potions, again. Jeez.)

(So, that Planet Protector.)

(Aeris calls from the help of the stars or something and makes the party get the Peerless status.)

(Basically, ALL damage is completely nulled. All healing is also completely nulled unfortunately, and Peerless runs out faster when under Haste, but it's still a seriously good Limit Break.)

(Also another Cosmo Canyon area random.)

(It can fly to make itself invulnerable to short range.)

(Escape...escapes the battle.)

(After using Planet Protector 5 times, Pulse of Life is unlocked.)

(Not gonna lie, I really like Aeris's Limit Break animations. She kindly tosses her staff away but keeps it levitated as she prays for holy help.)

(Pulse of Life fully restores the party[that part equivalent to a Megalixir] and heals statuses[I believe the same ones Breath of the Earth heals?].)

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 86: This one does really contain many swears tho. Don't watch if you're not of the age to play T-rated games.

(Back to what we were actually supposed to do.)

Good to meet you.

I like Cid's theme. (The usual warning for my YouTube links: beware of comments and related videos with spoilers.)

Called a kid again.

Yes.

Is it really not a weapons manufacturer anymore, I wonder.

That sounds pretty cool.

Oh this is not good, huh?

(Barret swears occasionally. Cid says the majority of FF7's swear words, roughly estimating.)

Funny that about Mako energy. We don't like what it did either.

But seriously, that really sucks.

Well there's a whole two continents of opportunities to choose for a career change right now...

...or you could hope Rufus has pity on you when his dad didn't. Whichever works.

Well, basically, er...

Sorry.

(To be fair Cid's dialogue gets the censored symbols too. No there's no "official" uncensored version; this is the PSX game. Granted, I don't know much about the Japanese original dialogue, but I know that swearing in Japanese is kind of not the same thing at all as it is in English. So old localizations might be a little less censored than you think. "Son of a submariner" was never really "Son of a bitch", for example.)

No, no, it's fine. I'd rather just find my own water if it bothers you.

Geez!

Is this common?

I really hope you don't have to constantly deal with this.

How can you deal with this consistent harshness?

Did you really?

(Flashbacks.)

(During this flashback, an arrangement[or whatever it is, I'm sure BLOF/LGM can correct me on this if they want to] of Cid's theme plays: Sending a Dream into the Universe(YouTube link, beware of spoiler comments and related videos). I like it too.)

(Well I mean, oxygen is what gives life to fire. You ought to be sure everything works right.)

Nothing wrong with making sure the launch isn't set to fail...

What's with him?

(I personally sympathize with Shera.)

But that's not how well it went, right?

(Tangent: Cid seems to have gray-ish hair in his overworld model but official art and his battle model depict him as a clear blond.)

Yet he was good with his boys.

So how did you "ruin his dream" again?

(*alarm sound effect*)

Oh shit.

No, way.

That was quite a choice.

Not satisfied with your checks yet, I presume.

(Was there any gap between Cid telling Shera to stop checking the oxygen and the launch attempt or no? I really wonder.)

(That's rockets for you. They use up A LOT of energy, and it has to go somewhere.)

Willing to sacrifice your life so that his dream could happen...

But it's not an easy offer to take.

(Or rather, an indefinite one.)

(...)

(Funny that.)

(*timer appears on screen*)

His crew wanted him to take your offer.

But that's not what happened...

Not at all.

(The engines did start, even if for a brief 3 seconds.)

(I'll admit I'm not an expert astronomer. Would those 3 seconds be survivable or do is this just FF7 people surviving brief high bursts of heat?)(YouTube link to FMV. Really beware of spoiler related videos.)

 

[LN1]

I'll be making the second paste after this(maybe not immediately after) if you don't mind. Or even if you do but it's just an idiom.

Spoiler: Ep 87: Takeoff!

Six months is a lot of time. Too bad then.

But is it really? Do you really owe him this much? (I somehow feel I'd fall into the same situation if I were under similar circumstances. Ugh...)

...

He's coming to Rocket Town, I wonder what for. I thought Sephiroth wasn't seen here at all...

Oh hello.

Hmm, he's here then.

Well that's just how you are, honey. (it's not really a STHTI, pls future LN1)

(The joke is that Palmer is fat.)

Wishful thinking I believe.

No, I don't think so. (obviously yes)

(The joke still is that Palmer is fat.)

Maybe in another life, Cid.

No, he clearly said north past Mt. Nibel. Unless that isn't here?

Still unfortunate...

Hey, unimpressed shock is what I do, alright?

He's...right.

Oh oh, okay.

Hehe, funny that. Guess I still should try.

Look, this is hijacking, but it's the hijacking from either of two jerks' light aircraft, so it's okay. So if you will...

(Ulp is a nervous swallowing onomatopoeia[sp?]. Still, it's a particularly silly one to me.)

Hahaha, oh this will be fun.

(Palmer, widely regarded as a silly unchallenging boss. As in, outstandingly moreso than the others. Maybe not so much in regular "violence it to death" gameplay, but practically only one challenge ever to my knowledge considers it challenging.)

(Because Palmer is human you can poison him just like the Materia Keeper, and at high battle speeds the damage will stack faster. We're playing default settings and I don't really have a Poison on hand anyway.)

(Mako Gun is technically not really Mako Gun but just Fire/Bolt/Ice 2 disguised as Mako Gun. The attacks cost 22 MP to cast and Palmer has only 240 max MP. He can only really attack 10 times unless you pity him and give him an Ether.)

(This isn't a serious boss fight but that doesn't mean we can't go fast.)

(Trine is maybe not quite as strong as Beta or Aqualung, but assuming all of their elements hit for the same effectiveness[preferably neutral or weakness-hitting...], Trine is more MP efficient.)

(Let Cloud have some fun, alright?)

(Let's launch this precious nuke again.)

(Spoilers: The battle doesn't end before Tifa's timer runs out. But that's why we have Phoenixes.)

(Funny thing about Planet Protector is that it does protect from statuses too and er...yeah >_>.)

(x2 is not quite as good but it worked what it had to.

Do you want to perpetuate the stereotype that Shinra's employees are cowards?

(I can't believe Palmer is fucking dead. Also Edincoat is a nice armor.)

You know, maybe we should have sent someone to briefly stop the Tiny Bronco while Palmer was being Palmer. Whatever anyhow.

This is tight!

Maybe we should have redirected this thing away from where Shinra can fire at us.

They learned how to shoot. Damnit, Scarlet.

(Is pissing your drawers like an idiom that people say?)(YouTube link to FMV, really beware of related video spoilers.)

It happens to float.

Look, I could just return you back to Rocket Town if you want.

Tea, man.

Funny story really.

Do you by any off chance want to avenge your dead waifu?

Guess we could use more men.

But only like 2 of us know how to cook at all so don't be hopeful.

(Without checking I knew either spelling had to be wrong and with checking I know numskull is the wrong one.)

(Did they perhaps ran out of space in their lines? Could this typo be deliberate?)

That's nowhere in the continents we know.

(You end up in a curious location of the world after this cutscene...)

(But more on that later.)

 

[LN1]

The OP now has the second paste.

Spoiler: Ep 88: Robbed unaware

(This is not really where we drifted off. Er, don't worry, I'll show.)

Well suddenly I'm interested.

Not at all originally. (Really.)

Huh, that sounds very interesting.

Oh really?

Get away, red dress!

That legend sounds more of a rumor to me...

(Spoilers: No actual hint on the Temple of the Ancients's location is given whatsoever.)

Could it be the Ultima spell? That'd be sweet.

Yet you had a Keystone to sell and gladly did with a straight face.

Oh boy, do tell.

I may know such a guy.

Hmm, Dio's museum. I'll keep that in mind.

Well that's real unfortunate.

A legendary metal for a man who don't believe in legends.

(Great Gospel is the second item of its type that we have gotten. I'll show why it's special soon enough, just wait.)

(Edincoat is an armor with nice defense and no less than 7 fucking unlinked slots. Neato, even with no Def%.)

(The Tiny Bronco can "sail" over light water and rivers. To get to that small out-of-the-way place, you must go across the river that crosses between Nibelheim and Cosmo Canyon; the Gold Saucer and Gongaga.)

(Alright, let's ignore that man's hints of where to go next and go to where we drifted off, because it's actually a sidequest we can do now.)

Oh, you're from here?

Hmm, it could be...

Please Yuffie, we didn't literally go to the end of the world.

The hell's with these troops?

How could you.

Gotcha, girl.

You're actually probably lucky that these soldiers came.

Let's show 'em.

(Barret only has the W-Machine Gun here but his damage seems a bit lacking. I guess I got unfortunate with his Strength level-up boosts?)

(Not too tough. They can hit you with an ST attack that seems to inflict Sleep and maybe Blind, but their only other attacks are all physical and their health isn't high. Oh and you can only use basic physicals probably.)

(All your Materia, equipped or not, is taken away from you.)

(Well technically if you have an inordinate amount of total Materia[like 60? I forget], you'll have only some randomly chosen or sth. like that taken away from you and keep a few. I don't recommend bothering too much with that though.)

That's true it seems.

Right on.

(You keep all your Items, fortunately.)

(Actually, the randoms in here are really generous.)

(Still simple enough to kill with only basic physicals.)

(For example, those bugs are guaranteed to drop X-Potions.)

(Eh why not?)

(Ok, so you want to go south here to get under the bridge.)

(I have like 20 Phoenixes but I still appreciate them.)

(And then proceed north.)

(To the only civilization in this landmass.)

Oh we'll get you. Run while you can.

(Eastern stuff.)

(Cat house makes this place a solid Good. We can't do much with it though.)

Perhaps the locals know about Yuffie.

Caught redhanded. Not much you can do about it though.

I don't know, this weapon shop seems very stocked up to me.

Well we can't convince you to make business.

Too bad.

(The Sector 5 house poster was the first one I showed...and so far the only one. Um, yeah...)

(See, a funny thing is that one of the posters I haven't read, and I only have one other opportunity now.)

(That opportunity won't come until the end part of Disc 2 though.)

Mythology's past tense. It's a funny thing.

Well, legends do exist, I'd say. Myths, perhaps those too.

After all, they're easy damage in battle.

(Just like some real countries.)

Oh, is that so? Bring it on.

Oh uh...

I wonder that now actually...

I apologize.

Well this is something else.

Can't bother them I guess.

We all are nuts.

Hmm, I don't know. You've certainly surprised me.

But this is not my business now.

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 89: Lousy management

(Sounds like an eastern-like figure alright.)

I've climbed worse mountains.

Seems like I should check it out then.

Come to think of it, there's no reactor nearby. Probably that's why.

Hmm, alright.

(It's actually an Item shop, funnily.)

(The items are actually kind of interesting.)

(Dexterity is the stat related to Speed: how fast the ATB bar charges.)

(Eh what the hell, I figured I should buy a few since the [Element] 3 spells ARE moderately powerful. Fire 3 is slightly stronger than Beta I think?)

(But that would later not turn out so great as it sounded.)

(Never leave home without a spare Hyper or 2 or 9.)

(And Tents. Because Tents.)

(Yuffie will steal this MP Absorb Materia. Too bad about that, but it doesn't work without any connected Materia anyway.)

Sounds like a dream of a lifestyle.

Kids do that...?

Is War really a characteristic?

Fascinating.

But unfortunate.

(Can't do much about the Pagoda now.)

Well shit.

Godo's house, huh? Maybe I should talk to him.

(You can rest here by the entrance hall.)

Hmm...

Suspicious.

Funny since you know she's a girl so well.

I have my reasons to not believe you.

Do you truly? Enough to deny us of the town's favorite?

What a waste.

Heh...Well, then.

Atta girl.

You know, she has fought stronger than you ever seem to have.

I can't believe I'm on Yuffie's side now.

Yet you have not told her why she's wrong at all.

I think you don't even understand, do you?

...

Heh, we'll see.

Hmm, a curious shrine. Anyway, we still ought to find Yuffie.

(After speaking with Yuffie's father, go to the house with the girl and her gramps.)

(She runs away.)

You rumble too much inside jars.

Well this is nice.

Then let's proceed.

(Oh, more troops.)

(You can't just force a man to stop being unmotivated. Not like this.)

(The troops need help it seems.)

(Funny expression.)

(As if that would mean anything.)

(It's Reno after all.)

(Take notes here: Turk is singular.)

(Philosophically arguable.)

(Not that it matters.)

(Going all alone though. Doesn't sound so good of an idea.)

(Nothing much to be done about that, I guess.)

Go on.

...

I can see that honestly. But really, we need to kick off with our adventure.

You ARE right about your dad as far as I can see, I'll give you that.

We'll just leave off and do our business on stopping Sephiroth.

Why two levers?

Well then...

(Spoilers: It really doesn't matter what you choose.)

You really can't make this easy, now can you?

Really? *stare*

(One of those steels was meant to be a steal maybe. Or maybe it really is just a joke about bars and the verb to steel with no thief joke.)

(The last poster is on Yuffie's basement. The rest...I'll get to them.)

(One of them is unreachable for a while, as I've said. Unfortunately.)