Satai's Other FFVII Compilations "Playthrough"

satai_delenn enjoys the various compilation of Final Fantasy VII story through youtube watching of Before Crisis, Last Order and other miscellaneous random stuff. She documented her enjoyment in this well-written "playthrough" of sort.

Satai's FFVII Playthrough Collection
 * Satai's Final Fantasy VII Playthrough
 * Satai's Crisis Core: FFVII Playthrough
 * Satai's Dirge of Cerberus Playthrough
 * Satai's Other FFVII Compilations "Playthrough"

Chapter 1
...bahahaha, what did I just watch. XD

It was...pretty much completely nonsensical, but so much fun. Total disregard for anything like a cohesive plot or, you know, physics, or gravity, or anything like that. But it had Cloud cutting a motorcycle in half and let's face it he can fly. Tifa's fight in the church also made no physical sense. XD Eh, I'll just...talk about stuff as I remember it.

-Kadaj is so insane. He's like all of Sephiroth's insanity with none of his self-assurance or...personality. Which I suppose was the point. Just a Sephiroth clone with reunion instincts. And uh...I guess somehow Jenova poisoned the lifestream and gave random people a disease...? ...yeah, I'm not going to try to make sense of the "plot."

-Why is Cait Sith Scottish...?

-Too much Aeris. It was cool the first time, and kinda neat the second time, but after like the sixth time she showed up and saved somebody I was like "okay, could we possibly solve ONE PROBLEM without Aeris' deus ex machina here?"

-OH MAN after Crisis Core the thing with the Buster Sword was pretty cool. "Use brings about wear, tear, and rust. And that's a real waste." Angeal was right! So instead Cloud replaced it with some manner of multi-sword thing that could be detached so he could dual wield like a maniac or put together to make a sword kind of like the Buster Sword but shinier. And it could be sheathed in the motorcycle hahahaha what. Cloud's motorcycle was so impossible. And I loved that Cloud's final resting place for the Buster Sword was the cliff where Zack died. Zack ;_;

-So much motorcycle. It's a shame Cloud wasn't that badass on a motorcycle when I was controlling him in the game. XD

-Reeeeenooooooo yesssssss. Reno and Rude were great. I loved the bit where Reno was like "psh, we're not telling you where Jenova is" and Kadaj (or possibly the other one whose name I don't remember) was like "Aww, don't the peons get to know anything?" And Reno was like "...wait...wait wait...Rude, did you hear...? HEY! Raaaaaaggghhh!" *attaaack* :P I was a little sad that they never really accomplished anything in combat, like every time Reno tried to attack with his giant taser thing he got beat down. But he and Rude still did cool stuff. Haha, I loved when Reno stepped on Rude's sunglasses and Rude was like "!!" but it turned out that he magically had another pair on hand anyway. XD

-Speaking of Turks, the beginning of the movie totally had me convinced that Tseng and Elena were dead. I was entirely surprised when they showed up to save Rufus. (Which was pretty badass.) And speaking of Rufus, how in the damn hell did he survive that explosion I mean really. What? Though I guess somehow in AC the top of the Shinra building was still intact until Sephiroth chopped it in half and threw it at Cloud. Rufus was pretty cool in the movie, I like the first scene with him a lot, where Cloud's like "no really, I'm not interested" but Rufus was all creepy and stuff. Haha, and Reno yelling things through the door. "You're our buddy, aren't ya?" XD Also "Come on, Cloud, think about it! Together we could rebuild Shinra!" "...not interested." "Reno...!"

-More Rufus badassery, when Kadaj threw him off the building and he was like "yeah whatever" *shotgun* :P Though his aim could have been better. Come on, Rufus.

-Which brings me to the Sephiroth fight. God damn that was ridiculous. A little too much flash and too little actually watching them fight, maybe, but it was still totally badass. "On your knees. I want you...to beg for forgiveness." And "I have a present for you. Shall I give you despair?" Sephy had some kickass lines in here.

-And holy freaking what. Cloud's "Omnislash" what was that how did he do that. XD That was sooooo insane. Sephiroth was so surprised, too. Like...how are you DOING this? I also liked the bit where Sephiroth was like "Where did you find this strength?", all smug, and Cloud was like "Like I'm gonna tell you!"

-Oh oh oh there was a moment during the big fight with Kadaj where Cloud actually smiled. Just a teeny bit. Whoooaaaa. See, I think this is why I liked him in Crisis Core, he smiled more then. Oh, and the little Zack flashback bits in the movie were great. I really liked the little moment where Cloud paused at the Buster Sword to talk to Zack and he was like "I said I’d live out both our lives. Easy to make that promise.”

-It was a little weird to see Cloud so...down. After all his character growth in FFVII I was hoping he'd be less inclined to be so down on himself, but no, it turns out he blames himself for Aeris' death and is living in the past. At least he got over that roughly halfway through, but still.

-Oh yeah, every time somebody stepped on or skidded over or rode a motorcycle through the flowers in the church, I was like "gaaahhhh quit it!" Then of course they like...dissolved into pure lifestream or something, who knows.

-Huuuuuge kudos to the soundtrack. So so good. Loved all the arrangements of the FFVII music. Not one but two kickass versions of One Winged Angel. Two different arrangements of the main battle theme. Hahaha, and the dude’s cell phone ringtone was the victory music, right after Tifa “won” the fight in the church. That was hilarious.

Addendum
Oh, man, how did I forget to mention this. The scene where all the FFVII party members showed up and wailed on the summon was ridiculous and awesome. YEAH CID!!! And oh man, when they all threw Cloud up the building what was that all about. So impossible. XD

And I loved the randomness of Vincent showing up to save Cloud at the Cetra city. What the hell was that? How did he do that. And "You don't have a phone?" Bam. Vincent Valentine, shut down by an eight year old. :P

You know, this movie made me really really want a real FFVII remake with CG graphics and redone music and everything. Way more than I wanted one while I was playing the game. It's like, if they could make this plotless fanservice fest look this good, they could make the game amazing. Hop to it, Square.

Chapter 2
So I finally put together my final overall character inequality combining all the FFVII stuff I've seen. Not including DoC obviously (which I...caved in and bought today, I was at Gamestop already getting Sonic Chronicles and I figured what the hell, might as well play Dirge too...).

Cloud > Zack > Sephiroth > Cid > Reno > Cait Sith > Angeal > Hojo > Tifa > Barret > Tseng > Rufus > Cissnei > Rude > Vincent > Red XIII > Kadaj > Aeris > Kunsel > Lazard > Bugenhagen > Yuffie > Elena > Genesis > Heidegger = Scarlet = Hollander.

Honestly, I'm not sure when Cloud overtook Zack. I think it might have been after watching the ending to Crisis Core like eight more times. >_> Nothing to do with Advent Children, I think the only thing that changed was adding Kadaj, heh. And the only reason Aeris isn't lower is because in the actual game she was pretty good; AC and CC made her drop a bunch though.

But yeah, Cloud...I think I might have said this before, but I like him so much because he's so flawed. Zack is awesome...and he's never really anything but awesome. Cloud has to fight to be awesome every step of the way, but he gets there and then some in the end. And as much as I love Sephiroth, he too is pretty much awesome from beginning to end, he more than anyone never had to work at it. Cloud takes everyone by surprise over and over again with how capable he really is, including himself, and it's a great development to watch.

Dangit, I didn't get a chance to read Leonhart's "why I like Cloud" topic before it purged because I was still in the middle of FFVII at the time. Ah well. (At least, I think it was Leonhart's topic...)

Shake Surprise Appearance
For me Zack ranks significantly higher simply because a believable modern hero is something that isn't even attempted that much in rpg's -- Zack is a hero from start to finish, but not a typically cliched one. He has subtle flaws but retains the vital ingredients it takes to be a hero -- which makes sense since he actively tries to be one.

He's not morally above everyone else. He pretty much helps everyone he meets, though that is more because of his inability to say no than any kind of inner sainthood.

He's not always sure what to do or what action to take, and prefers someone to lean on but rarely does it cause him to become insecure or doubt himself.

He's not intelligent when compared to his peers, but rather seems to excell in social intelligence. He is excessively brave wihtout seeking conflict actively,

While Sephiroth is bigger than life, and Cloud convinces you that insecure teens can save the world, Zack strikes me as a rather enthousiastic, uncomplicated and mature protagonist.

I like him lots. Definitely my favorite FF protagonist, with Squall a long way behind in second.

satai's Response
Yeah--I definitely agree with you on everything you said about Zack. He's pretty unique in a lot of ways and is the sort of person that you'd just really like to be friends with. He's one of those people that touches the lives of everyone he meets in a positive way even through minimal contact, and is just like you said, a believable modern hero. But there's just something about that insecure teen saving the world that's compelling to me, and I know Cloud's a bit more cliche than Zack in several ways but I can't help it. Maybe it's a relatability thing--Zack's the kind of guy I want to meet, but Cloud's easier to relate to--or maybe it's a rooting for the underdog thing--I expect Zack to prevail, but I know Cloud will have to work for it, so I root harder for him. I think that's part of why I liked him more after Crisis Core, too; the introverted, flawed person he becomes for the player after remembering the truth is the person he starts out as in Crisis Core, and it fills in more of the "real" Cloud than we get to see in FFVII.

And as far as Aeris goes...I'm still not convinced she ever had a chance to feel that way about Cloud to begin with. She'd managed to get over Zack but only just, and I think her immediate latching onto Cloud was a product of the perceived similarities between the two. Later on, in the date scene, she tells him that she wants to meet the real him, and while neither of them actually knows exactly what that means at the time, I get the sense that only then has she begun to have an interest in Cloud instead of in who he reminded her of. Soon after, though, she died, and since she'd only written her last letter to Zack a year before, it's not surprising that it was a relief to her to have him back.