Board 8 > Ranking 69 NPC's from Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (plus minigames) (spoilers)

(+) Yeah! (+)

really didn't like the Dyne treatment at all either, yeah

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/5/56365c9b.jpg

The whole scene in the original game - from pre-battle "well, now I gotta kill you" to post-battle, Dyne falling off the cliff, the above moment with the pan up to the sky, the "blood on my hands" quote - was always among my fav moments in the original game. In a game with so many changes from the original I definitely consider this to be the worst. Buggy escape was barely a step up from motorcycle chase and I didn't like it either!

Yeah, I don't really like the Dyne changes either. I think Dyne choosing suicide rather than dying to Shinra troops (who I guess were just waiting after their fight?) is a lot less impactful. I do like the part where Barret takes off his gun, though.

Lidrehl immediately reminded me of another game other than Alan Wake. But yeah, good character and definitely makes QB even better.

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Minigame 11: Loveless QTE's

The Gold Saucer theater sequence is better here than in the original, although I would've liked seeing Cloud and Aerith spin off the stage or something. It's maybe a bit too long, which makes it hard to save scum to see what happens when you choose the "joke" answers, but I guess that's what Youtube is for.

Other nice things about Loveless: I really loved Cloud's FFXVI costume. Cait Sith makes a nice fool. It's an appropriate balance between hammy cheese and foreshadowing.

The fights themselves are pretty well choreographed; unfortunately, since the player has to focus on QTE's they miss most of the best parts! Also there's another minigame that does basically the same thing in a better way.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/f/fd5e4ae9.jpg
NPC 11. Junon Commander and Adjutant

Let's put aside for a second how the fanbase immediately developed a collective crush on this character. Junon was such an extremely well-executed sequence of events. Unlike Dyne/Corel, it felt different from the original yet also pitch perfect to the madcap energy of the original, which featured the commander and her adjutant basically bullying Cloud for 20 straight minutes. Telling him to stand up straight and spin a rifle better. Constantly blowing the whistle at him. All to get the best out of him.

So why not go ahead and make her super hot? It's the Mitsuru connection I think. I hear this voice and I'm transported back to a different era in the waifu wars.

While the Commander steals the show, the Adjutant also deserves recognition for the completely unhinged energy he brings to the table. It was great seeing them come back in Chapter 12 and I eagerly anticipate them returning in the submarine mini game in game 3.

Main Character 5 Next. It's a girl.

Hot(?) take: Loveless was kinda boring and Aeris's song there sucked.

Junon Commander below Chadley is a much hotter take tho. You on some shit.

Yuffies gotta be 5

I've been a bit surprised how many people responded emotionally to the Loveless play. I found it enjoyable, but it didn't get much emotional reaction out of me. I guess "Simple and Clean" is more my kind of female vocal song than "No Promises to Keep". But it's fun, Cait Sith's at this best and the QTE choreography is great (and mercifully not difficult). The ferris wheel scenes are the highlight in that stretch though.

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Main Character 5
Tifa Lockhart

Beauty and brawn, all in one complete package! Rebirth does a lot of really interesting stuff with Tifa, that moves her beyond just being pure eye candy. However, the game also puts her in some situations where she underwhelms.

Rebirth features Tifa coming into her own as a thinker. This is clear from the very opening scene where she confronts Cloud about the Nibelheim stuff and where he's been for 5 years. The game shows Tifa attempting to come to terms with her decisions and be more assertive as a person. The early scenes between Tifa and Cloud in Kalm and Under Junon are really well done, because they effectively utilize the romantic tension in an actual subversive way, like when Cloud calls out Tifa for "testing" him again. I liked the dynamic of them pseudo-fighting/being upset with each other.

This continues through Gongaga, where Cloud goes full Sephy and Tifa has her lifestream freakout. But here's where Tifa kind of loses me. She commits herself to helping Cloud - which is fine - but she also becomes a lot more passive I think. She lets herself get kind of bossed around by Bugenhagen in Cosmo Canyon, which is one thing, but she also gets looked down on by random hippies too. In the return to Nibelheim sequence, when Cloud "remembers what happened to Zack," she is continuing to play along even when she knows that Cloud is still remembering it wrong.

This marks the second FF game in a row where the main female character is uncomfortably submissive. To be clear, I'm not saying that Tifa is as bad as 16's Jill, who I think is completely embarrassing. But I also sense that we're supposed to think that Tifa is being admirable here for being silent and unflinchingly supportive, and quiet and shy and blah blah blah trad wife grossness. And maybe I'm off-base (considering her swimsuit attire), but I can't help but feel they've made Tifa actually a little too demure, personality-wise.

I do love her relationship with Aerith. Making them best friends is probably the single-smartest decision from the Remake project. They really do feel close in ways that both of them needed. They seem to bring out matching qualities in each other, if that makes sense.

Playing as her is pretty much like it was in the original. She's the stagger queen. Unbridled Strength is so fun I kind of forget to use her abilities. She's fun, but a bit simple.

Hint for NPC 10: If he's Hojo's Son, does that mean he's also Sephiroth's Brother?

_stingers_ posted...

Yuffies gotta be 5

....my initial gut instinct is that Yuffie really has a strong chance of being #1, though maybe that's too much. But yeah, we got a little taste for her in Intermission but the upgrade for her over the original game is just so huge. She got the Jessie treatment as primary comic relief with non-stop great lines and moments (I would still crack a smile at every "hey there, jerkface" I'd hear when replaying or watching a streamer play through the final battle, lol)

Not enough of an upgrade to surpass Aerith and Tifa in my eyes but still. 100% top three, and yeah maybe just 3rd place but still, I can argue for higher placement than that. Would be very surprised if Barret isn't in 4th place.

MacArrowny posted...

Hot(?) take: Loveless was kinda boring and Aeris's song there sucked.

It might be "hot" now but I feel like it will cool in due time & everyone'll agree eventually. I'm with you in that I also was not a fan of it!

(showing the Avalanche trio at the end of Aerith's song also doesn't really make sense, as a viewer it's pulling our heartstrings but in the game Wedge is the only 1 of the 3 Aerith ever met and she knew him for like, 2 minutes)

Queen's Blood is on the shortlist for greatest minigame of all time, imo. The more I think about it, the more impressed I am.

Junon Commander my love

MacArrowny posted...

Hot(?) take: Loveless was kinda boring and Aeris's song there sucked.

It's no Eyes on Me or Suteki da Ne (or even a Melodies of Life). I still liked it though cause I'm a sucker for cheese.

It's definitely better than Hollow! Also I like it more than most FFXIV vocal songs I've list- *gets assassinated by FFXIV fans*

Yeah I liked what they did with Tifa in this game but I want her to be a stronger / more forthright presence, even if she's careful about picking her moments (I can live with her deciding random hippies just aren't worth the bother). It is at least implied there's a fair bit going on off screen between her and Aerith on how to handle Cloud's increasingly loose grip on reality, but showing more of that would go a long way to making her come off less passive.

I also found it plain weird that Cloud nearly killed her in Chapter 9 and it was almost ignored in their conversation afterward. That was a shocking act that was written in to this version of the story and it should have had more of a direct impact on their relationship IMO (even if Tifa just acknowledged he was out of control and forgave him for it).

It's up in the air whether Tifa gets more of a leading role in part 3 with Aerith essentially out of the picture (setting aside lifestream / weird alternate reality pop ups) or she gets further sidelined because her best relationship isn't there. I very much hope she has a prominent role throughout the story. The worst thing they could do is shoehorn Zack into being a surrogate lead for some reason while Cloud is out of action, essentially finding an excuse for a minor male character to have a leading role which pushes the natural female lead (in FFVII's back half) to the side.

It is somewhat odd that FF games had more agentic and prominent female characters 25 years ago than they do now (see FFXV and XVI).

Also you can do some crazy stuff with Tifa if you really understand her kit, e.g. these videos explain some cool techniques (going a bit further than spamming Divekick cancels).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMl3rfHQ2ng
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88T6R99vhnI

Kotetsu534 posted...

It is somewhat odd that FF games had more agentic and prominent female characters 25 years ago than they do now (see FFXV and XVI).

I don't want to hijack the topic, but Resident Evil fans have been complaining about this exact thing for at least 15 years. Being a pretty big fan, a part of me has always resented how Western Hollywood Action Explosion-Time rotted what was such a cool part of the franchise.

Resident Evil 1 - dual female/male leads, female character way more popular
Resident Evil 2 - dual female/male leads, about equally popular
Resident Evil 3 - female lead
Code Veronica - dual female/male leads, female character more popular
Resident Evil 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 - male leads

Don't count Sheva as a dual female lead? Or RE6 with Sherry & Ada getting full campaigns?

Snake5555555555 posted...

Don't count Sheva as a dual female lead?

LOL. Sorry, I don't. How many times does the main villain even acknowledge her? Might honestly be zero. She's not a bad character or offensive or anything, she was just clearly shoehorned in and definitely not a "lead" the same way Chris is.

Snake5555555555 posted...

Don't count Sheva as a dual female lead? Or RE6 with Sherry & Ada getting full campaigns?

Maybe I should backtrack this one a bit since 6 is the only one I haven't played, but I thought Sherry shared her campaign with a male co-lead, one who is far more important to the overall narrative than Leon's female co-lead? RE6 may be a game with playable female characters, but I always figured that, like 5, it was a game that never elevated them to the level of the male stars. This is in contrast to the first six years of the franchise, where the female characters really were "leading ladies."

I do understand those points! Sherry shares the campaign with Jake (Wesker's son) but they're both pretty equally important to the storyline. But yeah I don't count Helena either cause she sucks XD

_stingers_ posted...

Yuffies gotta be 5

I saw someone mention Yuffie last page and thought that was insane. She's got to be top 3 at least imo, and that's with me giving cloud a sympathy nod. Her and barret are the stars of this game

YoBlazer posted...

Queen's Blood is on the shortlist for greatest minigame of all time, imo. The more I think about it, the more impressed I am.

Man the more i see people talk up QB the crazier i feel

Im in love with tifa so my opinion may be invalid but I think her not taking action is largely a result of her natural self doubt that she has struggled with for her entire lifetime. Progress isnt made overnight after all. I have to imagine part 3 will be largely that blossoming

I'll wait till Yuffie drops before saying anything about her. But to me, Aerith and Barret are the clear stars of Rebirth and everyone else is good. I don't think Tifa is particularly demure in this game. I think she's the most comforting of Cloud during his breaks; though, I agree that it's strange that no one brings up that Tifa nearly died as a result of Cloud's actions, regardless of who he was at the time.

Loveless is good for what it is, but it was never going to be a highlight. Is it a hot take to think that? I haven't really followed the discussion until I finished the game. The Junon team is pretty good. This game really dawned on me how strong the Remake NPCs are. The Rebirth NPCs are...fine. I think Dio and the Junon crew are really the only ones that shine.

YoBlazer posted...

I don't want to hijack the topic, but Resident Evil fans have been complaining about this exact thing for at least 15 years. Being a pretty big fan, a part of me has always resented how Western Hollywood Action Explosion-Time rotted what was such a cool part of the franchise.

Resident Evil 1 - dual female/male leads, female character way more popular
Resident Evil 2 - dual female/male leads, about equally popular
Resident Evil 3 - female lead
Code Veronica - dual female/male leads, female character more popular
Resident Evil 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 - male leads

I'm also a fairly big RE fan (although I've skipped a few entries) with RE2R is one of my favourite games in recent years, and part of the reason is Leon and Claire co-starring in it. The dynamic works very well with the 'survival horror' leaning too. I'd love to know if the shift towards singular male protagonists is just what the developers wanted or if it's led by focus group or fan sentiment analysis.

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NPC 10. Chadley

I actually didn't like Chadley in Remake, so I'm honestly as surprised as you are that he made it this high. In the last game, I did find him kind of weird and annoying. What is this kid's deal? Is he a robot? Is he just strange? It felt like he was weird for the sake of being weird.

And maybe that's where the growth comes in. I love the idea of Chadley being Hojo's Pinocchio (Lies of Chadley DLC anyone?). When we first meet Chadley in Rebirth, he's expressed a sense of self-individuality and optimism that's refreshing for this type of character. The game also hints at some strings still being attached in the Nibelheim protorelic quest. Seeds are being planted for even more Chadley development in part 3.

Speaking of seeds, if you read this game primarily as an environmental text, as I do, Chadley is a great addition. In an environmentally-conscious game like FF7, where images of eco-terrorism and indigeneity about the planet get thrown around hither and yon, it's great to have a techno-utopian mouthpiece as well. The reveal at the end, that Chadley is building an archive to remember the world in the event of mass destruction, is touching.

I also just don't find him annoying in the way others do. I definitely see how he could be, but I found him mostly funny. I liked his back and forth with MAI, I liked his tonberry costume, I liked his weird little theme song. I liked how he told me all about summon lore. He's half-gameplay mechanic, but that doesn't mean he also isn't a good character.

Hint for minigame 10: They should've kept the original design for the Sonic movie.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/0/0618d100.jpg
Minigame 10. Moogle Round Up

I had a great time playing tag with these cute little critters. I think the difficulty was just right. I only failed once and only at the top mayhem level. It's kind of annoying how you can't terrain action over the fences but that's the game.

Now, as for the redesign:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/6/6bdec397.jpg
People are upset about this. Not me though! I love it! It makes the game funny and not serious, which is important for a side quest, honestly. If the moogles actually looked like moogles, and not weird muppets with human eyes and teeth, it would lose some of that weird meme humor.

If you clear all the mog houses, the big reward is that Cloud gets turned into a Moogle and learns how to fly. It's probably the last good thing that happens to Cloud in his life. It's a great reference to the original game's weird Mog House arcade game. I still don't understand what that game was about, and I'm glad we have this instead of some weird kids book about a Moogle who can't fly so you have to feed him kupo nuts.

Hint for NPC 9: This guy has the worst luck with hotels

With you on liking the moogle mini game. I especially liked how you'd just round a corner and suddenly the music would change away from the area theme to the slightly manic moogle theme (this happened to me in both Gongaga and Cosmo while deep in "exploring" mindset), letting you know it was time for the zaniness. And the cadence of the actual game is unusual in that the threat level starts out maximised and you have to quickly subdue a moogle or two to make it manageable (rather than ramping threat like many others). I also only failed once, on the second to last version.

Chadley though... okay, one of my problems with Chadley is a bit unfair, in that whenever he piped up to give his rote, wordy, exposition, I was aware of what we could have had instead. I.e. suppose instead of Chadley making basically the same comment over and over at every piece of field intel, why not have Aerith comment on a particular type of rare flower, or Barret marvel at how the lifestream's still going, or Tifa say something about the summon? If you took one third of his lines and reallocated them to the party in the field, little would be lost and much would be gained.

The more fair issue is that he can just be annoying. Why are you having a go at Cloud for not having gathered much field intel in a region we just landed in?! And why do you insist on saying the same line I've heard seven times when I pop out of the simulator to change my accessory before I can get back in?! Just a bit of editing and polish would have sanded these edges off, but over time I found them a bit grating, and in general substantially more annoying in Rebirth than Remake. Still, he's cool though, and I look forward to seeing what they do with him in R3.

Presumably Palmer next...

I'm curious to read your Palmer write-up, because he's like 20 spots too high imo.

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NPC 9. Palmer

Palmer is this high in honor of all-time great B8'er Heroic Palmer.

But also, I genuinely laugh at every scene this character is in, both in Remake and Rebirth. Joke villains can be hard to get right. It's easy for them to just be annoying and aggravating, but the perfectly walk the line with Palmer. He's not sympathetic at all, but he's also not a character you hate, the way you hate the other Shinra board members.

No one takes him seriously, not the main party, not the Turks, and not the other board members. He's a perfect characterization of a vestigial corporate shill in charge of a seemingly worthless department. He's just along for the paycheck. Palmer's always been an accurate commentary on governments that prioritize the military industrial complex and short-term gains over long-term progress. All this to say he's the perfect yes-man.

I'm glad we got the Palmer fight when we did. It just gives them a chance to bring Palmer back for more when we finally get to Rocket Town. It was also challenging, like I mentioned earlier. I almost died to Palmer twice, once in the actual battle and once in the minigame afterward.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/a/a9245ec7.jpg
NPC 8: Tseng

Here's some stuff I had wrong about Tseng, based on my understanding of the original game. First, he's not old. Silly me, when I first played the original game, I though surely Tseng was an older guy. Of course, these are JRPG's, and once you turn 30 you're basically an old person. But I really always pictured him as kind of an old samurai type guy, so I don't quite like how much of a babyface he is.

Secondly, Tseng doesn't die in the Temple of the Ancients in the original either. I knew this from Advent Children, but also, I hate AC so in my headcanon, Tseng dies. It's just better if he does, if I'm being completely honest. I think Tseng probably should've died here too, but obviously I'm eager to see how the Turks continue to evolve in the third game.

We get to fight Tseng in Rebirth, finally. While it was cute seeing he and Elena fight together, I feel like he was weirdly a non-factor in that fight. I want to say he never attacks Aerith, which would be a cool detail, but I'm pretty sure that's wrong.

Even moreso than the rest of the Turks, it feels like there's a good person somewhere inside him that is forced to be this morally grey/villainous person for the greater good. I totally buy the idea that he actually cares about Aerith and Elmyra while also thinking that he has to work for Shinra and regularly kidnap her.

Hint for minigame 9: Where's omnislash?

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/b/b83b021d.jpg
Minigame 9: Battle Arenas (Musclehead Colosseum, Chadley Simulator, Corel Prison etc)

This category basically refers to anytime the game placed you in a series of battles. Some of these were annoying (that damn mindflayer battle, the two Test Zeros, the landworm fights) but for the most part they were a good challenge (plus opportunities to listen to some great tunes).

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/d/da005920.jpg
Minigame 8: Fiend Intel, Classified Intel, and Summon Battles

This category refers to the on-map fiend intel fights, the classified intel bosses, and the summon battles. The classified intel fights were all a little too easy (but then again, I was probably overpowered from 100% the world intel). There could have been a little more variety in the fiend intel conditions (it's mostly time limit, pressure, and stagger). The summon battles ruled.

Basically, any and all situations where the side quest involved extensive amounts of playing around with the game's excellent battle system, which I'll spend the rest of the post discussing.

I think it's definitely the best Action RPG battle system of all time, and maybe the best battle system ever created.

To begin, the fact that this game has 7 playable characters who are all viable and play different from one another in very clear ways is mind boggling. But then add to this that you can switch between them at will. Add to THIS, that you can do team-up attacks. It was one thing in Remake, where you were basically locked in to your party all the time. But in this game there are so many varieties in how you play based on who's in your party and your actual playstyle. Switching between your party members is so fun because it's testing your ability to play multiple types of characters. So instead of doing the same thing in a battle, you're switching from stagger/dps to tank to caster/healer. The actual pace of each character is completely different, so it creates a high level of variety within the battle itself. It's like switching in Tales games, except every character is actually fun to play (sorry, cheap shot).

Secondly, tactical mode/ATB remains the best hybrid turn-based/action RPG mix I can think of. It feels even better here than in Remake. Everything really has been tuned since Remake, by the way. The game's harder, magic is toned down but still pretty strong. The best change is how they've clarified the relationship between pressure and stagger. Each enemy has a unique condition for pressure, which can be from elemental weaknesses to attacking from behind, etc. Stagger is a necessary evil since you want to actually be able to use attacks and not end fights with the square button. Feeling frustrated over stagger was extremely rare.

Did I mention they actually came up with legitimately cool synergy abilities that were not only fanservice galore but tactically important (granting free mp, raising limits, etc)? It's flashy, but it still requires strategy and paying attention to materia set ups and equipment.

Hint for Main Character 4: A character whose name I mispronounced regularly until the Remake

I can't believe Abzu made the top seven.

Yeah Tseng should have died.
I really hope they dont wimp out on killing Heidegger and Scarlet in the 3rd part

I like the colosseum battles, especially the 6-man fights, but the enemy variety was just ass. There's only so many times you can fight King Zu, Malboro, Mindflayer and co. before you get sick and tired of it.

I still have most of the Brutal and Legendary challenges left. Those are ridiculous. I saw some broken setups, but those kinda feel like cheating (Brumal Form spam, mostly), and I'd rather not resort to that.

i'll resort to anything to clear the fucking gigaworm

Chadley's fine. I really liked his final world intel scene about building an archive. Agreed that he speaks a little too much and too many of the same lines.

Moogles and Palmer are fine. Tseng is the same age when Aerith is a child, so he probably is 40+ and just has a really good skincare routine. I think Tseng is too unflappable. I never feel like he breaks out of his very set characterization.

I really enjoy battles; though, the toughest challenges are the worst optional content in the game. It's not even postgame content, because the Mindflayer challenge and some of the two-people challenges are rough. But yeah, I like the skeleton of the combat system a ton. I always loved action RPGs and pressure is a really neat way to make fights interesting.

I learned recently that Test 0 is actually a reference to a glitch in the original game, which is really neat.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/b/b409b0c7.jpg

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/2/21475e3a.jpg
Main Character 4
Yuffie Kisaragi

It's the white rose of Wutai, fresh out the trauma of Intergrade and ready to join the party for real this time. Both the interquel and Rebirth do a fantastic job of making Yuffie feel youthful, energetic, freshly traumatized, and secretly more mature than she lets on.

While I think it's a little surprising we don't first meet her in a forest, I like the way the game slowly introduces her to the party. From Under Junon, to Rufus's attempted assassination on through Costa Del Sol.

The sheer triumph of making Yuffie not only important but relatively likeable is frankly miraculous. I liked Yuffie in the original, but there's no denying that she was 1) optional and 2) less cool than Vincent by a country mile. Therefore, she and Cait Sith basically fought each other for last place in mine and probably a lot of other character rankings. In Rebirth she's not only not last place, but there are reasonable arguments that she's the best character in the game! Which I disagree with, naturally.

She is often a big part in funny scenes, though I'm not sure I would say that she herself is funny. Case in point: when she finally joins the party after a long cinematic intro, Cloud says "cool" and exeunts stage right. Or when she picks fights with Barret and he picks on her like a little sister. These are definitely lighthearted and fun scenes where she really adds to the dynamic of the party. She's still the same Yuffie from the original, overconfident and materia obsessed, but there's a real depth to her here that's lacking in OG FF7. Which might come around to bite the devs if they're still planning on Yuffie "betraying" the party and stealing their materia in game 3.

That being said, there's some clunkers in here too. I'm a sourpuss who gets annoyed by meta-jokes and fourth wall breaking, cause I think it's kinda lazy. It's one thing for Yuffie to hum her own theme song and make jokes about Cloud having a thing for Tifa. It's another to have her come up with multiple songs and have her repeat those songs a few times too many. In short: she annoyed me sometimes, but isn't that part of her character too? Therefore, I can't be too mad.

In combat, Yuffie wrecks shop. She's my favorite character to play as, even without the busted Brunel Form cheats out there. She might not hit hard, but who cares when you've got doppelganger.

Hint for NPC 7: A man named after a defunct restaurant chain

Also I used to own that strategy guide. I miss it dearly.

Yuffie most improved character for sure. Looking forward to the Barret write-up now because I still feel top 3 is a severe overrating but the write-up rationale could turn me!!

Bitto posted...

I learned recently that Test 0 is actually a reference to a glitch in the original game, which is really neat.

That is so cool! I was even planning to boot up an old save to check it out until I got to the editor's note at the bottom... damn, lol

I greatly enjoyed Yuffie in this game. Felt like she fit the game's "natural" tone to a T - overflowing with relentless energy and confidence, and at its most fun when being camp and over the top. She also improved the party's dynamic a fair bit, which was already excellent, but as more members are added it needs someone to force more interactions between them. I especially liked her and Barret starting to bond a bit over their shared resentment of Scarlet. Her English VA does an incredible job (linked her singing her theme song below if you want a listen - can't imagine many would be able to such a good job). They could have toned down the materia obsession a little.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZdb4EsWBXc&list=PLqoNvBHIgpJF3bPBOVLGTeXaHtvLGe7-w&index=158

And from a gameplay PoV she was my favourite character. The shuriken dynamic letting you swap from range to melee freely makes her such a versatile main - I thought she was clearly a step above the first four characters in Intermission - and almost every one of her abilities is useful. There's a fair amount of depth to her kit too which most players probably won't unearth (not to the same degree as Tifa though), setting aside the broken interaction between Brumal Form and ATB Ward.

If I was the sort of person who wrote wonky 2000 word blogposts, I'd write one about why the cool, reserved semi-undead dude was the breakout star of the 1997 OG while the over the top cute girl is the breakout start of Intermission/Rebirth.

And yeah this game's battle system absolutely kicks ass. On a level all its own when it comes to turn-based action combat. The depth of the characters is almost without precedent in a single player action game. I think when people go back to Remake they'll start to realise how much this game added (not picking your own party, not having synergy spells and abilities etc.). The RPG elements around the system could have been substantially improved though.

The arenas though... Musclehead just spams the same enemies over and over again and Chadley has like 50 challenges many of which are 5 or 10 rounds bouts (creating a bad kind of difficulty where the player has to go through the same fights they've won 10 times to try the one they're dying at again). And while the music is incredible, the setting is so boring, more of the post-game should take place in iconic settings, fitting for all out battles against the biggest foes. I've forgotten 95% of them already.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/4/4c38a593.jpg
NPC 7. Hojo

We can only assume Hojo's full name is Dr. Howard Johnson's. If you're under the age of 35 and/or not American you might not get this reference.

Hojo is once again absurdly evil in an over the top fashion. What a nasty little guy. They really played this up in Remake, but he's so interested in dissecting and fluids and flesh and stuff. Gross, dude! This is conveyed in a truly physical performance by this guy's character model. He kind of slides around the screen like a snake.

The biggest change to the Hojo mythology in this game is that he can apparently combine robed guys with little weird leech boys to make giant scorpion dudes. Other than that he's mostly in the shadows, except when he goes on his beach trip to Costa Del Sol and briefly turns into Dr. Robotnik.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/4/40709f5f.jpg
Minigame 7: Fun Times with Mr. Dolphin

This is a fun yet simple minigame where you ride on Mr. Dolphin's back, headbutting beach balls to gain speed. There's some ramps and hairpin turns. It's less about Mario Kart/racing game reflexes and more about just finding the best route and practicing until you get it right. It's basically a slalom, and once you know the pattern it's a matter of just moving the controller enough to get it right.

Hint for NPC 6: The award for most improved character from Remake.
Hint for Minigame 6: Sore shoulders.

Hell yeah MY FRIEEEEND

Awww yeah time for my favorite Yakuza character that got lost and found his way into FF7.

Roche
Biggs
Rude
Rufus
Elena

I dont know who else is left.

Yuffie's fun and adds a lot to the party dynamic. I don't think she comes off as annoying, but I do think she can be out-of-sync with the party, especially on materia. Very strange to have her see a Weapon and think about taking the Weapon's materia for itself and then switch over to Scarlet thinking the exact same thing. Similarly, her focus on materia feels a little too pronounced and her one character trait at times. I do like her more when she shows her more aggressive side, especially around Wutai. It rounds out her character. She also surprisingly works well with Kyrie. I couldn't stand the Kyrie quests, but the last one with Yuffie was good for both of them.

Hojo's great and should definitely be above Rufus! Rufus is just a big ? to me. I feel like nothing he does makes sense, but I don't think that's the point of his character.

Last NPC might be the 7th Infantry themselves?

Minigames remaining are:

Queen's Blood
Chocobo Racing
Piano
G-Bike
Junon Parade
Chocofruits?
Playing as Barret/Nanaki/Tifa?
Moving block-shaped objects around?

I think Crunches haven't appeared yet, unless I missed them, and based on the hint, I guess they are next.

As for NPCs, I'm 90% Midgar Infantry will be on the list, and they deserve it. My biggest regret on my normal playthrough was not knowing that I could heal them, leading to the death of one of these glorious heroes. RIP soldier 5, you will be missed.

Ugh Piano too high

BK_Sheikah00 posted...

I dont know who else is left.

5th place NPC: the guy who points and "whoas" at Tifa as she walks to the beach in Costa Del Sol.

(I say Tifa specifically and not "Tifa and Aerith" because the next scene is him trying to rizz up Tifa while she's walking by ignoring him totally, lol)

Ultimaphazon posted...

I think Crunches haven't appeared yet, unless I missed them, and based on the hint, I guess they are next.

Oh yeah, that makes sense. I just naturally assumed it wouldn't be this high up.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/9/9eedc80a.jpg
NPC 6. Roche, aka "Hello, my FRIEND"

I regret choosing this pic. I wanted one that captured his original reason for existence, which was to have a bike minigame boss. However, this pic lacks the sort of exaggerated facial expressions Roche is known for while screaming "MY FRIEEENNNDDD" in enthusiasm. I refuse to go search for another one though.

So yeah, I've mentioned this already but I did not like Roche in Remake. Unlike in Rebirth, in Remake there feels like a clear decrease in quality between "original main story" stuff and "new side stuff" (and another step down in quality when you get to "side quests"). To be clear, I don't think any of that game was "bad," but I do think parts of it were boring and felt like busy work. For Rebirth the devs did a great job smoothing everything out (although I know there are quite a few people who disagree with me on this based on the complaints about the "open world" stuff).

Roche benefits the most from this increased attention to developing and expanding on the side material. Someone in this topic called him basically a Kojima villain, and that's true. He's definitely got that Ocelot/Big Boss thing going on, where they're rivals but all they really want is to keep playing on the playground/battlefield together forever. Roche also does some crazy stuff with his bicycle at points that feels straight out of Revengeance or the Death Stranding 2 trailer.

Of course, what really makes Roche work in this game is that they turned him into a tragic character. Perhaps noticing that he himself is about to really suffer from degradation, and wanting desperately to continue "being friends" with Cloud, he seeks out Hojo for some S-Cell enhancement, which really only results in him turning (rather comically) into a robed figure. How do your clothes know how to magically change shape into a robe? Still, you're telling me that you get a free robe if you turn into a Sephiroth clone? Sign me up!

It makes me wonder if we're headed for a world in Part 3 where we somehow cure these folks. Alternatively, they all just keep appearing in the pocket universe and a big merge happens before/during/after the final battle. Regardless, I doubt we've seen the last of Roche.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/5/5100487a.jpg
Minigame 6. Crunches

You've mastered squats. You destroyed Andrea in pull-ups. Now you're ready for the ultimate in high concentration button pressing action: crunches! This was tough, I won't lie. I definitely felt the need to loudly swear against God a few times regarding the "half-press" option. And the fact that they switch from left to right is just cruel. However, when I actually beat it after about 10 tries, I felt like I had accomplished something. That addictive quality and that rush of success - it's probably the same as people who are really into Souls games feel. Now I kind of get their arguments against easy modes.

If you're having trouble, here's some tips. First, DO NOT TRY TO DO THIS WHILE TIFA'S IN HER SWIMSUIT (either one). Second, just say "left right" or "right left" outloud to get the rhythm down and make sure you stay in the right direction. It really wasn't that hard.

Next: Main Character 3 - A Male version of Lightning

If FF7-3 doesn't have Roche showing up and driving a motorcycle into Sephiroth's face then it failed.

My favorite detail about Roche is that despite just being a Soldier 3rd Class he's able to keep up with Cloud which kind of implies he could be promoted. But then he wouldn't get to do cool bike shenanigans and would likely be under more scrutiny and not able to do things like just let Cloud go.

He feels like a Yakuza character to me more than anything, down to me expecting him to have a dynamic intro.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/d/d558ca1f.jpg

Also my biggest Roche disappointment is that he wasn't an opponent in the chocobo races, riding a red chocobo and making motorcycle noises with his mouth.

Bitto posted...

Tseng is the same age when Aerith is a child, so he probably is 40+ and just has a really good skincare routine. I think Tseng is too unflappable. I never feel like he breaks out of his very set characterization.

Just to follow up on this, this is what I thought too, but according the the Ultimania he's 30, and was 15 when he was first assigned to watch Aerith after Ifalna died!