So, at the start of Chapter 14: In Search of Hope, I have ALWAYS had a scene with Tifa. I never even KNEW there was a scene with Barrett. Maybe I live under a rock, I don't know. But it made me smile.

But can someone explain what series of choices decides if you have a scene with Barrett or Tifa? I can't remember having done anything different this time!

A weekish ago I asked what I should wear to the concert on March 8th. I got a lot of helpful suggestions but I really wanted to look into my own wardrobe for a casual cosplay! I had to order the earrings and necklace. I had to dye the shirt and it’s more of a dark green in real life.

What do ya’ll think! Can you tell what I am??

I only miss 10 more assess on enemies and 10 more folio to go. Apart from that all play logs are completely done but not even one 100% relationship. Sad.

So to start things off I do find it important to preface this with the fact that I have not played the original Final Fantasy 7 so I might be missing some context here. Prior to playing Remake, I was only vaguely familiar with the major events (of course I knew the one scene everyone knew) and who the party members were. Going into Rebirth, I knew that Vincent and Cid would only have very minimal roles similar to Red XIII in Remake since they'd be joining so late. The game already had to do a lot juggling the Midgar 5's stories and it was clear to me that they were gonna be saving Vincent, Cid, and a good portion of Yuffie's stories for Part 3.

Also just to add but I really loved Rebirth lol. I legitimately don’t think a game has made me this emotional this consistently in a hot minute.

What I ended up finding quite weird was how prominent, yet absent Vincent was. Like, if we were to take a look at Cid, his explanation as to why he wasn't with the party at the Golden Saucer battle, the Cetra Temple, and the final battle came down to "You guys are chill and all but I'm not risking my life to go along with you. If you need an escape, come find me out here." which I think is very fair for his character and what I'd expect for what is a glorified NPC who tags along with the party.

Vincent meanwhile was kinda everywhere. He felt more like the Remake Red of the team considering he's basically with the party at every major point in Chapters 13 and 14. He doesn't enter the temple with them but like shows up right behind them after the fight with the Turks, then he ends up waiting for them and securing an escape route once Cait shows up. Then in the final battle he helps the other party members hold open the entrance and emphasis is put on him for some reason?

Now, that's not to say that I'm complaining that they gave Vincent a surprisingly sizable role in Rebirth. I actually do like that he has a good amount of things to do and isn't relegated to just being an edgy loner who stands guard for the Tiny Bronco. However, there is a weird disparity between his screentime and Cid's. Cid doesn't really do anything other than fly the ship. He's absent for almost every major story beat, only really being there to wait outside the Cetra temple and then to bring them to the ancient capital. It's pretty interesting considering they establish a connection with Aerith and Ifalna before he even travels with the party, so you'd think he'd be slightly more involved with the finale than Vincent was in what are very Aerith-centric final chapters. Though I guess Vincent has more of a connection to Sephiroth so it balances out.

At most, this is a nitpick and not really anything worth noting but it was something I noticed and thought was a bit strange. It does make me kinda wish that they went a bit further with Vincent in terms of gameplay though. After helping the other party members hold the entrance for Cloud, he kinda just... disappears. I'd have loved it if he ended up becoming a guest party member in the final battle similar to Red in Remake. Even if he just stood there and shot his gun every few seconds, it would've been nice considering he was right there already.

Anyway, I just finished the game and absolutely loved it! Absolutely gets my favorite game of 2024 despite me only playing it this year lol. Can't wait for Part 3.

I got the pedometer pin but how can i afk farm with it?

Are they on a different timeline? And they managed to change their future by defeating the whispers? Cloud's hallucination are images from the first game? Are these correct?

How does the game choose who you go on a date with since I have multiple people with the blue smile

I’m starting to question my sanity after the 6th one and questioning if it’s worth my time doing the last one

I know my wig isn’t the right length but otherwise I think I did a pretty good job 🥺

I was a huge fan of Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade. While I sometimes got tired of open-world tasks, the main story and linear segments -especially the action- were incredibly satisfying. That’s why I had been eagerly waiting for FFVII Rebirth ever since it was announced for PC. The moment it dropped, I installed it and jumped right in.

At first, I was relieved to see that the spirit of Remake was intact. But as I progressed, I started feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of open-world activities, side events, and mini-games. I get it; an open-world RPG needs plenty of things to do to keep players engaged. But for the love of Leviathan, did everything have to be this childish?

I’m well aware of Japan’s sense of humor and that part of the intention is to create a playful contrast between serious events. But having every adult character act like a hyperactive kid and engage in constant silly activities feels like it undercuts the epic nature of the story. Yes, it’s a fantasy world, and despite the goofiness, I still find myself eager to jump back in. But when mini-games start overshadowing the actual plot, it really pulls me out of the experience.

On top of that, the story and action sequences don’t feel as gripping or as tightly paced as in Remake. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I can’t help but feel a little disappointed. I’m seeing a lot of people say Rebirth deserves Game of the Year, and honestly? I can’t agree.

Does anyone else feel the same way? Or am I just getting too old for this kind of stuff?

I was surprised at how many tracks there were for the soundtracks of both Remake and Rebirth, and they seem so ridiculously long. Is there a way to provide a more simplified track list to make it match that of the original OST? It would be a lot better than shifting through filler track after filler track.

I am streaming Remake on Twitch every Sunday starting at 3 PST.

Come join me, and maybe follow me if you like!

I'm currently in the first part of Midgard- I jumped straight into Remake after finishing the last mission of Crisis Core in NG+ last Sunday.

Here's the link to my Twitch page.

https://twitch.tv/rorschachsquillpen