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

[freakworld]

okay arguably I never use that character.

 

[Lin Beifong]

Beat Rush?

...

Spoiler

?

 

[LN1]

I kinda wish.

Spoiler: Ep 20: Nevada

You know, clouds.

That's what we FF7 characters do.

Really just setting up Shinra the bomb, but it has been varying in effectiveness.

Come on, I didn't even play Zero Wing. It's not really meant to be that funny.

If you paid attention to the background, you might have noticed a strange man appearing. Let's talk to him.

Meh.

Just give me something to Cover(ability) you and we should be set.

You also want me to be your chaffeur(sp?)?

It's nothing really. It's just that I'm no Super Mario. I don't hero for charity. That would apply more to Butz from this series.

Uh....

Let's talk about that later. The strange man has come closer.

Oh now the strange voice talks to me again. When I found two real people to talk to.

Like seriously, is blue with red hair really a good style?

Shinra spy? Cloud, what did this guy do to you again?

Although I'm sure Reno means something besides a city in the state of Nevada, it's been hard for me not to make that association ever since I saw Garland's videos.

Aeris just kinda runs to the back.

Don't church back rooms usually only have the one exit being the entrance? (I haven't attended a church where you can exit from the "back room", as in behind where the priest does the church stuff which I don't know by English name.)

Not-Vegas Nevada man still follows us.

O is for Ostrich - Edofenrir 2016 as Peach in his Super Paper Mario SSLP

Okay, I actually find this moment pretty amusing, but it might have to do with a FF7 comic I read once. "You're gonna catch holy hell!" is still a weird sentence no matter what though.

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 21: Something something Turkey and all-caps soldier

Alright, we are in the back room. Wait, did a rocket crash here?

Well, I guess we'll just have to keep moving.

Just gotta make some jumps.

Aeris makes a "nuh-uh" nod between these two snaps. Because she doesn't want to make the jump. She's no Super Mario either.

Ancient?

They fucking shoot her and she falls down.

The hell was that for?!

It's a barrel.

Here's what you're supposed to do. Tell Aeris to hold on.

Optional: Fight a random encounter with these weirdos.

Push barrel.

Except I flubbed because I don't exactly know the correct barrels. So Aeris has to fight.

This snap was supposed to also snap damage of Aeris's physical, which does like 15-20, or whatever 3-shots these guys.

I mean, these are the first enemies you fight, so Aeris only loses if you let her.

Now here's a weird overlap.

And uh...

I flubbed again.

Blue doggos also get 3-shot.

Nice!

Nifty. Back attacks deal double damage on most enemies.

For the last barrel I just told Aeris to run since I didn't feel like battling and I had already used the barrel that was correct here.

I guess this means I'm exiting the way I came.

Well then.

...Maybe I should stop alluding to Mario.

This is a common occurrence, it seems.

Weird name. There's no Turkey in this world, ffs.

Which might mean...

Oh yeah, forgot to mention they're shady, but I thought that was implicit when I mentioned they work for Shinra. Sorry, I forget.

Then again, maybe Square was trying to say something about actual Turks? Idk. I guess I'll just leave the organization name at, "It's strange."

Well, since you're not that different from me in battle, maybe.

Seems we can agree on this.

You just jump around here.

Until Aeris tells you to wait. You see, she's not as good of a jumper as Cloud is.

Not nearly as athletic either.

Well, you can't always trust the criticism of Nevada cities after all.

Um...

How come though?

Sweet contact lenses...

...with just a little bit of planetary energy.

It seems to me that you might have met a SOLDIER before me.

Hmm...

Well?

Well then, I guess this is a good point to rest.

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 22: That one typo.

There are random encounters. You can encounter these guys.

They steal shit from your inventory, so you can bet your ass I'm killing the Titan Bangle guy.

But I wasn't so lucky with the Antidote guy.

You can just straight up go back to the church if you want.

Reno seems to have disappeared and only these kids are left here.

Of course it's all fine.

You can't go back to the back room.

It also just isn't possible to get out of Midgar just like this.

Anyway, let's go where we were supposed to.

These odd guys are blocking this entrance.

Red hair hates you and chubby is talking about some Sector 6 store. Anyway...

Here is where we must go to find Aeris's house.

Some guy talking about a weirdo who lives in a pipe and can't articulate sentences.

This guy walking around talks to me of a place I can't say I've heard about.

I'll keep that in mind.

Ah, this infamous typo. It's not a PS1 FF7 LP without it, now is it? I find it kind of amusing.

Anyway, the guy that are sick is apparently recovering in the pipe.

A guy that are sick indeed!

Aeris, I'm not sure I accepted to do this when I said I was your jack of all trades.

My only instrument to make cuts is my Buster Sword. You don't want me to handle this guy.

Huh? Whatever could that mean?

This isn't Pokemon, so no, FF7 has no hidden items that you can get by pressing O/Circle in arbitrary spots.

This house...

...is the Materia shop.

Same as Sector 7. I bought an extra Lightning Materia.

Speaking of which...

I'm just putting some stuff on Aeris's equips.

Yeah this is good.

Item Shop.

Nothing much to note here. Bought some Antidotes because why the hell not?

I think this one should be a house that looks like a house.

Eh, fair enough.

Oh, that's what you were going at. Yeah, I think I'll just leave you.

This kid upstairs is weird.

Hmm...

Well then...

Nah, it's only 5 gil. But what did that kid drink? (There might have been something on the top or bottom drawer but I didn't care to check, sorry.)

This doggo will do a light bark at you if you interact with him.

Rude to be honest.

Train Man Jr.?

Aren't you here already? Or perhaps the kid means the upper Midgar plate, idk. Still, it's a bit strange, and it might just have been intentional on the original script too.

Wait for it...

The hell are you sitting around here for then?!

The weapon shop is a slightly misleading thing to call this place.

More like one item kind and one armor kind shop.

Sure, what the hell.

I only have an All Materia left so it's not going anywhere for now.

Since this is the only house left, it must be Aeris's. Wow!

 

[LN1]

I was just out of the city for a day or so and as such I couldn't post episode.

Spoiler: Ep 23: Bed flashbacks

In the garden there is some Materia and an Item.

Alright, I guess I should explain Cover, just in case you're unfamiliar.

When a character has the Cover ability, the character will block physical attacks directed at other characters. I am mostly familar with 4/5's version in which the character with Cover will automatically Cover characters low on HP. It seems in 7 the chance of Cover depends on the level of the Cover Materia. More on Materia levels later though. Oh yeah btw increasing Vitality increases physical Defense. Just wanted to note that.

Let's just enter the house then.

Um, hello Aeris's mom.

[Aeris says something along the lines of "Yes I was" here but I forgot to take a snap]

[I don't remember if Aeris tells her mom she's fine.]

A man needs his 3000 gil. Or was it 2000?

Please Aeris, we're not here to talk about this.

Uuuhhh...

It's a bit strange to choose a sensible option here. But to be perfectly honest Cloud and Tifa aren't dating yet so I thought this would be reasonable enough.

Well, if you say so.

Hmm...

Huzzat?

I'm sorry, but you know a '97 man loves his muscles as much as he loves women.

Um....yeah.

Apparently Aeris's mom deals with this frequently enough.

I guess I could use some sleep too.

Alright then, I guess a fine "night" sleep should be good.

Mrs. Elmyra, what are you getting at?

I'll see about that, Mrs. Elmyra. Also, Elmyra's name is only known to the player because it appears on the text boxes when she speaks. She never presented herself. What's up with that?

Anyway, you must go upstairs since Aeris is waiting you for tonight.

If you say so.

Good night indeed.

Well, I guess I'll just think about it when I sleep.

Now you talk to me again!?

Well, I guess it is a good bed.

Man, I really am not good for beds, am I?

This was a pretty good bed.

Mom's nagging was never pleasing, though, but that's just how life is.

I dunno mom. Where will I find one?

Really, what else other than a good bed and good food could I need?

There's the complication of asking women their ages...

It's alright mom. I'm sure I'll learn to live without women. I'll have to learn to live without you.

My Cover Materia will feel lonely though.

This bag has two items. Pretty cool.

Aeris will hear you if you run.

Or open her room.

So I'll just calmly walk.

I walk alone.

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 24: That one house random encounter

Okay I should be getting to Sector 6 wait what the fuck!?

You were in your room when I exited the second floor. How did you get here first?

Maybe I never woke up....Anyway, to Sector 6 it is.

Pretty simple, but the map slightly confused me at first. Just go down through the red-ish thing and then up.

What the hell!

Oh, whatever you are, you're gonna get it!

*battle cry*

Burn in hell, you weird...house.

I shall cut you down!

What the-

Okay, that attack hurt a bit.

Okay, that's good.

You cannot touch me.

Crit slice!

The hell was that?

This thing's unnamed attacks are stronger for some reason.

Hyaa!

Aeris levels up. Not bad.

Let's just get away from houses.

Bye bye, weird junkyard.

You can just run from those random encounters with the houses, if you must.

Fine, I guess I'll take you.

Hmm...

Weird place for a playground.

Up the slide I go.

Just give me a sec to climb.

I dunno, for 1500 gil I can't say I was high-ranked.

Okay, so I can't express this with still pictures, but a brief flash occurs between "Oh, I was..." and the next line.

Many guys in first class. Who might he be?

Oh. Uh...

Well, this is a bit of a strange topic.

You don't wanna talk about him?....Um, you know, I think I'll give you my bodyguard services for free. You can keep that date if you want.

Some weird horse bird carriage?

Why does she get a different overworld model and I don't?

Aeris, I want to ask about her overworld model too!

Guess I'll just have to chase her.

Aeris should be right by the next room. I can feel it.

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 25: This cannot end well

That I would do, Aeris, but this is a new town, which means I have to talk to lots of people here on the off chance they might give me an interesting reward. Or see if the new shops are good.

I shouldn't really need an Inn right now.

We all get those moments of indecisiveness.(or is it un-?)

I guess I could just check it out. But first, let me check out more of this room.

That would immoral of me. That, and I'm sure her mom would have a fit with me. I don't want that.

Anyway, deciding to check out the shop on the right, we find Johnny, whoever he might be.

I'm not sure how you're supposed to know what this means the first time.

Because seriously speaking, who is Johnny? You can talk to him in Sector 7 when he gets kicked out of the bar and according to what I read he is the guy the parents were talking about in the Sector 7 house, but I inferred at first those guys were the parents of some AVALANCHE guy.

Oh yeah, and he reprehends you for being with Aeris. Meh.

There will be one if I see another nonsense script around here.

Eh, what's the deal Shinra troop?

.....I'm just going to assume this guy wants to quit his job. A fight right now would probably put me in a bad image and never let me in the shop.

Oh, so it's that kind of shop. I get you.

I guess at least they care about the names of their girls.

The mafia is involved with this brothel too? What the hell?

You can tell the script writers have a colorful vocabulary since they use the world dilettante. Too bad this script still has confusing lines.

This is a terrible brothel. I immediately give it a 3/10. Let's just leave.

Ooh, items!

A gun in the ceiling tries to shoot at you when you use the computer.

Like me in Smash Bros. 4!

Sure, I guess.

Nah, sounds like a scam. (in retrospect, maybe I should have just for more dialogue, but whatever.)

Buy what?

If you say so.

Wow, how uninteresting.

Guess I'll go north.

I know a guy who would gladly eat it.

It's probably decomissioned...right?

I also have a friend who would disagree.

Hmm...

Oh, so it's a gym. Nah, I'm fine.

Those things happen, dear.

I guess?

Eh, it's all good. Let's see other places.

I wonder what's in here.

I guess they are.

If nothing else, at least this pair won't commit to a suicide pact.

Guess I could check-

Oh.

Oh.

Let's not do that.

Nifty place.

Freaking hell, it just had to be the mafia's mansion.

Uuhhh...

Wait, no!

Aeris, I appreciate you and your mother, but most importantly I appreciate your mother not wanting against me.

I did not think of that.

Ugh. What now?

Please tell me your thoughts are sane.

But my masculinity!

Look at my sweet huge sword. And my sweet perfect spiky hair. I can't lose my masculinity.

My masculinityyyyyy-

 

[freakworld]

i literally have to catch up with this im so sorry

 

[LN1]

nah it's fine. just remember to actually do it pls.

Spoiler: Ep 26: I can feel the train wreck coming.

While the game doesn't take away my masculinity, I guess I should check the Weapon Shop.

Not bad. Guess I'll go outside with a Mythril Armlet.

Well, I guess here is a good place to start going downhill.

A delay is no problem. There have been good delayed things.

That must suck. Tough luck, though.

y

Not a problem for me.

Aeris pls.

That doesn't sound so bad to me.

*sigh* This is gonna be a long day.

Near the Weapon Shop...

...is the Clothes Shop girl's father. Also, just saying, I couldn't tell from the model that the Clothes Shop girl was a...girl. I dunno, a man running a dress store somehow didn't seem odd at this point, I guess.

(I really don't want to, but Aeris is here.)

I guess it can't be stopped.

I might as well.

(I'll pretend I don't hear.)

(It's for the best.)

(I'm just a man with a really big sword. Do I really deserve a dress?)

(I guess at least this drink can't make me wear a dress.)

(I wonder if investing all that money on a Mythril Armlet was a good idea.)

(I could maybe have bought Items somewhere. Oh well, such is life.)
http://i.imgur.com/1jb8F6G.png[/img width=400 height=225]
Unfortunately.
[img width=400 height=225]http://i.imgur.com/ruN4rjz.png

Cotton? Should a dress really be made out of cotton?

I've never worn one. How should I know?

But my perfect spiky hair!

What is even going on!?

This doesn't get better.

Not yet. Oh how I dread that yet.

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 27: This was a terrible idea.

Common sense would tell you that if the game wants you to hit the gym, you hit the gym. That's exactly what you should do. Should you be curious and decide to wander around, this guy will gladly allow you to enter the brothel.

I'll be perfectly honest here. I didn't know this was a thing and just went straight to the gym on my first playthrough. I mean, the game has been linear so far, so why wander around?

You also get this nonsensical script. What in the actual fuck is this?

I sound kinda annoyed, and to be honest, I didn't really care to do this but of course this playthrough wouldn't be thorough without it.

Like, I don't know. I guess this isn't a bad section of the game, but I don't feel satisfied for finding this "secret" really.

I also don't really care too much for how silly this events are supposed to be. I dunno, I guess I'm just heartless.

*sigh* Anyway, here are the honeybees for you.

They don't like you a whole lot.

I do believe there was something to this room. I think you were supposed to talk to someone multiple times. Anyway,

Let's properly pick a room.

Whatever.

Sure.

Whatever you say.

Well, I guess now's a good time to get prepared.

Uh oh.

What the hell is going on?

This isn't a good time!

I don't like you either, weird voice.

I don't like your cryptic sentences.

I was going to do that anyway!

Uuuhhh

What the fuck?

What the FUCK!

WHAT THE FUCK!

Is this really happening!?

GET! AWAY!

PLEASE!

I figured that, but I didn't figure it would end like this.

I don't get it at all.

I guess I could take a look while I'm still here.

Too tiring?

Grandchild and grand dad interaction?

Oh, they're just two grandparents called Grandpa and Grandma. Huh.

Weird.

I wouldn't quite say that.

That's enough dialogue.

Okay, that was an experience.

I don't care. I have all the Potions and Phoenixes I could ever want.

Tough luck, Shinra guy.

Hey, Aeris.

500? That's more than a Mythril Armlet!

Tangentially related: This being a PS1 game, you can go above 1 million gil. But it takes a bit of effort to get that high.

Aeris, what things aren't you telling me?

Aeris actually gives Johnny 1 gil. How generous of her.

Now let's just continue on with our lives.

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 28: Squats

At this point, whatever.

What of it?

I'll gladly grind on randoms if it means this can end at all.

That, doesn't really add up in my opinion.

Fine. At least they're not push ups or such.

Whatever you say.

Well then.

Let's just do that already.

Ok, fair enough.

Easy enough for me.

Yeah, that seems about right.

Nah.

Alright, let's go then.

There is nothing much to say about this. Just press Square, X, and Circle/O in that order multiple times.

He the bro you the me.

At least it matches my hair color.

I couldn't capture this with still images but what occurs here I actually find funny.

This woman dramatically punches Big Bro, throwing him quite a fair distance.

But I guess my humor doesn't matter. After all, I'm the kind of guy who doesn't find the rest of this part funny or such.

Well, guess I might as well finish the set already.

Well, *breathe in* let's do this.

And here we go.

Ugh.

Well, at least I didn't pay for it.

This is gonna go over so horribly.

I think mine would go well on you. What do you think?

I insist, how about mine?

Maybe *points to self* this one?

Well, I guess it was obvious that wouldn't work.

Meh.

I don't remember if I forgot to snap a line in particular or if the script really goes this weirdly(or maybe there was some gesture in between). Anyway, we both are ready now.

*sigh* Let's do this.

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 29: Was it worth it?

This is uncomfortable.

Alright then.

Whatever you say (this one's sarcastic).

Well, there's not many doors here. Can't be that hard to find her.

Maybe behind the open one.

There we go.

Well then, this isn't a conversation for me, a man, to interfere with.

(She just told you, Tifa.)

(Park, playground, what's the difference?)

(This nothing relation has put me in an embarassing situation...)

(What do you think, Tifa?)

(That's not what it sounded like when Aeris told you she was with me in the park.)

Ugh...

The one and only.

I dunno if I really will need to restore MP but I guess I might as well.

I was the victim of unfortunately rushed plan-

Sheesh, calm down.

I don't feel alright though.

(You're not sounding like a just childhood friend again.)

I mean, the mafia boss's mansion, really?

Seriously speaking, Aeris's action is awkward. Why does Aeris not want to listen to the conversation? If we can assume it has to do with feelings for Cloud or whatever, why would she assume Tifa's motive for being in Don Corneo's mansion have anything to do with that? And if it's not for that reason, then what for? She doesn't like this place? She doesn't like this weird-ass basement dungeon? Since her model moves to cover her ears, I can assume that she does the same thing in the original JP version, regardless of what she might have said then(I mean, maybe the ear covering doesn't happen in the original JP version? But I'd like video proof if that's the case.). Maybe I'm just too dumb to get it?

Anyway, Barret presumably scared the man a lot.

This mafia is weird.

Lech refers to the Don being a man with sexual desires and indulgence. I guess it's just a somewhat obscure word some people happen to know. Not me before I searched, though.

I guess even Tifa agrees this did not go well at all.

What a sad, strange man.

Something tells me that won't be so difficult.

Aeris covering her ears didn't matter because it didn't even work.

Oh god.

Uuuhh, shit.

This is not my day at all.

I trusted her and you can see where we got.

I guess sometimes you just have a Marle/Lucca in your life.

Must we really go?

What a pushy man!

*sigh*

Now they're double teaming me. *pout*

In your dreams, Tifa.

Well then.

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 30: A nice change.

I do not like that laugh.

*sigh*

I think blue dress girl is better.

Yeah, she is good.

*drumroll*

Finally something starts going well.

These guys though.

I'll have to deal with them, I guess.

So I must be alone in this room.

I can't wait to smash his face in when I get the chance.

Ok, so get this. These weirdos start slowly walking towards you, because they see you as a woman and lust for you. That's just real unsettling and a little disturbing.

This guy contains you so you cannot escape easily.

This asshole knows it all well. Anyway, you can talk to the creepy guys.

I'll kill those ants in your pants real hard, you better be on guard, unlike a spoony bard, and I don't accept credit card. (uh, I fully accept those were bad rhymes.)

This glow denotes the power I will use to kick your ass.

I hope you can appreciate them when I use them against you.

I will gladly share hearts with you, you O-. I hope you love my AB+.

I'd rather watch that TV that clearly hasn't ever worked.

The reason I do is

*puts man clothes back on* Get ready for a humiliating defeat.

Well, if you want to start the fight, be my guest.

Scrub.

I don't even have to try to dodge you. I easily win the damage race. (they just about get 2-shot)

Anyway, those guys are pretty simple.

Much of the same thing in the first battle.

However, this one guy can take the over 100 damage Braver takes.

And hits quite a bit harder.

Not good enough though.

Nothing like a good Item after getting a good fight in. Yup, this is turning for the better now.

Better look for Aeris.

I guess I better go help her.

Oh.

Very nice.

But still, this weird basement dungeon. You alright?

Mine would too, I guess.

Let's patch up a bit to prepare to rescue Tifa.

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 31: Chop chop

Tifa, we're coming for you!

Corneo is, of course, a sad lech.

Tifa, of course, tries to get the dirt on what Corneo knows.

Corneo is a bit clueless.

Corneo tells Tifa he wants to do the you-know-what, but Tifa refuses to start.

Corneo's brain is presumably muddled by how much blood is rushing down, so Tifa can't force the dirt out of him.

Don, say hello to my blade. I think you two will have a great time together.

Tifa does a spin to change her clothes between these two snaps.

Comply with us or my blade will have a fun time with you.

You catch my drift?

Tell us all about it.

Orders, you say?

Aeris, it's your turn.

Aeris's strength is probably higher than that of your dumb guards. So please comply.

What an unusual thing.

Now this is some good dirt.

Two words: Beat. Rush.

If you say so. *smug shrug*

Huh?

Oh shit!

This is not good.

You live for today, you sly, sad man. I can't waste time on you.

Let's go!

You told us enough.

*sigh*

Okay, I'll admit I answered this one based on prior knowledge.

But it doesn't matter.

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 32: There's an Aps for that.

As our party falls to a ridiculous fall they'll presumably survive, we cut to Shinra themselves.

This Reeve guy argues about the logic of using the effort to drop a big, important plate just to kill a few.

Come to think of it, this really is some kind of dumb plan. Shinra is literally destroying a part of the structure of Midgar. President Shinra is clearly nuts.

Reeve mentions that the Mayor is against this.

The uselessness of the Mayor aside, you would not be wrong in thinking the Mayor refers to the mayor of Sector 7. After all, that's the Midgar city concerning this whole plan. But here's the thing. This Mayor is actually the mayor of the entirety of Midgar. That's pretty weird. Like, I get that the idea is that Shinra is the one really in charge, but I think that whoever wrote "The Mayor" to be the mayor of Midgar either accidentally used the wrong governmental position or forgot Midgar is a humongous place made of multiple towns and cities.

But I suppose that's just pedantry over a minor character.

Reeve cannot object any further.

A weirdly done 5-line dialogue box. Anyway, this seems pretty bad for us.

Back to our heroes. They are now in some sewers.

I guess not.

Some monster sounds(I forget if like shaking or some growl) occur, and we know what that means.

Yeah, this is what I live for. Say hello to Aps, the third boss.

Sewer Tsunami is what you'd expect: a Tidal Wave-like attack. The twist here is that this attack also damages Aps. This time the Sewer Tsunami goes through Aps first which means he takes more damage.

Cloud's Ice deals some alright damage.

He doesn't seem to take Fire quite as well though.

Once again, Aps hurts himself more than we do.

Unfortunately Tifa has no Materia here, so she can use her physical and Items, I guess.

Now, Aps uses the Sewer Tsunami differently.

It hits the party first so it deals more damage to us and less to Aps.

Aeris's Limit Breaks differ from the ones we've seen so far.

Healing Wind heals each party member by an amount equal to half their max HP. Aeris's Limit is non-damaging, but rather buffs the party. This isn't strictly true of ALL her Limits, but the exception doesn't really serve as the "stronger attack" Limits we've seen.

Ok, now for Tifa's Limit.

Meh, a Hit♥.

Truly, meh. A Yeah! would have done much less unimpressive damage.

Alright, this is good and all, but I have little more to show.

Just this attack. Lick deals little damage but more importantly it inflicts Sadness. Sadness reduces the damage the party member takes but in exchange the Limit bar fills slower. Slower on top of the lesser damage btw. Not purely as a result of it.

You only need to know I also used Healing Wind another time in the battle. Aps has 1800 HP if you wanted to know.

Alright then, now that we took care of that, let's continue.

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 33: I forgot to bring a Tent.

...

We gotta get going. That pillar won't hold forever.

Naturally, the sewer has a few new randoms.

Crabs aren't too tough.

Oh hey, a Yeah!

Still not as good as a Braver.

They do have a Bubble attack which like most doesn't do significant damage.

A simple Fire does more than a Yeah! Beat Rush. Well, that might just be due to variance.

Just some physicals, I guess.

Even Aeris's back row physical does more than Bubble.

Generic early-game loot.

There is a yellow Materia here. Oh my, Steal.

I guess I should put that Mythril Armlet I bought on Tifa.

Steal is exactly what you expect of it: use this on enemies and either read a guide for the loot you want or don't read one and hope what you targetted has a good one. Some steals allow you to get nice Items early, some steals are a less tedious way to grind Items, and there are a few steals that give you neat equipment you can't otherwise get. Basically the same thing it has been in every Final Fantasy since...3? 4? I know Edge in 4 can Steal(although I have very rarely succeeded with that), but I never played 3(NES/DS) so I wouldn't know.

Potions!

The other random from the sewers. They put more of a fight than the crabs.

They even know the better Water-type move.

They are weak to Bolt, I think.

Ooh, a Hyper. That's an alright steal. Although some shops actually sell those things, right now they're a little pricey. What Hypers do is cure Sadness if you have it, and if you don't have it, they inflict Fury. Even outside of battle. With Fury status, the Limit bar fills faster, but in exchange attacks are less accurate. Both Fury and Sadness have their place in challenge runs, so their Items are fair things to have. Even in a run with no restrictions, a status that gives you faster Limits and a status that makes you take less damage are still neat.

This is Final Fantasy VII. No fall is too high.

I couldn't snap it, but here's something nice that happened. So after a non-particular random battle,

Cloud learned a new Limit Break.

Cross Slash is gained by using Braver 10 times or so. We'll see it when we can use it.

Only two rooms, and we're out.

We're too far in now.

Well then, guess we'll do that.

I didn't have any Tents, so I had to use Potions and Ethers for this.

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 34: Actual ghosts in the train graveyard.

Absolutely freaking neat. Hi-Potions are half decent recovery items for what they're worth right now.

A few new randoms.

Drain is a spell that, well, drains HP.

It deals some non-elemental damage and the caster recovers exactly as much HP as the spell did in damage.

Guess this dragon isn't really weak to electricity.

Nothing spectacular.

Ghosts seem to be rather weak to Fire.

Let's use that new Cross-slash.

One, two,

three! By the way that's the Japanese character for misfortune. I didn't manage to snap the damage though.

Ghosts aren't weak to non-Fire magic, but you might have figured that.

Ghost Hands! They steal MP when used. I won't be using them, but hey, this is not too bad of a steal.

Graviballs cast Demi(deals damage equal to 1/2 target's current HP). Fractional spells were kind of awful in 6 since any enemy that you could actually Demi could just be hit with Doom/X-Zone instead. In 7 they're actually halfway decent though since fractional is kind of an element. This means that there are bosses that are vulnerable to Demi and heck, some enemies that are weak to it and thus can be insta-killed.

The Potion is actually on the lower part of the train.

Dragons have Ether as steals. Can't buy those yet so that's nice I guess.

Traversing through stage polygons.

Nice.

Two Potions in a row, man.

Ok, now this is something else.

That damage wasn't half bad.

It seems that Mr. Horseman counters spells by casting Silence.

Silenced party members cannot cast spells. Simple as that.

Ooh, a weapon for Aeris. I won't be giving it to her now though.

I mean, we're almost out of this place and I kind of know what happens next.

No, Aeris doesn't die in the events that happen next. Why would you think that?

The Items you get here are pretty generous.

Enter this train once to push that cart.

And again to get it out of blocking your way.

Side note: The dragons here absorb Ice attacks. So that's how that is.

Operate this other train and use it to get out of here.

Alright, this is pretty close to Sector 7. Let's go.

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 35: Why do things with 3 party members when you can use just 2?

Train man, please leave. It's not good to stay here.

I'm gonna miss you, Train man. If all goes wrong, may there be an afterlife for you to prosper on.

For now.

The only person I know capable of gun fire would be Barret.

He must be up there then.

I know you're only a secondary character but please, you can survive this fall.

Right?

Right?

He can still talk. Maybe there's hope.

What about your bar, Tifa?

Marlene!

The pillar might fall any minute.

This is serious. Please evacuate immediately!

Okay then.

Guess I'll never know what was beyond there. Or if there even was anything.

Stubborn people.

Even in the face of death, the Item Shop man still has some stuff to give you.

Actually, the things you can buy has increased a little bit.

Not bad indeed. Come to think of it, dunno why I was saying that the Sadness/Fury items were costly rn. Maybe I thought they cost 300 each?

Not forgetting this time.

Tranquilizers are like opposite Hypers. They cure Fury and inflict Sadness if you don't have Fury. Simple as that. I'll bring a few of each for good luck.

Yeah, I think you underestimate how big the plate really is. Hope I can get to see you again.

I'm sorry...

If you get such a chance...

Aeris won't be in our party here so let's give Tifa the Materia Aeris had.

Or I guess Restore-All. I mean, I can't waste that Materia link.

Party was automatically fully healed, so I just saved.

Biggs, this is not about me right now. You need help.

Bye then.

A huge plate indeed.

Say hello to the weird helicopter people. They're the random encounters here. Their attacks don't do much damage but they attack fairly fast.

They also survive a Bolt but take quite some damage from it.

Beat Rush, not so much.

Tifa's Limit isn't so impressive right now, basically.

Cross-slash is fairly strong though. Inherently has slightly more damage than Braver and can inflict Paralysis.

Levels, Potions.

Is it really the end for you?

I guess this is goodbye.

Helicopter men can have Potions stolen from them. Nothing much else to say.

We're at the top now. Let's go.

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 36: We tried

Uh, sure.

Good idea.

Ok, I only need to make one quick change here.

You can have some Materia, Barret.

Okay, that's good. Now we're ready.

*unsheathes*

Damn you. I am never visiting the state of Nevada again.

Ok, so a quick search tells me that this isn't a popular typo and puts me in doubt that it even "should" happen. So I guess I'll just let this one pass.

We finally get to fight Reno. He always starts with Pyramid. Pyramid traps a character in a pyramid and that character cannot take actions. Just like being stoned or KO'd, this counts towards a Game Over. That is always his first attack, which is why most true solos require grinding to the point Reno can be killed before he can even attack. However, one character can solo Reno without much fuss about killing him fast. (slight spoilers for a Limit we haven't seen yet and I guess this battle)

The Pyramid can be broken by attacking it. Magical attacks work too and you can even use Limit Breaks on them, but I use basic physicals since that's the simplest action that wastes no resources whatsoever.

Tifa's physical is still not too impressive.

Cover has kicked in many times but this is the first time I snap it.

Electro-mag Rod, besides dealing halfway decent damage, also inflicts Paralyze.

Magic does pretty good damage on Reno.

Limits are good too. Otherwise, not much else to show. He has a basic physical but nothing too spectacular. He has 1000 HP. Figure it out.

Alright then.

Tifa, can you work it out?

This is not good.

You! Stop this now!

It's not funny.

Grr...

And Aeris is in trouble too. How peachy...

Damn, I wish I were Super Mario right now.

Is that really the case?

I can't let you get away with this...

Tseng slaps(punches?) Aeris after she tells Tifa about Marlene's safety. Just to show how much of an ass he is.

We couldn't save Sector 7. *sigh*

Is this the end?

Guess we don't have much left.

Okay then. 1, 2,

3!

...

*sigh* It was worth attempting.

Not even Jessie could have dreamed of making such a blast.

Damn Shinra. (YouTube video of the FMV)

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 37: Where now?

This close to the playground...

Not to ruin Barret's moment, but does one really split that name into three syllables? I've only ever heard it as Mar-Leen, not as Mar-Leh-Neh or something like that.

Two real pals.

This is a natural reaction after Barret saw the people dear to him crushed hopelessly.

...

Still, we can't leave him like this.

Come on, Barret.

Please, settle down.

Please do not release your anger. Your gun arm could harm more innocent people.

Barret shoots at the wall for a few seconds. At least he didn't shoot anyone...

It's okay, Barret. We understand.

A trustworthy person took care of her, after all.

Aeris knows what she did. I'm sure of it.

Well, sadly those are all the good news.

There's no way they could have survived. Sorry.

...

The plate above and the slums were both eradicated. Damn Shinra.

An entire village and an entire city.

Well, he's right.

They did blow up the plate themselves this time.

That's true too.

Well, your fight most definitely.

But now that we are the only members left of AVALANCHE, it's not the same thing anymore.

Well, I need to settle something right now.

Be seeing you. What I'm gonna do is personal.

Now how am I going to tell her?

Specially after she told me to my face that she didn't want Aeris to be with me.

Guess I can think of that while I avoid the houses.

 

[LN1]

On a side note, Imgur has changed albums again. It's not as awkward as the time they forced a single kind of album layout(still somewhat salty about that...), but it's kind of strange to see albums being different again.

Spoiler: Ep 38: Between the plot

So get this. For a very brief moment, the party consists of Cloud alone.

I managed to get a random encounter during that time.

These things die easily but they get turns pretty fast and can sometimes hit twice in one turn for some reason.

Their damage is not so minuscule and they survive a non-crit basic physical. This encounter is in paper tougher than Air Buster and I'm not even kidding.

Of course Tifa and Barret weren't going to leave Cloud alone, except for the one encounter they did do it.

Something important.

Tseng mentioned them.

Does this legend have anything to do?

Guess I'll have to find out later.

Nothing much to show. I didn't really encounter any new random.

People here at Sector 5 most definitely were witnesses to the fall of Sector 7.

There there.

It'll all be fine.

I'm sure some countries can relate.

This game doesn't have hidden items the way Pokemon, but I guess as an(a?) NPC, you could have found one. Anyway,

I still don't know what you're doing here.

Any non-IE challenge can agree with that.

This is still a weapon-less shop, but I can do with more Titan Bangles.

To Barret you go.

No significant Materia changes.

Materia Shop Man here sells the same stuff.

So I don't buy anything. That second sentence is also really weird. Don't shopkeepers usually say it backwards when they're being asses towards your poverty?

Item Shop Woman is still rude, but she has items so you bet I'll buy some.

You can never be too safe.

Trust yourself man predictably doesn't take the news well.

There's no way that's true.

Beh, that's a lie but we can't just force the news to broadcast the truth. Not from here at least.

Dealer?

So yeah, you get this Turbo Ether if you don't take the money. An alright prize, if somewhat counter intuitive to get. I'm sure this isn't the first game that rewards you for not recklessly looting stuff(6 had something like that, and I'm sure games before FF6 had something like it), but the general instinct is to loot things.

I guess in the end it's just a Turbo Ether. An Item that fully restores MP is not bad at least. It does take a bit of a while before you get Elixirs in this game. But you can live without one.

You can farm an infinite amount of them so for a perfect inventory it doesn't really matter whether you get it or not.

Anyway, this poster is part of a sidequest. You want to read it. You can't permanently miss this one since this area is permanently revisitable. However, after a point we'll be leaving Midgar and it takes a while before you're given the opportunity to return. And that opportunity is different from the plot part where you are forced to return. But going into detail would be spoilers. Simply know that once you leave it'll be a while before you can return.

Well then, to Aeris's mom.

 

[LN1]

Imgur also changed the appearance of the uploader function. Awkward.

Spoiler: Ep 39: The truth

I did not think of a good way to say this.

Sorry Miss. I tried my hardest.

Huh?

Hmm.

I heard something like that from Tseng. But still,

...

The closest one is in Sector 7.

This flashback has a much different mood from the present.

It's pretty hard to show it in still images, but everyone moves around so happily here.

Well, except for, unfortunately, Elmyra here.

Maybe.

A time when walking from Sector 5 to Sector 7 was just a little long.

Alright, so I unfortunately forgot to snap it, so just imagine the sentence afterwards.

Aeris's real mother here was dying, and Aeris(the little girl) was griefing as she saw her mother dying. Then she ran to the other side and Elmyra started hugging the sad girl.

Aeris seems to be a special girl. Funny that.

Biodegradation? No, that doesn't seem fantastical enough

Hmm...

Back to the flashback.

Huh?

Ok, so real talk.

Does Aeris "sense" all deaths or just the ones regarding people close to her? I mean, Elmyra's husband wasn't really close to Aeris, more like close to Elmyra who was close to Aeris. I doubt Aeris was waiting for the moment Elmyra's husband died and asked the planet about it, since that seems awfully morbid for her. She probably was just informed by the planet when it happened. If this is the case, does the planet just choose to tell Aeris when select people die or when any non-particular person dies? I know it sounds strange, but this is a real question I have. And yes, I'm taking talking to the planet at face value because the game does too.

So that's how that was.

How long has this been going?

So naturally, Aeris is one too.

Sounds like a nice fantasy.

Yeah, that sounded like it won't be as good as Tseng made it sound.

Lying so as to avoid being subjected to Shinra's methods.

Shinra must have been real scary for Aeris.

Good.

I guess that's the one thing she could use to her favor.

!

Is that so?

Barret takes responsibility for his actions. Nice, actually.

I mean, he was fighting his most important fight yet.

Planet or not, he fought for the lives of AVALANCHE and Sector 7.

...

That would be the best to do right now.

She probably doesn't...

Thanks for taking this as well as you did. Sorry for the danger I put your daughter through.

 

[LN1]

I apologize for the delay this episode got. I had troubles getting the uploading to work properly and Imgur is still being a bit incovenient with its uploader compared to the old uploader.

Spoiler: Ep 40: We're set.

...I guess it's good that I'm not Barret's son.

Yeah, I was just checking on you.

I'm glad about that.

(Ok, but for real. I feel that the answer to such a thing is not exactly binary. At the very least, I think "I hope so" encompasses something more than just a yes. A "Probably" or "Seems like it" would not mean everything that "I hope so" does.)

(Like really, this choice feels a bit off. I can't answer a "Seems like it" without the implications of Cloud necessarily wanting Aeris that "I hope so" gives. I know it's just three dialogue boxes, but come on.)

A bed, just in case.

You wanna go too, right?

Obviously attacking Shinra at their main center of operations means they're gonna put the most resistance against us. Gotta be ready.

Hmm...

Sure.

Thanks.

Elmyra, I promise you that we all are getting out of this alive.

...I did not think this through.

If there's nowhere else to go then.

Levelling up after a few randoms on the way to Sector 6.

Sense Materia gives you the Sense command. Sense is basically the Scan of this game. If you don't want to search enemy stats in a FAQ/wiki, then this is for you.

Sure, might as well rest in an Inn for once.

Inns do exactly the same they have done in every entry: heal your party fully(well, except for weird stuff like Zombie status in FF5).

In retrospect, why would I ever go back here?

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm more cultured than anybody affiliated with Corneo can ever hope to be.

I wonder what that is. Guess I'll check the weapon store out.

...Nah.

It's all hard to believe sometimes.

That it was.

This will never happen.

Yeah, no.

Thanks for the offer, but I'm not interested.

This place is

a shop.

An actual, honest to goodness item shop.

You can never be too wary of statuses.

Let's go then.

 

[LN1]

Spoiler: Ep 41: Battery vs. Ether is not as important as Esper vs. Sword

I know someone who can help with that.

Or maybe not.

Maybe you already know this someone.

Anyway, that's enough trash. Let's hit the gym.

Eh, it worked out alright. Well, I guess...

But mastering Monk takes so muuuch ABP.

I'll see about that.

A pretty easy rhythm.

Continue practicing then.

Alright, let's get down to business already.

Mate, I don't think that kind of reselling is legal.

If you insist.

(Game doesn't tell you how many, but he gives you 3 Batteries.)

Well, I hope these work well.

This caught my eye earlier.

Blah blah, I'll equip it.

Blah blah, no noticeable changes in Materia were made.

They're going to the room that is to the side of the Don's mansion.

It has got to be.

The Upper World.

The more luxurious parts of Midgar have to be pretty hard to get to.

Hopefully not one used for electrical energy.

Huh. Is that so?

No other way but upwards.

I wonder how this grafitti(sp?) got here.

Sector 7...Goodbye.

So yeah, you move around just about how you expect to.

No randoms here. Only a climb up.

I hope the wiring still works.

(It spins around before stopping at this convenient enough position. Cloud is also not going the right way.)

(That's more like it.)

I wonder what this rail and wood was originally.

Still a little bit more to go.

Mario would have an easy time here.

The timing is kind of hard to explain, and "before it gets too close" is not really true. You actually want it to be fairly close to you, and when it starts to go the other direction you're certainly going to get a "too late".

When you get the timing right, Cloud won't seem to really be jumping so much as dropping straight onto the swinging bar.

Oh yeah, you can also take a detour to put in the third Battery. If you do it, you'll be rewarded with an Ether. Alternatively, you can keep the third Battery if you want to have as many unique items in your inventory as possible. It's simply, "Do I sacrifice a unique Battery for an Ether that I can easily get infinitely, or do I avoid the thing and not open all the chests?" This choice isn't important if you just want to have good stuff in your inventory. I just didn't bother to use the third Battery, but I don't get a perfectly unique inventory either, so think what you will.

Almost there.

Just one last room transition.

In we go.