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[Lynx_7]

Watering him down for the remake isn't the correct way to handle his abusiveness. Explore the subject matter and its consequences further, give it more weight and nuance than its given in the original, but don't try to shy away from these subjects. It'd be really sad for a modern game to be a step down thematically from a 1997 game. If anything, you'd expect them to handle it better.

 

[SOLDIER]

Damn, I think MadoMagika is pretty garbage, but I've actually always liked Sayaka and always saw her as the most hated character by the fanbase. Good to see someone think otherwise.

From what I've seen, the most vehement "haters" are the same people who overly praise Homura without ever acknowledging her deep character flaws (which ironically is the reason I like her after Sayaka).

In other words, "your waifu is shit compared to mine". In reality Sayaka sometimes beats Homura in some Japanese fan polls, or at least comes close.

Also, Madoka Magica is certainly not garbage.

I also would love Urobuchi to write an RPG for Square.

 

[JuanLatino]

^
It happens once, and it's implied that it's entirely Shera's fault.

It happens again once the party reaches rocket town. He tries to appeal to Rufus, and Rufus basically doesn't give a shit, and then proceeds to take one of his planes.



Wow, you guys really don't get it?

Cid's character isn't supposed to be defensible, he's supposed to be relatable, as a flawed human being. You're supposed to criticism him, that's the whole point.

• You start the game committing an act of terror. You go back to base and hear the news talk about how many people you killed. The characters themselves reference this more than once. It's implied that Tifa and Barrett have been at this for a while.
  
• Tifa and Aerith dress up as prostitutes to infiltrate a base, and then threaten to chop a man's balls off.
  
• The Turks are basically assassins, but are more or less considered comic relief by the end of the game. But that's funny, considering that Reno and Rude are directly responsible for the death of Jessie, Biggs, Wedge, and the entire Sector 7 slums.
  
• Note that Tseng physically abuses Aerith multiple times on screen. He's later an ally.
  
• Cloud is responsible for Meteor, due to Jenova's influence.
  
• Cloud beats Aerith on screen, again, due to Jenova's influence.
  

Flawed, grey-toned and bittersweet situations are what set the tone of FF7, almost nobody in the game is free from criticism of their actions. The world is supposed to be imperfect, dark, and literally dying. Re-writing or removing these aspects does not make the game better written. It just makes it less offensive to you.

If you think a "dark" toned game just means there's blood and killing, then you have a very shallow view of what darkness looks like in relation to human nature. The fact that FF7 doesn't shy away from this in language, tone or themes is probably why it's considered one of the greatest RPGs of all time.


Edit:

A good example of a game with "dark" tones that only really involve alot of people being killed is Final Fantasy IX. The death count in FFIX is staggering, there is a ton of dread being unleashed by the antagonists. But i've never heard anyone call FFIX a darker game than FFVII, and that has to do with the themes. The world is under distress, but it's not depicted as having the same effect on the world as it did in FF7.

THIS so much

 

[Neiteio]

If you want to understand why someone is an asshole hurting others, first seek to understand the hurt they may be feeling themselves.

That's the point of Cid. There's amazing potential for them to go even deeper in the remake. Making him "agreeable" would ruin him.

 

[SOLDIER]

Well, yeah...

This guy is still a fan favorite afterall....

It's okay because he never talks down to any women.

If he said mean things to them instead of just stabbing them, he would be irredeemable.

 

[MogCakes]

Thats the problem I have. I think the game should have portrayed both sides as morally gray and both should have seen real consequences because of it and the story would have been better for it. I'm not saying everyone had to die or something crazy and if the game didn't want to go that way leaving the ending open to what happens to the characters was likely the best idea but if the game had been willing to go that extra mile I think the characters would be better represented because of it and the story itself would be better off. I don't think everyone would love the cast as much as they do but it would characterize the story much better and Advent Children would have been a much different and likely more interesting movie then what we ultimately got which was just fanservice and more fanservice with a heavy dose of emo mixed in.

No the game 'should' not have been a moralistic quandary for philosophical discourse and head-nodding. It was a JRPG meant to entertain and tell a story. I am fine with it being fairy tale because all JRPGs are fairy tales. I'm not sure what point you're trying to make other than "You shouldn't like FFVII and here's why".

 

[jasminlovesyoux]

His final Limit Break is fuckin' sweet though.

This made me laugh !!!

 

[Golnei]

It's okay because he never talks down to any women.

If he said mean things to them instead of just stabbing them, he would be irredeemable.

 

[Shmuppers]

that theme tho.

🙌🙌🙌

 

[LordKasual]

Oh man this is so fun, i have so much to type in my downtime here lol

I've never understood the love for the FF7 cast, many of them are just horrible people. Spoilers for the whole story below since TC hasn't finished the game before.

You brought up Cid and yeah hes very abusive but hes not the only one.

Cloud is a jackass throughout the entire time but the thing that I hated most about his character is when....

Spoiler

After the first Cait Sith sacrifices himself to form the black materia and Sephiroth takes over Cloud he ends up beating Aerith (its not shown well on the screen but you can clearly see it happening before the screen goes dark) which causes her to go off on her own trying to end things. Later on he also gives Sephiroth the black materia when he realizes hes just a puppet because he can't handle the fact that hes not a super awesome guy after all this time. Okay I'm exaggerating a bit here but seriously while its an interesting plot twist the reason for Cloud actively helping Sephiroth at this point just makes him look like a pathetic asshole.

Spoiler

Cloud's psychotic episodes are due to Jenova's influence, the same reason he's so powerful and the same reason he thinks he's Zack for the majority of the game. Sephiroth in the events of the game isn't actually Sephiroth, or at least it's implied to be Jenova using his body as an avatar. This is why Sephiroth speaks to Cloud as if he's an ally at times, and why Cloud wants to kill Aerith (an Ancient, responsible for Jenova's initial downfall) and why Cloud gave Sephiroth's original body the black materia (So Jenova could summon Meteor).

Cloud was being used as an avatar for Jenova's actions, the same way Sephiroth is. That's why they called him a puppet.

Barret is running a literal terrorist organization.

The terrorist organization part is not lost on the cast of the game, they are fully aware of their actions, but are carried forward by their self-righteousness. But the planet is literally dying from the Mako Reactors, and Barret (like many other NPCs in the game) is a product of that.

Spoiler

Jessie's last words are something along the lines of "maybe this is attonement for our sins".

Marlene was essentially doomed to that environment from the start, considering the backstory of how she ended up with Barrett in the first place, and even if she wasn't with Barrett, she'd be a little girl living in either the Sector 7 slums, or worse, the place where she was born...which was destroyed by a Mako reactor. If she wasn't with Barrett, she'd almost certainly be in a worse situation. And being a little girl growing up in a place like Midgar...well, there's a good chance Don Cornelo would have gotten his hands on her eventually. This is just the sad truth of people born to terrible conditions, and you can't really judge Barrett for that....nor was that choice of his (saving the planet vs. raising Marlene) ignored in the game itself, this was directly brought up.

SHINRA on the other hand has absolutely nothing positive going for it. They dropped the plate on Sector 7 because they don't give a fuck about the people who live there, they're all poor. If you think there was anything righteous about their actions, you couldn't have been paying attention during the events of the game.

With Tifa most of what I said about Barret also applies to her but she is sick in another way (Major spoilers)

Spoiler

She knows there is clearly wrong with Cloud near the beginning but when he tells the story in Kalm she HAS to know at that point that there is something seriously wrong with him but she chooses to say NOTHING. She keeps it all to herself and if she had even told one single person among the group such as Barret who shes been working with for years they might have been able to ultimately figure out what was wrong with him before Aerith died or he gave the Black Materia to Sephiroth. While I used this to say she actively chooses to say nothing to make her character look worse honestly this is just a major plot hole that is never explained. I personally find it hard to believe that after hearing events of Kalm form Clouds perspective that she didn't go up to Barret or Aerith at that point and be like... "Umm yeah... I have no idea why Cloud knows all of these things that happened but... that story was full of bull shit and I think there might be something wrong with him. EVEN if you want to argue 'she didn't remember it well' or something like that it still doesn't answer why after the events I mentioned about Cloud BEATING Aerith that they would let him of all people go anywhere near her at the end of disk one.

This one is a bit more complicated...

Spoiler

First off...yes, she did know, she didn't forget. You wouldn't notice when you first play the game, but from the moment Tifa sees cloud after the bombing mission, she's concerned about the way he looks and acts. During the telling of the story, when everyone else is asking questions, she just kind of remains silent. And i recall sometime after the story, she even kind of checks him on a detail that happened.

As for why she didn't say anything, that's anyone's guess. Would you have? In front of everyone? She clearly noticed that Cloud wasn't acting "normal", and probably just didn't want to cause any trouble, especially seeing as Cloud was the carry of the team.

Basically, yeah she probably should have said something...but from a realistic point of view, it's not hard to imagine she would just keep her mouth shut. I personally don't make a habit of arguing with nutcases.

My main point is that a lot of these characters are just awful awful people, killing millions of innocent people, putting the entire world in danger because they are so self centered and don't think anything through. Yes they go through character arcs and are well developed but that doesn't change what they did and I cannot stand how the game puts such a shining light on the group as being these flawed individuals who become heroes, they aren't.

The game doesn't put a shining light on them. On any of them. They are all working for somewhat selfish reasons, but ultimately fight for the greater good, which is what keeps them going. Before the final showdown,

Spoiler

Everyone is aware that Meteor may still kill them even if Holy is freed...not to mention Holy itself might kill them anyway. Cloud basically tells everyone to go leave and be with their loved ones, and nobody will judge them if they don't come back. But since Cloud fighting Sephiroth is ALSO Cloud fighting for himself, he says he's going to go on alone anyway, even if they don't return. The rest of the cast return because they realize that they care more about saving the earth then their own selfish reasons.

Jenova was an external threat to the planet, but the effects of the Shinra Corp. was more or less just as much a plague on the planet as Jenova originally was. The end of the game

Spoiler

implied that the planet itself then judged humanity, as a whole, for its actions.

The only result of that judgement that was revealed (in the ORIGINAL FF7) is that the corruption was purged, with Midgar, the crowning staple of corruption in FF7, destroyed and overrun with life. But it deliberately left out whether or not purging that included humanity.

 

[The Dude]

It's okay because he never talks down to any women.

If he said mean things to them instead of just stabbing them, he would be irredeemable.

Sounds about right

 

[ShadowSoldier89]

FFVII tried to tackle a lot of thematic issues, and Cid's verbally abusive character is one of their best efforts.

It tackles that hes being a piece of shit, it tackles what caused him to be a piece of shit, it tackled why someone would put up with a piece of shit, it tackles self victim blaming, and it tackles pieces of shit potentially being redeemable

Cid is fucked up, and Shera didnt deserve it, but the portrayal, and Shera's act of blaming herself for the way he is and putting up with him because of it, is painfully realistic.

 

[HotHamBoy]

It's a horrible localization.

It's the most charming kind of horrible localization. I am really interested in playing the retranslation, though.

God damn, now I want to play FF7 again for the 30th time. Maybe a good excuse to get the PS4 version... i could seriously talk about that game all day.

 

[Neiteio]

FFVII tried to tackle a lot of thematic issues, and Cid's verbally abusive character is one of their best efforts.

It tackles that hes being a piece of shit, it tackles what caused him to be a piece of shit, it tackled why someone would put up with a piece of shit, it tackles self victim blaming, and it tackles pieces of shit potentially being redeemable

Cid is fucked up, and Shera didnt deserve it, but the portrayal, and Shera's act of blaming herself for the way he is and putting up with him because of it, is painfully realistic.

Exactly. I'm not done with the game yet, but this much seems apparent to me so far.

Cid is a surprisingly well-done character. Ditto for Red XIII.

 

[Icyflamez96]

And Cid is basically an asshole with everyone, I mean, that's how he asks you to drink the tear:

I hope he says this in the remake.

 

[jasminlovesyoux]

This thread made me realize how much I love the ff7 cast. They're all such complicated individuals. It's a really remarkable band of characters.

In regards to the ff7 remake, I WISH it were the exact same game with pretty visuals and kingdom hearts combat, but we all know damn well it'll be completely different. Different dialog, different characterization, and it'll be a damn shame.

 

[Napalm_Frank]

Cid is likeable because he is an asshole :d

 

[random25]

Cid is my favorite character in the game. Don't diss him, man.

He's just a grumpy old man whose dream got shattered and just became an asshole because of it.

 

[Novel Mike]

No the game 'should' not have been a moralistic quandary for philosophical discourse and head-nodding. It was a JRPG meant to entertain and tell a story. I am fine with it being fairy tale because all JRPGs are fairy tales. I'm not sure what point you're trying to make other than "You shouldn't like FFVII and here's why".

If you read the post I was quoting you would see that his complaint about a previous post I had made was directly because he thought that what I wanted (it wasn't) is exactly what you described as JRPG's as being which he thought was boring.

To expand upon this topic, I don't care if the game wanted to be a happy go lucky fairy tale like the story presented itself or a dramatic morally gray quandary the characters were set up as, my point was that the game tries to do both and people end up liking the characters because they view it as one or the other which is great for them but I was arguing that I think that the way the story is told (Cloud+co = Good, Shrina = Evil) masks who the characters actually are and people would not like them as they currently do if the game had actually pointed that out.

I'm not saying people are wrong for liking the characters, what I am saying is that a lot of people like them because the way the story is told or how morally gray the characters actually are which is two very huge and different constructs and characterizations of those characters and I think the people who like the characters because the way the story is told are disillusioned to the true nature of those characters and because of that while I'm again, not trying to say anyone shouldn't like the characters but I've personally never understood why it works so well when the game is purposefully playing both sides and because of that comes off and disingenuous to me and for the most part during many story elements the characters act very out of character. Prime example is how the turks go from these assassins that you loathe from all the terrible things they do to being comedic relief at the end of the game and in Advent Children, the end result of those characters makes absolutely no sense with whom they are just a few hours prior and there is many elements of this throughout the game.

 

[ShadowSoldier89]

and kingdom hearts combat

I cant think of any worse ideas than this

 

[Falk]

Cid is likeable because he is an asshole :d

duckroll*

 

[HotHamBoy]

^
It happens once, and it's implied that it's entirely Shera's fault.

It happens again once the party reaches rocket town. He tries to appeal to Rufus, and Rufus basically doesn't give a shit, and then proceeds to take one of his planes.



Wow, you guys really don't get it?

Cid's character isn't supposed to be defensible, he's supposed to be relatable, as a flawed human being. You're supposed to criticism him, that's the whole point.

• You start the game committing an act of terror. You go back to base and hear the news talk about how many people you killed. The characters themselves reference this more than once. It's implied that Tifa and Barrett have been at this for a while.
  
• Tifa and Aerith dress up as prostitutes to infiltrate a base, and then threaten to chop a man's balls off.
  
• The Turks are basically assassins, but are more or less considered comic relief by the end of the game. But that's funny, considering that Reno and Rude are directly responsible for the death of Jessie, Biggs, Wedge, and the entire Sector 7 slums.
  
• Note that Tseng physically abuses Aerith multiple times on screen. He's later an ally.
  
• Cloud is responsible for Meteor, due to Jenova's influence.
  
• Cloud beats Aerith on screen, again, due to Jenova's influence.
  

Flawed, grey-toned and bittersweet situations are what set the tone of FF7, almost nobody in the game is free from criticism of their actions. The world is supposed to be imperfect, dark, and literally dying. Re-writing or removing these aspects does not make the game better written. It just makes it less offensive to you.

If you think a "dark" toned game just means there's blood and killing, then you have a very shallow view of what darkness looks like in relation to human nature. The fact that FF7 doesn't shy away from this in language, tone or themes is probably why it's considered one of the greatest RPGs of all time.


Edit:

A good example of a game with "dark" tones that only really involve alot of people being killed is Final Fantasy IX. The death count in FFIX is staggering, there is a ton of dread being unleashed by the antagonists. But i've never heard anyone call FFIX a darker game than FFVII, and that has to do with the themes. The world is under distress, but it's not depicted as having the same effect on the world as it did in FF7.

You forgot that Tifa doesn't tell Cloud the truth about himself for her own completely selfish reasons. That Yuffie is a thief and a scammer on multiple occasions. That Barret is responsible for Corel and Shinra fucking them over, for what happens to Dyne (also, he may really love his daughter Marlene, motivating his planetary fight, but he leaves her in the care of strangers most of the time and risks making her an orphan constantly). That Lucrecia is responsible for Vincent's death and resurrection as a monster (because of her relationship with Hojo).

 

[jasminlovesyoux]

I cant think of any worse ideas than this

Hey that's not my idea. Have u seen the trailer? It's totally in the same vein.

 

[MogCakes]

That Lucrecia is responsible for Vincent's death and resurrection as a monster (because of her relationship with Hojo).

She never had to face retribution either. Karma Houdini to the end

 

[entremet]

Seriously, they better not water down this aspect of Cid in the remake. He still needs to be verbally abusive. But they could perhaps add extra character beats that really drive home his obsession with space travel. That way it feels even more natural when he's perpetually hung up on it, to the point of lashing out at a woman who only meant well.

(As I wrote the phrase "they better not," I realized how boned the remake is when it comes to satisfying everyone's expectations.)

You can also be more nuanced and expressive with full voice acting and modern mocap. That should add a lot of character.

 

[stilgar]

I dunno I kinda like Trevor in GTA V.

 

[SougoXIII]

She never had to face retribution either. Karma Houdini to the end

She tried to kill herself but basically can't due to the Jenova cell inside her, so now she's trap in a crystal for all eternity so that Vincent have even MORE stuff to brood about.

Seriously though, Lucrecia is one of the dumbest character in FF7 and her character only exist so that Vincent can have excuses to cut himself.

 

[LordKasual]

You forgot that Tifa doesn't tell Cloud the truth about himself for her own completely selfish reasons. That Yuffie is a thief and a scammer on multiple occasions. That Barret is responsible for Corel and Shinra fucking them over, for what happens to Dyne (also, he may really love his daughter Marlene, motivating his planetary fight, but he leaves her in the care of strangers most of the time and risks making her an orphan constantly). That Lucrecia is responsible for Vincent's death and resurrection as a monster (because of her relationship with Hojo).

I didn't forget any of that. I'm just saying all of this is part of the appeal of the characters themselves, that they are flawed and partially operate off self interest, in a crapsack world where that's really all that matters.

It mirrors real life in a way that a cast of righteous, unfaltering heroes could never.


You aren't really meant to idealize any of them or void them from criticism, only relate to their actions.

The Planet, Cloud, Vincent and Sephiroth are the results of Shinra's greed and pursuit of power

Barret and Tifa are victims of Shinra, who were both promised prosperity and only had their lives completely destroyed because of it

Cid is a product of Shinra's actions again promising the world and then killing it on a whim

Yuffie, in some way is also a victim of Shinra, though i don't really remember her backstory. Again, Shinra took her hometown and transformed it into something else, destroying her culture. Or something.

Cait Sith is just...well, some Shinra employee who is probably tired of being the cause of the downfall of the world.

 

[Polioliolio]

You'll drink your tea and like it.

Fakest tits I've ever seen.
Look, the visible geometry in her chest even looks like skin unable to smoothly meet those silicon chunks.

 

[tkscz]

It's not that he abuses her specifically, he's just a naturally angry person who speaks like that to everyone, like Barret. Just when you first meet him, it looks like it's aimed only at her. If you use him in the party, you see how quickly it's aimed at everyone he meets. Shera is just a push-over to the point where she'll die to make Cid happy. Cid maybe yell at people, but he isn't heartless. Of course he's going to consider her life over his dreams. Shera just has a guilt complex.

 

[HotHamBoy]

I didn't forget any of that. I'm just saying all of this is part of the appeal of the characters themselves, that they are flawed and partially operate off self interest, in a crapsack world where that's really all that matters.

It mirrors real life in a way that a cast of righteous, unfaltering heroes could never.

It's always been my favorite FF cast for a reason.

Everyone on both sides of the conflict is interesting and compelling, even though they are also very cartoonish.

 

[DR2K]

You shouldn't really judge a guy based on his outfit choices.

 

[Pinko Marx]

You can also be more nuanced and expressive with full voice acting and modern mocap. That should add a lot of character.

Nuance isn't something I'd expect or anticipate from modern day square. Especially when looking at whos heading the FF7R project.

 

[Village]

Watering him down for the remake isn't the correct way to handle his abusiveness. Explore the subject matter and its consequences further, give it more weight and nuance than its given in the original, but don't try to shy away from these subjects. It'd be really sad for a modern game to be a step down thematically from a 1997 game. If anything, you'd expect them to handle it better.

They might not have interest to handle that at all. There's that.

 

[MogCakes]

Prime example is how the turks go from these assassins that you loathe from all the terrible things they do to being comedic relief at the end of the game and in Advent Children, the end result of those characters makes absolutely no sense with whom they are just a few hours prior and there is many elements of this throughout the game.

The game does not take itself very seriously. This isn't a game that can be categorized and labeled and judged easily, it is a mish-mash Frankenstein of ideas ranging from comedy to drama to horror. It is a dark game but it is also not a heavily dramatic game. To gain a better appreciation of it you need to change your paradigm from over-analyzing its inconsistencies.

 

[Cynar]

She's not his wife, and he doesn't beat her.

And we're done. He's a hard ass and a bit of a douche. I don't think it should be censored. How he treats her at times is awful but they sound not censor the game. Again, he doesn't beat her.

Watering him down for the remake isn't the correct way to handle his abusiveness. Explore the subject matter and its consequences further, give it more weight and nuance than its given in the original, but don't try to shy away from these subjects. It'd be really sad for a modern game to be a step down thematically from a 1997 game. If anything, you'd expect them to handle it better.

This should be how it's handled.

 

[Kinyou]

I dunno I kinda like Trevor in GTA V.

That would be fantastic for the remake. Just straight up Steven Ogg as Cid.

 

[Robot Pants]

Who's Aeris?

The dude with the cat.
Who dies

 

[Lynx_7]

They might not have interest to handle that at all. There's that.

Then just leave it as it is. Just don't neuter his character arc.

 

[zoukka]

Calling it now they will neuter every single weird/rude/lewd moment from the game in the remake.

 

[pantsmith]

Final Fantasy VII is the story of a broken world full of broken people - which is also the reason I find it so compelling, maybe even moreso than when I first played it.

Cloud is a washed up hero pretending to be someone hes not. Tifa gets gaslighted by Cloud because he is literally the only friend/family she has left. Barret got his family, best friend, and hometown destroyed. Red XIII is the disgraced son of a lion-warrior-thing everyone thinks is a traitor. Cait Sith is a corporate spy pretending to be one of the good guys because its his job. Yuffie is a criminal from a now humiliated post-war tourist attraction. Vincent is a washed up wreck who used to work for the badguys.

In fact, the only seemingly close to normal, functioning party member in the game, Aerith gets straight up murdered while trying to save the planet.

In defense of Cid, no, he absolutely is not a good person. But he gives up his dream of seeing space to save Sheera which hints at the humanity that his potty mouth and alcoholism try to mask.

Like the rest of the cast, he finds redemption fighting to save the planet, so it all works out in the end.

 

[Murkas]

Cid is selfish, impatient and a little insecure. He make mistakes, He is out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can’t handle him at his worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve him at his best.

 

[NipplesAndToes23]

How you going to name the thread that, but not expect people to correct you on it?

Cid was verbally abusive with Shera and it's been a while since I played it, but I think he got a little better after she almost killed herself for him.

 

[OrionX]

Cid is selfish, impatient and a little insecure. He make mistakes, He is out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can’t handle him at his worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve him at his best.

Shera? Is that you?

 

[Lonestar]

Yuffie, in some way is also a victim of Shinra, though i don't really remember her backstory. Again, Shinra took her hometown and transformed it into something else, destroying her culture. Or something.

If I remember right, Shinra had launched a war on Wutai (town/nation where Yuffie is from), and Sephiroth was sent in to win, which I think he more or less did. Not sure if it was conquered/occupied, but I think some sort of piece agreement happened.

 

[Ferr986]

Calling it now they will neuter every single weird/rude/lewd moment from the game in the remake.

They'll not. We still have skimpy Cidney and Luna being slapped scenes in XV.

 

[HotHamBoy]

Calling it now they will neuter every single weird/rude/lewd moment from the game in the remake.

It's going to be visually incredible and everything else about it will be inferior to the original.

But I will always have the original, so whatever.

Nuance isn't something I'd expect or anticipate from modern day square. Especially when looking at whos heading the FF7R project.

Back in the FF7 days, FF still had an idea of what it was. It was a passion project from Sakaguchi and the team.

FF is a corporate abomination, now. I fully expect FFXV to blow chunks.

 

[Espada]

Calling it now they will neuter every single weird/rude/lewd moment from the game in the remake.

Oh, without a doubt. Many people in this thread (and others before it) have pointed out that FFVII is as much about these more mature themes and the many moments of levity (Mr. Dolphin, Squats, Red XIII stuffed into a Shinra uniform, etc...) that litter the game.

And FFVII is a good example of why an RPG (or a length game in general) needs to have a good, entertaining cast in addition to good gameplay. It makes the adventure that much sweeter.

If I remember right, Shinra had launched a war on Wutai (town/nation where Yuffie is from), and Sephiroth was sent in to win, which I think he more or less did. Not sure if it was conquered/occupied, but I think some sort of piece agreement happened.

IIRC, they defeated Wutai in that war and turned it into a tourist destination which you can hear some folks lament. I think Yuffie's father, Godo, mention this. I also think that's a part of Yuffie's motivation for stealing materia as well.

 

[gypsygib]

That was probably the most interesting character interaction I've heard in a long time.

 

[FlynnCL]

You're not exactly meant to like him. In Cid's perspective, Shera broke his dream at a touch's distance, but it was the right thing for her to do. I wouldn't expect Cid to become anything but a miserable person, but in losing it all he also made sure to cling onto the one thing that caused it. He's not supposed to be correct here, but it just made him human to me.

Many of the issues dealt in Final Fantasy VII are handled in ways I'd never dream of (I mean, you're blowing up chunks of Midgar within the first 10 minutes), but I'm not expecting it to. The characters were done well, and I liked how emotionally driven they were which caused them to be so flawed.

I played Final Fantasy VII a few years back, and it's been my favourite ever since. It's one of the best games I've ever played.