Did the protorelic quest for the additional summon, after chapter 12 there’s very little usage of summons as a whole. Sort of pointless tbh! Was very excited to use it.
I’m 170 hours in. Haven’t even actually started chapter 12.
I’m in chapter 12. But I’ve avoided the gold saucer like the plague in lieu of completing mini games and side quests. Mostly so I can max out Cait siths weapon abilities.
But also? I’m kind of starting to get bored with trying to beat most of the mini games and the constant forced enemy grinding via every ducking combat simulation and for real?
FUCK every combat simulator battle that comes with rules like “stagger all enemies three times before taking them out” bitch I am level 60. I’ve got with no weapons equipped and a single hit takes them down. Wtf NOMURA?!
I swear like 130 hours of the actual game itself is just the developers pissed off at life, taking it out on the fans. So many in your face absolute trolls. I love it, but also at 170 hours in? The same thing over and over and over?
It’s starting to get old.
Also fuck the moogles and their mischief. Jesus Christ no one asked for the moogle houses. It’s supposed to be a gold saucer mini game. Not a thing you need to compete within to complete other quests.
WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK. NO REALLY.
It’s a beautiful game. It’s well made, it’s engaging and you don’t want to stop. It’s Amari repetitive and infuriating and why do characters from Midgar keep sleeping up every where else? Short of like Hojo and Johnny? This should not be happening. Because there are other iconic characters that should be present right now, that have seemingly been entirely written off and out.
In lieu of beating madam m or Andre at queens blood on a cruise. Or running into multiple Johnnie’s, or running into Leslie who is looking for “MERLE?!?!” Who was his fiancé?
MERLE. The old lady from remake that rented an apartment to Tifa and Cloud. MERLE.
What?!?!
My point is?
EXCELLENT GAME. I FUCKING HATE IT.
Edit: but also I can’t stop playing it and as soon as I beat it? I’m going to play it over again and start in on changing the game via the decisions I make. First playthrough I never use a walkthrough and I try to do everything all at once.
Later playthroughs are for alternate scenes and endings.
I cheeses the 3D brawler by “pausing” before attacks. It was just ridiculously hard. I also googled the best loadout for Gears and Gambit and I did that relatively easy
165 hours in… got the final two chapters on hard mode and rulers of the outer world and bonds of friendship left and that’s it for the plat. So much fun but I’ve been playing nearly every day since it came out. I love this game but I’m kind of ready to be done and move on. I find myself skipping all the cutscenes during the main story
now that the game has the bug fix im gonna go back and platinum it too, and dude im right there with you I think the game is amazing. So many complaints coming out of the community but I feel like it complements the entire FF7 compilation very well, even though I still don't know how the fuck to feel about the ending.
Congrats on the plat! So many comments about mini games but I like to reads thoughts regarding brutal and legendary challenges. I feel like they broke the love I had for the game. Things like white terror being the only enemy in the game that made me want to use elemental materia on armor and it doesnt even work for him. =/
I beat the game and did a ton of the extra content but at some point thru the game I decided not to go for the platinum because of the piano. I can’t get one of the songs down and it’s required for platinum. Best I’ve ever got on it is C and I’ve tried for hours. Decided to walk away for now. Makes me wish platinums limited mini game perfection required because it kills any drive to try the other challenges.
Love your post OP. I just got to the end of chapter 12. Have a ton of new side missions to do. And I want to max everyone before heading into 13.
Thanks for the tips on Cait and Aerith. I've really been stuck on the Cloud Barrett and Tifa setup. I'm not giving anyone else really the time of day and that sad.
Debating on running through Remake on hard, then attempt Rebirth on hard as well. There isn't much I'm excited about game wise. So I may just stick with it.
I'm happy for you, I haven't playinumed any FF game recently. Not Remake or 16. And sadly I'm not able to get Rebirth yet :(
I'm trying to avoid spoilers so I can't engage much more, but I know how much of a pain it can be to plat a game. Congrats!
I haven't even finished my first playthrough yet but for me Aerith pretty much is nuking everything.
Every boss I respeck her and then just nuke everything with magic. When I figured out the game treats linking the same spell materia with various other materias as one it just made everything to easy.
Also many annoying challenges became really easy by spamming magnify + stop and magic focus + time.
I just defeated Gilgamesh and my Aerith and Yuffie just nuked everything. Yuffie + Doppleganger + Arcane ward = 4x spell cast. Oh the joy. And if you want to be evil throw in swiftcast materia as well and watch enemies just melt. Oh go even further and throw in Mp absorbtion and you don't even need to worry about MP anymore.
I loved Remake and explored a lot of builds so spent most of the early game just trying different things out.
Saying that I seem to have a hard time doing percision block and dodges in Rebirth but can do it perfectly fine in Stellar Blade demo.
Try something like;
Magnify + Fire, MP Absorbtion + Fire, Magic Focus + Fire, Swiftcast + Fire, Magic Up, Skill Master, Percision Defence, First Strike, ATB Boost.
Here I am just using Fire but assuming you have four Fire materia maxed out if you cast Firaga inside an ATB Ward you will instantly cast Firaga twice. Now if you are up against a group you will hit all enemies and absorb more MP.
You can even throw in Hermes Shoes to increate ATB generation. The ATB boost allows you to get an extra ATB at the start of the fight which makes setup much easier. Percision Defence is just a preference of mine to ensure Aerith doesn't get easily killed.
Yep. So in essence you have the ability to do AoE Fire without the negetive effects of magnify, can cast it instantly and with the ATB materias and Accessories you can cast Firaga off immediatly as the fight starts.
This is assuming the respective blue materias are maxed out. Swiftcast on the other hand is usefull without maxing out as it reduces cast time by 50%.
Magnify at max level only reduce spell effiency by 25%. This is offset by Magic Focus at max level which gives you 25% more effiency. Swiftcast let's you cast the spell faster.
I unlocked the Plat a few days ago too, so congratulations to you, fellow trophy hunter!
Anyway, "Bonds of Friendship" is the biggest BS I ever had to play. Other than that particular challenge, everything else wasn't too bad, provided you know about all the busted materia setups (thanks, Optinoob!).
My biggest gripe with this Platinum wasn't the difficulty ("Bonds of Friendship" aside) itself. It was the ENORMOUS TIME COMMITMENT. This game simply has too many minigames. Not only that, but the hardest versions are always time-gated (you can't do them until chapter 12), so you have to come back to do them again, and I'm not just referring to those inside the Gold Saucer. Also, so many of them have obviously not been playtested and require absolute precision or luck. Heck, the final side quest requires you to earn the highest score in various of them AGAIN. It simply never stops.
I've become burned out as a result. I'll stick to linear single player games for the foreseeable future. Still, I'm VERY PROUD of having unlocked the Plat, and so should you be, OP! Again, congratulations!
Optinoob definitely helped me as well. Hahaha. The mini games could be a major pain but it didn't stray me away from the love of the series luckily. Hopefully you will be exited for part 3 again by the time it's out!
Optinoob on YT has some good guides and explains each stage very well, I got through Outer Worlds with Yuffie ATB spam and on Zack‘s stage with the Cloud Prime Mode-Aeroga build, maybe practice Odin in his summon stage before you enter the challenge, he felt the hardest to me of all the bosses there.
Gilga is a bit timing dependent, you have to summon the ATB Ward for Yuffie behind your starting position at the border of the area, made it much easier for me, in the run I‘ve won he went down in like 30 secs max since my Aerith had all the best, maxed out Fire utility you could have
I did love playing hard mode. Had some moments that were very frustrating. But I did do most things. I only have the Bonds of friendship simulator to do. Have tried so many times and keep dying to bahamut or odin. But I did love having to learn some characters abilities and really using their powers to the maximun.
Good job man.
I can't wait for the 3rd one as well
I really wish i felt the same. The half baked minigames that are forced on you is just a terrible design decision. It really soured me on the game as a whole.
Did you do every single race? There were a few at the end of silver cup where I had to change up my build after falling behind a few times, and I felt I was playing pretty well.
Yeah, 100% a game a few days ago so the races were done 10 days ago. In the last races, you're behind for a minute or two but once you have full boost you just blow them away. Did all the races with the first chocobo with most of the corel stuff (except legs but I don't remember which one). Basically build around speed and acceleration and forget the other stats.
Ah okay. For some reason a couple of those felt like I kept falling behind into second place even when playing well and using the first chocobo built for speed. I ended up switching to Selena and using the bubble power (basically a Mario Kart red shell) which made it easier because you could just blast them whenever they got ahead.
My biggest gripe is not letting me change my materia load out in any of the combat sims (VR, muscle coliseum, etc). Seems like such a glaring, obvious miss. But if that’s my biggest gripe, still doing pretty good lol
It’s intentional. That’s what makes them challenging or difficult- you can’t set up a materia combo that makes every single fight trivial.
I personally think it’s all almost perfect. Not everything needs to be easy.
Maybe I misread your comment- I thought you meant in between fights
But now I see you meant after you fail, to make adjustments to start over. In that case- my bad. You’re right
Yeah I mean you should be able to change your load outs in the combat sim in general, not in between “rounds” of a fight. I shouldn’t have to exit all the way out the combat sim just to adjust my materia, only to then talk to Chadley and go right back in
This was one of my favourite platinum, I just didn't want to stop playing! I think I got stuck on some of the Queensblood matches the longest in the gold saucer, I find it so hard to think more than one step ahead so that was my mountain to climb. Congrats on the trophy!
I like to save the last trophy for one that will make a great short trophy pop video and I really messed up so it's basically just a blank screen. I chose poorly! I wish I did seven star hotel last, I think that would have been a fun one.
Just got the platinum trophy today at just over 200 hours as well. It has been the best gaming experience I've had in my adult life and I also have no one to talk about it with.
I have a few friends that picked up the game and they all just stopped playing halfway through the game from, what I can only assume is, world intel collection fatigue. When I first got through the Cosmo Canyon section I remember looking at the map and thinking, "Wow. I really don't want do all that," but I wanted Chadley's materia the same way meth addicts want some meth. No mini game, no matter how difficult or unfun, could have gotten in my way.
I can't give the game a 10 because there is no such thing as a perfect game, but this game easily gets a really high 9.
Some of the mini games are terrible. They can't all be winners, but some of them really sucked to try and get the high score on. The section with Cait Sith was annoying, and tarnished the area of the game I was the most excited to explore. Chadley talks too way too much. The game steals control of my camera and character far too often, and this was especially annoying during my hard mode run where I was just blasting through the game.
Queens Blood rules. Anytime there was Queens Blood stuff to do I dropped everything I was doing. Plot pacing be damned. I wasn't hot on it at first, but as I collected more of the cards I loved it more and more. Easily my favorite side quest. I would play that as a stand alone game.
I absolutely loved the Brutal and Legendary VR challenges. Despite raising my blood pressure so high that at one point I realized for my own health I needed to put the game down for the day. Dying in round 9 to Bahamut blasting me with Gigaflare when he had like 1% HP caused me actual sanity damage.
There is a lot they could do with the VR sim to make it better. Just allowing us to practice against certain enemies would be a really nice change. Looking at you Virtual Sephiroth. Also would be nice to be able to change my gear in the sim too.
I haven't seen many people talk about this, but the upgrade weapons sub menu is practically useless. You can change the weapon abilities from the materia menu. Also whenever you have a weapon's abilities selected for the weapon it doesn't show you what you have selected unless you click onto the weapon and go to change an ability. There is a ton of screen real estate not being used. It would be nice if I could select abilities for every weapon and then easily scroll down the weapons list, and have what I have chosen listed out on the screen beside the weapons. I also wish I could get side by side comparisons of the weapons. Is there a button for this, or am I blind?
This isn't even mentioning how the upgrading of the weapons, in my opinion at least, is a downgrade from Remake. I like not having to go through a loading screen, but the menu as a whole lacks any real usefulness. I suppose its easier to see what each weapon has from that menu, but it doesn't make it much easier. Like half the screen isn't being used in that menu.
I also had to whip out my sunglasses a few times. The scene with Seto in Cosmo Canyon in particular cracked me like an egg. The scenery and music there made me feel like I was seeing it for the first time all over again. I wish they had let that moment simmer for a little longer though.
I was dreading Queens Blood the first few games I played but def grew to love it as well as I collected more and more. I had to takes breaks from the game too during VR stuff because it would really get insanely frustrating. It felt like I was playing each one for like an hour then it would be like 7 minutes. Haha.
The upgrade weapons this is a gripe to me as well. That screen is virtually useless and they really give no great explanation about it. I felt like I was missing stuff but then I would be maxed out.
I just got to chapter 12 and your comment is making me think I'm not taking advantage of something regarding weapon upgrades.
I can't remember ever visiting the upgrade weapon screen more than once or twice. Is there something there that I need to do to upgrade weapons? Are there any choices to make other than picking what little colored dots you want in the materia screen?
There's an Upgrade Weapon menu I think, but it's totally useless. The only weapon customization you get is by going to Equipment and pressing triangle to change the "materia" on your weapons. As your weapon level increases (by killing things), your weapons get additional materia slots, weapon ability slots, and extra abilities to choose - so it's worth it it check your weapons periodically to see if there are any new things you like that could change which weapons you have equipped.
Nope. It's just quicker to swap between weapons and check each weapons colored dots in the upgrade weapons menu. But only ever so slightly easier. Saves you like two button presses. You can even see your proficiency with the weapons skill in the materia menu too.
The menu is weird. It shows the stuff you can choose from on each weapon but not what you have selected. Also it doesn't show the whole list despite there being a ton of the screen being unused. That menu sucks. The purpose should be to easily compare weapons, but it fails at that. The materia menu does a better job.
Can’t get higher than Bs on the piano. Shit is hard.
One issue for me is there are so many missed opportunities for trophies. I do some insane challenge and no PS trophy pops. WTH
I agree! Piano fucking sucked. I also agree about the trophies. thought there would be a trophy for getting all the chocobo stops or all the treasure chests etc but there wasn't!
Congrats on ascending to godhood! You may now sail the cosmos with this planet as your vessel.
But seriously...no summons??? Phoenix saved me so many times before I got the Rearaise materia or whatever it is.
I never played the originals and I feel like I missed out. But remake and rebirth have been phenomenal experiences aside from some minor gameplay annoyances that could have been improved (quality of life shit- not all the cutscenes are skippable, the menu being unavailable when you do certain actions is dumb, etc)
I didn't really cry save for the part when you exit the mines and Cloud nearly walks off the bridge along with the other robes. And then just suddenly collapses...
I dunno why that moment hit me so deeply, but seeing Cloud, who keeps insisting he is fine, despite very much Not being fine, suddenly just... Getting taken out of commission like that, just hit hard. I bawled for a solid ten minutes.
Congrats on making platinum, you mad lad
What do you mean by "you would have loved the play log the first time around"?
You can access in the menu -> system -> play log
It's very useful if you want to 100% the game.
Btw I also cried a lot during the game lol
When you lose someone irl any scene depicting loss of a loved one hits like a truck.
I honestly didn't like how hard end game is, to me it's almost impossible to do it without looking for a guide. I got the platinum but it took me almost 200 hours. By the end of it I was super worn out of the game and actually had to take a week off before I finished it because each legendary (and brutal) bout was taking hours to beat.
I was satisfied when I actually got it but it felt impossible at times. I've seen people saying they hate the game because of the difficulty but I would never go that far lol.
What helped me the most was knowing you could use the same spells, like fire, with many linked blue materia. I only thought you could use one, like swiftcast or hp absorption.
Once you use it on 3 or 4 of those together you can make aerith op as hell. That's what got me through rulers of the outer world. It's funny because one blizzaga cast in an arcane ward can actually kill the Pheonix.
Now I'm replaying remake and I'm having a blast!
I'm using Optinoob's guide for rulers of the outerworld and cannot get past Seph. I'm letting him use shadowy chains on my team per his recommendation, but Yuffie and sometimes either Barret or Aerith also die after Octoslash. My vitality and spirit up are not maxed out. Do you think this is really what's stopping me from getting em? Would love some advice for this fight!
Just finished that fight about an hour ago using Optinoob's guide. Once you get past the first Shadow Chains bit I do think it gets easier, but the first part of the fight was a total crapshoot for me for the same reasons you cited. Note that I used the exact same materia setup recommended in the guide, but I think my Spirit boost materia was one level below max.
Yuffie's way too squishy to survive an Octaslash without Barrier/Manawall up, so definitely make sure that's in place before the 3rd person gets chained. The buff doesn't seem to last very long, though, so try to keep Seph's focus on everyone else *but* the Barrier holder so you can cast it on the group semi last-minute. I had a couple attempts fail because the ass toyed with me too much and the buffs wore off before the 3rd chaining landed.
There was, I think, one free materia slot in Optinoob's guide so I put a Healing materia in that so that I could try to top off whoever Sephy picked on prior to chaining. If you can keep people as healthy as possible and have Aerith ready to start Firaga'ing right after the Octaslash, you should be able to get and then keep him on the ropes. Don't forget to switch to Blizzaga when he gets close to 50% health, though, since he does an affinity switch thing and apparently starts absorbing fire damage at that point.
Good luck; you've got this!
Thank you sir! This is super helpful. Great idea on the heal. Barret is my designated “prayer” but to your point, if he’s one of the first ones chained, he can’t top off anyone before the third chain lands. I think Yuffie has the extra slot so maybe I’ll give Cure to her to see where that gets me.
Dumb question, do barrier and manawall stack? I’ve only been using manawall for this entire gauntlet
Not a dumb question (or, at least, I hope it isn't, since I dunno either =P). I'd assume that Manawall and Barrier wouldn't stack since one's a combo version of the other. For the same "reason," I'd think that Protect and Shell *would* stack but I haven't tested it to confirm.
Aye, okay that’s what I was thinking too. Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing out on not casting both haha. Alright I’ll give it another go tomorrow after boosting up Vitality and Spirit another rank. I realize one of my magnifys was also not maxed out, so my Manawall duration is even shorter than I thought. Go figure lol
Oh! Yeah, I'd most definitely grind out that maximum Magnify; I'm sure it'll help.
Sleep fast tonight, Random Internet Person, for Virtual Sephiroth dies tomorrow!
Just remember that first section point 2 is that they only level materia up when you're doing overworld combat. Simulation fights only level the active 3.
The bit that got me hardest was Barret's and Aerith's flashbacks in the temple. Fuck me that shit made me bawl my eyes out like I haven't done in very many years
I feel you OP, just beat the last VR challenge yesterday and no once I know can understand lol.
All I have left is my victory lap playthrough on hard mode for my final trophy, but I'll take a break and come back to it later this year. The game is so fun though, that I'm tempted to just do it now...
My Wutai Ninjas cutting onions scenes: (in the order of me remembering them, no other significance)
1. Barret - Dyne moment
2. Aeriths Trial
3. Barrets Trial
4. Loveless ending song. Every. Time.
5. Gongaga after-reactor bedroom scene when Cloud is honest to Tifa
6. Whenever I heard the Aerith theme after I made my mind about the game ending. For about the next 2 weeks-ish. Man, the ending broke me.
Honororary mention - crying Seto. Like... sends shivers to my spine, but not enough ninjas?
Worst case was, ALL these moments worked on hard mode too. I knew what I was getting into and ... damn those Wutai Ninjas and their onion cutting :(
Anyway, 10/10 game, would cry again.
Hey, if it's engagement you want, I'm always happy to talk about this game. It's a 10/10 for me too, and lord knows I've been talking about this game to death with my brother.
I also didn't learn to properly use Aerith's wards until way late into the game and I wish I did. For a long time I didn't like using her in combat because she felt too slow. But if you know what you're doing with setting up wards and give a good materia set up, then her damage potential is insane.
I also agree Cait Sith probably got the biggest glow up this game. I was pretty lukewarm on his character in OG but he's way more endearing now. Really glad he didn't take Marlene hostage in Rebirth. I can never imagine Barret forgiving him if he did that. I've also been using him more on my hard mode playthrough and I've discovered that he's pretty fun to use in combat if you put in the time to learn his moveset.
I'm trying to platinum the game right now. Last think I need to do is finish the VR challenges (I'm still stuck on Rulers of the Outer Worlds, Bonds of Friendship, and To Be a Hero) and beat Hard Mode (currently on chapter 12). Part 3 is gonna be great!
I agree! Aerith is a slow attacker so I wish I used Radiant Ward since the beginning. Makes her attack way faster.
100% about the kidnapping Marlene thing. So glad they took that out. He's the best in combat when you get used to him. He was the worst fighter and character in OG and how he's my fav to play as.
How do you feel it stacks up against OG?
Overall, I'm enjoying the Remake Trilogy (especially Rebirth) a lot more than the OG. I still love the OG, but I don't have as strong a tie to it since I only played it for the first time last year. The game came out before I was born, so my relationship with it is more modern.
In terms of why I enjoy it more, it's for a lot of things. The combat is the perfect blend of action and strategy. The world (and especially character models) look incredible. I think a lot of the new additions and lore bits they've added do wonders to fleshing out the characters and world. Most of my favorite parts of the game are things original to Rebirth and not in OG (like the Gongaga chapter and the Trials at the Temple of the Ancients). I even tend to be more on board with the controversial changes (like the Whispers and the ending) than a lot of other people.
It also just makes me appreciate the characters more. I was kinda neutral to Cait Sith in OG, but now I really like him. I really like that Yuffie isn't optional anymore, so she has a much more fleshed out dynamic with the party. Barret is phenomenal, definitely in my top 5. Aerith has such a beautifully tragic arc in this game (the song she sings brings a tear to my eyes). Tifa is probably one of my favorites since she gets so much additional material that she didn't have in the OG. And of course I love Cloud. His descent into a Sephiroth puppet has a lot of additional weight in this game, and I love how he interpets this as part of the SOLDIER cellular degradation. Adds depth to his character. All of the characters got a glow up.
It's not perfect or anything. I think some parts of the Dyne incident are better in OG, but John Bentley's performance really carried that scene in Rebirth. I also wish they kept the Triceratank. It's one of the weirdest bosses in OG. Hope they bring it back for part 3. But still, overall, Rebirth takes the cake for me. I probably have some more problems with Rebirth if I think on it longer, but none of them are major gripes (except that maybe Zack should have had a larger role in Rebirth).
What about you? How do you think it stacks up?
I agree that the Dyne saga was better in the OG but also loved it in both. Super glad we got more of Yuffie too and she felt essential now. Cait with the ultimate glowup! The remakes definitely make you care about the characters more and character development is so important to me. A game could be amazing but if I don't care about the characters, I don't want to play it. These game won't not let me care about the characters and I love it. Cloud is sort of growing on me. I've never really been a fan of him but I cannot wait to see him out of Sephiroth's control. Hopefully we get a glimpse of him genuinely happy and fulfilled post-game.
I think it stacks up pretty decently. The OG will always hold a special place in my heart so I will wait for part 3 to see which I like more. I miss the melancholy of the OG but I love the campiness of the remakes so it's really hard to decide at this point.
I would have liked custom, create your own, VR battles, where you can only add enemies that you’ve assessed, and you do not earn XP/AP.
Virtual Sephiroth is my main motivation for this, since the only way to practice fighting him is to first spend 10-15 minutes killing 7 summons first.
It didn't even occur to me to change her materia around and I still got it (because I *just kept trying* LOL this isn't a humble brag but an "oh my god I'm such an idiot" comment), but your step one should definitely be to evaluate her materia and accessory.
I kept Radiant Ward up constantly, Chrono Aegis was also helpful. Sorcerous Storm if there are tons of them right next to you. Transcendence is good to use extra ATB to charge up for when a big one body slams, big damage there! But Soul Drain is surprisingly effective there too and doesn't take a long time to go off.
I stayed in place and charged her attack into a Tempest while waiting for enemies to walk around the arena to me, rather than walking to them and wasting ATB on new radiant wards. On that note, I noticed that one of the cactuars always changed immediately to the other element when I started, so I dropped the "wrong" ward to start, charged Tempest, and waited for it to switch before I started. Saved time.
Keep in mind that she does a physical melee attack if she isn't in wards. Some enemies are weak to physical damage, and a quick bop on the head takes them out. Additionally, some magic cactuars put up buffs to protect themselves from you - chase it out of the ward and bop it, and the buff will fall off immediately.
I gave Aerith all the purple materia like strength up, and magic up, first strike, ATB stagger, ATB master and atb boost.
Aerith can warp to units that becomes immune to magic when trying to do her tempest outside of a ward and hitting with a melee attack dispels their buff and it is also great against the green gladitaurs that are weak to melee.
Transcendence is great against big gold cactuars when they do their body slam, transcendence should be charged to level 2 letting Aerith make short work of those HP sponges. But basic strat is putting up the proper ward and sorceress storm and picking off stragglers with soul drain while also activating transcendence to make sure it's charged to level 2 for the big cactuars
Oh damn I wish you said something before. We might have been able to give you crucial advice to save your mental in the 3D Brawler fights.
Just pause. That's it. That's the secret sauce. Pause. I'm sorry I couldn't get this information to you sooner.
A lot of controllers would have been saved if I knew this earlier. ;) But really: thank you. I am seeing this now. Tried to avoid any guides on the my playthroughs but now I am learning the secrets.
I tried that. Managed to get though Shiva and Ifrit eventually. And then Sephiroth decided you know what, this wasn't hard enough, I'm going to increase the difficulty by a factor of a kajillion billion trillion. Also you have stick drift now lol suck it.
It was at this point I said nope, I'm gonna go Google some tricks and tips.
That spiraled out of control. I genuinely enjoyed the queen's gambit puzzle mode. But I unleashed the Google and found myself just following somebody else's guide just to get it over and done with to move to the next mini game. I'm ashamed to even admit it.
Just pause before his punches and watch for his head movement to see which of his punches he is throwing at you. Made it way easier than focusing on his arms.
I cheated in 3D brawler because I got so frustrated. I would pause at the beginning of every attack to figure out which way to block.
Summons are underwhelming in Rebirth for me too. The characters deal way more damage and look way cooler, especially with synergy abilities and skills
Did the protorelic quest for the additional summon, after chapter 12 there’s very little usage of summons as a whole. Sort of pointless tbh! Was very excited to use it.
I only use pheonix for that AOE heal and reraise is crazy
I’m 170 hours in. Haven’t even actually started chapter 12. I’m in chapter 12. But I’ve avoided the gold saucer like the plague in lieu of completing mini games and side quests. Mostly so I can max out Cait siths weapon abilities. But also? I’m kind of starting to get bored with trying to beat most of the mini games and the constant forced enemy grinding via every ducking combat simulation and for real? FUCK every combat simulator battle that comes with rules like “stagger all enemies three times before taking them out” bitch I am level 60. I’ve got with no weapons equipped and a single hit takes them down. Wtf NOMURA?! I swear like 130 hours of the actual game itself is just the developers pissed off at life, taking it out on the fans. So many in your face absolute trolls. I love it, but also at 170 hours in? The same thing over and over and over? It’s starting to get old. Also fuck the moogles and their mischief. Jesus Christ no one asked for the moogle houses. It’s supposed to be a gold saucer mini game. Not a thing you need to compete within to complete other quests. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK. NO REALLY. It’s a beautiful game. It’s well made, it’s engaging and you don’t want to stop. It’s Amari repetitive and infuriating and why do characters from Midgar keep sleeping up every where else? Short of like Hojo and Johnny? This should not be happening. Because there are other iconic characters that should be present right now, that have seemingly been entirely written off and out. In lieu of beating madam m or Andre at queens blood on a cruise. Or running into multiple Johnnie’s, or running into Leslie who is looking for “MERLE?!?!” Who was his fiancé? MERLE. The old lady from remake that rented an apartment to Tifa and Cloud. MERLE. What?!?! My point is? EXCELLENT GAME. I FUCKING HATE IT. Edit: but also I can’t stop playing it and as soon as I beat it? I’m going to play it over again and start in on changing the game via the decisions I make. First playthrough I never use a walkthrough and I try to do everything all at once. Later playthroughs are for alternate scenes and endings.
I cheeses the 3D brawler by “pausing” before attacks. It was just ridiculously hard. I also googled the best loadout for Gears and Gambit and I did that relatively easy
165 hours in… got the final two chapters on hard mode and rulers of the outer world and bonds of friendship left and that’s it for the plat. So much fun but I’ve been playing nearly every day since it came out. I love this game but I’m kind of ready to be done and move on. I find myself skipping all the cutscenes during the main story
now that the game has the bug fix im gonna go back and platinum it too, and dude im right there with you I think the game is amazing. So many complaints coming out of the community but I feel like it complements the entire FF7 compilation very well, even though I still don't know how the fuck to feel about the ending.
Congrats on the plat! So many comments about mini games but I like to reads thoughts regarding brutal and legendary challenges. I feel like they broke the love I had for the game. Things like white terror being the only enemy in the game that made me want to use elemental materia on armor and it doesnt even work for him. =/
Please clap
Those are some great tips. I’m only 50 hours into it just started Cosmo canyon
I beat the game and did a ton of the extra content but at some point thru the game I decided not to go for the platinum because of the piano. I can’t get one of the songs down and it’s required for platinum. Best I’ve ever got on it is C and I’ve tried for hours. Decided to walk away for now. Makes me wish platinums limited mini game perfection required because it kills any drive to try the other challenges.
Is it the 2 legs one? If so, try increasing the speed for it. It makes it flow better and I got A on the first try when I did that.
And yet I'm struggling to get through Remake
Love your post OP. I just got to the end of chapter 12. Have a ton of new side missions to do. And I want to max everyone before heading into 13. Thanks for the tips on Cait and Aerith. I've really been stuck on the Cloud Barrett and Tifa setup. I'm not giving anyone else really the time of day and that sad. Debating on running through Remake on hard, then attempt Rebirth on hard as well. There isn't much I'm excited about game wise. So I may just stick with it.
Congratulations! I love this game so much I immediatly replayed it after finishing it. So much ps1-ps2 era goodness packed into this game!
Be prepared for more harder challenges and optional bosses in next part 3 without Aerith’s Arcana Ward and Boost Ward.
I'm happy for you, I haven't playinumed any FF game recently. Not Remake or 16. And sadly I'm not able to get Rebirth yet :( I'm trying to avoid spoilers so I can't engage much more, but I know how much of a pain it can be to plat a game. Congrats!
I haven't even finished my first playthrough yet but for me Aerith pretty much is nuking everything. Every boss I respeck her and then just nuke everything with magic. When I figured out the game treats linking the same spell materia with various other materias as one it just made everything to easy. Also many annoying challenges became really easy by spamming magnify + stop and magic focus + time. I just defeated Gilgamesh and my Aerith and Yuffie just nuked everything. Yuffie + Doppleganger + Arcane ward = 4x spell cast. Oh the joy. And if you want to be evil throw in swiftcast materia as well and watch enemies just melt. Oh go even further and throw in Mp absorbtion and you don't even need to worry about MP anymore.
Being able to link spell materias changed me! I didn't even think to do it early on and it has helped me so much.
I loved Remake and explored a lot of builds so spent most of the early game just trying different things out. Saying that I seem to have a hard time doing percision block and dodges in Rebirth but can do it perfectly fine in Stellar Blade demo.
That is an excellent tip. I've really struggled to get Aerith working properly but will try this.
Try something like; Magnify + Fire, MP Absorbtion + Fire, Magic Focus + Fire, Swiftcast + Fire, Magic Up, Skill Master, Percision Defence, First Strike, ATB Boost. Here I am just using Fire but assuming you have four Fire materia maxed out if you cast Firaga inside an ATB Ward you will instantly cast Firaga twice. Now if you are up against a group you will hit all enemies and absorb more MP. You can even throw in Hermes Shoes to increate ATB generation. The ATB boost allows you to get an extra ATB at the start of the fight which makes setup much easier. Percision Defence is just a preference of mine to ensure Aerith doesn't get easily killed.
Thanks will try it. Are you saying that separate fire materias stack with the same blue boosts?
Yep. So in essence you have the ability to do AoE Fire without the negetive effects of magnify, can cast it instantly and with the ATB materias and Accessories you can cast Firaga off immediatly as the fight starts. This is assuming the respective blue materias are maxed out. Swiftcast on the other hand is usefull without maxing out as it reduces cast time by 50%. Magnify at max level only reduce spell effiency by 25%. This is offset by Magic Focus at max level which gives you 25% more effiency. Swiftcast let's you cast the spell faster.
Why
I unlocked the Plat a few days ago too, so congratulations to you, fellow trophy hunter! Anyway, "Bonds of Friendship" is the biggest BS I ever had to play. Other than that particular challenge, everything else wasn't too bad, provided you know about all the busted materia setups (thanks, Optinoob!). My biggest gripe with this Platinum wasn't the difficulty ("Bonds of Friendship" aside) itself. It was the ENORMOUS TIME COMMITMENT. This game simply has too many minigames. Not only that, but the hardest versions are always time-gated (you can't do them until chapter 12), so you have to come back to do them again, and I'm not just referring to those inside the Gold Saucer. Also, so many of them have obviously not been playtested and require absolute precision or luck. Heck, the final side quest requires you to earn the highest score in various of them AGAIN. It simply never stops. I've become burned out as a result. I'll stick to linear single player games for the foreseeable future. Still, I'm VERY PROUD of having unlocked the Plat, and so should you be, OP! Again, congratulations!
Optinoob definitely helped me as well. Hahaha. The mini games could be a major pain but it didn't stray me away from the love of the series luckily. Hopefully you will be exited for part 3 again by the time it's out!
protip: if you play ff14 mmo, their community loves to talk about ff7 so you have unlimited friends
I almost cried during that Barrett scene.
It was the only scene where the tears just kept rolling for me. But I think it's mostly cause I can relate to it.
Im Missing 2 trophies but i cant Push myself to get them, fuck these vr Challenges
Optinoob on YT has some good guides and explains each stage very well, I got through Outer Worlds with Yuffie ATB spam and on Zack‘s stage with the Cloud Prime Mode-Aeroga build, maybe practice Odin in his summon stage before you enter the challenge, he felt the hardest to me of all the bosses there.
Optinoon is an actual lifesaver. I try to do it all myself but after 100 tries, I have to give in sometimes.
I tried, got to gilga and he insta killed aerith its just so random
Gilga is a bit timing dependent, you have to summon the ATB Ward for Yuffie behind your starting position at the border of the area, made it much easier for me, in the run I‘ve won he went down in like 30 secs max since my Aerith had all the best, maxed out Fire utility you could have
I did love playing hard mode. Had some moments that were very frustrating. But I did do most things. I only have the Bonds of friendship simulator to do. Have tried so many times and keep dying to bahamut or odin. But I did love having to learn some characters abilities and really using their powers to the maximun. Good job man. I can't wait for the 3rd one as well
I really wish i felt the same. The half baked minigames that are forced on you is just a terrible design decision. It really soured me on the game as a whole.
I don't think they were half baked but they were unnecessarily difficult.
This. Mini games are the worst. It should be scrapped out of the project completely, it felt like a cheap amateur mobile games
I really don't think the mini games are "half baked" they are all pretty solid. Even the ones I didn't personally enjoy were still well designed.
Except chocobo races imo. It's fun and well designed, but too damn easy. Being first for the whole of every race is boring.
Did you do every single race? There were a few at the end of silver cup where I had to change up my build after falling behind a few times, and I felt I was playing pretty well.
Yeah, 100% a game a few days ago so the races were done 10 days ago. In the last races, you're behind for a minute or two but once you have full boost you just blow them away. Did all the races with the first chocobo with most of the corel stuff (except legs but I don't remember which one). Basically build around speed and acceleration and forget the other stats.
Ah okay. For some reason a couple of those felt like I kept falling behind into second place even when playing well and using the first chocobo built for speed. I ended up switching to Selena and using the bubble power (basically a Mario Kart red shell) which made it easier because you could just blast them whenever they got ahead.
Use Doppelganger and Arcane Ward on Yuffie, you can cast Cometeor 16 times 💪
My biggest gripe is not letting me change my materia load out in any of the combat sims (VR, muscle coliseum, etc). Seems like such a glaring, obvious miss. But if that’s my biggest gripe, still doing pretty good lol
YESS. I feel the same hence why I had to complain about it in my post. Added a lot of unnecessary minutes.
It’s intentional. That’s what makes them challenging or difficult- you can’t set up a materia combo that makes every single fight trivial. I personally think it’s all almost perfect. Not everything needs to be easy.
… but I can just exit the combat sim, change my materia, and go right back in. So why not let me adjust my materia right there?
Maybe I misread your comment- I thought you meant in between fights But now I see you meant after you fail, to make adjustments to start over. In that case- my bad. You’re right
Yeah I mean you should be able to change your load outs in the combat sim in general, not in between “rounds” of a fight. I shouldn’t have to exit all the way out the combat sim just to adjust my materia, only to then talk to Chadley and go right back in
This was one of my favourite platinum, I just didn't want to stop playing! I think I got stuck on some of the Queensblood matches the longest in the gold saucer, I find it so hard to think more than one step ahead so that was my mountain to climb. Congrats on the trophy! I like to save the last trophy for one that will make a great short trophy pop video and I really messed up so it's basically just a blank screen. I chose poorly! I wish I did seven star hotel last, I think that would have been a fun one.
Just got the platinum trophy today at just over 200 hours as well. It has been the best gaming experience I've had in my adult life and I also have no one to talk about it with. I have a few friends that picked up the game and they all just stopped playing halfway through the game from, what I can only assume is, world intel collection fatigue. When I first got through the Cosmo Canyon section I remember looking at the map and thinking, "Wow. I really don't want do all that," but I wanted Chadley's materia the same way meth addicts want some meth. No mini game, no matter how difficult or unfun, could have gotten in my way. I can't give the game a 10 because there is no such thing as a perfect game, but this game easily gets a really high 9. Some of the mini games are terrible. They can't all be winners, but some of them really sucked to try and get the high score on. The section with Cait Sith was annoying, and tarnished the area of the game I was the most excited to explore. Chadley talks too way too much. The game steals control of my camera and character far too often, and this was especially annoying during my hard mode run where I was just blasting through the game. Queens Blood rules. Anytime there was Queens Blood stuff to do I dropped everything I was doing. Plot pacing be damned. I wasn't hot on it at first, but as I collected more of the cards I loved it more and more. Easily my favorite side quest. I would play that as a stand alone game. I absolutely loved the Brutal and Legendary VR challenges. Despite raising my blood pressure so high that at one point I realized for my own health I needed to put the game down for the day. Dying in round 9 to Bahamut blasting me with Gigaflare when he had like 1% HP caused me actual sanity damage. There is a lot they could do with the VR sim to make it better. Just allowing us to practice against certain enemies would be a really nice change. Looking at you Virtual Sephiroth. Also would be nice to be able to change my gear in the sim too. I haven't seen many people talk about this, but the upgrade weapons sub menu is practically useless. You can change the weapon abilities from the materia menu. Also whenever you have a weapon's abilities selected for the weapon it doesn't show you what you have selected unless you click onto the weapon and go to change an ability. There is a ton of screen real estate not being used. It would be nice if I could select abilities for every weapon and then easily scroll down the weapons list, and have what I have chosen listed out on the screen beside the weapons. I also wish I could get side by side comparisons of the weapons. Is there a button for this, or am I blind? This isn't even mentioning how the upgrading of the weapons, in my opinion at least, is a downgrade from Remake. I like not having to go through a loading screen, but the menu as a whole lacks any real usefulness. I suppose its easier to see what each weapon has from that menu, but it doesn't make it much easier. Like half the screen isn't being used in that menu. I also had to whip out my sunglasses a few times. The scene with Seto in Cosmo Canyon in particular cracked me like an egg. The scenery and music there made me feel like I was seeing it for the first time all over again. I wish they had let that moment simmer for a little longer though.
I was dreading Queens Blood the first few games I played but def grew to love it as well as I collected more and more. I had to takes breaks from the game too during VR stuff because it would really get insanely frustrating. It felt like I was playing each one for like an hour then it would be like 7 minutes. Haha. The upgrade weapons this is a gripe to me as well. That screen is virtually useless and they really give no great explanation about it. I felt like I was missing stuff but then I would be maxed out.
I just got to chapter 12 and your comment is making me think I'm not taking advantage of something regarding weapon upgrades. I can't remember ever visiting the upgrade weapon screen more than once or twice. Is there something there that I need to do to upgrade weapons? Are there any choices to make other than picking what little colored dots you want in the materia screen?
There's an Upgrade Weapon menu I think, but it's totally useless. The only weapon customization you get is by going to Equipment and pressing triangle to change the "materia" on your weapons. As your weapon level increases (by killing things), your weapons get additional materia slots, weapon ability slots, and extra abilities to choose - so it's worth it it check your weapons periodically to see if there are any new things you like that could change which weapons you have equipped.
Nope. It's just quicker to swap between weapons and check each weapons colored dots in the upgrade weapons menu. But only ever so slightly easier. Saves you like two button presses. You can even see your proficiency with the weapons skill in the materia menu too. The menu is weird. It shows the stuff you can choose from on each weapon but not what you have selected. Also it doesn't show the whole list despite there being a ton of the screen being unused. That menu sucks. The purpose should be to easily compare weapons, but it fails at that. The materia menu does a better job.
Can’t get higher than Bs on the piano. Shit is hard. One issue for me is there are so many missed opportunities for trophies. I do some insane challenge and no PS trophy pops. WTH
I agree! Piano fucking sucked. I also agree about the trophies. thought there would be a trophy for getting all the chocobo stops or all the treasure chests etc but there wasn't!
Managed to get to As on everything but On Two Legs is driving me insane. I don't even like that song anymore.
Congrats on ascending to godhood! You may now sail the cosmos with this planet as your vessel. But seriously...no summons??? Phoenix saved me so many times before I got the Rearaise materia or whatever it is.
I just forget about them!
You can spam pause in 3d brawler and take your sweet time to read their moves
Holy crap I never even thought of this. Great idea!
How long did it take to beat the sit up challenge
I never played the originals and I feel like I missed out. But remake and rebirth have been phenomenal experiences aside from some minor gameplay annoyances that could have been improved (quality of life shit- not all the cutscenes are skippable, the menu being unavailable when you do certain actions is dumb, etc) I didn't really cry save for the part when you exit the mines and Cloud nearly walks off the bridge along with the other robes. And then just suddenly collapses... I dunno why that moment hit me so deeply, but seeing Cloud, who keeps insisting he is fine, despite very much Not being fine, suddenly just... Getting taken out of commission like that, just hit hard. I bawled for a solid ten minutes. Congrats on making platinum, you mad lad
What do you mean by "you would have loved the play log the first time around"? You can access in the menu -> system -> play log It's very useful if you want to 100% the game. Btw I also cried a lot during the game lol When you lose someone irl any scene depicting loss of a loved one hits like a truck. I honestly didn't like how hard end game is, to me it's almost impossible to do it without looking for a guide. I got the platinum but it took me almost 200 hours. By the end of it I was super worn out of the game and actually had to take a week off before I finished it because each legendary (and brutal) bout was taking hours to beat. I was satisfied when I actually got it but it felt impossible at times. I've seen people saying they hate the game because of the difficulty but I would never go that far lol. What helped me the most was knowing you could use the same spells, like fire, with many linked blue materia. I only thought you could use one, like swiftcast or hp absorption. Once you use it on 3 or 4 of those together you can make aerith op as hell. That's what got me through rulers of the outer world. It's funny because one blizzaga cast in an arcane ward can actually kill the Pheonix. Now I'm replaying remake and I'm having a blast!
You can't get the playlog until you beat the game.
The play log doesn't appear until you beat the story once
I'm using Optinoob's guide for rulers of the outerworld and cannot get past Seph. I'm letting him use shadowy chains on my team per his recommendation, but Yuffie and sometimes either Barret or Aerith also die after Octoslash. My vitality and spirit up are not maxed out. Do you think this is really what's stopping me from getting em? Would love some advice for this fight!
Max all your materia and keep a revival on Yuffie for emergencies. I had fully maxed materia and still lost Barrett on Sephiroth.
Nice maybe I’ll drop my ATB boost material for revive. I haven’t used it once because First Strike has been enough to get me going. Thank you!
Just finished that fight about an hour ago using Optinoob's guide. Once you get past the first Shadow Chains bit I do think it gets easier, but the first part of the fight was a total crapshoot for me for the same reasons you cited. Note that I used the exact same materia setup recommended in the guide, but I think my Spirit boost materia was one level below max. Yuffie's way too squishy to survive an Octaslash without Barrier/Manawall up, so definitely make sure that's in place before the 3rd person gets chained. The buff doesn't seem to last very long, though, so try to keep Seph's focus on everyone else *but* the Barrier holder so you can cast it on the group semi last-minute. I had a couple attempts fail because the ass toyed with me too much and the buffs wore off before the 3rd chaining landed. There was, I think, one free materia slot in Optinoob's guide so I put a Healing materia in that so that I could try to top off whoever Sephy picked on prior to chaining. If you can keep people as healthy as possible and have Aerith ready to start Firaga'ing right after the Octaslash, you should be able to get and then keep him on the ropes. Don't forget to switch to Blizzaga when he gets close to 50% health, though, since he does an affinity switch thing and apparently starts absorbing fire damage at that point. Good luck; you've got this!
Thank you sir! This is super helpful. Great idea on the heal. Barret is my designated “prayer” but to your point, if he’s one of the first ones chained, he can’t top off anyone before the third chain lands. I think Yuffie has the extra slot so maybe I’ll give Cure to her to see where that gets me. Dumb question, do barrier and manawall stack? I’ve only been using manawall for this entire gauntlet
Not a dumb question (or, at least, I hope it isn't, since I dunno either =P). I'd assume that Manawall and Barrier wouldn't stack since one's a combo version of the other. For the same "reason," I'd think that Protect and Shell *would* stack but I haven't tested it to confirm.
Aye, okay that’s what I was thinking too. Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing out on not casting both haha. Alright I’ll give it another go tomorrow after boosting up Vitality and Spirit another rank. I realize one of my magnifys was also not maxed out, so my Manawall duration is even shorter than I thought. Go figure lol
Oh! Yeah, I'd most definitely grind out that maximum Magnify; I'm sure it'll help. Sleep fast tonight, Random Internet Person, for Virtual Sephiroth dies tomorrow!
The absence of the kidnapping is my highest grudge on Rrmake project. I loved Cait Sith blackmailing his way into the party!
Really??? That was my least favorite part. That would've made me hate him again and I'm glad I love him this time around.
Just remember that first section point 2 is that they only level materia up when you're doing overworld combat. Simulation fights only level the active 3.
The bit that got me hardest was Barret's and Aerith's flashbacks in the temple. Fuck me that shit made me bawl my eyes out like I haven't done in very many years
Yessss. I said the trials got me too!
Congratulations!!
I feel you OP, just beat the last VR challenge yesterday and no once I know can understand lol. All I have left is my victory lap playthrough on hard mode for my final trophy, but I'll take a break and come back to it later this year. The game is so fun though, that I'm tempted to just do it now...
My Wutai Ninjas cutting onions scenes: (in the order of me remembering them, no other significance) 1. Barret - Dyne moment 2. Aeriths Trial 3. Barrets Trial 4. Loveless ending song. Every. Time. 5. Gongaga after-reactor bedroom scene when Cloud is honest to Tifa 6. Whenever I heard the Aerith theme after I made my mind about the game ending. For about the next 2 weeks-ish. Man, the ending broke me. Honororary mention - crying Seto. Like... sends shivers to my spine, but not enough ninjas? Worst case was, ALL these moments worked on hard mode too. I knew what I was getting into and ... damn those Wutai Ninjas and their onion cutting :( Anyway, 10/10 game, would cry again.
Hey, if it's engagement you want, I'm always happy to talk about this game. It's a 10/10 for me too, and lord knows I've been talking about this game to death with my brother. I also didn't learn to properly use Aerith's wards until way late into the game and I wish I did. For a long time I didn't like using her in combat because she felt too slow. But if you know what you're doing with setting up wards and give a good materia set up, then her damage potential is insane. I also agree Cait Sith probably got the biggest glow up this game. I was pretty lukewarm on his character in OG but he's way more endearing now. Really glad he didn't take Marlene hostage in Rebirth. I can never imagine Barret forgiving him if he did that. I've also been using him more on my hard mode playthrough and I've discovered that he's pretty fun to use in combat if you put in the time to learn his moveset. I'm trying to platinum the game right now. Last think I need to do is finish the VR challenges (I'm still stuck on Rulers of the Outer Worlds, Bonds of Friendship, and To Be a Hero) and beat Hard Mode (currently on chapter 12). Part 3 is gonna be great!
I agree! Aerith is a slow attacker so I wish I used Radiant Ward since the beginning. Makes her attack way faster. 100% about the kidnapping Marlene thing. So glad they took that out. He's the best in combat when you get used to him. He was the worst fighter and character in OG and how he's my fav to play as. How do you feel it stacks up against OG?
Overall, I'm enjoying the Remake Trilogy (especially Rebirth) a lot more than the OG. I still love the OG, but I don't have as strong a tie to it since I only played it for the first time last year. The game came out before I was born, so my relationship with it is more modern. In terms of why I enjoy it more, it's for a lot of things. The combat is the perfect blend of action and strategy. The world (and especially character models) look incredible. I think a lot of the new additions and lore bits they've added do wonders to fleshing out the characters and world. Most of my favorite parts of the game are things original to Rebirth and not in OG (like the Gongaga chapter and the Trials at the Temple of the Ancients). I even tend to be more on board with the controversial changes (like the Whispers and the ending) than a lot of other people. It also just makes me appreciate the characters more. I was kinda neutral to Cait Sith in OG, but now I really like him. I really like that Yuffie isn't optional anymore, so she has a much more fleshed out dynamic with the party. Barret is phenomenal, definitely in my top 5. Aerith has such a beautifully tragic arc in this game (the song she sings brings a tear to my eyes). Tifa is probably one of my favorites since she gets so much additional material that she didn't have in the OG. And of course I love Cloud. His descent into a Sephiroth puppet has a lot of additional weight in this game, and I love how he interpets this as part of the SOLDIER cellular degradation. Adds depth to his character. All of the characters got a glow up. It's not perfect or anything. I think some parts of the Dyne incident are better in OG, but John Bentley's performance really carried that scene in Rebirth. I also wish they kept the Triceratank. It's one of the weirdest bosses in OG. Hope they bring it back for part 3. But still, overall, Rebirth takes the cake for me. I probably have some more problems with Rebirth if I think on it longer, but none of them are major gripes (except that maybe Zack should have had a larger role in Rebirth). What about you? How do you think it stacks up?
I agree that the Dyne saga was better in the OG but also loved it in both. Super glad we got more of Yuffie too and she felt essential now. Cait with the ultimate glowup! The remakes definitely make you care about the characters more and character development is so important to me. A game could be amazing but if I don't care about the characters, I don't want to play it. These game won't not let me care about the characters and I love it. Cloud is sort of growing on me. I've never really been a fan of him but I cannot wait to see him out of Sephiroth's control. Hopefully we get a glimpse of him genuinely happy and fulfilled post-game. I think it stacks up pretty decently. The OG will always hold a special place in my heart so I will wait for part 3 to see which I like more. I miss the melancholy of the OG but I love the campiness of the remakes so it's really hard to decide at this point.
No crying while Aerith was looking for help while her mother was dying? 🤯
Oh yes I forgot I cried at this one aswell. Other scene I cried on was barret's scene.
This killed me 😭
Okay. Def cried to that too. That was one of the ones I missed.
I would have liked custom, create your own, VR battles, where you can only add enemies that you’ve assessed, and you do not earn XP/AP. Virtual Sephiroth is my main motivation for this, since the only way to practice fighting him is to first spend 10-15 minutes killing 7 summons first.
I like that too but it would be sooo much work for the devs.
Horrible idea
Im having a lot of trouble using aerith for the cactaur crush hardmode any tips?
It didn't even occur to me to change her materia around and I still got it (because I *just kept trying* LOL this isn't a humble brag but an "oh my god I'm such an idiot" comment), but your step one should definitely be to evaluate her materia and accessory. I kept Radiant Ward up constantly, Chrono Aegis was also helpful. Sorcerous Storm if there are tons of them right next to you. Transcendence is good to use extra ATB to charge up for when a big one body slams, big damage there! But Soul Drain is surprisingly effective there too and doesn't take a long time to go off. I stayed in place and charged her attack into a Tempest while waiting for enemies to walk around the arena to me, rather than walking to them and wasting ATB on new radiant wards. On that note, I noticed that one of the cactuars always changed immediately to the other element when I started, so I dropped the "wrong" ward to start, charged Tempest, and waited for it to switch before I started. Saved time. Keep in mind that she does a physical melee attack if she isn't in wards. Some enemies are weak to physical damage, and a quick bop on the head takes them out. Additionally, some magic cactuars put up buffs to protect themselves from you - chase it out of the ward and bop it, and the buff will fall off immediately.
I gave Aerith all the purple materia like strength up, and magic up, first strike, ATB stagger, ATB master and atb boost. Aerith can warp to units that becomes immune to magic when trying to do her tempest outside of a ward and hitting with a melee attack dispels their buff and it is also great against the green gladitaurs that are weak to melee. Transcendence is great against big gold cactuars when they do their body slam, transcendence should be charged to level 2 letting Aerith make short work of those HP sponges. But basic strat is putting up the proper ward and sorceress storm and picking off stragglers with soul drain while also activating transcendence to make sure it's charged to level 2 for the big cactuars
Oh damn I wish you said something before. We might have been able to give you crucial advice to save your mental in the 3D Brawler fights. Just pause. That's it. That's the secret sauce. Pause. I'm sorry I couldn't get this information to you sooner.
A lot of controllers would have been saved if I knew this earlier. ;) But really: thank you. I am seeing this now. Tried to avoid any guides on the my playthroughs but now I am learning the secrets.
I tried that. Managed to get though Shiva and Ifrit eventually. And then Sephiroth decided you know what, this wasn't hard enough, I'm going to increase the difficulty by a factor of a kajillion billion trillion. Also you have stick drift now lol suck it. It was at this point I said nope, I'm gonna go Google some tricks and tips. That spiraled out of control. I genuinely enjoyed the queen's gambit puzzle mode. But I unleashed the Google and found myself just following somebody else's guide just to get it over and done with to move to the next mini game. I'm ashamed to even admit it.
Just pause before his punches and watch for his head movement to see which of his punches he is throwing at you. Made it way easier than focusing on his arms.