I downloaded a trailer this morning for FF XII which I have to say, looks pretty awesome, but I was gutted that there doesn't seem to be a release date marked for it yet, not even in Japan. I've searched, but there doesn't seem to be anything specific anywhere. It's a little annoying, considering they're already releasing trailers.

I don't get videogames magazines or anything so I was wondering if you guys out there who do - have you read anything? Seen the trailers? What do you reckon?

well, was the triler you saw new or something?
because I thought the FF XII was already realiesed. I've only played FF X but I thought it was already on sale. Correct me if I'm wrong anyone.

Final Fantasy X-2, the sequal to FFX was released in the UK last year, but there's a new game, FF 12 that was supposed to be released in February, but they keep bumping it back for some reason. It looked really good from the screenshots and the trailer I saw for it. It's set in a completely different world to Spira...new characters, pretty similar looking battle system......

There's a new film too - Advent Children or something like that, I think...Cloud's in that, so I'm really looking forward to that too....whenever they decide to release it...

Anywho, Bandoth or Solembum are the experts in that department usually....they're more up on the new developments than I am...

Woowwwww, looks like Dana is a a a FF fan yeah the movie called Advent child or something my friends show me the trailer the fight was quite awesome


my friends like FF too but if you want to check game stuff go to www.gamespots.com or www.gamespot.com (not sure which one) and www.gamefaqs.com i dont play much FF I prefer

hope that helps, have a great day..




Golden Sun

Yep, I sure am... You make it sound as though that's a surprise to you!! Thought coz I was a mod, I'm an old codger or somethin', huh? Well, let me tell you that I single handedly defeated Penance without using Yojimbo.... How's that for an achievement....

Anywho, I'll check out those sites, thanks for that...I think I might have seen the gamespot one before....probably on one of my endless quests for good FAQ's and Walkthroughs.....

A friend of mine is a huge FF fan and he knows loads about it, so I'll ask him if he knows anything about a release date.

This is going a little off topic, but I think Yuna is gorgeous! hehe.

Well, you guessed right Dana. I am sort of an expert on FF7 Advent Children... well as much of an expert I can be being 14 years old, living in America with no knowledge of the language of Japan. (What is that anyway? JK!) FF7 Advent Children is going to be a DVD that takes place two years after FF7. I don't know the whole plot but It's being released this summer in Japan. It's also coming out for the PSP I think. Or maybe it was some other hand-held thing. Well, I might write more about this later.

Ya!!! Dana started a Final Fantasy topic! I know so much about Final Fantasy it's not even funny....

Advent Children: It does take place two years after the video game. I guess some bad guys are killing children... Yeah... I have every image from Advent Children and I've seen every trailer... I have two Advent Children Trailer on my computer that are in English!

Final Fantasy XII: I've seen all the trailers and have all the possible images from this video game. Final Fantasy XII takes place in the same world as Final Fantasy Tatics Advance for the GBA. I can't wait for it! I think I'll have to change my signature and avatar to a Fianl Fantasy one!

Aw, I sooo can't wait!! It would be great if the game came out in the spring...it would give me something to do while waiting for the HBP to come out!

They're so slow releasing them and it's so unfair that Japan gets them so much earlier than everyone else. I can understand the reasons for that, but it's still a little irritating.

So, has anyone else played through FFX-2 more than once? Have you noticed that there's a few additional scenes between Tidus and Yuna the more you complete the game?

Hey! New Advent Children trailer is out! Square Enix updated! It looks more like a television commercial but if you know enough about the storyline and you have a good eye, you will be shocked at what you see at the end. Something has been added that hasn't been in any others and it changes some things. Here's a little sinister question to make you confused. He isn't just a memory now, is he?

Hmm. This thread has been really dead lately. Wonder why. Anyway, maybe I should just restart discussion with more on FF7 AC. Hope you FF7 fans like this.

Well, I mentioned that trailer in my last post and wondered whether anyone would reply or not...

They didn't.

So, I'm assuming that you all thought this was just like a normal trailer and the "surprise ending" isn't so much a surprise after all. Oi. Period.

It is a surprise. Maybe if I spoil it, more people will join, maybe speculating on whats going to happen. I guess it's my only choice.

Sephi. Yeah, one of our favorite villians, losing his mind, trying to be one with the planet.

...

...

He's back.

I'm not kidding! It's at the end of the trailer! He explodes out of a falling rock with his sword! Just to tell you, he looks PO'ed enough to kill a small village by looking at it. Hope I can restart this.

Oh, sorry, Bandoth!! You posted while I was away and I missed this thread!! **slaps head**

No, I haven't seen the new trailer, but to be honest, I probably wouldn't have noticed the ending anyway because I suppose I was a bit of a latecomer to the series really - the first game I played was FFVIII (that's the one with Squall and Rinoa, right...all those Roman numerals give me headaches... ). Cloud's in it though, right? Because Solembum gave me a link to a website with a trailer on it once (can't give it here, sorry...I'm in uni right now and it's in my favourites at home...I'll edit later if I remember) and the fight sequence towards the end of it just looked totally awesome.

There were some screen caps from the new game on that site too...I really wish they'd get their backsides in gear about speeding up the releases, you know...I thought it was coming out in March here and I thought ooh, great....something to do between now and July 16th...

I'd really like to have a go at FF7, but the trouble is that I've been spoiled with the graphics of FFX and X-2 now, so the others look kind of dated by comparison....even FF8, which I was completely and utterly addicted to at one time.....and I still don't think I completely got the plot of that one...all that time travel stuff made me go

Love Final Fantasy! My favourite would have to be FF6. My ultimate favourite character would have to be Zell Dincht from FF8.

My only peeve about FF and other RPGs is the fact that you have to rely so much on a strategy guide. I got to the end of FF8 without one and then I couldn't get any further, nor go back because I missed something that I needed to get past something. It has been so long since I last played that I don't remember what the exact details of the situation was.

Oh yeah, I totally agree...I wouldn't buy an FF game without the strategy guides now. How on earth the makers think you're going to figure out that half the puzzles even exist, let alone be able to solve them, is beyond me. I mean, unless you play it 24/7 and have no semblance of a life whatsoever.....I think it's part of the money-making machinery myself....but then I'm full of conspiracy theories...I've been tainted by...well....you know....

Particularly FFX-2 - the overall style was nice...the non-linear gameplay was a refreshing change, but to have to complete the game to 100%, you have to repeat so many things and that got *really* annoying after a while. I think the only reason I kept playing was because I was dying to see if Yuna would ever get Tidus back (I know...I'm an old softie at heart...so sue me.... )

Can't say I was overly fond of Zell....or Selphie, actually. I loved the whole Squall/Laguna storyline though....I think I had it figured out that he was Squall's father pretty early on, but that short sequence at the end of the game was....god.....I feel such a wuss for crying over a video game, but come on....that and FFX were pretty moving at the end, don't you think? No?

Maybe it's a gal thing then....

Oh, don't get me wrong, I love the action too!! That's the good thing about being a chick I guess...you get the best of both worlds and don't have to feel guilty about it, you know?

I know what you mean about Squall though, but angst really appeals to me. Always has done - I guess that's why I like Lupin, Snape and Harry so much, but I can understand why some people found Squall irritating. I thought Irvine was pretty cute too though...

About the dodging the lightning bolts...I actually did that, I'm very pleased (and also a little ashamed) to admit..... I totally gave up on the flippin Chocobos though to get Tidus' celestial weapon. Darn yellow things have to be THE singlemost irritating creations ever to be....well....created...

I've played final fantasy 7 through two times and think it is the best game i've ever played! It's just so easy to get into for an RPG.

I bought FF8 and i'm afraid give it up after the first few hours, I really liked the idea of having to draw magic but i just couldn't get into it at all and so Cloud always has the edge over Squall for me.

I'd love to play them all in order starting with the first one and then finally playing FF10 and 10-2. It just takes so long to complete a final fantasy game i can’t seem to find the time.

I didn't like FF8 that much. The story was good and the graphics ok, but I just couldn't get over that magic system. Ok, draw the magic from other guys and then we can use it how we want to. Why does this work? How does it work? I just does, and that's what I don't like. FF7 had a great story, gameplay was awesome, and graphics on some movies were just about as good as some games I see today. (The movie showing all the weapons coming out of the crater comes to mind.) Materia was a genius's idea. FF7 is, by far, my favorite RPG.

*pukes* The thought of having to suffer the sound track from X2

Yeah, the drawing magic business was really annoying, but I guess you needed it to juice up your stats.

I take it you didn't much care for the soundtrack of X-2 then, dazzo...

Well, I'm one of those sad people I'm afraid who had the imported Japanese CD's of both FFX and X-2...I just absolutely loved the soundtrack of them both, but again, I can understand why the guys wouldn't like it much. I just really loved the piano solos in 'Zanarkand' and 'Memories of Light and Waves'.

Having said that, 'Liberi Fatali' from FF8 is just...wow....especially the MP3 version I downloaded the other day. Close your eyes and you could almost imagine that being the final Harry/Voldemort confrontation theme. Very nice, especially when you turn up the base a bit.

(Having said that...wouldn't be caught listening to a video game soundtrack in the car...in public, you know...I haven't quite achieved that level of nerd-ism yet....**chuckles** )

Oops.....**smiles sheepishly** No, seriously though? Mario? Mmm.....well, I've only ever played the Nintendo64 version of that and it definitely was not something I'd be listening to outside of the game, but I can't really speak for any of the others.

Having said that, some video games soundtracks are pretty kicking actually....like GTA III and Vice City...and True Crime...that one was really good. I loved the R&B stuff.

The FF ones are nice and mood enhancing though, great when I'm trying to create an atmosphere when I'm writing. The True Crime one is something that I'm not too ashamed to listen to in the car....

I mean, come on....my street cred is rapidly dwindling with my mates as it is because of my HP fixation, I don't want them to start thinking that I'm listening to video game soundtracks too.....they'll think I've totally lost it....

(Not that they should be complaining, actually....one of my mates actually told me she listened to Radio 2 the other day....now THAT's sad.... )

Yeah. I listen to a few FF songs when I'm writing too now. Thanks for the suggestion of Liberi Fatali. That is pretty good too. Just to name a few of the ones I listen to, I've got Reunion from FF7 to make the mood of the "Who am I?" type scenes, the song where Sephi was walking through the fire, (Can't remember the name), and a cool remix of JENOVA. I'd like to get an orchestrated version of One Winged Angel, but it looks like I'll have to wait a few months/years or buy the Reunion soundtrack.

Hey! AC is rumored to be released in March. Not so sure about it 'cause Nobuo said that it was getting extended a lot, making it longer than the planned 80-90 minutes. At least we have something to shoot for right now. Don't be too sure though. This could be bogus seeing as it's not on Square-Enix's main website.

Ooh, really? Aw, I hope so, but empireonline.co.uk hasn't reported on it yet, and they're usually top of their game, so maybe it's just going to be in the States...

I've been around the internet for long enough now though to know that rumours should be treated with a whole ocean full of salt until they're confirmed on the official sites. Still, it's nice to hope, eh? In the meantime, I guess I'll just have to make do with playing
X-2..again....

Or perhaps looking for that copy of FF8 that I haven't been able to find since I moved. Now where is that? Now, 1up.something-or-other is reporting that Advent Chidren is coming out on the 14th of March. I'm not sure, but they have it on the links side of the page, and though there is no real evidence, they seem to be kinda sure. Nobuo said that the first quarter of 2005 might be out for release dates in his last news letter, though. Hmm.

One word... love! I just love the series!

Cut the last release date. AC is going to appear for the PSP in Japan sometime after April 13th. About 3 or more movies for the PSP (not DVD or video) will come out on that day, and about 27 more soon after that. I estimate that it will be another month after that or more until we see AC out on DVD in the US. I regret to say that I have no idea if it will ship in Europe.

Ah, that's alright mate, no worries. If it's released in the US, I'll import it - my player is chipped so the regions are no problem. I'm too impatient to wait for things to be released here.

YES! A release date! Finally! AC is set to come out on September 14th in Japan, meaning that a US release should come around the beginning of 2006! It's good to have something to look forward to, even if it is so far away. But now that they've given a release date, I don't know have any clue what they'll show at E3...

Alrighty! Dana has given me a go-ahead on giving the backstory of FF7 for all of you who can't get over the old graphics. Since there's so many twists and the story is so long as it is, this is gonna be in several sections. What you're supposed to believe, the story as it goes in the game, and a timeline of the whole thing. Right now, I'm gonna start on what you're supposed to believe. It focuses mainly on Cloud and Sephiroth with a bit on Tifa. Present day speaks of the time period that you play the game in. Warning! Contains MAJOR spoilers!!

Cloud is an emotionless mercenary fighting with a group called "Avalanche" which is trying to stop the major organization "Shinra" from sucking up all the planet's life energy in the form of "Mako," something like electricity. Soon you find that Cloud has a past though.

7 years ago.

Until now, Cloud grew up in the town of Nibelheim. Apparently, he grew up with Tifa and lived next door to her. He wanted to make a name for himself, though. So, he decided to join SOLDIER, an elite group of... soldiers working for Shinra. He wanted to be famous like the legendary Sephiroth. So he tried out.

5 years ago.

And he made it. First class too. In fact, he got a place working right next to Sephiroth. He became good friends with him too. Unfortunately, the war that was going on in Wutai ended before he ever got there. But he still stayed in SOLDIER. Now, after two years of training, he was heading back to Nibelheim to investigate the malfunctioning Mako reactor. There, he finds Tifa has become a guide, but doesn't recognize Cloud. She gets the job of guiding Cloud and Sephiroth to the reactor which is located in the nearby mountains. Only one guard that came with them made it. Tifa wasn't allowed in the reactor, so the guard kept her outside while Cloud and Sephiroth took a look inside. They made an interesting discovery.

Someone had been putting people in the reactor, making Mako wash over them, turning them into monsters. Suddenly, Sephiroth takes a question about his past to the max. He wonders if he was created in the same way. He is, after all, extremely strong, stronger than any man alive. He had no parents and was told his mother was "Jenova."

There was a door in the reactor that was locked labled, "JENOVA."

Faced with this unanswered question, Sephiroth went back to town and locked himself in the deserted Shinra mansion. After a few days, Cloud goes looking for him.

He finds a secret room in the mansion where the once honored Professor Ghast did experiments before he disappeared. He finds Sephiroth reading through the extensive library of records, and to say the least, Sephiroth's gone mad. Apparently, Professor Ghast once found an alien species which he called "JENOVA" and performed extensive tests with it. Sephiroth became convinced that he was a byproduct of one of these tests. He also believed that JENOVA was an ancient, or Cetra, one of those who could communicate with the planet and lead humans to the "promised land," a land full of Mako according to Shinra. Unfortunately, those people died out almost 2000 years ago. Sephiroth believes that normal humans do not belong in the promised land and is willing to do anything to get there.

A few days later, Cloud finds that Sephiroth has truly gone insane. He's started the town on fire and is killing anyone in his path to the reactor. Cloud tries to help the town, but everyone is dead or dieing. Taken over by grief and rage, Cloud follows Sephiroth to the reactor and finds Tifa already there. Apparently, her father had the same idea as Cloud and payed with his life. Sephiroth's sword was left behind by his body and Tifa yells out her hate for SOLDIER, Shinra, and Sephiroth. She then takes Sephiroth's sword and charges after him into the inner sanctum of the reactor. Cloud quickly follows.

On top of the stairs, Sephiroth is trying to find the way to open JENOVA's door. Tifa charges up, sword raised, but is overpowered by Sephiroth and takes a slash across the chest. Cloud takes her off to the side while Sephiroth gets into JENOVA's room. Cloud takes out his own giant sword and charges after, confronting Sephiroth with his crimes. Sephiroth ignores Cloud and reveals his plan to find the promised land. Cloud gets ready to fight... and all goes black in his mind.

Present Time.

Sephiroth's back, and has stolen JENOVA from Shinra. He's now headed to take over the world in a strange way: He's going to meld his spirit with the planet's... and Cloud and the group is the only thing standing in his way...

There you have it. Cloud's past as you're supposed to believe it. I'll be back later to tell it as it is.

Ooh, you did it!! Thank you!! That makes the whole 'hidden history' thing going on between Cloud and Sephiroth in KH a little clearer... Actually, the game sounds pretty good...do you reckon it's worth struggling with the graphics?

Anywho, I'm all ears (or eyes...) whenever you'd like to continue! (Like a mini fanfic for me actually...)

Oh, I can guarentee it's worth your money if you can work with the graphics. It's amazing! Once you get how everything works down, and learn how to move your guy while constantly holding the "cancel" button, you'll have a fun time. And you've got to admit, for a '97 game, it has awesome graphics in the movies. There was one fmv that I wasn't sure it was a '97 game at all. It's really amazing how much they put into it. The only thing that might make people turn the other way is the need to level up your characters. It kinda gets repetetive fighting the same guys over and over again, but if you can live with that, you'll be rewarded with the story that changed the way people looked at RPG stories. I think I can find only one flaw, and that isn't that big of a flaw at all, just a little snag. They used the playstation midi player, which works quite well at times, but just screws up some of our favorite songs sometimes... like One Winged Angel... But the music itself is awesome. 99% of the time you'll be feeling exactly as the music feels. I like Sephi's theme especially, what with all the church bells and ambience with it and whatnot. Anyway, the story as the game tells it is long for lack of a better term. This will have you playing for hours just to get to the next major place. There's 7 CDs for the PC version for heaven's sake! But no worries. I'll just do this in a few posts. Just hope I can remember it... I might have to play it again just to finish this... Remember, if you read this in its full, you will be getting major spoilers. Right now, it's not quite as important because what I'm writing in this post will only take you about a few hours, if that. You get into so much in this game... BTW, if you get this, I warn you: Barret swears a lot. Thankfully, most is represented by "&^%%$." But, since different languages have different curse words, one in particular is not covered and shows up quite often. It's the same one that means "condemn" if you want to know. Just a heads-up is all. This is how it starts.

Present Day

Cloud lives in the industrial city of Midgar, a giant city at that. It has two... levels for lack of a better word: a lower one and upper one. The upper is on a giant plate of metal held above the lower. The city is split into sections, like towns inside the city. I can't remember how many sections there are right now so I'll get back to you on that. Cloud, as stated before, is working with Avalanche for money as a mercenary. Long story short, you get to blow up one of the mako reactors powering one section of the city. You find that it was Tifa, who now owns a bar in the sector 7 slums, who hooked you up with Barret, the leader of Avalanche. Long story short, you get to blow up another one, but this time, Shinra catches up with you. Long story short, you fight a boss and end up falling from the upper plate into a church where you meet- dun dun dun dun!!!- Aeris. (Her name was originally Aerith, but it was changed when it came to America.)

Turns out that Aeris could use a bodyguard. The Turks, a group of people who work for Shinra and do the more... detestable jobs, are after her for some odd reason. You escort her back home, Turks trailing far behind, and decide to leave during the night so as to not endanger her. (She has the personality of Madame Pomfrey without the anger and easy irritation.) Turns out she gets ahead of you and escorts you back to sector 7. Problem? Tifa's already heading out to do Avalanche business. You follow her and find out she's infiltrating the house of some Don, a man who- *ahem* enjoys the company of women a lot, picking from three different girls every night. Apparently, he has information that Barret and Tifa want. Cloud ends up dressing up as a girl (hillarious!) and going in after Tifa, and bringing Aeris along... She's like a puppy that won't go away to Cloud...

Anyway, at this point, you can "choose" who the Don chooses for his... *ahem* Don't worry. You end up scaring him senseless before he can do anything to anyone. You threaten him with... *ahem* threats, things you probably wouldn't want that nephew of yours hearing about, but it is extremely funny, and you find that Shinra has found Tifa's bar is the hideout for Avalanche. They're going to drop the upper plate on sector 7! Seeing as Midgar is divided into at least 14 different sections as it is, and overpopulated at that, it's gonna kill a lot of people. As you're about to leave though, the Don pulls a trick on you, dropping you into the sewer in hopes of keeping you away from sector 7... To Be Continued...

Oh! I just remembered something important! Don't get this for the computer. If you do, it's either going to be buggy, or not work entirely due to it not being designed for anything past Windows 95. Get it for the Playstation if you get it. I just tried installing it and came up with the error "Blah blah program not fit for Windows or MS DOS." In other words, the install isn't even working for me. Man... And I wanted to fight the Weapons for once... Yay! A good idea! I might be able to put it on my downstairs computer! Until next time.

Yay! FF7 still works on my computer! Just remembered, there's 8 sectors in Midgar. Now for the next part.

Cloud, Tifa, and Aeris got dropped into a sewer last time. They broke their way through monsters of all sorts and ended up in a train graveyard... Really, it's a train graveyard. Running through the area as quickly as possible, fighting monsters on the run, they made it back to sector 7 before the pilliar holding the plate above the slums was released, but the fighting had already started.

Cloud and Tifa left Aeris behind to tend to the wounded on the ground and to get a girl named Marlene to safety (that's Barret's daughter. I might add a characters section after all this). Cloud and Tifa climb the pilliar quickly, finding fallen comrades along the way. Up top, Barret is fighting off a helicopter with his gun-arm. A Turk jumps onto the pilliar and starts the bomb countdown. He delays Cloud, Barret, and Tifa just long enough for them to have absolutely no chance of disarming it. The helicopter then flies close enough for the leader of the Turks to speak with them. He's gotten Aeris and is practically taunting them. As the helicopter flies away, the pilliar starts to explode. Barret finds a wire and the trio swing out of the sector, just as the plate comes crushing down on the rest of the slums...

Grief. Pure grief. That's the thing I felt in this scene. Everything focused on it. Barret ran up the mountain of disfigured metal, yelling for his fallen friends and his daughter. In his anger and desperation, he begins shooting at the wreckage, yelling the whole time. As he realizes it is no use, he falls to his knees. After letting a bit of his sadness out, Tifa realizes that Marlene may be safe. They traveled back to Aeris house and found that Aeris had sacrificed her freedom for Marlene's safety. The three decide to strike back at Shinra and free Aeris.

They climb the rubble that once was sector 7, reaching the center of Midgar: Shinra headquarters. Here, I could've picked busting through the front door or sneaking in. I chose the sneaking. Guess what sneaking entailed? Running up 60 flights of stairs. I'm not kidding. I counted. Well, it was more like 58 but it was close. Luckily, Barret and Tifa have some very funny conversations about stairs to pass the time.

After getting up to the special floors of the building (floors 60+), a few minor puzzels were solved to spy on a meeting with all of Shinra's most important people, including President Shinra himself. Hojo, the lead scientist of Shinra, turns up a bit later. You find that Shinra will not be repairing sector 7. Rather, they will be searching for the "Promised Land." There, they plan to build a new Midgar, prospering on the plentiful mako there. Hojo makes a few references to "the Ancient" and "the specimen" and Cloud decided to follow him.

Stealthily following him, Cloud and Co. find that Hojo will be using a red dog of some sort in an experiment. As Hojo leaves, the group ponders what this means. As Barret and Tifa are talking, Cloud takes a look into a large metal dome nearby. He seemingly loses it as he sees what's inside. What looks like an alien with no head is moving inside blueish liquid. Cloud falls backward and mutters to himself in a disbelieving/scary way, making mention of it being Jenova and Sephiroth. As Cloud pulls himself together, they pressed onward, going up to the 67th floor and find Hojo conducting an experiment. Aeris is inside a containment tube of sorts and is quite desperate to get out. Hojo is threatened a bit, but he continues his experiment, keeping himself alive by mentioning how delicate the machinery is. An elevator inside the tube is raised, red dog with it. It raised its tail high above its head and bent into a pouncing position. Aeris became even more desperate, calling to Cloud for help. Barret runs up and begins shooting the tube, and a reaction happens inside the tube. It is filled with blinding light. Hojo ran up, hoping his specimens were unharmed and opened the door.

And got pounced on by the dog. The dog started biting at Hojo, but not harming him. He introduces himself as Red XIII because that was what Hojo named him (I call him Red just to save time and trouble). After a monster is fought off, by which time Hojo had run off, and they attempt to escape. Unfortunately, Hojo must have gotten security informed of the break-in seeing as Cloud and Co was arrested in an elevator.

The group was taken for a nice chat with the President, then sent to detainment cells. Turns out that Aeris is in the cell next to Cloud and Tifa's. There, we finally found that Aeris really was an Ancient and what it truly meant to be one. They could speak to the planet and find the promised land because of it. Yet, Aeris described the voices she heard as "noisy" and the planet as "crowded" when she could hear them. She could never quite understand what was said. Devoid of anything to do, they all take a rest.

*Turn on creepy ambience now*

Cloud is the first to wake... and his cell is open. He runs outside and finds the guard dead. Grabbing the key and freeing his friends, they decided that no human could have done this. Moving ahead, Red finds everyone dead, and Jenova free of her dome, a trail of blood coming from it. Following the blood (and a few more dead bodies of executives) the group finds Presdent Shinra, dead in his chair, a large, thin sword sticking out of his back. Cloud confirms this sword as Sephiroth's and one survivor, the head of the space program in Shinra, Palmer, says he saw and heard Sephiroth. As the group gets over their shock, a helicopter flies up outside. Barret identifies this as Rufus's helicopter, the Vice President of Shinra and son of the President. He is described as ruthless, heartless, and never once crying or showing mercy.

Outside, Rufus gives the group a speach. He says he will control the world with fear rather than money, and find the promised land because of it. Cloud tells the others to leave immediately, saying that a true crisis for the planet had come up. Cloud fights Rufus (who fights with a shotgun and a pet cat that can somehow cast defensive magic) but Rufus gets away in his helicopter. Gathering at the bottom floor, the group finds the building surrounded. Cloud disappears and Tifa brings the group to a truck inside the building.

This is where the real fun began. This part was in fmv and looked awesome.

Cloud showed up on a motorcycle. Everyone else climbed into the truck. Driving up a few flights of stairs, they stopped as they reached a dead end. Cloud looked over at the car then stepped on the gas. He shot out of a window and onto a nearby highway, the truck following behind.

*End fmv*

Now a fun minigame began where I had to drive the motorcycle down a highway while swinging Cloud's giant sword at Shinra soldiers on bikes as well, protecting the truck from harm. At the end was a boss fight that turned out to be quite easy.

The group gathered at the exit to Midgar and decided to follow Cloud. Red agreed to come with them as far as his hometown, and everyone else joined the fight against Shinra and apparently Sephiroth. They travelled to a nearby town where Cloud told his story.

I'm going to do the next part in the next post. I know I already told you the story, but reliving it... I want to impress how much of a baddie Sephiroth is. And have a happy, happy birthday, Dana!

Aw, thank you!! I've just printed off your posts for me to take to bed because I'm just about nose to the keyboard at the moment... I'm sooooo tired!! Anywho, I'll be back to comment tomorrow, but a huge thanks in advance!!!

Just so you know, it might not be wise to print this one. It's pretty long, as will be the next and possibly the one after that.

"I used to want to be just like Sephiroth, so I joined SOLDIER.

I guess you could call us war buddies. We trusted each other, until one day...

That was five years ago. I was 16."

Flashback

"You going to brief us on our mission?"

Cloud stood in a moving truck full of boxes of supplies and two Shinra soldiers. One stood out from the others. He was dressed in a black cloak-like coat and had long, silver hair.

"This isn't a typical mission."

"Good!"

"Why do you say that?"

"I joined SOLDIER to be just like you. But by the time I got to First Class the war was already over. My big hopes of becoming a hero ended with the war. That's why I always sign up whenever there is a big mission. Kind of a way to prove myself. Say, how do you feel Mister Sephiroth?"

Sephiroth stared for a moment.

"I thought you wanted a briefing?"

Cloud rubbed the back of his neck and listened to Sephiroth.

"Our mission is to investigate an old mako reactor. There have been reports of it malfunctioning and producing brutal creatures. First, we dispose of the creatures. Then, we locate the problem, and neutralize it."

Cloud thought for a moment.

"Brutal creatures? Where?"

"The mako reactor at Nibelheim."

"Nibelheim... That's where I'm from."

Sephiroth nodded.

"Hmm... hometown..."

The truck gave a lurch and stopped. The soldier driving the truck called out to Sephiroth, terrified.

"S- sir? Something just crashed into the truck!"

Sephiroth stood calmly.

"That would be our monster."

They stepped outside to see a huge dragon. Cloud tried to fight, but was easily too weak to fight it. Sephiroth stepped forward and killed it with only two slashes.

End Flashback

"Sephiroth's strength is incredible. He is far stronger in reality than in any stories you may have heard about him."

Aeris spoke.

"So... where do you come in?"

Cloud rubbed the back of his neck.

"Me? I was mesmerized by the way Sephiroth fought."

Tifa was strangely silent.

"...And then we reached Nibelheim."

Flashback

Sephiroth walked into the town then turned around. Gesturing to Cloud, he spoke.

"How does it feel?"

He shook his head.

"It's your first time back in a long time, right? So, how does it feel? I wouldn't know because I never had a hometown."

Cloud spoke.

"Umm... How 'bout your parents?"

Sephiroth put his hand on his chin, lowering his head, thinking.

"My mother is Jenova. She died just as she gave birth to me. My father..."

He started laughing an empty laugh and shook his head.

"What does it matter? All right. Let's go."

Sephiroth stepped a few steps into the town.

"The mako smells pretty bad here."

Cloud started to walk into the town, but Barret interupted his narration.

End Flash

"Yo wait a minute! Wasn't that... the name of Sephiroth's mother... I remember Jenova. That was that headless spook livin' in the Shinra building."

Cloud nodded.

"That's right."

Tifa spoke up.

"Barret, would please let us hear what Cloud has to say? You can ask questions later."

"Tifa, I was only-"

Tifa cut him off.

"Ok Cloud, continue."

Aeris spoke up again.

"The childhood friends reunite!"

Cloud continued his story.

"I was really surprised with Tifa."

Flash

"The town was quiet. Everyone must've been in their houses, afraid to come out because of the monsters. No, maybe they were afraid of us."

Sephiroth stood in front of the town inn, next to the well in the center of town.

"We leave for the reactor at dawn. Make sure to get to sleep early."

He turned for the door, but stopped. He crossed his arms in thought. Then he turned back.

"We only need one lookout. The rest of you can get some rest."

Once again, he went for the door, pausing as he was about to enter.

"Oh, and..."

He turned around again.

"You may visit your family and friends."

WIth that, he went inside.

Cloud went inside a house across from the inn, knowing exactly who lived there.

"Cloud?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you go inside my house?"

Cloud nodded to Tifa.

"Yeah. I thought you might be home."

Cloud walked inside and searched the bottom floor. He then climbed the stairs and went inside a room.

"Did you go in my room?"

"Yeah."

Cloud went in, but no one was home. He walked over to the piano.

"Did you play my piano?"

"Just a little..."

Cloud played a small tune.

"...Forget it."

He went over to the desk by the bed and looked at the papers on top.

"Did you read my letter?"

"Yeah. It was a letter addressed to you from the son of the guy who ran the General store."

"Tifa, how are you? I just arrived in Midgar eight days ago. Yesterday, all of Nibelheim got together to welcome me. The only person we couldn't get a hold of was Cloud. But everyone said he wasn't that close to us. So, if we asked, he probably wouldn't have come anyway. Well, enough about him. Midgar is really something, but to tell you the truth, I feel so behind on everything... so out of it. Even the rooms of the people in the slums are clean. Right now I'm living in the slums, but I'm planning on moving into a nice room, like the ones I see in magazines once I earn some money. But to do that, I need to get a job first. That's right. I still haven't found a job yet. I lied to my parents and told them I had a great job at Shinra Inc. I wonder if it's too late to go back. Sometimes I think I should've taken over my parents' store."

"Cloud, do you remember all of it?"

"Yeah, I remember, because there was some stuff about me."

"I just made it to Midgar, but all I can think of is Nibelheim. Hey, Tifa, is that stupid old water tower still working? How is the old man at the inn doing? Are my parents still at the shop every day? Have any monsters attacked? And most of all, how are you Tifa? It feels like I haven't seen you in years. We were all talking about you last night. Everyone likes you. But because everyone idolizes you, I couldn't stab them in the back. I always acted cool, but really, I was afraid of being jilted. Wow, if I keep writing like this it'll become a love letter! So, I'll stop writing now. Take care. I'll write again.
P.S. Write me back, okay?

Cloud left Tfia's house and headed back to the inn. He didn't bother to visit his mother's house because this post has gotten too long to be at this point as it is. He went up the stairs and found Sephiroth staring out the window.

"What are you looking at?"

"This scenery... I feel like I know this place...

We have an early start tomorrow. You should get some sleep soon. I've hired a guide to the mako reactor. I've heard she's young. I hope we can rely on her..."

I feel this is a pretty good place to stop... It's really long already. Though the Tifa parts don't seem relavent, there's a reason I put them in there. You'll see later. Until then.

My goodness... I've forgotten how emotional this game is... Oi... Well, I'm going to take a shot at the second part of Cloud's history in depth. The madness begins soon. Remember, no matter how much what I write in here doesn't seem to matter, it will later. In fact, I'm just getting to the part it really does matter in my game.

Flash

Cloud hurried over to the mansion on the outskirts of the town. A few people had gathered to see Sephiroth. Sephiroth spoke to Cloud and the two soldiers going with them.

"Once the guide gets here we'll leave."

Tifa's father was there. Cloud began talking with the soldiers as Tifa's father spoke directly to Sephiroth.

"Now listen Sephiroth. In case something should happen-"

Sephiroth interupted him.

"Trust me..."

Tifa arrived at that moment in country-like clothing and a large hat on.

"I'll be alright, dad. I have two men from SOLDIER with me."

She turned to Sephiroth.

"I'm Tifa. Nice to meet you!"

Cloud turned at this.

"Tifa? You're the guide?"

"That's right. It so happens that I'm the number one guide in this town."

Cloud shook his head.

"It's too dangerous! I can't get you involved in this!"

Sephiroth spoke up.

"There's no problem if you protect her... Let's go."

A man standing there came forward. He seemed very nervous.

"Umm..."

He stepped closer, determined.

"Mr. Sephiroth, please let me take one picture for a momento!"

Sephiroth turned away, obviously not a fan of fame. The man turned to Tifa.

"Tifa, can you ask him for me too?"

Cloud shrugged and got into position. Tifa stood on his left and Sephiroth moved to her left. The man got a good point of view and raised his camera.

"Cheeeeese!"

The camera flashed and Sephiroth moved away, obviously annoyed.

"Great! Thank you! I'll give each of you a copy once it's developed."

The group of five travelled up the spikey Mt. Nibel. The mako reactor was across a giant rope bridge connecting the two parts of the mountain. Tifa started climbing the rope bridge.

"It gets harder from here. Follow me!"

As they got higher on the bridge, it started crackling.

"Uh, the bridge!"

One side snapped, causing the entire bridge to bend to one side. Cloud and Sephiroth managed to hang on, but Tifa fell over, barely grabbing the remaining ropes. Cloud bent over to help her, but the entire bridge snapped at that moment.

Cloud got up from the painful fall, and Tifa with him. Both were mostly unharmed. Sephiroth and one soldier came around a bend.

"Everyone seems to be alright. Will we be able to get back?"

Tifa answered his question.

"These caves are intertwined, like an ant farm... Oh, and Sephiroth, one person seems to be missing."

"It may sound cruel, but we've no time to search for him. We can't go back so we must go on. We'll travel together from here."

They climbed up a few paths into a cave.

"What's this?"

Tifa answered Cloud's question by stating the obvious.

"A mysteriously colored cave."

Indeed it was. The walls were completely green and blue, melding into each other at random points. Sephiroth, being the most experienced with his job, explained.

"It must be the mako energy. This mountain is especially abundant with mako. That's why the reactor was built here."

They continued into the cave and found an open room filled with mysterious light. In the middle sat a crystal on what looked like a rock pedestal surrounded by a strange liquid. Cloud, playing the part of the curious teen, spoke up.

"And what's this?"

Sephiroth, always the intelligent one, answered.

"It's a mako fountain, a miracle of nature."

Tifa spoke, being the teen girl.

"It's so beautiful."

She walked closer to the fountain, then turned.

"If the reactor keeps sucking up energy, this fountain will go dry too!"

The group took a closer look at the crystal. Sephiroth explained.

"Materia. When mako is condensed, materia is produced. It's very rare to see materia in it's natural state."

Cloud asked a question.

"By the way... Why is it that when you use materia, you can use magic too?"

Sephiroth looked at Cloud strangely.

"You were in SOLDIER and didn't know that? The knowledge and wisdom of the Ancients is held in the materia. Anyone with that knowledge can freely use the powers of the land and the Planet. That knowledge interacts between ourselves and the Planet, calling up magic... or so they say."

"Magic... a mysterious power..."

Sephiroth started laughing.

"Did I say somethin' funny?"

Sephiroth explained.

"A man once told me never to use such unscientific terms like 'mysterious power.' It shouldn't even be called magic. I can still remember how angry he was..."

I can't write anymore because my computer just slowed down so much it's not funny. It took five minutes to write down these two sentences.

That's okay, mate...no probs....I'm still reading though!!

Are you playing through the whole game again then? Just for me? Aww...shucks....**hugs Bandoth** You're a star....

FF really the best games ever, eh? Carry on though, won't you? Even though it just seems to be you and me at the moment, there's *bound* to be other FF fans out there too...they're just too shy....

How could I not play through this game again? It's story was the story to change all stories! It was, debateably, the most popular FF game to come out. There's even fan sites that are still up where people are active, though this may have something to do with all the characters popping up in Kingdom Hearts and the continuations that Square-Enix is making. FF7 has it all. One moment you can be laughing your head off at Barret, and the next feeling so down in the dumps you could cry when... well, I'll get to that. Let's see if my comp. will work properly now. Continue off the last one as if I didn't have computer problems in between.

"Who was that?"

Cloud seemed to be quite a bit more curious in the past.

"Hojo of Shinra Inc... An inexperienced man assigned to take over the work of a great scientist. He was a walking mass of complexes."

Tifa stared at the crystal like she was entranced.

"A mako fountain... So this is where the knowledge of the Ancients is..."

The group continued up the mountain until they reached the mako reactor. Tifa was the first to speak.

"We finally made it. We sure took the long way, though."

Cloud walked up to her.

"Tifa you wait here."

But she was stubborn.

"I'm going inside too! I wanna see!"

As Cloud shook his head, Sephiroth provided Cloud with an excuse.

"Only authorized people are allowed inside. This place is full of Shinra's industrial secrets."

"But..."

Sephiroth looked at the one soldier who had come with them.

"Take care of the lady."

Cloud and Sephiroth entered the reactor and the guard denied Tifa access. She stomped her foot indignantly.

"Mm, man!"

She walked a few steps away.

"Better take real good care of me then!"

Cloud followed Sephiroth into the inner sanctum of the reactor. There were several levels, each having a pair of giant casings on both sides, compartments of a shape I do not know. They were widely rounded at the bottom, and thinly rounded at the top, forming a roughly circular triangle. They had small windows just a head above Cloud and Sephiroth. At the top of the stairs was a locked door, the word, "JENOVA" written above it. Sephiroth was examining the door when Cloud came up behind him.

"This is... Jenova, right? It won't open..."

Sephiroth walked down the stairs to one of the compartments. Examining it, he found a problem.

"This is the reason for the malfunction. This part is broken. Cloud, close the valve."

Cloud did as he was told as Sephiroth took a look at the compartment across from the broken one.

"Why did it break?"

Sephiroth jumped and pulled himself up so he could look through the window. He dropped down and put his hand on his chin, thinking.

"...Now I see Hojo. But doing this will never put you on the same level as Professor Gast."

Looking back at Cloud, he continued.

"This is a system that condenses and freezes mako energy... that is, when it's working correctly. Now, what does mako energy become when it is further condensed?"

Cloud's memory wasn't as good in the past as it was in the present.

"Uh, umm.... Oh yeah! It becomes materia."

"Right, normally. But Hojo put something else in there. Take a look."

Sephiroth stepped back away from the machine as Cloud looked at him strangely.

"Look through the window."

Cloud obeyed. Inside, there was a head, colored gray. It had tentacle-like spikes of rock sticking off of the top of it. Its teeth were showing, as if knashing them in pain.

Cloud dropped down from the containter, appalled. He fell to the groud and looked up at Sephiroth.

"Wh- What is that!?"

"Normal members of SOLDIER are humans who have been showered with mako. You're different from the others, but still human. But what are they? They have been exposed to a far higher degree of mako than you."

Cloud got up.

"...Is this some kind of monster?"

"Exactly. And it's Hojo of Shinra that produced these monsters. Mutated living organisms produced by mako energy. That's what these monsters really are."

Cloud looked back at Sephiroth, who had turned away.

"Normal members of SOLDIER? You mean you're different?"

Sephiroth grabbed his head and started shaking.

"He-hey! Sephiroth!"

"No...

...Was I?"

He whipped out his long sword and began slashing the machine, doing no damage. Cloud jumped off the level to avoid the frenzied slashes.

"...Was I created this way too?"

He ran over to the broken container and slashed at it as well. Cloud and Sephiroth spoke at the same time.

"...Sephiroth!"

"Am I the same as all these monsters?"

He gave the container one final slash and stopped, panting. He half yelled to Cloud.

"You saw it! All of them... were humans..."

"Human!? No way!"

Sephiroth walked back to the staircase, sword still drawn. He didn't seem so angry, but he seemed almost desperate.

"...Ever since I was small I've felt... that I was different from the others... Special in some way. But... not like this..."

Suddenly, one of the upper machines began shaking. Electrical current ran through it as one of the monsters screamed, trying to break loose. The machine began to depressurize, then shot open, letting out the unmistakably mutated body of a human, muscles enlarged, hands and feet changed to be more animal-like, and legs glowing orange as if they were super heated.

The screen went black.

"Am I... human? I didn't really understand what Sephiroth meant then. I was even more surprised when I heard that Shinra was producing monsters."

Barret interupted again with more useless babble about hating Shinra more and more. The group made small comments about this explaining the increase in monsters. Aeris asked Tifa if she was waiting outside the whole time. Tifa seemed reluctant to answer.

"...Yes."

Cloud started talking again.

"We made it down the mountain and Sephiroth confined himself to the inn. He didn't even try to talk to me."

Tifa continued the story for the first time.

"Then Sephiroth just disappeared, right?"

Cloud nodded.

"We found him in the biggest building in Nibelheim."

Tifa gave reference.

"The villagers used to call it the Shinra mansion."

"Long ago people from Shinra used to live in that mansion."

Flash

Cloud and a soldier ran out of the inn, obviously just being informed of Sephiroth's whereabouts. They ran to the gate of the mansion where a small crowd had gathered. Cloud entered, closing the gate behind him, obviously reassuring them that he would take care of it. He entered the mansion and went to the upper floor, turned right and was directed to a room by another soldier. One wall was curved outward. Cloud examined this wall and found it to be a secret passageway. Inside, planks spiralled down several stories before coming to the basement. CLoud ran past a locked door and into a small laboratory. A small hall filled with bookcases full of books led to a small office that had even more books. Sephiroth was pacing in the lab, book in hand, reading aloud.

"An apparently dead organism was found in a 2000 year old geological stratum. Professor Gast named that organism JENOVA.
X Year, X Month, X Day
JENOVA confirmed to be an Ancient.
X Year, X Month, X Day
JENOVA Project approved. The use of Mako Reactor no. 1 approved for use."

Sephiroth paused, then continued reading to himself. He walked to the entrance to the hall and stopped. Dropping the book to his side, he looked up at the ceiling.

"My mother's name is Jenova... JENOVA Project... Is this just a coincedence?"

He looked down at the ground, looking completely broken.

"Professor Gast... Why didn't you tell me anything? ...Why did you die?"

Cloud went up to him, but Sephiroth told him to leave him alone.

"Sephiroth didn't come out of the mansion... He continued to read as if he was possessed by something, and not once did the light in the basement go out."

A chilling wind blows as you realize this is a cliff hanger. In the words of the crazed Sephiroth, hahahahha!

Guess what? I ordered myself a copy today... I know I shouldn't have because I really can't afford it, but it was a bargain on eBay so I couldn't resist... BTW, our edition only has four discs....thought you said it was seven?

This will help me a lot as I work my way though what sounds like a pretty complicated game, but you've convinced me... I'll probably be nagging you about it quite a bit as my budget won't stretch to the guide as well...

And I fancy Sephiroth already...

I was guessing when I said seven. I hadn't so much as looked at the game in three months. It is three disks, if you don't include the install disk. Now, I would say the word for "I have found it" (can't spell it for the life of me... something like eureka!), but that wouldn't be accurate. What's more accurate is "I have found him", and I don't means Sephiroth. You'll just have to find out yourself. You'll enjoy this one if you enjoyed VIII and X. The magic system actually makes snese for once. If you got it for the pc, though, you might need a few patches. Just google search for "ff7 patches." You're more than likely to find what you need. Now there's two reasons why this post won't be accurately word for word. The others on Cloud's past have either been word for word or paraphrasing the translation to make more sense. This will be straight from memory. Reason number one: I just installed a patch to let me get past a part it freezes on (curse those bugs) so I can't alt-tab during the game. Reason number two: I'm just tired of copying it. Most of this will not match up too well, but you'll get the gist.

Cloud woke up from the bed he was sleeping on. He headed for the room with the hidden passageway. The soldier was still there. He spoke to Cloud.

"Sephiroth seems different..."

With the music, one could understand that he meant in a bad way. Cloud went down the spiralling planks and into the lab. Sephiroth's laughter came from the office down the hall. Cloud came in.

"Who is it?"

He seemed... angry to be interupted. He sat behind a desk, surrounded by bookcases and open books.

"Hmph... Traitor."

"Traitor?"

"Years ago, the planet belonged to the Cetra. They moved from planet to planet. The settled each planet then moved on. It was said that at the end of their long, hard journey they would find the Promised Land and supreme happiness. But those who disliked journeying appeared. They stopped their migrations, built shelters, and elected to lead an easier life. They took that which the Cetra and the planet had made without giving back one whit in return!"

Sephiroth got up from the desk.

"Those are your ancestors.

"Sephiroth..."

"Long ago, disaster struck the planet. Your ancestors escaped. They survived because they hid. The planet survived by sacrificing the Cetra. Your ancestors lived and continued to multiply. Now all that's left of the Cetra are in these reports."

"What does that have to do with you?"

"Don't you see?"

He began walking toward Cloud.

"An Ancient named JENOVA was found in a 2000 year-old geological stratum. The JENOVA Project... The JENOVA Project wanted to produce people with the power of the Ancients, or the Cetra... I am what was produced."

"Pr- produced?"

Sephiroth paused, adding to the effect.

"Yes. Professor Gast, leader of the JENOVA Project and genius scientist produced me."

Sephiroth started walking out of the office.

"How... How did he? Se- Sephiroth?"

He looked over his shoulder.

"Out of my way! I'm going to see my mother!"

Extremely evil music started up as Sephiroth disappeared. Before this it had been the sound of a bass church bell and a heartbeat, but now... it was truly evil. Cloud ran upstairs and out of the mansion, sensing something bad was happening. Outside was a sight he'd never forget.

Nibelheim was burning.

The entire town had been set ablaze. One man was vailiantly trying to find survivors. Cloud half-heartedly tried to help him, but it was no use. Only those already out of the inferno were alive, just the photographer and a soldier.

"Terrible... Sephiroth this is too terrible..."

Cloud heard a disturbance back at the mansion gate and looked at it. Two men tried to attack Sephiroth, but were struck down by Sephiroth's sword.

Now came the most famous of FMVs ever. Sephiroth stood amid the flames and looked straight at Cloud, the most evilly vacant look in his blue eyes. The camera moved to a wider shot as Sephiroth turned and disappeared in the flames.

Cloud followed Sephiroth. They went back to the reactor. There, just outside the inner sanctum, Cloud found Tifa, bent over a dead man, Sephiroth's sword lying right next to him.

"Papa..."

She looked at the sword.

"Sephiroth? Did Sephiroth do this to you?"

She bent down, completely full of emotion.

"Sephiroth... SOLDIER... Mako Reactors... Shinra..."

She looked at the ceiling and screamed.

"I HATE THEM ALL!!"

She picked up Sephiroth's sword and ran inside. Cloud followed to see her going up the stairs, Sephiroth standing at the locked door.

"Mother, I've come to see you. Please, open this door."

Tifa began climbing, her intentions obvious.

"How could you do that to my father? To the townspeople?"

She tried to attack him, but he caught her hand. He ripped the sword from her grasp and brought the sword down across her chest. She flew down the stairs and landed near the bottom. Sephiroth merely turned and entered the now open door. Cloud ran forward and picked Tifa up into his arms.

"You promised... You promised you'd come... when I was in trouble...."

She feinted as Cloud gently brought her to the side, not so differently as I could see Harry carrying a wounded Hermione to safety. He then took out his giant sword and charged up the stairs.

Sephiroth was standing just inside, his hands raised in the air. A large cord, made of red metal, led up to a metal statue of the upper body of a woman with wings.

"Mother, let's take the planet back together! I've thought of a great idea! Let's go to the Promised Land!"

Cloud came in behind him.

"Sephiroth... My family! My hometown! My friends! How could you do this to them?"

Sephiroth slowly lowered his arms. Then he started laughing.

"Hahaha! They've come again, Mother. With her superior power, knowledge, and magic, Mother was destined to become the ruler of this planet."

Next came a part you had to see in FMV yourself to get the most of it.

"But they... those worthless creatures... are trying to steal the planet from mother... But now I'm here... so don't worry."

Throughout this FMV, Sephiroth was right up close to the face of the metal angel. He reached out to apparently caress the cheek of his so called Mother, but then reached down and pulled it off of its holder. Lights turned on, shining on the large tube behind the metal angel. There, with a helmet on her head, suspended in some sort of liquid, was JENOVA.

Cloud yelled at Sephiroth.

"What about MY sadness? My family... friends? The sadness of having my hometown taken away from me? It's the same as your sadness!"

Sephiroth looked down at him from the cord.

" Ha ha ha... What do I have to be sad about? I have been chosen to be ruler of this planet. I have orders to take the planet back for the Cetra. What do I have to be sad about?"

Cloud looked down.

"Sephiroth... I trusted you..."

He shook his head and gripped his sword.

"No! You're not the Sephiroth I remember!"

Cloud challenged Sephroth that day... He didn't remember what happened... but he lived... But now he's back, ready to finsh what he started.

I've just found the site where you got all those screenshots!! OMG!!! Oh wow, have you started an obsession in me now... Final Fantasy Advent Children looks absolutely amazing! I just downloaded the trailer from adventchildren.net and I must have watched it over and over at least six or seven times... Not that I expect you to appreciate it, of course Bandoth, but Cloud and Sephiroth are so hot!!! I've just got the shot of Cloud in his sunglasses to replace Tidus on my desktop actually... And Tidus has been there a *long* time.

I'm so glad you got me to buy the game though...I gave up on it before, but I'm so glad I stuck with it now! I've just passed Costa del Sol and I'm about to head up Mt. Corel - I'm doing pretty well...I think...I just missed the Chocobo summon materia on the farm... Never mind...I'll get back there later hopefully..

The game is quite challenging though, I have to say...it's certainly not as straightforward as the later FF's. I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying it though!!

Just one thing...the 'Enemy Skill' materia - how do you use that? Do you just equip it when you're up against a monster you can learn a skill from? Do you learn it automatically or do you have to do something?

Anywho, I know you're away for July 4th at the moment, so for when you read this.....I hope you had a good time!! And I hope you're feeling better too...

Hey! The Fourth of July doesn't mean I can't check up on the internet here! (Unless there is no internet, which there wasn't until about 20 minutes ago...) And I'm quite well except for having to drink a ton of water each day here in the mountains. Ah, yes, another one to be hooked. Once again, my evil schemes are working! Muwahahaha! If you really want a look at more trailers, there's about five that you can stream from the main site, which is japanese, but written in flash english. The last one is... amazing! Just do a google search on "advent children" and you should find a japanese site on the first page. If you want to download one of the really later ones, you'd need an account at a website called dlx.gamespot.com (no www). Don't worry! That's free too! The only hassle is getting your password... it changes every month or so and can never be memorized...

So, you're having a bit more trouble with this than with your other games? Well, it's understandable. Without watching someone play through it once, you've got to find certain people in certain places to find where to go. (Make that smiley more evil.) Just wait until you get past the mountains... and all that it implies...

Ah! Enemy skill! Yes, that was quite strange until someone hit me with something like matra magic or something while I had it equipped. What you need to do is to get a monster with a skill that is learnable (without a guide you'll just have to guess) to attack the person who has the enemy skill materia. As long as it doesn't miss, it'll work. Just watch out. Some of those skills are one hit kills later on. And... you'll find it becoming useless except for a few later on. This game wasn't made as balanced as the later ones so eventually, you'll probably just be holding down the OK button to attack all the time.

Don't worry about missed summon spells (especially the one at the chocobo farm... It's near useless at all times. But there is one or two that you'll really want later). Summons are just used for really large, time consuming attacks, usually being used only on elementally disadvantaged enemies. Sure, it all looks pretty cool, but it just loses its efficiency later... and uses a heck load of MP.

I'm going to check up on everything else I've missed in the past few days (most of which I spent trying to sleep in a car), but I'm going out for some fireworks later.

Mmm...yeah, I'd noticed that the summons aren't as good on VII as they are on the later games - and they do use an awful lot of unnecessary MP. I've figured out the enemy skill one now...death sentence and flamethrower are pretty cool...

I have got a couple of other questions though...no rush for the answers cos I know you're away and your time is a bit limited, so just whenever you have five minutes...

I have to admit to buying the guide, but it's from Bradygames and is a total load of...excrement......compared to the outstanding Piggyback ones and it doesn't explain half of what's going on...and give away way too many spoilers....

Anywho...questions...

First off, what exactly does sadness and fury do to you? Because I haven't noticed any huge effect of either...does it do something to your defence or attack?

Secondly, what's the difference between attack and attack%? Is one like your strength and the other one the chances of you scoring a critical hit or something like that? Same deal with defence and defence%, I guess....

Thirdly...what difference does the coupling of abilities make? Like, for example, when you equip 'all' and then 'fire', the effect is pretty obvious - you hit all enemies with fire....but it's not too clear what happens when you couple, say, elemental with fire on a piece of armour. If it's on a weapon, then it adds that element to your attack, doesn't it? Does that mean that if you couple fire with elemental on a piece of armour, that you're protected better against those sorts of elemental attack?

Sorry to bombard you... But like I said, that guide is rubbish - it doesn't explain exactly what things are - it only gives you the information that's available in the game, and that's not much to start off with!!!

BTW...my brother in law gave me the coolest cheat disc ever yesterday!! I didn't feel too bad about using it because I've already gotten pretty much everything on FF X-2, but the cheats did give me unlimited gil and allowed me to learn all the abilities on the dress spheres really quickly!! Plus I'm well proud of myself because I've finally mastered Sphere Break!! Still can't beat Shinra though...

Anywho, hope you're enjoying your vacation!!!!

Hiya! Course I'm having a good time!

Let's see, sadness causes your limit bar to stay the same no matter what until you give them a hyper and is a lasting effect. I haven't seen any other penalties or anything. Fury causes your limit to go up twice as fast, but I can't remember what the bad part about it is... maybe it lowers your hit percentage?

Attack, and attack percentage... From what I can tell, attack has to do with damage and % has to do with either accuracy or chance of critical on an unknown base. The game never explained that much either. Defence and defence % I know has to deal with damage resisted and chance of dodging on an unknown base.

Oooo you found the elemental... Pretty useful if you know what's coming. Coupling elemental to an elemental materia in the weapon will give the weapon a fire edge, the power of which depending on how strong the fire and elemental materia are. Putting it in armor does the imaginative opposite: giving you resistance to that element, the power also depending on both materia (Though less on the elemental for both).

Don't worry too much about the summons. Quite a bit later you'll find yourself being able to cast one so much that you'll have extra mp left over by the time you've used all the summons. They get stronger, but you get stronger than them. You just have to find the right ones. Ah, how much I love Bahamut in this game... though they could have been a bit different.

Ah! Not a guide! Especially if it gives spoilers, you don't want to be using that. If you have trouble, you could always come to me... or you could look for a no-spoiler guide on the internet. So, where're you at? And turn that music back on! If you've gotten past Mt. Corel and the red place (Trying not to give anything away if you're not there yet) it should sound much better. There's this one part that it sounds like they actually brought in a piano in the midi. Just... turn it down or off whenever you go up to the Gold Saucer. Really, really annoying music, but I learned to live with it.

Hey, I figured it out at last!! I found the Beginners Hall... Slightly embarassing that a FF veteran like me had to resort to that, but in the absence of a good guide book, what's a gal to do, eh?

Anywho, fury apparently makes you more vulnerable to attack - it halves your defence or something like that, but the benefit is that it increases your attack strength. Sadness basically just slows you down and makes you take more damage again.

All that aside though, Bandoth, have you or anyone else here seen the report from the screening of FFVII Advent Children? It's not true...is it? Please....say it ain't so....someone....anyone...:'(

I've just seen Advent Children (very illegal of course) and it rocks my socks I absolutely loved it. I didn't really understand the story just yet, but I'll watch it again later so this will be resolved. I haven't finished the game yet, but there's a brief explanation at the beginning of Advent Children.
The graphics are awesome and I really like the character design (although Tifa looks a lot like Rinoa).
Has anyone else seen it already?

You've seen it?! Aw... Lucky thing you... I guess it was still in Japanese, was it? Did it look good though, from what you saw?

And what game?! I knew they were making a new one, but I didn't think it would be out for ages yet - all I've seen are a couple of screenshots for it. How come Britain's always last getting everything?

It had English subs. But the first time I saw it it was Japanese, because I didn't have the program to show the subtitles. It looked absolutely great. It waslike watching real people (sort of) and I thought the music was very well done. I found the fighting scenes a bit overly-done (really unrealistic and stuff), but it is Final Fantasy, isn't it?

I don't know what new game you're talking about, Dana, I haven't heard of any new games coming out except for FF XII. And it's not just Britain that's getting everything last, the Netherlands too

Oh, I misunderstood you...I had me head in a shed yesterday.... I had about two hours sleep because they're digging up the road right outside my house in the middle of the night, can you believe that? Flippin council... Anyway, I digress...

I can see now you meant FFVII the game, right? Nah, I haven't finished it yet either - I had to go back and do it again from the beginning because I missed something in Shinra Headquarters and you can't get back in there once you've left.

I can't wait to see this movie though, the trailer looks awesome, even in Japanese! Don't suppose you have any ideas when it might get a European release, do you?