TheReasonableClerith

Director at a multinational video games publisher. I like making little videos about Aerith and Cloud.

Split time between London, Tokyo and... the Philippines?

[TheReasonableClerith @thereasonablecl]

I don’t think people realise what they’re doing when they say the Buster Sword represents Zack.

The Buster Sword is one of the most iconic pieces of game design ever created. It’s both the first and last thing a player of the OG sees. For many players, it’s shorthand for the incredible experiences they had with FF7 growing up, a symbol tied to some of their most memorable moments in gaming.

It’s intrinsically attached to the FF7 brand. Arguably even more so than the meteor in the logo itself. Specifically, it's a symbol of Cloud, the protagonist taking you on this beautiful journey.

Zack is an important part of the story. He’s the missing link for Cloud, a key motivator and the person who saved his life. He starts Cloud’s journey. He’s also a great addition to the series: a ray of sunshine in an otherwise bleak world. He’s an important part of Cloud’s character.

But having a character who played only a small role in the original FF7 (largely due to development constraints) subsume so many of these symbolic elements risks undermining what made those moments special. It slowly detaches long-time fans, the people who have been there since the beginning, from some of their core memories of the game.

Yes, supplementary material expanded Zack’s role. But we shouldn’t pretend those works reached the same audience. The novels, and even Advent Children, were experienced by only a fraction of the players who played the mainline game.

For many fans, Zack represents the era where the Compilation wasn’t firing on all cylinders. A period where some creative missteps were made, especially when compared to the Remake titles.

If we start attributing core imagery and symbolism to characters other than the protagonist people originally connected with, it risks undermining the very foundation that made all that supplemental material possible.

The Buster Sword was owned by Zack. Before Zack, Angeal.

But it has always been and will always be, the symbol of Cloud and his journey.

Anything else feels disingenuous to those who remember the magic of the original: when Square were creating legendary IP that helped define a console generation.

That's why the flower and sword, may evoke memories of Zack, or signify a journey, or even represent a fragmented mind - but ultimately, those two objects represent two of the OG's most enduring characters. Cloud and Aerith.

*Beautiful image by NCCRYPT - purchase here https://t.co/bO66mt8QYm

[TheReasonableClerith @thereasonablecl]

@tifastrfe Can you really blame us when the game shows us this as a canon event - after everything else?

I mean, lust is temporary. Soulmatism lasts forever.

[TheReasonableClerith @thereasonablecl]

It's not the OG. The sooner we stop telling ourselves this, the sooner we can enjoy this trilogy for what it is.

Aerith doesn't have to die for the sake of the story. A certain scene from the OG doesn't have to happen because it's sacrosanct to the fans.

The final part of this trilogy will be fantastic - trust in the devs to create us all new beautiful scenes rather than be beholden to what happened 30 years ago.

[BeanBeanBeanBeanBean @iStanDaiquiri]

Knock knock Goonwind. You're next.

#ひず民 #PeopleOfDistortion

[TheReasonableClerith @thereasonablecl]

@ladolcevolk It's not waffling - a fairly concise set of points.

Ultimately, we have another embarrassing moment for the fandom, with someone yet again putting one character over and above the story the devs are trying to tell.

[TheReasonableClerith @thereasonablecl]

@ClaireStrifeX02 Is there an incel equivalent for women?

[TheReasonableClerith @thereasonablecl]

@dolphnblw I really don't think you guys have been keeping up with these Hamaguchi interviews!

[TheReasonableClerith @thereasonablecl]

@aerikurakgae And to a man, they are all repressing that this is a different game with different themes.

[TheReasonableClerith @thereasonablecl]

Hmmm, all this choice and mutual exclusivity of routes in the final game.

I guess the player does have agency, after all?

Fascinating that the devs have inserted multiplicity throughout the game, rather than just at the end.

[TheReasonableClerith @thereasonablecl]

Hmmm, or maybe he simply can't answer the question at this point?

Interesting that some people are willing to warp the very fabric of reality to suit their narrative, but when a visual motif utilised in Rebirth seems to be referenced in the Title? Yea, that's stratospheric levels of weird...

[TheReasonableClerith @thereasonablecl]

@meteorain They just can't understand that this isn't the OG, no matter how much warning they have from people like Hamaguchi.

[TheReasonableClerith @thereasonablecl]

@SoulEater923 @Fenrithial We don't know if Aerith died and won't know until part three.

We see the OG ending. Red who at this point, knows the future, understands this to be something to be avoided.

It's very simple.

[TheReasonableClerith @thereasonablecl]

As Kitase-san said a few years back, he wants unresolved feelings, resolved.

One of the largest issues unresolved from the OG and expanded materials? Aerith's feelings for Cloud as per Lifestream White, which she never admits to him.

The declaration/admission is going to be beautiful!

[TheReasonableClerith @thereasonablecl]

@SoulEater923 @Fenrithial Again - perhaps read the Hamaguchi interviews.

It's a different world to that of the OG. They aren't the same. So even if it's not a sequel, It can be as different as it likes as it's running parallel to the OG.

[TheReasonableClerith @thereasonablecl]

@SoulEater923 @Fenrithial I don't think you've been keeping up to date with Hamaguchi...

The OG and Remake are different worlds. So if these worlds are mirages (no proof of that, by the way), the world we are currently playing in the Remake trilogy, is also a mirage.

[TheReasonableClerith @thereasonablecl]

Again, you are electing for the most complex, most obtuse reads. It's really very simple.

Throughout the story, Aerith is confused about her feelings for Zack. By the Aerith GS date, she has decided she wants to pick Cloud (GS date). However, she stops short of confessing her full feelings to him (church scene) as she is still cognisant of Cloud losing her and the weight of that loss.

This all relates to the fact that in Lifestream White, she sees Cloud as a lover, so we know how she feels for him.

When she says there's liking and there's liking, there's no indication of which it is, other than the fact that in the HA variant, she is immediately happy when Cloud reacts in the affirmative. She then catches herself, realises the situation, and holds herself back. This all happens directly after the Marlene and Zack scene. Why would the devs have that scene and place it there, hmmm?

Even the most ardent of CTs don't argue that Aerith has feelings for Cloud. It's just common sense reading of the information provided.

[TheReasonableClerith @thereasonablecl]

@SoulEater923 @Fenrithial If it does, it will be a parallel world. The same worlds Hamaguchi has just confirmed. So the characters we are playing are free to have an actual happy ending

[TheReasonableClerith @thereasonablecl]

@SoulEater923 @Fenrithial Well, looks like AC won't be the culmination of the games anyway... So I think I'll just play those. After all, as per the devs, this time, they are looking to give the characters happy endings.

[TheReasonableClerith @thereasonablecl]

Nooooo.

Zack is the one that suggests she likes him romantically.

Marlene then agrees with his assumption. So he's not indulging anything - he introduces the concept. He even teases Cloud about it later.

And the mimicry point is dealt with in the Aerith Gold Saucer date.

And no. That is your interpretation of a scene where Aerith, as per the Remake Aerith resolution, holds back her feelings. She does not say it is non-romantic. In any language.

[TheReasonableClerith @thereasonablecl]

@dutch_dread @TooliusManicus

[TheReasonableClerith @thereasonablecl]

@SoulEater923 @Fenrithial Here he is, looking super happy in Dirge of Cerberus...

[TheReasonableClerith @thereasonablecl]

@delta_1384 @pollenainne