Chapter 806: The Strongest Game Promotional Video in History!

Nebula Games has always been playfully dubbed by players as a film and animation company held back by games.

However, the excellent CG animated shorts it produces primarily serve its games.

Especially after the release of DOTA, a season of the animated series 'Dragon's Blood' was also launched. So, could this new CG film, titled Advent Children, also be produced by Nebula Games to promote a new title?

But making a movie just to promote a new game, isn't that a bit exaggerated?

"I don't think it would go that far, right? To actually make a CG movie just for a game?"

"If it were anyone else, I'd say nonsense. But this is Nebula Games, this is Mr. Chen!"

"Actually, if you think about it, it's not impossible! Many of Nebula Games' titles have a cinematic narrative structure, and Mr. Chen has done things like producing a season of animation to promote a game before!"

"Exactly, have you forgotten 'Dragon's Blood'?"

"It's different. This is a full-length CG movie. With animation, if the performance isn't good, it can be cut short. But a movie like this needs to be completed, at least one part of it, right?"

Online players were split into two factions, arguing endlessly, as both sides had plausible arguments.

However, this debate quickly ended when many players discovered a confirmed answer on the official Weibo account.

No more hiding, the cards are on the table, it's announced!

'The prequel to Advent Children, Final Fantasy, is currently in development. Stay tuned.'

As soon as this official Weibo post came out, everyone was bewildered.

What the heck!?

It's… it's really… a movie made for a new game?

"Holy cow, I'm beyond impressed, Mr. Chen!"

"To promote a new game, he actually went and made a CG movie!"

"Is Mr. Chen truly cementing the title of a film company that's being 'held back' by games?"

"We can't compete with you, Mr. Chen!"

"This is probably the strongest game promotional video in history, right?"

Following Mr. Chen's official Weibo confirmation, the keywords 'Advent Children' and 'Final Fantasy' immediately soared to the first and second spots on the trending searches list.

Other game developers in the industry were completely dumbfounded.

What the heck, their promotions were still stuck at buying online and offline ads, holding press conferences, and media/live streaming promotions.

Good heavens, Nebula Games is now directly making movies for promotion?

How the heck are we supposed to compete with that?!

………………

After Chen Xu publicly confirmed that Advent Children was a CG movie produced to promote a new game,

It attracted countless eyes. Some non-gamers became interested in Final Fantasy because of Advent Children.

Similarly, some gamers who didn't particularly like movies became quite interested in Advent Children because of Final Fantasy.

For example, Song Ren, as a gamer, was a hardcore player, though his skills were a bit lacking.

As for movies, apart from truly phenomenal films that broke out of their niche which he'd follow the trend to watch, his understanding of movies was basically limited to those very famous ones, and even then, he only knew of them but hadn't watched them.

"I wonder what the new game will be!"

When the time came for Advent Children to unlock, Song Ren was already seated on the sofa.

The main reason for his intense focus on Advent Children was that, in his eyes, it was purely a new game trailer from Nebula Games.

"Steampunk? Fantasy, sci-fi, or what?"

As the CG movie unfolded, seeing the background on screen, Song Ren felt a slight sense of bewilderment.

According to the introductory narration, the planet in the movie was surrounded by an energy body called the Lifestream.

It was said to be formed by the spiritual energy (memories, thoughts, obsessions, and other emotions) of countless deceased souls.

And the Shinra Electric Power Company, which ruled the planet, amassed wealth in a short period by developing this energy resource, establishing an authoritarian order that covered the entire land.

They also used Mako energy to create special forces called SOLDIER.

But due to a great calamity, Shinra was severely damaged, and the land itself was left scarred and desolate.

Yet, people still held onto hope for life and began the work of rebuilding their homes.

However, after the past calamity, what arrived was not a beautiful hope, but a mysterious disease called Geostigma that spread worldwide.

Because of this, Tifa decided to seek help from her childhood friend, Cloud, but at this time, Cloud was merely a melancholy and down-and-out man.

As the movie's plot progressed, Song Ren gradually understood the setting of its worldview.

This gave him a very strange feeling.

Talking monsters, magic, massive steampunk machinery, highly sci-fi motorcycles, and various other settings.

Especially the motorcycle chase scene in the wilderness where Cloud faced off against Kadaj and his two brothers, which was incredibly cool.

And the character designs that left the deepest impression on Song Ren.

Cloud, Tifa, SOLDIER Reno, the three Kadaj brothers, and the mysterious mercenary Vincent – each one was incredibly beautiful and handsome.

Are you saying they all have colorful hair, looking like shamat who've used a whole bottle of hair gel?

What a joke! Only ugly people are called shamat; handsome people like Cloud are called punk culture!

Besides the dazzling action sequences and visual shock effects, which were endless,

The other content was just as good. The unrestrained Reno occasionally uttered flippant and frivolous remarks.

Loz, whenever he lost a fight, would be teased by his brothers Kadaj and Yazoo with comments like 'Don't cry.'

Rude, the bald man always wearing sunglasses, raised the explosives developed by Shinra technology and solemnly said to the camera: "Regardless of its power, what's certain is that it will be magnificent."

Coupled with his very serious image, it looked very comedic.

This directly amused Song Ren.

As for Cloud and Tifa's sweet nothings accompanied by the symphonic orchestra, Song Ren felt like he was being shoved three pounds of dog food down his throat.

Finally, the grand BOSS Sephiroth made his appearance, and Cloud's climactic battle against him was absolutely explosive.

The only thing that frustrated Song Ren was the game's plot-hole-riddled setting, full of riddles.

Especially the dialogue between Sephiroth and Cloud at the end, which hinted that they had known each other, were once enemies, and had fought each other, yet seemed to share some different bond.

Song Ren analyzed it carefully, the general meaning being: "Young man, do you want to know all this? If you do, go play the game!"

With this frustrating feeling, Song Ren took out his phone and looked at other people's online reviews.

"As expected of Mr. Chen, the title 'film company delayed by games' was indeed accurate!"

"I have to say, Advent Children is truly amazing! The visual effects are absolutely explosive! All the detailed textures, the budget must have been insane! Most importantly, Cloud is so handsome! Sephiroth is also so handsome!"

"+1, Sephiroth's entrance was incredibly cool, and his exit was just as stylish. That forty-meter long katana! And his line 'I will not be a memory' gave me goosebumps."

"But generally, when the BGM starts, shouldn't it be a victory fanfare? Just like Rex in Xenoblade Chronicles, why did Sephiroth's 'deng deng deng deng' play, only for Cloud to defeat Sephiroth? And looking at the music list at the end, that's still Sephiroth's theme song?"

"This CG movie is really great. And the company that made this movie is actually a game company?"

"Tifa is simply too perfect, I declare, Tifa is my goddess!"

"The one upstairs, what nonsense are you thinking!?"

"By the way, why did Cloud and Sephiroth's fated duel at the end make me want to ship them?"

"Oh my, shipping, shipping, shipping!"

"But I feel like Mr. Chen left some huge plot holes! Who were those people who appeared in Cloud's memory at the end? And was Sephiroth defeated by Cloud once before?"

Soon, with the launch of Advent Children, it immediately attracted widespread attention.

Even some non-gamers, after watching Advent Children, became interested in the so-called Mako energy, SOLDIER, and the stories behind Cloud and Sephiroth.

There were also some who had previously been pessimistic about Nebula Games suddenly making a CG movie.

But now, seeing it, everyone couldn't help but realize that this movie was actually pretty good!

The plot wasn't hard to understand; it was simply a story of a warrior who was supposed to save the world becoming disheartened due to certain events, only for the old final BOSS to return.

Ultimately, with the help of his childhood sweetheart Tifa and friends like Vincent, Yuffie, and Barret, the warrior regains his spirit and defeats the big BOSS once more. It's a very templated hero's biography story.

However, for non-arthouse films, especially those in the sci-fi and action genres, this template is precisely what's needed; too much complexity can easily lead to failure.

And Advent Children undoubtedly followed this template, adding emotional elements, bonds of friendship, and comedic segments to lighten the audience's mood.

Starting with the motorcycle chase, followed by the intense battle between Vincent, Barret, and the three Kadaj brothers, and finally, Cloud and Sephiroth's fated duel.

It could be said that Advent Children was a very standard popcorn commercial CG movie.

Just the fight scenes and special effects alone were enough to satisfy the audience.

The only part that made players uncomfortable was that after watching it, everyone had to admit one thing: this CG movie truly was a trailer to promote a game.

Although the story itself felt complete, the entire film was filled with plot holes and riddler-like settings, which made countless players want to rush into Nebula Games' office with hammers and fill them all in.

Elden Ring ~ I originally thought it was a culmination of Bloodborne, Sekiro, and Souls, but after playing, it feels more like Dark Souls ~ Mages are truly the gods of cheesing, especially against bosses that can summon NPCs ~

(End of Chapter) <>