Chapter 815: Looking Around, It's All Pitfalls

Chapter 815: Looking Around, It's All Pitfalls

Setting aside the quality of the content, if we're only talking about how much content a game has, the most intuitive way to tell is by looking at the map.

Although, in practical terms, a small map doesn't necessarily mean less content, a large map definitely won't mean less content. After all, there are so many places for players to go, and if a game designs so many maps, players will always need to explore them.

If Final Fantasy were an open-world game, like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or The Witcher: Wild Hunt, Song Ren wouldn't be too surprised. He wouldn't even be surprised if the map design was like Xenoblade Chronicles.

But the changes in scenes from Shinra to Sector 7 in Midgar proved one thing: Final Fantasy's map isn't interconnected. Instead, it uses separate scenarios, much like traditional RPGs and games such as Uncharted and The Last of Us.

This means that map transitions occur primarily through story cutscenes, rather than allowing players to freely run from point A to point B. Coupled with various side quests and mini-games in different maps, it's definitely a time sink.

At least for Song Ren, he had spent over an hour in the gym so far, all just to watch Tifa's squats. Of course, that muscular coach was really something else.

Beyond that was the content in Midgar.

In terms of story, Midgar's content wasn't actually that extensive. It focused more on introducing the existence of the Shinra Company and setting up the main protagonist group led by Cloud, along with clues about Sephiroth.

Although he's the big villain, Sephiroth hadn't actually shown his face from beginning to end.

Despite this, Midgar contained many memorable elements for players. Tifa and Aerith go without saying. Jessie, from the Avalanche trio, was a heartache for many players. Then there was Cloud's cross-dressing adventure, which was also a big event to remember from start to finish!

Aside from that, there were all sorts of pitfalls (unanswered questions) buried in the game, just like the previous CG movie. At the time, Advent Children left many questions, making players feel like they were dealing with a Riddler. They thought these would be resolved with the game's official launch.

But playing now, Song Ren felt even more mysteries crowding his mind.

First, Cloud's personality was completely different from Advent Children. Second, the current Cloud seemed to have some mental issues, often falling into a bewildered state. Also, who was Aerith's former first love? Why was his name censored in the game? He was clearly an important character.

Why did Sephiroth, once hailed as Shinra's great hero, suddenly become anti-Shinra? What grudges did Cloud, Tifa, and Sephiroth have? It could be said that there were too many puzzling points in the game.

………………

Of course, Song Ren wasn't the only one perplexed; countless players felt the same way. Moreover, compared to players who previously bought games simply because of the Nebula Games name, this time Final Fantasy, due to the earlier 'Advent Children',

actually attracted many casual players and even some who didn't play games much. The main reason was that the game's presentation was simply outstanding: a uniform cast of handsome men and beautiful women.

Tifa, Aerith, and Cloud go without saying. Even some of Shinra's villains were incredibly good-looking. Coupled with the game's linear design, Final Fantasy's visuals were definitely among the top tier, comparable to cinematic-grade graphics.

At the same time, with an easy difficulty and an automated combat system, it wasn't overly complicated for most players new to games.

For example, with automatic mode enabled, players didn't need to dodge or anything; they could just charge through. The intelligent AI would appropriately heal players, and even with automatic mode on, it was quite difficult for players to intentionally lose a battle.

As for the lack of challenge, isn't that what automatic mode is for?

Even the weapon development and stat allocation in the game allowed players to directly choose predefined builds. It was incredibly simple and easy to pick up, after all, this was an RPG.

So, for many players who got into the game because of 'Advent Children', they could completely treat Final Fantasy as a manual interactive movie. They didn't need to research equipment, skills, or combat systems; they could just control their favorite characters and follow the main story. This content was enough to keep these casual players happy.

“Midgar is absolutely amazing! The industrial beauty displayed by the giant machinery is truly breathtaking!”

“Exactly! Compared to just watching in the movie, personally exploring Midgar in the game is so much more shocking!”

“And I didn’t expect Cloud to seem so afraid of cats!”

“Tifa and Aerith are just too beautiful!”

“What Tifa and Aerith? I only want cross-dressing Cloud!”

“But I’m still very interested in the game’s story. Isn’t Aerith the female lead? And she had a lover in the Shinra Special Forces?”

“Comparatively, I’m more interested in when Sephiroth will appear. So far, I’ve only seen his Long Sword!”

“Sephiroth +1! In Advent Children, Sephiroth felt incredibly cool, even though he ultimately died to his own BGM. But honestly, Sephiroth single-handedly stormed Shinra and took out the President; that combat power is mind-blowing!”

“Forget Sephiroth, haven’t you all noticed something is off? Aerith’s identity as an Ancient gives me a bad premonition. This Final Fantasy isn’t going to end in tragedy, is it?”

“It’s not impossible! I played up to Shinra attacking Avalanche, and Jessie already got written out of the story!”

“Speaking of which, Aerith wasn’t officially present in ‘Advent Children’, and her information was vague. Could it be!?”

“It… it shouldn’t be, right? The massage parlor scene, Cloud’s cross-dressing, and the ‘arguments’ in Shinra’s prison all seem quite cheerful?”

“Right, and even though Jessie got written out, she was just a supporting character after all.”

“I believe Mr. Chen wouldn’t be so ruthless, would he? If you think about it, didn’t Tess also get written out early in The Last of Us? But Ellie didn’t die in the end!”

“Heh, you never know. Has Mr. Chen had fewer past offenses?”

“Jessie, such a good girl, died. Wedge, such a good sidekick, also died. And Biggs is gone. It shouldn’t be possible for more tragic deaths after this, right?”

As the game launched, more and more discussions about Final Fantasy emerged online. Many were surprised upon leaving Midgar, realizing that all that content was just the newbie village. And so many pitfalls (unanswered questions) were dug!

Who were the Ancients and Jenova? How did Cloud, who became a Shinra Special Forces member because he admired Sephiroth, and Tifa, who had no connection to the Shinra Special Forces, become Sephiroth's enemies? Who was Aerith's first love? All these questions plagued players, and when leaving Midgar, it was clear that all these issues were still unresolved, without a single one being filled in.

It was unbelievable!

And so, as Cloud embarked on his adventure to pursue Sephiroth, the backstories of Barret, Red XIII, Tifa, and Aerith slowly unfolded before the players.

(End of Chapter) <>