Coffee Talk #675: How Much Time Should Elapse Before it’s Okay to Reveal Spoilers?

Last week I caught a bunch of heat on N4G. This article on Final Fantasy VII Remake discussed a major event from the original FFVII. The kids accused me of being the “spoilers!” guy. Initially, I dismissed it as Internet people being Internet people. Then RPadholic G-Iceman asked an interesting question in the RPadTV Slack:

“What is the appropriate amount of time that should pass before you can blurt out spoilers?”

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10 Thoughts on Final Fantasy VII Remake

Final Fantasy VII Remake is arguably the most anticipated RPG reboot in videogame history. The original was responsible for popularizing Japanese RPGs in Western markets. For many gamers, it was the first Japanese RPG they played and holds a very special place in their hearts.

As for me, I enjoyed the original FFVII, but not nearly as much as some of my gamer friends. At that point in my game life, I already loved Japanese RPGs, including a few Final Fantasy games. I liked it, but played better Final Fantasy games before and after it.

However, I came to love the world of FFVII through the outstanding PSP game Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII and the great anime Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. They really fleshed out the world of FFVII, making sense of some things and expanding on others.

Like millions of gamers, I was thrilled for Final Fantasy VII Remake when the trailer dropped in 2015. Now that I’ve beaten the game and replayed several chapters, here are some random thoughts, using the trusty RPadTV binary system. [Time to equip your spoiler materia!]

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I Hope Aerith Lives in Final Fantasy VII Remake

Final Fantasy VII Remake has been an incredible success for Square Enix. The game has been acclaimed by critics and gamers alike. The company announced that it shipped 3.5-million units in the first three days of release. With worldwide acclaim and commercial success, it’s the perfect time for Square Enix to go all The Last Jedi on fans by screwing with their expectations.

Similar to how The Last Jedi is a modern take on Star Wars (1977), Final Fantasy VII Remake is a modern take on a beloved old game (1997). Even though “Remake” is in the title, it’s more of a reboot than anything else. That reminds me, if you haven’t finished the game yet, there will be light spoilers below. Please activate your spoiler-ward materia before you continue reading.

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Coffee Talk #656: Random Thoughts on E3 2015

Another E3 Expo is in the books! Since we’re a few years removed from console launches, E3 2015 was gloriously software heavy. That said, virtual reality hardware was huge at this year’s show and generated lots of excitement. There were tons of great games on the show floor and behind closed doors. Special thanks to old friends and new friends that let me cut lines and sneak into demos that I didn’t have appointments for. Now here are some random thoughts on E3 2015.

Console Press Conferences: Sony crushed it. The company had lots of great original content and showed off juicy timed exclusives. The Shenmue 3 and Final Fantasy VII announcements won the hearts of millions of old-school gamers. Sony has come a long way with presentation too (remember those old Kaz Hirai PowerPoint slides?), largely because Microsoft raised the bar for E3 press conference theatricality. Microsoft put on a good show, but I found Sony’s press conference far more exciting. As for Nintendo’s latest direct-to-video presentation, the company had lots of games that I’m excited for…but the Nintendo executive muppets will haunt my dreams for the next few months (the Satoru Iwata muppet is terrifying).

Nintendo Muppets E3 2015

Publisher Press Conferences: I’m probably in the minority here, but I was more impressed with Square Enix’s presser than EA’s or Ubisoft’s. While Square Enix’s presentation was flat and the company didn’t have the celebrity star power its competitors flaunted, the games were excellent. Square Enix simply had more games that I wanted to play. While many of my friends loved Ubisoft’s lineup, it didn’t do much for me, save for South Park: The Fractured But Whole. Ubisoft gets bonus points for Aisha Tyler hosting and for Angela Bassett’s appearance. As for EA, it had frickin’ Pele — one of the coolest and most legendary single-name celebrities ever. EA’s Star Wars Battlefront, Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, and Mirror’s Edge Catalyst had me amped, but not as much Kingdom Hearts 3, World of Final Fantasy, Life is Strange, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Final Fantasy VII (more on that in a bit).

Virtual Reality: I played a bunch of VR games/demos and totally understand why so many people are excited about this type of gaming. It feels fresh and exciting. When VR works, it’s amazing and makes you feel like you’re playing a game from the future. When the frame rates are clunky, VR games give you a headache. What I’m unsure about is the business model. From what several people told me, making a VR game is very expensive. Gamers will need expensive hardware for the best VR experience. From the (admittedly limited) information I gathered, Valve has the best plans for making VR accessible for developers and consumers. I’m curious to see what the other VR companies will do to help make VR affordable for creators and gamers alike.

Wattam: Going into the show, I was certain that I’d be charmed by Funomena’s Wattam. The creation of Keita Takahashi (Katamari Damacy) and Robin Hunicke (Journey), Wattam is wonderfully creative — a game that’s simple, but with complexity that makes it difficult to describe. Some people are calling it a puzzle game, while others feel it’s adventure, and some are calling it a platformer. Check out the trailer below and see for yourself. Whatever category you think Wattam fits in, there’s no denying that the graphics are cute, the gameplay is creative, and the sound design is adorable. I love that Sony publishes atypically delightful games like Wattam.

Final Fantasy VII: Some gamers feel that FFVII is the best game in the series. Others feel that it’s the most overrated. Either way, it’s a huge deal that the game is being remade and coming to PlayStation 4 (initially). While I enjoyed the original game, it’s not in my top five for the Final Fantasy series. Having said that, I’m a big fan of FFVII world, since Crisis Core and Advent Children helped make sense of everything. I’m going to dedicate a full topic to this column next week. No matter how good or bad the FFVII remake ends up being, I’m excited to watch the process and listen to the debates. I expect full fanboy fury over FFVII and gamers better not disappoint me.

Mario Tennis: I “accidentally” spent more than hour playing Mario Tennis Ultra Smash at Nintendo’s booth. I’m a longtime fan of the Mario Tennis games, both on home and handheld consoles. Even though the game is early and there were only two playable characters, I had a blast with Mario Tennis Ultra Smash. The core gameplay is tight, while the addition of power-ups gives it a wackier feel that make sense in the context of the Mario universe. I’ll give this one a full preview in a bit.

Sword Coast Legends: As a huge fan of the Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale games, I was really looking forward to learning more about Sword Coast Legends. After getting a demo and playing the game, my expectations were exceeded. It will surely satisfy fans of the isometric PC RPGs that I mentioned, but should also satisfy fans of pen-and-paper RPGs. The dungeon master features look awesome, powerful, and fun. While most of the game will have professional voice acting, I was delighted to learn that there will be opportunities for live action role-playing. I vow to make a character based on Azrael Abyss from Saturday Night Live and annoy the hell out of anyone foolish enough to let me be a dungeon master. I’ll be giving Sword Coast Legends a full preview too.

Your Take: Naturally, I didn’t get to play or see everything I wanted to. This is where you come in! I’d love to get your take on E3 2015. How did it play from home? What games are you excited for? Who do you think “won” the press conferences? Kindly share your thoughts in the comments section.

Aerith and Sephiroth Were Originally Brother and Sister

Did you know that Final Fantasy VII Aerith Gainsborough and Sephiroth (Jones?) were originally written to be brother and sister? It’s true! Legendary game designer Tetsuya Nomura said so. In this nifty bit of translation from Andriasang, Nomura spilled the beans on the evolution of Aerith. Check it out:

The original character setting had Aerith and Sephiroth as brother and sister. The effect of this setting can still be seen in the designs of their front hair. Later, they changed the setting so that Sephiroth was Aerith’s first love. That eventually resulted in Zack.

Wow. Sephiroth would have been even more of a dick for killing his sister. Killing his ex-girlfiend would have been nasty too. As it ended up, killing an unrelated mystic/flower merchant was pretty evil, but I wonder how much more impactful it would have been with the other scenarios.

Check out the entire translation for lots of great info on Final Fantasy VII from Nomura, Yoshinori Kitase, and Kazushige Nojima. Also, let me know if Aerith’s death would have been different for you had she been Sephiroth’s sister or lover.

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