Chapter 808 - 808: So Damn Cool!

While the buzz around Final Fantasy and "Advent Children" was still going strong.

At Nebula Games, Lucas and his team were conducting the final tests for Final Fantasy.

"Boss Lucas, this story..." In the office, Anna, Rachel, and the others wore expressions of utter despair.

During the earlier "Advent Children," they hadn't felt anything particularly special about it.

But as they got into the actual game development, looking at the character backgrounds and the main storyline,

Everyone felt a sense of déjà vu, like that familiar sting was back. And compared to before, this time the sting was sharp and direct.

From the main characters to the important supporting roles, no one was spared.

What was even more ridiculously upsetting was that characters who seemed like mere sidekicks even had dedicated DLCs making them protagonists.

This naturally allowed players to feel their tragedies even more deeply.

"Although players might feel a bit miserable later on, isn't this a change?" Lucas leaned back in his chair, lightly clapping his hands.

Lucas had also made many changes to the plot.

In his previous life, Final Fantasy VII was actually a tragic story, including Zack in Crisis Core.

But in the later remake of Final Fantasy VII, the plot was changed, and a concept called "Lifestream" was added.

It could be understood as fate. The existence of the Lifestream was to steer history back to what it should be.

However, the appearance of Sephiroth and Aerith created a singularity in fate.

Without such a concept, Final Fantasy VII in his previous life would have simply been a normal remake based on the original content.

But the addition of the unique concept of the Lifestream showed the game's ambition and also created a connection with player interaction.

Therefore, regarding this aspect, Lucas had made a decision: to let players experience the original story first.

Because this concept of the Lifestream actually required players to have a stronger sense of immersion after understanding the original story.

There was also a desire to change regrets.

Although, from an artistic perspective, tragedies are certainly more moving and memorable.

But from a player's point of view, who wouldn't want a truly happy ending?

So Lucas planned to release the game in two versions. In the second version, the original fate would be rewritten by the players.

At the same time, for the main content of the first version of the game, Lucas also made it richer, leaning towards the portrayal in the previous life's remake of Final Fantasy, and amplified the roles of many supporting characters in the game.

For example, in the original game, Biggs, Jessie, and Wedge were basically just extras, but in the remake, they were greatly fleshed out, especially Jessie, a female character, who even made Cloud a little flustered.

Of course, the fact that Biggs and Wedge are confirmed alive, while Jessie's fate is unknown, is clearly the game developer's trick from their previous life.

If they were popular, they lived; if they were not popular, they died.

So, in these different character storylines, Lucas also planned to use an A/B dual path mode.

In version A, players would face various oppressive situations in the early stages of the game, including experiencing the fates of characters like Vincent and Zack through DLCs.

While version B, with the introduction of the Lifestream, would bring new hope to players.

"It's just that this brand new hope might be a little late," Anna quipped from the side.

"Ahem... it's not too late. It's already in development, and we're letting players experience version A first. After all, the players are already eager," Lucas said with a slight cough.

Because if the Lifestream concept were added, even if most of the art and combat systems could be used, the detailed presentation and content would be too much for one version. Although it wasn't the same as making a whole new game, it wasn't a small undertaking.

So, the initial version would be released to players first, and it would also allow players to build up their emotions, so the power released later would be stronger.

As for Lucas's arrangements, ordinary players and those interested in the game because of "Advent Children" were completely unaware.

At this moment, they were joyfully anticipating the game's release date.

...

"Here it comes, it's finally time!"

At noon, in the Star Cloud world, Ben stared at the game icon, which had changed from gray to unlocked, with sheer excitement.

Today was the release day of Final Fantasy.

Heaven knew how long he had waited during this period.

Especially after watching the "Advent Children" CG movie and the subsequent game trailers, seeing Tifa and Aerith, the main characters, his anticipation for this game had reached its peak.

The last time he was this excited was when he watched the trailer for Xenoblade Chronicles and saw the appearance of Aegis (Mythra).

With a heart full of excitement, Ben immediately entered the game.

After a brief moment of darkness, the prologue cutscene appeared.

A modern city, all powered by steam engines.

Trains sped along the roads, and children's cars and bicycles weaved through the streets. Workers were carrying out street maintenance.

Then, with the cheerful melody of the Crystal Prelude, the game screen switched to a starry background.

The next scene shifted to the streets of Midgar at night.

Aerith, wearing a dark red dress, a red jacket fastened over it, metal bracers on her wrists, and brown boots, with her long, light brown hair adorned with a pink butterfly ribbon, was selling flowers with a basket.

But then, as if she saw something in the crowd, she stood on tiptoe, trying to peer through the people towards the back.

It seemed like there was someone important there, someone she had been waiting for.

But the next moment, not noticing the crowd, Aerith was accidentally bumped by someone.

Flowers fell from her basket onto the ground, and she crouched down to put them back.

But when there was only one yellow flower left, a passerby, carrying a box that blocked his vision, stepped on that yellow flower.

Looking at the fallen yellow flower on the ground, Aerith carefully picked it up and, holding her flower basket, wondered what she was thinking.

Slowly, Aerith brought the flower close to her chest and then slowly looked up at the sky.

At the same time, the camera slowly panned into the distance.

The title of the game, "Final Fantasy," appeared in Ben's vision.

"It's so breathtaking! Even though I've seen it in the trailers and Advent Children, experiencing it immersively in the game is still incredibly stunning!"

The scene of Midgar just now echoed in Ben's mind, and he couldn't help but exclaim.

Just this city alone was a bit too overwhelming, a unique kind of industrial beauty.

Many parts of Midgar were not visible in Advent Children.

And Midgar in the promotional videos was just a fleeting glimpse.

But now, entering the game, even just the prologue, provided an unobstructed aerial view of Midgar.

Giant pillars supported Midgar, dividing it into upper and lower levels. The upper level housed the Shinra Corporation headquarters, and the lower level was the slum. A spiral railway connected the two levels. The lower level was divided into eight districts based on the location of the Mako reactors, with the train graveyard and church both in the lower section.

And the Mako reactors, which supplied the entire city, ceaselessly extracted Mako to provide energy for the city. Midgar was like a giant pizza.

Breathtaking—this was the first impression of all players upon seeing this city.

As the prologue skipped, the game's perspective quickly zoomed towards a certain location in Midgar.

With a whirring sound, the train sped along the tracks.

Cloud, carrying the Buster Sword on his back, stood in the middle carriage of the train.

Seeing Cloud appear on screen, Ben wasn't all that excited.

Although he could finally control him in the game, unlike in Advent Children where he could only watch!

But this wasn't what he wanted!

Where was Tifa!? And where was that red-dressed girl named Aerith!

Those were the important ones he wanted!

As sparks flew from the wheels on the tracks, the train heading for its final destination began to slow down.

At the same time, the game's UI appeared before Ben, with the region's name displayed in the upper right corner: Mako Reactor 1.

As the train stopped, a dashing woman and a fat and a thin person appeared on screen. The three of them easily dealt with the guards.

Who were these three people?

Ben was a little dazed by the trio, as these characters hadn't appeared in "Advent Children."

Only Barret, who appeared later, was an old acquaintance.

Even though he was a supporting character in "Advent Children," part of the cheerleading squad, he and his daughter Marlene were quite memorable.

And based on Barret's performance, he could be considered a tough guy.

"Let's go, newcomers."

Stopping, Barret waved towards the train.

As he spoke, the camera switched.

With a 360-degree aerial flip, Cloud, holding the Buster Sword, jumped out of the train carriage.

He landed in a single-knee kneeling position at a 45-degree angle, his right hand holding the Buster Sword horizontally parallel to his body, his other hand pressed on the ground, and his head bowed.

Then he slowly stood up, swung the Buster Sword into the air, as if performing a flourish, flipped it over his shoulder, and slowly raised his head.

"Fuck! So flashy!" Ben couldn't help but curse.

But he had to admit, that pose, combined with Cloud's looks, was just damn cool!

(End of Chapter)