Chapter 812 - 812: Boss Lucas Really Gets It!

Ben slowly made his way through the game's story. Since he chose normal difficulty, he hadn't faced many challenges.

The only part that was a bit tough was helping the owner of the fighting arena by taking on a round of underground fights.

It was a bit like the Challenge Areas in Xenoblade, where Cloud and Aerith could battle in the arena to gain extra experience for their equipment, money, and other rewards.

The earlier fights weren't difficult. The only part Ben found challenging was the final battle in the Hell House.

Compared to the arena storyline in the previous life's remake, Lucas had cut out a lot of unnecessary fights, preventing the game's pacing from being intentionally dragged out. He also slightly adjusted the Hell House's HP.

But even so, the Hell House was mainly designed to show players the benefits of using different elemental strengths in battle.

To beat the Hell House easily, players needed to bring magic materia that exploited its weaknesses. If they just went in headfirst, they'd pretty much have to rely on sheer stat power.

Plus, in this battle, the player's party only had Aerith and Cloud, and without a third person, they couldn't form the classic "tank, healer, DPS" setup.

At least for Ben, this battle had left him feeling a bit exhausted. In the end, he quietly chose to switch the normal difficulty down to easy.

Even though he was a veteran of tough games, he preferred to play it safe with this kind of game.

After all, Souls-like games left you no choice.

Besides, why was the easy difficulty even there?

So players could choose it!

Happily defeating the Hell House, Ben then went into the system menu and switched the option back, resuming the story.

'Cloud, remember.'

'Beauty knows no gender.'

After successfully preparing a dress for Aerith, Ben, seeing Aerith in a red gown, felt a sense of satisfaction within the game.

He followed the storyline step by step, preparing to get the invitation, and then went back to the Honey Bee Inn.

After controlling Cloud and the flamboyant Don Corneo to dance a bit.

Then, with the help of various Honey Bee Inn girls and Don Corneo's makeup.

The cross-dressing Cloud made a dazzling appearance.

"This feels even more spectacular than in the trailers!" Ben muttered to himself in the game, watching Cloud walk away with a blank expression, pretending not to hear Aerith calling him.

The cross-dressing Cloud moment had already been shown in the pre-release trailers. The only thing that surprised Ben was that he was actually controlling Aerith in this part of the story, allowing him to observe Cloud from every angle.

Nebula Games really understood their players!

Watching Cloud hurry towards Don Corneo's mansion, Ben couldn't help but sigh.

After arriving at Tifa's place, this part of the story was pretty relaxed and enjoyable.

The only thing was that Don Corneo looked incredibly annoying and sleazy.

And it was from him that Cloud and the others received some startling news.

Shinra planned to blow up the Mako reactor to destroy Avalanche, completely obliterating Sector 7.

Of course, the most frustrating part for Ben was that the game developers had already voiced all his complaints as the player.

Facing Cloud, who wanted to leave after getting the important news, the lecherous Don Corneo tried to stop him.

'Wait a minute! Hear me out, I'll be quick!'

Hearing this, Cloud and the other two stopped.

'When would villains like us ever spill all the beans and tell the whole truth?'

Well, when they were sure they were going to win!

Seeing the three different options appear before him, Ben was stunned.

The moment the words fell, the floor beneath them opened, and in the game, Cloud, Aerith, and Tifa fell into a large pit.

Next up was the inevitable sewer section, a staple of RPGs.

Whether it's a typical ARPG or a more traditional turn-based strategy RPG, there's one place they all unavoidable lead to.

It's a sewer-like environment. They might have different names, but they all share common traits: cold, damp, dark, and filled with unsettling monsters.

The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, God of War, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Xenoblade, The Witcher 3.

These RPGs from Nebula Games also adhered strictly to this "unwritten rule," and now it was Final Fantasy's turn.

The only thing that comforted Ben was that this traditional RPG-style dungeon wasn't very long in Final Fantasy. There were only a few small challenges, and some elite monsters for players to grow stronger against.

This was another change made by Lucas. In the previous life's Final Fantasy remake, SE tried every way to take money from players' pockets, and to avoid risk, they made the game episodic.

But in reality, much of the content in the game was repetitive and tedious, designed solely to prolong playtime.

This was because the first chapter's setting was limited to Midgar, and it was also a departure from the original story, with grander ambitions.

Lucas, on the other hand, was preparing to release a complete version, so there was no need for that.

Although the stories of major characters like Yuffie, Zack, and Vincent were planned to be released as separate DLC,

the stories of characters like Barret, Red XIII, and Cait Sith, who joined later, would be revealed to players during their journey. There would also be opportunities to raise Chocobos and explore dungeons in the wild like the Mythril Cave, Eagle Mountain, and Cosmo Canyon. Players would definitely not feel like content was missing.

Of course, like Xenoblade, this part wouldn't be integrated into the main story. It was meant for players to explore on their own.

Because the main story content was already long enough.

As for why Zack, Vincent, and Yuffie were made into separate DLCs, while characters like Barret were included in the base game,

just look at the character designs. Do I even need to say more?

As a player, Ben didn't know about these later developments yet.

At this moment, he had only one thought: Had he accidentally opened the wrong game!?

Emerging from the sewers, they were preparing to return to the slums.

But the path back was completely different.

It was night, and they were at the eerie abandoned train graveyard.

'Usually, nobody comes around here. Not only are there monsters, but there are also scary rumors...'

'The Train Graveyard is haunted! They say if you go in at night, you never come back.'

Seeing Tifa look so serious, Ben, who wasn't very brave and always broke out in a cold sweat every time he pretended to be brave playing horror games from Nebula Games, felt a bit scared now.

Even though this was an RPG, the VR immersion made the environment feel quite chilling.

"So... can't I just go in front?" Ben asked nervously, looking at Tifa and Aerith following behind him.

However, as the map progressed, his nervous feelings quickly faded.

When the word 'Ghost' appeared on a shipping container, Aerith suggested they check it out, but Tifa was a little worried.

'Don't worry, we have a strong bodyguard!' Aerith smiled and grabbed Cloud's arm.

'Catching ghosts isn't really my specialty...' Cloud said with some helplessness.

The very next second, Tifa also ran over and grabbed Cloud's arm, adorably pleading, "Don't say that... please think of something!"

Seeing this scene, Ben's earlier nervousness had completely vanished.

At this point, he had only one thought.

Boss Lucas really gets it!

As a player, this is the experience he craved!

(End of Chapter)