Day 50

Game - Final Fantasy 7, Day 50
Hours Played/Hours Total - 9 hrs / 43 hrs
Starting Point - Nearby Bone Village
Current Goal - Go after Aeris in the City of Ancients. Stop Sephiroth from stopping her.

What Happened - Woo! Day 50! I've come so far...and hopefully around the halfway point overall! The real problem is that all the games after 6 are going to take at least 60 hours apiece if not MORE! With all that said, let's get right to it! A warning to those reading it today...If you have never played FF7, you are about to read onward to a big pile of super spoiler alert. I'll just say the game is famous for this part, and that if you don't know about it, shield your eyes now! Of course, if you are reading this, you probably either don't care to play FF7 (yet want to read this blog), OR you have already played FF7 and are just strolling down memories lane. Either way....OMG SPOILER ALERT! LOOK OUT BELOW!
     At this point, I'm getting tired of a lot of side quests, and I'm ready to wrap up Disc 1. I made my way to the Bone Village (where the entry to the City of Ancients is). The good thing is I'm getting closer, but one can't simply walk into Mordor...or in this case, the City of Ancients. I had to go through the Sleeping Forest, but you can't GO through the Sleeping Forest without the Lunar Harp. (Sounds like a pen & paper RPG quest...am I right?) Thanks to some guide help, I easily obtained the Lunar Harp and was able to charge right into the forest. There wasn't a lot to the forest once the Lunar Harp "deactivated" it. I was able to simply walk by and enter the Forgotten Capital! (Sounds cooler than City of the Ancients...also the cooler label for it.) There wasn't much to this place. Kinda spooky really...a completely dead city of sorts from another time. I explored some and located a few items. While searching about, I stumbled into a house where the group could sleep...so I slept! Of course, this was necessary to push the story forward as well. The group awakens, and Cloud claims that he can feel both Aeris and Sephiroth's presence here. I move out and located a house near the center of it all. Inside, there was a glowing staircase that led downward (also the Comet materia). I followed the staircase down into the depths of the planet. Down below was a glowing and mystical looking piece of city. In there, I finally spotted Aeris and moved straight towards her. The scary part was Cloud started going crazy again. At one point, he actually tried to kill Aeris, but he managed to snap out of it. Unfortunately, it wasn't about to end there, and then...video game history was made.
     The game cuts to the infamous cutscene of Sephiroth killing Aeris. I was never that attached to Aeris, but this is still a fairly sad scene. There's not much you can do to grasp the idea of "THIS JUST HAPPENED." I've heard tales of all forms of people getting super angry/depressed about this. There's a fun xkcd comic based on this. Let me get it linked up to here...(You'll have to click it for a full-sized version.)

Despite all this, I would like to say...I feel it was kinda expected. It's still a shock to see, but the game kind of points to her being killed. I dunno if this is the first big death in a video game, but it's definitely one of the more well known ones. So...glossing past the sadness.
     Cloud is mourning her death, and Sephiroth talks about how she'll merge with the Lifestream and become one with it. Cloud doesn't care anymore of course, but Sephiroth simply seems slightly confused and zooms off while saying something...But he dropped us a little gift in the form of BOSS BATTLE TIME! Oh look everybody! It's our favorite repeating boss JENOVA! This time it is assaulting my party of Cloud, Barret, and Tifa (I could have switched from before, but I didn't~). JENOVA wasn't really pushing me to the limit, but it did have some powerful attacks. It also cast Reflect on itself, and I just unequipped the darn materia for REMOVING things like that. Blargh. Oh well, I just unleashed my summons and Enemy Skills. Boom! Bwamp! Snickt! Jenova went down, but my sadness for Aeris did not. As Jenova died, it finished Sephiroth's message...They were calling Cloud a "puppet" (aka more foreshadow snobbery). With the battle done, the three mourn her death and give her a sort of water funeral via cutscene. It's still pretty sad. I mean...like I said, I wasn't really that attached to her, and it's still sad to see. /END DISC 1!!!
     With Aeris dead, Cloud is set on going after Sephiroth. Using his strange connection to Sephiroth, he manages to figure out he is heading north towards the snowy part of this continent. I make my way out of the Forgotten Capital and to the north, icy part of this continent. Along the way, I pass through the snowy village of Icicle Inn...What a horrible name. Anyways, in this town, I managed to obtain some new items, weapons, and even a map for the northern part called the Great Glacier. The fact I can get this probably means I'll need it...or that I should have it. I was about ready to leave when I stumbled upon a strange house. Inside the house were funny looking machines. One of them offered a series of videos. I watched one and quickly found out they were fairly informative ones. They all featured Ifalna (Aeris's real mother) as she explained different things like the Cetra and their past. For game's sake, I'll briefly go over this as to give any of those who care some more insight on the story.
     The first video talked about the Cetra some as well as a past event. Basically, at some point, a thing fell from the sky and injured the planet near the Knowlespole (the northern area I'm in now). The Cetra were able to talk with and hear the planet, and thus tried to fix the wound caused by the falling object. The planet did eventually heal, but it was at a great cost. The area around there became damaged (more or less) and turned into the frozen wasteland due to the energy taken by the planet to heal itself. When the Cetra were finally ready to part, something about dead spectres of fallen loved ones appeared. After that, the thing that injured the planet (referred to as the crisis from the sky) came along. He pretended to be a friend but deceived the people and gave them a virus. This virus caused them to go mad and turn into monsters. From there on, the crisis went throughout the land spreading the virus to more Cetra. That's just the first video...
     The second video called "What is Weapon" talked about the living things known as Weapons. Before getting into that, the game straight up reveals that Jenova isn't a Cetra. It was identified as a Cetra by the Professor that found it, but it was actually the previously mentioned "Crisis from the Sky." The planet knew it had to destroy Jenova because it could never heal while Jenova was present. Thus, it created the being known as Weapon. Weapon was a weapon (yeah....I know) created by the planet to destroy Jenova, but it was never used. The Cetra united, defeated, and contained Jenova to protect the Planet. However, Weapon wasn't destroyed or anything, it simply fell asleep in the planet. Doubting Jenova's defeated status, the Planet never fully healed and watches it closely. Thus ends video number two...which doesn't really cover what Weapon is.
     The third video actually consists of two parts labelled Daughter's Record 10th day after birth and 20th day after birth. They spoke of Ifalna's daughter, Aeris, being born recently. The second one explained when things changed. Turns out, the man making these videos was Professor Gast, and he had tried to help Ifalna escape from Shinra. As the video was concluding, Hojo came in and was planning to take all of them for experimentation. Gast tried to stop him, but Ifalna and Aeris only got away briefly...which I know because of how the story went.
     With those little tidbits added to the story, some parts were starting to make more sense. Enough about that though, it's time to continue onward! The only way forward was down the slippery slopes...IN STYLE! For the next part, I had to grab a snowboard and sled down the mountain. An interesting little mini-game that reminds me of the game Coolboarders that came out on the PSOne as well. Anyways, I totally shredded my way down the mountain into a big pile of icy blizzard. Seems like a great idea now...doesn't it? I wandered around for quite a bit trying to locate items...also an exit! I managed to get around quite a bit, but then Cloud finally collapsed. We were picked up by a man named Holzoff. He had been in this snowy wasteland for a good time, and he was here attempting to climb a nearby cliff. (AKA another mini-game for me) The cliff was where I needed to be, but before attempting that, I returned to the snowy wasteland of the Great Glacier to collect one thing I had missed. Back on the Glacier, I visited a cave on an outer path. Inside was a snow witch person. According to the guide, she's normally pretty nice, but that attitude changes when you touch the hot spring in the middle of the glacier. She gets angry at me for trying to touch her with the dirty hands that touched that hot spring. BOSS BATTLE TIME!...It really only applies because of the boss battle music involved. As for her, she's just a regular enemy that you can encounter around the glacier. She was no big deal, but she did leave behind a big deal! (It's not a poop joke.) She left behind the Alexander summon! Wooo! Only a few more summons to go! With that said and done, I returned to Holzoff's cabin, heal, save, and then continue up the Gaea Cliffs.
     Nothing too terribly hard. Basically, you climb up the face of the cliff. Every time you hit a ledge, you have to dance around and get your body temp back up. You just do this after every climbing bit, and you really can't lose. The first cave I came across wasn't too bad. I just had to wander to a point and push a rock off to clear the path. A bit further and I was outside having to scale the wall again. A bit further up and I found myself in a room with the forward path unreachable. Going around this revealed a large group of overhanging icicles. I had to "battle" each one to make them fall. After that, I was able to collect a few new items and then run right along. Around this point in the game, I've finally been able to "Master" some of my materia. By mastering a materia, it is maxed out in level and ability. Furthermore, it creates a new materia of itself. (Mastered Fire materia produces a new blank Fire materia) What's the point of this? I guess if you were cheap, you could just buy one of each elemental materia and just mass produce through a lot of farming. It's also the only method to get a second materia of some of the one shots (like summons). Another wall scaling followed this area, but there wasn't much to do but go forward after that. There was a save there next to a healing pool of sorts. With a nice healing spot right next to me, I spent a bit of time leveling things. I managed to get a few more mastered materia before deciding to move on. Turns out...the next path leads into BOSS BATTLE TIME!
     For this round, I was up against a giant two-headed hydra thing. Their opponents? Cloud, Yuffie, and Red XIII. Each head was able to cast a different type of breath (fire and ice). With a little advice from the guide, I was already prepared for this with some fancy armor that absorbed one or the other. He was still a formidable opponent though, and every time I killed one of the heads, they left me with a little surprise! Each one cast a giant final attack of sorts that took quite a chunk out of my group. However, despite their best effort, I arose victorious! I ran back to heal and save and then continued forward. Outside, I finally had reached the top and was looking inwards towards...a giant crater. It seems the planet's current "wound" is still there. The wound was surrounded by a large area of fog and wind. At the very core, it was shooting out what seemed to be mako. The group briefly talked as they looked at it. It was agreed that Sephiroth was planning to use this area of energy to summon Meteor to create an even BIGGER wound. One might question if the planet could even survive said wound. (I might have forgotten to mention earlier, but the game stated that Meteor actually calls something akin to a nearby small planet to FLING towards this one...That's messed up!) Anyways, it was time to continue in and stop Sephiroth once and for all. Before I got too far though, Tifa ran up and basically demanded that I bring her along. I was said to part, but I'm trying to keep my group in at a sort of average level set all around. I traded in Yuffie and Red XIII for Tifa (obviously) and Barret. I chose Barret because he is basically the lowest leveled character next to Cait Sith...and screw Caith Sith! He knows what he did...
     I began to approach the middle of the crater, and something else came into view. Up above us, the Shinra  people (Rufus, Scarlet, Heidigger) were cheating into the crater with their airship, the Highwind. I say cheating because my ass had to walk all this way, and they just fly here like it's no problem! Bunch of jerks. Anyways, Once that was done, I proceeded quickly to the center of it all. While moving along, I picked up another summon! It was the all powerful Neo Bahamut! (Yeah, this game has three different Bahamut summons for some reason...only one left!) Along the way was the mysterious black cloaked individuals who kept claiming something about Sephiroth and Reunion (much like those from earlier). A little further in and we were face to face with the man himself...or so it seemed! BOSS BATTLE TIME! However, it isn't Sephiroth! It's our old friend Jenova come back for another round of fighting! This time, he's chosen fire as his primary offensive type. Well...I threw all my summons I had at him, including the newly acquired Neo Bahamut. After that, I got lazy and just attacked regularly for a bit. Jenova wasn't really anything to be worried about. I never came even close to dying, and it all seemed to go fairly well...and then it was dead!
     With Jenova dead, the group was curious where Sephiroth could possibly be. Cloud pointed forward. However, the Jenova dropped the Black Materia. Cloud figured he couldn't be trusted with it, so I had to choose someone else. I picked Red XIII for the task. And my trio (Cloud, Tifa, and Barret) made their way further in. Now from this point on, things started getting pretty layered and borderline confusing. The game switches back to the Shinra group who have landed somewhere further in. They were amazed at the giant mass of mako and materia among all this ridiculousness. But they weren't alone...frozen/stuck in the surrounding material was one of the Weapons (as identified by Hojo). After revealing this side fact, it jumps back over to our main group. They're walking along and suddenly everything flashes! The group reappears in what seems to be Nibelheim. Barret and Tifa wonder how they are there, but Cloud knows it is all an illusion. Just then, it seems like the scene from five years ago is replaying. Sephiroth walks up along with 2 Soldiers and a black haired man (which was Cloud if you remember last). Everybody starts to question this, and Cloud simply figures it is Sephiroth trying to confuse him. Sephiroth tries to hammer the point across with several other images. All of them showing a mysterious black haired man in place of Cloud. Except for the hair, they look incredibly alike. Sephiroth finally comes out and says that Cloud isn't real! He is simply a horrible experiment created by Hojo. He's a clone of Sephiroth mixed with Jenova DNA. However, unlike others, Cloud was never given a number (like the black cloaks) because he was considered a failure. Cloud keeps denying all of this because he's convinced that Sephiroth is just trying to confuse him. Tifa's lack of saying anything is started to really lean towards Sephiroth's bit.
     Eventually, the game jumps back to Red XIII and the crew. They're all wondering what is going on, but suddenly things happen and everybody but Red XIII disappears. He's looking about when Tifa runs out and claims that Cloud and company need him. He runs off...and then Tifa turns into Sephiroth. He flies off and the rest of the group starts to come to. Another flash of light...and the group finds themselves with the Shinra group. Cloud is starting to go crazy at this point. He's completely unsure of what is real or isn't real. Red XIII walks in at this point, and Cloud gets the Black Materia from him. More words are exchanged among everybody including Cloud begging Hojo for a number (kinda whiny if you ask me...). It's also revealed that the REAL Sephiroth died 5 years ago, and that if they saw him otherwise, it was simply Jenova's doing. (I think...) Eventually, Cloud starts floating about and flies towards the roots that are in the ceiling of the cave/room. While sitting there, Hojo finally realizes something.
     Basically, he did all those experiments with Jenova to try and figure something out about it. He knew that the pieces of Jenova would try to reunite, but he always figured they would do so in Midgar, where they held the head of Jenova. However, they had all made their way to this spot with Sephiroth instead. He wasn't going to try and merge with the Lifestream like he said. Cloud realizes at this point that his entire reason for coming here was Sephiroth, but it wasn't necessarily how he thought. He had intentionally yet unintentionally been making his way here. As he realizes this, he hands over the Black Materia to the REAL Sephiroth (who is lodged in this giant set of roots), and everything deteriorates from here. The roots of sort break up, and the Weapons that are sealed break loose. The rest of the group (minus Cloud of course) head out on the Highwind with the Shinra crew. As they are getting away, Sephiroth manages to activate the Black Materia, and the Planet unleashes the Weapons from their sleep. They go flying all over the place. (Despite some of them being unable to fly!) And then....out.
     The game switches to Tifa being the main player. At this point, she's waking up several days later. Apparently quite a bit has gone down, Shinra is fighting off the Weapons. Cloud is missing. The worst thing of all though...Meteor is coming. Barret (currently with Tifa) points to the sky where Meteor sits ominously over the planet. Tifa reveals that she is unsure about Cloud because of a few things. She says the last time she remembers seeing him was 7 years agos. He knows things he should not, but he doesn't remember things he should. Finally, she goes back to the night where she met up with Cloud once again. She found him near the Midgar train station. He seemed out of it, but he suddenly sprung to life acting quite strangely. She wasn't sure what to do, so she kept an eye on him during this time. As the two are discussing things, Rufus comes in with Heidigger (or however you spell it!). As to not string this out, they are planning to execute both of them. They figure if they blame the two of them for the current problems with Meteor and the weapons, that the public will accept that. The two are escorted through the Junon base (where we are currently). Eventually, it comes to a room with a group of reporters.
     Before any real questions are asked, Tifa is locked into a gas chamber to be executed. While this is happening, one of the Weapons attack! Junon goes on high alert, and all the reporters run off...except for one! This strange looking reporter asks how Scarlet feels currently, but she's suddenly knocked out. Turns out the reporter was Cait Sith! He's here to help the two of them out, but there is a problem of course (not talking about Weapon...although he is a current problem). Tifa is still locked in the room, but they can't get in either. Eventually, Cait Sith suggests they find a different way in, and the two of them head towards the airstrip up above. During this, the Weapon is charging towards Junon. Shinra unleashes everything they have at Weapon to seemingly no effect. During this time, Tifa comes to and tries to escape. Luckily, the guard dropped a key, so she works her way out of her bindings and shuts off the gas. Around this time, Weapon closes in and blasts a portion of Junon away. Just as it goes to fire yet again, Shinra unleashes their main cannon right in his face! And...well it blew Weapon's head off (kinda graphic if you ask me o_O). Lucky for Tifa, Weapon's blast on the base opened a whole in her cell of sorts. She runs out and manages to make it to the end of the giant cannon barrel. Scarlet and Tifa have a little slapping match (Tifa wins!), but then it seems like all hope is lost....but then surprise!
     Just as it seems bad, the Highwind appears at the end of the cannon. Tifa jumps off onto the Highwind, and it takes off into the distance. Come to find out, the crew of the Highwind mutinied against Shinra and were on our side now. Cid had the Highwind at his command, and the whole crew was here (including MY crew!). Talking among all of them sounded pretty depressing. Nobody knew what to do, and they all felt like they needed Cloud there. It was discussed that Cloud had most likely fallen into the Lifestream below and was moving along the planet. Red XIII claimed that sometimes the Lifestream bursts out of cracks around the planet. That doesn't say a whole lot, but at least I have an airship now! With the airship in hand, I'm finally able to travel basically everywhere on the map. That is...minus a few special locations I'll talk about later. I went all over collecting, farming, and doing what I could. However...
     Seeing as this post is quite long enough, I figured it was time to wrap it up and post it! I could make it longer, but at that point, I have a bad feeling it'll be TOO long. So...done! Progress is going well, and I'm finally on disc 2. I don't think there is a whole lot left, and I'm figuring around 20 more hours before I finish it up. Anyways...stay tuned for the next post...DAY 51!!!

Ending Point - Nearby Wutai.
Current Party -

• Tifa - Level 45
• Yuffie - Level 47
• Vincent - Level 45 

Goals Accomplished - Made it to Aeris but couldn't save her from Sephiroth. Finished Disc 1. Chased after Sephiroth into the Giant Glacier. Made it through the Giant Glacier. Scaled the Gaea Cliff into the giant crater. Made it through the crater and faced Sephiroth. Learned a bunch of shit about what's going on. Escaped from the crater with Shinra. Escaped from Junon with the Highwind. Did some side stuffs like items, farming, and materia!
Next Goals - Try to find Cloud. Save the world from Meteor!

~May the Crystals Guide Me~