Jhessail 说:
I have a number of issues with these complaints about the story (which admittedly isn't perfect), and I think that by addressing them I can argue that Cloud is a good and interesting character.
Spoilers below, and shame on you if you play video games but haven't played FFVII.
Jhessail 说:
Cloud doesn't have amnesia because it makes him a marketable anonymous angsty badass. He has amnesia because it facilitates character growth, and this is why I find him to be a fundamentally interesting character. If the anonymous angsty badass schtick was one-dimensional, you would know that he was an amnesiac at the start of the game. Instead, you learn that Cloud was an amnesiac after he suffers from a second bout of amnesia after his first showdown with Sephiroth at the crater.
Jhessail 说:
Eh, not exactly. When Tifa found Cloud in Midgar, he had amnesia. He created the angsty personality with a combination of three stories: 1) stories from his friend Zack about being a member of SOLDIER, 2) stories about a great war hero, and 3) Tifa's genuine childhood memories of their adolescent friendship after her mother's death.
Why doesn't she call Cloud out when he casts himself as the hero of Nibelheim? For one, she was seriously injured during the Nibelheim incident (stabbed through the chest if I remember the animations correctly), so I can imagine that she spent a long time recovering from her wounds in a medical coma. For two, she suffered a serious emotional tragedy by losing her second parent. It shouldn't be surprising that Tifa defers to Cloud's retelling of the story when her memory may be compromised and Cloud knows details about the incident that he couldn't otherwise know if he wasn't there at the time.
On to my larger point, Cloud is interesting because he develops as a character. In the beginning of the game, Cloud is an angsty badass, who often responds like a jerk when he's asked to do something. His trademark response is literally shrugging and saying "I don't care." This is the Cloud that aspired to be like Zack and Sephiroth. But, after some critical introspection (how often do you see that in a role playing game
), Cloud realized that he wasn't this uncaring, angsty badass - he was a flawed person who learned to care about himself and his friends and the world (White Materia, if you will). This is why he was able to defeat Sephiroth in their second showdown at the crater.Yes, there are cliches and tropes in this story. It is not perfect. But, it is a story that shows character development and ties it to a larger theme of environmentalism and what it means to be good and evil. Ultimately, the presentation is something that I find to be effective, stylish, and meaningful.
Jhessail 说:
Do you really think that this criticism is legitimate? In a general context, I can certainly appreciate when a game melds story and mechanics (it's why I love Roguelikes - the mechanics tell the character's story). But, does this fact significantly diminish your enjoyment of the game (or the story)? Sure, it's good for a laugh, but I certainly don't have an issue suspending my disbelief in this instance to better appreciate the overall story. It feels a bit petty.
Jhessail 说:
I'm genuinely curious about this. Could you provide a few examples of unresolved plot threads? I thought that the game did a good job of covering the development of multiple side-characters throughout the main quest, and I can't think of many plots that were left unresolved.
Jhessail 说:
You do know that 75% of the dialogue is optional, right? If you found yourself reading too much, perhaps you were engaged enough to be talking to all of the NPCS enough times to exhaust their dialogue.
Jhessail 说:
We could go over issues with certain characters (although I'm not keen to), but as a general rule, I think that at least half of them are decently fleshed out (my exceptions to this are Aeris, Vincent, and Yuffie, who I think went underdeveloped as a result of deadlines). A few even change and grow.
As for the unrealistic proportions, it's not my cup of tea, but I don't think it's glaring enough to inhibit my enjoyment of the game. This isn't ARMA.
Jhessail 说:
Nah, Pokemon was my first JRPG. And, most of what I remember about FFVII is from my second play through (in 2011).
Sure, nostalgia plays a factor. I love FFVII because it was one of the greatest gaming experiences of its time and I got to experience it as a child. But, I like FVII because it still presents an emotionally evocative story with interesting character development, solid game mechanics, an awesome art style, and a beautiful score.
