Today on FFVII-R...wow this game is still going, huh? Anyway, today, Yuffie and her belly button deal with the scourge that is...Scarlet and what I think is an unused boss from the base game.
Earlier, Mog-Yuffie passes a Loveless poster. What are the odds we ever get to actually see Loveless in this remake series? Probably nil since we're out of Midgar already.
I went back to do the Turtle Flyer quest, which involves hunting down six flyers all around the slum. One of them is in this weird Cat Yard.
After retrieving the flyer the cats stole, the culprit-cat runs off. You can actually follow said cat, if you're quick. I figured it'd just disappear eventually and probably didn't mean anything, but it turns out that it actually does lead you somewhere. First, it runs you past this classroom.
Then ultimately, it stops in front of this hidden materia (that unfortunately I got already, so it was turned into a generic magic materia). Don't remember what this was originally. One of the purple materia, I believe. Possibly Steadfast Block.
Another flyer, and probably the most tedious one, involves sneaking across this balcony when a guard dog isn't looking.
This is actually the balcony that Cloud's apartment is on. In this Intergrade remake of the remake, they fixed the door so it actually looks good now. Too good, for a slum. So maybe now players of this game can shut up about the door. We're getting a remake of one of the most beloved games of all time, and thousands of people online were griping about the resolution on a door.
Yuffie gets ambushed by Marle! Apparently a cute girl snooping around Cloud's room is the kind of thing that arouses suspicion.
Marle lectures Yuffie on how DAT BOY'S NO GOOD.
She continues to rant about Cloud. I didn't realize she was this put-off by him in the main game, but I'm glad someone is pointing out what a jackass the guy is.
Yuffie assures her that she isn't here for a Cloud Booty Call.
"Coulda fooled me," says Marle. "You've already got the top button undone for him!"
After returning all of the flyers, you get the Turtle-Tastic trophy. And waaaaay more importantly, you get a Magnify materia, which turns a paired spell into a hit-all. There are only two Magnifys available in this DLC, which is enough to give AOE heals to both Yuffie and Sonon.
Elsewhere, it's time to finally move onto Chapter 2, the final chapter of the DLC. This involves going to Shinra HQ to get the "Ultimate Materia" that Yuffie came here for in the first place.
Because of Barret and Co's actions at Reactor 5, the trains are severely delayed.
On the train, we get this weird scene. I dunno, everything about this scene is a little bit off-putting. Sonon looms over Yuffie while pressing her up against a wall, somberly lamenting over his lost sister while Yuffie looks squished and uncomfortable.
Sonon tells the story about how a Shinra mech went haywire near a crowd, so his big sister (who was also trained by Godo, Yuffie's dad) swings into action.
His big sister, who - dayum, BTW - was having none of Shinra's mech, goes on the attack...and loses.
Smash cut to PrezShinra, up in the tower surrounded by troops who are all shivering and guarding their groins in fear.
Reeve, who we can definitely confirm knew about the plate collapse in advance, begs the president to reconsider.
Shinra is like "naw man"
I mean, the collapse of this plate is absolutely a win-win for them, aside from all the death. Which tends to not matter to these types when they're A) Making billions from it and B) Insulated from actually seeing the results of their actions up close.
Yuffie arrives at Shinra Tower and gets accosted by that one newsman.
Yuffie doesn't know what floor to go to, when...
...Scarlet bounces onto the elevator. Uh oh.
They share an uncomfortable elevator ride where Scarlet asks her about the weather and stuff. I'm pretty sure Yuffie's current garb is a dead giveaway that she's from Wutai. In a few hours, her kind are going to be very unwelcome in this city.
Wait, she knew who Yuffie was the whole time!
She proceeds to trap our heroes behind an energy barrier, forcing them to take the long way around past a bunch of her minions.
Sonon with another flashback, showing how he tried to save his sister and couldn't. ...I don't suppose this is going to figure into how the present-day story goes?
Scarlet's hologram flops and boings into the room to inform our heroes that she's going to use them for weapons testing. That's right, she's in charge of a lot of Shinra's R&D. The various Shinra Corp minions were woefully underutilized in the original PS1 game, and all had specific roles in the company.
What follows are a bunch of fights with mechs. I particularly like the Sweepers.
Scarlet watches all of this on monitors, while...
...resting her feet on Shinra's luckiest soldier.
This dungeon goes on for a while, and is the beefiest of the DLC.
I find the Ninja Cannonball materia, which...seems to be a comedy attack? I'm not sure. I was pretty stoked, thinking it'd be a big new super-attack, but it didn't seem too powerful. Maybe I just didn't use it right, or give it enough of a chance.
Here's a pretty nice armlet. One materia slot...with triple AP growth, which is HUGE.
That thing looks familiar. Isn't that the Pride and Joy Prototype from the main game?
There's also a block-breaking minigame here, much like the one in the normal game. And like that one, the key to getting anywhere here is to spam special attacks.
This is about as well as I could do, but it was enough to get the first 3 prizes, plus...
...the 4th prize, the second Magnify materia. Absolutely crucial to get these and I love that they're both obtained from minigames. It's good motivation to play said minigames. I don't know about going for the 5th and 6th prizes though. 20000 is about as well as I did. There's a trophy attached to getting 50000, but I'm not really after those. Already platted the game. Having a plat with less than 100% next to it is something I've had to look at before, and an unfortunate reality of the way Sony has things set up.
Mech Factory. The devil's hands have been busy.
Weirdness aside about how he is attracted to Yuffie while also seeing her like another sister to protect, Sonon is a super-useful character. He's the best tank in the entirety of FFVIII-R, can do dual-techs, and automatically revives Yuffie every time she falls. The only way you can die is if he falls before Yuffie does and you don't revive him before she also falls. Which can happen very easily in the optional boss fights, but isn't really a thing in the regular course of the DLC.
Yuffie takes a moment to chill in Scarlet's chair.
Aside from having the fragrance of an adult product store, it's a pretty nice chair.
Most of this dungeon revolves around climbing from floor to floor around this giant engine. It can get confusing. It's cool though, to flesh out another part of Shinra Tower. I wonder if all of this is cut content from the main game? Was Shinra Tower originally going to be EVEN LONGER?
And what about Palmer? Where's his section of Shinra Tower? WHAT ABOUT PALMER?
Elsewhere, Scarlet
uh
idk
Scarlet wants to introduce Yuffie to her...toys. My God, what kind of sick place is this?
That hologram must cost a lot to run. They're spending a fortune to taunt these two Wutai minions when they could just as easily sic their entire army on them instead.
Our heroes take the elevator. Yuffie's sweater is where you can really see the new PS5 detail. This isn't a cutscene.
More Sweepers and Cutters await, which is just a warm-up for the real nightmare...
...Scarlet's Omnigear, the Crimson Mare.
After reading the artbook of the original FFVII-R, I speculated that Scarlet was a cut boss from the game. I think this might prove that. They repurposed her for this DLC since this section didn't make it into the game.
This thing is a BEAST.
Special beam cannon!
Yuffie dishes out a limit break. I'm really surprised this isn't the final boss of the DLC. It's big enough to be, and it's certainly badass enough to be.
Finally, the Ramuh summon unleashes absolute hell and finishes the fight. Ramuh is perfect against mech enemies, which just so happen to be two of Yuffie's big three fights (this and the optional boss... alas, the DLC final boss isn't a mech)
Here's the actual fight, in all of its sheer brutality.
Scarlet is due for an appearance on SNN and doesn't have time for them. She threatens to introduce them to her Hot Button.
Sonon: "Tell me more!"
Oh my God! It's... the Hot Button! What does it do?
Scarlet notes that our heroes have left her no choice, and presses the Hot Button.
And that's it for Midgar. Well, you can't break an omelette without making a few days. Rome wasn't built in an egg.
TO BE CONTINUED.
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