Well... my first thought is of summons. FFX-2 lacked them, and this is one aspect of the game which proved to be extremely disappointing. I hope they can correct this with the new game.

-----

Hmm... I would introduce Rufus first, and do as you said with his character. I've learned that introducing new characters to a story inhabited by staple characters should be done with care, as new characters are generally respected moreso if they don't attempt to steal the spotlight from existing characters. Just bring her in naturally and good luck.

~Crow~ Wrote: Hmm... I would introduce Rufus first, and do as you said with his character. I've learned that introducing new characters to a story inhabited by staple characters should be done with care, as new characters are generally respected moreso if they don't attempt to steal the spotlight from existing characters. Just bring her in naturally and good luck.

I will take your suggestions in major consideration in scene 2, thanks.

By the way, I was skimming past a web site and it had some information relating to "Dark Aeons" in Final Fantasy X. I never encountered them in the game so I'm wondering if the info was false?

mangatropi Wrote: By the way, I was skimming past a web site and it had some information relating to "Dark Aeons" in Final Fantasy X. I never encountered them in the game so I'm wondering if the info was false?

Dark Aeons??! What is this? I've played through FFX 3 times and I've never heard of them..

Ah yes... the fabled Dark Aeons of FFX. They do indeed exist, but only in the international version of FFX. If you are playing the US version like me... you won't be able to access these bosses. I am hoping to find FFX Int. at some point, as the challenge to defeat these beasts is a monumently great task.

Basically, the Aeons have dark versions of themselves, and this does include the Magus Sisters and Anima. Needless to say, these bosses are extremely difficult and require max stats and special items if you have any hope to defeat them. Not only do they possess outrageous stats and massive amounts of HPs, you'll need to defeat some of them more than once. For example, Dark Yojimbo requires five battles befores before he can be completely defeated.

If you are wondering exactly how much HP Anima has... the answer is very close to 8 million.

~Crow~ Wrote: Ah yes... the fabled Dark Aeons of FFX. They do indeed exist, but only in the international version of FFX. If you are playing the US version like me... you won't be able to access these bosses. I am hoping to find FFX Int. at some point, as the challenge to defeat these beasts is a monumently great task. Basically, the Aeons have dark versions of themselves, and this does include the Magus Sisters and Anima. Needless to say, these bosses are extremely difficult and require max stats and special items if you have any hope to defeat them. Not only do they possess outrageous stats and massive amounts of HPs, you'll need to defeat some of them more than once. For example, Dark Yojimbo requires five battles befores before he can be completely defeated. If you are wondering exactly how much HP Anima has... the answer is very close to 8 million.

Wow!

Just thinking about those huge numbers reminds me of the horror of facing emerald weapon. Some features that the international version has are an Expert Sphere Grid that's selectable after you start a new game. Some more are,

-Additional abilities such as Full Break, Extract Power, Extract Ability and Extract Mana.

-Armour abilities such as ribbon which protects against all status.

Here are 2 pics of the dark aeons, the first being dark magus sisters the second being penance.

*Oh and penance has 12 million Hp, near maxed stats and will take about and hour to defeat.*




As for FF7 news, Advent Children.net has a P900iV Commercial Download that basically shows off the Cloud black model of the phone.

Penance looks very interesting to battle. The only problem is that the game is in Japanese (isn't it?). No matter... I would purchase this if I was able. In any case, here's some more information on Before Crisis from adventchildren.net:

- A story 6 years before the incident with the Mako reactor, the start of FFVII. That person's past will be revealed.
- As a member of "The Turks", the player will carry out various actions and missions.
- Make full use of your phone's features! Send your magic materia you've created with your camera to a friend through the network, and give them back up.

Beta-testing will begin August 31.

~Crow~ Wrote: Penance looks very interesting to battle. The only problem is that the game is in Japanese (isn't it?). No matter... I would purchase this if I was able.

I would like to purchase it as well though the only way of playing it would be to either, buy a Japanese PS2 or getting my system modded(not recommended). Also does anyone know the exact number of copies that FF7 sold worldwide?

Anywho I have finished scene 2 of the FanFic, enjoy!


Scene 2: Struggle from within


The scene will begin in Rufus's lavish mansion located in the outskirts of midgar. Rufus is walking his pet Dark Nation in his garden.

Rufus: Tell me something, how did you learn how to use that thunder materia so well.

Dark Nation rubs against Rufus's leg.

Rufus: Yes, you will grow strong just as I.

Rufus closes his eyes and imagines himself as the head of the shinra. At the same time, his shinra cell phone begins to ring.

Rufus: Rufus here.

President of Shinra: Son we have a problem.

Rufus: What is it this time.

Rufus has a seat in his garden.

President of Shinra: It involves the Mako incident that occurred three days ago. The public is blaming it on us.

Rufus:But we were responsible, weren't we?

President of Shinra: Yes we were, however the ignorant fools of midgar shall be told a lie. A lie that they will be forced to belive though fear.

Rufus stands up.

Rufus: So what does this have to do with me?

President of Shinra: You will give a speech explaining that it was a natural mistake and will be dealt with immediately. Also no protests will be allowed or extreme countermeasures will be taken. Do you understand me?

Rufus: So I have to do all of your dirty work!

President of Shinra: You're the vice president, it's your job to serve me and me only.

Shouts violently.

Rufus: Ever since I had this position you have been giving me orders that were a result of your mishaps! Time after time you demand and give nothing in return!

President of Shinra: But.........

Rufus: But nothing! The speech will be given only in my version!

Rufus hangs up the phone. Meantime while Rufus was talking on the phone, his secretary Julia was eavesdropping on what was begin said.

Julia: Ummm,, excuse me?

Rufus remains still, not turning around to look at Julia.

Julia: I heard everything that was said,, I'm sorry.

Julia begins to walk away but Rufus replies.

Rufus: It's okay, there's nothing to be ashamed of. Please tell me what you're doing here?

Julia: I was looking for dark nation. It's time for his meal.

Rufus: Oh,,, ah, yes it is time. Though I wonder if I should be teaching it materia at such an early time in his life.

Julia: Well it depends on many factors such as the breed of the animal and the owners way of treating it. You seem to be a very warm hearted man so I wouldn't be worried.

Rufus blushes in the face.

Rufus: You're right.

Julia: About the speech, I can help you if you would like.

Rufus: That will be greatlt appreciated. Would you like to accompany me in my private halls.

Julia: Yes,,, I would Mr. Rufus.

Julia and Rufus enter the mansion together.

Rufus: Dark Nation come!

End of Scene 2

I think you did a great job developing his character. While he retains his cold attitude, he isn't neccesarily portrayed as a truly evil person here. Keep up the good work.

Also... renders of Yuffie have appeared in magazines, and her presence is now confirmed 100%. The odd thing is that an image of Zack also appeared... I'm not sure if this is for Before Crisis or Advent Children, but it looked very similar to other Advent Children renders.

~Crow~ Wrote: I think you did a great job developing his character. While he retains his cold attitude, he isn't neccesarily portrayed as a truly evil person here. Keep up the good work. Also... renders of Yuffie have appeared in magazines, and her presence is now confirmed 100%. The odd thing is that an image of Zack also appeared... I'm not sure if this is for Before Crisis or Advent Children, but it looked very similar to other Advent Children renders.

Thanks

Hmmmm, that Zack image sounds interesting by the way. As for myself I haven’t seen it yet but I hope Zack looks great.

I have found some relevant FF info,

According to Ign.com , a while back they rated FF7 number 18 of the top 25 games for PS One. I don't agree with them on this one.

Final Fantasy 7 breaks industry records.

In early 2002 it was reported that Final Fantasy X sold over 4 million copies, so that figure should have doubled by now.

Ok, this may be a tad bit off but a while back I heard that FF7 has sold a total of 9.1 million copies worldwide, however FF8 has sold approximately 8.7 million which is very, very close.

Also I was wondering if any of you have seen the similarities between Maester Seymour Guado from Final Fantasy X and Sephiroth from FF7. They have somewhat facial features and they both have the "intimidating yet complicating background".

I always found those two very similar... each of their minds became twisted, and the result was their evil ways. I'm sure many FF fans would say Sephiroth is the best villian ever to appear in the series... but Seymour is very underrated. He is one of the most complex villians in any game I have played, not to mention the voice acting for him was superb in my opinion. The fact that one simple fight cannot defeat him is another detail that shouldn't be overlooked.

~Crow~ Wrote: I always found those two very similar... each of their minds became twisted, and the result was their evil ways. I'm sure many FF fans would say Sephiroth is the best villian ever to appear in the series... but Seymour is very underrated. He is one of the most complex villians in any game I have played, not to mention the voice acting for him was superb in my opinion. The fact that one simple fight cannot defeat him is another detail that shouldn't be overlooked.

Also one thing that I liked about Seymour was the fact that he was not only drawn to Tidus, but all of the characters were involved to defeat him. The fact that he killed his own father Lord Jyskal to become the Maester of Yevon made his character more darker as the game progressed.

Maybe one reason why some hold sephiroth in high regard is due to the fact that he killed off Aeris in FF7? Also Seph's Masamune Blade was in some ways superior to Seymour's in FFX. In terms of magic, Seymour's black magic was considerably strong but Sephiroth's was unmatched. However I think that Seymours Aeon Anima makes up for his losses.

Well, Seymour's role as Maester allowed him to possess both high level black magic and summon aeons. The one thing I did love about Seymour was the you had the chance to actually control him in one battle. The battle with the Sinspawn after the Crusaders failed to kill Sin. He even had an overdrive if you waited around for the gauge to build up... the odd thing is he never uses this move against you for some reason.

As you said, Seymour was involved with each of the characters in some way... and it took a joint effort to defeat him. Sephiroth really only had ties with Cloud and Tifa.

~Crow~ Wrote: Well, Seymour's role as Maester allowed him to possess both high level black magic and summon aeons. The one thing I did love about Seymour was the you had the chance to actually control him in one battle. The battle with the Sinspawn after the Crusaders failed to kill Sin. He even had an overdrive if you waited around for the gauge to build up... the odd thing is he never uses this move against you for some reason. As you said, Seymour was involved with each of the characters in some way... and it took a joint effort to defeat him. Sephiroth really only had ties with Cloud and Tifa.

Actually I forgot to mention that maybe Vincent had some sort of conflict with Sephiroth. His love Lucrecia was being experimented on by Hojo and the results of that made her give birth to Sephiroth. And when you visit her in disc 2 she mentions something about Seph,

"I wanted to disappear... I couldn't be with anyone... I wanted to die... But the Jenova inside me wouldn't let me die... Lately, I dream a lot of Sephiroth... My dear, dear child. Ever since he was born I never got to hold him, even once... Not even once. You can't call me his mother... That... is my sin..."

"Is Sephiroth still alive? I heard that he died five years ago. But I see him in my dreams so often... And I know that physically, like myself, he can't die so easily. Please, Vincent, tell me......"

What I get from this is that she couldn't rest because of Sephiroth's presence. However it was Hojo that caused all of this, so maybe since Hojo is Sephiroth's father that hatred could spill to Seph.

Hm, good point. I suppose Vincent was also strongly connected to Sephiroth in that case. Here's a breakdown:

Sephiroth

Cloud:

This is obvious, so I won't go into great detail here. Cloud shared a bond with Sephiroth from the past. Sephiroth destroyed his hometown of Nibelheim, killed his family and friends, and hurt Tifa. Cloud also looked up to Sephiroth quite a bit, and this role model image was effectively destroyed with those events. Later in the story, Sephiroth used Cloud to obtain the Black Materia twice and also killed Aeris. These two characters share one of the strongest hero to villian bonds in all of video gaming history.

Tifa

Sephiroth murdered her father along with the rest of her family and friends, not to mention gravely injuring her. His abuse of Cloud also greatly affected her due to her feelings for him.

Aeris

Aeris was a Cetra, and died believing Sephiroth was the same in some way. While she understood he was different, she didn't know the finer details of his actual birth. Nevertheless, they were strongly connected due to Aeris' heritage.

Vincent

Lucretia was Vincent's only real love interest, and Sephiroth was her biological child even though he never grasped this concept. Vincent's undying love for Lucretia caused him to despise Sephiroth immensely. She could never live with herself after Sephiroth's birth, and I am sure Vincent blamed this on Sephiroth's actions.

Barret

No connected to Sephiroth very much, other than the fact Sephiroth wanted to injure the planet. Barret's grudge lied mostly with ShinRa, but I'm sure he wanted to protect the planet any way he could.

Red XIII/Nanaki

Not directly connected with Sephiroth as far as I can remember.

Cid

Not directly connected.

Yuffie

Not directly connected.

-----

Seymour

Tidus

Seymour's fascination with Sin was the obvious connection. Tidus' father Jecht had become Sin, thus Tidus didn't care much for Seymour's plans. His feelings for Yuna also greatly affected this bond between he and Seymour. He obviously didn't like the idea of a marriage between the two.

Yuna

Very connected. Seymour first wanted to marry Yuna, with the alternative desire to use her to become Sin. His twisted views of happiness of release clashed strongly with Yuna. He also told Yuna a few times that he would become Sin... with her help. While he wanted to become Yuna's final aeon, Yunalesca was destroyed. But this unknowingly assisted Seymour in his quest. Sin absorbed Seymour, and since he was already he was unaffected. With the disposal of Yunalesca, there was seemingly nothing to stop Seymour from controlling Sin.

Wakka

Wakka's faith in Yevon was very strong, and Seymour being a Maester tied these two together. Wakka was not able to combat Seymour with a clear mind, and his lose of faith in Yevon was the eventual result.

Lulu

About the same as Wakka... though a bit less traumatic I suppose.

Kimahri

Seymour slaughtered the entire Ronso tribe, or so it says. We only know the Blitzball players of the Ronso survived, but judging from FFX-2... there would have had to be more.

Auron

Though Auron disliked Kinoc, he was an old friend and Seymour had him murdered. He blamed the murder on Yuna and her guardians, which I am sure angered him even more. Also... death was such an important factor in FFX, and Auron's state made things seem even more ironic.

Rikku

Seymour belonged to the Yevon clergy, and Yevonnites look down on the Al Bhed race. The Guado killed many Al Bhed on Bikanel Island, and forced Cid and the others to blow up Home. Yuna being her cousin is also a link to Seymour.

-----

As you can see, the playable characters in FFX had stronger ties to the main villian than the characters in FF7 did.

~Crow~ Wrote: Hm, good point. I suppose Vincent was also strongly connected to Sephiroth in that case. Here's a breakdown: Sephiroth Cloud: This is obvious, so I won't go into great detail here. Cloud shared a bond with Sephiroth from the past. Sephiroth destroyed his hometown of Nibelheim, killed his family and friends, and hurt Tifa. Cloud also looked up to Sephiroth quite a bit, and this role model image was effectively destroyed with those events. Later in the story, Sephiroth used Cloud to obtain the Black Materia twice and also killed Aeris. These two characters share one of the strongest hero to villian bonds in all of video gaming history. Tifa Sephiroth murdered her father along with the rest of her family and friends, not to mention gravely injuring her. His abuse of Cloud also greatly affected her due to her feelings for him. Aeris Aeris was a Cetra, and died believing Sephiroth was the same in some way. While she understood he was different, she didn't know the finer details of his actual birth. Nevertheless, they were strongly connected due to Aeris' heritage. Vincent Lucretia was Vincent's only real love interest, and Sephiroth was her biological child even though he never grasped this concept. Vincent's undying love for Lucretia caused him to despise Sephiroth immensely. She could never live with herself after Sephiroth's birth, and I am sure Vincent blamed this on Sephiroth's actions. Barret No connected to Sephiroth very much, other than the fact Sephiroth wanted to injure the planet. Barret's grudge lied mostly with ShinRa, but I'm sure he wanted to protect the planet any way he could. Red XIII/Nanaki Not directly connected with Sephiroth as far as I can remember. Cid Not directly connected. Yuffie Not directly connected. ----- Seymour Tidus Seymour's fascination with Sin was the obvious connection. Tidus' father Jecht had become Sin, thus Tidus didn't care much for Seymour's plans. His feelings for Yuna also greatly affected this bond between he and Seymour. He obviously didn't like the idea of a marriage between the two. Yuna Very connected. Seymour first wanted to marry Yuna, with the alternative desire to use her to become Sin. His twisted views of happiness of release clashed strongly with Yuna. He also told Yuna a few times that he would become Sin... with her help. While he wanted to become Yuna's final aeon, Yunalesca was destroyed. But this unknowingly assisted Seymour in his quest. Sin absorbed Seymour, and since he was already he was unaffected. With the disposal of Yunalesca, there was seemingly nothing to stop Seymour from controlling Sin. Wakka Wakka's faith in Yevon was very strong, and Seymour being a Maester tied these two together. Wakka was not able to combat Seymour with a clear mind, and his lose of faith in Yevon was the eventual result. Lulu About the same as Wakka... though a bit less traumatic I suppose. Kimahri Seymour slaughtered the entire Ronso tribe, or so it says. We only know the Blitzball players of the Ronso survived, but judging from FFX-2... there would have had to be more. Auron Though Auron disliked Kinoc, he was an old friend and Seymour had him murdered. He blamed the murder on Yuna and her guardians, which I am sure angered him even more. Also... death was such an important factor in FFX, and Auron's state made things seem even more ironic. Rikku Seymour belonged to the Yevon clergy, and Yevonnites look down on the Al Bhed race. The Guado killed many Al Bhed on Bikanel Island, and forced Cid and the others to blow up Home. Yuna being her cousin is also a link to Seymour. ----- As you can see, the playable characters in FFX had stronger ties to the main villian than the characters in FF7 did.

I agree that Cloud and Sephiroth were two of a kind and not only because I admire the great work of art FF7 achieved for it's time, but the barrier I think it broke in videogames in terms of chemistry between the hero and the main villian.

It's easy to have a true and unique hero and an opposing villian with vast odds on its side, but the truth is that they must share some sort of connection to keep the story intriguing.

For the many years of being a gamer I know that some games haven't meet the expectations hard on, lets take Street Fighter for example. Although the majority of the time the main villian was Bison, some actually thought that it was Akuma for some reason. Maybe it was because Akuma killed the master of Ryu and Ken and it was these two that were first introduced in the first game, so maybe gamers thought this?

Ok back to Bison, many had the impression that Guile would be the one to take him on or so we thought? But soon after Charlie was introduced in ST: Alpha, no one knew exactly what happened because the endings were so conflicting. It was apparent in the Street Fighter Alpha series that Bison was after Ryu due to his vast potential as a fighter and wanted to unlock his full potential with psycho power. At this point I beleive many who have played Street Fighter up to this point were either confused on the direction it was headed since the Alpha series gave endings depending on who you win the game with instead of a true story line, this in my opinion broke it.

There are only a few games that I have played that show any true Hero-Villian conflict,

Legend of Zelda Series- Link & Ganadorf
Super Mario Series- Mario & Bowser
Resident Evil Series- S.T.A.R.S. & Umbrella Corporation
Final Fantasy VIII- Squall & Seifer

mangatropi Wrote: I agree that Cloud and Sephiroth were two of a kind and not only because I admire the great work of art FF7 achieved for it's time, but the barrier I think it broke in videogames in terms of chemistry between the hero and the main villian. It's easy to have a true and unique hero and an opposing villian with vast odds on its side, but the truth is that they must share some sort of connection to keep the story intriguing. For the many years of being a gamer I know that some games haven't meet the expectations hard on, lets take Street Fighter for example. Although the majority of the time the main villian was Bison, some actually thought that it was Akuma for some reason. Maybe it was because Akuma killed the master of Ryu and Ken and it was these two that were first introduced in the first game, so maybe gamers thought this? Ok back to Bison, many had the impression that Guile would be the one to take him on or so we thought? But soon after Charlie was introduced in ST: Alpha, no one knew exactly what happened because the endings were so conflicting. It was apparent in the Street Fighter Alpha series that Bison was after Ryu due to his vast potential as a fighter and wanted to unlock his full potential with psycho power. At this point I beleive many who have played Street Fighter up to this point were either confused on the direction it was headed since the Alpha series gave endings depending on who you win the game with instead of a true story line, this in my opinion broke it. There are only a few games that I have played that show any true Hero-Villian conflict, Legend of Zelda Series- Link & Ganadorf Super Mario Series- Mario & Bowser Resident Evil Series- S.T.A.R.S. & Umbrella Corporation Final Fantasy VIII- Squall & Seifer

My favorite example of what you're talking about outside the Final Fantasy world would be Silent Hill 2. If you have ever played the game to it's conclusion, you'll know that it would take a lot for a villian and hero to be any more connected that this. This is partly why I'm such a large fan of Final Fantasy games... their stories always make sense and in the most of the time the heroes have strong connections with the villians.

In FF7 news, Before Crisis is scheduled to be released September 24th in Japan. The beta testing has already begun there as well. I'm hoping for some official announcement of Square-Enix bringing the game out of Japan, and that would seem likely since they did register a trademark with the US patents office. Of course, if it's not available on anything other than phones anyway I won't be able to play. Perhaps we can hope for a PSP release some day.

~Crow~ Wrote: My favorite example of what you're talking about outside the Final Fantasy world would be Silent Hill 2. If you have ever played the game to it's conclusion, you'll know that it would take a lot for a villian and hero to be any more connected that this. This is partly why I'm such a large fan of Final Fantasy games... their stories always make sense and in the most of the time the heroes have strong connections with the villians. In FF7 news, Before Crisis is scheduled to be released September 24th in Japan. The beta testing has already begun there as well. I'm hoping for some official announcement of Square-Enix bringing the game out of Japan, and that would seem likely since they did register a trademark with the US patents office. Of course, if it's not available on anything other than phones anyway I won't be able to play. Perhaps we can hope for a PSP release some day.

I've played Silent Hill 2 at my friends house briefly and it was pretty great, although the fog creeped me out. I have been searching for it but the majority of the sites have it on back-order status.

By the way I was wondering how FF7 would be like if Cloud would have never meet Aeris. Would he have been able to stop meteor from colliding into earth? Maybe Tifa would have been killed instead of Aeris?

Any ideas?

mangatropi Wrote: I've played Silent Hill 2 at my friends house briefly and it was pretty great, although the fog creeped me out. I have been searching for it but the majority of the sites have it on back-order status. By the way I was wondering how FF7 would be like if Cloud would have never meet Aeris. Would he have been able to stop meteor from colliding into earth? Maybe Tifa would have been killed instead of Aeris? Any ideas?

I'm not sure if he would have stopped Sephiroth from actually succeeding or not... FF7's ending leaves many puzzles in those regards. We should learn more about these things in Advent Children, I hope. The power of Holy/Lifestream may have been the only way.

I'm not sure anyone would have actually gotten so involved if not for Aeris' involvement... after all, it was the reason Cloud, Tifa, and Barret went to the ShinRa building. After that... Sephiroth entered the plot. If Aeris had not known them, I seriously doubt they would have known Sephiroth still existed.

As for Tifa... I doubt she would have been killed in Aeris' place. Sephiroth/Jenova knew of the threat she posed for them, thus they thought it would be best to remove the obstacle. It's effect on the rest of the party was simply a convenience. I still believe his main reason was not personal, rather he wanted to simply eliminate what he perceived to be the largest threats to his plans.

~Crow~ Wrote: I'm not sure if he would have stopped Sephiroth from actually succeeding or not... FF7's ending leaves many puzzles in those regards. We should learn more about these things in Advent Children, I hope. The power of Holy/Lifestream may have been the only way. I'm not sure anyone would have actually gotten so involved if not for Aeris' involvement... after all, it was the reason Cloud, Tifa, and Barret went to the ShinRa building. After that... Sephiroth entered the plot. If Aeris had not known them, I seriously doubt they would have known Sephiroth still exited. As for Tifa... I doubt she would have been killed in Aeris' place. Sephiroth/Jenova knew of the threat she posed for them, thus they thought it would be best to remove the obstacle. It's effect on the rest of the party was simply a convenience. I still believe his main reason was not personal, rather he wanted to simply eliminate what he perceived to be the largest threats to his plans.

Actually when seph did kill Aeris and Cloud began to show emotions, seph was suprised to see this. Hopefully Cloud will never be easily manipulated again.

What threw me off track was when Aeris went to the Forgotten City all by herself without Cloud or anyone else. Maybe she thought if Cloud came, seph would have killed both of them?

Advent Children.net has an article that hints a possible release date for Advent. Also the people that attended the Venice Showing gave AC good reviews.

I am completely ecstatic right now... I have just returned from adventchildren.net, and they have updated with a review 1UP.com did during Advent Children's appearance in Italy. It says this... and, this is most likely a spoiler... so if you don't want to know, turn back now:








-----

The next scene brings us to the abandoned church Cloud calls "home," although it is barely more than a ruin. Tifa and Marlene are here, walking slowly through the flowers blooming in the exposed sunlight, accompanied by the sounds of a gorgeous Uematsu composition played out in acoustic guitar. Uplifting and sprightly, the piece, however, merely foreshadows a torrent of things to come. The sight of Tifa and Marlene is interrupted by a cut to Kadaj "speaking" with the wheelchair-bound man. The wheelchair man's bodyguards lie on the floor, writhing in the agony Kadaj has clearly delivered to them. Kadaj asserts how he must find "mother," and refers to the mysterious cripple as "Mr. President." Back at the church, Tifa and Marlene hear the approach of footsteps, and turn around to face Kadaj's henchman, Loz. Loz demands to know where Cloud is, as Tifa backs away, insisting that the intruder leave at once. Since the uninvited guest has no intention of acquiescing to Tifa's demands, combat ensues, with Tifa bearing down full-force on the ready-and-waiting Loz. Although Tifa gets a rapid-fire series of punches and kicks in on Loz (players of FFVII will recognize Tifa's attack from the game), the burly henchman grabs Tifa by the feet, hurling her against the church wall, where she clings in slow-motion like a cat. The look of concern on Tifa's computer-generated face radiates a grim concern like no other before it. She knows she will not win this battle.

-----











Look at the term Kadaj uses to refer to the Wheelchair-bound individual... I REALLY hope this means what I think it does. If so, my wish has been granted.

I Like The Following


Sephiroth


Barret


Cloud


-They Are In My Formation

~Crow~ Wrote: I am completely ecstatic right now... I have just returned from adventchildren.net, and they have updated with a review 1UP.com did during Advent Children's appearance in Italy. It says this... and, this is most likely a spoiler... so if you don't want to know, turn back now:

So on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being the greatest), how is advent shaping up to be? I didn't look at the spoilers, they tend to ruin the fun for me.

Ign has an article that gives some details about the Final Fantasy/Dragon Quest crossover game that's supposed to include Midgar from FF7 and Cloud is supposed to make so sorta appearance. This and more info can be found here.

I would rate Advent Children a 10 at the moment. The spoiler I posted only includes what may be the identity of the wheelchair-bound individual, though this it is only speculation at this point. All I can say is that I will be extremely pleased if this turns out to be true... and very disappointed if it doesn't.

Here's some before crisis news i think you might be interested in, this clearly shows that there is a huge demand for it and rightly so.

Square Enix has revealed that connection problems have occured during the current beta testing phase of its cellphone-based Final Fantasy VII prequel Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII. Due to higher than expected numbers of accesses and the resulting higher server load, users might find it hard to access the application. The company has registered 1.6 million accesses by users since the beta test began on August 31st. During peak times, 16,000 users accessed the NTT DoCoMo FOMA-based game in one hour. Square Enix promised the problem would be addressed before the game's commerical launch later this month.
Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII will be available in Japan on September 24th.

So Kadaj referred to the cripple as "Mr.President"?

If anyone has ever played FF7 they would probably get the idea on who he's talking about. Though their were 2 presidents in the game, I wonder which one it is?

And Kadaj does mention that "he must find mother". I wonder who this mother actually is? Could it be Jenova?

By the way here's scene 3!

Scene 3: The Confrontation

The assasin has boarded the train and is headed towards the location of a known materia master. He sits down near a child as the train leaves the station.

Child: Uhh..... Excuse me?

Assasin: .......

Child: Were is tha sky?

The Assasin looks at the ground.

Assasin: Ask the Shinra.

Child: Who tha shinra?

Barret appears and stands near the Assasin.

Barret: They pollute the air and destroy the enviromnet! Evil @#*!&!!

Assasin: Typical.....

Barret: Huh? You say somethin?

Assasin:.........

Barret walks closer to the Assasin.

Barret: Guess you work for the evil fools the Shinra.

The Assasin gets up out of his seat and walks up to Barret.

Assasin: What if I do? Then what?

Barret: Should have known, creepy freak.

The Assasin agitated with the comment Barret made, pulls out his sniper rifle and aims it at Barret.

Assasin: When I did work for them it was vermin such as yourself that made work enjoyable.

Barret attempts to grab the sniper rifle from the man and a skirmish ensures. Physically the Assasins' strength was unmatched against Barret so he resulted in using materia.

Barret: Ain't nothin you can do now, give up.

The Assasin uses Bolt 3 on Barret, the blast nearly derails the train off the tracks. Barret slowly gets up and is hit again, this time it nearly sends him out of the window.

The Assasin charges towards him and Barret counters with a swift punch to the Assasins face. The Assasin drops to his knees with blood flowing from his mouth. Barret then throws the Assasin through the train.

Assasin: You......should....have......stayed...........down!

Barret: You're finished!

Barret then points his gun-arm at the Assasin but before he can fire, the Assasins' body begins to glow a fiery red! Barret fires but it has no effect on him. The Assasin channels a huge wave of energy and blasts it at Barret, sending him out of the train. The result was a huge gash in the trains exterior. The wind sucked many passengers out of the train, but the Assasin did manage to grab the child that was close to being pulled as well.

After everything settles down, the Assasin picks up the girl and tells her his name which is Gyager. The train then stops at Gyagers' destination.

Gyager: Finally........

Gyager gets off the train and is encounter by the Turks. Gyager in shock tells the girl to run.

Elena: Well lookie who it is.

Reno: So we meet again.

Gyager: Well if it isn't the dogs of the ShinRa.

The turks circle Gyager in an attempt to intimidate him. Gyager seeing this as an setup takes no chances and pulls out his sniper rifle and fires it at Reno, but misses.

Reno: Failed attempt must I say!

Rude attempts to punch Gyager but the attack misses. Gyager then backsteps and does a roundhouse kick on Rude that sends him to the ground.

Rude: Ahhhh!

Elena uses Quake 2 which knocks Gyager down. Reno then steps in and uses his electro-rod attack that leaves Gyager on the ground.

Reno: You see Elena you didn't have to use materia, just use that slap of yours.

Elena: Good idea!

Elena lifts up Gyager in an attempt to slap but he grabs her arm and throws her into nearby debris! Rude regains his consciousness
and sneaks up behind Gyager in an attempt for an sneak attack!

Gyager: Is that the best you have Reno!!!!!

Reno: The best is yet to come....

Gyager is then lifted off of the ground by Rude and is slammed into the ground!

Rude: Does it hurt punk!

Gyager is then lifted and slammed into a nearby huge rock! Rude then throws him nearly 60ft. into the air and falls back first. His body in critical condition can't move due to the pain. As his eyes close he is shocked to see the head of chemistry division of shinra
approach him!

Hojo: Still alive is see? Very well, you will be a superb reasearch specimen! HaHaHaHaaaaa!