All of that FF7 talk earlier reminded me I hadn't started my annual playthrough yet. Thanks to the x3 speed on the PS4 version I'm at the end of disc 1 already, it's amazing how quick you can get through the game that way. It makes grinding for levels in particular a lot less tiresome.
The first disc has so many heavy moments in it. Even though I must have played through this game at least 15 times at this point, there are still three moments in particular from the first disc that get me in the feels every time.
Elmyra's story about adopting Aeris and losing her husband is the first one. Every time. I think it's a combination of the music and the text, which together make the whole flashback really emotional. The only thing that does confuse me is why Shinra/the Turks didn't just kidnap Aeris from the start. I mean, they're certainly not above doing so, as is shown repeatedly, so it's weird that they seemed to basically just leave Aeris alone for the most part. Elmyra mentions that Aeris continued to escape their grasp, but come on, she's a child during the flashbacks. How does a child evade the Turks, exactly, when they know precisely where she lives?
The whole Red XIII/Seto reveal is another one that's a real tear-jerker. Especially when you realise Seto technically hasn't died, he's just stuck in that 'petrified' state, and is still able to cry when he sees his son. That's fucking dark, when you think about it. With that said... again, I do have some issues with this plot point. Namely, why in the world would BugenHagen or Red's mother not have told him the truth about Seto? Why was he left to assume his father was a coward? Red XIII is 48 years old at this point, so it's not like there hasn't been time to inform him. Despite this huge plothole that to my knowledge is never really explained, the scene itself still gets me every time I play.
Obviously the third one is Aeris dying. Everything leading up to her death is so much more tragic when you know what's going to happen. The Gold Saucer date, Cloud attacking Aeris at the temple (his last major interaction with her), the dream sequence directly afterwards... that shit just leaves a heavy feeling in my chest, knowing what's going to happen. Then fighting the boss with Aeris' theme still playing as opposed to the boss theme... jeez. At least the programmers were nice enough to provide you with a water ring beforehand, so it's a fight you essentially can't lose unless you choose to kill whoever you've equipped with the water ring. Also if you have Enemy Skill equipped Aqualung is a pretty sick ability to pick up, alongside Trine.
FF7 was the first RPG-style game I played, and as a kid I remember this part hitting me hard. I'd never played a game where I had an actual attachment to the characters, so seeing one of them so brutally disposed of was a shock to a 10 year old me. Although I think most people playing the game through the first time had that same kind of reaction. Even worse if you'd been levelling Aeris up and making her a key part of your team. All gone and fuck all of the gil you spent on upgrading her weapons.
Aside from the above, I remember during my first playthrough I got stuck around Mt. Nibel and couldn't get past the Materia Keeper. I basically had no idea what I was doing and was just brute forcing my way through the game, likely severely under-levelled. Fortunately my dad had been playing it as well (weird to think about now, I don't think he's played an RPG before or since) and was further ahead than I was, so I just hijacked his save and kept going. I don't think he actually got past disc 1, probably never even made it to Aeris' death. Perhaps for the best - that's a scar best avoided.
Anyway, yeah, the only other thing I want to say is fuck the remake. All they had to do was the original story with awesome graphics. Keep the plot the same, keep the characters the same, keep the game length the same, keep the dialogue the same (well, maybe improve the original translation), keep the mechanics the same... just do it all with modern graphic. Why did it have to become a fucking multi-decade project? If they'd just redone the original game with modern graphics they'd be done by now. Got to milk as much money out of the franchise as possible, though, I guess.
