FF7 Advent Children [warning spoilers]

[strscrm]

Do not read on if you have not seen the movie, Final Fantasy 7 Advent Children, and do not want to be spoiled.
<
<
<
<
<
<
<
<
<
<
<
<
<
<
<
<
At the end, when everybody is being "cured" of the Geostigma, I don't believe that they are cured by a good entity. It appears that Jenova is recalling all of her cells. When Kadaj dies, he talks to "Mother", Jenova, and she wants him to return to her, thus strengthing Jenova since all of her cells were learning from their hosts including the most impressive Cloud.

[strscrm]

What was with that wolf that was always showing up in the movie? It had to have been of metaphorical meaning.

[Primevil]

I've watched that movie three times and I still don't understand the wolf. The only connection the wolf has to the story that I've noticed is that Cloud's motorcycle is named Fenrir.

As for your other point, no. The cure for Geostigma came from the planet. Jenova was a "calamity from the sky", to quote the game. Also, when Cloud "died", Aeris comments about the number of times she's been called "Mother". Kadaj thought he saw Jenova as he was dying, but it was probably Aeris.

[Kickback]

Did the movie come out?

[Valkysas]

the wolf you keep seeing in the movie is aeris. yes. odd.

[thefrozenred]

Did the movie come out?

I think Kicky means the English version...at least *I* do, anyway.

[OmegaScourge]

how is the english dubbing???

[Venksta]

I thought the wolf was Zack. Mostly because we actually see parts of Aeris through out the movie. So it made sense to me that the wolf was Zack.

[smangerbot]

i saw this recently and was confused? is it supposed to be a sequel to the game?

[Valkysas]

hm, yeah. the wolf IS definately zack, especially considering how it was seen near cloud's sword.

[strscrm]

On Cloud's left breast(left side of chest) he wears the 3-D wolf symbol and also the same symbol as an earing. Perhaps it has something to do with SOLDIER?

[Omega Supreme-1]

Well as far as I can tell the wolf is supposed to be a dual meaning. For one it represent Zack, just as the water drop represented Aerith. One possible meaning of the wolf, is of course Cloud's one man soldier and solitary nature. I think it also had to do with the fact that Zack was a part of Cloud as well since he believed he was Zack. Maybe he wears the wolf in memory of Zack, much like he wears the ribbon in memory of Aerith. It has to have some kind of meaning or else why would they make him appear? The Buster Sword, and Wolf seemed to have a connection. Cloud was placing the sword down in the beginning much like he was putting a headstone on a grave. I think he was saying that he was finally putting Zack to rest, that he was saying goodbye to his old friend; he completely was done with that chapter of his life which made up the game. However, he bears the wolf emblem still in memorium since maybe he does still carry a burdon. It's complicated, no matter how you look at it...

[Primevil]

Gotta love how something symbolic makes perfect sense once it's explained to you.

And just so the other questions in this thread get answered...

1. The movie's not out yet. It's slated for a March 28th release, but it'll probably get delayed within weeks of the date. Again.

2. No one knows what the dubbing's like because not only is the US release not out yet, but only three English VAs are listed on Anime News Network.

3. Yes, Advent Children is a sequel to the game.

[strscrm]

So, is Aerith connected to Jenova, to "Mother", and what does the rebuilding of Shinra mean? Will there be another FF7 sequel after the PS2 Dirge of Cerberus outing.

[smangerbot]

3. Yes, Advent Children is a sequel to the game.

hmmm, in that case there were some things i was confused about. i cant remember what they were unfortunately :(

[Spartan-117]

I thought the wolf was symbolic of Cloud's guilt, it kept showing up where he failed to protect people: at Zack's grave, in the church when he didn't get to Tifa etc.

[strscrm]

But also appeared when Cloud awoke to his friends at the end in the church. If it was his guilt, then it faded as he awoke.

[strscrm]

It appeared that Kadaj was just a tool of Rufus' to cure him of Geostigma by fusing with "Mother", Jenova's cells, to become Sephiroth. This "cure" would strengthen Jenova by returning her cells to her to be complete. The next time Sephiroth appears, it may be the last, the final battle.

Now if a final battle was leading up to, then wouldn't it be Jenova? Yes and no. Jenova would be strong but Jenova's strongest form is Sephiroth. That is JENOVA is Sephiroth.

[A_U_T_O_B_O_T]

Jenova has always been Sephiroth because he is the son of Jenova, he is her offspring. So I don't think that it's anything new. All I know is that Cloud and Sephiroth's feud is not over. There will be more to come....hopefully, also I hope that they do remake FF7 for PS3 and finally release Advent Children in english.....I can't stand the subtitles anymore.

[Primevil]

Jenova has always been Sephiroth because he is the son of Jenova, he is her offspring.

No, Sephiroth is the son of Hojo and Lucrecia. He was injected with Jenova cells before he was born. He only thinks he's the son of Jenova because he never knew who his parents were and discovered an ambiguous connection to the Jenova project. I think the reason the remains of Jenova made Kadaj into Sephiroth was because Kadaj was a flawed clone of Sephiroth. Jenova's cells made him whole.

And while we're at it, Jenova's not an Ancient. She came from space. (Just thought I'd bring that up because there are some people that didn't get that from the game)

[strscrm]

JENOVA fell from the heavens. The fallen angel. The angel with only one wing. The one-winged angel, Sephiroth. Jenova came from who knows where in the universe, and spreads like a cancer throughout the universe, sucking a world dry then moving on to its next victim. Much of the story plays out in biblical fashion. The false "Mother", the whore of Babylon. Sephiroth, the fallen angel Lucifer, the darkened and accursed angel, the Devil. Cloud, Michael, that holy knight.

F.Y.I Spring '06 American release is likely very concrete. Reason for delay, scouting expert voice acting to match each and every character like the Japanese version did. May see a limited showing on the silver screen.

[strscrm]

Official word finally. The wait is over.
http://www.square-enix.com/na/company/press/2006/0213/

April 25, 2006

[strscrm]

other voices:
Paul Dobson as Sephiroth
Wally Wingert as Rufus Shinra

[Primevil]

Yeah, we know. I posted this news in another thread.

[strscrm]

Just a few days away from the American release... the horror!... the horror!

[Fairy Princess]

FYI Paul Dobson's not Sephiroth, George Newbern is...

[Wing alpha]

Im still scared the he;ll out of the dub....yet Im buying it anyway....damn my final fantasy fanatism

[ChldsPlay]

Got the English version yesterday. The dubbing is pretty good. Decent movie. Not the best editing job IMO. CG and action is awesome though. Deleted scenes shows a little action I think they should have left in, it was pretty good, not sure why they cut it. Vincent's game looks pretty good too.

[Wing alpha]

hold on it goes out on the 25....WHERE YOU GOT IT

[alphie]

hold on it goes out on the 25....WHERE YOU GOT IT


My husband ordered it on Buy.com several weeks back and it came in the mail yesterday. :D

[Wing alpha]

I went to the music stores and Eb around...nothing.......

DAMNNATION

lets hope tomorrow

[mx-01 archon]

Most stores shouldn't have it out until Tuesday, the official release date.

Personally, I picked up my copy last Thursday, because the local anime store decided to be nice and put out all theirs half a week early.

[Chaos Muffin]

I dont think they're really being too strict with the streetdate for retailers, since many of us already have a dubbed copy.
Smaller stores probably have it on sale right now, to get a few extra bucks.

Wanted to get the PSP version, but the DVD comes with an extra disc and footage on upcoming FF games, so ,must get the dvd now!

[Cataclizm1]

Just watched the english dub on the DVD. I thought the voice actors did a good job. The actor who played Kadaj seemed overly whiney but overall I was impressed. :thumb

[Optimus-JD]

Just watched the english dub on the DVD. I thought the voice actors did a good job. The actor who played Kadaj seemed overly whiney but overall I was impressed. :thumb


Yeah, I enjoyed it, only bad part of the DvD was that it came with a copy of The Spirits within. hehe

[KnightSaberAmi]

I bought this disc last Ausgust, saw it today and I wasn't really that disappointed, happy with the animation, happy with the va's.... but damn it was a long wait.

thought I was waiting for Phantom Menace again... :redface2:

[DragoUnicron]

OH MY WORD!!!! That has got to be one of THE best movies I have ever seen! I am absolutely floored at how beatiful it was, especially the final Sephiroth fight. This movie has, by far and away, met and exceeded every expectation I had for it. Wow...just wow!

[ShinMusashi44]

Wal-mart has it in a 2-pack with FF:spirits within.

[Los]

The Best Buy nearby my house had the best price, $14.99 until 4/29. Just call ahead or use in-store pickup because the one near me sold out by the afternoon.

[Spider Striker]

So, is this strictly for people who have played the game and know about the Final Fantsy Universe? 'Cause I think it looks awesome and I'd like to see it, but I know nothing about Final Fantasy....

[Ra88]

So, is this strictly for people who have played the game and know about the Final Fantsy Universe? 'Cause I think it looks awesome and I'd like to see it, but I know nothing about Final Fantasy....

Then you're screwed. Hell, I played FF7 and I still didn't understand some parts of the story.

[Cataclizm1]

The DVD does come with a pretty informative extra feature that summarizes the FF7 game that lasts about a half hour.

[ZeroMayhem]

So, is this strictly for people who have played the game and know about the Final Fantsy Universe? 'Cause I think it looks awesome and I'd like to see it, but I know nothing about Final Fantasy....

I only know a bit about the FF Universe (I've only played FFX and interacted with the characters in Kingdom Hearts 1,2) but between the recap featurette and a quick stop at wikipedia I was pretty well caught up on the basics and was good to go. There may be a few subtle things I missed by not knowing the game (I did like the cell phone joke though, I know that much) but I was able to follow the story just fine. The outstanding animation and direction is well worth your time if you're a fan of that. So it's at least worth a rent. I bought mine yesterday and am very happy with it.:thumb

[Tony_Bacala]

Got my copy yesterday. Well done. Seems like the VAs were disconnected at times, but what can you expect from a dub. Timing was as good as could be with the mouth movements being originally mapped out for the Japanese language.

Anyone else notice that Wally Wingert (aka - RID Sideburn) plays President Rufus (the white cloaked guy).

At times you can hear the Sideburn voice peek out, but overall he plays it a bit more deep.

Finally figured out based on the trailer in the extras, that Crisis Core (slated for PS3 or XBox360, 2007 or 8) is going to be a FF7 Prequel based around the Zack/Cloud era, probably with the rise of Sepiroth being key. THAT should be awesome.

Dirge of Cerebrus trailer looks great too, which takes place 1 year after this. Lotsa FF7 Cameos in there too.

Overall, A+. This is what action/sci-fi/fanboy-related intellectual property development should be measured against.

[CripNite]

I just picked this up last night and watched it... amazing visuals, lots of action, great music, a couple small funny spots (usually related to Reno) but all in all a great movie. Story wasn't quite as good as I'd have liked it to be, but it wasn't half bad.

Definately a benchmark for animation though.

[Spartan-117]

There is no story at all, it's just a way of moving from one totally insane fight to the next. Which I have no problem with.

[Kickback]

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

That was just incredible. I sat down and was just intertwined with it from the start. I could almost imagine playing the storyline out as a game. The BAHAMUT ZERO fight was amazing, Vincent was kick-ass as always, and seeing Aerith (as she was creditted as being named) and Zack was just as great. Hearing the remixed music ... totally took my breath away.

Some of the best fighting I've ever seen. Even my girlfriend was like "Whoa, I want the power to cling to walls" in relation to Tifa's move against the one weird crying Sephiroth wanna-be.

A+ without a doubt.

[mx-01 archon]

The BAHAMUT ZERO fight was amazing

Officially, it's not Bahamut Zero (or any of the other previous incarnations of Bahamut), but a corrupted version called "Bahamut Sin". I thought it was kinda "cute" though, where it's first Mega Flare attack animation totally mimicked Bahamut's animation in the game.


Some of the best fighting I've ever seen. Even my girlfriend was like "Whoa, I want the power to cling to walls" in relation to Tifa's move against the one weird crying Sephiroth wanna-be.


Tifa was such an ass-kicker in that scene, at least up until Loz turned on his god-mode and started teleporting like a bitch. The victory theme gag in the middle was hilarious, though.

[Tfgraveyard]

I finally got around to picking up my pre-ordered copy from Gamestop. Anyone know what's on the 2nd bonus disc?

[Atomsplitter]

I finally got around to picking up my pre-ordered copy from Gamestop. Anyone know what's on the 2nd bonus disc?

Deleted scenes, interviews with most of the major people, and trailers for a bunch of the Compliation stuff.

[Tfgraveyard]

Deleted scenes, interviews with most of the major people, and trailers for a bunch of the Compliation stuff.

Isn't that on the first bonus disc? I've got the 3 disc set, and that stuff is listed as being on the first bonus disc.

[Fairy Princess]

3 Disc set?

[Tfgraveyard]

yeah, if you pre-ordered from gamestop, you get an extra 3rd disc of bonus material.

[Atomsplitter]

yeah, if you pre-ordered from gamestop, you get an extra 3rd disc of bonus material.

That I did not know. Guess you'll have to let us know what's on it.

[Wing alpha]

...its sold out EVERYWHERE I GO!

[Chrono Grimlock]

Wow. The movie was so much better than the game. And it had an ending. A real life ending! huzzah!

[mrhillz]

THey got more copies in at the best buy here today, which I immediatley picked it up. I liked it a whole lot more than I thought I would. Now only if they would make a FFIV movie sequel :) .

[Wing alpha]

THey got more copies in at the best buy here today, which I immediatley picked it up. I liked it a whole lot more than I thought I would. Now only if they would make a FFIV movie sequel :) .
Ill check my best buy then.....if I dont get work tomorrow :redface2:

[Chaos Muffin]

Just watched it again for the 5th time, keep catching something new, and it kicks ass in slo mo. Tifa's hot!

Just wish they did'nt say 'Mother' and 'Hmph' so much
, but yeah Cloud and Seph are still badass.
Tempted to play through ff7 again.

[strscrm]

yeah, if you pre-ordered from gamestop, you get an extra 3rd disc of bonus material.

Checked Gamestop.com, apparrently the 3rd disc contains interviews with the voice actors, presumably the English VAs since interviews with Japanese VAs exist on disc 2.

[strscrm]

The Sephiroth clone, Loz, the cry-baby muscle man, was just playing with Tifa, then he got the phone call and play time was over.

[strscrm]

Ya know after watching FF7:AC, this is how anime should be done. A sequel movie to FF6 would certaintly be great and come to think of it, this is how a "live-action" DBZ film should be done.

[strscrm]

Who is Rufus Shinra?

[Fairy Princess]

head of the Shinra Orginization, or he was before Cloud and friends (along with Sephiroth) destroyed it during the course of the game.

Remember, in the very beginning of the game Cloud is a mercenary hired by Terrorists to blow up one of the city's power supplies....

[strscrm]

No, who Rufus really is. Was Rufus like Cloud, another failed remnant of Sephiroth, or something else? It always seemed strange that he in no way resembled his father, the elder Shinra. And in FF7:AC, he was manipulating various sides. What's he planning and what's going to come next?

[A_U_T_O_B_O_T]

Probably nothing considering that they probably won't push another sequel....I hope.

[Chrono Grimlock]

Actually, I really would enjoy another sequel. I was never really a fan of the game but the movie was so well done. I wouldn't mind seeing movies or games set in this world now.

[strscrm]

The game had an alright story and great characters, especially Sephiroth, who is arguably the greatest video game villain or any character of all time. He was so ruthless and cared for nothing but his goal. He would kill anyone, without hesitation, without regret, that got in his way; Remember Aerith.

The story and characters were solid but the gameplay and graphics were not. Sure you can't judge the game's graphics based upon FF games of the present, it would be apples and oranges. Although graphically it was lacking for the era it was in, remember that FF7 was the first 3-D FF game ever, so give it a little slack. The gameplay was awful and downright horrible. The game mechanics did not seemed to get passed on from the remarkable FF6(Final Fantasy 3 for SNES in US). They were just forgotten, I guess.

Good story and characters, bad gameplay. Surely if the game were remade for the PS3, such gameplay and graphical difficulties would be remedied, but alas FF7's greatest incarnation would be FF7: Advent Children, so rejoice fellow fans. Upcoming FF7 games look to take a different approach from what we have come to expect from the FF line, but have faith that they will be good or at least they further develop that story.

Personally, wouldn't mind seeing a film sequel to FF6 done in the FF7:AC fashion. HUA.

[Fairy Princess]

Sephiroth Versus Kefka

[GigatronSama]

Kefka > Sephiroth

Sephiroth was an emo with a sord. Kefka was an evil clown on speed.

[mx-01 archon]

He would kill anyone, without hesitation, without regret, that got in his way; Remember Aerith.


And Aeris/Aerith played him like a piano because of his ruthlessness.

As for Rufus? He's President Shinra's kid, plain and simple. Lack of resemblance? Dude, we're talking about FF7's less-than-stellar character models here. President Shinra was fat, Rufus was lean and exercised, there's your difference. They both have blonde hair. That's about as good as you're going to get.

[A_U_T_O_B_O_T]

Kefka > Sephiroth

Sephiroth was an emo with a sord. Kefka was an evil clown on speed.

I totally disagree. Kefka was annoying, Sephiroth wasn't emo, I think that he had a valid reason for flipping out, and you would too you just need to know the story well enough.

[Gnaw]

I should really watch the movie....this time in English....and legal :^ ).

[Hot Rodimus]

Kefka > Sephiroth

Sephiroth was an emo with a sord. Kefka was an evil clown on speed.

Agreed. Sephiroth never came off as "cool" just a whiney punk who was upset at the world and wanted to blow it up.

Kefka just wanted to destroy the world cause was an insane clown that would kick Pennywise's ass.

[DrGrim]

The only FF games I care about are 6 and 7. Never really got into anything pre 6 and everything that came after 7 has been birds and fairies lightweight crap.
Sure Kefka wasn't as good of a villain as Sephiroth, but 6 was still a great game, and it was my first role playing game that I ever got into.
I think a sequel for Chrono Trigger would be awesome!

[mx-01 archon]

and everything that came after 7 has been birds and fairies lightweight crap.


8 is far from "lightweight crap". It's probably one of the heaviest hitting of the series, although how is not always readily apparent unless you read between the lines.


I think a sequel for Chrono Trigger would be awesome!

You mean aside from Chrono Cross?

[strscrm]

Sephiroth was the epiphany of evil. He made Hitler look like a girl scout, he was that evil.

Rufus (hey say his name backwards and it sounds like "suffer"), as I believe, is like Cloud a failed remnant of Sephiroth and orchestrated the events in FF7:AC so as to heal the world, mostly himself, of Geostigma. Once he and the world were healed, he could rebuild Shinra and start pumping Mako again. Through the use of Mako, Rufus could attain unlimited power, power that would dwarf anything that Sephiroth or Jenova could ever have.

"A good son would have known."
~ Rufus to Kadaj, FF7:AC

[mx-01 archon]

What's all that crap about Rufus, now?

You're reaching. Rufus is just Rufus, the son of President Shinra, and heir to the Shinra Fortune. He's got no dark past entwined in clandestine military experiments. There's no reason to ever believe so. He's just a rich jerk.

[Fairy Princess]

What's all that crap about Rufus, now?

You're reaching. Rufus is just Rufus, the son of President Shinra, and heir to the Shinra Fortune. He's got no dark past entwined in clandestine military experiments. There's no reason to ever believe so. He's just a rich jerk.


QFT

[DrGrim]

You mean aside from Chrono Cross?

I didn't get into Chrono Cross. I had a real hard time staying interested to get very far into it. It'd be nice to have a movie or a game that takes place not too long after Chrono Trigger itself ends focusing solely on that cast.

[Hot Rodimus]

8 is far from "lightweight crap". It's probably one of the heaviest hitting of the series, although how is not always readily apparent unless you read between the lines.

I know all of the theories and such behind 8, and I still think it's "lightweight crap."

"We all grew up in the same orphanage but forgot cuz of the GFs, LOLZ" is still the single worst point in the FF series.

[DrGrim]

I know all of the theories and such behind 8, and I still think it's "lightweight crap."

"We all grew up in the same orphanage but forgot cuz of the GFs, LOLZ" is still the single worst point in the FF series.

Someone who understands!

[mx-01 archon]

It seriously shocks me that people dwell on the throwaway "we all forgot" line so much. That's not the big revelation of the story. Not even close. It's there to tie things together a bit more, but it has virtually no influence on the story.

[strscrm]

8 had unbelievable visuals, both in-game and cinematic sequences, for its time and on the PS One, but it was too futuristic and the game design wasn't up to par with previous FF games.

Aerith, which is apparently the official spelling, was a mastermind herself. She sacrificed herself so she could join with the Lifestream and become one. She took control of the Lifestream and was able to stop Meteor with it. She knew that it was the only way to save the planet, ala Obi-Wan, and poor Cloud blamed himself for her death.

[strscrm]

Agreed. Sephiroth never came off as "cool" just a whiney punk who was upset at the world and wanted to blow it up.

Kefka just wanted to destroy the world cause was an insane clown that would kick Pennywise's ass.

Guess there's only one way to find out whose better, FF7 Sephiroth or FF6 Kefka, is to make an FF6 CGI movie.
Ah yeah!

[Soundwave.ca]

Ok I didnt read all the posts as I didnt want to spoil anything for me but is this worth taking a look at?

I dont know anything about FF so is it worth even trying to watch it and trying to follow along?

[mx-01 archon]

Ok I didnt read all the posts as I didnt want to spoil anything for me but is this worth taking a look at?

I dont know anything about FF so is it worth even trying to watch it and trying to follow along?

There's a half-hour featurette included which gives a basic summary of the game events, if you feel so inclined to watch it.

Even if you don't, you should be able to follow along well enough, and as long as you suspend all your thoughts of "who the heck is that?", you can just sit back and enjoy all the pretty, over-the-top action sequences.

[Optimus_Prime84]

where can i get the movie?

[Wing alpha]

I found mine in costco, and there should be everywhere its mainly a mainstream movie so bestbuy and walmart should have it too.

[Hot Rodimus]

I got mine at Target since NONE of the Walmarts here have had it. Wal-Mart's been pretty crappy on getting movies in lately.

[ZeroMayhem]

I picked mine up at Best Buy.

[DrGrim]

Guess there's only one way to find out whose better, FF7 Sephiroth or FF6 Kefka, is to make an FF6 CGI movie.
Ah yeah!

I'd be all for it!

[A_U_T_O_B_O_T]

Agreed. Sephiroth never came off as "cool" just a whiney punk who was upset at the world and wanted to blow it up.

Kefka just wanted to destroy the world cause was an insane clown that would kick Pennywise's ass.

Let's not forget, Sephiroth summoned Meteor. Kefka just moved some stones which were located on a floating continent. That also somehow controlled the whole make up of a planet.....

[Spartan-117]

It seriously shocks me that people dwell on the throwaway "we all forgot" line so much. That's not the big revelation of the story. Not even close. It's there to tie things together a bit more, but it has virtually no influence on the story.

You might consider it a throw away line but to some people the whole story has to be solid. I was really enjoying the game up until the "we all forgot" point in the story because it was so incredibly stupid.
It was like Square spent so much time working on the graphics they didn't have time to give the characters real backgrounds and only realised it when they where almost done and they just gave everyone the same background as Squall with a retarded explanation.

[mx-01 archon]

But the game's a Squall story. The intent was, unlike other Final Fantasies, to focus the plot on a much tighter cast of characters, to give it a slightly more cinematic feel. Yeah, the explaining away of the other characters' pasts was a bit of a cop-out, or at the very least, could have been explained in a more gradual way so it didn't feel forced, but in the end, it wasn't a big part of the plot, and didn't really impact much.

[Spartan-117]

I disagree, while the stories in videogames can be as fantastic as you like the characters themselves have to be believable. I never did get why Irvine wussed out of shooting Edea when Squall didn't because he had no real background, there was nothing to explain the way he was because he just had the same retarded cookie cutter past as the rest of them. Which he promptly forgot anyway so his personality appeared to be more or less a random choice on Squares part.
So while it may be Squall's story that story is weakened by having supporting characters with stupid backgrounds that are just totally unbelievable.

[mx-01 archon]

Irvine wussed out simply because he didn't have the nerves. He was still essentially a rookie at the job, and while darned good, had next to no field experience. And just perhaps, in the back of his mind, the name Edea rang a few bells. You didn't need background for that, it was a heat of the moment thing.

Squall, on the other hand, has nerves of steel. Distancing himself from anything resembling human relations, he lives for the mission. He had no particular qualms about taking human life, so he just went for it.

Even furthering the throwaway-ness of the line, is the fact that moreso than any other Final Fantasy game, 8's characters are defined who they are at the very given moment. They're not some freaky superhumans with convoluted pasts, they're just a fairly normal group of people brought together. How they each react to any given situation is quite enough to get a feel of who they are, without need for the excess baggage of a tacked- on mysterious past. In most other Final Fantasies, the characters are defined by their gimmicks, or their bizarre histories. 8 made the move of trying to make them be more like real people. So what if they shared a past? It didn't define any of them (well, except Squall).

[DrGrim]

That's what bored me. It was a fantasy game that is usually filled with fantastic (hence fantasy) characters... Whereas in 8 they were just a bunch or boring normal people going about a soap opera story with the fantasy elements not being so much in the foreground. It's kind of like making humans the main characters in a Transformers series by taking the fantasy stuff and not putting it right there in the front. Still 8 bothered me nowhere as much as all the crap that followed it.

[DrGrim]

I got my Advent Children today. I've seen the Japanese one before but it was my first time seeing the English version. I had to hunt for it though, most stores didn't have it. It's cool and all, but it was a little obvious it was a dub over with the mouths being out of sync, but that didn't rreally bother me. However, it seemed everyone had a voice that made them sound like they were all still in their teens.

[DrGrim]

I got my Advent Children today. I've seen the Japanese one before but it was my first time seeing the English version. I had to hunt for it though, most stores didn't have it. It's cool and all, but it was a little obvious it was a dub over with the mouths being out of sync, but that didn't rreally bother me. However, it seemed everyone had a voice that made them sound like they were all still in their teens.