It's a recurring topic and I'm repeating much of myself from before, but I want to get everyone's updated thoughts on ways they think Part 2 could be adapted. (Also feel free to talk about Part 3!)
I AM SUPER HYPED FOR PART 2.
So, some current thoughts on possible ways to go about said game.
We're going for a road trip vibe here! And I know people will think this is beyond Square's ability, but it's fun to imagine a Part 2 where you get the whole party, and for at least this one game, nobody dies and there are cozy scenes at resorts, campsites, scenic trails, etc.
That way if Aerith dies in Part 3 and your soul is crushed forever, you can forget that game exists and just replay Part 2. :-3
More in a moment, in terms of how this could work with regard to story structure and gameplay growth. But in short, I have envisioned a story tweak that allows for fast travel to prior towns so that you can get extra mileage out of characters who join the party later in the game.
NOW THEN...
- Cold open with playable Nibelheim flashback that explains Sephiroth - the man you will be hunting in Part 2. You can play as an over-powered Sephiroth to relearn the controls. "Tap X to choose Abilities, and use them to one-shot this goddamn dragon." HYPE! This is the spectacular Bombing Run equivalent, culminating in Cloud vs. Sephiroth at the Nibel Reactor after Seph goes crazy, massacres the town, kills Tifa's dad and knocks her out.
- Transition to Kalm, where Cloud is recounting the tale at the inn. Kalm is a cute lil' town, roughly half the size of the Sector 7 slums. Maybe like Ch. 3 in Part 1, you do some mundane quests here, only with each party member as a tutorial for them - including the newly playable Red XIII.
- We have now (re)established Sephiroth and why he's a Bad Dude. The party reflects on what happened at the end of Part 1. They resolve to seek answers in Nibelheim.
- The overworld is actually a series of DQ11-style "wide linear" countryside corridors that lead to focused story chapters at the Chocobo Ranch, Mythril Mines, Junon, Costa del Sol, North Coral, Gold Saucer, Old Coral, Gongaga and Cosmo Canyon.
- There is infrastructure connecting everything by land (roads, etc) but you will often travel off-road. More on why in a moment.
- The explorable areas / assets in the towns could be focused to streamline development. Skyboxes and other tricks could convey scale (i.e. you would see out-of-bounds skyscrapers in the background of Junon, distant theme parks in Gold Saucer, etc).
- The "wide linear" country routes allow you to explore a bit off the beaten path for treasure, grinding, heart-to-heart scenes, scenic views, etc. But they ultimately funnel you to the next story beat. Not truly open world.
- The marshlands could be a setpiece like Part 1's motorcycle, only you're on chocobos fleeing a giant snake! You could then battle the snake when cornered at the entrance to the Mines, fighting it until it slithers in retreat.
- Fort Condor could be located on the road leading out of the Mythril Mines, past the impaled snake. Storywise, the fort is a detour that establishes how there are other resistance groups that oppose Shinra. It could re-litigate why Shinra is bad, and why groups like Avalanche are good. It could reuse assets such as the reactors from Part 1 to streamline development. Just one chapter.
- Yuffie could join at Junon, after being pursued from Kalm where she stole your materia.
- Your save data from Part 1 could determine what materia Yuffie stole. Everyone gets Ifrit (since everyone receives Ifrit in Part 1), but if you got any optional summons in Part 1, there could be quests where you will be able to get them back by tracking down people who bought them from Yuffie.
- Rufus is inaugurated at Junon. His military parade is now a war rally against Wutai. You will see his military mobilizing across the world, forming blockades on the roads - a narrative conceit for, say, going up Mount Coral instead of taking the road around. The parade could also reintroduce the other Shinra execs, and the new war conspiracy.
- The ship lets you talk to each of your party members as they look out at the sea at night. They then battle Jenova Birth in an illusory world unseen to others on the ship.
- Costa del Sol has a swimsuit scene. This is important for story reasons. Yep.
- Cait Sith joins in Gold Saucer. A spy bot disguised as a toy cat, riding atop Shinra armor disguised as a plush moogle. Both were originally created by Scarlet's Advanced Weapons R&D, but discarded and forgotten, only to be secretly salvaged by Reeve.
- The cat's megaphone directs the moogle with coded frequencies, augmenting and amplifying its power.
(The above two points are my attempt to make sense of this beloved but bewildering character, lol)
- Gold Saucer is the Wall Market equivalent, consolidating all of its OG attractions in one glorious chapter. You get your theater play, chocobo races, rollercoaster minigame, fireworks date and Battle Square battles!
- This segues straight into a dusty Wild West showdown in Old Coral where Barret confronts Dyne and clears the party's name. Keep it short and sweet. Get the buggy to cross the desert and river (it's amphibious!) to reach the jungles of Gongaga.
- Remember the goofy-ass tank triceratops? It could be a boss robot at the jungle reactor, emerging from the wreckage. :-o
- Maybe Aerith can remember more about Zack while visiting his hometown.
- Cosmo Canyon would of course have the bonfire scene, but there could be other campsites around the world. As with Ignis in FF15, you could cook meals and make drinks with gathered materials and recipes, giving your team temporary stat boosts and time to banter. Maybe Tifa could do the cooking!
- It might be possible to change the story so that they hit up Rocket Town before Nibelheim, and Cid joins, and the Tiny Bronco is secured - only this time, it can FLY as Part 2's form of fast travel, allowing for return trips to previous areas for optional dungeons (FF15 had 24 of 'em!), where late-game characters can get extra mileage and development.
- The Tiny Bronco could then lose its flight in the ending scenes, and become the watercraft that gets them to Wutai, which could be the opening of Part 3, complete with the start of the war (and fan service cherry blossom festival with Aerith in a kimono because animeeeeee).
- Why go to Wutai in Part 3? In Nibelheim, at the end of Part 2, the party learns of the Black Materia plot from Sephiroth himself. Bugenhagen tells them about the key to the Ancient Temple. Yuffie says this key is a treasure of Wutai. (Rather than Dio having it.)
- The Tiny Bronco could be not-so-tiny now, redesigned with a watertight cargo hold to carry the buggy, explaining how it's available when fast traveling. By late game, the military blockades will have subsided, allowing you to drive freely and take the long way, if you wish, complete with buggy banter (Barret has to pee!).
- A number of summons could be bosses. You could corner Yuffie in the Mythril Mines, only for her to unleash Titan on you. In the Battle Square at Gold Saucer, Dio could pit you against Ramuh. The Turks in the jungles of Gongaga could call forth Odin. (Yuffie sheepishly admits she sold it to them).
- Vincent could appear in the Shinra Mansion at Nibelheim, like before. Since it's a late-game dungeon, he could be non-playable in Part 2 - same with Cid - OR, if the devs can manage it, they could both be playable, and get extra mileage out of the fast-travel dungeons I proposed earlier.
- Dungeons, both required and optional, would usually have predetermined party setups, around which the dungeon is balanced and the character banter is written. Maybe one dungeon is all brawlers, and another is all ranged fighters. This allows for gameplay variety, and focused character bonding.
- But there could also be fights where you access more characters - maybe via a tag system, teamup attacks or assist moves similar to a Vs fighting game.
- Credit to PlanetSmasher for this one, before he shows up in this thread and hates all my other ideas (lol, love you Smashy): The final battle at the Nibel Reactor could feature Sephiroth conjuring an illusory army of loved ones. Cloud fights a demonic vision of his mother; Tifa, her father; Barret, Avalanche; Red, his father; Aerith, Zack; Yuffie, her father; etc.
Seph is all about dat emotional torture, after all - it's how he tricks the good guys into bringing his real body the Black Materia.
Just some ideas! What are yours? How do you think they might adapt and depict things?
Also, HURRY UP SQUARE!
I AM SUPER HYPED FOR PART 2.
So, some current thoughts on possible ways to go about said game.
We're going for a road trip vibe here! And I know people will think this is beyond Square's ability, but it's fun to imagine a Part 2 where you get the whole party, and for at least this one game, nobody dies and there are cozy scenes at resorts, campsites, scenic trails, etc.
That way if Aerith dies in Part 3 and your soul is crushed forever, you can forget that game exists and just replay Part 2. :-3
More in a moment, in terms of how this could work with regard to story structure and gameplay growth. But in short, I have envisioned a story tweak that allows for fast travel to prior towns so that you can get extra mileage out of characters who join the party later in the game.
NOW THEN...
- Cold open with playable Nibelheim flashback that explains Sephiroth - the man you will be hunting in Part 2. You can play as an over-powered Sephiroth to relearn the controls. "Tap X to choose Abilities, and use them to one-shot this goddamn dragon." HYPE! This is the spectacular Bombing Run equivalent, culminating in Cloud vs. Sephiroth at the Nibel Reactor after Seph goes crazy, massacres the town, kills Tifa's dad and knocks her out.
- Transition to Kalm, where Cloud is recounting the tale at the inn. Kalm is a cute lil' town, roughly half the size of the Sector 7 slums. Maybe like Ch. 3 in Part 1, you do some mundane quests here, only with each party member as a tutorial for them - including the newly playable Red XIII.
- We have now (re)established Sephiroth and why he's a Bad Dude. The party reflects on what happened at the end of Part 1. They resolve to seek answers in Nibelheim.
- The overworld is actually a series of DQ11-style "wide linear" countryside corridors that lead to focused story chapters at the Chocobo Ranch, Mythril Mines, Junon, Costa del Sol, North Coral, Gold Saucer, Old Coral, Gongaga and Cosmo Canyon.
- There is infrastructure connecting everything by land (roads, etc) but you will often travel off-road. More on why in a moment.
- The explorable areas / assets in the towns could be focused to streamline development. Skyboxes and other tricks could convey scale (i.e. you would see out-of-bounds skyscrapers in the background of Junon, distant theme parks in Gold Saucer, etc).
- The "wide linear" country routes allow you to explore a bit off the beaten path for treasure, grinding, heart-to-heart scenes, scenic views, etc. But they ultimately funnel you to the next story beat. Not truly open world.
- The marshlands could be a setpiece like Part 1's motorcycle, only you're on chocobos fleeing a giant snake! You could then battle the snake when cornered at the entrance to the Mines, fighting it until it slithers in retreat.
- Fort Condor could be located on the road leading out of the Mythril Mines, past the impaled snake. Storywise, the fort is a detour that establishes how there are other resistance groups that oppose Shinra. It could re-litigate why Shinra is bad, and why groups like Avalanche are good. It could reuse assets such as the reactors from Part 1 to streamline development. Just one chapter.
- Yuffie could join at Junon, after being pursued from Kalm where she stole your materia.
- Your save data from Part 1 could determine what materia Yuffie stole. Everyone gets Ifrit (since everyone receives Ifrit in Part 1), but if you got any optional summons in Part 1, there could be quests where you will be able to get them back by tracking down people who bought them from Yuffie.
- Rufus is inaugurated at Junon. His military parade is now a war rally against Wutai. You will see his military mobilizing across the world, forming blockades on the roads - a narrative conceit for, say, going up Mount Coral instead of taking the road around. The parade could also reintroduce the other Shinra execs, and the new war conspiracy.
- The ship lets you talk to each of your party members as they look out at the sea at night. They then battle Jenova Birth in an illusory world unseen to others on the ship.
- Costa del Sol has a swimsuit scene. This is important for story reasons. Yep.
- Cait Sith joins in Gold Saucer. A spy bot disguised as a toy cat, riding atop Shinra armor disguised as a plush moogle. Both were originally created by Scarlet's Advanced Weapons R&D, but discarded and forgotten, only to be secretly salvaged by Reeve.
- The cat's megaphone directs the moogle with coded frequencies, augmenting and amplifying its power.
(The above two points are my attempt to make sense of this beloved but bewildering character, lol)
- Gold Saucer is the Wall Market equivalent, consolidating all of its OG attractions in one glorious chapter. You get your theater play, chocobo races, rollercoaster minigame, fireworks date and Battle Square battles!
- This segues straight into a dusty Wild West showdown in Old Coral where Barret confronts Dyne and clears the party's name. Keep it short and sweet. Get the buggy to cross the desert and river (it's amphibious!) to reach the jungles of Gongaga.
- Remember the goofy-ass tank triceratops? It could be a boss robot at the jungle reactor, emerging from the wreckage. :-o
- Maybe Aerith can remember more about Zack while visiting his hometown.
- Cosmo Canyon would of course have the bonfire scene, but there could be other campsites around the world. As with Ignis in FF15, you could cook meals and make drinks with gathered materials and recipes, giving your team temporary stat boosts and time to banter. Maybe Tifa could do the cooking!
- It might be possible to change the story so that they hit up Rocket Town before Nibelheim, and Cid joins, and the Tiny Bronco is secured - only this time, it can FLY as Part 2's form of fast travel, allowing for return trips to previous areas for optional dungeons (FF15 had 24 of 'em!), where late-game characters can get extra mileage and development.
- The Tiny Bronco could then lose its flight in the ending scenes, and become the watercraft that gets them to Wutai, which could be the opening of Part 3, complete with the start of the war (and fan service cherry blossom festival with Aerith in a kimono because animeeeeee).
- Why go to Wutai in Part 3? In Nibelheim, at the end of Part 2, the party learns of the Black Materia plot from Sephiroth himself. Bugenhagen tells them about the key to the Ancient Temple. Yuffie says this key is a treasure of Wutai. (Rather than Dio having it.)
- The Tiny Bronco could be not-so-tiny now, redesigned with a watertight cargo hold to carry the buggy, explaining how it's available when fast traveling. By late game, the military blockades will have subsided, allowing you to drive freely and take the long way, if you wish, complete with buggy banter (Barret has to pee!).
- A number of summons could be bosses. You could corner Yuffie in the Mythril Mines, only for her to unleash Titan on you. In the Battle Square at Gold Saucer, Dio could pit you against Ramuh. The Turks in the jungles of Gongaga could call forth Odin. (Yuffie sheepishly admits she sold it to them).
- Vincent could appear in the Shinra Mansion at Nibelheim, like before. Since it's a late-game dungeon, he could be non-playable in Part 2 - same with Cid - OR, if the devs can manage it, they could both be playable, and get extra mileage out of the fast-travel dungeons I proposed earlier.
- Dungeons, both required and optional, would usually have predetermined party setups, around which the dungeon is balanced and the character banter is written. Maybe one dungeon is all brawlers, and another is all ranged fighters. This allows for gameplay variety, and focused character bonding.
- But there could also be fights where you access more characters - maybe via a tag system, teamup attacks or assist moves similar to a Vs fighting game.
- Credit to PlanetSmasher for this one, before he shows up in this thread and hates all my other ideas (lol, love you Smashy): The final battle at the Nibel Reactor could feature Sephiroth conjuring an illusory army of loved ones. Cloud fights a demonic vision of his mother; Tifa, her father; Barret, Avalanche; Red, his father; Aerith, Zack; Yuffie, her father; etc.
Seph is all about dat emotional torture, after all - it's how he tricks the good guys into bringing his real body the Black Materia.
Just some ideas! What are yours? How do you think they might adapt and depict things?
Also, HURRY UP SQUARE!
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