FFVII – Part 25: Coal and Ashes

Summary: I was wrong – we do not go to the Corel Reactor, but rather continue our journey through the mountains to the ramshackle North Corel. Barret backstory. More proof that Shinra is the worst.



Reactor

-Can’t get into the reactor’s front door.

-Came across Cokatolises. All my money’s on these being the ones that can petrify.

-Hm. Tried going to the other side, but got stuck on a plateau with no exit. Maybe I missed something.

-Aha! Past a save point, I can continue on these railroad tracks.

Crossing through the beautiful Mt. Corel.

-Fell through the rail. It said to press left and [OK], which I did, but nothing happened. Missed whatever treasure I was supposed to get.

-That keeps happening. It literally says “Hold the right or left directional button while repeatedly pressing [OK] to get the treasure.” I did exactly that, and nothing happened. Just had to climb back up without treasure. Wtf game.

-Crossed and lowered a bridge for Aeris and Red (swapped in Barret).

Not sure where exactly we’re going now – still west? Sense of direction got a bit wonky since we passed the reactor.

-Below the track we find an out of work miner in a cave.

He seemed pretty down, but at least his cave has Mind Source and Power Source for us to plunder. I try to distribute these bonuses pretty evenly – defensive bonuses for everyone, offensive and luck for Cloud, dexterity for Tifa/Red/Barret, and magic for Aeris.

-MOTHERFUCKER. THE SCREEN WENT BLACK AGAIN AND I HAVE TO REDO THAT WHOLE THING. DAMMIT STEAM. I HAVE TO DO THIS WHOLE SESSION OVER. FHLSFHEJKLWEUIOWFHEW

-Ok. Back to where I was. Fine. Managed to really spam the shit out of the [OK] button this time when I fell into the bonus zone and actually got a Wizard’s Staff for Aeris.

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Mt. Corel

-Across a rickety bridge.

-Hey, it’s a Bomb monster! Good to see you again, bud. Grows each time I hit it, and seems to do more damage. I kill it before it can pop though.

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North Corel

-The miners in this town seem really familiar with Barret, happy to see him.

-Wow. I called that on a little early. One punched Barret and called him a “walking death sentence.” They blame him for North Corel turning bad.

-Barret feels horribly guilty about whatever he did, and apologizes, but the miners want nothing to do with “that techno-freak.” I need Barret backstory, like right now.

-A “Ropeway” nearby would take us to the Golden Saucer.

-A kid saw something glowing in a well nearby.

-There’s a town south of the desert and across the river.

-One woman in town says “the accident” couldn’t have been avoided, and implies people who blame Barret are wrong.

-We can head east out of town or west towards the Golden Saucer. I have a sneaking suspicion that it’ll be a bunch of mini-games, but it sounds kind of cool. Let’s try going towards the Saucer.

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Train (Ropeway?) Station

-Barret tells us that his hometown got buried over the last four years. Literally. It’s not around anymore.

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Flashback – Barret’s Hometown

-Corel was his home. It used to be a coal mining town with houses, not just the tents we saw.

-There was a debate about whether to give up coal for the Mako reactor. To my shock, Barret’s one of the townsfolk arguing FOR Mako, in favor of giving up coal mining. He trusts Shinra at this point in his life to do right.

Someone named Dyne seems the only one opposed.

-Yeah. Didn’t work out.

The town was burned by Shinra troops when Barret was away. There was an explosion at the Corel Reactor, and Shinra blamed a rebel faction of the townsfolk. I feel like this whole flashback is the cold open of an episode of “Leverage.” MUST HAVE CROSSOVER FAN FIC, WHERE PARKER AND TIFA BECOME BEST FRIENDS.

-His wife, Myrna, died too. How did his daughter escape?

-The train leaves for the Gold Saucer.

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Next time: Casino!