Shinra Building
-There are a couple of different paths I can take. I first head into the “Sample Storage Chamber.”
-I RECOGNIZE THIS PLACE!
It was where Jenova was held before she broke out and killed the President.
-The elevator takes me up to Hojo, outside the container where he had stored Red and Aerith, but I don’t want to move on just yet. Heading back downstairs to more fully explore first.
-Next room I check out is the prison, where Cloud and the others were held. Or, I should say, will be held. But all the doors are locked. Back to Hojo up the elevator.
p.s. he’s still a dick.
-He’s pretty calm about the whole “assault on the building” thing.
-He mentions Jenova, the “calamity that fell from the sky,” and how ignorant people were to think she was an Ancient. Mentions this in relation to the degradation of Genesis, and how easy this knowledge makes it for Hojo to combat him.
-Oh my God, Zack. I know you’re naïve, but seriously?
Ok. So Zack sees the empty containment facility (where Red and Aerith will eventually be held). He says, “Gee, nothing’s in there.” Hojo says, “Look closer!” and opens the containment center.
Zack. Walks. Inside. You know, to look closer. THE CHANCE TO HOJO NOT CLOSING THE DOOR AND TRAPPING YOU THERE WITH SOMETHING IS APPROXIMATELY 0% DUDE.
-And there it is. Traps the door for an “experiment.”
-For now, the experiment doesn’t involve Zack mating with Red. Instead, Hojo asks some questions. These feel like the kinds of questions that can influence the direction the game takes, but maybe not.
1) Which do you admire more, a SOLDIER operative like Sephiroth or Angeal? Hm. I’ll say Angeal. More accurate for Zack.
2) What do you think Shinra needs most right now, many powerful SOLDIER operatives or state-of-the-art science and technology? I personally would go with science and tech, but think Zack might prefer more people. Soldiers.
3) Which is more befitting a SOLDIER member: a person who gives all to Shinra, or who is unafraid to challenge Shinra? Again, I think the latter, but pick the former because I believe that’s more where Zack has shown himself to be so far. Or even if Zack believed challenging Shinra were important, I don’t know that he’d want to let Hojo in on that potential subversion.
Hojo deems all my answers to be standard SOLDIER stuff. He’s enhancing Zack physically.
-A white flash, and then his SP increased by 500, and he feels closer to Angeal (whatever that means).
-There’s a random console here. Zack has the option to push a button without knowing what it does, or not push it. FUCK IT! Let’s push it.
-…and that unleashed monsters on the lower levels. Awesome job, Zack.
-Oh, neat! The monsters released each hold jail cell keys (for some reason?) and so killing them will open up the cells, where Hojo is keeping surplus resources.
-To further spice things up: Hojo says that when Zack goes downstairs, he’ll have three minutes to collect stuff before tranquilizer gas releases.
I. Fucking. Hate. Timers.
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Shinra Building – 67th Floor
-All the test subjects, those Resident Evil-style dogs, are there, but run away. Come back!
-I thought at first that they would drop the keys as loot, but since the instructions were all, “I have to get the keys… BUT HOW?” it told me I’d have to do something special.
I used the Steal materia, and it worked perfectly.
-Zack tries one-liners. With… not great success.
Stahp.
-Rounded up all the dogs, opened all the jail cell doors, and looted everything. Nothing too special. Some gil, potions, and lower-end materia.
-HOWEVER! I have high praise for this segment. Why? Because of how forgiving the timer was. It didn’t count down during combat. It didn’t count down during spell casts and cinematics and cutscenes. Just when I was running around.
Basically, it didn’t count down when I couldn’t control my movement, which avoided a TON of frustration.
You can’t see me right now, but I’m glaring at you, Karnak Castle from FFV and LITERALLY EVERY OTHER TIMED SCENARIOR I’VE ENCOUNTERED UNTIL CRISIS CORE. Well-played, CC.
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Shinra Building – Hojo’s Laboratory</i.
-Hojo cackles as he reviews the data he got from Zack fighting the samples.
-I pushed some other button at a console. I
t asked me to shut it off after five seconds. I counted, but apparently only did it 60% right or something. Dunno.
-Tried it again, and it keeps replenishing my SP by 60. This isn’t a huge deal to me since I currently have over 300,000 SP, so… yeah.
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Next time: I talk to Hojo and see what happens next. Likely will have to defend him (grr) from Genesis clones.
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