The Shera
-The meeting is interrupted by Cid touching down near the headquarters, leading a fleet of airships.
-Cid’s got a southern twang here that I probably heard in the FFVII movie, but totally forgot about.
-I get to wander the ship a bit and learn stuff from the WRO members aboard.
-Midgar was left in rubble after Meteorfall. Some old soldiers and vagrants live there now.
-Omega is… well, was going to say “a woman,” but that probably implies a humanoid quality I’m not sure she has. But she’s definitely female.
-My assumption is confirmed. The Tsviets are an elite warrior group within Deepground. Surprisingly to me though, the Tsviets are just the named color characters. Rosso, Azul, Nero, and Weiss the Immaculate. (The WRO member telling me this doesn’t mention Shelke, but Shelke the Transparent was one too I know.)
-lol – one of the Highwind’s old crewmates is here.
-I thought THIS was the Highwind (since there’s a drawing on the deck that says “The Highwind”), but this seems like a different ship. It runs on “some mysterious ancient power.” That’s… comforting? [Later edit: I found it was the “Shera” later, when I opened up the map and saw the name of the zone.]
-Deepground used to be a medical facility for injured SOLDIER troops, but lack of any oversight led to the evolution into what Deepground is today. This evolution took place thanks to “one rogue soldier, a man known only as G.” HI GENESIS REFERENCE!!! (I assume that’s what this is.)
-I STILL don’t know what this split screen is about.
I haven’t seen any gameplay impact, so I’ll just assume it’s aesthetic, to highlight Vincent’s dual nature. I don’t like it. It’s unnecessarily distracting. Not a big deal, but still feels unnecessary until now.
-There’s a Chocobo Farm in the grasslands.
-LOLOL BEST REFERENCE EVER???
”Boco. A noble name for a noble steed!” You’re damn right.
-A different crewmember waxes nostalgic on the beauty of flight. She’s been up in the air hundreds of times, thinks her last time might be approaching, still appreciates the wonder of flight and the view up here. She wants “one last look.”
-I can’t help but wonder if this is an intentional reference to FFVII as a whole. I feel sort of the same. I’ve been playing in this world of FFVII for so long, and if Dirge of Cerberus is the last look I’ll get, it makes me a bit sad.
-OH NO POOR YUFFIE!
I forgot her hatred of airships. Airsickness is the worst.
-Just checked the map and learned that this ship is called “the Shera.”
I’m mixed on this. On one hand, it’s a nice reference back to a character I loved. On the other hand, I hate hate HATED how Cid treated her, and how the game tried to treat that relationship as fodder for blooming romance. It felt abusive to watch, and was intensely uncomfortable.
Still not over my dislike of the FFVII version of Cid.
-The WRO members on this ship are pretty empathetic and wonderful as a whole.
The kindness of WRO.
One of them reflects on how he used to look up to SOLDIER, and wonders whether those who went astray and joined Deepground once felt the same way, had the same dreams.
-Shera is still Cid’s wife. Ok.
-The ship was purely discovered as a relic from a lost civilization. The Ancients? Definitely a tradition in the FF series, the discovered airship. Like the Lunar Whale in FFIV or the ship discovered in Catapult in FFV.
Really cool engine room!
-Shelke locked herself in sick bay. (Is that a common term, or are the Star Trek references continuing?) Trying to find a cure for Shalua. Nice reversal, but I still call shenanigans on Shalua’s life being remotely salvageable.
-AH DAMMIT. I paused at the start of the cutscene to type that last sentence, and accidentally hit “Skip” rather than “Unpause” when I got back. Fuck. No way to rewatch it. Oh well. I’ll just assume it showed Shelke expressing guilt or the drive to not give up on Shalua.
-Some of the soldiers on the ship are coming off of losses. One was on the Kalm operation early in the game and unable to save anyone. Another fled as Rosso murdered his comrades. Both are vowing to do better.
-Neat! The ceiling in one of the ship rooms changes over time. It looks like a forest, then a starry sky, and on and on.
-Reeve’s still piecing together Shelke’s data on Omega.
-NOOOOOOOO!!!! My pet peeve returns. After talking to Reeve, the game immediately takes me to the meeting on the ship between all parties. I wasn’t done exploring, and was given no warning, like “Hey, Vincent, are you ready for the meeting? *yes* *no.*” WE’VE TALKED ABOUT THIS, FINAL FANTASY. STOP DOING THAT.
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Next time: meeting on the Shera.
