Final Fantasy VII: Machinabridged Episode 2 Review
Originally posted on September 11th, 2015
Episode 2
Real life is full of assholes. Self-entitled, manipulative, obnoxious assholes. And Takahata101 knows this. And more, he knows that the most extreme groups in the world, the ones that will stop at nothing to get their way, are filled with even worse assholes.
These assholes, more often than not, have a guiding philosophy or set of beliefs that allows them to justify their assholery. Militant atheists have the teaching of Dawkins, radical Christians have the teachings of their pastors, and AVALANCHE has a twisted environmentalism as its guiding philosophy.
And the leaders of AVALANCHE, Tifa and Barret, are so convinced that “saving the planet” through violence is a good thing that they will use any tactics to do so, from blowing up a power plant, to using threats and manipulation to recruit members.
This is why I find the prison rape threats held over Cloud to not only be unproblematic, but thematically poignant. Prison rape jokes in general are fairly unfunny, serving to reinforce homophobic ideas and harmful stereotypes about prisoners as well as reducing a severely traumatic event to a punchline, and there aren’t many occasions where they can be redeemed.
But Takahata101 does just that by leaning into the real horror behind rape, and acknowledging that Tifa reinforcing those fears onto Cloud is utterly reprehensible. It makes for a dark turn, and while it happens somewhat abruptly, it’s completely effective at establishing the immorality present in AVALANCHE, who originally were goodhearted underdogs.
This deconstruction of our heroes shows a lot of promise, and if Takahata101 and Anthony “Antfish” Sardinha continue to handle this darkening of the source material this well, it’ll make for an excellent thematic core to the series (especially if they also follow through on Cloud’s identity crisis).
On a similar note, we’re only two episodes in, and yet I’m already finding the incredible contrast between Final Fantasy VII: Machinabridged and its source material to be absolutely fascinating. I mentioned last week that Final Fantasy VII is frequently lauded by its fans as the greatest RPG of all time, and while I don’t agree with that statement,1 I do believe that FFVII is a wonderfully written RPG, thanks to how well it deconstructs its characters.
Cloud is your typical antihero, but then it turns out he’s not, and has been lying about being this antihero since the beginning. Barret easily fits the “Angry Black Man” trope, but he’s primarily concerned with being a good father and protecting the environment. Tifa’s tough physicality and visible sexuality doesn’t preclude her from having a strong intellect and an incredibly kind heart.
I could go on,2 but I wanted to highlight the difference between the characters we’ve met so far in FFVII:MA. Cloud is no longer brash, confident and brooding; he’s a nervous wreck with no sense of identity. Barret is cruel, vindictive, and probably not a very great parent, and Tifa is cruel and manipulative instead of kind and caring.
Now, in Episode 2, unlike the last, each of these characterizations hit on an emotional reality (last episode they were caricatures crafted to fit the theme, which was perfect for the first episode), and that emotional reality drives their relationships forward just as well as their characterizations in the original, even though these new characterizations can be a lot darker.
Rating: 4.5/5
Stray Observations
1On the grounds of writing alone, FFVII falls short in comparison to other games in the series, like VI, Tactics, and XII, all of which have stronger and better developed characters and storylines than VII (not even mentioning more recent Westerns RPGs like Oblivion, Mass Effect, or The Witcher, which outshine the storytelling of FFVII even more).
Gameplay wise, it’s also definitely one of the worst in its series (materia is fun but ain’t no esper, and they really weren’t ready for 3D until FFX), with only II and XIII really being definitively worse. And while very few Western RPGs outside of Dark Souls have gameplay I would consider “good,” they’re still streets ahead of FFVII’s clunky menus and Active Time Battle (which was perfected in VI).
2Seriously, every single character in this game is a deconstruction of their own archetype. Aerith is a manic pixie dream girl who abandons the male hero she’s “supposed to save” and sacrifices her life for everyone, leaving the male hero more alone and broken than ever.
Red XIII is a scientifically engineered wolf-creature who uses his fierce appearance to hide extreme intelligence and sensitivity. Cid is a loudmouthed redneck who is interested in and competent at flight and interstellar travel, and he also chooses to abandon his dreams of traveling into space in order to save the life of his assistant.
Reno and Rude, two “mindless thugs” from Shinra, are suave, cool, and genuinely good people, who refuse to question the actions of the men who have treated them incredibly well since the beginning. Rufus Shinra is a spoiled bratty kid who constantly questions the legacy of his father, and doesn’t realize until it’s too late that he’s been on the wrong side since the beginning.
Sephiroth… is a bit harder to pin down, because he’s mostly a parallel to Cloud as well as a warning to him of what he could become. His “ultimate” design is also interesting, as when he is at his strongest and has achieved “godlike power,” he takes the form of not only a fallen, but a broken, one-winged angel, showing the futility of his quest.
“REBELANCHE!”
Tifa: “Let me guess, you’re all pissy because that was ‘freedom-fighting’?”
Cloud: “No, that was terrorism!”
Tifa: “Oh, come on, how was destroying a factory that sucks the life out of the planet terrorism?”
Cloud: “Every part of it was terrorism!”
Tifa the Liar.
Barret: “Did you f*** up?”
Cloud: “What even is f***ing up?”
“Shinra determined that the explosion was caused by the group AVALANCHE.”
*sounds of jubilation*
“Little is known about this group…”
*more jubilation*
“Until today.”
*sounds of dismay*
“Coming up next, the dark, demented reality of Chocobo breeding.”
I’m literally shivering thinking about those horrors.
Cloud: “Please, like anyone’s gonna recognize me from that picture.”
Tifa: “Hair.”
Cloud: “Oh, you’re so right.”
Cloud: “That metaphor makes me uncomfortable.”
Please let this be this series’ “I need an adult.”
