Part 49: Do you wanna date my Avatar?

Chapter 49 - Do you wanna date my Avatar?


I know you Bioware fans have been waiting for this.



Don't lie to me. I know who you are.



I even got you warmed up in the last update with some sexy Krogan action.



So yes, you might have been wondering about the Chapter title if you've never played the game.



Yes, Aeris just asked Cloud to go on a date.



This is hilariously awkward.



"I've dated in videogames before, though!"





Yes, Aeris pushes Cloud out of the room. YOU WILL DATE ME CLOUD STRIFE, WHETHER YOU WANT OR NOT.



Aeris pretty much owns.



QUICKLY RUSH TO THE BATTLE ARENA.





Nooo I want to buy 99 Ethers.





Haha nice one. Next you're gonna say I can redeem a free iPod.



Oh no.



Look, dude, this only works with Rocky Horror Picture Show exhibitions, no way we're gon -



Fine, point taken. Let's move on.



Now for today's play...



A reenactment of every modern RPG game.



Written by Joseph Campbell.



Did I say Princess? I meant "artifact", or most recently, "dead archmage body parts".





This play is later reused by Squaresoft.



It's known as Final Fantasy 9.



It got much better, though.



The thing with the date is simple.



The person who picks you up is NOT always Aeris. It depends on whom you're flirty with during the game.



There are many things that influence it. I'll talk in detail later.





The only logical choice.







Say my name, say my name.





Look, I don't know either.



I'm just here for the printscreens.



I never promissed that things would make sense.



Look at the dragon's paws at the ceiling. Look at it.



They leave dancing.



What



WHAT



WHAT IS THIS SHIT



Even Aeris can't take this shit anymore. Let's move on.





Nothing can go wrong here.



This is the "date" sequence itself. It's special in the sense that the dialogue greatly varies depending on whom you're dating.



It's also a great display of CGI.



Anyway



Aeris' date is the "official" date. It's the easiest to attain (i.e., the one you're gonna get unless you REALLY went out of your way with the other characters)...



...and also the one that is most important - by far - to the plot.



The dialogue here is extremely relevant and often overlooked.



It also leaves us with some more questions...



Who is "him"?



She's likely referring to Zack, her ex-boyfriend. She mentioned him in Midgar and when she found his parents in Gongaga. Remember that he was a 1st Class SOLDIER like Cloud (so it makes sense they dressed the same), but Cloud never met him (even though there are few 1st Class SOLDIERs).







This is also kinda cryptic...



I mean, it makes sense. Aeris was romantically invested in Cloud, but he's not the person she thought he was because she had expectations he'd be more like Zack.



She knows he's not Zack, but she still doesn't know "him". So something is still off.





That was the date sequence anyway, one of the most memorable sequences of the game because it's kinda unexpected and not played like romantic sequences in modern RPGs.



In fact, nothing happens in his date with Aeris. Cloud doesn't get laid. We were wrong, Cloud does not catch a break.



There's a double innuendo here but it might be just me.



Look, I can't help but imagine Aeris having a British accent. I'm sorry, it's true. Why good sir, look at the time, it's been bloody fun with you.



Uh




CLIFFHANGERS



Next Time:

What is Cait Sith doing? Will we finally get to the Temple of Ancients? DON'T MISS IT.



Music we've listened to in this update:

Interrupted by Fireworks - The music that plays during the date sequence.

Acoustic Fireworks - A nice remix from that theme made by EgM.

Technically we didn't really listen, but the thread title is a reference to the music "Do you wanna date my avatar?" from the web series "The Guild", a show about people addicted to an MMO.

You can listen to it here. This also happens to be their official channel. Beware, it's really nerdy (and I'm warning to people who read an LP).




Bugs & Bytes


Date Mechanics

Oh boy, the date mechanics elluded people for ages. That, combined with the fact the old magazines (late 90s) had received information from Square that was outdated, no one really knew what the fuck.

Basically, there are four people you can date. I'm not spoiling who they are now (I'm leaving it to your imagination). Suffice to say, I'll be showing the other three in the next updates.

Anyway, in the days of the old people believed all sort of crazy things. Like you had to put Cover on Cloud to protect the character you want to date. Or using revive. None of these things matter in the final product.

But at some point in time, they did. Which is probably where the magazines took their outdated information from. Terence Fergusson, a dude who pretty much ripped the game apart, found out that there's a value called "Battle Affection" that added a multiplier to your affection value to the date characters, ranging from 50 (half) to 200 (double). These were (according to his FAQ - Warning, Spoilers) then disabled in the final game.

Basically, a character will like Cloud more if Cloud uses cover on her, revives her, heals her, and will like Cloud less if he hits, kills or otherwise fail to revive her before a battle is over.

The date mechanics as we have are pretty simple. Remember all these decisions related we took during the game that you probably thought would not affect the plot at all (since it's a JRPG)? Most of these were slowly building up the character affections. For example, if you push the wrong barrels in the church while saving Aeris, she'll be very pissed off.

Anyway I'll be showing off the other dates in the next B&Bs. See you!