Final Fantasy: Vincent's Third Disc: Difference between revisions

Ten years had passed. I was definitely not the adult

they are, they try to revert back to who they were. Needless to say, I started

hunting high and low for a copy of Final Fantasy VII.

in local video game stores, and knowing that a copy of Final Fantasy VII would

cost an arm and a leg to get online, I asked a friend of mine to pirate it for

sweet drug known as nostalgia. A week later, I got a call from my friend Todd.

the Playstation 2."

VII had three discs. Why were there four? I was pretty sure Todd just

downloaded the first program he could, not really checking into details like

"maybe you lucked into a beta copy."

the game was not only running, but running without any hiccups. Now THIS was a

true gateway to my glory days. It was just as I remembered. I played for about

Cloud.

Mansion. Not only was it an important place in the main storyline, but it was

also where you could recruit an optional party member (and my favorite Final

Normally, to recruit Vincent, you must go through

these puzzles set up by a villain named Hojo, fight a boss in a safe, then earn

As soon as I walked into Shinra Mansion, there was an

black like the Black Materia.

……It was…..it was grey.

the game. Could this have been a beta feature that was left out of the original

game? Curious, I picked up the Materia.

add one of the most intriguing Final Fantasy characters to my party.

you will normally see his coffin, unlock the door, answer a series of

questions, then he will join your party. Only this time, there was no coffin in

Before I unlocked the door, I could see the Galian

the room. I had a bad feeling about this, but I went ahead and unlocked the

door.

The beast charged at my party and a battle had begun.

Vincent in his Level 1 Limit Break. Luckily, I had spent a lot of time building

that Vincent was lower level than the rest of us, it made this fight rather

easy. After the battle ended, the party go no XP and no AP.

ground, and he began his line of questioning that usually followed in the game.

This time, instead of waiting until after the encounter with Sephiroth (the

The rest of the game continued as normal. The gameplay

raised. This was odd, considering the fact that I kept him in my party the

entire time. Then, the party got to the City of the Ancients. I turned the game

it checking out this copy of the game, seeing just what had been changed from

the original.

I woke up, brushed my teeth, made myself breakfast,

was anxious to get back to reliving my youth through Final Fantasy VII.

going to warn you that there is a massive plot spoiler coming up here.

I resumed the game at the City of the Ancients, and

usual, the PHS menu came up. Normally, you select your party members to go find

Aeris, only to see her get stabbed at the hands of Sephiroth.

This time, though, Aeris was still in the party. In

WHAT THE FUCK!?!?! Why was Vincent not in my party

As I got the party closer to the alcove, on one of the

with him.

"VINCENT: Please………do…..something."

there. Instead, I saw someone who had only remained a world map sprite in the

game. Now, Dirge of Cerberus (a third person shooter with Vincent as the

protagonist) had been out for a while, so I instantly recognized the person who

It was Lucrecia, still encased in crystal.

This time, the fight with Jenova LIFE started

played during combat. Once I got Jenova LIFE down to ½ of its health, the party

disappeared the way it did during a summon scene. Vincent then slowly dragged

The party members in this fight (other than Vincent)

would anybody make a version of the game that put Lucrecia in the role of

only one who could use Holy to stop Sephiroth?

up.

There was never an item titles that in any Final

Jenova/Sephiroth telling Vincent that he was the true father.

The game asked me to save before I switched discs. I

felt a morbid butterfly effect was going to occur in the game. The other two

discs would probably have drastic changes since Aeris was still alive. I just

It was day two of this copy of Final Fantasy VII, if

but instead started with Vincent, still in one of the beds in the City of the

Ancients. Aeris came over to his bed and kneeled beside it.

"AERIS: Hey, how are you feeling?"

"AERIS: I know that you loved her, but the pain will

Only Hojo could create someone so cold that he would kill his own mother."

Aeris left the room, and now I had control

Now, I was in control of Cloud again. This time, Aeris

YOUR FAULT DID. When I selected it, the cursor moved over to my three party

members. I tried selecting Cloud.

This was what I was afraid of. The messages popped up

in the same way that they do when you try to give someone a Level 4 Limit Break

meant for. I selected Vincent, and was immediately taken to a boss fight.

It was like the Galian Beast fight, but this time he

was in his Death Gigas Limit Break mode. Instead of boss fight music like the

the fight. Only Cloud and Aeris were there to fight the Death Gigas. As the

this the trigger for his Limit Break transformations? Not the experimentation

run down my face. What a horrible thing….to see the one person you truly

love……someone who encased herself in crystal for you…waiting for you to come

When the battle was won, there was no XP or AP. Instead of going back to the

main screen, the game went to the Limit Break screen. Now I finally had

continue with the rest of the game. Would this entire world be changed by the

fact that Aeris lived and Lucrecia died?

There was no change at all. The next three days were

fairly routine. I was surprised about the lack of change, considering the fact

accessible party member after the events leading up to Cloud giving the Black

Materia to Sephiroth so that he can summon Meteor. He just……disappeared from

Materia was waiting for Aeris. She pulled it out, and prayed for the spell. The

game went to the PHS, prompting me to pick a new party. Aeris, obviously,

finally finished praying for Holy. But this time, the weirdest thing happened

sky as Sephiroth, Masamune in hand. It was a cutscene just like the one where

Aeris was supposed to die.

item.

The game resumed, with Cloud, Aeris, Tifa, and Cid

"CLOUD: VINCENT, I tried….."

her!!!!"

turned to Cloud.

as Sephiroth is alive."

I was given control over Cloud again. I decided to

save and take a break. No telling what crazy shit was going to happen when I

'''Part'''

The next day, I resumed the game on the Airship. I

the Hellmasker Limit Break. But this time, only Cloud was able to fight.

Instead of the attack names that pop up when Vincent is in Limit Break mode, it

YOU". I won the fight. Afterwards, just like with the Death Gigas fight, I was

greeted by the Limit Break screen, showing where the Hellmasker Limit Break now

was. When I backed out of the menu, I was greeted by a black screen.

home."

Seeing as how Disc 3 was about to come up, I decided

party, but he would be rather far behind everyone else without his Ultimate

Weapon or his Level 4 Limit Break.

Aeris placed Lucrecia in her usual spot in the game. At that point, Vincent

went to the ground. Normally, he would flashback to how he became a monster,

and…..Grimoire Valentine.

mention of him was made until Dirge of Cerberus. And why was he there with

Hojo?

experimentation? He is a strong vessel. Perhaps he could handle Jenova cells."

before the Jenova project started?

"GRIMOIRE: Perhaps you could do the procedure? You

by using his feelings for me."

The next scene showed Vincent, on the operating table

who-knows-what.

mansion. Hojo and Grimoire walked in.

endurance are even better than they were before. The injecting of Jenova cells

has really paid off."

"VINCENT: I feel better than ever."

Grimoire left.

"VINCENT: What is this? What the hell??!?!"

to increase your more……primitive….desires."

This dialogue in white text was all that was said

followed by his own. And as he forced himself upon her, fulfilling every carnal

desire he had, his body sporadically morphed. His face would occasionally grow

revert back to normal. A red patch of hair along his spine would sprout up,

then go away. When Vincent was finished with her, Grimoire sent the two guards

pheromones and the sight of his beloved would do it."

experiment is a failure. Kill the subject and the woman."

They lowered their guns.

done, your career is finished."

with Grimoire.

Hojo lowered the gun.

"Hojo….darling….something wonderful has

I lost my shit at this point. I stood up, breathing

heavily into my cupped hands. While it was thought that Hojo was the father of

the father of Sephiroth.

was on the world map. I saved my game and turned the game off. Trying to wrap

my head around all of this. No wonder Sephiroth became evil. No wonder Vincent

himself, Vincent felt the shame of having hurt and raped the woman he loved.

through my head. How could someone suffer through so much? The unintentional

rape of the woman you love, watching her die at the hands of someone who you

What about going back into Midgar? The final stand of

Shinra? The fight with fucking Hojo? Those were all on Disc 2, and I still

picture of Vincent……as Chaos.

……I entered the fourth disc.

cave. Hojo was on his knees, facing the crystallized Lucrecia.

me……to us. After every abomination you created in the name of science. You

deserve to die."

"But you have Jenova cells also."

Chaos Limit Break. He performed what I assume was his "Jenova Osmosis" move.

Hojo disappeared.

"I use other Jenova cells to make me stronger."

SACRIFICE…..

I tried again.

All of these weird items have only worked on Vincent,

I tried one last time.

If Vincent could absorb Jenova cells and the life of

I was greeted by another higher-quality cinema scene,

this one showed Vincent cold-cock Cloud with Death Penalty. As Cloud fell back,

Chaos and absorb Cloud. When his gruesome task was finished, there was a

I was given back control over Vincent after the cinema

controlling. I exited the cave and flew straight for the Northern Crater. It

was time to end it between Vincent and Sephiroth.

The challenge of going through the crater was

Lucrecia and I could have been happy together in…."

as my son."

absorbed his Jenova cells.

not Mother,"

Sephiroth was in his human form, as he is when Cloud

party member list was replaced with "CHAOS X".

Limit Breaks. It dropped me down to half of my health. Vincent then countered

with a move called EVISCERATION OF CONSCIENCE.

were being cycled through in blindingly rapid order, the screen showing the

scenes began to meld down into a set of gold claws that formed the exact shape

ripping out organs, entrails, anything he could get his hands on. When the

The victory menu showed up. I got no XP or AP. I did

"Obtained PERMANENT SOLUTION"

What did Vincent have left to do? Sephiroth was dead,

why was this emotional roller coaster filled with heartbreak and turmoil not

ready for this tragedy to be over.

"VINCENT: This will be the proper place to do it."

Then, Tifa and Aeris ran through to cave entrance.

bastard!"

"AERIS: We know what you did!!"

it on my terms."

last time"? "This has to be done"?

what I think he is.

PERMANENT SOLUTION. I had grown too attached to Vincent. At this point, I could

feel every ounce of misery he had been through in his life. I wanted him to

the chamber of his pistol, put it to his chin, and pulled the trigger. The

camera zoomed out to see him falling to the ground, blood flowing out of the

way to redeem himself, and his way of escape from the world that had

relentlessly tortured him. The ending credits rolled. There was no post-credit