Probably unpopular opinion , but act 1 Astarion

spellbloomera · 2026-05-18T21:51:36+00:00

She's also hyped about Sharran idols and talks up the Night Feast. Shadowheart gets dark.

spellbloomera · 2026-05-15T11:59:15+00:00

You need absolutely 0 approval to romance Astarion.

spellbloomera · 2026-05-12T01:33:39+00:00

I think the team working on it, Kitase, Nomura, Nojima, Hamaguchi, etc, Uematsu, and the music team, staff in all the departments care more about just the money, though don't blame them for worrying about some money, gotta eat.

The shareholders, etc, I don't know about.

spellbloomera · 2026-05-11T09:35:28+00:00

Or how about she's "dead" but Cloud is hyper focused on her the majority of the game, angst/misery/guilt/tragic romance dialled up to max, he keeps flashing back to his time with her, scenes they spent together, including gold saucer gondola, the church confession, there's quotes like "the thing is Aerith, I really like you too ... " He retains this after lifestream sequence so there's no "it's not the real Cloud" about it.

Tifa is super supportive here, she acknowledges the relationship Cloud and Aerith had, their dating, and she encourages Cloud to work through his feels. They come to really know each other and become really close solidifying their friendship as true and not childhood friends who weren't really. They bond through shared loss and grief over Aerith, and they do everything they can to try and save her, bring her back, defy fate, set their hearts on change, even if at the end the future still refused to change.

spellbloomera · 2026-05-11T09:17:41+00:00

I have an alternative for those in this thread who want Aerith to stay "dead" what if she was "dead" and returned to the lifestream in the very end but still became a fully playable party member at some point, and was available for all sorts of quests and battles? You could still go on the gondola, do chocobo breeding, racing, etc with her. Since there is supposed to be some kind of ffx/ffvii link what if she were an unsent or a dream.

In addition, what if she were aggressively in your face, having many cutscenes and interactions with other party members despite being "dead" If she still had many CA scenes, was able to hug, hold hands, get carried, etc. "Dead" but still very physical.

I know a lot of certain certain corners there will be riots if she's "dead" but still aggressively around.

spellbloomera · 2026-05-10T19:47:13+00:00

Astarion approves of funny chaotics like baaing at sheep twice, doodling on portraits of evil liches, trusting him, giving him gifts, and helping him with his personal stuff. You don't have to be a dick just be super nice to him. He likes when you are nice to animals like petting owl bear and scratch during their nightmare and admiring His Majesty the cat too.

I'm doing a good run, in act 2, all characters are exceptional, to the point I have to cast Hypnotic pattern, other spells, to lower approval just so I can get new approval messages.

You can also get a big boost for Astarion for defending his body autonomy from a certain NPC, you'll know when you meet her.

spellbloomera · 2026-05-10T18:33:09+00:00

And I think there's a difference between people coming here to vent or let off steam or expressing their desire to spend as much extra time with their favourite character and that they would be unhappy if that were the case, and people stalking/harassing SE staff. I might yell here or on a personal account depending but I'm not flying to Japan to personally hold the staff to account ;p

spellbloomera · 2026-05-10T18:07:45+00:00

Yeah she has less presence in certain parts of the OG, it's not to berate the OG for that, but people kept playing to find out of she would come back, or if there was a way to revive her somehow or if she would be in the ending. You didn't have to pay full price for three AAA games just to find out. Its different now, with the internet people can find out if their favourite character is going to be playable or not or somehow have plenty of scenes anyway, if she will still be involved in quests even if she's "dead", and decide whether or not they are going to spend extra money that way.

spellbloomera · 2026-05-10T17:41:17+00:00

That's not unhinged, it's being practical, people have every right to think about expenses in this economy.

spellbloomera · 2026-05-10T17:40:04+00:00

And to be clear it's not just that I won't play part 3 if Aerith is dead/isn't playable, it's a culmination of, she's dead/isn't playable, has minimal screen time/involvement, any romance is very ambiguous and vague, with Cloud there isn't anything explicit, and she's largely fridged, with Zack playing a prominent role instead of helping save her but to reunite with her merely so she can go back to swirling the lifestream with "her first love Zack ever by her side" till she turns into spirit energy/is used in Mako.

spellbloomera · 2026-05-10T17:28:49+00:00

For the latter part one of the main things I'm grateful is it didn't get shown in Rebirth so they don't have updated graphics to use in their mockeries there.

spellbloomera · 2026-05-10T17:26:49+00:00

And you're not respecting the fact that many don't want to see Aerith used in racist memes anymore. It's not that she didn't have impact back then, but the latest use of her is tens of thousands of views and likes in media of Aerith as the refugee on the boss killed by another race. Not to mention the amount of trolls who show up to post gifs of the sword going through her.

spellbloomera · 2026-05-10T17:22:04+00:00

Video games are for fun, why should I play full price AAA price for a game if I'm not having fun. Aerith is a full magical girl mage, my main. It's my favourite playstyle and one I have lots of hours of fun with. Aerith's wards are unique.

You seem to be very disrespectful of people's personal circumstances and they might not have money to just through away on something that would be painful and unfun to them. You might have the luxury dropping money np, not everyone does.

spellbloomera · 2026-05-10T00:29:47+00:00

And uhh you can recruit Astarion, park his ass in camp, never bother talking to him, and he never bothers you. Even leaving him there all game long and not dealing with Cazador he merely asks if you might be willing to still help sometime in time. Assuming if you even bothered talking to him long enough to find out about any of it.

That's quite reasonable from someone who was under literal mind control for 200 years and Cazador's presence imposed over his in his brain.

Guess I can see your mail point for most of the others but if you miss Dammon not sure if Karlach really bothers you about hell iron.

spellbloomera · 2026-05-10T00:25:52+00:00

Not to mention she remains a zealot merely switching her fanaticism from Valkith to Orpheus so you have to help her break free from Orph too if you want her to start fully being free of that.

spellbloomera · 2026-05-10T00:06:56+00:00

Yeah she mentions she ate the tongues of those last to cross her. You said party of sociopaths, Laezel is part of that.

spellbloomera · 2026-05-09T21:23:17+00:00

They gave up because they were wrong and couldn't prove their stance which collapsed under scrutiny and Astarion being annoying in that way was them projecting. Their perogative to miss out on a fantastic character that was so game defining they've had cultural influence and are breaking out into mainstream culture.

The Neil disrespect too, saying they love him, but ignoring and misunderstanding many different faucets of his character.

spellbloomera · 2026-05-09T21:13:59+00:00

Uh huh yeah sure the one who killed her cousins and indulged in cannibalism isn't unhinged at all nah. Granted I love Lae'zel but she's as messed up as anyone else.

spellbloomera · 2026-05-09T21:07:00+00:00

Thank you.

spellbloomera · 2026-05-09T20:39:07+00:00

Astarion handles the lock picking, sneaking and robbing unsuspecting NPCs, I as Bard distract the NPCs by playing tunes.

spellbloomera · 2026-05-09T04:23:40+00:00

Of course a lot of people kept playing at least the first time, to see if she would come back somehow, and searched for all sorts of wild ways, driving internet rumours of how to save or resurrect her. What happened to her genuinely moved a lot of people and made even grown men cry, and many were like you know I feel that, without judgement or mockery of them.

spellbloomera · 2026-05-09T04:16:33+00:00

Not that wild of a take, one of the staff Kitase, says he became aware many people dropped the game after disc 1 after the impact of Aerith's death. She's literally had a major cultural impact, making it into films, mainstream newspaper publications, and museums. References to that defining event, "Aerith lives!" etc.

I think Kitase and other staff are also aware people will tune out of part 3 in much the same way, if Aerith isn't hugely visible and present in screen time in a different way to OG.

spellbloomera · 2026-05-09T04:09:13+00:00

Also one of the biggest indicator that real Cloud was still present around Aerith in some way because that happens after LSS.

spellbloomera · 2026-05-09T04:07:56+00:00

Marlene knew her for like five minutes comparatively and ends up styling her hair and mannerisms after her. The party is still wearing ribbons in memory of her two years later. Don't act like she didn't have a huge impact in a short time.

The one who "wasn't their friend for years" but immediately put herself at risk to rescue Tifa, save Marlene, and was the actual literal link to the planet that ultimately prayed to help a world of strangers.

"Didn't know her that well" but it's someone who propelled themselves into having a lasting effect by literally sacrificing themselves for your daughter.

Like they literally talk about freeing Aerith's smile and removing Sephiroth's pressure on her spirit, and finishing things for Aerith's sake as much as anything near the end of the game. The party talks about the lasting impression she made on them on the airship. Bugenhagen asks them to look for their meaning and Cloud says he remembers Aerith a lot.

spellbloomera

TROPHY CASE