Something that has been on my mind for nearly 30 years: why did the French translators for FF7 rename "Cloud" to "Clad", while "Claude" was _right there_ ?!

Claude couldn't have been more French even if they replaced the Buster Sword with a big baguette.

#FinalFantasy #FF7 #Claude

Yesterday afternoon, I heard my local NPR classical station play the Distant Worlds version of Aerith's Theme conducted by Arnie Roth. My donations have finally paid off!

#npr #wbfo #wtpm #ff7 #finalfantasy #classical

Random #FF7 / #FF7R thought:

People misunderstand Palmer. Everyone thinks he's an idiot and wonders how he got to Shinra top brass or stays there with the space program dead.

And the thing you have to realize is he's not an exception; he's an illustration. They're ALL decadent and stupid. Palmer may be fat (another conversation) and childish, but even his stats have an Easter egg: in the PS1 original, he's immune to Sleep status, but damage-weak to it with Added Effect on a weapon, as in he's up into the night working, which would have been immediately familiar to a Japanese audience.

When you look at Scarlet, dressed more for a cocktail party than an office, or Hojo taking a beach vacation with women hanging off him, or Heidegger's abuse to his soldiers, you start to realize the excess all of them engage in. One could argue Hojo being the problem behind literally everything is just part of that excess. These people revel in being shallow, evil caricatures. The only one with a heart or nuance is Reeve.