I liked Last Order considerably better than Advent Children. However, I couldn't stand the fact that it's subtly, but profoundly inconsistent with the game canon.
The biggest inconsistency that would actually have greatly changed the game's plot: Tifa talks to Cloud at the Mako reactor.
It's very important for Tifa to not have known for sure that Cloud had come back to Nibelheim during the incident five years before the game. Sephiroth gains much of his power by manipulating Cloud, which is done through a combination of Jenova-cell control, as well as a good-ol'-fashioned mind-fck.
Sephiroth causes Cloud to question his identity by showing proof that he was never a Soldier and has merely acquired Zack's memories. Tifa cannot refute this evidence because she truly thinks that only Zack had come to Nibelheim.
If Tifa had been able to validate that Cloud had indeed been at Nibelheim five years prior, she would've possibly been able to prevent Sephiroth from persuading Cloud that he was merely a clone. However, as she was unconscious in the game, this dilemma remains a moot point of argument until the climax of Tifa resolving Cloud's - as well as her own - memories of their hometown of Nibelheim.
Thus, in order to preserve the game's validity, Tifa should not have talked to Cloud, or perhaps should have appeared delirious, thus causing her not to remember, or to believe she remembered incorrectly.
The only function of this change: to add sentimentality and more human element to the plot, but also there's the mark of fan service. I like Cloti, but not at the price of a weak plot.
My other annoyance: Sephiroth jumping of his own free will.
In the game, Cloud is impaled, but grabs the sword in his chest, and to the General's surprise, launches Sephiroth into the depths of the Mako reactor. In LO, Cloud does get impaled and also surprisingly overpowers Sephiroth, but instead of Cloud tossing him over the edge, he jumps of his own accord.
While this doesn't affect game canon, it does greatly weaken the impact of the scene. The point of that sequence is to show the strength of Cloud's determination and the fury of his revenge being able to overcome even the Great General Sephiroth. In Last Order, by showing Sephiroth jumping of his own accord, it allows Sephiroth to keep some of his own pride, while weakening Cloud's character.
And the only reason that scenario writers would want Sephiroth to keep some of his dignity is to appease the large amount of Sephiroth fans out there by trying to further his famed "badass-itude". *gag* They are trying to preserve his status amongst fans as a god-like being who is never weak, but ironically this weakens him as a character, by elevating him beyond human empathy.
Last Order, in my opinion, show much more respect to the original video game than Advent Children, but still contains glaring problems regarding fan service.
The biggest inconsistency that would actually have greatly changed the game's plot: Tifa talks to Cloud at the Mako reactor.
It's very important for Tifa to not have known for sure that Cloud had come back to Nibelheim during the incident five years before the game. Sephiroth gains much of his power by manipulating Cloud, which is done through a combination of Jenova-cell control, as well as a good-ol'-fashioned mind-fck.
Sephiroth causes Cloud to question his identity by showing proof that he was never a Soldier and has merely acquired Zack's memories. Tifa cannot refute this evidence because she truly thinks that only Zack had come to Nibelheim.
If Tifa had been able to validate that Cloud had indeed been at Nibelheim five years prior, she would've possibly been able to prevent Sephiroth from persuading Cloud that he was merely a clone. However, as she was unconscious in the game, this dilemma remains a moot point of argument until the climax of Tifa resolving Cloud's - as well as her own - memories of their hometown of Nibelheim.
Thus, in order to preserve the game's validity, Tifa should not have talked to Cloud, or perhaps should have appeared delirious, thus causing her not to remember, or to believe she remembered incorrectly.
The only function of this change: to add sentimentality and more human element to the plot, but also there's the mark of fan service. I like Cloti, but not at the price of a weak plot.
My other annoyance: Sephiroth jumping of his own free will.
In the game, Cloud is impaled, but grabs the sword in his chest, and to the General's surprise, launches Sephiroth into the depths of the Mako reactor. In LO, Cloud does get impaled and also surprisingly overpowers Sephiroth, but instead of Cloud tossing him over the edge, he jumps of his own accord.
While this doesn't affect game canon, it does greatly weaken the impact of the scene. The point of that sequence is to show the strength of Cloud's determination and the fury of his revenge being able to overcome even the Great General Sephiroth. In Last Order, by showing Sephiroth jumping of his own accord, it allows Sephiroth to keep some of his own pride, while weakening Cloud's character.
And the only reason that scenario writers would want Sephiroth to keep some of his dignity is to appease the large amount of Sephiroth fans out there by trying to further his famed "badass-itude". *gag* They are trying to preserve his status amongst fans as a god-like being who is never weak, but ironically this weakens him as a character, by elevating him beyond human empathy.
Last Order, in my opinion, show much more respect to the original video game than Advent Children, but still contains glaring problems regarding fan service.
