Oh boy, we’ve arrived at Nibelheim…
The surrounding area here was a bit of a surprise, but I like it. The entire coastal region with the islands and caves were a nice touch, the river leading up to the Chocobo Sage was beautiful, and the bridge to Nibelheim felt ominous, until it opens up around the corner and you see the iconic entrance to the city, and you just get that creepy vibe that you’re finally here.
Getting a few more Cloud freakout flashbacks is great, with him “remembering” what “actually happened” 5 years ago (Cloud is such an unreliable narrator).
There’s a ton of climbing on your way to the Nibel reactor, which gets a little old over time, but it’s not so bad. The most tedious part of this chapter is playing as Cait Sith – a lot. There are entire sections where you’re soloing as Cait Sith, with some pretty difficult battles, so it’s best to learn how to use him as soon as you can. Another pain point is when you’re following around the guys in the black robes, those walking quests take quite a while, and shoving them along doesn’t help much. The Safe boss was awesome to see remastered.
The Vincent scenes were amazing, but I’m bummed we don’t have Vincent as a playable character in our party. While we’re on the subject, since I haven’t mentioned it in a couple of chapters, I’m also bummed at the direction they took Cid, and I also wish he was a playable character.
Roche and the degredation scenes are brutal. Such an incredible end for such a great Solider bro. I’m also hoping we get more information on Chadley later, because his little plot twist was very interesting.
Sephiroth and Gilgamesh was a little confusing, but I think there might be a link between them for some reason. “A wayward soul.”
Tip: Once you’ve finished the game, if you’re not level 70 yet (you likely won’t be), using chapter select to come back and redo the cat quest on Hard Mode will push you to 70 almost instantly.
The full video of Chapter 11: The Long Shadow of Shinra can be viewed here:
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