Those Who Fight

Episode ten of our multipart journey through the world of Final Fantasy VII takes us down the garbage chute into Corel Prison, where we will start unraveling some further connections FF7 has to Kabbalistic Judaism beyond even the naming conventions. We'll also talk about the second part of Barret's backstory, and take the side trek to Gongaga, where we'll discover that Aerith really is just the coolest, nicest person on this bitch of an earth.

Intro: Desert Wasteland, prog rock cover by BlackearacheXD Outro: Cosmo Canyon, jazz cover by The Consouls

In our ninth episode we take a short break in the resort town of Costa Del Sol, talk about how disturbingly fast the housing market turn-around is for the dead President's vacation house and try to bumblingly parse whatever the NPC Johnny's deal is. In a classic FF7 move we move immediately to abject poverty in the ruined mining town of Corel, find out a bit about Barret's background, make a sort of obscure American Dad reference, and have a very depressing side discussion about what growing up poor does to you emotionally.

Intro: Costa Del Sol, four-piece band arrangement by moonbowmusicmovie Outro: Mark of a Traitor, re-arranged by Beyond Midgar

"The coolest shinobi are puking in corners, that's how you get your ninja powers."

We're back after a fairly protracted break involving a real actual wildfire, evacuations, and a bout of the flu. In this episode we apologize profusely, protect Fort Condor, talk yet again about nuclear reactors and mankind's very temporary dominion over nature, reminisce about paid video game tip lines, perform CPR, take part in a very fascist waste of time and resources in Junon, and get seasick on the cargo ship heading to Costa Del Sol.

Intro: Rufus's Welcoming Ceremony, acoustic guitar cover by Edigar Monteiro Outro: J-E-N-O-V-A, cover by moonbowmusicmovie

Our 7th episode digests the second half of the very large plot-burger that is the Nibelheim flashback, where we learn who or what the Ancients are and why the human species is lazy and terrible. Allen and Erin also discuss Northern California's minor crisis of the week: a planned rolling blackout by our local power company in the height of wildfire season. Speaking of fire, whoops Nibelheim is on fire.

Intro: "On That Day 5 Years Ago" orchestral arrangement by Pontus Hultgren Outro: "Dear to the Heart" remix by Jordan Chin

In our first episode outside of the dark metropolis of Midgar, Allen and Erin regroup with the party in Kalm, a quaint little town with some different perspectives on the impact Shinra has had on the world. We talk about the role of The Big Sword(TM) in Japanese pop culture and its deep historical roots, some thoughts on the "multicultural" aspirations of this entry in the Final Fantasy series, and the generational nature of the conflicts at play in the story.

We also get majorly bummed out at 16-year-old Cloud in our first big flashback cutscene, and discover that Sephiroth is just Dennis from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Join us for the boss fight hell that is the end of Shinra headquarters in this, the fifth episode of Those Who Fight - a podcast about the divisive late 90's blockbuster that was, and is, Final Fantasy VII.

Allen and Erin discuss the new FF7R Tokyo Game Show footage and meeting Rufus Shinra, who isn't a boring fascist like his dad - he's like, a COOL fascist with a pet panther and a helicopter that might be a robot? We were confused on that one. We also get into the deep lore of Carl's Jr burgers, talk about how video game graphics age gracefully, steal a motorcycle, and say goodbye for now to the city of Midgar.

Intro: "Trail of Blood" strings version by Patti Rudisill Outro: "Crazy Motorcycle" metal cover by Vincent Moretto

Join us for episode 4 of a longform replay of Final Fantasy VII, where two nerds with fuzzy memories re-examine what may have been the most important video game of the 90's.

Contained herein: A floor-by-floor rundown of Shinra Headquarters, Allen's tale of working at a call center where his time in the bathroom was monitored, some conjecture on whether or not Amazon has secret police and/or forces their employees to recycle their urine, and Erin pitches "midgr", a hip new hookup app for Shinra employees!

Shinra Employee Perks:

• Daily toilet paper allowance
• Chairs (for earners)
• Subsidized pens
• Air (for earners)
• Unrestricted inter-office phone calls
• Picked over meeting muffins (by the printer)
• Two way stairs
• A mostly pest-free environment
• Free passes to already free events
• Bikram Filing
• Take your mistress to work day
• Emergency exits (For senior personnel only)

Intro music: Barrett's Theme/MF Doom's "Air", remixed by teamteamwork

Outro music: "S h i n r a" by Lzls

Join us for episode 3 of THOSE WHO FIGHT, an in-depth investigation into the oddball cultural artifact that is Final Fantasy VII, as our hosts Allen and Erin venture into the dank, sticky, sweaty immorality of Wall Market. Things gets Real Queer up in here. Did you know the title of the Wall Market theme is "Oppressed People"? Dang, it's almost like this game is *~POLITICAL~*.

As we've mentioned many times of the show, please check out the Wall Market special episode of Let's Mosey, a "slow translation" of FF7 by Tim Rogers with Kotaku for way more detail on the deeper intricacies of this surprisingly dense section of the game!

Intro music: "Oppressed People" remaster by sschafi1 Outro music: "Oppressed People" jazz cover by The Consouls

In the second episode of our deep dive "book club" replay of Final Fantasy VII, Erin and Allen set off for Reactor 5 with AVALANCHE, fall through a church roof, discuss nuclear power, Vaseline, some mildly racist translation issues, and determine once and for all that memory cards are nothing to be nostalgic about.

Follow us on Twitter @kaophyre and @kenjisalk to tell us how to pronounce "Aeris", check out or game dev projects, or just stay updated on the show.

Intro music: "Anxious Heart" remake by Osiris Music

Outro music: "Anxious Heart" acoustic guitar cover by Sam Griffin

In the inaugural episode of Those Who Fight, Erin and Allen (Nathan if you're nasty) begin their quest to revisit Final Fantasy VII - one of the most important digital works of the past two decades. Join us for a chapter by chapter reflection on the weird, touching, goofy, emotional Sakaguchi story of identity, rebellion, and how capitalism will really be the end of us if we don't choose to fight.

Follow us on Twitter @kaophyre and @kenjisalk and let us know what you think. We thank you for taking this journey with us!