Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

[img_assist|nid=138|title=Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children|desc=Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children DVD cover|link=node|align=left|width=104|height=150] I just watched Advent Children last week and totally fall in love with Final Fantasy VII all over again. As usual Square Enix's CG art is "top-notched quality" and the fighting scenes left me in awe.

For those who have not played FF7 before or unfamiliar with the world of Final Fantasy, might have some problems understanding the storyline and the various terms used, example Lifestream.

Afterall, Advent Children was released many years after FF7 and my memory is fuzzy at best, I struggled to keep up with some parts of the story but I know I understand it more than my friends who had never played the game.

Sephiroth made his appearance again in this movie, even if its only for a short while. Oh YES! I totally love Sephiroth, he has got to be the coolest antagonist of all the FF-series and outside of it. And now, I just keep staring at the movie poster. hehe.

The next antagonist for Advent Children is Kadaj, a teenager who's looking for 'Mother'. He is thought to be one of Sephiroth's clones or rather Sephiroth's spirit lies in him and his other two friends. A closer look at his model, he really resembles Sephiroth alot more compared to his other two friends that teamed up with him. Of course, it was no surprise to me when Kadaj morphed into Sephiroth and battled cloud. Unlike Sephiroth, Kadaj is more like a child. He's childish, evil and very intelligient. He's bitter about 'Mother' prefering Sephiroth over him but he served her cause nevertheless.

I like Kadaj as well. I think Square Enix actually makes better antagonists than protagonists. I'm not that fond of Cloud or any of the FF-series protagonists. Although, I will admit, Cloud's a better developed hero compared to Zidane or Squall. Maybe some fans will disagree with me over that. Yuna (FFX) was alright, being the first female protagonist.

I love the soundtrack of Advent Children tremendously, especially Sephiroth's final battle music, titled One Winged Angel. The A.C version is a fusion of orchestral and rock. The lyrics in the A.C version is different from the original FF7 version. It is in latin.

"Noli manere, manere in memoria. (x2)
Sephiroth, Sephiroth.

Saevam iram, iram et dolorem. (x2)
Sephiroth, Sephiroth.

Ferum terrible, ferum fatum.

Noli manere, manere in memoria. (x2)
Sephiroth, Sephiroth.

Veni, mi fili. Veni, mi fili.
Hic veni, da mihi mortem iterum.
Veni, mi fili. Veni, mi fili.
Hic veni, da mihi...

Noli manere in memoria.
Saevam iram et dolorem.
Ferum terrible fatum.
Ille iterum veniet.

Mi fili, veni, veni, veni, mi fili. (x4)

Mi fili, veni, veni, veni, mi fili.
(Qui mortem invitavis,)
Mi fili, veni, veni, veni, mi fili.
(Poena funesta natus,)
Mi fili, veni, veni, veni, mi fili.
(Noli nomen vocare.)

Mi fili, veni, veni, veni, mi fili.
(Ille iterum veniet.)

Sephiroth, Sephiroth."

The english translation is as follows:

"
Won't remain, remain in memory. (x2)
Sephiroth, Sephiroth.

Raging anger, anger and misery. (x2)
Sephiroth, Sephiroth.

Fierce terror, fierce fate.

Won't to remain, remain in memory. (x2)
Sephiroth, Sephiroth.

Come, my son. Come, my son.
Come here, give me death once more.
Come, my son. Come, my son.
Come here, give me...

Won't to remain in memory.
Raging anger and misery.
Fierce, terrible fate.
The second advent.

My son, come, come, come, my son. (x4)

My son, come, come, come, my son.
(By death's invitation,)
My son, come, come, come, my son.
(Painful tainted birth,)
My son, come, come, come, my son.
(Won't call the name.)
My son, come, come, come, my son.
(The second advent.)

Sephiroth, Sephiroth.

Sephiroth.
"
Got the lyrics from here.

[img_assist|nid=139|title=Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children - Vincent Valentine|desc=Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children - Vincent Valentine (Taken from adventchildren.net)|link=node|align=left|width=150|height=87]Advent Children also brought another character to my mind - Vincent Valentine. He's really cool in the movie. Square Enix released the japanese version of Dirge of the Cerberus recently where Vincent will be the protagonist in the FPS game. While I'm not fond of FPS type of games, I'm going to get Dirge when the english version comes out in August.