LogFAQs > #980043589

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NPC 9. Palmer

Palmer is this high in honor of all-time great B8'er Heroic Palmer.

But also, I genuinely laugh at every scene this character is in, both in Remake and Rebirth. Joke villains can be hard to get right. It's easy for them to just be annoying and aggravating, but the perfectly walk the line with Palmer. He's not sympathetic at all, but he's also not a character you hate, the way you hate the other Shinra board members.

No one takes him seriously, not the main party, not the Turks, and not the other board members. He's a perfect characterization of a vestigial corporate shill in charge of a seemingly worthless department. He's just along for the paycheck. Palmer's always been an accurate commentary on governments that prioritize the military industrial complex and short-term gains over long-term progress. All this to say he's the perfect yes-man.

I'm glad we got the Palmer fight when we did. It just gives them a chance to bring Palmer back for more when we finally get to Rocket Town. It was also challenging, like I mentioned earlier. I almost died to Palmer twice, once in the actual battle and once in the minigame afterward.

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NPC 8: Tseng

Here's some stuff I had wrong about Tseng, based on my understanding of the original game. First, he's not old. Silly me, when I first played the original game, I though surely Tseng was an older guy. Of course, these are JRPG's, and once you turn 30 you're basically an old person. But I really always pictured him as kind of an old samurai type guy, so I don't quite like how much of a babyface he is.

Secondly, Tseng doesn't die in the Temple of the Ancients in the original either. I knew this from Advent Children, but also, I hate AC so in my headcanon, Tseng dies. It's just better if he does, if I'm being completely honest. I think Tseng probably should've died here too, but obviously I'm eager to see how the Turks continue to evolve in the third game.

We get to fight Tseng in Rebirth, finally. While it was cute seeing he and Elena fight together, I feel like he was weirdly a non-factor in that fight. I want to say he never attacks Aerith, which would be a cool detail, but I'm pretty sure that's wrong.

Even moreso than the rest of the Turks, it feels like there's a good person somewhere inside him that is forced to be this morally grey/villainous person for the greater good. I totally buy the idea that he actually cares about Aerith and Elmyra while also thinking that he has to work for Shinra and regularly kidnap her.

Hint for minigame 9: Where's omnislash?