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The RetroBeat: Final Fantasy VII Remake amplifies the classic’s magic – VentureBeat

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Last week, I ended The RetroBeat by saying that I wasn’t sure the Final Fantasy VII Remake could have the same impact as the original. Now that I’ve spent a good amount of time with this inventive reimagining of the classic, I’m beginning to doubt myself.

Final Fantasy VII Remake, which is out now for PlayStation 4, is a beautiful role-playing game that is much more than a reskin of the original. It also isn’t so much of a departure that it will feel like a disappointment to old-school fans. The remake is a modern retelling that adds new lore, story elements, and systems while also carrying over what made the original so special.

And it’s the second point that I want to focus on right now. Final Fantasy VII Remake takes many of the best aspects of the 1997 RPG and brings them back, often better than you remember them.

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Merry melodies

I want to bring up the music first. Just like with every Final Fantasy game, Final Fantasy VII had an amazing soundtrack, thanks to the work of series composer Nobuo Uematsu. The remake is able to take those iconic songs and make them sound better than ever.

Part of this is thanks the actual quality of the audio. The tracks sound more full and rich. Sure, the old MIDI versions in the original have their charm, but I love hearing these songs in full orchestral glory.

GamesBeat Summit - It's a time of change in the game industry. Hosted online April 28-29.

But it’s not just the quality of the music, it’s how the game presents it. For example, when you’re running around an area filled with enemies, you’ll hear a low-key version of the classic Final Fantasy VII battle theme playing. When you actually start a fight, this low hum of a song amps up and becomes much more intense and energetic. I love this use of dynamic music.

Above: I can hear the music just looking at this.

Image Credit: Square Enix

Magical Materia

If you played the original Final Fantasy VII, you know about Materia. This is the game’s magic system. Materia is a kind of orb that you can slot into equipment like weapons and armor. Using Materia helps level it up. For example, a Fire Materia will only allow a character to use the normal Fire spell at first. After some time, you’ll unlock stronger abilities like Fira.

What’s great about this system is that you can swap Materia between characters, but those orbs will keep their progress. So when you unlock a new character, you can quickly deck them out in appropriate Materia that you’ve already been empowering.

It was a great magic system in 1997, and I’m glad that it’s come back in the remake. But it’s also seen some nice improvements. For example, you can earn Materia through a special shop that makes them available when you hit certain milestones. It’s like an in-game achievement system, with Materia serving as your trophies. Also, each character now has a dedicated slot for Summon Materia. Summons call in powerful beings that fight with you for a short while. Now, you don’t have to waste a Materia slot on your weapon in order to use one.

Above: Aerith is more adorable than ever.

Image Credit: Sony

World and characters

The best thing about Final Fantasy VII Remake, however, is how it brings back and expands upon classic characters and locations. The original game had fantastic world-building. Midgar is a fascinating city, a kind of blend of steampunk and cyberpunk aesthetics. It’s a world where corporate greed has gone into overdrive, with a company/government entity called Shinra mining the literal life essence of the planet as an energy resource. In return, some citizens, including most of your party members, are part of a resistance group (or, less generously, eco terrorists) called Avalanche.

Final Fantasy VII Remake is able to make this world feel for real by exposing more details, sometimes via things you hear from chatty civilians as you walk by them. You also get to learn more about some characters that had smaller roles in the original. Avalanche members Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie didn’t do much back in 1997, but here extra dialogue and missions flesh out these characters, making them more (and the whole game) more interesting and likable.

I know some people are skeptical about Square Enix’s approach to the Final Fantasy VII remake — splitting it into multiple parts, with each expanded into a full game. But after playing a good portion of this first portion of the project, I’m all aboard. I like that this version of Final Fantasy VII is able to slow down and spend more time with each character and town.

I hope you’re also enjoying the remake if you’re a Final Fantasy fan like me. And if you want to hear more thoughts on the game, check out this week’s GamesBeat Decides podcast with me, PC gaming editor Jeff Grubb, and managing editor Jason Wilson!

The RetroBeat is a weekly column that looks at gaming’s past, diving into classics, new retro titles, or looking at how old favorites — and their design techniques — inspire today’s market and experiences. If you have any retro-themed projects or scoops you’d like to send my way, please contact me.

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The Ultimate Recap of Sea Otter 2024 – Pinkbike.com

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Vittoria Releases New Peyote & Mezcal XC Race Tires
Maxxis Team Spec Aspen ST Tire
New DT Swiss 240 DEG Hubs
Kali Protectives’ New Full Face Helmets
Industry Nine’s SOLiX M Hubs & Wheelsets
Michelin’s Aggressive New Wild Enduro Tires
Praxis’ New Flat Pedals, Stem, & Carbon Bottle Cage
Transmission Cage Upgrades from Kogel, Ceramicspeed, and Cascade Components
Randoms Round 1 – Sea Otter 2024
Madrone Cycles’ SRAM Eagle Repair Kits & Prototype Derailleur
Vorsprung’s New Telum Coil Shock
EXT’s Vaia Inverted DH Fork & Updated Coil Shocks
Randoms Round 2: New Tools, Goggles, Grips, Racks, & More – Sea Otter 2024
What’s New in Women’s MTB Apparel at Sea Otter 2024
Even More Randoms – Sea Otter 2024
Randoms Round 3: Dario’s Treasures
What’s New for the Kids at Sea Otter 2024
Deity Releases New Stems, Grips, & Pedals
Dario’s Final Sea Otter Randoms
Brian’s Randoms from Sea Otter 2024

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Videos

With roots dating back to 1991, the Sea Otter Classic is one of the biggest biking events and tradeshows each year and brings together all sides of the biking industry from athletes to brands, spectators and consumers. Taking place in April in the sunny hills of Monterey, California, that means this event really feels like the official start to the biking season in North America. Christina Chappetta covers why it’s much different to an indoor European biking tradeshow, a World Cup racing weekend or even Crankworx mountain bike festival, in that it encompasses nearly ALL of the biking disciplines, including road cycling, enduro, downhill, dual slalom, XC, trials riding and more.

In the past fortnight, we have seen large amount of new tech releases. However, Sea Otter 2024 represents some of the first opportunities for many riders to see these things in the flesh, as well as take a deeper dive into what the product aims to do.
Welcome to a video summary from Day 2 of the Sea Otter Classic.
There are so many giveaways, interesting new products and colourful characters at Sea Otter Classic that it’s hard to stand out from the crowd. Ben Cathro takes a lap of the venue to find his favourites.



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Apple iPad Air 2024: Insider Makes Hasty U-Turn On New Feature – Forbes

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Well, that was quick. On May 18, a respected industry insider predicted a new display technology for the iPad Air that’s expected in the coming days—Apple just announced its latest special event.

The new 12.9-inch iPad Air, the report claimed, would have the same miniLED backlighting currently found on the larger iPad Pro, using the leftover inventory from the current Pro as that model switches to OLED. That was exciting news.

But now, Ross Young, the analyst who made the claim, has changed his mind. The new prediction, shared with paid subscribers only, is that the miniLED technology won’t be coming to the iPad Air, in either size.

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While it made sense that the inventory could be maximized in this way, it now “makes sense” that it won’t.

Young says that while he’d heard from supply chain sources that it would, he’d now had contact from “even more supply chain sources” that it won’t.

And the reason this change of heart now makes sense is that this miniLED technology is expensive, so it would be surprising if it made it to the iPad Air, which is more affordable than the Pro.

That’s not quite all the analyst shared. He also said that there are now reports of a new iPad coming later in the year. This is a 12.9-inch iPad, with miniLED backlighting and it could arrive between October and December this year.

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This is intriguing. What could it be? Assuming that the iPad Pro and iPad Air are released in May, it’s extremely unlikely either will be updated later in the year. And if the iPad Air isn’t pricey enough for miniLED to be included, what tablet could Apple be introducing that is the same size as the bigger Pro, with a pricey screen tech, which would sit between the Air and the Pro, it seems?

Young is highly reliable, but this seems slightly preposterous to me. The only other iPad in the range due a refresh is the regular iPad (at 12.9-inches, the iPad mini is clearly out of the picture) and that doesn’t seem likely either.

It seems to me that any regular iPad will almost certainly have the same screen size as now, 10.9 inches. The regular iPad only grew to this size screen in the current generation, and Apple almost never changes designs after one iteration.

Perhaps things will become clearer as the year goes on.

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Woman who left beaten dad on floor for 2 days was 'overwhelmed' with his care, judge told – CBC.ca

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A Calgary woman who abused her sick, 77-year-old father was “overwhelmed” at the task of caring for him, a judge heard Wednesday at a sentencing hearing. 

In January, Tara Picard, 52, pleaded guilty to charges of assault and failing to provide the necessaries of life after her father (whom CBC News is not naming) was found injured on a basement floor, where he’d been lying for two days. 

On Wednesday, prosecutor Donna Spaner and defence lawyer Shaun Leochko asked the judge to allow Picard to serve her sentence in the community under conditions as part of a conditional sentence order.

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Justice Indra Maharaj agreed to a two-year conditional sentence for Picard followed by a year of probation. 

“There is no doubt she became overwhelmed,” said Spaner in her submissions. “There is no question Ms. Picard has remorse.”

Leochko told the judge that caring for her father “was really more than [Picard] could handle.”

Maharaj heard that Picard is Indigenous and was the victim of abuse growing up. She lives in a sober dorm-style facility and is working with a mental health and addictions navigator, according to Leochko.

A ‘willingness to give back’

As part of the sentence, Picard must complete 300 hours of community service. 

Justice Maharaj commended Picard for “taking that on.”

“That shows me Ms. Picard sincerely does recognize what has happened here,” said the judge. 

“What I interpret from that is Ms. Picard’s willingness to give back to her community.”

During Picard’s plea, court heard that in November 2021, Picard and her father fought over his drinking. 

Nurses discover victim

The victim suffers from a number of medical issues, including diabetes, heart disease, dementia and alcoholism.

At the time, home-care registered nurses were assigned to help provide supplementary care.

Nurses found the victim wearing a soiled adult diaper and suffering from two black eyes with blood on his head. 

He told the nurses who discovered him that he’d been there for two days. 

Picard admitted she knew her father had fallen and she had “administered a number of physical blows.”

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