FF7R and Console Screenshot Hell

Morning Friends, there is more than a bit of irony in that I got this sweet sweet gaming rig for my birthday, and for the last several nights all it has been doing is operating my second monitor while I play PS5 on the main screen. Confession time… I never actually got around to finishing Final Fantasy VII Remake, which I guess shouldn’t be much of a surprise given how many other titles lay unfinished around me. There has been a recent perfect storm of events that has gotten me interested in wrapping things up. Firstly the PlayStation 5 version with slightly prettier graphics was released and then more recently the Yuffie DLC pack dropped. While I get that you can play it completely independent of the main story, I still want to finish the first game before diving into anything further.

However before we get there it is time for a brief intermission. If you have read my blog for awhile, you will know one of the hallmarks of said blog is that I use screenshots to break up the blocks of text. This means I need a pretty steady supply of screenshots to fill that role. It is a colossal pain in the ass to pull screenshots from a console and this really needs to be remedied. Essentially you have two options… both of which require a certain measure of pre-planning. The easiest option is to post them on a social media account and I have @BelghastShots that exists exclusively for this purpose. The option that preserves image quality is to drag out a thumb drive and copy the images there and then “sneakernet” them to your PC.

What we need instead is for the console vendors to implement a DLNA server that would allow access to screenshots, recorded video and frankly any purchased media that you have on that console across a network that could be consumed by any other DLNA devices. DLNA stands for “Digital Living Networking Alliance” and is a set of standards that are designed to ensure interoperability between devices in sharing media and streams. I use this constantly with my chosen server platform called Plex to allow any devices on my network to consume media from my server. In theory until the PlayStation 5… Sony was implementing part of this set of protocols because on PS3 and PS4 I could view things from my Plex Server.

The problem is no one seems to do this natively. Windows has had DLNA built in since at least Windows 7 yet Microsoft has never built this same support into Xbox Consoles. Many console revisions can consume a media server, but to the best of my knowledge none of them are capable of serving up their own feed. While leaves me at least annoyed and having to jump through hoops to dump files from the console. I mean I get that console platforms are scared to death that any protocol access will give someone a way to pirate games, because this has absolutely happened in the past. However it sucks that this thirteen year old solution that is pretty ubiquitously implemented by media having devices… is a non starter for consoles.

Back to the PS5 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake. I am having a blast and the game is freaking gorgeous. I have to say this might claim the “favorite final fantasy” game title for me. I really enjoy the combat system and how it feels like gear matters a bit… but also it is mostly just excellent smashy combat time. I think this more than anything is why I am at least passingly interested in “Not-Final-Fantasy-1”. The other nice thing about this play through is FF7 was never really one of my favorites in the series. It was good, but I played it on the PC originally and was going through a renaissance of PC gaming which it struggled to stand out from. I’ve also never replayed the original so the story feels fresh to me and I can’t honestly tell you all of the subtle tweaks that the game is making so far.

I’ve hit the Wall Market section of the game… which seems to be keyed for a different kind of humor than is drift compatible with my own. I think the area looks really cool but I am ready to be done with it. I finished fighting my way through the Coliseum and am now running around town doing various errands for folks. If I have any complaint about the game… the errand boy sections that perforate each of the sections of focused action maybe drag on a bit. I get that this is the time when you would normally level up before the next battle, but I seem to be flying through levels so fast that it isn’t really a problem so far. I seem to always have plenty of money and plenty of experience for whatever the next thing I am supposed to tackle.

The only thing I would change if I could… is to make Cloud be less of a general stick in the mud. Cloud is the Carth Onasi of Final Fantasy characters and I get this is designed to make us feel his character growth, but I do wish I could make him be a little nicer to poor Aerith. She is trying so hard and he is pure butts. Like all of the stuff with with the children was pretty adorable… even though the NPCs in this game have weird faces. I especially like the “Moogle” and I am so down with interacting with this character some more. FF7R has been a pretty delightful way to unwind in the evenings because I am still averaging 10 hour days right now.

1 thought on “FF7R and Console Screenshot Hell”

  1. I still haven’t finished FFVII R either, I took trying to savour it a little too far methinks. Kinda holding out for a PS5 to play the new version with the Yuffy chapter(s?) as well now.

    Who knows when I’ll be able to source one, but that’s the plan!

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