has all kinds of crucial interactions between characters peppered across the story, but there's one essential piece that can easily get passed over in a playthrough. As an expansion and modification of the original story, one of the main things that does with its vastly extended runtime is offer more memorable moments involving Cloud and his party. Although some can be minor or even questionable additions, others flesh out emotional beats and deep relationships in meaningful ways that help make the game a worthy successor.
One area of the game that gets some significant narrative modifications is Cosmo Canyon, which delivers the same core backstory for Red XIII, but takes an altered approach to elements like the ancient tribe of the Gi. It also presents Red XIII's hometown in a somewhat different light, focusing on religious aspects that present a unique take on the health of the planet and Mako. The worldview of the town's citizens makes some of them, including the wise elder figure Bugenhagen, skeptical of Tifa's story of the appearance of a Weapon and changes in the lifestream.
Compared to the original game, Bugenhagen can come across in a negative light in The main encounter with him is still largely positive, as he imparts some wisdom to the party and assists Red XIII in uncovering a key element of his past. His dismissal of Tifa's story does color things in a different light, however, betraying what seems to be an intellectual arrogance that clouds him from accepting a testimony that's both completely truthful and important to understanding the current state of the planet.
Crucially, however, Bugenhagen actually recants his dismissal and admits his mistake, but it's a moment that doesn't appear in the main story of. Instead, it happens in the sidequest "," which tasks the party with traveling around Cosmo Canyon to examine Lifesprings that appear to be in poor health. The discoveries revealed by the status of the lifesprings help convince Bugenhagen that
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