FFVI: Divergent Paths

ChiyuCC, yes, you definitely "understand" this hack. I'm trying to make it feel like Square could have done it back in the day. I have only ADDED 4 new scenes at this point:
1. Leo confronting the wounded soldier in Mobliz
2. Leo's flashback in the Ancient Castle
3. Kappa's recruitment
4. Leo's ending

That was a stylistic choice. I wanted to repurpose as much existing content as possible. The "letter writing" always struck me as an odd choice for Cyan; it didn't seem to fit his story or his character. On the other hand, I wanted Leo's story to be one of overcoming regret. This hack is not about GENERAL Leo. GENERAL Leo still dies in Thamasa. This is about Leo, the man, surviving and having to confront his legacy in a broken world. When I connected the dots between Leo's conversation with the soldier from Maranda (from the Doma Imperial Camp), the wounded soldier in Mobliz, and the letter writer of Zozo, I realized there was enough existing content to tell the story I wanted to tell with very few additions.

I agonized over whether or not to add the "Razing of Vector" sequence, because I felt that it didn't fit the hack stylistically to add an entirely new gameplay sequence like that. When I realized that it allowed me to go deeper into not just Leo's character, but also Celes's, I decided to add it to the hack's scope. I can't wait to start programming it.

Fun fact, my original idea for this hack, 15-20 years ago, was to have Leo still die, and have your team go bargain with the Phantom Train to let him come back. I think what I've landed on is so much better.

EDIT: Also, I don't feel like Cyan gets shafted. Having him be the one who kicks off the story sequence with Gau's Father works really well for bringing closure to his story arc. If anything, Sabin gets shafted. His scenario was cut in half, and he has to share what's left with his brother Edgar. Then I wrote him out of Gau's Father sequence. I DID make his Figaro flashback in the WoB a required scene, but that's a small consolation. Hopefully people won't mind too much.