Final Fantasy X Remaster, 7: Macalania and Wendigo.

  When last we were in Spira, the guardians traversed the moonflow on the back of a shoopuf. From there, they made a stop in Guadosalam, home of the guado, and traveled through the Thunder Plains. Lord Seymour was present in Guodosalam, and had a... proposal for Yuna, a very awkward one. It was becoming quite apparent to the guardians that Yevon, and Maester Seymour were manipulating the politics of Spira to their own ends. Although Yuna had not given her final answer to Seymour, the gaudo began spreading rumour that she had said yes. The gaurdians pursued Seymour to his home temple, at Macalania.

The guardians had to travel through the crystal wood of Macalania. Here is a spring, where the water merges with memories and "spheres" are formed, that can be watched to view the past.

  

The entrance to the Cloister of Trials in the Macalania Temple.

  As the guardians caught up with Seymour, his evil intent had been confirmed, there was no choice but to fight him and his guado allies. After the battle, Seymour had apparently been killed, however, before Yuna could send him, the guado burst in, claiming they were murderers! Tidus protested, but to no avail, they would be branded traitors and murderers, and had no choice but to flee for their lives! Wakka perhaps took it the hardest, as he was forced to slay a figure that represented the head of his devoted religion.

The guardians face Seymour's aeon.

 

  Fleeing for their lives, on the frozen surface of the lake, the guardians were assaulted by a gigantic yeti like monster, flanked by two of the nefarious guado. The creature was called Wendigo.

This is the coolest wendigo art I saw online.

  The wendigo seems to be a relatively well known mythological (or is it? Muahaha!) creature. I certainly enjoy my history, but it's kind of refreshing when you run into a creature used in fantasy whose roots are a little closer to home. The wendigo is one such creature, from Wikipedia: "The Wendigo is a demonic half-beast creature appearing in the legends of the Algonquian peoples along the Atlantic Coast and Great Lakes Region of both the United States and Canada. The creature or spirit could either possess characteristics of a human or a monster that had physically transformed from a person. It is particularly associated with cannibalism. The Algonquian believed those who indulged in eating human flesh were at particular risk; the legend appears to have reinforced the taboo of the practice of cannibalism. It is often described in Algonquian mythology as a balance of nature."

  In anger at it's defeat, Wendigo slammed all of it's weight into the icy shelf of the lake, dropping the gaurdians below. They found themselves standing amongst ancient ruins. However, they soon realized these ruins were not typical, they were standing... on Sin itself. The toxin took effect, and all faded to black. To find out how our heroes fare, come back soon... to This Bard's Tales!  

Game Rankings

  I find it interesting to see other people's rankings of game series, to see people's differing views, likes and dislikes. One person's trash is another one's treasure certainly applies where video games are concerned. While I won't be rating games here at This Bard, I will be ranking them! It's a very a simple system, I'm just going to compare the games and decide which I like better. Many of these games on the list I haven't played in years, so my rankings will be based on my best memories. The list includes games I think I may end up playing for the blog. As I play them again, I'll update the list to get a more current ranking. Also, keep in my mind, the vast majority of these games are very good. I'm comparing them, last place doesn't necessarily mean a bad game.

Characters from across the Final Fantasy series.

Final Fantasy (Main Series and Sequels)

1. FF 8

2. FF 12

3. FF 4

4. FF 2

5. FF 10

6. FF 7

7. FF 9

8. FF 10-2

9. FF 6

10. FF 13-2

11. FF 5

12. FF 1

13. FF 3

14. FF 13

  So, I'm hoping my rankings will be interesting, because of things like my above list. I absolutely adore Final Fantasy 8, and find 12 to be fantastic. However, these two games of the series are two that I hear panned quite a bit on the internet. In fact, behind 13 they may be the two least liked games in the series, but who knows? It's always hard to tell whether the fact is that the haters are the loudest, or if what you hear on the 'nets really is a prevailing opinion. 

  For Final Fantasy 8, I think my love of it is mainly about atmosphere. Exemplifying that is Ultemecia's Castle, which is my favorite dungeon and music of the series.

  I like Final Fantasy 12 because of it's vast, open world experience, it is very immersive. I think it really is like an offline MMO, and to me that's somewhat the best of both worlds. I avoid MMO's because it never ends, (I know that's the point, but I'm not that strong... I played Oblivion and Skyrim with basically all of my free time for two months, imagine me with an MMO.) and the continuous fees. That being said, I'll probably pick up Final Fantasy 11 and 14 at some point, and end my avoidance of the dread MMOs.

  I think I'm in agreement with most of the world at large about Final Fantasy 13. It's a very beautiful game, I even rather liked the music and story. However, as a Final Fantasy game, it was a massive disappointment. 

The most iconic character in Pool of Radiance?

Gold Box

1. Pool of Radiance

2. Champions of Krynn

3. Gateway to the Savage Frontier

4. Secret of the Silver Blades

5. Dark Queen of Krynn

6. Curse of the Azure Bonds

7. Pools of Darkness

8. Death Knights of Krynn

  The one big surprise here is probably Secret of the Silver Blades. That's right, I really like it, despite it being continually panned by Joe Internet. I enjoyed getting back to that "small town" sense that Pool of Radiance had, but at higher levels, very immersive. The caveat here is that I've played it twice through, both times using the clue book. The second time I tried not to, and broke down at some point simply because much of the game is large empty dungeons. So, next time through, no clue book, and we'll see if my feelings change about it.

I'm not 100% sure what's going on here, but I'm 100% sure I like it.

 

Quest for Glory

1. QfG 4: Shadows of Darkness

2. QfG 1: So You Want to be a Hero?

3. QfG 5: Dragon Fire

4. QfG 2: Trial by Fire

5. QfG 3: Wages of War

  Ah Quest for Glory... I feel like I grew up with this series, which I may literally have. My ranking is probably pretty consistent with most people's. While Quest for Glory 5 took a long time to get out, and didn't quite live up to the bar set by the series, I'm very glad it got done, to put the capstone on a piece of gaming history.

Yes.

Overall

1. Baldur's Gate

2. Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim

3. FF 8

4. FF 12

5. Pool of Radiance

6. FF 4

7. FF 2

8. Demon's Souls

9. Dark Souls

10. Star Control 2

11. Ravenloft: Stone Prophet

12. Menzoberranzan

13. Ravenloft: Strahd's Possession

14. Dragon Quest 8

15. Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion

16. QfG 4

17. Champions of Krynn

18. Gateway to the Savage Frontier

19. Dark Sun: Shattered Lands

20. FF 10

21. FF 7

22. FF 9

23. FF 10-2

24. FF 6

25. Dragon Quest 2

26. FF 13-2

27. FF 5

28. QfG1

29. Secret of the Silver Blades

30. Dark Queen of Krynn

31. Star Control 3

32. Xenogears

33. QfG 5

34. QfG 2

35. QfG 3

36. Curse of the Azure Bonds

37. Dark Sun: Wake of the Ravager

38. FF 1

39. Dragon Quest

40. Pools of Darkness

41. Death Knights of Krynn

42. FF 3

43. FF 13

44. Forgotten World

45. Al Qadim: The Genie's Curse

46. FRUA: Neverwinter Nights

  These rankings may be the most interesting simply because of the daunting task of ranking all these games against each other, in a somewhat apples-to-oranges fashion. The list will be updated as I play! 

  I'm probably not too alone in that, although it's been more than a decade since I played it, Baldur's Gate remains the peak of my gaming experience. I've heard some say Baldur's Gate II is better, but I haven't played it enough to feel comfortable ranking it. I took a break after I wandered into some place and got massacred by a Lich, and haven't gotten back to it.

  Well, there it is, stay tuned for more on... This Bard's Tales!  

Final Fantasy X Remaster, 6: The Moonflow and Shiva.

  Back on Spira, after obtaining the fayth Ixion from the Djose temple, the guardians next had to tackle the Moonflow, a large river. The Moonflow was unique in many ways, it drew pyreflies in great amounts, lightning up the night sky, and deep beneath it's surface lay massive ruins. 

  Thousands of years ago, the people of Spira had a built a city over the river, however, their hubris outweighed their ingenuity, and the city sank beneath the roiling waters. Yet another example of the punishment for the sin of using machina to ease one's life, at least according to Wakka.

  Perhaps most peculiar of all about the Moonflow was the mode of transport across it. A group of small, bug-eyed fellows called hypello were the caretakers of massive beasts called shoopufs. These shoopufs could swim across the river, with folks riding in comfort upon their backs.

I really love how the hypello say "Ride ze shoopuf?"

   I must admit, a game with as much story as Final Fantasy X has become a bit of a slog to write anecdotes too, because I just find it too hard to skip plot points. I'm going to have to though, otherwise this will take forever! I actually completed the game a few weeks ago, and am working on catching up with the blog. So, for games like this, just keep in mind that there is a lot more depth to the story than I can touch on here. Also, if the story piques your interest, it is probably best experienced by playing the game! In the realm of the Final Fantasy games, this blog is going to be more about analysis and history.

After crossing the Moonflow, the guardians enter Gaudosalam. It is not only the home of Maester Seymour, but also this, the entrance to the Farplane.

Shiva's fayth.

  The next Aeon that Yuna obtains is Shiva, who much like Ifrit, has been a staple of the series since the summons were introduced. Shiva most likely borrows her name from the Hindu religion. The following is from the Final Fantasy Wiki: "Shiva shares her name with the Hindu god, Shiva (also spelled Śiva). The Hindu Shiva once saved the world by consuming poison, giving him blue skin around the area of the neck and throat. It should also be noted that Shiva is a male god, but can merge with his consort Parvati. Together they become Ardhanari an androgynous Hindu god of duality. Shiva is the god of destruction, along with Vishnu, who is the god of preservation, and Brahma, the god of creation. Together they are the three principle deities of the Trimurti (Hindu Triad). Also, in paintings Shiva was frequently mistaken for a woman due to his long hair and facial features."

A statue of the Hindu god Shiva, showing somewhat effeminate features.

  Beyond the Moonflow and Guadosalam, the guardians traversed the frozen temple where the fayth of Shiva slept.. However, many alarming things happened once they reached the home of Maester Seymour... to find out more, come back next time... for This Bard's Tales!

Forgotten World, 3: Spearpoint and Single Player Combat.

  Tonight we return again to August Star, who is trying to make his way in the great, but under siege, city of Bastille. Having explored the surroundings of Bastille, he made his way north, to a small town by the name of Spearpoint.

This is an excellent map of the realm of Forgotten World I found at The Bastille Gazette. Unfortunately it doesn't list names, these are tied into links on the website.

   The way north was unreasonably treacherous, August encountering a group of thieves with a  walking, hostile tree. He could not fathom why a tree would feel the need to attack him, but obviously some evil magic had animated it. It's numerous branches could strike at once, being very deadly. 

  In addition to these foes, the road through the forest was frequented by lizard men and pyro snakes. The pyro snakes had glands which could spew liquid that ignited upon it entering the air, causing no small amount of pain and suffering. Against these foes August's use of sleep and snake charming magic was invaluable.

Their firebreath works like dragon's breath, doing their max hps in damage. This is deadly as a single character, it's best to disable the pyro snakes quickly.

   If I haven't made it clear enough already, adventuring solo in Forgotten World is tough! However, once I started looking at each battle, whether random or not, as a life or death situation, I started doing okay. I think going solo it's important to have spells, and not be afraid to use them. Being a triple class character has been my saving grace many times, it's hard for me to imagine soloing without being able to use mage spells at the least.

  The most important thing, for me in particular to avoid, is taking a lot of melee attacks. Even three lizardmen, with their three attacks each, took me from 54 to 3hp before I was able to get off a spell to disable all of them. The problem being that your hit points go fast, and as you get hit, your life-saving spells are not castable. I chose mirror image over invisibility, which I think wasn't the best choice. Mirror image will help you survive for a few rounds, but I think being able to run, hide, and regroup with invisibility is probably more useful. That will be the next spell I get.

  After a rough trip through the forests North of Bastille, August was relieved to see white smoke drifting into the sky in small puffy clouds, indicating he must be close to civilization. Indeed, he gladly paid a platinum piece for a bed and a warm meal at Spearpoint's Inn.

  Upon waking in the morning, it became immediately apparent that all was not well in Spearpoint, as the streets were empty of citizens, and occasionally filled with monsters and thieves! August went from door to door, generally finding scared citizens. The Mayor himself had barricaded his door, only letting August in after he was convinced of his safety. The local jeweler was ransacked, and the town hall overrun with ogres and other nasties.

 

    The town hall and office of the Lord Sheriff were connected. August had heard rumors from the townsfolk that the Sheriff had been tortured and killed. This seemed likely, as the town hall was filled with gnolls, bugbears, and they were led by a massive, green-skinned and horned ogre. August's magic saved his hide, as he was able to incapacitate the frightening ogre, who could wield magic, with a nauseating stinking cloud spell. Being locked in combat with the gnolls and bugbears, he drew a club from his belt, and launched it with all his strength at the ogre. The club flew end over end, hitting it's target dead-on, caving in the ogre's skull. With most of the other monsters dead or disabled, the last few fled for their lives.

  Can our singular hero liberate Spearpoint, or will the hordes prove too much for him? Come back next time... for This Bard's Tales!

Final Fantasy X Remaster, 5: Mushroom Rock and Ixion.

  Welcome friends, tonight we go back to Spira, where in the aftermath of the failed Operation Mi'hen, Auron suspects foul play. To him, the operation was allowed by Yevon as a political move to consolidate it's power. Those who disobeyed the teachings were slaughtered by Sin, bringing many who had strayed back to the teachings, and thus consolidating power with Yevon.

  The horrors of the operation behind them for the moment, the guardians continued their pilgrimage up the Highroad, on their way to Djose temple.

The bridge to the temple at Djose.

   The temple at Djose was special in that it lay within the "Lightning Mushroom Rock." It was a huge stone, that exploded with lightning when a summoner addressed the fayth within. The fayth at Djose was named Ixion. It was a creature much a like a horse or zebra, but with a magnificent horn, and the ability to wield the power of lightning.

The Lightning Mushroom Rock orbiting the temple.

  Ixion, unbeknownst to me, is a figure from Greek mythology. The following is from www.pantheon.org: "He is significant in many respects, but is chiefly known as the first human to shed kindred blood. This occurred when Ixion invited his father-in-law, Deioneus, to come and collect the price that Ixion owed him for his bride. Upon his arrival, Deioneus fell into a pit filled with burning coals Ixion had camouflaged.

   Because this was a crime new to the human race, nobody could purify Ixion and he wandered an exile. Zeus took pity on him and decided not only to purify Ixion, but to invite him to Olympus as a guest. Once in Olympus though, Ixion became so enamored of Hera, and he desired to sleep with her. Zeus did not believe that Ixion would be so disrespectful as to have designs upon the wife of his host. To see if the rumors were true, Zeus made an image of Hera out of a cloud, and impregnated it. The cloud bore Ixion the monster Centaurus, who was unloved by the Graces and had no honor among men or the gods. Centaurus then mated with the mares of Mt. Pelion in Magnesia, and so from Ixion the race of centaurs was born."

Ixion's fayth.

  We can deduce that Ixion's horse like appearance was inspired by him being the ancestor of the centaurs. In another source I read, Zeus struck Ixion with a lightning bolt after he lay with Hera, which would explain the association with lightning, but really it need not get that deep I think.

  Oddly enough, the name of Ixion's overdrive attack is "Thor's Hammer", mixing in a bit of Norse mythology. I don't fault Final Fantasy for it's mythology mixing, I think the point is to invoke powerful and recognizable imagery, not to be tied together in a historical context. I, and I hope others, enjoy researching the history of these images, however.

  Thank you for joining me friends, and come back again next time... for This Bard's Tales!  

Forgotten World, 2: The Harbor

 Welcome friends, make yourselves comfortable. Tonight we're taking a trip back to a place we haven't been in a good while. We're going back to see our good man August Star as he explores Bastille.

 Now fully equipped, August headed for the harbor, still at night after his arrival in the city. A quick walk around the area near the gate to Bastille revealed a number of almost abandoned buildings. Evil humanoids, and other unsavories were pushing close to the city.

  

 Of note were an abandoned temple, and Shana's Alehouse and Emporium. The temple's weathered stone was covered in ivy, in an archaic script it identified itself as a temple to "Jolith", a figure that August was only passingly familiar with, there being a temple to the god in the city proper.

 Shana's Alehouse was a much large building. August had heard some rumors about town that the Ale from Shana's was a big export from Bastille, said by some to be the finest in the realm! However, given that Bastille was still bustling at night, he was very surprised to find that at Shana's, the door was open, but the inside was quiet. August pushed at the door, his trident in hand. The front room contained tables and chairs, everything seeming to be in order, a single candle alight on a round table. A hall of doors came off from the lounge. At first, August hesitated to search these rooms, thinking they might be rooms for guests, although an unlocked, unguarded door to an inn seemed unlikely given the recent influx of evil in the region. He heard voices, speaking in the gutteral tongues of goblins, and the high-pitched yaps of kobolds. August immediately threw open the doors, and cut these creatures down! 

 Further investigation of Shana's found other evil folk. The emporium seemed like it had only recently been overrun, as there was a spa pool that was still in good repair. August was tempted by the warm waters, but good sense prevailed as he moved on, not wanting to be caught unprepared by evil foes.

 

  Across the path from Shana's was a warehouse situated on the river.The warehouse seemed like it could possibly be abandoned. Beside the door was a plaque, proclaiming it "Greenlund Trading Co. Receiving." August pushed open the door, it being unlocked. He was greeted by men wearing the livery of royal guards. However, August figured them to be either fakes or very daft, as their first action was to draw their swords as their leader yelled "Bandits!", and to fall upon August. Four armed guards being quite intimidating, August cast a spell of sleep to incapacitate them. After a short internal debate, he cut their throats and looted the bodies, telling himself they must be thieves.

 

  These guards turned out to be my primary source of grinding for my first few levels. Which is representative of my main gripe with Forgotten Worlds; it's very difficult to adventure on your own, hence the need for me to grind. Of course, it's hard to say if this a fault of the game, as it was obviously designed to have a number of people to adventure with available at any time. There is an option to create a character that is at max levels, and in hindsight that may have been the way to go. However, I'm going to stick it out! My blogging has lagged behind my playing quite a bit, and at the moment August is at levels 6/5/5. The game, at this point, is pretty much survivable in the surroundings of Bastille, but very tough outside of it.

  Thanks for stopping by friends, return again soon... for This Bard's Tales!

Final Fantasy X Remaster, 4: The Operation, Garm and Lamashtu.

 Welcome back to Spira my friends. When last we left, Wakka and Tidus led the Auroch's to tournament victory, only to have the stadium be invaded by a horde of fiends. The guardians fought hard, but the day was saved by Maester Seymour and his powerful aeon.

 

Seymour summons Anima.

  The guardians then prepared to continue the pilgrimage. Next, they were to travel down the Mi'hen highroad to the temple at Djose. Something was up however, there were a number of the warriors known as the Crusaders about, who were preparing for some sort of "operation" that they were a bit vague about. Along the road, the guardians encountered two of the Maesters: Seymour, and Kinoc.

 The Maesters were present to watch the "operation" which was a joint effort by the Crusaders and the Al-Bhed to use forbidden machines, or "machina" to destroy sin. The Maesters seemed to be up to something, Seymour saying simply "Pretend you don't see them," meaning the machina, which are against the tenants of Yevon. Kinoc, reunited with his old friend Auron, said to him "You know this will not work..." Wakka, ever devoted to the teachings, had a bit of a crisis of faith as he realized the Maesters of Yevon were willingly letting this operation proceed, even though it was against the precepts of their religion.

 

This Sinspawn escapes during the operation. It must be defeated by the guardians, and Seymour.

 Sin did come, releasing it's spawn onto the beachhead. The Crusader's charged, and the Al-Bhed's cannons shot. However, in the end, Sin seemed unharmed. The combatants were slaughtered almost whole-sale. Tidus, overcome with emotion at the sight of the destruction caused by Sin, possibly his father, gave chase, however futile it may have been. 

 Tidus awakened on the beach, after coming close to Sin. He sensed, what was perhaps, an impression of his father. He was Sin, and he wanted the destruction to stop.

 

In the aftermath, the beach is littered with the bodies of Crusaders.

 It's been a bit since I actually played through this part of the game, but I remember it being quite an emotional moment, and I'm not easily moved by video games. It's at this point that the story really starts to get intriguing, and never lets up until the end.

 There have been a couple of monsters I've encountered that had names that intrigued me, since I recognize them from other sources. One is garm, a dog creature. Here is the description from Encyclopedia Mythica, at www.pantheon.org: "The monstrous hound Garm guards the entrance to Helheim, the Norse realm of the dead. It has four eyes and a chest drenched with blood, and lives in Gnipa-cave." I have bookmarked the page, I have no doubt it will be quite handy. The garm monster in the game doesn't quite live up to this description, but it is an interesting reference non the less.

Artwork for Final Fantasy X's garm.

 One of the dragon type creatures in the game is named Lamashtu. This caught my eye as that is also the name of a demon goddess in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game world of Golarion. Not surprisingly, the name comes from mythology. The game's creature bears little resemblance to it's source, which is not rare for Final Fantasy. Usually the monster names are a mix of names such as this, and those that resemble their source, such as garm.

 On Lamashtu, from wikipedia: "In Mesopotamian mythology, Lamashtu was a female demon, monster, malevolent goddess or demigoddess who menaced women during childbirth and, if possible, kidnapped children while they were breastfeeding. She would gnaw on their bones and suck their blood, as well as being charged with a number of other evil deeds." Whether Final Fantasy X's Lamashtu does these things is not so much explored in the game.

A plaque depicting Lamashtu.

 In the carnage of Operation Mi'hen, it is becoming apparent that all is not as it seems with Yevon. How could they stand by and watch so many die for naught? How is it that the consciousness of Tidus's father lurks within the massive beast Sin? Join me again, for This Bard's Tales!