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!