#I also did the same with FFXII
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I honestly don't even need to dress up AS the characters to be happy. I just want their clothes 🤣🤣🤣 Ignis especially. I just want to feel that fancy 🤣🤣🤣🤣 but yeah I've seen all the crap people give cosplayers these days and it really irks me. Like. If you don't like it, move on? It's not like you HAVE to look at them? And 90% of the jerks couldn't even do it better anyway.
Omg yes please. And Ignis has to wrestle with the logic that Noct might still be alive somewhere despite all the facts. And Gladio has to work through his emotions better this time damn it! He needs and deserves the same amount of growth as everyone else!
Exactly! Like. The female mcs can be fun without being annoying. Soft without being weak willed. And cool without being emotionless. Like come on. If your males can be, so can your females! There's literally no reason it has to be treated differently.
I agree. That's why I said I don't think I'd count Noct as "broody". I've just seen a lot of people outside the Fandom call him emo and broody and stuff and I'm like. Nah. He had legit reasons for his pain. And he didn't wallow in it ALL the time. Just the second half. BECAUSE AFTER ALTISSIA HE DIDN'T CATCH A DAMN BREAK TO BE ABLE TO COME BACK FROM EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED.
It sounds horrible but I love blind!Ignis and Nocts growth to much to not play to the end each time. Not like I'm happy that Iggy is blind but the way it affects the story and the way he takes it in strides really impresses me from a narrative POV. It hurts. But it's beautiful in a way, if that makes sense. I'm on my 3rd new game+ in like.. A little over a month I think? And I'm gonna go to the very end again 🤣 even if the alt ending is the only true end to me lolol
I kinda want many fictional characters’ clothes, but I fear it’s gone be like… how something looks good on a mannequin and then I buy it and it looks like garbage on me 😭 Because I mean let’s face it, they have the power of anime on their side 😂 Some of these outfits stay plastered to the right spots on their body at all times, some defy physics in ways we don’t realize until it turns out you need body tape to keep some shit looking good… stuff like that.
I think that’s why I like FFX-2; it was an entirely woman-led FF and it was just a group of chicks kicking ass with full personalities. And while Yuna was focused on reuniting with Tidus, that wasn’t her whole thing. Idk why Squenix can no longer do that 😂
Noct in the OG concept was broody and emo, and tbh I am so glad they didn’t go with that. Yeah, it would have been in line with what folks apparently wanted, but I’m over the stoic protagonist trope. Seeing the boys hang out and just be a bunch of dudes on a road trip was a great choice, imo! And no offense to Lunafreya, I’m so glad that the romance was an afterthought in the game, cause tbh square doesn’t really do romances well enough to shoehorn it in almost every damn game.
You are stronger than me cause I can’t take the pain and the disharmony the group had after Altissia 🥲 I know it gets better but I was in PAIN going through all that! I could only play through the whole game once, and the DLC once. I still haven’t played Ardyn’s DLC and I highly doubt I’ll go back to do it at this point either, it’s been years 😂 But the good thing about being on tumblr when it dropped is that I pretty much got the gist of it all through gifs and screenshots and discourse so I don’t feel I missed out in the end.
#you know what FF I have played over and over tho? FFX LOL#bought it for the switch and went right on ahead and sunk hundreds of hours into it again#redoing the whole sphere grid like I ain’t got sense#I also did the same with FFXII#I think those two games are my comfort FF’s or something idk#not so Anon ask
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Who are the characters you hate in anime? and the villains you like?( for me I like Garo in one punch man 🤩)
Very few characters earn actual hate from me because I don’t take anything that serious. But anyways, this is a long post. So under the cut it goes
I can give you my strongly disliked character list;
Sae - Peach Girl. Beginning of my trust issues
MeiMei - JJK. Whole weirdo and a waste of a badass
Shou Tucker - FMA. Worst anime dad, hands down
Danzo - Naruto. Stole my boys eye, stole bug dilfs adoptive son, and a general coward that tried to act like he wasn’t
Yasui - 7 Seeds. makes my blood boil and I don’t care about his redemption
Hisoka - HxH. makes my ass itch
Zoldyck family (minus Killua and Alluka) - HxH. icky ass itches
Mr. Yashiro - Erased. Added stress to my life and subtracted a year or two because of it.
Robin - Heavenly Delusion. For OBVIOUS TW reasons
Griffith - Berserk. I need him dead yesterday
Light - Death Note. I just don’t like him
Mineta - BNHA. Why?
Koza - Samurai Champloo. I can forgive a weak character, I can not forgive a manipulative backstabbing character that is also weak
Shindo - Sk8. Unhand that boy, sir.
Favorite Villains (I don’t count them all as bad guys, but they are antagonist);
Dabi - BNHA. Yeah he did it all, and? Look at his home life.
Enji Todoroki - BNHA. Not a villain but a whole ass villain at the same time.
Madara - Naruto. He had a point
Itachi - Naruto. I know what he did, but…
Kisame - Naruto. Nart hubby #2
Obito - Naruto. I’d wait for him to get out of jail Ngl. Nart hubby
Overhaul - BNHA. Terrible. Horrendous. Belongs in jail even, but I have a visual type
Aizen - Bleach. Smash
Ulquiorra - Bleach. My boy deserved better 😭
Unohana - Bleach. I support her wrongs
Grimmjow - Bleach. He’s not so bad
Sukuna - JJK. He’s hot
Toji - JJK. I was informed he goes here but I don’t believe it 🤧
Gyutaro - Demon Slayer. Such a good big brother
Akaze - Demon Slayer. Loved his wife and won’t consume women? A wins a win
Rem - Death Note. I don’t think my baby belongs here, she’s just an amoral Pookie
Millions Knives - Trigun. It’s a love hate thing
Gilgamesh - Fate series. A beautiful disaster. 
Izaya - Durarara!! Asshole (affectionately)
Scar - FMA. The splits. I would do them for him
Broly - DBZ. Again, splits. I volunteer as tribute!
Fujimoto - Ponyo. He’s a loving father and he did nothing wrong 😤
Sesshomaru - Inuyasha. Not counting the sequel the OG mangaka would not agree with either.
Sephiroth - FFXII. not an anime but THE hottest villain and a total shame to not mention
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I beat FFXII today. (I want to go back and do some more completionism, but I beat the final boss and watched the credits.) And honestly, while I didn't hate it, I was disappointed.
I have about 90 hours in the game. That's about twice as long as the next-longest Final Fantasy I know my playtime for (for a single playthrough, I mean). And that seems like a good thing—there's lots of Content—but to me it underscores how empty the game is that I have twice as much time in it and it feels like much less has happened.
The story just generally felt underwritten; I've said it before and I stand by that. It's not that anything was bad; it just felt like characters had isolated scenes with isolated character beats that weren't prepared or resolved. They probably should have taken some of those extensive space airship battles that definitely aren't from Star Wars and replaced them with cutscenes involving the actual characters in the actual story.
It didn't help that there were often hours of play between one plot scene and the next—another place the long playtime rears its head. Of course, a lot of that was me going off on sidequests. This game has a ton of sidequests, and at least most of them it telegraphs pretty clearly. That's nice, in that it shows you the content; but it winds up keeping the focus off the actual story when there are hours of "go kill random bosses" in between each story quest.
And it also always hurts me as a somewhat-roleplayer to go do sidequests when in theory my characters should be under time pressure. ("Oh, there's a giant sky fortress leading a fleet towards my hometown. Now is a perfect time to run errands!) One of the things I most liked about Breath of the Wild is that it basically justifies your desire to run around sidequesting rather than fight the final boss. That's a diegetic, in-character decision that gets discussed.
And the climax feels equally half-assed. I was genuinely surprised that the game ended where it did; it really felt like it needed at least one more act. (I hadn't planned to finish tonight!) The final final boss is way more arbitrary than most FF final bosses, and might even beat out FFIXs. And honestly the credits didn't wrap up nearly as much as I expected, either.
And the gameplay wasn't awful but wasn't super fun. The gambit system was neat, although I kept wanting it to be more fine-grained. (I wish I could and two gambit instructions!) The fights were sometimes a little too chaotic to tell what was going on clearly, and I really don't like the reliance on fuck-you "this boss is immune to everything for the next thirty seconds" fields.
Some of the bonus bosses were interesting and tense and fun. But if you're doing them, the story bosses then become pretty trivial. At the same time, even with doing a bunch of the optional content it's easy to be missing what I think of as core abilities, which made the optional content not really feel optional to me. (And I still don't have any of the, like, top two or three tiers of abilities or equipment. God only knows how boring the final boss would be if I'd actually done all the sidequests first.)
So yeah. I got 90 hours of playtime, and I'm probably going to get more, and I don't regret playing it. But I was disappointed, and I'd have a hard time recommending it.
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I finished my first playthrough of Crimson Shroud and...
I think in many ways Crimson Shroud is the least insightful of Matsuno's games. A lot of tropes are played straight in this one, whereas I feel like his other games turn a lot of those on their heads. All of the games he's worked on are racist & orientalist in some way (the sexual violence of Rapha's plot in FFT; the viera in FFXII [he didn't invent them but all the same], and also the fact that FFXII is set in a place clearly inspired by Syria but most of the main cast from that area have very light skin; the cult in Lea Monde in Vagrant Story was started by a sexy belly-dancing priestess) but Crimson Shroud is the most egregious of the lot IMO. We've got standard racist tabletop conventions--like the sentient, evil, and very killable goblins, and the oppressed fantasy ethnic group (the Qish) that is also a source of Strange Magicks, sort of a stand-in for elves minus the pointy ears. We've got Frea, of the Qish, in yet another belly-dancer outfit. And it turns out the "reason" the Qish are oppressed perpetual wanderers is because one of them (the main villain of the game) made a deal with the devil and brought the first "gifts" (magical items) into the world, which sowed chaos in the region, so there are a number of racist ideas wrapped up in that.
Also, it's really quite misogynistic, more so than some of the other games (even FFT, which has... let me count... three? four? damsel in distress plots?). In addition to the intense sexualization of Frea, a young woman "in her late teens", the main villain of the game, Abigail, covets Frea's body so that she can use their "bond of blood" to possess it and cause the apocalypse. Why? Because, centuries ago, she was once a devoted servant of a king, and she desired him, but never acted on those desires--yet the people around her saw her lustful looks and had her tortured in a horrifically gruesome way. So she's the evil hysterical angry ex type of villainness (great), except, for all that trouble, she was never even in a relationship with the guy. The other "apostles" ganged up on her because she was a woman who wanted someone, and also I guess she was insane and evil all along I guess. Cool.
AND YET.... IN SPITE OF ALL OF THAT..... something about Crimson Shroud has completely hooked me. I don't know if I could name what yet, I have to mull it over (and play New Game+), but I was fairly moved by most of the story, even though the bad end is quite abrupt IMO. What did I like? Was I moved purely out of nostalgia for FFT & Vagrant Story, because they share more than a few plot points / character types / moods in common? Was it the party dynamic, which nails "found family" in a way most games with this premise struggle to achieve (three societal deviants who've teamed up because they have no one else)? Was it because I enjoyed the tight storytelling & amount of lore for the short playtime? Was it the tabletop aesthetic, and what relation that aesthetic has to the story and how it's told (a post for a different day)? Was it because, at the end of the day, I felt sympathy for Abigail, and wondered what her relationship with Frea, whose body she inhabits in the bad ending, will be like post-game? I have no clue. It's much easier for me to say what I don't like about something than what I do, so I'll have to think on it a bit longer.
Oh, also, the gameplay is exhausting and requires a lot of thought, but I think it worked for me. We'll see how I feel on NG+ though, which is harder, I've heard.
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Favorite Final Fantasy Music (FFXII)
I'm finally out of the XI hole and it feels strange: where's my tambourine and synth I need them
XII, commonly known as "Star Wars", is a very good game; however, I initially was absolutely not feeling its soundtrack. It felt too generic and orchestral. Of course, past Styrm is a Fucking Moron who did not realize what the soundtrack is, and that is Good. Sure, it's not as in your face different as some previous games are, but it is still uniquely itself, and not at all a generic orchestra soundtrack. Hitoshi Sakimoto was the main composer here, which is cool cause he also did Tactics, set in the same world as XII! (also Ogre Battle for you Ogre Battle enjoyers out there I see you) Anyways, list time.
5. The Sochen Cave Palace
I love how mystical this song feels. The whole area it plays in is a damp, underground palace/cave combo (I know, it's in the name), so that initial choir really gives you that ancient deep feel, and then the horns come in for that grandiose nature befitting the actual palace part. The horns are also my favorite part of the song, I love that melody. Bonus points to this song playing in the area with the Mandragoras hunt (I like Mandragoras)
4. Chocobo Theme - FFXII Version
Not gonna lie, it did feel a little dirty putting this song here rather than one of the game's unique compositions, but I gotta say: this is my favorite version of the chocobo theme. If I wasn't gonna put a variation of this song on this list, it wasn't going on any list. I love the ratchet usage, and the really cool wind instrument used for the main melody sounding almost distant in a way? the plucking bum bum bum is incredibly fun and sounds like I'm bouncing along on my horse bird and that makes me smile. Also, shoutouts to the wood block absolutely going ham. This song is like if you took all of the cool instruments in music class that all the kids wanted to play with and you put them together.
3. Discord - Imperial Version
There are several songs titled "Imperial Version", and they all tend to share the same motif (there are other empire themed songs that have that motif as well), but this version is my favorite. The loud, threatening nature of the song perfectly in my mind pictures the judges, who are essentially the biggest antagonistic force in the entire game (and also this is their boss theme so it better fit them). I love the bass drum accenting the notes perfectly in the start; and that sort of horror-like string segment to start off the song, filling you with terror. The deeper horns throughout are absolutely incredible, and I love how that main empire motif sounds with this instrumentation.
2. The Dalmasca Estersand
This is like, the first open world area in the game. And I think this song really prepares you for how the world is going to feel. This song is GRAND. This song is EPIC and BIG. Pretty much every overworld song is! And I think that's really cool and part of XII's soundtrack's charm. I think this song is a pretty good summary of the sounds that this game uses; a lot of heavy horns, big strings and drums, but with that slight bit of light nature in the little flute. As usual, I love the melody; there's not a single song on here I don't love the melody of; but my absolute favorite part of the song is the I wanna say third section of it, before it loops; right after the song plays a little flute trilling, the melody gets longer and drawn out, and it really feels like an adventure. The chimes bring a whimsical vibe to it too; which I think is perfect for the first zone in the game.
1. Battle with an Esper
Yessssssssssssss this song is so cool. This is the song that plays as you're battling the espers (the summons). The whole song has a very heavy beat constantly playing in the back, like a heartbeat, which is so fun to listen to. The choir builds up the start, perfect for these weird, ancient monstrosities you're fighting, but instead of just being buildup, it's there throughout the entire song. It's in the melody, it takes a back seat, but it is always there, it is always menacing, and it's always awesome. I love when the choir matches with the heartbeat too. As usual, the XII brass squadron makes an appearance, although a more minor one compared to some songs, and as usual, they're amazing; but the string section is really the other main highlight of this song. The Dissidia version proves that this song is already perfect by just adding extra percussion and calling it a fucking day.
We're also cheating and throwing a mention to The Esper, which is technically a different song, being where you actually summon the thing and control it instead, but it uses a lot of the same sounds, the same choir, and the same melody. This version is a lot more fast paced, has the percussion mainly replaced with a shaker and some big beats instead of the heartbeat, and has this really cool string section where they just go fucking HAM. I didn't want to give this it's own place, because it is essentially a byproduct of Battle with an Esper, but I couldn't just throw it in honorable mentions either.
Honorable mentions!: Giza Plains, Flash of Steel, Giving Chase, Battle on the Big Bridge (heh), Realm of Memory, and The Battle for Freedom
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Hey spectrum sister! I saw you have a new ask game on your board. So I thought I'd drop in with some treats and ask you the questions
1, 10, 20 and 21 :)
Hi My Dear!!
Welcome welcome!! and bringing nice raspberries too, omg so lucky! I eat so many of them during summertime, they are just so good! :D
Allow me to answer your questions :D
1)Who was your first ever OC? Do you still “use” them? How have they evolved over time?
Answered here! :)
10) OC you most struggled to make?
I already answered for one OC that I struggled to make, but I have more than one, so I can answer here as well: Eos, my brainchild for Genshin Impact. I am finding myself in a bit of a slump with her because the way I first designed her, while perfectly aligned with how I envisioned her at the time, was too generic and also not considerate of how she would play a specular role to her sister Mirana. Therefore, I had to go back to my mind whiteboard and work harder to find a way to incorporate all the details that would both make her unique in her own way BUT also very much connected to her sister. I am still trying to find the perfect vibe for her, but I feel like I am getting closer! :)
20) What story are you the proudest of? Why?
I answered with the first one here! But, my second story I am most proud of, is most definitely my FFXII “Tale of Two Empires”. It’s so filled with political intrigue, I remember plotting everything out for MONTHS in order to have a plot that would sort of make sense. I spent hours at the library in my hometown, just reading and reading biographies about queens and empresses and kings and emperors, to gather as much knowledge as possible and then, eventually, develop my own political system that would expand on the one presented in FFXII. And I loved loved LOVED writing Nabyrie’s story, and show her path from cheerful young lady to anti-villain, because life kept breaking her down over and over again, but she held to a thread of light and memories that was also the same blade that caused her to bleed into villainy. I think, much like for my “The Larks Song”, I am immensely proud of this story because I was finding myself expanding from simple fluffy sceneries to darker waters and in truth, was starting to finally analyze how events and trauma can transform a person accordingly.
21) When did you start considering yourself a writer/artist?
I have to be honest: I still don’t. When I talk with people and address myself as a Visual Artist, it’s mostly so that I can make others understand where I dwell creatively wise. But I do not truly feel like I have any right of calling myself an artist, but I also know that this is caused by me holding Art in extremely high regard. And do not let me start on writing. I am no writer by any means, just a person that likes to embroider her stories on canvases and hang them somewhere, to keep them as memories of all that I was able to achieve, even if it was just for myself. :) Also, please, allow me to make a clarification: this meter of judgment is one that I use only on myself, and never - NEVER - in regards to other artists and writers.
Once again, thank you for your questions <3
--Nemo
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Noah ~ Available RP Verses
{out of dalmasca} Here are some specific verses for Noah so that muns of muses from Final Fantasy games, not from FF games, from the MCU, from other fandoms, etc. can get an idea of how they might interact with him. If you have any questions or would like to plot in a specific verse, let me know! =)
{ for the empire } ᵐᵃⁱⁿ ᵛᵉʳˢᵉ
This is canon Noah in Ivalice, likely in Archadia, but location will vary according to what part of the Final Fantasy XII timeline you want your muse to be in. This verse is for those who have Final Fantasy muses or want to place their muse inside the FFXII world. Your character would be native to some part of Ivalice or the same world at least, and would then encounter Noah. Plotting may be necessary to discuss the timeline and scenario that you may want. Your muse can get involved in the canon plot of FFXII if you like or we can discuss a unique plot for our muses to follow.
{ the darker corners of ivalice } ᵐᵃⁱⁿ ᵛᵉʳˢᵉ ⁻ ᵈᵃʳᵏ ᵉᵈⁱᵗⁱᵒⁿ
(I am going to write up this verse in detail at some point because there are a lot of headcanons throughout the timeline of the game and the twins’ lives that need to be discussed. When I do, I will place a link to it here. Until then, if you want to know more or have questions, you can always ask me!) This verse contains everything the main verse does, but then also includes a number of headcanons regarding Noah/Gabranth, his mother, his brother Basch, the Archadian empress, and Larsa Solidor that venture into very tragic and potentially triggering topics, including child abuse/endangerment, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, violent murder, and mental illness. So any threads with Noah that are in this verse or have this tag take those events into account. Most of this will likely not be described in detail, but it exists in the fleshed-out portions of Noah’s life that we didn’t get to see. The canon game was chopped up and had many plot holes and time gaps, so this verse fills in, fleshes out, adds headcanons, explains holes and gaps, and generally smooths out the plot to make much more sense, but with some darker themes in an attempt to make a more harshly realistic story for Basch and Noah.
{ twin judgement } ᵃʳᶜʰᵃᵈⁱᵃⁿ ᵛᵉʳˢᵉ
This verse follows basically the same trajectory for Noah as the dark verse, but in this verse Basch did not leave and go to Dalmasca. He went with Noah and their mother to Archadia, shouldered the burden of survival along with him, and became a Judge Magister as well. The twins are very much inseparable and emotionally co-dependent in this verse, having identical sets of armor, heading the same Division together, and sharing quarters. Basch is highly protective of Noah, but also deeply emotionally attached to him, definitely in an unhealthy way. He is also poisoned with nethicite in this verse to the same degree Noah is, and his eyes are amber/orange/reflective too.
{ the two made one } ʳᵉᵛᵉⁿᵃⁿᵗ ˢᵒᵘˡ ᵛᵉʳˢᵉ
This directly follows from the dark verse, but then adds Noah becoming a nethicite ghost after he is killed by Vayne. Not only that, but he is attached to Basch, such that Basch experiences his memories and emotions at times. Twins, two halves of a single soul, made one by Noah’s death.
{ older than the history books } ʳᵉᵛᵉⁿᵃⁿᵗ ᵛᵉʳˢᵉ
This verse follows the plotline of Noah not being killed by Vayne at the end of the game, and living on as a revenant after technically dying once before at the Pharos. To others, he still looks like a 36 year-old man, but by modern day, he is more than five millennia old. He likely lives in a large city, but in a very small and humble apartment. This verse can overlap with his MCU verse if he involves himself with the Avengers.
{ unwilling avenger } ᵐᶜᵘ ᵛᵉʳˢᵉ
In this verse, Noah has been frozen in stasis by a nethicite explosion while fighting against the canon adventuring group of FFXII. He was found (likely by SHIELD or SWORD or some similar agency) in a modern day setting in the MCU, and much like Steve Rogers, he is a man out of time. This verse can also extend to Marvel in general, if you wanted Noah to join SHIELD, etc. as a specialized agent.
{ welcome to archadia } ᵐᵘˡᵗⁱᵛᵉʳˢᵉ ᶜʳᵒˢˢᵒᵛᵉʳ
This verse is essentially Noah’s main verse but incorporating the MCU concept of a multiverse. It can work for any muse not native to FFXII, not just MCU muses. Basically, the concept is that there are many different tangential timelines and verses in which there are different versions of characters, and sometimes… things get a little screwy and characters can – either intentionally or through some magical mishap – end up in other timelines/verses/worlds. So in this verse, your muse would end up in some part of Ivalice and encounter Noah. Again, this may require some plotting to figure out how and why your muse came to Ivalice and whether you want your muse to be thrown into the plot of FFXII or have their own unique plot.
{ what madness is this? } ᵐᵘˡᵗⁱᵛᵉʳˢᵉ ᶜʳᵒˢˢᵒᵛᵉʳ
This verse uses the same concept of a multiverse as the verse directly above this one, but where Noah ends up in your muse’s world instead of them ending up in his. Again, it would most likely occur through some magical mishap.
{ beyond the veil } ᶠᵒʳᵗʳᵉˢˢ ᵛᵉʳˢᵉ
This verse incorporates the scrapped storyboards, setting, and timeline of Fortress, the canceled FFXII sequel. Any events that take place just before, during, or after the events of this would-be game are including in this verse. You can read more about Fortress and its story here. For Noah, this verse would likely go hand in hand with the verse “the two made one.”
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Brief FFXV/XVI comparisons
Knowing the dev team of FFXIV headed FFXVI, it feels like they were singing, “Anything you can do, I can do Better” in the face of FFXV. Many of the key story elements and beats are identical: An orphaned prince clad in black who was a supposed heir to a noble bloodline, the hero’s kingdom being destroyed in the beginning, a deadly plague that is slowly consuming the world and its people, etc. Hell, they both end with a 1v1 duel and both the heroes and villains die at the end. Except FFXVI actually has a cohesive, more focused narrative, better lore, and smarter world building. It also has a massive advantage over FFXV since it is a self contained story—not a bullshit multimedia project where you have to watch a movie, an OVA and play four separate DLC games.
Things I liked:
Torgal. Best boy.
Mothercrystals - Both the crystal’s role and appearance are really fucking cool. It takes the basic premise of the original FF games, and looks at it realistically. (Though I felt robbed since we didn’t see the heart of the purple crystal in Waloed.)
The interpretation of the summons and Dominants. - Similar to the crystals, I like how people across Valisthea have such different thoughts on the Dominants: fear, reverence, worship, etc. Their character designs are very appealing. It’s also great to see summons who haven’t appeared in a game in well over a decade.
Cid - Easily a candidate for the best Cid, only rivaling Cid Highwind and maybe Balthier’s dad. He was one of the few characters who had a distinct voice. (Along with Mid.)
The music - Opinions on this game are all over the place. The one thing everyone universally agrees on is the music fucking rules. It definitely deserved its prize at the Game Awards. Great job, Masayoshi Soken.
The Hades-esque combat system for Clive. It was fun experimenting with all the powers and abilities.
Nektar - MOOGLE. We actually had a moogle in a FF game for the first time since FFIX. HAPPY DAYS.
No day/night cycle. No fishing. No forced mini games. Fast travel was accessible from the start. Blessed dreams.
Things I didn’t like:
Jill is useless. She has no agency. Her confrontation with her abusers was ruined, since Clive did all the fighting in that encounter. They should’ve done what they did with Joshua, and given us control over Jill/Shiva just that one time. After the ocean fight with Barnabas, why did she waste time creating a path on the ocean floor, instead of turning into Shiva and flying themselves out of there? So stupid. And don’t get me started on the sad excuse for a romantic relationship she had with Clive. What a waste of the only female party member. (Also, why does she look so much like Tifa?)
Lack of interaction with other party members, and a lack of a core party - Sparse off the cuff conversations/remarks, no tag team attacks, no breathing room for these characters to simply exist. And when they do, it feels out of place. (I.E. the optional picnic scene with Jill and Clive that felt like watching two rocks try to talk to each other.) Final Fantasy has always been a franchise that has always had a group of eccentrics of different ages, creeds, and species banding together to fight a shared enemy. FFXVI loses that entirely. With a large portion of the game just being Clive and Torgal, this could be any other dark-ish fantasy game. (My ideal core party would be Clive, Joshua, Cid, who would then be replaced by Mid. Byron, Gav and Dion would rotate as guest party members. Jill can go away.)
Lack of good character writing and dialogue. It feels like a redux of FFXII, where the dialogue is dramatic, poetic, and oh gosh no almost everyone talks the same, and the core cast has such little personality.
Too many characters and too many unnecessary story elements. - Torgal being a frost wolf? Doesn’t matter. Sleipnir being an ‘egi’? Doesn’t matter. Spend more time on your characters, dammit!
How every goal, main and side, is impeded by a seven step process. Oh, we have to get through this gate? Well first you have to talk to five people for a fetch quest, run to another area, and defeat two rounds of mooks followed by a mini boss. GIVE ME A BREAK. Are you so insecure about your story and its run time that you have to have bumps in the road at every single turn?
The length of the boss battles. If I weren’t on story mode, some of these battles would take me over an hour (and multiple tries). The Bahamut fight in particular was absolutely absurd.
So many of the problems could’ve been solved if characters just waltzed into places and killed their targets immediately. Clive could’ve stabbed Hugo in the back before the hallucinations kicked in. If Dion just threw his lance at Anabella or Olivier instead of making a whole fucking speech, then maybe he wouldn’t have killed his dad. It feels like nearly everyone in the game is just stupid.
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Thinking about viera and padjal conversations. I am connecting so many dots right now
So a lot of this is FFXII lore because I love FFXII but the way the Green Word works reminds me a lot of the Gridanian Hearers hearing Elementals. Viera hear the Will of the Wood and carry it out acting as its guardians. My own headcanon is that the Wood-warders are kind of like those Christian monks who seclude themselves in the mountains for spiritual purposes and live as hermits to be closer to God which also reminded me of how most padjal aren't in Gridania proper they spend their lives wandering the Twelveswood only sometimes coming back to civilization. But a Viera who leaves the Wood is Viera no longer, their ears grow dull to the Green Word. So what if one such former Viera eventually came to Eorzea and the Shroud and met a padjal? In addition from the perspective of most of the other peoples of Hydaelyn both padjals and viera appear youthful but can be very old. We don't know the maximum lifespan of a padjal since Gridania itself is only a few centuries old but this means that for the older padjal some of their only human peers are probably viera.
The way I see it, at least in FF12 Viera would lose their ability to hear green word not even because the green word doesn't want them anymore, but because living in the cities alienates them from nature over time + apparently there's also the idea that people in the cities are "filthy". So at least in theory I'm assuming that it's possible to begin hearing green word again (or even keep hearing it after leaving) if the person's views on life go along with other Viera.
Yeah I like the potential of that. Then it becomes a matter of belonging, identity, and belief. Like an internal factor manifesting externally. I like what you said about living in cities alienating viera from nature as the reason why they loose the ability to hear the Green Word. From a narrative perspective I think the other way could also be interesting too really depends on how its done ultimately. If a viera cannot regain the green word then it becomes a story of sacrifice/trade-offs, irrevocable loss, a extended metaphor for their journey outside the Wood in the sense of you can never go home and even if you did it would not be the same for you have been changed by your journey and wil never be the same there is no return to the time before.
yep, there's a lot of potential
even with the potential ability to get the connection back, it's still a risk that a Viera is willing to take, because there's no guarantee that: a) they'll be welcome at home once they live, as Viera are still a society, and a very restrictive at that b) they won't change over time in a way that will make them unable to percieve the wood the way they did in the past
2024 Edit: this seems fitting for the Vii of the First. It raises a question again of where Golmorre/Source Viera are societlly, between the the depictions of viera in ShB's Vii and the older Ivalice games (FFXII, Tactics, etc.)
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So I’ve beaten the new gen of Pokemon (Scarlet and Violet). Spoilers under the cut.
I want to start off with the things I didn’t like. First and most glaring, the graphics. The game is not pretty. Textures are flat, there’s pixel-y static around the edges of everything, treetops are just made up of bunches of 2D green blobs...it’s not good. There are PS2 games with better graphics (FFXII leaps to mind). The pokemon themselves look great, but that just makes the environment look even worse.
And despite this, the game chugs pretty often. I don’t know if it’s lack of power from the Switch, or poor optimization from the game, but there’s frame drops and slowdown everywhere. There was one section of the game that ran at like half speed during pokemon battles unless I pointed the camera straight at the ground.
Also, the environment is pretty sparse most of the time. Cities are the same 15-20 buildings copy/pasted over and over, with the same 15-20 NPCs walking around. Outside of cities, areas tend to be empty grassland dotted by a few trees, empty desert dotted by a few boulders, or empty snowfields dotted by a few trees. Not everything is that way, but a sizeable chunk of the game is.
These three issues are all very common in open-world games, though. They’re the hallmark of a company’s first attempt at an open-world game, and I would expect improvements if they decide to keep making open-world Pokemon.
However, there’s some things that can’t be explained that way. For one, the gyms are all the same boring grey office building. Literally copy/pasted 8 times. You go in to a lobby, talk to the receptionist, then leave to do your gym trial. You don’t even fight the gym leader in the gym, you fight them in a tennis court arena outside. Why bother having a gym building if you’re not even gonna be doing anything in it? It strikes me as a placeholder that they ran out of time to replace.
The Team Star camps suffer from the same problem; there is no visual difference between any of them. Just plain white tents everywhere, and a stage (why is there a stage? You don’t even fight the leader there). I would have liked to at least see red tents for the fire camp, purple tents for the poison, etc.
The music is very hit or miss in the game for me, with the worst offender being the elite four theme. This is supposed to be the culmination of your journey as a trainer, and the theme feels like the kind of music you get before the boss fight starts. Its like the part of a song before the drop, except it never drops. Just repeats the same 20-30 second loop. It’s anticipation music, not fighting music. Once again, it feels like a placeholder, and they ran out of time.
“For crying out loud, Flaire, you’re just complaining about everything! Was there anything you did like about the game?”
Why, yes. I did like something about the game.
Everything else.
The gameplay, mechanics, characters, and story of this game are amazing. Open-world is exactly the kind of game Pokemon needs to be, and if they give up on open-world Pokemon after this game, I will be devastated. Just like with Pokemon Legends: Arceus, running around and seeing pokemon in the environment, choosing to initiate battles or dodging them and running away, it’s just so much fun. I am sad that you can’t catch pokemon without starting a battle, but tbh that would be a pretty huge change from standard pokemon, and is a bit too big of a leap for the core series games right now. Maybe we’ll see it if they make another Legends game and it’s successful.
I love the designs of a lot of the new pokemon. Orthworm, Tinkaton, and Glimmora are some of my favorites. I loved the alternate environment versions of Diglett and Tentacool, I thought they were clever and well done (though I don’t understand why they weren’t regional variants). I didn’t like Koraidon (I played Scarlet) at first, but I warmed up to it as I played; they just gave it so much personality that I couldn’t help loving it.
Speaking of, the characters in the game are fantastic. Nemona is probably my favorite rival ever, I thought Clavell was great comic relief (and was touched by how much he wanted to do right by Team Star), all of Team Star was great. The whole Team Star storyline, culminating in a battle against Penny I didn’t really want to win but knew i had to, was just amazing. I didn’t like Arven, but that’s not because he was badly written; it’s because they did a good job writing an immature, cocky jerk. You’re supposed to warm up to him as the game goes on, but every time he called me “little buddy” I wanted to knock him over and leave.
My favorite part was when the player, Nemona, Penny, and Arven journey to the bottom of Area Zero together. I loved seeing them run around along with me, occasionally conversing. I desperately want to have companions like that as an option in future pokemon games, especially if it lets me do double battles. Those were sorely lacking in this game; I think the only double battle was against MC Ryme? Anyway, the crater section was my favorite part, and I honestly didn’t want it to end. Also I greatly enjoyed the entire sequence with the AI Professor, how they wanted to stop the machine bringing in the paradox pokemon, but were literally programmed to stop anyone who tried to turn it off. And as much as I dislike Arven, I was still glad to see him finally get some parental affection, even if it was from an AI instead of the original. They were a copy of the professor, and that means they shared the professor’s love for Arven too.
I mentioned the music was hit or miss for me, and that’s true, but the hits were very good. I think Penny’s battle theme might be my favorite battle theme of any pokemon game ever, and the Professor battle theme was pretty damn good too. Nemona’s theme is very appropriate, it’s happy and fun, because that’s how she views battling. Man, it was always so much fun to battle her. Such a breath of fresh air after Sword and Shield, where I just felt more and more guilty every time I beat Hop. Nemona wants you to win, she wants you to beat her, so that she’ll finally have someone to compete with (and who won’t forfeit any challenge immediately).
All in all, fantastic game, and I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. If you’ve never played a pokemon game before, this is a good one to try. If you’re a longtime fan of pokemon, I think you’ll enjoy it too.
#there's a lot I didn't touch on#but overall thumbs up#good job nintendo now please learn from this#and don't regress#also give your employees more time#I would have happily waited another year if it meant fixing some of those problems
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October sure has been a month.
With my digital art on hold and the comic on hiatus i have been just, sketch painting? i guess? with my watercolors, so i finally got the time to explore those masking experiments that i discovered this summer.
#ffxii#balthier#FF12#traditional art#watercolor#normal art? on my blog? its more likely then you think#ffxii balthier#non bnha fan art#Ffamran mied Bunansa#Its strange... i always want to talk about my thoughts and just why i drew/ painted the thing i did#and yet at the same time i just dont?#with this month and especially this beeing how its been i have just been thinking alot about why i paint/ draw the things i do and why#i like the characters that i do.#and mostly also thinking about why i so rarely post my traditional stuff.#all in all just been thinking alot about art and stuff#head full many thoughts
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I was recently lured back to Final Fantasy XIV by their “returner” campaign (if you are away a while, log in and play for free for two weeks). I’ve been having a great deal of fun, got over my “healing yips” and jumped into group content, and finished the Shadowbringers main “5.0″ storyline.
(Yes, it made me cry. Yes, like everyone else-- I concede it is excellent as everyone says.)
Final Fantasy games always kind of...”wink and nod” at their series traditions. And thus I’ve been happily playing along (when I’m not sobbing, natch), running across the occasional call-back to threads I know from earlier in the series, going “Oh, that’s cute. That’s clever,” and not thinking too hard...until the most recent breadcrumb dialogue line for the continuation of the story (patch 5.1) made me put down my controller, put my head in my hands, and go “Aaaaaargh!”
Urianger in brief: “I think I’ll be a problem ON PURPOSE.” lol.
Theory overthinking hours! I can come back later and see if I was right.
SPOILERS, after the cut, for Shadowbringers through 5.0 and, uh...Final Fantasies 3/6, 7, 10, and 12. (lol)
One of the very, very clever things Shadowbringers did is finish up much of the story of the Umbral Calamities by retconing the existence of the FFXIV storyline as taking place and/or belonging to the same universe of every single other Final Fantasy game all at once, many worlds existing side-by-side ignorant of each other, each just sliightly different from the next.
Which means all those “clever callbacks” aren’t just fun Easter eggs for fans-- they’re also fair game for the plot. If the game isn’t just being goofy, it’s leaning really hard into the Final Fantasy tradition of the “Oh NO Statues.” 😆
The what now?
The “Oh NO Statues” are my mental nickname for the recurring powerful, often sentient monuments that show up in Final Fantasy and invariably break the world:
Kefka did a number on home values with these three in FFVI, for example.
Later Final Fantasy games would refine and riff on this, of course. “Oh no, the statue is a space alien (?)” (Jenova, FFVII); “Oh no, the statue came to life and destroyed our civilization!” (Sin, FFX).
This isn’t Zanarkand, but it totally could be, right?
And my personal favorite of the “Oh NO Statues” incarnations, The Occuria, FFXII. Statues who aim “guide the History of Man,” ancient beings who manifest as aetheric masked forms, often visible only to a few, whose origins are (in FFXII) unknown:
Balthier: This creature... So this is your Venat?
Cid: Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca! Just how far will you go for power? Does your lust for nethicite consume you? Am I right? I am, aren't I. A worthy daughter of the Dynast-King! You would do well to go to Giruvegan. Who knows? You may receive a new Stone for your trouble.
Ashe: Your words mean nothing to me!
Cid: The reins of History back in the hands of Man.
And later:
Cid: To hell with the Occuria and their stones! What good a power that cannot be harnessed? Baubles best-suited for study, no more.
Vayne: We conquered two kingdoms, that you might study these "baubles."
Cid: Oh, I am grateful for the sacrifice. Without it, manufacted nethicite would have eluded us - an unrivaled weapon. Tell me, Venat. Have I not been an apt pupil?
Venat: My counsel did but guide your able hand. Through power of Man, the Stones did you perfect. Yes. So much accomplished in six fleeting years. Man's fervor o'er all obstacles prevailing.
Cid: Our lives are much too short. You undying might waste long centuries away, but we, I fear, cannot.
Vayne: Just so. Had we more time, we might have used more "prudent" measures.
Cid: Your greatest work still lies before you. Not lightly will the Occuria allow you to wrest the reins of History from their grasp.
Venat: Indeed. What claim does Gerun have on history's reins... seated on throne immortal, rent from time? For your ascendance, Vayne, I offer prayer. May you attain all that which is your due.
Vayne: Attain it I shall.
This is... fascinating, because it is heavily implied by a different storyline in FFXIV that Ivalice and the events of FFXII, exist somewhere in the worlds that were shattered from the Source that was FFXIV’s ‘main world.’ There is even an Ivalice in FFXIV, but it is NOT the one we know from FFXII-- Fran exists in FFXIV as a general of Dalmasca, and to all appearances (that I’ve seen, so far), a key difference is Balthier never existed, or never left his position in the Empire.
(On realizing this, I took a good minute to be amused that Balthier really WAS the “leading man” as he so often trumpeted, that apparently so much depended on his existing in his bravura sky piratery, all unknowing-- bless.)
As Ivalice exists -- well, the ‘Occuria’ are much like Emet-Selch and the other Ascians, aren’t they? “...seated on throne immortal, rent from time...” indeed.
Of course, in FFXIV, we’ve struck down most of the “relevant” Ascians by the end of Shadowbringers so what then? Almost certainly, the last “sane” one is gone.
But what’s interesting to me is this: Emet-Selch asked us to remember his people, and he mentions the three Ascians we know as antagonists-- but every single time he talked about his “purpose” it wasn’t to save the named Ascians. It was to save some unnamed other or others, his “lost friends and loves”-- one of which is heavily implied to be connected to the player character.
(There’s a whole “fragments of a shredded soul thing,” but-- ‘we don’t have time to get into that’ meme-- here.)
The other-other Ascian that is eluded to --heavily-- in the run-up to the end of Shadowbringers 5.0 is the Unnamed Fourteenth-- the Paragon who turned away from the other Ascian councilmembers when the details of their plan to save their civilization and the toll that would be paid were revealed. I think we’re meant to think this conscientious objector is the one who summoned the Light, to grant autonomy to mortals rather than guide them towards a destiny that would serve the Ascians’ return, even if the mortals were “shadows” of what had come before the worlds were split.
Beyond a lot of breadcrumbs, we don’t get much more than that in the ending bit of 5.0, but that sure sounds like Venat to me.
Venat was always portrayed by a woman voice actor, despite the Occuria being “genderless,” and...
OK, so...what does this have to do with nethicite?
In FFXIV, “manufactured nethicite” exists -- it’s called White Nethicite Auricite (oops!) and the Scions (the faction our character belongs to) use it to trap Ascians’ will and shatter their energies.
It’s also heavily implied that if natural auracite is allowed to feed on mortal souls and imbued with aether (energy), it will cause mortals to go insane. The Ivalice raid sequence spells all this out, but in short-- your fears and desires are made manifest in exchange for your life energy. Over time, auracite exposed to mortals gains a low-level chaotic will of its own, like the One Ring in Tolkien’s works.
It is, in short, a staggeringly insane idea to propose putting your soul into a soul-eating crystal as Urianger is doing. And Urianger has no way of knowing this, of course, but this will of the nethicite in FFXII came from the Occuria -- their tools to “guide the History of Man.”
There are no more unsundered Ascians left worth mentioning (Elidibius, lol), but the energy of that Unnamed Fourteenth is out there scattered in the Light-- and this is “White [light] Auracite.” Despite everything, I don’t know that the Light are all sunshine and rainbows for mortals. For one, they like stability.
If the Scions start unknowingly imbuing themselves with the powers of Ascians by merging themselves with insane immortal chaos crystals (!!), they may manage to bring about the Eight Umbral Calamity and the end of civilization anyway by unbalancing the world(s) themselves.
...Wouldn’t that be a kick in the pants for Emet-Selch? I mean, if the main character hadn’t had to put him out of his misery already. (*sob*)
#ffxiv#overthinking it#auricite#occuria#venat#ffxii#shadowbringers spoilers#final fantasy#emet-selch
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I'm about 45 hours in to Final Fantasy XII, about to head north from Nalbina to Archades after getting the Sword of Kings. And I'm definitely enjoying it, but I'm pretty sure this is gonna land in my bottom half of Final Fantasy games.
The story-writing feels really weak. This isn't a continuation of the complaint that it's very Star Wars; Star Wars is a much better story. I just feel like every story bit is very phoned in; you can see the character beats they're sketching out, but they don't do any work to set up the character beats, so they're just relying on you having seen them in other, better stories.
In contrast I think 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 all tell really clear storeis with setup and payoff, and there's enough dialogue to actually build all the character arcs. In general it feels like FFXII doesn't have enough dialogue. The voice acting is all good, but there's not a lot of it and there's not a lot of text dialogue and so everything is under-developed.
And then the combat is satisfying, but I don't like it as much as I did the combat in, say, 5 through 10. In part it feels too chaotic for me to really make decisions as good as I'd like. Obviously there's plenty of time to think, since everything pauses in the menu. But when time is running, there's like five things happening at once so it's hard to tell which action had which cause. Especially when it's hard to keep the camera focused on the enemy so you can't even see the damage numbers easily.
This is especially noticeable on, say, the bonus bosses. They have magical immunity to the spell that tells you what their weaknesses are, which first off is annoying to begin with; those are the times I want that information! But it's hard to figure out by trial and error, because I'll have someone cast fira or whatever but then I see two numbers and also an "immune!" pop up at the same time and I don't know which one is from fira. And then in the last little bit the boss goes berserk and the rate at which things happens suddenly quadruples. And I'd really rather something with a bit clearer of an interface so I can feel like I'm thinking through the encounter rather than brute-forcing it.
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Fandaniel + Altima Zodiac Theorizing
Crossposted from twitter.
We know that the Ascians started working in pairs (for the most part) after Igeyorhm botched the Thirteenth. One thing that's been crossing my mind, that has been IIRC on the cusp of implication by Ishikawa when she mentioned writing Fandaniel and his [REDACTED] were her favorite characters to write, is that Fandaniel is supposed to have a convocation partner who is MIA. So I did some mapping around. While ofc I could be wrong af I wanna go out on a limb and say Fandaniel’s partner is Altima and we'll be getting some kind of Altima lore in EW.
All of this is tenuous but my logic goes like this: Fandaniel = Leo according to both FFXII Scions of Light/Darkness lore and the in-game soul stones of the Convocation. Leo mapped as closely as possible onto the Twelve's dates = Rhalgr. Rhalgr elementally ties to thunder, which in THM lore is the element used to cleanse sins. Rhalgr and Byregot both utilize thunder but Rhalgr is specifically the Destroyer. Wouldn't be surprised if we find destruction/cleansing sin is relevant to Fandaniel's motives.
Additionally, within the Convocation vs the Twelve the numerology isn't exact and there's an odd situation where Azem got shuffled in for Azeyma. Elidibus is also MIA for Ophiuchus. The missing Convocation/Twelve parallel is that normally Altima would be Virgo, but was replaced.
Virgo is, further, right after Leo. So while it's conceivable that Fandaniel's partner could be Byregot within the same element (or someone else completely), I'm not actually sure that's the case. A bit of shuffling happened in terms of months/order relative to zodiac signs. We see this in that Emet-Selch = Gemini = May 21st - June 20th = Nald'Thal = October, when normally that would be Scorpio/Nabriales. And in elements, Emet-Selch might have theoretically been partnered with Azem/Azeyma according to Twelve lore, but ofc Azem isn't there.
Also, Mitron as Taurus (April 20th - May 20th) I think maps to Lymlaen with the month of May and element wind. Loghrif as Aries (March 21st - April 19th) maps to Nymeia with the month of April and element water. Thaliak/Lahabrea/Pisces is the other Twelve water element.
I say all of this because there might be order in how pairs are set up in some places, but Emet-Selch, Nabriales, and Altima being shuffled around weirdly makes it a little harder to tell for sure who partners with who.
There are spots where there's some implication date order might reflect who partners how, but most cases my impression is it's not usually two people within the same element. Even if Emet would have partnered with Azem had that been an option based on his own preference, but who even knows.
My suspicion is that barring weird cases it's the next person down in the elemental order. So Fandaniel as Leo/Thunder would have been with Virgo/Fire. Azeyma/Azem makes it weird and the missing person is Altima. Additionally, Altima has ties to Ultima as a spell and the Ultima Weapon purely in name, and in both FF Tactics and the Ivalice raid would theoretically have some relevance in Ultima the High Seraph as well.
(Ivalice raid baddies basically are people on the Thirteenth who got poisoned by primal energies and became crazy voidsent monstrosities, Ultima the High Seraph might be an Altima fragment but honestly it's not 1:1 there anyway either given Mateus.)
But yeah, Altima by both title and conspicuous absence from the Twelve has some foreshadowing going on in terms of weird exceptions and has been kept both quiet and nondescript for a while. If they're Fandaniel's partner I expect they'll be doing SOMETHING in Endwalker.
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early morning 5.5 thoughts:
thoughts on Werlyt, MSQ, and YoRHa below the cut:
So I did Werlyt first to get it out of the way and it is still Bad Fanfic: The Quest Line. like. this was definitely better than last patch, but goddamn it just really highlights how unsatisfying the rest of the story was.
Cloud Deck was amazingly fun fight, though. EX is going to be a bitch but gimme.
where the fuck was Nero seriously goddamn this was the perfect place for him
NGE vibes were great but ultimately: still don’t give a single solitary fuck about the au ra kids. heavy-handed plot devices, every one of them.
that pop was very satisfying
(as discussed in the FC discord) ...that, uh. that ending cutscene is a lot less heartwarming when you realize all the Terncliff townspeople probably had trauma reactions to seeing images of their conquerors walking around all of a sudden.
hindsight: BAD FANFIC. REALLY BAD FANFIC.
anyway
MSQ was next and I have SO MANY First Brood feelings and am now seriously jonesing for a Meracydia-focused expac at some point in the future, hnnnnnnnng.
there was great worldbuilding and buildup, I think; the tempering stuff I found fascinating since it implies another layer to primal summoning and that the perception of the summoned by the summoner can have a huge effect on things.
I’ve seen some discussion before about untempering the Unsundered and honestly, after the Tiamat stuff, I genuinely wonder if it would have been possible at all. like, the implication with Tiamat’s is that it worked despite five thousand years because of her sheer force of will and that she saw Bahamut as an unequal. while the Unsundered I feel probably would have had the force of will...their perception of Zodiark wasn’t just as a god but as necessary to the continued functionality of the star and reality.
like...jesus.
(for the record, my interest in the Unsundered remains firmly in the, “fascinating antagnoists” category and the Ascians as a whole with the, “god I’m really tired of these fucks” category.)
also! something I noticed: despite the excitement of everything, this was a pretty chill patch! both 3.5 and 4.5 were the big “holy shit” patches with 3.55 and 4.55 being the denouement into Stormblood and Shadowbringers.
but 2.55 was A Realm Reborn’s HOLY SHIT moment and I’m willing to bet good money that 5.55 is going to be the HOLY SHIT lead in for Endwalker.
did you notice HOW MUCH MSQ STUFF FROM THE TRAILER WASN’T IN THIS MSQ THAT MEANS IT’S IN PART TWO.
Estinien versus Alisaie is hilarious btw and it’s a miracle that man isn’t dead. though god, I have to feel for Alisaie: I joke a lot you can’t tell my twin brother and I are even siblings, but before puberty hit us, we looked muuuuuuch more alike, and I knew another brother-sister twin set as a kid who looked so similar the only way you could tell them apart was their hair style (the brother’s was traditional-boy-short and the sister traditional-girl-long). I lost contact with them after we went to a different school, but I’m curious now if puberty did the same for them as for me and Twin-Boy or not. and as much as Yoshi-P and the devs talk about and semi-enforce a time bubble, I do wonder if we’re actually going to see Alisaie and Alphinaud age a bit in Endwalker
after the Alliance briefing, while the other leaders have gone off and the rest of the Squad and Scions go to talk with Arenvald and Fordola:
Aymeric: Darling, it’s not like we haven’t seen each other in a week, we had breakfast together this morning--
Synnove: Don’t care, I’m horny, find a private corner or I ride you on the meeting table.
Aymeric: I’m not complaining, merely pointing out a fact! And my vote is for the table.
Synnove: >:3
during Paglth’an: drive by shippy smooches after defeating the latest enemy group
WHAT A FUN DUNGEON but I’m gonna have to go in here as GNB to learn how to do the pulls
DID I MENTION RECENTLY MY FIRST BROOD FEELS god I love Tiamat
*paps Arenvald’s cheeks* you’re a good boy and I love you very much
I know Ishikawa-san isn’t likely to do anything permanently harmful to my boy, but if she does, I will fly to Japan and fight her (after a detour to fight Koji for all his goddamn puns)
and then Nier
my issues with some of the visual elements aside, the fights were hella fun...but the story had me all ???????????????????????
like, the stuff with the dig site chief and Komra I’m enjoying, but everything else...no. I was definitely a little confused for the CF and PB portions of the story, but the Tower at Paradigm’s Breach just...explains absolutely nothing in a meaningful way? and I really feel that this portion they went hard on the Nier/Drakengard references so I was left feeling, “I don’t know why this is important or what the implication of this very obvious reference is.”
like, Return to Ivalice from the get-go was an obvious homage so I just tuned most of it out until we got some sweet sweet Dalmasca/FFXII stuff, but even with this raid series being another crossover, I felt like there was a mystery and buildup that was being well-handled for the first couple of parts, so this part falling flat is a letdown for me
I’m hoping we’ll get some meaningful explanations in addition to the Komra stuff in the weeklies going forward. cause like. damn. I’m sad about Anogg and heartbroken for Konogg but I don’t know what the context of everything is and I’m really frustrated.
really super glad that we’re going back to original stories for the 24-mans in 6.0.
So, yes! Having a fun time with 5.5, ready for 5.55 to fucking take me out at the knees. today, we do Hatching-tide, custom deliveries, fishing, and Fishing (Unreal)! a girl still needs an Incitatus whistle and also the anteater minion.
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I’ve seen a lot more talks recently going around about Ultimanias, Benny Matsuyama, Maiden, etc. Here, on the Twitter...If there is one thing I’m genuinely curious about, is what exactly sets everyone’s understanding about epitexts? For supplemental materials like guidebooks or reference/fan books and how exactly they’re produced? How much do you understand about the history of Studio BentStuff and their way of making said materials, or even about anything related to authorship and publication?
There are just too many things thrown around so easily on the internet these days, not enough productive conversations about these things man. It’s...weird.
It’s easier to have a conversation with someone if I understand their foundational logic for this stuff, because a lot of the things I see are very strange. Or at the least, isn’t practical for what goes behind the production of these types of materials. Authorship and production knowledge is important—having a pragmatic approach for having a sense of what happens “behind the books” is a must have for decent conversations about guidebook/fan book making. Whether it’s for materials that are purely informational, for entertainment and uniqueness, or the sweet spots between—right where BentStuff typically specializes in.
There are SOOO many companies, SOOO many writers and editors, that exist and create this stuff, obviously going way beyond just Japanese related companies like that of the Famitsu, Dengeki, or V-Jump brands. But, obviously given the tags, FFVII or Square Enix games are the topic for today, along with BentStuff. For this stuff (heh), there has always been more than just Studio BentStuff, and even for them, the foundation of how they make their books is what makes them, I’d say, one of the best companies that do what they do. And what they do, how they get it done, was always set before the Ultimania series. If you don’t know about how they made their ALL ABOUT series or their Kaitai Shinsho (解体真書) series, then you don’t really know about the Ultimania—the former two being the heart of the “research and analysis” and “project”-minded approach they use to create that series. I know many don’t understand Japanese or don’t want to go through the trouble of working out translations, but....there is SO much information out there, on their website, in their books. And to be honest, so many of these misunderstandings start to not make sense to me when we have had whole online communities for decades dedicating themselves to translate stuff and provide information.
We can regurgitate the same quotes from the same books for 20 years, making circular arguments, but not talk about this in-depth?
I’ve been planning on releasing this huge thing, this “archive” essentially, of information about BentStuff, but I’ve realized that it’s honestly easier to talk about these things on a more case by case basis with interested people. Because there’s a lot, and I want to be able to talk to people about this stuff so people can really get where I’m coming from. Maybe I’ll post something at a later time to get something started, but this would definitely be a thread where it could start.
But, like, I gotta cover something I saw recently.
Honestly what set this off for me is someone saying that Matsuyama is a “rando writer” (as in being external to BentStuff) or was “commissioned” to write the Diary Entries or Maiden....
It’s just...so interesting the amount of confidence one has when saying these things without any of the proper evidence or understanding on the subject. I’m not trying to be harsh, but, it’s just weird. I just want to throw this out there, real quick:
Matsuyama essentially co-founded Studio BentStuff along with a few other writers from the BASIC magazine company, the lead in that being Akira Yamashita, who is the CEO. Matsuyama is one of the Directors of the company, along with Ichiro Tezuka, a name ya’ll probably recognize from FFIV stuff. This company was built by writers and lead by writers, but many others (some from BASIC too) eventually joined them to create what we have now. He ain’t no “external” nothing, though when it comes to their published books, it is true he didn’t do much until the FFVII Kaitai Shinsho.
Also, BentStuff write and edit [proofread] their own books, even if there are others who will supplement this, typically the publishing editors. e.g. like with Kaitai, those in the Famitsu editing department (whoever published Famitsu at the time) or for the Ultimania, editors from SE. Naturally that is to say, they get whatever they need if they can from the developers of what book their making—this is the same for any company who makes guides, really, if they have the opportunity to be in further contact with them. However, that caption of a picture you keep quoting from the book? A line from the character profile? Story Playback? You can literally see in the back of the book who was in charge of writing that—go read their staff comments on their website (if you don’t feel like translating like I did, just use Google, you can at least get a general gist for most comments). There’s a lot (they stopped including comments around the FFXII Battle Ultimania), with Ultimania being the latest series, but check out ALL ABOUT and Kaitai Shinsho stuff, too, but there’s even stuff for Dragon Quest. It’s a treasure trove, and the staff say some funny things too a lot of the time. Either way, you’ll appreciate what it is they go through to make these materials.
On that note, of Matsuyama’s writings (particularly of the Diary Entries and Maiden for this discussion), he was never commissioned specifically to write what he does—his own staff comments on the BentStuff website and the peritext (or lack thereof) in the books counteract this alone. Not to mention, it isn’t practical in how the process of their book production works.
Yes, BentStuff as a company can either get the license or be hired to write a guidebook, but in determining who does what for the book, this isn’t done the same as, say, Jun Eishima being hired by SE to write the FFXIII or FFXV novels. Or, even, what Matsuyama would’ve had if he was able to write the originally planned novel for Lightning Returns. The decision of who does what is mostly internal of that of BentStuff, for example, who does the Scenario section, or the maps, who writes the prologue if included, who does the character profiles, boss data, speedruns, time charts, technique tables, etc. Whatever. Matsuyama, just like everyone else, does his decided part, and we can’t any more say he was specifically “commissioned” to write his creative materials than we could for all the other members doing their roles. At least, not without the proper evidence. (get into more below)
Either way, don’t create the wrong idea by using "commission” to describe the reasons as to why Matsuyama included these materials—the most practical and rational reason being, you know outside of him co-founding the company, that many companies allow creative freedoms or projects to be had about their works. Canonical or not—this isn’t new. If a company founded by writers gets the opportunity to write guidebooks, it makes sense for them to seek the opportunity to work in their own “projects” to make their books unique, and the idea of this started all the way back in their ALL ABOUT series, precedent to both Kaitai Shinsho and Ultimania.
There of course, has been other things, like “Square Enix said” when it comes to anything written in the Ultimania books, the notion that certain presentations within a guidebook suggest canonicity, that the more creative materials [their “projects”] Benny or other BentStuff members create are canonical simply because they’re in the books, etc.....oh boy.
He isn’t a “rando”, nor was it “commissioned”, and most of his creative works are limited to the books for entertainment purposes by BentStuff, for the book, and typically nothing more like being officially a part of the respective series canon. Unless evidence supports his or other’s authenticity as author’s for the series in question, I believe the default thought for ALL his materials should be that of fun readings for the books, expressions by BentStuff. That honestly goes into a different conversation about the canonicity of any of Matsuyama’s or others materials in the guidebooks and about authorship/authenticity, but the important thing to note is the two emphasized points above. If you want to get into canonicity, we definitely can as, honestly, it isn’t really too hard to cover with the proper evidence, which is also from in-book peritext or Benny’s own comments. Other observational stuff too. There are only a handful of materials that can really be discussed based on evidence of Matsuyama’s authenticity as a writer for the respective series. At the top of my head, included would be the short stories for Brave Fencer Kaitai Shinsho, the FFXIII Omega story, and maybe, his materials for the series SaGa—some like Beender just setting-wise aren’t canonical, but the value of his interpretation for this series can be discussed considering he has worked on one of the games scenario at a later date.
I digress.
Like I said, I’m just open to discuss this stuff without having to write a huge informational dump of like, their entire history, though I know people who are researching themselves would find that useful. It’s just a lot. But if any of that above is something you believe or disagree with, please, feel free to tell me why and we can get this ball rolling. It’s fun to talk about, at a certain point, I didn’t spend all my time researching just to be miserable.
Eh, sort of.
Misery loves company, so....
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