You're more amazing than dead WiFi

Fantasy world where humans and (intelligent) monsters fight all the time and humans are allowed to take defeated monsters as monster pets and monsters also do the same to humans so as a legal loophole to stay safe a pair of human and monster that trust each other can become each others' legal owners so that no one else can own them

I am once again here to try and convince you to listen to Jenny Owen Youngs. Here is a rundown of some of my favourites of her songs:

Vampire Weeknight, a song about vampires (but actually about the perils of continuing to run a buffy the vampire slayer podcast with the woman you just divorced). Haunting, feels like you're underwater, comes with a beautifully animated music video.

Clean Break, a song that both musically and lyrically sounds like something a creepy doctor in a fever dream would listen to while performing ill-advised surgery in you in an operating theatre for an audience of clowns and other circus folk. The music video is a little disconcerting.

Born To Lose, a song with a lot of chaotic brass and a similar kind of dark vaudeville-y circus aesthetic to Clean Break, except instead of getting operated on you're making the decision to leave your life behind and start your hero's journey.

Dungeons & Dragons, a song about trying to both escape and return to your childhood. Has both an upbeat, dancy remix, and a delicate, stripped-down remix. Feels kind of fuzzy/lofi at first.

Here is a Heart, a song that seems cute and lovey-dovey until you start listening to the lyrics (my personal take is that it's about loving someone who needs a heart transplant and wishing you could give them your own heart somehow, but who knows). Features a lot of swelling violin and multiple usages of the word sautéed.

Long Black Veil, a Johnny Cash cover complete with a comic book-esque music video about two Salem-style witches who are secretly in love. Feels like being told a bedtime story.

Gravitron, a song which somehow has the power to make you nostalgic for memories you don't even have. Sounds like the way sun-baked pine needles smell. I could picture singing this around a campfire, but like. As the last song of the night after everyone is kind of falling asleep.

Woodcut, a song that always makes me think of Holly Cole. Captures that out-of-it feeling that comes with being dissatisfied or always achy and tired and not really knowing why. Sounds like whiskey and falling asleep in the car.

What Beats Within, a very warm and bright song that I wish I had the right word to describe. Features what I think might be a clarinet and a lot of bass. Almost sounds like an accordion or a harmonica or something at one point but I think it's actually some kind of string instrument. Sounds like a medieval folk hero having a mid-life crisis.

Lightning Rod, an eerie, dissonant song that sounds like living in a haunted house for so long you're no longer sure if you're a person or a ghost.

Over The Bow, a song about putting your own future first. Uplifting, inspiring, has lyrics about worms. Feels like standing on the front of a boat heading towards something unknown, but hopefully better than what you left.

Bricks, a song which sounds like the old, beaten-up copy of Brer Rabbit I had as a kid. To put it in easier to understand terms, it sounds anxious and tense, but not in an immediate way; more in the way of a child who is playing outside and seems to be safe but has been warned to watch out for snakes.

PLAYING: Breath of Fire IV

I think we’re closing in on the end. But in good ole BoF fashion, the last leg is taking the longest. Also, Nina is totally the main character of this game.

NINA

I’ve only ever beaten BoF 3, 4, and 5--though I’ve played 1 & 2. It’s a constant that Ryu is the main character, and that Ryu is the player. Ryu is never (to rarely) given dialog because the player is meant to imagine the voice of Ryu. And while this definitely works for BoF 3 and 5, Nina is clearly the main character in 4.

1. We Start the Game as Nina

In both BoF 3 and 5, we start the game as Ryu, and that’s basically where we stay for the whole adventure (occasionally controlling other characters). BoF 4 has us start with Nina. It’s a simple distinction, but sets up my next point.

2. Nina Makes All the Decisions

My screenwriting professor said the main character makes the decisions that drive the story. In this sense, Ryu is extremely passive. He’s mostly just along for the ride. It’s Nina that offers to help him, Nina that decides he should tag along, and it’s Nina’s quest he joins. Later, Nina decides to rescue Cray. Nina goes to her father for help. Nina asks the gods for assistance. Nina insists they save Ryu. Nina encourages Dies not to abandon Ershin. Nina insists on the helping that furry...thing. All the while, Ryu is just like, “...sure.”

I vaguely know how the game will end, so we’ll see if this all holds up.

3. It’s Nina’s Quest

The game starts with Nina and Cray on a mission to find/rescue her sister. While Ryu is integral to the plot, he doesn’t have a lot of skin in the game. Nina is also royalty, and this game has some Games of Thronesian politics going on. While Ryu’s actions carry little weight beyond the act itself, everything Nina does has the ability to affect policy and international relationships. We see this when the Empire pressures the Alliance to cede territory post Nina’s rescue op failure.

Also, Nina just told Ryu that she loved Cray. Ryu isn’t even the love interest in this game.

I’m actually really happy that Nina is the star. Female characters aren’t normally given the respect they deserve. Maybe instead of Breath of Fire, they should have called this “Wings of Destiny”...cause Nina has wings.

Back to the Plot

So, Ryu went super-Dragon and killed some imperials. The gods have offered to help Ryu, (as long as he plays hide and seek first), and Fou-Lu has escaped the village in which he had started to feel at home.

Nina and the team discuss things and decide that if it’s Ryu’s destiny to meet up Fou-Lu, they might as well confront him proactively. They seem to be under the impression that the empire is using Fou-Lu gain power (if they only knew).

Ursala is the Imperial captain that captured us, but now she’s our captive. The team asks her to help them get into the Empire. She’s confused. It was her mission to bring the dragon to the Empire, so this kind of works out...She agrees and is now a playable party member.

I like her.

Heading back to the warp gate, we learn that it’s broken because of our previous activities (and because we were attacked by Captain Jackass). Ursala tries to make us feel bad, but she works for an evil Empire--so jog-on. We have to head north and need a sandflier but don’t have the cash. This is comical, cause I put in a cheat for infinite Zenny way back when...

We’re supposed to ask a merchant sandflier for help, but we’re too late. Ursala immediately jumps to action and without a word, Scias follows her lead. They take the merchant ship like a band of pirates and it turns out to be a French-accented froggy friend from before that sexually harassed Nina, Marlok. He tries to make use feel guilty, which works on Nina and Cray--but the rest of us know he’s a POS. He offers us a bond to buy a ship, expecting that we’ll do great things and thus able to cash in on our success.

We get to a checkpoint, but it’s blocked. Ursala wants to fight the guards, but Nina is against it. We do the non-violent solution of trampolining over the wall. We get to a ship yard...I only now realized in the game that the oceans aren’t water--but mud. weird...where’s all the water? So the only seas are up north.

The captain doesn’t want us on without the blessing of the sea god. We got to coastal cave and find the Sea Dragon there...I think. We get his blessing and are good to go. The captain now doesn’t want women on board. The women insist that they are tough and have been through a lot. The muscle the dude we keep fighting shows up, and it’s implied that his defeat would prove we’re tough. Ursala shoots him and falls off the mass of the ship. So  a new test of courage is needed. Ursala and Nina must stay within the hull of the ship over night with ghosts and bugs. They succeed.

As we travel across the sea, we fight muscle dude again (he was much stronger this time). And then the wind stops. The sailors think this area is haunted, maybe by a god. We go check it out. The dungeon is interesting, but frustrating. You have to walk across planks to get to the other side, but the planks break and drop you down into the hull. There’s a light over your head to warn you when you’re about to fall, but I still fell a lot. In the hull, as you walk, skulls that are spread about rattle and vibrate: it’s eerie and entertaining. Eventually we find a rock creature that thinks of itself as a god, but it’s just a rock powered by god-power. So we kill it.

No remorse.

The wind returns and we make it across the sea. After traveling through a jungle, we meet a furry thing. I feed it some food and it seems happy...I think. At the end of the jungle we find a treehouse and are attacked by more furries. The previously furry comes to our defense and we meet Beyd. He has married one of the furries and maybe these are his children? Cray had my reaction and was like, “Well...uh, anyway--how do we get to the empire?”

One of the furries gets sick and Nina vows to save it (cause she’s the main character!). This brings us to an interesting, but not super fun mini game. We get to sail the boat, but you have limited supplies. Every second you’re on the seas, the supplies get used, but they’re used faster if you row. Rowing is necessary because the wind doesn’t always blog in the direction you need. So you have to decide whether to burn supplies by rowing, or wait for the wind to change directions. There’s places to find and treasure to discover. It is, kinda fun...

While we’re out here collecting medicine on the high seas, I also find the sea god: SCORE!

We save the furry and are guided to some islands that are available to walk across when the tide is low. So we venture a cross some tropical keys. It’s pretty. The group gets tired and Nina insists on taking a break: cause she’s the main character. After our rest, the tide has risen and the group is trapped. Cray is pissed and Nina feels responsible.

This is an interesting part of the game cause the group has to survive on an island and reflect on their mission. Ursala warns it could be months or years before the tide recedes. Chill Ursala. The group explores the island and finds both water and and great fishing spot. We’re gonna be fine. Just delayed.

Scias likes the island, as he just sleeps all day. After a while, Cray chills out and apologizes for his temper. While Ryu is casting a line, Nina reveals that she’s in love with Cray, causing Ryu to trip. Nina reflects on her feelings, unsure if they’re true and doubtful that Cray feels the same.

The tide recedes and the team escapes. We come to a riverlands that requires some log riding and log dodging. It’s cute, but I want to get out of here...

Fou-Lu, after escaping the village, receives a direct hit from the hex canon. They apparently used the friendly lady that help Fou-Lu as a “sacrifice” to power the canon. EVIL! Fou-Lu survives and arrives at the capital. He meets statue guardian that recognizes him as the first emperor. Fou-Lu orders the guardian to destroy the imperial city. Fou-Lu is pissed, and just doesn’t seem to think humans are worth it...

As the guardian destroys the city, Fou-Lu cleans up loose ends, finally killing the general that ambushed him on the night of his awakening, and then killing the current emperor. The Emperor first tries to act subservient to Fou-Lu, but then stabs him with the “dragon slayer” sword. It doesn’t work and Fou-Lu laughs in his face.

Similar to Breath of Fire 3, the game has reached a point where it doesn’t have more story to tell, but wants to add hours. So there’s tons of little quests and obstacles that have little to do with the overall plot. It’s sad, because the minigames and mini-nations they’ve created are really interesting.

I tried to think back to how Final Fantasy 7 handled this. I think, for the most part, the game doesn’t make its endgame clear until much later. Most of the game is, “What should we do now?” So I don’t feel there’s as much a “rush” to get to the end. Also, much of the game is about tracking Sephiroth, so you’re really looking for clues as you find obstacles, vs having an end destination and just running into a million reasons why you can’t get to it. You feel out of control and inconvenienced. But these obstacles would make really interesting and fun side quests. Having them as options would absolutely make them more interesting.

Another thing that Final Fantasy 7 really succeeds at is making each new area a new piece of the puzzle. You’re always learning history about the world or a character. So while it might be a brief obstacle, it’s also an interesting deeper dive into the world. Breath of Fire’s diversions don’t feel as enlightening.

Still, BoF4′s diversions still feel like progress cause we inch closer to the goal...it’s just that we’re not getting much character or world development in the process.

Combat

I do prefer the combat over BoF3 (and many RPGs). I like that the other characters are always on-call in the battle, and it’s easy to switch out (more so than Final Fantasy X -- how I remember it anyway). I’ve done zero grinding, and I’m pretty proud that I’ve survived so far. After crossing the sea, it seemed like the enemies were getting ahead of me, but I got better at using the spell combos (which are cool!). So surviving a few battles usually meant getting a few levels up. When I first played the game, i was cool with grinding, but I’m glad I don’t have to now. The only thing that is cheating: I gave myself 99999+ zenny. So I’m able to stock up on healing supplies. Though it helps, I’m sure a few hours of grinding would have me being just as well stock on healing supplies.

Is it better than Breath of Fire 3?

I’m a little torn. Breath of Fire 4 is “epic”. There are multiple nations that have a strong sense of culture and history. The mythology around the dragons is of the galactic scale. World War is in the balance and my party includes two members of royalty and two semi-gods. The world feels huge even if the story is pretty linear.

In contrast, Breath of Fire 3 had three nations--that I could tell: Wyndia, Eastern Kingdom, and across the sea. Strangely, Wyndia had gangster cities, gangster markets, and amoral lab that was accidentally making mutants. While eastern kingdom seemed pretty chill and peaceful--but lacked a ruling entity. Hmmm...

Where Breath of Fire 3 feels “better” is that it feels more personal. The story starts small: a lost dragon-boy found my starving thieves. We live in a small town and solve small-town issues. This slowly grows to include local gangsters, a kingdom, and a dragon holocaust before we battle God. I like Breath of Fire 4′s characters, but I feel like I have a stronger bond with BoF3′s. Also, I felt like BoF3 tried to explore the grey area: killing monsters that had feelings. I felt emotionally challenged in the different scenarios. Whereas, BoF4 is always: “We’re the good guys, and we do the good things!”

“Hagrid and Buckbeak” || YEAR 3 – Ch.21 (HP au)

                              Chapter List

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Day posted: 9/18/2020

Word count: 3,147

Relationship: EVENTUAL severus X oc (slow burn)

Rating: E for everyone

Warnings: none

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A/N: This is my first fan fic I’m writing mainly as a way to practice. This is a retelling of the hp books with an inserted character. Although most every character will be written about, this is mostly for the pro snape fandom. Please do not fear, although this is a severus x oc story, it is an incredibly slow burn as I do not intend for them to get together at all until after the final book events. Chapters will be posted twice a week.

This derivative work follows the events of the Harry Potter books by Jk Rowling and is intended as a fun way to practice my writing. Thank you for reading :D

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Heather opened her eyes slowly and turned her head. Everyone was still in their beds, which meant she was up extremely early. She sat up and sighed, remembering what she’d heard yesterday. She dug around her trunk for her sweater and her skirt and went to take a long shower.

As she absentmindedly scrubbed her arms with one of the spongey things she’d bought over the summer from ‘Bath Bubbles and Scaley Scrubbers’, she thought of Harry, and what he was probably feeling, being the one who cared more deeply when it had to do with their parents. He was probably angry… maybe feeling hurt for them. He’d want to talk to her about it, wouldn’t he?

She didn’t really want to talk about a murderer who betrayed his best friend, or about anything really. She felt numb and detached from the world… she felt like a simple dust clump come to life whose had all these troubles thrust upon her unfairly… but Harry was all the family she had and if he wanted to talk… she’d listen.

She toweled down and got dressed. She headed for her room to see everyone still asleep and took out her herbology and art book, ready to do some studying and plant drawings. For several more hours she sat alone until the time to leave Hogwarts for the holiday break snuck up and before she knew it, the common room was alive with excited chatter about going home to mansions and rich parents.

Pansy made sure to tell everyone what she thought she was getting – something about a topaz encrusted dragon’s eye that’s supposed to help her pick out real gold from jewelry shops – and about how she couldn’t wait to see her famous explorer uncle, who had most recently ventured into the arctic and discovered the feather of a previously confirmed extinct bird. Every year, one way or another, Pansy would mention some new famous relative to connect to her already famous family.

The chatter died down as everyone left together and she was left alone. She wasn’t sure how many Slytherins had decided to stay behind, but she was sure well over half of them had left, if not all. No pureblood would be caught dead staying behind like ‘those muggle borns’ as she’d heard a seventh year say – except they didn’t use the word ‘muggle born’.

She sat by the fire studying, moving on to potions as she always liked to finish with that, and after an hour she heard a knock at the common room door. She got up and opened it to find Ron and Hermione standing looking apprehensive about something.

“Hey… Do you want to come in?” She swung the door open further but Ron shook his head.

“No way. I never want to go in there again.”

“Heather we’ve been practicing all morning and – well Harry’s still asleep and we’re worried.”

She nodded and told them to hold a moment while she put all her things away in her room. She stepped out and walked with them back to their tower, talking the whole way.

“How are you feeling after yesterday?” Hermione glanced at her, clearly not wanting to seem too worried and failing.

“I’m fine. What were you saying about Harry?”

“We were thinking of making sure he wasn’t going to go and do anything stupid.” Hermione lowered her voice, “Like sneak out and try to capture Black himself.”

“He sounded real mad last night in his sleep, mumbling angrily.” Ron whispered the password and the portrait swung open. “At least I think he was asleep. He kept turning and fixing the blankets. I got so tired watching him I fell asleep.”

Heather looked around at all the red everywhere and gold-framed portraits of lions and sat down facing the window, glad to add any other color to her vision. Ron moved his game of chess and offered Heather the first game.

“When he gets up, we can tell him how awful the idea of going after him is. And if we’re all in agreement, maybe he’d see we’re right,” Hermione looked at her again. “We ARE all in agreement, aren’t we?”

Heather rolled her eyes. “Of course we are. It’s the Ministry’s job to get him, not ours – Wait can I move this here? – And besides, the last thing I want is to get involved with anything to do with You-Know-Who and his followers. We’ve dealt with him enough.”

“Even if Black betrayed your parents?” Ron gave her a different sort of look.

“Ron,” Hermione hissed. “What is your goal here?”

He frowned, “Nothing I just – I kind of get where Harry’s coming from… But I don’t really get where – ”

Heather picked up her fallen queen and shifted the board towards Hermione. “Look. He betrayed my parents. Not me. His business should be with them, not me and Harry. We’re not our parents.”

Ron pressed on. “But aren’t you mad FOR them?” Hermione pinched his arm. “Ow!”

At that moment the boy’s dormitory door creaked and they all stood up, waiting for Harry to come down the stairs. He looked around and rubbed his eyes, pushing his glasses up with his knuckles. “Where’s everyone?”

Heather laughed, “Gone home. Did you forget what day it was?”

“Yesterday was end of term! It’s first day of holidays today!” Ron jumped up and opened his arms, motioning to the empty room. “It’s all ours now.”

Hermione stepped forward and looked Harry up and down. “How’d you sleep? You look… tired.”

Harry frowned. “Fine.”

Hermione nodded and looked around at them. “Harry, we wanted to say – We know you must be very upset about what we heard. But I think it would be very foolish to want to go do something about it.”

Harry crossed his arms. “Do what?”

“Go after Black yourself,” said Ron, trying to stand like Hermione was, with his chin held slightly higher.

Heather looked away and sat down, letting them handle it.

“Just tell us you won’t. Please?”

Ron dropped his posture, looking very genuine. “He’s not worth dying for.”

Out of the corner of her eyes she noticed Harry’s face turn towards her. “Every time a dementor gets near me, I hear my Mum scream and plead Voldemort not to kill us.”

Heather closed her eyes and looked away. Something tugged at her heart. She tried to push out the image of her mom begging for their lives. She must have loved them a lot, as much as she loved Harry, to be begging You-Know-Who. She shook her head and opened her eyes. Harry’s attention was back on Ron and Hermione.

“Imagine it was your mothers. Screaming like that. A-and their friend who sent Voldemort after them was out there, free – ”

“So what would you do that the dementors couldn’t do?” Heather stood up and crossed her arms. “Why not leave it to the Ministry! It’s their problem, not yours.”

Harry stepped forward. “Fudge said Black wasn’t effected by dementors. Azkaban isn’t any real punishment for him!”

Ron tensed up. “You’re not saying – You don’t want to kill Black, do you?”

Hermione quickly cut in, “Oh of course not! Harry doesn’t want to – to kill anyone, right?”

Harry didn’t respond. Heather frowned and felt her anxiety rise again. She shifted her weight, hoping she didn’t have to start worrying about Harry really actually doing something foolish. She thought he’d just be upset, angry, not – vengeful. Would he really go after Black?

He looked at Heather. “Malfoy knows, remember? In potions he said – ”

“Who cares what Malfoy said?”

“Are you really suggesting taking Malfoy’s advice instead of ours?” Ron looked offended. “Malfoy’s? He WANTS you to go chase after Black! He must know what happened to Peter Pettigrew – You know what Pettigrew’s mum got? His order of Merlin, First Class, and his finger.”

Harry was clearly not listening, shaking his head at the abandoned game of chess. “His dad must have told him. He was in Voldemort’s inner circle – he could have been friends with Black – !”

Hermione started sobbing. “Harry! You mustn’t go looking for him! Black wants you to go looking for him so he can kill you! Don’t give him what he wants. Your mum and dad wouldn’t want you to go putting yourself in danger for them!”

“I’ll never know that, will I? Because of him.”

Heather shook her head, “Except you do, don’t you? You said you hear our Mother pleading for our lives. So you know she’d want us safe – and alive.”

Everyone stayed silent as Heather’s words settled in Harry’s head.

Ron swallowed. “Let’s head down to Hagrid’s. It’s nearly Christmas and we haven’t gone down to see him in ages!”

Heather nodded desperately, needing fresh air and any distraction at all.

“No!” Hermione shook her head furiously. “They can’t leave the castle! They’re supposed to – ”

“Yes! Let’s go.” Harry turned back around and headed up the stairs. He stopped at the landing and looked down at them, “I think I’d like to know why Hagrid never told us all this.”

Heather smacked her hand to her face.

Ron looked around quickly. “Or we could play more chess! I’ve already beaten Heather and Hermione! I’m undefeated so far – Or actually we could play Gobstones! Percy told me he left a set in his room – ”

“No. We’re visiting Hagrid.” Harry turned away from them and walked into the boy’s dorm, slamming the door shut.

Hermione wiped her face. “Well that went horribly.”

They got their cloaks and Ron managed to find an extra one from the lost and found for her so they wouldn’t have to go into the dungeons for her to fetch hers. They left the tower and headed down and out of Hogwarts towards Hagrid’s hut, wading through the snow as they walked.

The four of them walked in a line down the lawn, led by a very determined Harry. They made a deep trench in the powdery, glittering snow that went up to their knees. The blizzard had stopped and the whole world looked as still as a muggle painting. The forbidden forest sparkled white and Hagrid’s tiny hut looked absolutely cozy among all the snow.

They stomped up the steps, trying to shake off the frozen snow stuck to their cloaks and socks, and waited as Harry knocked. There was no answer. Unlike Professor Snape, Hagrid normally answered as immediately as possible, happy to greet whoever visited. They pressed their ears to the door and heard Fang whining, along with another weird sort of noise.

They pulled back and looked at each other.

Harry frowned and started knocking on the door as hard as he could. “Hagrid! Are you in there? Hagrid?” Harry paused his knocks long enough to listen.

Heavy footsteps approached and then the door slowly creaked open. Hagrid looked down at them with red swollen eyes and a pink nose. Tears dripped off his nose like a leaky faucet, splashing onto his damp beard.

“Yeh’ve heard!” He opened the door further and pulled Harry and Hermione in for hugs.

Ron and Heather looked at each other and shrugged quickly before Hagrid ended the hug. Harry looked back at them bewildered and before he could open his mouth, Ron and Hermione led Hagrid into one of his chairs. Harry and Heather walked in and shut the door as Hagrid slumped over the table and continued sobbing.

Harry looked down at the table and slid an envelope towards them. “Is this – ?”

Hagrid nodded and pulled out the letter, handing it back to Harry. “Read that.”

Harry handed the letter to Heather and she cleared her throat. “‘Dear Mr. Hagrid, Further to our inquiry into the attack by a hippogriff on a student in your class, we have accepted the assurances of Professor Dumbledore that you bear no responsibilities for the regrettable incident. – ’”

“That’s great news!” Ron clapped Hagrid on the back.

Heather cleared her throat again. “‘However, – ’”

Ron’s smile shrunk and he pulled his hand back.

“‘We must register our concern about the hippogriff in question. We have decided to uphold the complaint of Mr. Lucius Malfoy, and this matter will therefore be handed off to the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. The hearing will take place April twentieth, and we ask you to present yourself and the hippogriff in question at the Committee’s office in London on the previously mentioned date. In the meantime, safety measures should be taken for the safety of other wizards and witches. The hippogriff should be tethered and isolated from the public and the other hippogriffs in your care. Yours in fellowship . . . ’” Heather scanned the list of governors and handed back the letter.

“Well,” Ron bit his lip. “You said Buckbeak wasn’t a bad hippogriff so surely when they see him they’ll see that.”

Hagrid lifted his forehead off the table and shook his head before thumping it back down. “Yeh don’t know them Committee fer the Desposal o’ Dangerous Creatures. They wouldn’t know innocent an’ friendly if they stepped in it.”

There was a loud huff and the four of them turned around quickly. Buckbeak was sitting on Hagrid’s rug by the fire, tearing into something raw and bloody with Fang resting under his wing. He rubbed at his beak with his talons and cooed at them.

Heather sighed. Normally Hagrid always confused dangerous for cute and cuddly, but this time she was afraid he was right. Buckbeak looked no more a threat than Fang did, both lying there, enjoying the warmth of the fire and each other.

Hermione sat down on a chair opposite Hagrid and placed her hands flat on the table. “You’ll need a good defense, Hagrid. You’ll need to prove Buckbeak’s innocence with character witnesses – in person is better but I’m sure they’ll accept letters – ”

“Are you a lawyer now too?” Heather tried not to smile.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

“That won’t matter!” Hagrid sighed into the rough wood of the table. “Lucius Malfoy has them all in his pockets. If I lose the case, then Buckbeak’ll…” He sobbed and sat up, cheeks glazed with fresh tears, and slid his finger over his throat. He sobbed again and fell back onto the table, wailing painfully at the thought.

“W-what about Dumbledore? Can’t he – ?”

Hagrid shook his head. “He’s done so much fer me already. I can’t ask him fer more. He’s got keepin’ those dementors out of the castle – and Black still lurkin’ about.”

Harry sighed, looking very troubled but understanding. He put a hand on Hagrid’s large arm and squeezed tight. “Don’t give up Hagrid. Hermione’s right about building up your defense. In fact – we’ll be your witnesses!”

Hermione nodded. “I’m sure there are plenty of cases to look at that could help us too!”

Heather put a finger to her chin. “Are there wizard libraries outside of Hogwarts? Maybe we could ask Madam Pince to have them send – actually, asking Madam Pince anything sound like a horrible time – but we’ll do it for you Hagrid, if it helps Buckbeak!”

Hagrid howled loudly and they all looked at each other, unsure of what more to say.

Ron picked up a kettle. “Do you want tea?” He looked at them and shrugged. “Mum always makes tea when someone’s crying.” Ron filled it with water and hung it over the fire, careful not to disturb Buckbeak, and soon the water was steaming.

Within minutes Hagrid had a fresh cup of tea and a box of tissues by his side, placed down by Hermione.

Hagrid blew his nose into a handkerchief the size of a towel and dried his tears. “Yeh’re all right. I gotta pull meself together… Too much to do to let meself go ter pieces.”

Fang got up from cuddling Buckbeak and placed his chin on Hagrid’s lap.

“Needa get back ter being meself. I got more responsibilities now – even if no one’s likin’ me classes – ”

“We like your classes,” Hermione bit her lip.

“They’re really… interesting,” Ron nodded slowly.

“How’re the flobberworms?” Heather remembered reading about them being picky about cold temperatures.

“Dead,” Hagrid said glumly.

The corners of Ron’s mouth were twitching. “Because of the snow?”

Hagrid shook his head and slurped more of the tea. “Too much lettuce. An’ on top of e’rything else – those ruddy dementors! Gotta walk past ‘em every time I want to get meself a drink from the Three Broomsticks. Almost like being back at Azkaban – ” He finished his tea.

They were all quiet.

Heather tapped on the table with her finger. “Is… it awful there?”

Hagrid looked into his empty teacup. “Yeh’ve no idea. Bein’ ‘round ‘em dementors makes all yer worst memories come back, playing like pictures, over an’ over in yer mind. I thought I was goin’ mad in there. Every time I slept I hoped I wouldn’t wake up again. After a few days yeh can’t remember who yeh really are. No point in livin’ after that…” He sighed and looked at them, shaking his head. “When they let me out it felt like bein’ born again. Was the best feeling in the word, getting’ all me happiness again, all at once… Course the dementors weren’t happy to let me go.”

He stared behind them at Buckbeak. “Thought ‘bout jus’ lettin’ Buckbeak go… Lettin’ ‘im fly free – but how can I explain to ‘im he can’t be seen around here? He’s a hippogriff. He’d want to come back an’ see his friends an’ get fed.” He sniffed. “An’ I don’t want to break the law an’ get sent back ter Azkaban.”

They were all quiet after that, and this time none of them broke the silence. Eventually Hagrid stood up and saw them to the door, thanking them each for being there for him and wanting to help out. He closed the door slowly and left them standing on his small snowy porch.

They all looked at each other and nodded, silently agreeing to head to the library and begin their search for anything and everything that could help their friend. They trotted back up the snowy slopes quickly and jumped up the stairs, careful not to slip and fall. The last thing they wanted was to get yelled at by Mr. Filch about all the snow they were tracking in.

They headed into the library and very slowly, Heather felt a smile pull on her lips. As sad as it was to see Hagrid in such distress, she was glad for the distraction. Not one of them brought up Black again, and everyone was nose-deep in books about hippogriffs and the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. She felt at ease and put all her focus on Buckbeak’s case for the rest of the day.

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                          Chapter List

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So... an imaginary episode of the 1983 D&D cartoon...

It’s a Meta episode.

The kids wake up to their average normal everyday lives.  Nothing weird or anything.  Have breakfast, do a few chores, say good morning to their parents, head out to school, etc.  Normal shit. 

While at school they kinda bump into each other a lot though and they get a weird vibe off of the others. But... why?  I mean, they know of these other kids, some are friends-ish with others but they’re not particularly close?  Bobby is Sheila’s kid brother, Diana is that girl who does gymnastics after school, Presto’s that dork who gets picked on for his crappy card tricks, Hank does sports or something, Eric is the haughty son of that CEO they keep seeing on magazines at the grocery store.  They’re not really super close friends, they have nothing in common really but... they get a feeling from each other?

On top of that they occasionally get a strange flash memory in their heads.

-Diana is about to do a cool gymnastic demonstration for a new team member at the request of the teacher.  Halfway through she bungles it when a memory of being surrounded by monsters flashes in her head.  Her coach approaches to see if she’s okay and on instinct kicks the teacher’s feet out from underneath them, easily taking them to the floor without hesitation before realizing what she had done.

-A card trick goes array in the lunchroom causing a bully to be wearing his lunch and turn his sights on Presto. The bullies cap fall onto Prestos head prior and he finds himself impulsively start a rhyme about taking out the ugly fucker, reaching into that hat and pulling out-- nothing?  What did he think that was actually going to do? I’m mean... he did insult the bully more so I guess it’s gonna get him punched?

-Eric happens to have lunch period with Presto and sees the whole thing go down as he is walking by to his usual table of more affluent “Friends”.  Heh... kid’s gonna get beaten up. That’s what happens when you insult your bullies mom or whatever. Not Erics problem. He doesn’t even know this kid.  Does seem Familiar though. The bully swings his fist back to hit that kid with glasses and Eric feels utter terror, like life or death fight or flight terror and before he even realizes he’s moved he finds himself between Presto and the bully, lunch tray blocking the fist and bully now wearing more lunch than before. Crap... what the fuck did he just do?!?! And why?!

(Not gonna come up with one for everyone I’m tired you guys decide what happens to Hank, Sheila and Bobby)

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At this point the audience knows somethings wrong so why hide it from THEM anymore?  It turns out through an untold adventure before the episode began some bullshit happened and the kids find themselves trapped in some kind of magic sleep caused by this dream master monster wizard or something I don’t care what he is. I’m vague on this part but He’s either

-gonna sell the kids to Venger so it’s like that time Dungeon Master got captured and took a nap and that very homosexual fairy showed up and helped the kids save him.

-OR He’s already working for Venger and they’re picking the kids brain for something while in the magic dream sleep. Like their Untold quest prior to the ep. involves them hiding their weapons so venger can’t get them and the Dream wizard guy is keeping their brains loosey goosey and complacent while he searches through them for the weapons locations or something like that.

-OR He’s working for Venger and the kids are hostages to convince DM to turn himself over and he’s having his own B plot of the good of the realm vs the good of these kids?

“Ehhhhhh....... Nah!  I’m sure they got this... Not the first set of kids I ruined.”

-OR He’s gonna rewrite their brains and turn them evil so they work for Venger and he can sick them on DM AND Tiamat! “If you can’t beat them, take over their brains and recruit them!“ (I like this one but that’s just cuz I like Mind control trope....)

-OR any combination of the above.  It really doesn’t matter you know he’s gonna fuck up.

Anyway Mr.Dream over here is having a little trouble because DMs disciples COULD realize they’re dreaming and shock them selves awake and fuck up the Evil Plan (tm)  And unfortunately the kids having flashbacks, vibes, and triggers is not on the menu, so he needs to come up with an in-universe explanation for the kids in the dream to be having these funky feels so they don’t question the funkitude going on...

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Back in dream-school DMs Disciples are a little gonked up over the whole ptsd trigger flashbacks they’re having, some of which involve kids that they have almost no connection to! But before they can ponder further they notice the time, or their watch or alarm or someone mentioning the time alerts them.  They have a THING to get to!  They pack up their stuff and we follow a POV character (Probably Hank) as he makes his way to a specific classroom, or he leaves the school and heads home or to another house.  Matters not.  As he arrives he opens up the door and there everybody is!

Oh yeah!  That’s how they all know each other!  They play a fantasy tabletop rpg board game together! [Good idea Mr.Dream!  Now they can explain away Their vibes!]  Diana even considers maybe she should quit playing with them if it’s so immersive that it’s effecting her normal everyday life.  But it atleast explains where they got these random memories from!  It’s just their campaign!  They sit down and shoot the shit and start playing.

“What sort of adventure are we doing this time?”

*They begin to play out one of the episodes... Let’s do the Prison without Walls one for example... but things aren’t... right*

*Rolls dice*  Presto DMing: “17! Hank lets his arrow fly, piercing through the chest of the shambling monster!  It trumpets in pain before laying in silence!  The band of adventurers has defeated the monster and the gnome village has been Saved!”

Hank has a flash back... this... isn’t right...

Hank: “No... no I didn’t fire my arrow!  That Monster was Lukyan!” Hank explains.

Presto protests. “But Hank... there was no Lukyan in this campaign???”

Eric: “He’s probably just salty over the last time we played when he opened that box and let all the evil out-- wait...” Bobby: “Didn’t YOU open that box Eric?”

Eric: “... The evil box or Zinn’s box?”

Presto: “It was Zandora’s box.  Where’d Zinn come from?”

Diana: “Zinn was that Queen Eric Married when that Sorlarz monster poisoned Bobby and we slayed him for the antidote!”

Sheila: “SORLARZ?! No Bobby was Poisoned buy the turtle dragon! Sorlarz was a cursed king!”

Eric: “A WHAT?!”

Their bickering becomes too much for Hank and enough reminders of everything wrong with their adventures triggers his memory and slams his firsts on the table silencing everyone else.

Hank: “ENOUGH!!!!” They stare at him in shock and silence. Hank was never angry like this... not that they knew him well enough... “We-- Guys we... never made it home... We’re still in the realm!”

This triggers the kids memories and they realize just how wrong everything is and that all of these vibes they’ve been having are their REAL memories.

They are commended by Mr.Dream who fucked up because he’s very bad at keeping the continuity of his own story down but chastised because it would have been so much easier for them if they just stayed unaware and complacent.  Now the dream world is turning against them and they need to figure out a way to wake up.  But where better to hide the end of the dream than at the beginign of the adventure: At the Amusement park.

Modern fan plays old Fire Emblem games

I have played a lot of Fire Emblem the past few months and at this point it's obvious that I'm very obssessed with this franchise.  I fell in love with the characters and the stories to the point I cannot wait any longer for Fire Emblem Switch. Over the last year I got very curious about the older titles thanks to the conflict between old and newer fans. As annoying these fights are I am quite thankful because without all the fighting I wouldn't have played any of other games! My friends who play Fire Emblem are all fans who started with the older games. I am the only who actually started with Awakening. It is painfully obvious that my knowledge is limited and I felt I needed to work on that. And playing the older games is the best method of doing so! ;-)

As for now I have played every single Fire Emblem game except for Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light and Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn. While this sounds like a lot I haven't beaten many of the other titles. I just have a habit of playing new games without beating the others. Nonetheless I did beat quite a few titles! Under the cut I will express my thoughts about the games I have played under the cut starting with Fire Emblem Gaiden. 

Disclaimer: This is not a review and I am just merely writing my thoughts down and this might be a bit messy, especially since English is not my first language. Oh and also Spoilers for Genealogy of the Holy War, Thracia 776, Binding Blade & Path of Radiance!

Fire Emblem Gaiden (1992)

I start out by saying that Gaiden and Echoes as well as Genealogy of the Holy War are my favorite Fire Emblem games so far. The setting and the story are  very intriguing and I really liked the backstory and the conflict of Mila and Duma. When I saw the teaser for Fire Emblem Echoes during the Fire Emblem Direct  I was under the impression that Alm and Celica were going to be enemies but thankfully I was wrong. Personally I love Alm a lot. he might be very impulsive at times but due to his upbringings he is actually a very down to earth lord. Celica is currently my favorite female lord. Her pretty design and the fact that she uses both swords and magic made me love her even more! I played Gaiden because Fire Emblem Echoes got announced and I really wanted to play the original before playing the sequel.

It's been a while since I played a game as old as Gaiden and I am really proud to say that Gaiden is, in fact, the first NES game that I played. As a lover of all things 90s Gaiden's old art style and graphics really appealled to me. However it is also painfully obvious that  a few of features are very archaic (for example you cannot see your unit and enemy's movement range, so you have to count them down). I also loved that this game takes place in the same world as Shadow Dragon (which is obvious - the titles means side story after all) and thus certain characters would return. The soundtrack too! Very retro and classic! My favorite tracks are Alm and Celica’s first map theme. So far I only played to chapter 3. With this game I had my first permadeath experience and I was bitter for the rest of the week. I am sorry Silque, I failed you...   My favorite characters are Alm, Celica, Lukas, Forsyth, Mathilda, Genny and Zeke.

Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem (1994)

Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem is one of the last Fire Emblem games I have played. My first impression of this game was very good, especially since I can't help but compare it to Shadow Dragon. It is very colorful and because it doesn't have the prologue chapters you are able to see the story right away which is something that I really appreciate. If you prefer to see Marth's past in detail then Shadow Dragon makes a good job in doing that but to me the many prologues chapters made me tired and I would rather jump to the main story. But I will write more  about it about it on the Shadow Dragon part. In my opinion this game is very interesting because it is both a remake and a sequel. Strangely enough the character sprites are more charming than in Shadow Dragon but like I said before I am a sucker for the 90s and 80s anime aesthetic.

I can't say much about this game because I have just started playing but I already feel that Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem might be the best game featuring Marth. Marth is my favorite lord, so I am very sad the he didn't get represented well in the West. I hope Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light will get the remake it deserves. By the way, this is the only game Japan only Fire Emblem game that I played in Japanese.

As I wrote in my About Me page I am currently learning Japanese and even though I somewhat reached intermediate level playing games is difficult for me because I am really bad with Kanji... I keep using an app to look up the characters and this is slowing me down but my goal is to beat this game in Japanese! Knowing this is a remake I am pretty sure my favorite characters have not changed and out of the Archanean characters I really love Jeorge, Marth, Caeda, Navarre, Palla, Catria, Merric, Linde, Lena and Julian!

Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War (1996)

Oh boy, where should I start with this one? Out of all the Fire Emblem games that I have not beaten I am closest to beat Genealogy of the Holy War. This game got me hooked! I know I am not the first one to say this (and this opinion might be overrated) but I honestly think that Genealogy of the Holy War has the best story. I really liked that the story is very political (at least in the first five chapters). Not only that but the big maps help to build up the atmosphere. It really feels like there is war. Yet playing through these huge maps can be tiring, at least for me. And if you are as bad at tactical games as I am then you might get overwhelmed by armies that come your way. But playing the same map a few times really helps getting used to the unique gameplay.

The love system was great and the decision on who you want to pair up greatly impacts the gameplay in as much as the children are not optional, unlike Awakening and Fates were having children are not a must. I wished there were more conversations between them but it is understandable that there aren't more because the support system didn't exists at that time yet. If Genealogy of the Holy War ever gets a remake I hope more comversations will be included!

Sigurd, the first lord in this game, is one of my favorite lords. Especially from a gameplay perspective. I always wanted an older lord. Sigurd gave me exactly that. A mounted pre-promoted lord at that! And a lord who gets a Silver Sword in the prologue at that! Named after a Norse and Germanic hero Sigurd is a character who fits perfectly in this epic tale. The story was written very well and I was hooked from the beginning. The medieval setting were not white washed and so the games addresses controversal topics such as human traffling and incest which makes the story more believable. And while there were many memorable events  the chapter that impacted me the most was chapter 5, obviously.

You carefully raised your army only to have it massacred have way through the story. Sigurd faced so much hardship and in the end it seems like there was a glimmer of hope only to have crushed seconds later. His wife married another man and she doesn't remember him at all. Not only that but becuase of the fact that Sigurd is accused of killing Prince Kurth (who turns out to be his wife's father) his wife sees Sigurd as her father's murderer before he got excecuted... Thank goodness his son is there to clear his name! My favorite characters are Sigurd, Cuan, Lex, Ethlyn, Finn, Lewyn, Shannan, Ayra, Seliph, Bridget, Ares and Ced!

Thracia 776 (1999)

I played the first chapter yesterday because I could not wait until I beat Genealogy of the Holy War. In the last few months I have developed a love for everything Jugdral, so I knew I will have to play this one eventually. What really makes me reluctant to play this is my non-existing tactical skills as I already hinted before. However this will not stop me from playing this game, especially since one of my favorite character is included! If Finn is there then  have to try this out! Cuan and Ethlyn were also one of my favorites and watching them get killed made me upset... I was surprised in a good way because Thracia 776's gameplay seemingly resembles the majority of the franchise more than Genealogy of the Holy War.

The capturing mechanic is great because it ties in neatly with the story! Since Finn had to flee with Leaf and Nanna there were penniless and the only way to get their hands on weapons was to steal them from their enemies. I think this was done very well. Because I only played through chapter 1 I had no chance to deal with fatigue. My units in Fire Emblem Echoes were not always fatigued when I explored the dungeons fortunately but I heard that Thracia 776 is actually very merciless when it comes to that. And thus, I was and am still scared of playing this game... Not gonna lie I was VERY happy when I saw Eyvel because I know very well who she actually is. I hope she gets a happy ending... I am not familiar with the characters obviously but as I said before I really love Finn and I like Leaf and Nanna as well! I am looking very foward to see Leaf as a lord, I am sure he will be awesome!

Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade (2002) & Fire Emblem (2003)

Finally moving onto the infamous GBA games! My friend is a huge fan of them and they are beloved by many Fire Emblem fans whether it's due nostalgia, the lovely characters or the well-written stories! I never owned a Gameboy Advance myself, so playing any of these game were a fresh experience for me. I always thought that GBA games in general had very nice graphics (I remember playing one of the Harvest Moon games with my friend  and the game was cutely done, the Gameboy Advance was made for vibrant games like these!). The three Fire Emblem games were no exception. I put Binding Blade and Blazing Sword together because while I did beat Blazing Sword I only played the first 5 chapters of Binding Blade.

To me Blazing Sword is one of the most satisfying Fire Emblem to play. It has everything great gameplay, a good story and lovely characters! I was very happy when I beat this game and I would definite play again! I loved playing through Lyn's story and I was sad that she kind of lost relevance to the plot after the first chapters of the game. Lyn is a charming character and she definitely has an impact on the player because she is the first character that you meet. The idea of a mymidon like lords is a very good idea and Lyn stands out the most amongs the other lords due to her fighting style and her ethnic background. I hope for more new ideas for the lord that are different from the classic  Rapier yielding royal.

Blazing Sword and I am pretty sure Binding Blade as well are the first Fire Emblem games the address xenophobia and racism. I never really expected the Sacae to be discriminated by other people though this is a very realistic scenario. Lyn handles her hardship very well and this adds more to her character. The Sacae are very refreshing and I hope Intellgent System will include more non Western inspired cultures in their future installments.

Eliwood is my favorite lord after Marth.  I do feel that I prefer the mild and moderate lords more than their passionate and combative counterparts. Hector is great too (especially as a unit!! Which makes his death even more saddening...) but I cannot help but love Eliwood more.

Binding blade is very similar to the other two Gameboy Advance games but for some reason I can not get into this game. I play it more regulary but it did not get me hooked yet. The same goes for Roy as a character. Even though he is the protagonist he didn't really stand out to me... I hope I can open myself up to this game as I play through it. My favorite characters are Eliwood, Canas, Pent, Ninian, Kent, Sain and Raven. As for Binding Blade I enjoy Lance, Alan, Dieck, Wade and Rutger!

Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (2004)

Everything I said about the other 2 GBA applies to this game as well. Therefore I will not write to much in detail about this game. The Sacred Stones resembles the Binding Blade and Blazing Sword very much but I also feel that it also has its own charm. For some reason it differs to the other two games (it kind of feels a bit more "modern", maybe? Probably modern is not the right word in the context of Fire Emblem)and I wonder why. Maybe it's due to the fact that Sacred Stones is the only Fire Emblem game that has no connection to any of the other games, maybe it is because the character designs seem different to me. To be honest I don't know why.

For me the Sacred Stones has it's own charm and every single piece in this game (be it the story, the characters or the soundtrack) comes together quite nicely. In my opinion the selling point of this game is the wonderful set of characters. This game is one of the few games (together with Gaiden/Echoes and Genealogy of the Holy War) where I like most of the characters! There is probably only one character that I dislike  which is great! The story is nice too but I feel it does not stick out as much as some of the other games. Luckily, I am more of a character person and if I love the characters I do not care about the story. Unfortunately, the two lords did not stand out to me as well. This is one of the rare cases in which I can honestly say that I did not know what to think of the twins. I did not dislike them but I did not love them either. Eirika did grown on me and I do love her very much now! I have to confess that I have not played through Ephraim's story and hopefully I can have a better opinion of him in his story (since he is actually in the focus). The characters that I love the most are Seth, Joshua, Innes, Natasha, L'Arachel, Eirika and Saleh!

Path of Radiance (2005)

I played this game up to chapter 8 which marks the turning point in Ike's life. Almost all of my friends recommended me this game (not once but several times in fact!) and reading so many good things about this game I finally decided to give this one a try! Path of Radiance just like Blazing Sword strikes me as one of the most balanced games.  It is really easy to play and I am very happy that Intelligent Systems kept a few features of the GBA games (like the rescue command). Tellius seems to have its own special athmosphere that makes it unique.

The story also deals with racism but in a different way. In this game there beings that are called Laguz who have their own distinct features. Because they are so different from humans they are called monsters and are treated accordingly. I was shocked to see Shinon one of the units call them sub-humans as I did not expect the racism to be displayed so frankly. I am very excited to see how Ike will change the lives of the laguz for the better. Unlike others he is very ignorant about the laguz yet he is not prejudiced (he even apologizes to a laguz for calling him a sub-human - he only learned of them recently and this was only term that he knew).

Ike himself is definitely very aloof and seems detached at first glance so even though I really loved his design, his personaltiy did not strike me as interesting. But whenever I see him interact with his sister (and his father) a very private part of him gets revealed which makes him very charming. I have the two versions of Ike in Fire Emblem Heroes and he is one of my strongest units. He was the one got up to level 40 the fastest. I love using him! Among the Tellius characters I like Titania Ike & Oscar the most so far! I cannot wait to see more of this game!

Shadow Dragon (2008) & New Mystery of the Emblem (2010)

Unfortunately Shadow Dragon has quite a few problems in my opinion. Compared to the GBA games the graphics seem very dull and and washed out. As a DS game it is understandable that Intellegent Systems tried something new but the 3D graphic just feels out of place to me. FE1, FE3 and naturally FE11 and FE12 suffer from the big cast as it is very difficult to characterize so many people. The result is that a lot of the characters are easily forgettable but maybe this is just me. I can remember most of them if I mentally make connections to other characters. Support conversations should have been the standard but they did not include them which makes it harder to recognize the characters. Marth and a few others stand out but it would have been nice to get to know these characters better. Nonetheless Shadow Dragon is still a Fire Emblem game that enjoyed and I would replay it anytime. In fact I beat it a few weeks ago...

Unlike Shadow Dragon I have not beat New Mystery of the Emblem yet simply because I wanted to finish Shadow Dragon first. Just like its predecessor the prologue chapters felt like a chore but things got interesting quickly when I got to the main story line. Kris is the first avatar character and I must say I do not like him/her. When I customized Kris I had high expectations back then but now I know that I should not have high expections whn it comes to the MyUnits. Even though I only played up to chapter 4 but Kris has no personality whatsoever. Kris likes to train and this is not even a personality trait. Marth is the sole purpose in Kris life and Kris is unable to do anything unless Marth orders him/her to do so. I do enjoyed customizing Kris (I love avatars for this reasons) however. If the MyUnit becomes a standard I prefer to choose their base classes. It was also nice to choose their family background (it does not make a difference whether Kris is a noble or an orphen though). As for the story I do not have much to say and I will have to see how the story unfolds (though it is very amusing to see Camu- I meant Sirius as early as chapter 4, haha). I am going to asume that my favorites are the same (Jeorge, Marth, Caeda, Navarre, Palla, Catria, Merric, Linde, Lena, Julian and most like Sirius as well!).

Originally I wanted to write something about Awakening, Fates and possibly Echoes as well. But I wanted to write my impressions of the older pre-Awakening titles. Personally I hope that more new fans give the older game a chance. They’re really fun to play! Hopefully Fire Emblem Switch will become a game that will satisfy both older and newer fans!

And I apologize for this mess I wrote this for myself mostly but I really hope to connect with other fans!

Torture Warnings

Discussion of many torture methods, mentions of rape, gang-rape, sexual assault and various other nasty things. I used as broad a definition of what constitutes torture as possible.

As with all lists suggestions and corrections encouraged.

Explicit on screen Torture:

The Age of Decadence - Uses crucifixion as a method of execution.

American McGee’s Alice - Multiple instances of on screen torture.

Assassin’s Creed Franchise - Interrogation usually involves punching people until they talk.

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood - Caterina Sforza is captured and beaten by the Borgia so badly that she cannot walk and must be carried to her rescue.

Batman Arkham Series - Dangling interrogation.

Battlefield 4 - Protagonist and partner are electroshocked.

Bayonetta - A key game mechanic, not avoidable.

Beyond Good and Evil - Double HH is rescued from an alien electrical torture machine.

Bioshock Infinite - Multiple scenes involving Elizabeth being tortured.

Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea - The protagonist is subjected to an attempted lobotomy as an interrogation technique.

Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth - The protagonist is electroshock tortured by the FBI and an early level involves killing a person kept alive by electro torture.

Call of Duty: Black Ops - Electroshock torture, torturing people with glass shards, and Russian Roulette.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 - Torture of a captive and the protagonist has his legs shot off and the wounds stepped on.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - A character is beaten and executed.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - A warlord is threatened with a toxin grenade and offered a gas mask if he talks.

Clock Tower 3 - In a cutscene a man and his elderly mother are pushed into an acid vat by one of the murderers you fight.

Cold War: On Your Own Behind the Iron Curtain - Protagonist can interrogate people by dangling them over a fatal drop, Batman style.

Curse of Monkey Island - The protagonist gets tarred and feathered (at least once) but as the tar in question isn’t actually hot this is more of embarrassment for comedy that torture, mentioned for completeness’ sale because I’m a pedant.

The Darkness - The protagonist is tortured and forced to watch someone die.

The Darkness 2 - Torture and crucifixion.

Dead Space 2 - Isaac must perform eye surgery on himself, not technically torture but probably still qualifies.

Dragon Age 2 - Hawke can have a miner tortured to death and killed.

Deadly Premonition - Multiple murder victims tortured to death.

Dishonoured - You can use torture against a man in a brothel (who is obviously expecting an S&M session) to extract information.

Dishonoured 2 - A lobotomy is used as a non-lethal alternative to assassination.

Dragon Age: Origins - Multiple scenes, most notable in Arl Howe’s dungeon and the Broodmother backstory section of the Deep Roads.

Dungeon Keeper Franchise - Torture is a game mechanic.

Fallout: New Vegas - Interrogation of a Legion prisoner by the protagonist, you can use speech skills rather than physically hurting him though.

Far Cry 3 - Multiple instances of torture.

Far Cry 4 - The villain tortures a character to death with electro shocks.

Final Fantasy VIII - Squall is electroshocked.

Final Fantasy XIII - Multiple instances of magical torture.

Freedom Planet - The bad-guy electroshocks one of the the protagonists to make another character talk.

Game of Thrones (Telltale) - Ramsey Bolton tortures and kills a character on screen.

God of War Franchise - Multiple torture QTEs performed on enemies as well as non-combatants.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - The protagonist ties someone to the hood of his car and goes driving.

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballard of Gay Tony - Batman style dangling interrogation.

Grand Theft Auto V - The protagonist Trevor tortures someone with the player’s choice of method.

Homefront: The Revolution - The protagonist and two partners are tortured, only the protagonist survives.

Kane and Lynch 2 - Opens with the protagonists being tortured. A female character is disembowelled and implied to have been raped.

killer7 - Russian Roulette

Kingdom Hearts 2 - Goofy is electroshock tortured during one of the Tron levels.

The Last of Us - Joel tortures two men to find Ellie.

Lego Pirates of the Caribbean - Shows characters in stocks/pillories (to replace the scenes of hanged corpses from the original movies).

Heavy Rain - Multiple scenes of sexualised violence, police brutality, and torture. Some is avoidable with the use of a walkthrough.

Mass Effect Franchise - Many Renegade interrupts count as torture.

Mass Effect 2 - Shephard encounters someone being tortured in the Prison ship and can intervene. During Thane’s loyalty mission you can torture someone for information.

Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadow Broker - The premise of the DLC is to rescue a character from constant torture.

Max Payne 3 - A man is killed by necklacing (having a tyre put on his neck and set alight).

Metal Gear Solid 1 and 2 - The protagonists are captured and tortured once per game, not skippable. Failing the torture scene (by submitting instead of resisting) in MGS 1 will kill off the character Meryl, resulting in a different ending.

Metal Gear Solis 3: Snake Eater - Multiple instances of torture towards NPCs and once towards the protagonist, but the torture scenes in this game are always skippable cutscenes.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - The B&B Corps are all victims of horrible torture.

Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops: Peace Walker - Big Boss is tortured.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain - The protagonist tortures Huey Emmerich and builds his army via kidnapping and indoctrination.

Metro: Last Light - The protagonist is interrogated, threatened, and dosed with truth serum.

Mortal Kombat - Some of the infamous fatality moves can be considered torture.

Outlast - Some of the protagonist’s fingers are cut off. Unskippable.

Outlast: Whistleblower - The protagonist watches another character be tortured and castrated before being murdered. After which they are also tied up and almost castrated themselves by a spinning blade before being rescued.

PAYDAY: The Heist - A character must be interrogated by various methods to give up access codes.

Phantasmagoria - A character is force fed until she dies.

Psychonauts - On screen lobotomies, though they are cartoonish and involves sneezing out the brain, still pretty nightmarish.

The Punisher - A gameplay mechanic enables the character to torture any of the bad guys for information.

Ratchet and Clank Franchise - Multiple instances of electroshock torture.

Red Dead Redemption - The lasso can be used to drag people on the ground from a horse.

Red Steel 2 - The game opens with the main character being dragged from a motorbike.

Return to Castle Wolfenstein - A character is tortured to death.

Saints Row 2 - After one of their lieutenants is dragged to death the protagonist tortures a character as part of revenge. Johnny Gat buries someone alive as part of his own revenge.

Sam & Max: Freelance Police - Police brutality by Flint Paper.

Shadow Hearts - Alice is threatened by electroshock torture, can be avoided by the right dialogue options.

Shadow Hearts: Covenant - Electroshock torture.

Sid Mier’s Alpha Centauri - When you seize the final base of your last enemy you see their leader being electroshocked, also happens to your own character if you lose the game.

Silent Hill 4: The Room - Multiple deaths by torture.

Silent Hill: Homecoming - Multiple torture sequences/QTE.

The Sims Medieval - Stocks/a pillory are used as a punishment. The Interrogation chair also counts.

Sleeping Dogs - The protagonist is tortured after one of his friends is tortured to death.

The Sopranos - Torture is a game mechanic but has penalties.

Spec Ops: The Line - Multiple instances of torture.

Spiderman - Dangling interrogation.

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory - Multiple instances of torture.

Splinter Cell: Conviction - Protagonist interrogates people.

Splinter Cell: Blacklist - A character has their fingers and eventually their entire hand cut off during torture.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - The protagonist and two party members are captured and tortured. The protagonist can try to protect themselves or their love interest by giving up information but they will be tortured afterwards regardless. One character is left behind when the others escape and they are tortured until they break and fall to the dark side. Not skippable.

Star Wars: The Old Republic - Many imperial faction and Sith class quests feature torture in some way.

Stronghold Franchise - Criminals are punished with torture by the player.

Tales of Destiny - The party are forced to comply by electroshock collars during a portion of the game.

Thief: The Dark Project & Thief Gold - The protagonist has his eye ripped out in a cutscene.

TimeSplitters: Future Perfect - The player can kill restrained mutants with a robotic torture device. Avoidable.

Welcome to the Game - The purpose of the game is to find a video of someone being tortured to death on the “deep web”.

Wet - The protagonist is electroshocked.

The White Chamber - The protagonist is electroshocked.

Wolfenstein: Old Blood - The protagonist is captured and tortured with electric shocks and railroad spikes.

Wolfenstein: The New Order - A Nazi Officer is threatened with and then killed with a chainsaw.

World of Warcraft - Death Knight quests involve torturing people to death.

Xenosaga Episode 1: Der Wille zur Macht - An android who looks like a 12 year-old girl is “mind raped” in front of the rest of the party.

Xenosaga Episode 3: Also Sprach Zarathustra - Shion is tortured.

Not explicitly on screen/Text or sound only/Implied Torture:

Ace Attorney Franchise - Franziska whips a lot of people as a punishment, played for comedy as she is a teenage girl.

American McGee’s Alice - Many children NPCs who have clearly been lobotomised or otherwise experimented on.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent - Audio logs of torture.

Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn - The game opens with the protagonist and their party being captured and tortured, which not everyone survives. There are also several torture chambers in dungeons and hidden in a serial killer’s home. Played for comedy in the Thieves’ Guild.

Bioshock 1 - Torture audio log.

Bioshock Infinite - If Slate survives he will be later found lobotomised and can be mercy killed.

Blackguards - The protagonist is tortured near the beginning of the game while nothing explicit is shown on screen, you can hear the voice actor crying out in pain.

Borderlands 2 - Multiple audio logs of torture and happens to Mordecai’s pet Bloodwing off screen.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - Off screen torture, you only see the aftermath.

Clive Barker’s Undying - A torture chamber hidden next to someone’s bedroom.

The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena - Implied torture used as punishment called “going to visit the Dentist”.

The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion - Features a secret torture chamber where a character tortures Argonians to death.

The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim - Many torture chambers in dungeons and prisons.

Higurashi: When They Cry - Fingernail ripping punishment.

Homeworld - An enemy is captured after a genocide and does not survive interrogation.

Liberal Crime Squad - A game mechanic in this freeware text game.

Life is Strange - Implied fate of a murder victim.

Mass Effect 1 - A colonist Shepard may encounter Talitha who has been tortured as well as enslaved since she was a child.

Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes - Audio Tapes of torture scenes including gang rape.

Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge - one puzzle involves you and a companion being dangled over acid, take too long to escape and the game fades to black before giving you another chance.

NeverWinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer - A hidden torture chamber in the Red Wizard Academy.

Psychonauts -  The existence of the old geodesic psycho-isolation chambers imping solitary confinement for “troubled” psychic kids.

Red Faction: Guerrilla - A character is tortured for information and revenge while the protagonist drives, so can be heard as audio only.

Resident Evil 2 - A hidden torture chamber used by the Police Chief.

Sid Mier’s Alpha Centauri - Constructions like the Punishment Sphere and actions like Nerve Stapling in the game.

Spycraft: the Great Game - Torture can be used on a female spy in this text adventure.

Thief Gold - A torture chamber can be found with written logs about it use.

Thief 2: The Metal Age - A homeless person is reduced to rust by the villain’s invention during a meeting you overhear through a door. A torture chamber can also be found hidden in a mansion.

Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines: A serial killer tortures people to death, but you only deal with aftermath, rescuing one of his victims after killing him. The blood bank also gets its blood from kidnapped victims.

The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt - Triss is tortured by having her fingernails ripped out in the room next to Geralt, you don’t see it happening but you hear her screaming and see her bloody hands afterwards.

X-COM UFO Defence and XCOM: Enemy Unknown - Torture of the alien enemies takes place off screen.

Yandere Simulator - The protagonist can torture people in her basement but nothing is actually show in detail.

Torture as Backstory:

American McGee’s Alice - In the manual Alice attacks two orderlies after they force feed her.

Bioshock Franchise - The Big Daddies and Little Sisters backstory.

Dragon Age 2 - Fenris’ backstory.

Dragon Age: Inquisition - Dorian’s father attempts what amounts to “gay conversion therapy” via blood magic.

F.E.A.R Franchise - Alma’s backstory.

Mass Effect 2 - Subject Zero/Jack’s back story.

Overwatch - Widowmaker’s backstory involves torture as part of her indoctrination, but does not appear in game.

Skullgirls - Painwheel and Peacock’s backstories involve torture.

Star Wars: Knights of Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords - Atton Rand’s backstory.

Yandere Simulator - The protagonist was conceived via Stockholm Syndrome after her mother kidnapped her father.

Unsorted - Needs More Research:

The Cat Lady

Crusader Kings Franchise

Dangan Ronpa

Emperor: Battle for Dune

Fate/Stay Night

Grand Theft Auto III

Hatoful Boyfriend

Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors

Shenmue Franchise

Tyranny

Virtue’s Last Reward

Final Fantasy: 12 Hidden Bosses Only True Fans Can Find (And 12 Locations)

What is a video game without its secrets? Half of what makes video games such a wonderful medium is the worlds developers conjure up for players to trek through and explore. Going off the beaten path often leads to surprises that, while most likely discovered by countless people beforehand, feel special to the player in that moment. While these hidden secrets are often locations, they can sometimes be bosses too, and hard ones at that. Final Fantasy is a franchise that is older than most people reading this list, and very well may persist past their lifetimes. Starting in 1987, the series has rarely seen any downtime with spinoffs being released when mainline entries are still in the works. Several Final Fantasy games are often considered the best RPG of all time and while fans cannot always agree on which one that is, they have to appreciate the fact that one series contains several of the most celebrates games in its genre. With every giant, immersive world the developers make for a Final Fantasy game there exist tons of secret locations and bosses waiting to be uncovered. For the bosses, some of them are even a challenge to find, let alone taking it on in battle. For the locations, a couple of them are areas that developers perhaps did not intend for players to find at all. Finding these is not for everyone, as they sometimes require patients and meticulous searching. However, uncovering them proves one’s true adoration and love for that particular game. So here are the 12 Hidden Final Fantasy Bosses Only True Fans Can Find (And 12 Hidden Locations). 24 Boss: Final Fantasy X – Omega Weapon The Omega Ruins can be found by inputting a specific set of coordinates in the airship. After traversing through the hidden dungeon, players face off against two bosses, Ultima and Omega Weapon. The first boss is a relatively small fry, but Omega Weapon proves a tough match, especially if one is playing the international or any of the re-release versions. In the original, the boss has ninety nine thousand HP, but in subsequent releases his health is increased more than ten fold. Should one defeat the boss, they will be treated to some great items. 23 Location: Final Fantasy VII – Ancient Forest The Ancient Forest is different than most other hidden locations because it is visible to the player long before becoming accessible. To reach the forest, one has to either defeat Ultima Weapon when it becomes an optional boss or breed a green Chocobo. Inside the forest are enemies that aren’t too challenging and some great materia. The most notable materia is Slash-All, which lets the holder damage all enemies with a normal attack. Compared to FFVII’s other secrets it is not hard to do once reached, making the Ancient Forest a must do for any completionist. 22 Boss: Final Fantasy X – Penance Penance is only available in the international versions, so apologies to those still rocking the original North American Playstation 2 release. An extremely difficult boss in its own right, it is is only unlocked after defeating all of the Dark Aeons. A player who does not know what they are doing will have a hard time with the Dark Aeons alone, let alone Penance. Should one be skilled enough to unlock the boss, just head to the Calm Lands and get ready for the fight of a lifetime. Even with a nearly maxed out Sphere Grid, Penance will be a long, tense battle. 21 Location: Final Fantasy IX – Chocobo’s Paradise While domesticated by humans, Chocobo’s Paradise is one of the few places where the trademark fictitious animal can live free. The whole thing would be ruined if humans discovered it, which is why it is such a challenge to uncover. To find it, one must fly to an unmarked spot on the map with their Chocobo and use a Dead Pepper. Inside the haven is a side quest not unlike the loyalty missions from a Bioware game, but with Chocobo instead of alien species. Despite being in almost every entry, it is rare to see a full fledged Chocobo society. 20 Boss: Final Fantasy X – Nemesis Nemesis is the last creature that the old man makes in the Monster Arena, and is only unlocked once the player captures ten of every collectable fiend in Spira. Once it is made, it starts roaming the world looking for members of S.T.A.R.S. to eliminate. Just kidding, it actually becomes the toughest fight of the original release. While Penance and some of the Dark Aeons are harder, Nemesis is no slouch either. The boss holds about ten million HP, massive attack power, and can inflict the party with numerous status ailments. Reigning victorious proves one is no average Final Fantasy X player, but a true expert. 19 Location: Final Fantasy XV – Menace Beneath Lucis Final Fantasy XV is one of the shorter entries, ironic considering its almost ten year development, but it makes up for it with its plethora of side quests. The Menace Beneath Lucis is the crown jewel of the bonus activities, only becoming available after completing the game. A woman names Ezma near the Meldacio Hunter HQ will give Noctis a key after he collects several royal arms. The location is actually eight complete dungeons and rewards players with the Hunter’s Medal Treasure. Be sure to do this before starting a new game plus, however, as the key does not carry over. 18 Boss: Final Fantasy XII – Zodiark Final Fantasy XII is a mammoth sized game, and as such has a huge unlockable summon, should players have the confidence to first face it in battle. Zodiark can be found at the end of the Henne Mines dig site. While the mine itself is visited during the story, the second section is only reachable if players collects ten Espers (summons) and then speaks to Yugelu in Jahara. Even before reaching Zodiark, the player must face off against tough foes in the mine. Achieving the extremely powerful Esper is difficult, but well worth the effort. 17 Location: Final Fantasy III – ??? “???” is an unnamed dungeon in the remakes of Final Fantasy III. To reach it, the player must first obtain four letters from the Four Old Men and Prince Alus. This itself is a tough feat, and certain versions require at least one player to be at level ninety nine. Once this is accomplished, “???” becomes accessible with the use of the Nautilus, one of the game’s air ships. The dungeon itself is only one floor. Enemies drop rare loot and it is here that players can face off with the super boss Iron Giant. 16 Boss: Final Fantasy XIII – Long Gui Final Fantasy XIII is a rather linear affair even when compared the most straightforward entries like Final Fantasy X or Final Fantasy II. Side quests are basically only offered in the form of Cie’th Stones on Gran Pulse that give extra missions to the players. Should Lightning and company complete a certain amount of missions. the Long Gui will start appearing on the map. At this point they become easy to access, but do not think about approaching one without the right strategy. If unprepared, this giant enemy will squash players like a bug. 15 Location: Final Fantasy VI – Dragon’s Den One of Final Fantasy VI’s world maps is called The World of Ruin. This area features several optional locations for the player to explore, as well as eight legendary dragons to duke it out with. If the player manages to beat all of these dragons, they enable access to the Dragons’ Den on the map’s northwest corner. The dungeon features more powerful versions of the legendary dragons, and then a showdown with the Kaiser Dragon. The battles are tough, but going through the area nets players some of the game’s most powerful equipment. 14 Boss: Final Fantasy Tactics – Elidibus One wouldn’t expect Final Fantasy Tactics to hold so many secrets, as the player cannot freely move about on the over world like in other titles. However, there is an optional dungeon called Midlight’s Deep that hides an intense boss encounter. Making it to the lowest level of the dungeon is tricky because descending it requires more than just defeating enemies. Players have to find the hidden exit to each floor. Once the bottom is reached, the party will face off against Elidibus, a wizard who can also transform into a demon. 13 Location: Final Fantasy XV – Going Out Of Bounds Most games leave traces of cut content in the final product that players can see. Having such a unique development history means that Final Fantasy XV is filled with hints of unused areas. In several locations it is possible to glitch out of bounds and find parts of the map that are surprisingly fleshed out. This would lead anyone to believe that these areas were meant to be a part of the story at some point. Given how linear the last several chapters are, it is easy to imagine that these areas were suppose to be fully explorable. 12 Boss: Final Fantasy VI – Omega Weapon The Dragon’s Den itself is a challenge to traverse. The battles within are arduous, with nine high level bosses. What many my not realize is that if they go through the dungeon once again, a tenth boss will appear. Omega Weapon shows up in the same place as The Kaiser Dragon. Let it be noted that the monster will not show up in the original Super Nintendo or Playstation version, so be ready to fire up the old Game Boy Advance or any later release if you want to take it on. 11 Location: Final Fantasy VII – Materia Caves The final battles of this seminal RPG can be quite tough even at high levels. However, they are a piece of cake if the player first reaches the Materia Caves and gets all of the goodies inside. These secret areas can be reached with different types of Chocobo, ultimately needing a gold Chocobo to access all of them. The best of the powerful Materia in these caves is Knights of the Round, a super powerful summon that strikes the enemy thirteen times. With these newfound abilities, Cloud and party become nearly unstoppable. 10 Boss: Final Fantasy – Warmech Warmech is often seen as the series’ first super boss, and most players encountered it entirely by accident. On a bridge in the Flying Fortress there is a very slim chance of running into the enemy during a random encounter. Those unlucky enough to battle Warmech were probably instantly clobbered. Subsequent releases have toned down Warmech’s power, but it is still a difficult fight none the less. The first entry in the legendary franchise is unforgiving, and Warmech no doubt contributes to that reputation. Players who do beat it gain eternal bragging rights. 9 Location: Final Fantasy X-2 – Fiend Colony Final Fantasy X-2, despite taking place in the same settings as the original, offers a plethora of new quests and adventures for the players to entertain themselves with. One of the more well hidden areas is the Fiend Colony on the Mi’ihen Highroad. Players have to wait until chapter five in order to even be able to find it. After progressing that far, one must dispatch a level four or five treasure hunting Chocobo. The Chocobo will then return having discovered the dungeon. Inside, Yuna, Rikku, and Payne will find the standard bonus dungeon fare of tough enemies and valuable items. 8 Boss: Final Fantasy X-2 – Trema Via Infinito is a massive labyrinthine dungeon that can be found in Bevelle near the end of Final Fantasy X-2.  It is one hundred floors with a boss encounter on every twenty stories. That seems like enough of a challenge, but it is only the start. Paragon is found on the final room and seems to be the ultimate encounter. However, defeating Paragon will reveal the true last battle, which is Trema. Those skilled enough to best the boss in the Playstation 3 version will earn a trophy to boot. 7 Location: Final Fantasy VI – Zone Eater’s Belly Final Fantasy VI has the largest party of all of the entries. As per usual, not all of the party members are encountered during the main quest. One of the most enigmatic extra characters is Gogo, who can be found in the Zone Eater’s Belly. Reaching the belly of the Zone Eater requires Terra’s party to engage it in battle and wait to be swallowed up. Inside are a small set of challenges awaiting to be conquered. Should the player accomplish this, they will be awarded by Gogo joining the party. 6 Boss: Final Fantasy XII – Yiazmat The hunting side quests in Final Fantasy XII offer a plethora of extra missions for the player to take on. Defeating the optional Hell Wyrm and doing all of the high ranking hunts, or Marks, will unlock the final one, Yiazmat. While it takes a long time to unlock the boss itself, the battle itself is also a a solid test endurance. High level players will easily spend over an hour chipping away at Yiazmat’s fifty million health points. Winning nets players several rewards, including a trophy in the PS4 version. 5 Location: Final Fantasy V – Gil Turtle Path They say money makes the world go round, and the same goes for video game worlds too. These games are often filled with get rich quick schemes, and Final Fantasy V’s is the Gil Turtle Path. In the south of the Gil Cave, the Gil Turtle Path can be discovered. If players tear their way through the plentiful encounters with the Gil Turtles, the end of the path reveals a hefty sum of Gil. If the initial payout is not satisfactory, the path can be done again for even more money. 4 Boss: Final Fantasy VIII – Ultima Weapon The Deep Sea Research center itself is not immediately accessible, even after the player can see it. Once they are inside, the player can acquire Bahamut after facing off with the beast. But that’s not all! Exploring further will reveal deeper depths of the facility and Ultima Weapon, a massive boss that commonly shows up throughout the franchise. It bears a striking resemblance to Final Fantasy VII’s Ultima Weapon, and even brandishes one of Cloud’s weapons as a direct reference to this. The fight also offers the chance to obtain one of the game’s most powerful magic spells, Eden. 3 Location: Various – Peninsula of Power When bosses get too hard, many times the answer is simply grinding to a higher level. For those wanting to expedite this process, there is a way to do this in certain entries that have random encounters. A Peninsula of Power is an area on the world map where players can fight enemies they are not yet meant to run into. Usually they are peninsulas because they jut out of the landmass and almost touch another part of the map, hence why the different enemies appear. Naturally, the enemies are much tougher, but they net a lot of experience. 2 Boss: Lightning Returns – Bhunivelze+ Not all of the bosses only true fans can find are that way because they are a well kept secret. Sometimes it is because only a true fan would get so far in a specific entry, as is the case with Lightning Returns. Bhunivelze is the last boss of the third entry to the Final Fantasy XIII saga. Players who enjoyed the game enough to run through it twice, we know you’re out there somewhere, will find that the ultimate battle is not quite the same. Bhunivelze will now be super powered and pose a much bigger threat to Lightning. 1 Location: Final Fantasy XIII – Faultwarrens Due to its extreme linearity, it is hard to imagine Final Fantasy XIII having hidden areas. However, a secret, much like life, finds a way. The Faultwarrens are found on Gran Pulse, where the game finally opens up to players, and are accessed through a series of C’ieth Stone missions also called Titan’s Trials. Completing one opens up more of the Faultwarrens, and doing all of them ultimately leads to Titan’s throne. Useful items await discovery and those who do the whole thing earn either a trophy or an achievement (depending on the console). — Which of these Final Fantasy secrets was the most fun and rewarding to uncover and conquer? Sound off in the comments! Read more: screenrant.com http://dailybuzznetwork.com/index.php/2018/08/05/final-fantasy-12-hidden-bosses-only-true-fans-can-find-and-12-locations/