It starts to confusing... We have to play for a couple of hours to even figure out the basic story and then other parts only become clear later on, stuff that we should have known to begin with. This is where the game fails slightly. With all other modern FF's the story begins with a sense of normality and we join the protagonist in that normality. When the story gets going we are there with the characters, experiencing it as they do, creating immersion. It's like we are on a journey with the characters. Beginning the game in a muddled mess is simply alienating. Did Bertolt Brecht direct this? (A medal for whoever gets the reference) Anyway, that combined with the lacklustre level structure, piss poor gameplay and limited level up system make FFXIII a joke.... I was so excited for it *sigh* We need some exploration, some journey, some customisation, some TOWNS!!!!!

Playing FFIX now and it's amazing how incredible that game is. So charming and engaging. Compared to FFIX, FFXIII is a piece of shit....

Funny... I was never confused with what was going on. �_�

:P


Nor was I after 7 or 8 hours of gameplay. Sadly by then it was too late....

Oh forgot to mention that chapters ruin this game, feels like I'm playing Mario or something, kept expecting it to say "LEVEL COMPLETE" at the end of a chapter. It makes the game feel small. Not being able to choose your party until around 20 hours seems fun....

20 hours? Ch 10 is way farther than 20 hours, man.

I have to say it's good reinforcement to always see CRYSTARIUM EXPANDED. Keeps ya going :)

What exactly are you referring to when you mention Bertolt Brecht? I mean the only tbing that I can get about it is from the absurd plays he wrote; instead of a play being about war, it is war instead; so are you saying that FFXIII is confusion instead of being about confusion? Or are you saying it creates the alienating effect that Brecht's plays purposely create to provoke an intellectual response? =P


We need some exploration, some journey, some customisation, some TOWNS!!!!!

Towns? No. When the main characters are being broadcasted across Cocoon that they are l'cie fugitives on live T.V, there is no way you can stop your party in a town in Cocoon because everybody knows about who your characters are. It would seem stupid that the shopkeeper and everyone else in the town don't recognize your characters from all of the broadcasted pandemonia that's been going on.

The only point that exploring a town should have been possible is when you are in Nautilus. I think that the player should have been given more freedom to explore the city.

In regards to the other points you mentioned, I do agree. But the storyline only allows those possibilities to get explored in Pulse since the main characters are being chased all around Cocoon. Pulse was way too small in my opinion... It should have actually been way larger and littered with side quests other than the Cieth Stones. And by larger I am referring to more zones being added in other than Mahabara (sp?), Titan's trials, Sulyva Springs, Oerba, and Taejin's Tower. First of all, you had to go through those zones so more optional zones would be appreciated. Secondly, there was only one optional zone.

We have to play for a couple of hours to even figure out the basic story and then other parts only become clear later on, stuff that we should have known to begin with.


We have to play for a couple of hours to even figure out the basic story and then other parts only become clear later on, stuff that we should have known to begin with.

This is called a non-linear storyline. The game is linear, but the story surely isn't. To be honest, if the story was linear, we would start with Vanille and Fang and Lightning would no longer be the main character... In fact she would be more like a space filler than anything if the story didn't start from where it did. I am very surprised that people are getting frustrated that it's non-linear; the database (or whatever it's called) is a different story though.

The story of FF13 is pretty linear, you're just thrown somewhere in the middle of it. Later in the game they say, "Oh right, you should probably know this," but that doesn't exactly make it non-linear.

I've pasted my thoughts on the game over and over and I won't bother to do it again now. I didn't like either though, basically.

Also, I am pretty sure chapter 10 is around 20 hours in, Neg. It may have been slightly less when I played, too. Although, I never have any idea what you're saying so I might have misunderstood you here.

Your mistake is in not reading the Datalog entries, as they update. They explain the story quite well, based on the current facts (and they update often, to keep you up to speed).

It really is vital that you read the entries, because the datalog contains a fair amount of facts on character motivations, rundowns on who certain characters are, location etc, that aren't explained at all in the main game!

I started out not reading them and had the same problems as you. When I realised how much they added to the experience, I reatarted, and didn't regret my decision at all.

It might seem like a pain, but it does make for a much more complete and enjoyable experience.

The story as it plays out is structured to exclude lengthy exposition, when the characters on screen are assumed to know such facts (and so wouldn't be discussing them).

Such facts only get discussed when it would natural for them to do so (Fang and Lightning are from different worlds, so they have an excuse to have lengthy discussions on what each is doing and why etc).

But Lightning, Snow, NORA etc all know why they are at The Hanging Edge at the start, so it's not natural that they'd talk much about it to each other - they just get on with what they came to do.

Lightning and Sazh is different of course, but then Lightning isn't disposed to talk much to others by that point.

It does make sense, when you think about it, and avoids awkward 'As you know, your father, the king...' conversations, that are clearly for our benefit alone.

I hardly think I spent 50 hours on chapters 11, 12, and 13. 10 has to come way later than 20 hours.

You must be really slow then. I reached chapter 11 at around 22 hours and I spent a lot of time on chapter 10.

Neg's a fellow grindwhore. I got to chapter 10 around the 210 hour mark. Kept filling the grid all the way before party swaps :P

I didn't grind that much. Rob on the other hand~

I'll be grinding a lot more next time. Get the growth egg early and all that jazz.

Not that this has anything to do with Harkus. He, sadly, is in his own little (large) world of PS3 disappointment. XIII is but one example. I really do wish things were going better for ya, Harkus.

Getting the growth egg was easy anyway

I know the story sucks and I've never even played the game.

The story doesn't suck - it's actually pretty good. It is very awkwardly told, however, and the characters are not made suficiently likeable to engage people.

But like I said, the story itself is very sound.

The relationships between the characters is definitely my favorite thing about the story.

Snow/Hope
Sazh/Vanille
Vanille/Fang
Hope/Light

Yeah, those are my absolute favorites :) That's not to say that I'm not a fan of the confusion present in the story, and thus the story itself. I think Scryer is the first person to actually say something to this effect other than me, in such a direct way. How it's about confusion.

It's weird that the relationships in FF13 are your favourite aspect of the game/story when relationships in the game are pretty sparse. Each character only really talks to one or two other people in the party and whatever relationships they do develop aren't all that... deserving of being your favourite aspect of the story. I mean they're fine, but it's not like they're anything special/groundbreaking/whatever.

Anyway, I don't think FF13 is about confusion any more than other RPGs are. I mean, it's not like anybody knew why Sin existed/did what it did in FFX. It's not like any of the characters in Mass Effect knew what Saren was up to/what the reapers were. Those are just two examples that popped into my mind immediately but it pretty much applies to everything anyway.

FF13 isn't about confusion because you have no idea what's going on until ~8 hours in (or until you read the datalog), that's just really bad storytelling. The characters in the game understand everything they're talking about completely except for the fal'Cie's motives.

Whilst there certainly are strong themes of not knowing what you are doing, or should be doing. I just think that messing people around by withholding information and being all arty about it, alienates people who would much rather have some proper storytelling.

It also means that we get jazzed about characters and situations after they have happened, which is incredibly annoying.

For example, the scene where Snow and Serah try to escape from PSICOM in Bodhum, is one of the best in the game. Anima is incredibly sinister and menacing in this scene, snatching her away and getting us all worked up.

But Anima died right at the start, when we didn't know what it was, or why we should care about Serah.

The cutscenes build on the relationship between her and the various characters, but she doesn't show up again until the end sequence (for about 5 seconds!)

Fight's right that the relationships aren't that great. There is only one proper relationship (snow and Serah), two possible burdgeoning romances (Hope/Vanille and Lightning/Fang), but the game skirts about developing them, when it should have gone for the throat.


On a side note, the Mass Effect example isn't fair, by the way. You always have some explanation of Saren's intentions (even if they are wrong at first).

Anderson's explanation at the start has you thinking that Saren is simply doing this because he hates Humanity (and many of the characters you meet, reference the First Contact War to show that he isn't the only one who feels that way, on both sides of the conflict - Ashley and Pressly for example.)

When you get Tali's evidence, you find out what Saren's really trying to do, you just don't understand why he would do it, when it means galactic extinction. Virmire clears that up, through Saren's explanations and discovering about Sovereign's Indoctrination.

You know, Game Informer said the exact same thing, that the relationships just didn't pay off. Then, Rob linked me an article from somewhere the other day that said they were the best thing about the story, as I've said.

People see it from both sides, not unlike everything else in this world *shrug*

I would up cut scenes to YouTube but seeing as how they took down two parts of the Ending, I kind of can't, I might be on the radar for people to watch... I guess... I don't know how they work. They let some pass and some don't.

[...] two possible burdgeoning romances (Hope/Vanille and Lightning/Fang), but the game skirts about developing them, when it should have gone for the throat.


Burgeoning romances between those characters? I didn't see anything of the sort. I saw a brother-sister type of friendship with Vanille and Hope, and nothing more than a common relationship between Lightning and Fang.

People seems to like to stretch things to fandorkness fiction proportion when in reality, there's just nothing to it all. The fact that they didn't show any kind of romantic closure between those characters in the end is proof enough of that. It's all in your head, wishful thinking. �_�





...Lightning and Fang. ...Seriously.

We have a thread for that ;)

Because you didn't see it, it's definately not there, no? (And I'm not turning this into a relationships thread, nor do I want to - the issue of relationships came up naturally).

Look, I'm not some crackpot, okay? It's not like I've been making threads, insisting this MUST be the case. I just saw the potential for romance in the two stated cases, but that they were not developed and thought it was a shame, as well as a wasted opportunity.

I would have liked to see more movement on these (either relationship based, or just as friends). Because as it stands, the characters (all of them) don't interact that much, other to discuss plot related points (how often do Vanille and Sazh speak after they join up with the main party - hardly at all).

But I hardly think that I'm without a leg to stand on, in suggesting them. Neither deserve the 'roll of the eyes' treatment that the Zack/Cloud, Seifer/Quistis, Cliff/Albel nuts are asking for.

The Hope/Vanille one has a 'secret' cutscene assigned to it, and Hope registers dismay at their fate at the end. Now, that doesn't mean he definately has any feelings of that sort for Vabille, but why not? Is there some reason it would be a bad thing?

The Lightning/Fang one is also entirely possible. It could also not be the case, my point being that people haven't been massively captivated by the characters and their interactions as it stands.

And yes, some people are just reaching when they proclaim 'X definately loves Y', because JRPGs often leave the door open on these things, because they know their fans love to speculate about such things.

I'm under no illusions that there is hard evidence to support any definite conclusion (for or against). I wasn't expecting to receive such a 'How dare you!' response to such an innocent comment, or I would have made that more clear.

I do think you can view it that way though (or I wouldn't have said it!)

Lightning and Fang are both 'Action Moms' (of Hope and Vanille, respectively), both were warriors for their respective factions, neither have partners, both show no interest at all in guys. Fang is particularly hostile to the light come ons of Snow and whatever that pilot guy who kills Cid's name is...

So I don't see why it can't be on the cards. Their meeting in Palumpolum is intentionally suggestive with Fang being very liberal with where she puts her hands (and it even includes the time honoured slap to the face - and no, that doesn't mean the writers definately intend a romance or anything, but they do know how to press the fan's buttons).

I certainly think it's a hell of a lot more likely than the supposedly undeniable romance between Fang and Vanille that such fans continually bang on about. That seems more motherly, if a little misunderstood by the others at first.

I'm just saying that was my interpretation of the characters, as I was playing. In my opinion, it would have made the game more engaging and given people something to talk about, get involved in etc.

You wouldn't need to change any scenes, just add more in the latter stages that built on the earlier ones.

There are different gradations of reaching, in these matters. Some are truly absurb, no argument there, having no basis at all (i.e between characters who never even meet etc), but others just pick up on cues the writers throw out there, because they know fans expect it.

Both the cases I mention have reasons why they can happen, along with the suggestion that it might be the case. And in a lot of JRPGs, that's all you get. Even major romances that the games actually confirm, often feel a little out of the blue or forced. Fans have gotten so used to filling in the blanks, they now just fill the whole page in.

I'm no fool, and I'm not some romance zealot, either. Your insistance that there definately isn't anything to these possible relationships is no less hysterical a reaction than you're claiming I've had.

But I wasn't clear about it, so it's as much my fault, I accept.

Anyway, as you were. Like I said, I didn't intend for this to be a big deal. I spoke without thinking.

Because you didn't see it, it's definately not there, no? (And I'm not turning this into a relationships thread, nor do I want to - the issue of relationships came up naturally).

Look, I'm not some crackpot, okay? It's not like I've been making threads, insisting this MUST be the case. I just saw the potential for romance in the two stated cases, but that they were not developed and thought it was a shame, as well as a wasted opportunity.

I would have liked to see more movement on these (either relationship based, or just as friends). Because as it stands, the characters (all of them) don't interact that much, other to discuss plot related points (how often do Vanille and Sazh speak after they join up with the main party - hardly at all).

But I hardly think that I'm without a leg to stand on, in suggesting them. Neither deserve the 'roll of the eyes' treatment that the Zack/Cloud, Seifer/Quistis, Cliff/Albel nuts are asking for.

The Hope/Vanille one has a 'secret' cutscene assigned to it, and Hope registers dismay at their fate at the end. Now, that doesn't mean he definately has any feelings of that sort for Vabille, but why not? Is there some reason it would be a bad thing?

The Lightning/Fang one is also entirely possible. It could also not be the case, my point being that people haven't been massively captivated by the characters and their interactions as it stands.

And yes, some people are just reaching when they proclaim 'X definately loves Y', because JRPGs often leave the door open on these things, because they know their fans love to speculate about such things.

I'm under no illusions that there is hard evidence to support any definite conclusion (for or against). I wasn't expecting to receive such a 'How dare you!' response to such an innocent comment, or I would have made that more clear.

I do think you can view it that way though (or I wouldn't have said it!)

Lightning and Fang are both 'Action Moms' (of Hope and Vanille, respectively), both were warriors for their respective factions, neither have partners, both show no interest at all in guys. Fang is particularly hostile to the light come ons of Snow and whatever that pilot guy who kills Cid's name is...

So I don't see why it can't be on the cards. Their meeting in Palumpolum is intentionally suggestive with Fang being very liberal with where she puts her hands (and it even includes the time honoured slap to the face - and no, that doesn't mean the writers definately intend a romance or anything, but they do know how to press the fan's buttons).

I certainly think it's a hell of a lot more likely than the supposedly undeniable romance between Fang and Vanille that such fans continually bang on about. That seems more motherly, if a little misunderstood by the others at first.

I'm just saying that was my interpretation of the characters, as I was playing. In my opinion, it would have made the game more engaging and given people something to talk about, get involved in etc.

You wouldn't need to change any scenes, just add more in the latter stages that built on the earlier ones.

There are different gradations of reaching, in these matters. Some are truly absurb, no argument there, having no basis at all (i.e between characters who never even meet etc), but others just pick up on cues the writers throw out there, because they know fans expect it.

Both the cases I mention have reasons why they can happen, along with the suggestion that it might be the case. And in a lot of JRPGs, that's all you get. Even major romances that the games actually confirm, often feel a little out of the blue or forced. Fans have gotten so used to filling in the blanks, they now just fill the whole page in.

I'm no fool, and I'm not some romance zealot, either. Your insistance that there definately isn't anything to these possible relationships is no less hysterical a reaction than you're claiming I've had.

But I wasn't clear about it, so it's as much my fault, I accept.

Anyway, as you were. Like I said, I didn't intend for this to be a big deal. I spoke without thinking.

Woa; chill pill, my brothah. Chill pill.

I don't know, man, I really didn't see any (potential) romance between those people either.

I think it's perfectly safe to assume Square probably had some sort of romantic intentions for those two female characters. Games are becoming more and more liberal every day; I wouldn't be surprised if we see blatant nudity in the next installment. Way back when, you wouldn't even hear so much as the word 'damn' on television. Nowadays, you hear everything but 'fuck'. Games are no different.

I don't know what all that had to do with anything, but hey, I just drank some Monster energy at 3:58AM; your argument is invalid.

I thought I was pretty even handed in my response. I bain't be a-lookin' fer trouble, Squire.

I'm not saying people have to agree with what I'm saying. If you didn't get that impression from the characters, then so be it. My point was that the scenes I mentioned, at least can be interpreted that way, unlike many (in)famous pairings in RPGs of all kinds.

And like I said, they weren't developed one way or the other in FF13. It did the usual in opening the door and leaving it at that, like so many before it.

One thing I would point out is this, though:

Take a JRPG (from Final Fantasy 7 onwards, to keep it simple for now). Take a party member (any party member) and ask the following questions:

1) Does the character have any close friends (of either gender), who you can be reasonably sure they are just friends with (actual friends, with familiar, relaxed, trusting conversation etc, rather than simply party-mates)?

2) Are they or the friend in a confirmed relationship with someone, or have they expressed a desire to be in one with someone/being courted by someone?


The chances of the answers to these questions being Yes to (1 and No to (2 for both the character and the friend are REMARKABLY small. It is almost unheard of for characters to have close friends, unless one or both are either in love with each other, or with someone else.

Unattached characters do not have friends in JRPGs. They barely exist at all, unless they are creatures like Red XIII or really, really young or old characters (and there are no other characters of similar age).

The implication is that fans cannot and will not view RPG characters as friends without hard evidence that there is nothing going on. So on the rare occasions that characters have actual friends, they have to be seen to be in a relationship, or pursuing a relationship with someone, to give that evidence.

It's silly, but that's how they do things. Look over the various JRPGs available.


In this game, Snow has Serah, Sazh was married and seems much older than the others (and the game continually flags up the age difference to try to head off Sazh/Vanille at the pass).

Hope and Vanille are of similar ages, begin the game together (just as Fang's first levels are with Lightning), They also get the secret cutscene, which deals with this.

The game doesn't allow Fang/Snow to get any foothold, by only giving them short cutscenes and no levels together, despite the time they spend together. Fang is also hostile to Snow and barely speaks to him, after the party's merge.

Lightning/Snow is kept off the radar as much as they can (they don't start the game together, are never in a level together on their own, and a team comprising Lightning and Snow will miss at least 1 of the careers (neither have Saboteur or Synegist, and no character has both, so if you want to use them in the same party form Chapter 9 onwards, you will be without one of these valuable classes).

Ch. 9 Spoiler
When battling through the Sanctum mothership, you have Fang, Hope, Lightning and Snow. Snow is healed and ready to go... but you're not allowed to use him, despite the ship having several large sections and there being no obvious story reason why not.

Despite Lightning and Snow both having a connection to Hope, the game doesn't call attention to this when they are together, and never at the same time.

Chapter 10 and 11 spoilers
Fang and Lightning also battle 2 of the Eidolons together (Bahamut and Alexander). The first time they fight with Fang's 'kid' Vanille, the second time with Lightning's kid Hope. (This is despite the fact that Fang is a highly unusual choice for the Alexander fight, with Snow being a much more obvious choice, storywise).

Chapter 11 spoiler
When you arrive on Pulse, who gets ripped out of the airship together? Hope and Vanille. Who jumps out to save them? Fang and Lightning. The game is really playing up their closeness and simiarity of circumstances at this point.

Snow and Sazh meanwhile are kept to 'strictly business' talk about saving Serah and dealing with the brands etc in their dealings with the others.

Again, this is just my interpretation of the game and what it was doing, how it was manipulating the characters in the story and game. It's how I understood it, but I'm not forcing it on anyone. I'm just saying it made sense to me.

The guy who wrote this game, wrote FF X-2 and that's one of the campest games ever made, so I don't think you could say such a relationship was out of the question.

But everyone comes to their own conclusions. If you don't agree, fair enough.

Ch. 9 Spoiler
When battling through the Sanctum mothership, you have Fang, Hope, Lightning and Snow. Snow is healed and ready to go... but you're not allowed to use him, despite the ship having several large sections and there being no obvious story reason why not.

That really pissed me off. Not even in terms of shipping or anything. It just drove me up the wall. Like they were teasing me. First he's gone forever and a day, then I had to endure that.

well i'm not so good in reviewing/commenting any game, but as far as i have played through ffxiii, i dare say that i will play it again...

it's the same as i listen to each of Therion album...

ffxiii is great, unique, evolving and fresh in its own way...

Regarding Brecht, it was an obscure reference about how the game alienates it's players (at least that's how I felt)

Now the premise of the story itself is very good. It's a relevant look at modern day fears over terrorism. However, the execution is not good. If exploration, towns and npc's are not practical in such a story then they should not have done that story. Nobody said "YOU HAVE TO DO THIS!!!" if important aspects need to be sacrificed for the story to make sense then an alternative storyline seems like the logical choice. Even saying that though the story is very basic, with maybe 1 or 2 subplots and virtually no depth. I'm going back to FFIX but so much happens in that game that it completely immerses you.

Parallels to terrorism. Even I didn't have that register for more than a fleeting second. And, I'm American XD

Feels more about being outcasts, like the X-Men films by miles and miles, to me. In addition to the whole finding one's purpose thing.

They don't play fair with the difficulty of the decision.

It should be utterly terrifying, that if they don't fulfill their focus, they will turn into mindless creatures in perpetual agony. But they're so matter of fact about it, as to be ridiculous.

Only Hope actually has a scene where he admits how scared he is (on Pulse). But it could have done with some visual aids (nightmares etc), because otherwise it just looks emo, even though you know he's the only one having a realistic response to their situation.

The decision on whether to destory Cocoon also seems a bit too much of an academic question. The fate of becoming a Cieth would impact of course, but I'd like to think that I'd have a real problem blowing up the place where all my friends etc are.

None of the characters from Coccoon seem to factor in that they'd be murdering people they know. But then of course, like all RPG parties, they don't seem to have any friends at all (except Snow, but he doesn't intend to destroy Cocoon anyway).

You just never feel the danger that they are in. It's easy to completely forget about the brands and what they mean, until the characters bring them up.

I was interested in the idea that the Fal'Cie seem to think of themselves as slaves of a sort. They no longer respect humans because of their wars etc, but are still charged with looking after them.

They can't abandon their roles, can't commit suicide, have to resist L'Cie if they attack them (i.e Dysley can't just throw the fight and let you kill him, because his divine duty doesn't let him).

There's lots of good stuff in FF13's story - it just takes so much effort to get to it, because the story is so fragmented and isn't told in order.

Some characters do get short changed too. Sazh is great in the first half of the game (he's been almost universally acknowledged as the Ensemble Darkhorse), but his story essentially ends when Ji'hil Nabaat dies, very prematurely.

Snow too, as Neg said spends aaaaages off-screen in the early chapters, comes back only to be quickly taken out again through injury, and then rendered unusuable in the attack on Dysley's flagship, for no apparent reason at all!

And for a hero, he doesn't half spend a lot of time flying through the air as he's been laid out by Lightning, Fang, or pretty much any of the enemies.

They even nick his hand grenades...

I still think that FF13 was sufficiently good to stop the 'Determined to hate it' squad in their tracks. It's not a great return to tip top form for the series, but I think most have had to accept that even if its not their cup of tea, it's not nearly as awful as the early reports made out.

And Harkus, are you crazy?! Talk about FF9 in those glowing terms, and Topopz will be here in no time with a broadsword, to kill us all!

And I'm going to claim I had nothing to do with it... Oh hi there Top...URRRK!

It's true. The brands are red and have (closed) eyes for AGES. It does take some of the intensity out of it.

There was a reason of course:

Chapter 10-13 Spoilers
Dysley controls who turns into Cie'th and crystals (even who comes back from said states [e.g., Raines] and he was still using the party all the way til the end. He wouldn't turn them into Cie'th. Even when it appears that they are in the finale, it's just him fucking with them, especially Fang

Parallels to terrorism. Even I didn't have that register for more than a fleeting second. And, I'm American XD

Feels more about being outcasts, like the X-Men films by miles and miles, to me. In addition to the whole finding one's purpose thing.

I saw the parallels to terrorism from the reaction of the civilians to the l'cie. Very similar to reactions to terrorists. Over-protective governments and bigoted society and the like.

Yeah, I know it's there. Just didn't stick around in my conception of the game for long.

Might have to do with me being a pinko leftist commie fag of an American. I only play a Republican on the internet~

Yeah, I know it's there. Just didn't stick around in my conception of the game for long.

Might have to do with me being a pinko leftist commie fag of an American. I only play a Republican on the internet~

You should give yourself a break; beliefs are beliefs.

The whole terrorism theme in FFXIII is very nice. For me, the game definitely has opinions on terrorism; it works politically kind of like how Avatar has strong opinions about on the environment. But I was playing FFXIII mainly for the storyline as opposed to gameplay.

It's just that storytelling outside of books, requires strong visual aids (the old motto that its better to show people things, rather than tell them about them).

Resident Evil 4 for example, would occcsionally see Leon having nightmares about turning into a Las Plagas, we'd see the virus coursing through his body, see it start to change before he fought it off.

Just gives us a proper sense of the urgency involved. In FF13, it seems too much like 'sci-fi story naval gazing philosophy', when it should be feeling like a life or death, soul searching decision.


The terrorism angle is decent enough, although the resolution (as in most JRPGs) is pretty unlikely.

Epilogue Spoiler
The fact is that even after the Fal'Cie are gone, many people likely wouldn't believe they were behind it all.

The Fal'Cie protected them, gave them food and keep everything running, so they didn't have to bother with it themselves. The death of the Fal'Cie following a Pulse attack, and

Chapter 11-13 Spoilers
the complete breakdown of any kind of government (Dysley and Cid are dead, Eden and the Fal'Cie are gone etc)...

Surely it would be chaos? Most people wouldn't want the Fal'Cie gone, and if they find out what Lightning and the others did, they'd probably be less than impressed.

Who is going to back up their story? The only people who could have verified it, who the people would listen to as a credible figure, are dead (Cid, Rosch, Dysley etc).

Chapter 12 Spoiler
The Grand Prix attack showed all of Cocoon, that Snow and the others were L'Cie. Wouldn't this attack just be seen as a devastating act of terrorism by Pulse L'Cie?

Chapter 11 Spoiler
And Pulse has archives scattered about that tell of glorious days to come when Pulse will finally destroy Cocoon. Hardly a welcome mat for the people of Cocoon, is it?

I just find it a bit odd when games say 'And they lived happily ever after' in these circumstances.

In FF8 for example, would Trabia and Balamb really forgive and forget what Galbadia did to them (for example, they bombed a school and slaughtered the kids studying there, and laid seige to another with soldiers and monsters)?

Would the survivors of Cleyra and Burmecia, Lindblum etc care that Brahne was being (sort of) controlled by Kuja? Or will they just remember armed Alexandrian troops, slaughtering their citizens and destroying their lands?