Besaid Island

Serpent Trench

Besaid Island

The Serpent Trench

Besaid Island

Serpent Trench

Wow, what a battle! Haven't seen quite that good a battle in a while, here. Let's get the results...

Serpent Trench - 5
Besaid Island - 9


So Besaid Island wins by four votes, but what a turnout! Let's see if we can keep the good times rolling with the second-to-last battle in the first round from the Wild Card Category...


The Royal City of Alexandria - Final Fantasy IX (The town where everything kicks off. Following the events on the theater ship, which is stationed here, you take control of Vivi, a black mage who has ended up in the town. He wants to see the play "I Want to be Your Canary," but his ticket is a fake and reads "I Want to be Your Crow." He ends up sneaking into the performance with the help of a roguish prince named Puck. Alexandria is ruled by Queen Brahne, who seems to have gone off her rocker and is one ugly creature to boot-- though boy is her princess daughter a sight. Alexandria is the home of a number of the game's major events. You later return and end up busting Garnet/Dagger out and then following the events at the end of Disc 2, the entire party returns for her coronation, only for things to really go off-kilter thanks to Kuja, Bahamut and the Invincible. Much of Alexandria is left in ruins and Garnet/Dagger goes completely mute.)

vs.

The Royal City of Rabanastre - Final Fantasy XII (The town at the focus of much of the events of Final Fantasy XII. Once independent, the king has been deposed, Ashe supposedly dead and Rabanastre is now under the rule of the Empire of Archadia. Although an insurgency has formed, things aren't looking to good for Rabanastre at the start of the game. Nevertheless, it's still quite a town. Laid out into a number of areas, it has exits to the south, east, north and west as well as a teeming Bazaar area, a royal palace and a number of shops, not to mention a large underground slum area where many have been forced to take refuge. It's also the home of Clan Centurio. Following the game's initial events, you can also take advantage of the moogling for easy transport in this town. You spend quite a bit of time here at the opening of the game and you'll generally want to return throughout for various sidequests.)


So... it's a battle of royal cities. But which will take the crown in this battle? Cast your votes!

The Royal City of Alexandria - Final Fantasy IX

Royal City of Alexandria

Royal City of Rabanastre, please.

Alexandria, please!

Alexandria. Rabanastre just doesn't quite seem to have the same charm, despite the best efforts of the awesome Moogling team and the various quirky locals you find there. But the city of Alexandria (and the music, especially on Disc 3 which makes me get nostalgic goosepimples) is just classic FF design.

Rabanastre

Royal City of Alexandria, without a doubt.

Rabanastre? *Shudders*

Alexandria

Alexandria - 6
Rabanastre - 2


So Rabanastre only manages to scrape a couple votes and it's Alexandria to the second round fairly easily. Kinda surprising, as Rabanastre won the locations rumble for XII, but I guess it just didn't have what it took against Alexandria. Next up, the final battle from the category of High Society / Techno Marvels...


Vector - Final Fantasy VI (The seat of the Empire. The party needs Setzer's help in the form of an airship to get here. The airship crashes, but they made it to the continent, so you hoof it to Vector. Here, you sneak into the Magitek facility where Kefka is "researching" the espers. Later on, you return here and have the banquet with the emperor in the palace. You can also check up on Kefka, who is stewing in a jail cell, and spend some time trying to convince the soldiers that peace is desirable.)

vs.

The Dark City Treno - Final Fantasy IX (This city seems to exist in a state of perpetual night. Even the world map goes dark when you travel here. You first visit Treno as Dagger/Steiner. This is the home of Tot, or Toot or Ted.. bah, whatever his name is, and you get the Supersoft from him here. There are various shady characters here. The card game is popular here and you participate in a card tournament here on Disc 3. There's also an auction house here where you can acquire some useful items. Kuja is seen hanging out there, as he makes for Alexandria and his little canary...)

Treno

Treno. Don't know anything about Vector. googled it, saw a generic throne room of red and brown, and some construction goin' on outside resembling empirical ambissions similar to Escaflowne's Dorn Kirk and some of Breath of Fire..3.

But Treno rocks because I don't have a job and don't live with family which puts theiving on the top of 'greatest spiritual profit' list, and very dependent on night..

Treno

Treno

Treno

Treno

The Dark City Treno

Tough one, but I'm a slightly bigger fan of Vector, 'cause pretty big completely industrial capital. <3

Treno ftw

Treno

The Dark City Treno - Final Fantasy IX

All right, looks like we've got something of a walkover here. Let's get this ended...

Vector - 1
Treno - 10


And with that, Final Fantasy VI is completed eliminated from this edition of the rumble. We move on to the final battle of the first round. It's from the Wild Card category...

Forest of the Ancients - Final Fantasy VII (A.K.A. "The Sleeping Forest." This forest lies just past bone village and can only be awakened by the power of the Lunar Harp. If you try progress past it without the Lunar Harp, you just become disoriented and there's no way forward. The Typhoon Materia awaits in this forest. Cloud first talks with Aeris/th in this forest in a sort of dream sequence following the events at the Temple of the Ancients and thus directs the party to head there.)

vs.

Ultimecia's Castle - Final Fantasy VIII (Upon entering the castle, various powers of your characters are sealed, such as GF, Magic and Revive. You have to fight bosses placed throughout the castle to get them back. Your party is also split into two groups, with switch points placed in-between, so it's sort of a puzzle thing, and of the puzzles are based on weight. If at any time you leave the castle, you get your powers back, but any that you haven't yet earned back are resealed upon reentering the castle. The various bosses in the castle are also your chance to earn GFs you may have missed before. But if you're looking for a challenge, it's actually possible to proceed straight to Ultimecia without fighting a single one of these bosses. Oh, and this castle is also the residence of the extremely tough Omega Weapon monster.)

Ultimecia's Castle

Forest Of The Ancients

Ultimecia's Castle

Ultimecia's Castle, such an awesome stronghold, simply put.

Forest of the Ancients

Having not played VIII yet (I really need to ebay it), Ill have to be biased and lean towards

The Forest Of The Ancients

Forest of the Ancients.

Because I distinctly remember I had to use a guide to find the bosses to get my desired abilities back in Ultimecia's Castle, which annoyed me significantly.

Ultimecia's Castle 100% not even a contest.

Ultimecia's Castle

Ultimecia's Castle

Looks like a very good battle. Nice to see the votes picking up. Let's tabulate the results...

Forest of the Ancients - 4
Ultimecia's Castle - 6


Pretty close, but those last few votes for Ultimecia's Castle really sealed the deal. But it looks like Ultimecia Castle's has an uphill battle if it's going to survive past the next couple rounds or so. Speaking of new rounds, time to get started on the next one. Standby for the choices for the second round, and here we go...


Beachfront Bliss / Water Wonders

Costa del Sol - Final Fantasy VII
Dollet - Final Fantasy VIII
Besaid Island - Final Fantasy X and X-2
Phon Coast - Final Fantasy XII


Ancient Wonders


Madain Sari - Final Fantasy IX
The Ruins of Zanarkand - Final Fantasy X and X-2
Giruvegan - Final Fantasy XII
Terra / Bran Bal - Final Fantasy IX


High Society / Techno Marvels


Midgar - Final Fantasy VII
Esthar - Final Fantasy VIII
Lindblum - Final Fantasy IX
Treno - Final Fantasy IX

Wild Card Category


Wutai - Final Fantasy VII
Ultimecia's Castle - Final Fantasy VIII
Alexandria - Final Fantasy IX
Calm Lands - Final Fantasy X and X-2


We'll keep the categories for this round, but after this one, they're going to drop away and they'll be all mixed together from there. Remember, the above list is just for reference as we start out this new round, but if anyone's inclined to, you can check the current results in the first post of the thread.


Let's start on the first battle, from Beachfront Bliss / Water Wonders...


Dollet - Final Fantasy VIII (Xu: "Our client for this mission is the Dollet Dukedom Parliament. A request for SeeD was made 18 hours ago. Dollet has been under attack by the G-Army since about 72 hours ago. ... ... ... ... ... We're to make a landing at Lapin Beach. We're to eliminate the remaining G-Army within the city and liberate it A.S.A.P. Afterwards, SeeD members will intercept any G-Army forces trying to make their way into the city from the mountain region." Seifer: "So, what are WE supposed to do?" Xu: "SeeD candidates are to eliminate the G-Army inside the city." Zell: "Sounds important!" Seifer: "Sounds boring. So what you're saying is, we do all the dirty work...")

vs.

Phon Coast - Final Fantasy XII (Balthier: "It would seem we made the right choice. If we’d taken the easy way and come by airship…one of those patrols would no doubt have been quick to roll out the red carpet. We’re on the Empire’s doorstep now, so we shouldn’t have to worry quite so much… but that’s no excuse to get sloppy. It is still a long road to the capital.")



Phon Coast, the runner-up in the FFXII Locations Rumble, managed to survive to this round, whereas Rabanastre, the winner of the XII Locations Rumble didn't. Still, Dollet could be formidable competition. Cast your votes!

Phon Coast I stick by phon coast because of the view and music make the location a fun one. All around a better location than Dollet imo

Dollet

Phon Coast

Phon Coast

I haven't played VIII
and I didn't have the willpower to grind myself through a game which I found unenjoyable (XII)

So I'll go for Dollet
:)

Dollet. Liked the SeeD mission you do there, and let's face it music aside the Phon Coast is pretty crap.

Phon Coast

Dollet

How can you guys vote for Phon Coast!? Dollet - Final Fantasy VIII is one of the greatest parts of ANY Final Fantasy.

Dollet - 5
Phon Coast - 4


Close battle, but it's Dollet by one. Purrr, you'll be pleased to know that your vote was the one that tipped it over. And so the Phon Coast may have gotten second place in the XII Locations Rumble, but it won't be making it past the second round here. Dollet in the quarter-finals.


Next up, from Ancient Wonders...


Madain Sari - Final Fantasy IX (Zidane: "Wow, this stew tastes amazing! You should start a restaurant. The fish is just right. Hey, Eiko, where are all the other summoners? Are they hiding underground or something?" Eiko: "Underground? Yeah. They're all underground, sleeping the eternal sleep." Zidane: "What...?" Eiko: "I'm the last survivor of my tribe. I've been living with moogles ever since my grandpa died last year." Dagger: "I'm sorry..." Eiko: "Oh, don't worry about me. I'm really happy here.")

vs.

The Ruins of Zanarkand - Final Fantasy X and X-2 (Tidus: (narrating) "A city dead for a thousand years. A city I had to see with my own eyes. The end of Yuna's journey. The last chapter in my story. My thoughts, they kept floating up, and then slipping through my fingers. Slipping away before I could pin them down with words." Rikku: "Yuna, I say no! If we go down there, then you'll..." Yuna: "Rikku. You're a true friend, and I thank you, but... I must go...down, to Zanarkand.")

The Ruins of Zanarkand Madian Sari was nice but not as breath taking as walking through Zanarkand the first time in FFX

The Ruins of Zanarkand.
Amazing.

The Ruins Of Zanarkand

The Ruins of Zanarkand, easily

Zanarkand Ruins

Zanarkand Ruins, no contest.

Madain Sari :p

Madain Sari may have had some cool storyline and ATEs attached to it, but for overall significance I think Zanarkand Ruins deserves to win this one.

This isn't a pure blowout, but it's so lopsided that I'm going to go ahead and end it now...

Madain Sari - 1
The Ruins of Zanarkand - 7


Let's continue on. From High Society / Techno Marvels...


Esthar - Final Fantasy VIII (Nida: "Have you decided on a destination?" Squall: "Esthar." Nida: "Oh man... Xenophobic Esthar. That area's terrain is not really suited for flying the Garden." Squall: "Anyway, set a course for Esthar.")

vs.

Treno - Final Fantasy IX (Marcus: "...Let's steal the Supersoft and get this over with." Steiner: "Steal!? How dare you! Do you think I'd let you commit a crime before my very eyes!?" Marcus: "How else would we get the Supersoft?" Steiner: "Quiet! I will not allow such disgraceful behavior!" Marcus: "I never asked you to come along. Quit complaining." Steiner: "Don't you talk back to me! First of all--" Marcus: "...Uh-oh." Steiner: "Do not interrupt me while I'm talking!" Marcus: "Look behind you." Steiner: "What!? Princess, I urge you not to...!!! P-Princess!? No... Not again... Never have I dealt with such hardship in my 18 years of service. This is all because of you and your scoundrel friends...! ... ... Gone... An Alexandrian knight must not let such a frivolous matter get to him! I must find the princess!")

Esthar

Ah, for once, a hard choice.

Esthar. Bring it on.

Esthar is more epic, but I think in the overall scheme, Treno wins.

Treno

Esthar

Esthar

T.R.E.N.O
dno y i did tht

Treno

Esthar

Treno - Final Fantasy IX

A good battle. Let's check the final results...

Esthar - 5
Treno - 5


Ooh wow. A very good battle indeed. It seems we have a tie situation. And in any round other than the first, we look to the results of the previous round or rounds to determine the tie-breaker. So let's see what the results were from last time...


Esthar - 5/10 - 50%
Treno - 10/11 - 91%


Having only just scraped by on a tie last time, there's no way Esthar wins the tie here. Treno easily on to the second round on the tie-breaker.


Next, from the ever-interesting Wild-Card Category...

Wutai - Final Fantasy VII (Yuffie: "...I've been hearing that ever since I was little. Before I was born, Wutai was a lot more crowded and more important... You saw what it looks like now, right? ...JUST a resort town... After we lost the war, we got peace, but with that, we lost something else. Now look at Wutai... That's why... if I had lots of materia I could..." Cloud: "Listen, Yuffie. I don't care about the history of Wutai or your feelings. You've got our materia and I want it back... now. If you give it back now, we'll drop the whole thing.")

vs.

Calm Lands - Final Fantasy X and X-2 (Maechen: "Mm-hm. As you know, these plains were once a battlefield. A great battle between Bevelle and Zanarkand, a melee of machina! That war left this place a barren, lifeless land. Then, time passed. The summoners took note of this uninhabited land. Great battles could be fought here, with no harm to the common folk. Perfect for the final battle with Sin, as it were. Summoners wait here, ready to perform the Final Summoning. Ah, to know what they must feel! In any case, when Sin is defeated here, the Calm will visit Spira once more. That's why this place is now known as the Calm Lands. Exactly who dubbed it so is unknown. And that, as they say, is that. ... ... Oh dear, I almost forgot to tell you something. There's a chasm, a great rend in the earth, in these parts. A scar from High Summoner Gandof's bitter battle with Sin, four hundred years past.")

Wutai

Wutai

I hate how Wutai always wins everything but between those two... it's no competition.

Wutai

Wutai

Wutai - Final Fantasy VII

That's 6-0, that's enough...

Wutai - 6
Calm Lands - <font color="red">0</font>


Seems it's the ol' goose egg for the Calm Lands-- didn't expect that one. Love me some Wutai,though, so I'm pleased with the result.

Our next battle will be from the Ancient Wonders category...


Giruvegan - Final Fantasy XII (Cid: "Ashelia B�nargin Dalmasca! Just how far will you go for power? Does your lust for Nethicite consume you?" Ashe: <em>(gasps)</em> Cid: "Am I right? I am, aren�t I. A worthy daughter of the Dynast-King! You would do well to go to Giruvegan. Who knows? You may receive a new Stone for your trouble." Ashe: "Your words mean nothing to me!" Cid: The reins of History back in the hands of Man. I too make for Giruvegan. Give chase, if you dare it!" Balthier: "Hate it when he does that.")

vs.

Terra / Bran Bal - Final Fantasy IX (Zidane: "Oh, so that's what's going on... Geez, I should've guessed... So, that is what you wanted to show me?" Girl: "Yes. I am glad you understand." Zidane: "I don't wanna understand! Sorry, but I'm not like that. I mean all these guys with tails, who look just like me... They're a bunch of zombies." Girl: "They are my peers. We are Genomes. We live in this village." Zidane: "Genomes? Is that what they're called?" Girl: "Not just them, but you and me, too. It is the name of the seed given to all of us. Its name is Genome." Zidane: "Talk about a let-down. Who would've guessed that the home I've yearned for would be a dump like this. No wonder I never found it. It's not even on Gaia!")

Giruvegan not even a contest.

Hmm...Bran Bal has a few nice scenes, but this time I will indeed go with the epic choice, Giruvegan.

Okay, I'm not sure if everyone's having trouble because of the server issues, or people are just holidaying, or maybe people having problems because of the snow like there is where I am, but two votes? I can't end a battle based just on that. I'm giving this another day.

Terra / Bran Bal

I had my internet die for 2 days then when I got the net back then the site was down :-(

Okay, I'm not sure if everyone's having trouble because of the server issues, or people are just holidaying, or maybe people having problems because of the snow like there is where I am, but two votes? I can't end a battle based just on that. I'm giving this another day.

Server issues for me. Where are you? I'm also getting a lot of snow.

Terra/Bran Bal

Yeah, the DNS is down for me right now, so I think that I'm going to go ahead and extend this again by at least another day and see where things go as far as things being stabilized...

Oh, and I'm in Dayton, Ohio.

Giruvegan. I could have sworn I posted this a few days back...

I've already delayed ending this by two days and now we're in a tie situation. Because of the weirdness with the server though, I don't feel comfortable using the normal tie-breaker. So I think instead, let's put it on sudden death. Next vote determines the winner. If there's no additional vote by tomorrow evening, it reverts to the normal tie-breaker.

Giruvegan.

Giruvegan it is, then.

Let's see if we can get some momentum going again Next battle, from High Society / Techno Marvels...


Midgar - Final Fantasy VII (Barret: "Look... you can see the surface now. This city don't have no day or night. If that plate weren't there... we could see the sky." Cloud: "A floating city... Pretty unsettling scenery." Barret: "Huh? Never expect to hear that outta someone like you. ...you jes' full of surprises. The upper world... a city on a plate... It's 'cuz of that &^#$# 'pizza', that people underneath are sufferin'! And the city below is full of polluted air. On topa that, the Reactor keeps drainin' up all the energy.")

vs.

Lindblum - Final Fantasy IX ( "The room was terrible. Also, that thing crying 'Kupo-Kupo' kept me up all night. Throw him out ASAP, or I'm never coming back." - Lani ... ... "I've already been here a few times, and I like this inn. The location is good, because it's right in front of the air cab station, and it's nice having a moogle around. I just wish it were cheaper." - Zidane)

Lindblum

Midgar

Midgar

Lindblum

Midgar

Lindblum

Midgar, I only wish more of the game was set here.

Midgar - 4
Lindblum - 4

Mrm, another tie. I think we've have sufficient voting, though, and no server problems that I know of, so it's back to the normal tie-breaker and we look to the results of the previous round to determine which of these two advances.

Midgar - 3/6 = 50%
Lindblum - 4/7 = 57%


It seems that Midgar was in a tie last round as well, but that's not going to be enough this time. A very close one, but Lindblum takes the tie-breaker.


Our second-to-last battle in round 2 now, from the Wild Card category...


Ultimecia's Castle - Final Fantasy VIII (Squall: "Good. We all made it." Zell: "...Whoa...! So this is her castle?" Selphie: "Finally." Irvine: "I've never seen anything so creepy. You think what's-her-face really lives here?" Rinoa: "We've come this far. She's gotta be here." Quistis: "So this is the future...This is where Ultimecia reigns..." Squall: "I don't know what's going on. But since we're still here, I think we still have some time to finish our job.")

vs.

Alexandria - Final Fantasy IX (Vivi: "Tell me about Alexandria!" Ticketmaster: "The Kingdom of Alexandria is a fine country, ruled by Queen Brahne. Did you know Queen Brahne has a beautiful daughter, Princess Garnet? Unfortunately, I've heard strange things about Queen Brahne recently. Today is Princess Garnet's sixteenth birthday, you know! Her Highness is a beautiful princess, and everyone in Alexandria loves her! Why, she's the most beautiful princess in the history of Alexandria!")

Alexandria

Ultimecia's Castle

Ultimecia's Castle

Ultimecia's Castle. It's a shame to see Midgar out!

Alexandria

Ultimecia's Castle. And I'm glad Lindblum beats Midgar~

Ultimecia's Castle by MILES.

As for Midgar, I'm actually sick of seeing it win every rumble so I would have voted against it if I didn't miss it.

Ultimecia's Castle

Alexandria because Ultimecia's Castle pissed me off more than gave me enjoyment...

Ultimecia's Castle - 7
Alexandria - 3


Not a bad battle, but Ultimecia's Castle wins by several votes. Kinda surprising, I didn't think it was that popular. Looks like it could be a strong contender for the next round. Speaking of which, we're getting very close to it. Just one battle left in Round 2. From the Beachfront Bliss / Water Wonders category...

Costa del Sol - Final Fantasy VII (Aeris/th: "Oh! Cloud!!" Tifa: "Look, look at that!" Cloud: "Hm...? That girl in the bikini......? Not a bad view...." Tifa: "What're you looking at? That man over there. That's Hojo from Shinra. Get outta here. Go talk to him!")

vs.

Besaid Island - Final Fantasy X and X-2 (Yuna: <em>This must be how a runaway feels after finally coming home. This is the first time I've returned to Besaid since my journey began.</em> "I'm a little nervous." Rikku: "I bet, the way you took off without a word." Wakka: Yeah, you said it. You caused quite a fuss, young lady." Yuna: "I'm sorry.")

Besaid Island.

Besaid Island

costa del sol. the rest of you are trippin' balls. besaid island was done way better as part of the paradise island in kingdom hearts. the X-2 version was better, because of the arcade shooter(i didn't play long enough to figure out how to advance in the temple part of that side-game though) other than that besaid is b-o-r-i-n-g. just a lil' village speck in the world of machina and spira and zanarkand ruins and the beginning of X when you wake up with Tidus in some ruin and a cave and fire..that and IX were the only two to start like that..Zidane and the Tantalus airship and Zidane lighting a candle..and i'm done but

what is that^^^^^^? <--referring to some post seen in other threads..probably already addressed..some rant/rap including links from "wow ____" and "momiso..momuso.."

Besaid Island

Besaid Island

Costa Del Sol!

Costa Del Sol

Costa del Sol easily.

Besaid Island

Time to close out this battle and start up a new round...

Costa del Sol - 4
Besaid Island - 5


Close one! Thought it was going to be a tie for a second, but Costa del Sol just didn't have the momentum. Besaid Island is the last to make it into the quarter-finals, while Costa del Sol goes on its sunny way.


Here's what's left for the quarter-finals:

Dollet - Final Fantasy VIII
Besaid Island - Final Fantasy X and X-2
The Ruins of Zanarkand - Final Fantasy X and X-2
Giruvegan - Final Fantasy XII
Lindblum - Final Fantasy IX
Treno - Final Fantasy IX
Wutai - Final Fantasy VII
Ultimecia's Castle - Final Fantasy VIII


The categories have dropped away, so they're no longer a factor in the pairing for battles. And remember, the above list is just for reference as we start this new round-- you can check the updated details in the first post of the thread if by some chance you're inclined to.

First battle of the quarter-finals:

The Ruins of Zanarkand - Final Fantasy X and X-2 (Isaaru: "I guide people through Zanarkand, once the most sacred of places. People come from all over Spira. Sphere hunters, too." Yuna: "Oh." Rikku: "Ugh! What the heck is Pop thinking?" Isaaru: "I can see this is upsetting you. But this is a place of great historical importance for all of Spira." Yuna: "I know. But, still... I never wanted anyone else to stand there." Isaaru: "Yuna?" Yuna: "Nothing. Forget it.")

vs.

Ultimecia's Castle - Final Fantasy VIII (Odine: "Past, present, and future will all get mixed together. You will keep moving through ze time compression toward ze future. Once you're out of ze time compression, zat will be Ultimecia's world. It's all up to you after zat.")


P.S.:


what is that^^^^^^? <--referring to some post seen in other threads..probably already addressed..some rant/rap including links from "wow ____" and "momiso..momuso.."
That's spam-bots that show up from time-to-time. If you see any, please just ignore it in the thread and, if nobody has already, post a report about in the thread for reporting spam and advertising over in the support section.

Ruins of Zanarkand

The Ruins of Zanarkand

This is almost too close to call for me, but Ultimecia's Castle

Sticking to Ultimecia's Castle ~

Ruins of Zanarkand. The fending off of Sin by the shore looked too fake as far as the people/npc animation, but zanarkand wasn't that bad 'cause it was just yourself and yunalesca.

Ultimecia's castle was great but the rooms seemed like they wouldn't blend if the creators weren't careful enough.

Zanarkand Ruins

Ruins of Zanarkand

The Ruins Of Zanarkand

Oh definitely Ultimecia's Castle

The Ruins of Zanarkand

The Ruins of Zanarkand - 7
Ultimecia's Castle - 4


A decent battle, but The Ruins of Zanarkand (Zanarkand Ruins) definitely come out on top here.

Next battle...


Dollet - Final Fantasy VIII (Old Man: "Hmmm...I wonder if he's feeling sorry? Hey!! I told you I'd send you to tickling hell if I catch you being bad!" Boy: "But...But...Grandpa, you're always painting. I'm bored! You never play with me! But you play with girls! Why?" Old Man: "T-T-That's because you're always doing bad things! Now you've done it. You're going straight to tickling hell!" Boy: "Wahhhhh!...Ha ha ha ha...Hahahahahahahaha!" Old Man: "Perhaps...I should have played with him more often... But...I'm too old for sports...Poker...? Hmm....." Boy: "I couldn't fight off the 'cuchi-cuchi-coo' to my ribs...So I'm through with my pranks now. But...I was able to voice my opinion! I feel much better about myself. I think I've grown up a little."



vs.

Treno - Final Fantasy IX (Zidane: "Hey, Amarant, have you been here before?" Amarant: "...What about you?" Zidane: "Me? I've been to every place where there are beautiful women!" Amarant: "......")

Treno

Treno

Dollet. Their satellite is the shiznat, though all the areas in every town and game just seem blockish or storyboarded if you just picture it but when you play they don't.

Treno

Treno

Dollet for the secret factor.

Dollet

Dollet

Dollet - 5
Treno - 4


Very close, but it looks like Dollet wins this one by just one vote. Right, two battles left in the quarter-finals now. Next up...


Giruvegan - Final Fantasy XII (Penelo: "Um� Does anyone know what happened to Doctor Cid? Wasn't he saying he'd be here?" Basch: "He should've arrived by now." Balthier: "And i should've realized by now. He's not coming. He laid out the bait, and we bit. Remember what he said? He wanted Ashe to get the stone. He wanted that all along. That's why he flaunted his Nethicite, and reeled us in with stories about Giruvegan. All to bring Ashe to the Occuria." Penelo: "But wait�if we got a hold of the Nethicite, wouldn't that be bad for the Empire?" Balthier: "Maybe he wants to see what happens when foes with Nethicite collide? That'd be just like Doctor Cid.")

vs.

Wutai - Final Fantasy VII (Godo: "Yuffie...!" Yuffie: "You too, dad...! Just because you lost the war! And turning Wutai into a place like this!" Chekhov: "...What do you want to say?" Yuffie: "You turned Wutai into a cheesy resort town peddling to tourists... How dare you!? Da-chao Statue and Leviathan are ashamed!!" Godo: "..." Shake: "She IS a kid." Yuffie: "Wh, what did you say...!?" Godo: "Yuffie!! Forgive me... It's all my fault...")

Wutai

Giruvegan.

It'll probably lose, but as annoying as the crystal was, it is pretty hard to beat. As in, hard for anything to beat it. Even Wutai.

(this is of course considering this INCLUDES the crystal and not just the old city)

EDIT: Never mind about it'll probably lose, haha

I'll go for Giruvegan too. Yuffie's sidequest aside, Wutai really wasn't that interesting.

Giruvegan, proved more of a challenge (bloody waystones).

Giruvegan

Giruvegan

Giruvegan. It's like China vs diamond mines/market/sales/if-it-were-an-energy-source-then-its-own-country...

Wutai

Giruvegan

Giruvegan - 7
Wutai - 3


Yeah, so much for Giruvegan probably losing, eh? Wutai had some support, but it looks like Giruvegan was definitely the one people were mostly going for there. It earns a spot in the semi-finals, while Wutai is out.


Final battle of the quarter-finals!

Besaid Island - Final Fantasy X and X-2 (Jecht: "Smallest heap of huts I ever seen!" Braska: "Now, that looks like a fine place to live. Hmm... Auron." Auron: "My lord?" Braska: "When this is over... could you bring Yuna here? I want her to lead a life far away from this conflict." Auron: "You have my word. I will bring her here." Braska: "Thank you, Auron. You are a good friend." Jecht: "What are you guys doin'? Let's go! I'm so hungry I could eat a shoopuf whole!" Braska: "Sorry. Well, let's go then.")

vs.

Lindblum - Final Fantasy IX (Steiner: "I'm lost again... Where is the princess? The town is big, the castle is big, why does everything have to be so big!? Pardon me. Can you tell me where I am?" Grandpa: "What, you're lost? Gee... You're a soldier, for cryin' out loud. This is the bridge that connects the castle and the airship docks. That big building in front of us houses the docks." Steiner: "Wh-What is that large airship!?" Grandpa: "Amazing, isn't it? It's the Hilda Garde 2. Since it is equipped with a steam engine, developed by the regent himself, it can fly without Mist." Steiner: "Impossible. How can it fly without being powered by Mist?" Grandpa: "What cave did you just crawl out of!? This is the age of steam power! The source of steam power is water. It's much safer than Mist. Heh-heh-heh! A bright future awaits us all!")

Lindblum domination

Lindblum

Lindblum obvious choice for me

Besaid

Besaid Island as it includes the X-2 version and represents true paradise if you're willing to deal with the sacrifice Sin/natural disasters exact upon happiness. Lindblum is too negative like any city unless you're one of the prospering social urchins on a ten-year high or noble with a salary you don't know what to do with anymore..

Besaid Island

Besaid Island

Lindblum

Lindblum

Besaid Island - 4
Lindblum - 5


Looked for a while like Lindlbum was going to run away with it, then Besaid took the lead, but those last two votes there sealed it for Lindblum!


That does it for the Quarter-Finals! Let's move straight into the Semi-Finals. Here are the four remaining contenders:

Dollet - Final Fantasy VIII
The Ruins of Zanarkand - Final Fantasy X and X-2
Giruvegan - Final Fantasy XII
Lindblum - Final Fantasy IX


And, as always, you can check the updated results in the first post of the thread, but for now, let's get started:


Dollet - Final Fantasy VIII (Galbadian Soldier: "Hey you...Authorized personnel only! Don't you know this place is off-limits!?" Squall: "Yeah...and we're gonna take you on." Galbadian Soldier: "OH, REALLY! Bring it on! Bring out RoboVite 001 ... ... W-What!? Aah...Well...Bring out the next one... Bring out RoboSharp 002! ... ... U...Ugh...Why are our men so incompetent...!? IDIOTS!!! We'll get you! J-Just kidding! Forget you even saw us!!!")

vs.

The Ruins of Zanarkand - Final Fantasy X and X-2 (Yuna: "The Final Summoning. It's the only way to defeat Sin. The only way. With it we can call the Final Aeon. That's the goal of the pilgrimage. The Fayth of the Final Summoning lies waiting in the far north, to greet summoners that complete their pilgrimage. At the world's edge... in Zanarkand." Tidus: "In Zanarkand?" Yuna: <em>(stammers and looks down)</em> Auron: "She means the ruins of a city destroyed a thousand years ago." Tidus: "You sure it's ruins?" Yuna: "That's what I've heard." Auron: "You'll see it for yourself soon enough.")

Mm... super hard choice for me.

I'll vote for Dollet since it'll probably lose.

Ruins of Zanarkand

The Ruins of Zanarkand

The Ruins of Zanarkand

Dollet - Final Fantasy VIII

I am going to have to remain loyal to The Ruins of Zanarkand.

The Ruins Of Zanarkand for me.

So great to finally be back! All right, it looks like we have a fairly decent battle going here, and with the outage and all, I'm going to give a couple more days on this to make sure everyone's had a full shot to vote and everything's sorted out.

Dollet. Just because I went to church today so I'm sick of religion and how slow it makes your mind work. Otherwise the phrases associated with each location and the instance before the start of Tidus's last game before Sin tidal waves the stadium and all of Luca/Besaid, when three kids wish him luck and then get autographs at some point, are equally chock full of fantastical wishful thinking

-----wishing to be registered at Balamb and imagining intensley that the shot of Squall in the dormitory was real, at least that was my experience

but both descriptions of each location in this rumble were great fantasies..of mine.....read part about evil mountain lady from Angels Command: Castaways of the Flying Dutchman, spanish people have powerful imaginations that can kill themselves if they're not careful or they let someone else intimidate them..

edit: Maguda Razan

Ruins of Zanarkand

Zanarkand Ruins

I'll go for Dollet. Can't remember if I voted for it before, or Zanarkand Ruins for that matter, since it's been a while, but the "Landing in Dollet" portion of FFVIII has always been one of my favourites from the series, so I'll give it some support here.

All right, finally time to end the first battle of the semi-finals. Here's the results:

Dollet - 5
The Ruins of Zanarkand - 7


So Dollet does lose, as predicted in the first vote of the battle, but it was really quite close. And now, our second semi-final battle:

Giruvegan - Final Fantasy XII (Penelo: "I can't shake the feeling we're somewhere we're not meant to be." Vaan: "Yeah, it's exciting." Penelo: "Exciting?" Basch: "You are not troubled by the unknown? Who can say what lies ahead? We may encounter the very creators of Nethicite." Vaan: "Yeah, I don't know what we'll find. I like it better that way." Basch: "You're sounding more the sky pirate every day.")

vs.

Lindblum - Final Fantasy IX ( Steiner: "She's not here, either... Where could she be...?" Baku: "Yo!" Steiner: "!!!? Oh, it's only you. Why are you all gathered here? Are you scheming another abduction or something?" Blank: "Hey, watch your mouth." Cinna: "We were just discussing ways to restore this district." Zenero: "Yeah." Marcus: "Old timer, you've got us all wrong." Benero: "Yeah." Baku: "We're just tryin' to rebuild our home. That's all. What are you doin' here? From the looks on your face, it seems like you got problems. What's troublin' you? Maybe we can help.")

Lindblum

Lindblum - Final Fantasy IX

Giruvegan

Giruvegan has had a nice run, but Lindblum gets my vote.

Giruvegan.

Tyin' it up with Giruvegan, assuming it includes the crystal.

Lindblum kinda pissed me off with some of the potential it had for good sidequests, seemed a little weak and boring. Same with a lot of places in IX.

Also, better music++

Lindblum

Lindblum

Lindblum <3

Lindblum

Voting for this edition already ended before the big loss of posts and Lindblum already won. I'm planning to start the new edition this evening...

Time to kick things off again. The new edition is subvillains. I'm talking about basically, characters within the games that are considered "villainous" types, but aren't considered the game's main "baddie." This is gonna be a somewhat short rumble, in part because of the qualification I've placed on it-- I'm not including any characters that are bad or villainous-seeming at first, but later are helpful to your party. So that means no Beatrix, Edea, etc.


Emperor Gestahl - Final Fantasy VI
Rufus Shinra - Final Fantasy VII
Scarlet - Final Fantasy VII
Hojo - Final Fantasy VIII
Biggs and Wedge - Final Fantasy VIII
President Vinzer Deling - Final Fantasy VIII
Queen Brahne - Final Fantasy IX
Garland - Final Fantasy IX
Grand Maester Mika - Final Fantasy X
Trema - Final Fantasy X-2
Cidolfus Demen Bunansa - Final Fantasy XII
Ba’Gamnan - Final Fantasy XII
Emperor Gramis Gana Solidor - Final Fantasy XII
Nomination Spot 1
Nomination Spot 2
Nomination Spot 3
Nomination Spot 4


As always, the above list is for reference only as we get started. You can find the updated results on the first page. If anyone has any ideas for nominations, please post them, as that list wasn't easy to come up with.


First battle:

Queen Brahne - Final Fantasy IX (The adoptive mother of playable character Princess Garnet til Alexandros / Dagger. Easily one of the ugliest characters in a Final Fantasy game and everyone says so. Under the manipulation of Kuja, she launches a war that sends the Mist Continent reeling.)

vs.

Cidolfus Demen Bunansa - Final Fantasy XII (The father of this game's Balthier. He's a top scientist in the Empire's main research laboratory, but also likes to manipulate things toward his own ends. He made Balthier a Judge, but Balthier wasn't impressed by the lure of power, and escaped his father, who kept ranting about some "Eynah, or was it Venat"? Cid tries to lure Ashe with the power of nethicite and baits the entire party into traveling to Giruvegan.)

Cidolfus Demen Bunansa - Final Fantasy XII

Queen Brahne - Final Fantasy IX

Cidolfus Demen Bunansa - FF XII

Cidolfus.

edit: I'd love to nominate Ultros - Final Fantasy VI :D

Cidolfus Demen Bunansa.

Nominate Seifer from FFVIII and The Turks from FFVII, if they can be counted. Also, is Gramis Solidor really a villain? Thinking about it, he tries to help Larsa, who later helps you. And it is really only Vayne who the antagonist from that family. Gramis is more of a neutral character who primarily exists just to make Vayne look more evil when later plot events unfold.

Queen Brahne is one of my favorites.

Queen Brahne - Final Fantasy IX

Doctor Cid, the first Cid villain.

Cidolfus Demen Bunansa

Dr. Cid.

Also Hojo is from VII not VIII.

As for nominations, Raijin and Fujin (as one) and Yunalesca.

And Mika is a baddie? I wouldn't say that...

Cidolfus Demen Bunansa

Queen Brahne.

I maintain my previous comment:


FFXII Rumble: so everyone likes the fat jew with really long white gloves and high-boots indicating his infantile homosexuality..?

Elephant Lady as Kuja once said

btw Raijin and Fujin are not so clearly villainous either...

I would like to nominate Dycedarg and Gafgarion but that is not an option, i guess ...or maybe?
Agent0042, how about doing a little revolution to this thread and invite Final Fantasy Tactics ( not FFTA, FFTA2 or anything related with FF in it's name, but just original FFT )? I don't know if this was ever discussed here or not and I don't know how others feel about this, but it would give a bit of fresh air to the competition. Heh hope I won't get impaled for suggesting that ;P

edit: I'd love to nominate Ultros - Final Fantasy VI
All right, Ultros is on the table.


Nominate Seifer from FFVIII and The Turks from FFVII, if they can be counted. Also, is Gramis Solidor really a villain? Thinking about it, he tries to help Larsa, who later helps you. And it is really only Vayne who the antagonist from that family. Gramis is more of a neutral character who primarily exists just to make Vayne look more evil when later plot events unfold.
Sure thing-- can't believe I didn't think of Seifer. And The Turks as a group, all right. Point on Gramis taken-- I'll remove him.



Also Hojo is from VII not VIII.

As for nominations, Raijin and Fujin (as one) and Yunalesca.

And Mika is a baddie? I wouldn't say that...
Those are all good nominations. Have to argue on Mika, though-- he does sentence your party to death and is the head of the corrupt Yevon. As far as I'm concerned, he's a baddie. Anyone else have any thoughts on that, though?


I would like to nominate Dycedarg and Gafgarion but that is not an option, i guess ...or maybe?
Agent0042, how about doing a little revolution to this thread and invite Final Fantasy Tactics ( not FFTA, FFTA2 or anything related with FF in it's name, but just original FFT )? I don't know if this was ever discussed here or not and I don't know how others feel about this, but it would give a bit of fresh air to the competition. Heh hope I won't get impaled for suggesting that ;P
Hey, anything Final Fantasy is open game. Final Fantasy: Unlimited too, if anyone wanted. But is anyone else really interested in including Tactics or anything else like that? If you have any thoughts on it, post them with your votes in this next battle...



All right, let's get the results on this first battle:

Queen Brahne - 5
Cidolfus Demen Bunansa - 8


Dr. Cid takes it by 3. I think I'll keep the voting at three days for now. Next up...



Emperor Gestahl - Final Fantasy VI (The head of the Empire in Final Fantasy VI. He's been directing experiments into Magitek and his armies have conquered various towns and villages. He pretends to be on your side for a while, but he was really just stringing you along. Is dramatically offed by Kefka in the climactic events at the end of the World of Balance.)

vs.

President Vinzer Deling - Final Fantasy VIII (Claims to be president of Galbadia, but is really more of a dictator. Not even popular in Deling City. He doesn't allow any freedom of the press and works to squash anyone who would rebel against him. Squall and his party aid the Timber Owls in a plot to capture him, but they end up capturing a body double. The real Deling ends up being murdered by Edea, controlled by Ultimecia.)

Emperor Gestahl

Emperor Gestahl

Emperor Gestahl

Emperor Gestahl

Emperor Gestahl yess

Emperor Gestahl

All right, 6-0 is a blowout. Let's keep this train rolling!

Emperor Gestahl - 6
President Vinzer Deling - <font color="red">0</font>


Next up...

Scarlet - Final Fantasy VII (Really annoying woman who came to Corel way back when to convince everyone that Mako was the way to go. You see her in Gongaga, declaring that you only get junky materia from junky reactors and that she wants some huge materia. On Disc 2, she stages an execution, trapping Tifa in a gas chamber. When Tifa escapes, the two end up in an all out slapfight. Later, she appears to menace the party with her proud creation, the Proud Clod. As with many Final Fantasy VII characters, she has her own special laugh-- her's is "kya ha ha!")

vs.

Ba�Gamnan - Final Fantasy XII - Final Fantasy XII (A Bangaa sent after Balthier when your party is in the dungeons. Later on, he and his gang kidnap Penelo and he threatens to pluck out her tongue. You can either run from him or give him a whipping. Either way, you have your chance at him later when he and his gang become the subject of a Hunt.)


Remember, nominations are still open for at least another battle or two. If I don't hear anything else about nominations, I'm just going to work with what's been posted so far. And Zak, Maester Mika isn't out unless you don't buy my argument regarding that issue, in which case, you're welcome to weigh in on the matter.

Scarlet - Final Fantasy VII only for the bitch slap fight with Tifa on top of the Sister Ray.

Ba'Gamnan

...only for the bitch slap fight with Tifa on top of the Sister Ray.

spoken like a common thug..i mean..Are you daft?!?! Ba'Gamnan.

Ba'Gamnan

Ba'Gamnan, if only for his voice and the hunt.

Close, but Ba'Gamnan.

And I beat him in the Lhusu Mines!

Would have wanted to see Scarlet in AC... she's still alive at the end of the game isn't she? Killing the Clod didn't kill them and that's the last we see of them and the closest we get to a boss fight with them.

Ba'Gamnan

Scarlet

Scarlet

Scarlet. ~

Scarlet - 4
Ba'Gamnan - 6


Scarlet pulled in kinda close toward the end there, but Ba'Gamnan takes it by two.


Oh, and this is it for nominations-- if nobody has any further thoughts on that, I start mixing them in starting with the next battle. Next, we have:

Rufus Shinra - Final Fantasy VII (Once his father, President Shinra, is killed by Sephiroth, he ends up becoming the new president of Shinra. He does things differently than his old man-- whereas President Shinra felt that people could be controlled by money, Rufus thinks that's a waste of time and prefers to control them by fear. He throws an elaborate welcoming parade for himself in Junon and continues to be a key figure throughout the game until the big WEAPON attack that sends a missile right into his office. Turns out he survived that attack, though, and ended up living under protection of the Turks.)

vs.

Garland - Final Fantasy IX (Man who created the genomes and who has been trying to restore the planet of Terra. Has a "sinister name" and lives in a "haunted mansion." He sent both Zidane and Kuja to Gaia to disrupt the cycle of souls. He ends up being killed off by Kuja, only to offer his words from beyond the grave, telling Kuja that there's a limit to his life and he'll be dead soon.)

Rufus Shinra - Final Fantasy VII

Rufus Shinra

Rufus Shinra

Garland. Rufus w/geostigma is nasty in AC.

Garland.

Rufus Shinra

Garland

Garland. Still one of my favourite FF characters, really.

Rufus

Garland

Rufus Shinra

Rufus Shinra

Rufus Shinra - 7
Garland - 4


Our next battle is:

Hojo - Final Fantasy VII (A mad scientist type who worked for Shinra Inc. He did many experiments involving Jenova, Red XIII, etc. Sephiroth has a very low regard for him in comparison with Professor Gast. But Hojo actually turns out to be Sephiroth's father. He tries to send energy to Sephiroth in the Northern Crater, but your party puts an end to him, after a boss fight involving three different forms.)

vs.

Seifer - Final Fantasy VIII (Archrival of Squall-- he feels that he always has to be doing something BIG. His romantic dream--to become the sorceress's knight. He ended up in Balamb Garden along with Squall, but his temperament has made him unfit to be a member of SeeD. He dated Rinoa for a while, though it was never too serious. He's tight with Fujin and Raijin and together they form the Disciplinary Committee, which was reprised in Kingdom Hearts II. He ends up serving Sorceress Ultimecia, but takes things too far by kidnapping Rinoa, leading even Fujin and Raijin to abandon him, because they don't know just what's up with him anymore.)

This is a really tough call but I'm going to go with the Sorceress's Knight Seifer - Final Fantasy VIII

Seifer.

Hojo - Final Fantasy VII

Seifer

Oh, tough one... I'm going to go with Seifer.

Hojo

Hojo

Hojo

Hojo

seifer

Hojo!

Hojo - 6
Seifer - 5


Looks like Seifer started off strong, but it's Hojo that wins this one by one.

Our next battle is...

Grand Maester Mika - Final Fantasy X (Some question whether he's a villain, so let's look at the evidence. He is the unsent head of the corrupt Yevon. He refuses to condemn Seymour's actions, allowing him to walk around unsent. He condemns Yuna and your party to death, then later has the nerve to try to rely on your party to fix Spira's mess-- then disappears, rotten son of a shoopuf. Oh, and he appears in Final Fantasy X-2's Via Infinito dungeon, turning into the fiend Concherer.)

vs.

The Turks - Final Fantasy VII (An outfit of Shinra assigned to kidnapping and other such activities. Their membership includes Rude, Reno, Tseng and later Elena. All of them except Tseng can be fought at various times throughout VII. The relationship between Cloud and the Turks ends up becoming quite complicated. They actually briefly ally in Wutai when both Yutai and Elena are captured by the lecherous Don Corneo. During the return to Sector 7, if all previous battles have been fought against them, the player is actually given the choice of whether or not to fight them.)

Aww man, Seifer's already out :(


The Turks

Grand Maester Mika.

The Turks

The Turks

The Turks