Line #36 Fridge/FinalFantasyXIII2


1	'''As a Fridge subpage, all spoilers are unmarked [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff as per policy.]] Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.'''
2
3	----
4	!FridgeBrilliance
5	* Caius wants to create a timeless world. In another word, he plans to achieve [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII Time Compression]].
6	* It should be impossible that Hope was able to create a fal'Cie. Hope building an AI and a new Cocoon can be accepted because they were explicitly stated to be built off of human technology, and the new Cocoon's design and means of staying afloat would be different from the old Cocoon, but fal'Cie are supposed to be creations of the gods that no human can ever replicate. The brilliance comes in the fact that Hope actually ''didn't'' create the Proto fal'Cie; Adam because it caused its own existence by traveling back in time and programming Hope's AI to create itself!
7	** Also, it's mentioned in Fragments that Hope used parts of the dead Sanctum fal'Cie in the creation of the Proto fal'Cie. In other words, he's not creating a fal'Cie, he's Frankenstein-ing one.
8	* The ending actually has quite a few {{Hope Spot}}s. For one thing, we see Lightning has been crystallized. For another, we ''know'' Fang and Vanille have been crystallized. However, only Gods and Fal'Cie can cause something to crystallize so they can use their l'Cie at a later time. So, haha Caius, Etro might be dead, but she ain't DeaderThanDead.
9	* The Pacos Amethyst and Rubrite boss fight are a lot like the [[VideoGame/{{Nier}} Devola and Popola]] boss fight. A twin boss fight with sad music, Being the first in a line of Final Dungeon Boss fights, Knowing the bosses are only trying to stop you from dooming humanity, They [[TearJerker grieve over the death of the other]] and the game pretty much forces you to fight them to continue into the story no matter how much you don't want to.
10	** Heck just compare 'Father' Nier with Caius and you can see a resemblance. They both want to save the little girl even if it's at the cost of humanity.
11	** Gets even better when you notice that Yeul's theme is extremely similar to Yonah's theme from ''Nier''.
12	* Fans may rage over the "Crazy Chocobo" theme, but when you think about it, it actually makes a lot of sense: it plays when you ride the Rambunctious Chocobos that have been created from corruption by the Paradox. Seeing as a Paradox is something that 'doesn't fit' in a particular timeline, it follows that the theme 'doesn't fit' when compared with the other Chocobo themes in the series. It's an anomaly: something that 'shouldn't be', but is. Hence the GenreBusting.
13	** Also the lyrics: "so you think you can ride this chocobo?!" and other examples hint at the Rambunctious Chocobos' nature to consume a lot of your collected greens and to also boot you off if you don't have anymore, which makes riding them a bit of a last resort for more careful players.
14	* Possible FridgeBrilliance. In the mythology, it says that Bhunivelze (the god, not the New Coccon) will sleep until the end of time. Well, at the ending... Caius managed to win, releasing Chaos and essentially turning all existence into Valhalla, where time does not exist. SequelHook, or BreakingTheFourthWall tease of upcoming DLC?
15	* I'm not sure if this is FridgeBrilliance or FridgeHorror (or even if it deserves a spoiler tag). But I thought of something kind of heartbreaking after seeing this exchange between the Farron sisters,
16	--> '''Serah:''' "Hey Lightning, we'll be able to be together again, right? When this is all over?"\
17	'''Lightning:''' "One thing at a time, Serah."
18	** Lightning took a second to answer, likely because, since she's spent most of her time during the game in Valhalla, where one can see the whole time line, she's quite possibly already seen Serah die as a result of everything she and Noel have done to correct the time line. She's still looking out for her younger sister, or maybe she just can't bring herself to say it out loud.
19	** Actually, that's probably not why she said that. Remember that in the DLC, she was completely shocked at Serah's death when fighting Caius. If she had seen Serah's death before hand, she wouldn't be as surprised, because from her reaction, you can tell she did not see that coming. Not to mention, directly after seeing that, she is consumed by Chaos, fights Caius again, see's Serah's spirit, and immediately crystallizes herself. There was no time frame for her to go see Serah and Noel after she saw Serah die. She obviously went to talk to Serah and Noel in New Bodhum 700 AF, before she fought Caius in the DLC.
20	** Also during that cutscene: during Lightning's transformation sequence, if you look closely, you can see a tear run down her face. I think she realized at that moment that the life she knew is over, and that she can never go back.
21	* The instant Etro died, Chaos should have infected the entire timeline, because she was unable to hold the door closed, but it didn't... it waited until shortly after Serah died. Why? Simple: while Etro reinforced the door and kept Chaos at bay, the door itself was firm. However, when Serah died, the door had to open just the slightest crack to let her spirit in... and at that exact moment, Chaos forced the door open.
22	** It could also be because Serah had the last ounce of Etro's presence within her. Once she had the vision and promptly died, Etro's presence faded, leading to the failure to sustain the gate.
23	* The final Cinematic Action: choose to either kill Caius or show mercy, [[ButThouMust but the result is the exact same either way.]] However, when you think about it, this is a statement about Noel's conviction that he won't kill Caius. If the player chooses mercy, he does... but if 'kill' is chosen (or you don't choose), ''Noel defies YOU, the player, and shows mercy anyway''.
24	** Alternately, one could argue that because Caius forces Noel's blade into his heart, Noel both shows mercy ''and'' kills him - which means that whichever option you choose, it happens regardless.
25	* Noel's relationship with Serah. They are too close for fans who prefer the Snow/Serah ship that has been pushed as canon since the first game. But when you think about it beyond the simple binary of "he wanted to protect her/he fell in love with her", you realize that Noel comes from a time where only ''three'' human beings are left. One promptly abandons him, the other dies at a young age, leaving Noel to wander the earth until his last breath, which is when Etro intervenes and summons him to Valhalla. Add in his self-imposed shame of failing to adhere to the expectations thrust upon him (succeed Caius in his duty to protect Yeul) and you have a young man desperately seeking human connection and sustaining it, given a chance at the life he had always dreamed of living before [[YankTheDogsChain it all gets ripped away from him just as soon as he gets it]].
26	** There is also the fact that it ''is'' possible for humans to be close to people they aren't romantically/sexually interested in, even in a world where people are aplenty, and there's nothing unrealistic about Noel's closeness in the slightest.
27	* Unlike Snow, Noel never disappears even as you secure the best future for humanity, such as ensuing the completion of Bhunivelze; that's because you don't actually succeed.
28	** The success or lack thereof has nothing to do with it. The Graviton Core fragments reveal that Snow's time-travelling is largely involuntary; he's just [[BigDamnHeroes showing up where the paradoxes happen]], and gone as soon as he's done. In contrast, Noel is working alongside Serah at Lightning (and Etro's) behest, so they need to use the gates to change time periods.
29	* Either Fridge Brilliance or Logic, After Caius stabs Serah the in void beyond, she wakes up in New Bodhum, everything seems fine, except if you listen to the music it's the Game Over music from Final Fantasy 13 indicating something isn't right.
30	* A subtle one: in ''XIII'', the party's magic casting animation always involved reaching for their l'Cie brands before the first cast of a string (Lightning, Sazh, Vanille), or casting through the arm the brand is on (Hope, Snow, Fang), always with an empty hand. This even happens in the first cutscene where they have magic (notice Snow landing his first Froststrike with his left hand), indicating it's an involuntary part of being branded. Pay attention to Serah's casting animation, and you'll notice it's different depending on which form her bowsword is in; sword form (primarily holding with her right hand) has her casting through her left hand right away, while bow form (primarily holding with her left hand) has her reaching for her left shoulder (where her brand was in ''XIII''), indicating the l'Cie [[DamnYouMuscleMemory casting reflex]] is still taking effect. In contrast, Noel casts with his left hand without letting go of his short sword; since he's never been branded as a l'Cie, he doesn't have that reflex.
31
32	!FridgeHorror
33	* Notice there are no Adamantoise, Adamanchelids, or Adamantortoises? No? That because you drove them into extinction in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', you MONSTER!
34	** Not completely though; in certain weather, you can find one Adamantortoise guarding the entrance to the area where you fought the flan-eating monster with the distortion inside. It's more of a nod to FFXIII than a common enemy, though.
35	** Also, there are still [[BossInMooksClothing Long Gui's]] who are members of the -oise family.
36	*** Yes but what I mean is Long Gui '''Replaced''' them and if you do the missions in Final Fantasy XIII in number order you just wiped out the last of the weaker Adamantoises by killing the Adamanchelid in mission 33 and the Adamantortoise in mission 63.
37	*** Titan must have thought they weren't worthy of surviving, so the Long Gui did replace them, as is his job as a biogenitor. And apparently according to the Cie'th stones, this has been planned for awhile... well, he IS a fal'Cie.
38	* In Academia 400AF, when Adam starts turning citizens to Cieth left right and center, some of the Ghouls in the first areas will begin the battle by using a Remedy on themselves. They are trying to cure themselves of the transformation.
39	* The soundtrack of any game or movie can give much of what will happen away, but that's if you can guess the context behind the song, that is, if you listen to it before experiencing the story. This troper listened to the full OST before playing the game and at first thought it a weird twist to put Caius' theme at the very beginning of the Ending Credits, compared to the previous game doing otherwise. Cut to the actual ending, and now you realize that Caius' theme came at the beginning of the ensemble because, in the end, he wins. What better theme to tack onto the beginning to the ending credits in light of what just happened? It's enough of a thought to turn a beautiful character theme into a very chilling piece of music.
40	* [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse Whatever happened to all the]] [[{{Mons}} allying monsters]] during the ending when Serah died?
41	** Since ''MOG'' (and roughly the entire world) died shortly after Serah did, I'm pretty sure the monsters didn't last long either...
42	*** Except Mog didn't die, he can still be heard as the chaos appears to change Pulse.
43	* We know from Academia tower 200 AF that seeresses often see a vision before they die. When the Yeul in 200 AF gets the vision that kills her, she sees a timeline where everyone is happy and smiling. When ''Serah'' gets the vision that kills her in 500 AF, we see a look of horror on her face before she bites the dust. She saw just how badly she fucked up time, and [[{{YouCantFightFate}} there was nothing she could do about it.]]
44	* In beginning of the game Sarah leaves her friends (N.O.R.A.) in New Bodhum and since they don't travel through time they will never see Sarah ever again.

Context Fridge / FinalFantasyXIII2