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Main Story
- The Renan Armored Soldiers are described as extremely tough and skilled, their strength augmented by their armor. Many see them as impossible to beat. Zephyr though is able to take them on by himself with only his fists and hold his own.
- When Alphen sees Shionne collapsed on top of the train after barely evading her Renan captors, and the Crimson Crows fighting over her, it only takes him a few moments to see the Renan soldiers advancing on this apparently defenseless woman before he decides to do something about it. Namely getting the train moving, then picking up a broken bar to fight off three soldiers at once to keep her safe, and even once deprived of that much, he's nimble enough to avoid all their attacks until Zephyr arrives. Given that he'd previously expressed dissatisfaction and frustration at the way the Renan soldiers so one-sidedly oppressed all his fellow slaves, this shows that all it took was the right motivation for Alphen to take up the fight for others to be free.
- After Shionne is struck in the chest by an arrow, fire erupts from that spot, but Alphen doesn't even pause in getting close to her. He tries to remove the arrow by force, yet in doing so accidentally unearths the Blazing Sword from her Master Core... with the Renan soldiers quickly advancing on them, Alphen doesn't hesitate. With a single swing of this weapon, he unleashes a veritable maelstrom of fire that engulfs the entire canyon they're in, outright incinerating most of the soldiers and terrifying the stragglers into retreating. Zephyr is left in awe of what he just witnessed.
- It happened offscreen, but the fact Shionne stole a Master Core on her own. It's never explained how she managed it, but the fact that she even did it and then got away long enough for the Crimson Crows to learn about her (and far enough for a train to be necessary to transport her back) is impressive, especially when you consider how powerful a Lord is when in possession of their Master Core.
- Alphen absorbing the Fire Astral Energy that manifested during the fight with Balseph into the Blazing Sword, and firing it into the Gates of Fire in a massive Wave-Motion Gun, completely destroying it and permanently opening Calugia to the other realms. His Mask also (partially) breaks during this and he finally remembers his name.
- Thanks to working for the Snake Eyes and by extension, Lord Ganabelt, Law becomes directly responsible for his father, Zephyr, being captured, tortured, and almost publicly executed. After Law witnesses Ganabelt literally stabbing Zephyr in the back and eventually killing him, Law gets his chance for vengeance when he joins the party and fights Ganabelt at the top floor of Rivile Prison Tower. While it's already epic enough that his Boost Arte lets him punch through Ganabelt's shields over the course of the fight and punch him directly, the climax has Law uppercutting Ganabelt straight to the face, the game slows down to show us a look at Ganabelt's shocked expression and his physically reeling from the force of blow, then it speeds back up as Ganabelt flies up into and destroys the Light Spirit Vessel, killing Ganabelt and bringing the light back over Cyslodia for the first time in 300 years.
- When Shionne meets Dohalim she wastes no time in attacking him. Dohalim though effortlessly disarms her and warns her against anymore unprovoked attacks.
- Later at dinner, he disarms her again verbally while explaining his refusal to engage in the same actions as the other Lords.Dohalim: Let the ambitious fight out amongst themselves. All I care for is maintaining peace throughout my realm.
Shionne: So what? Your personal desires are all that matter to you?
Dohalim: Take a look into the mirror. I may not play their game, but you have outright betrayed your own. You've torn down two of my fellow lords. What precisely is your aim?
- Later at dinner, he disarms her again verbally while explaining his refusal to engage in the same actions as the other Lords.
- For a guy who's considered not the sharpest tool in the shed, it's Law who notices Kisara tailing the group while they're following Migal's cat. And he actually sneaks up on her, holding a knife to her throat before she even realized he was there; his time forced to be part of the Snake Eyes came in handy.
- The climax of the Elde Menancia arc is a massive twosome for Kisara and Dohalim.
- On Kisara's end, despite having just witnessed her brother liquefy into metallic-hued sludge in front of a lake of sludge from other Dahnans, lost her faith in the man she devoted seven years of her life to, and learned a fair few numbers of Renans never believed in peaceful coexistence at all... all it takes is a small pep talk from Alphen and ten seconds of contemplation for Kisara to double-down on her knightly vows and decide to break right through Kelzalik's rebellious siege of Autelina Palace. What follows is Kisara sticking to her principles, even without her belief in Dohalim, and ripping her way through the palace to get to Kelzalik. Even better, the boss fight in the palace against a massive zeugle is designed to heavily favor her playstyle, as its attacks are easily telegraphed and countered, and it has a charge she can break, really letting Kisara make this her moment.
- Everyone in Viscint was wondering what Dohalim was doing and where he was while Kelzalik staged his rebellion. As it turns out, though he doesn't make it in time to help his retainer liberate the palace, he was only late because he had spent his time finding and shutting down Kelzalik's production plant for the fruit of Helgan. Not only that, when he returned to Viscint proper, he managed to unite Renans and Dahnans for a second time, proving his stance on coexistence was indeed possible, and led the united people of Elde Menancia to strike down the Renan terrorists trying to return things to the status quo. For the first time in the party's adventure, their heroic actions lead to them indulging in an entire city cheering for them, as Dohalim and Kisara have proven definitively that the status quo could change; Renans and Dahnans could work together.
- It also bears mentioning that the Renans who stood with Kisara and Dohalim did so fully knowing they were working with the weaker side. Even if Elde Menancia favored Dohalim, there's still the rest of Lenegis to worry about. Before, the Dohalim-backing Renans could at least rationalize their actions to their fellow people, such as saying they're putting up with a peculiar lord and/or they'd go right back to oppressing the Dahnans once Dohalim's time as lord was up. Yet the Renans who sided with Dohalim still did so because the last seven years have shown them just how much more fulfilling it is to work with and uplift a people than it is to oppress them. For an ancestry of people who have spent the last three centuries internalizing the idea that it was morally righteous to enslave the Dahnans, that takes massive amounts of courage and conviction.
- Best of all, the people of Elde Menancia didn't even need prompting from Dohalim or Kisara to unite as one: Kelzalik's siege only went as far as it did because it was an unexpected turn of events that was highly organized and backed by powerful zeugles. Most of the Renans had already decided to protect their Dahnan friends and countrymen when the rebellion started, and those Renans were rounded up and imprisoned by the Kelzalik-backed terrorists. Dohalim himself notes he was, at best, a figurehead for them all in the end; unification was already the first choice for most of the Renans under him, because of his ideals.
- During the first fight with Vholran, the villain is one-against-six and he effortlessly handles all of the members of the party simultaneously. While everyone involved acquits themselves well in combat, Vholran is on a whole higher level than them, using the party's own coordination against them (i.e. grabbing Law and slamming him into Kisara's shield). The only one who lands a hit on Vholran is Shionne, and that's only due to Vholran gloating after pinning Alphen down. Even then, he shrugs off a headshot like it's nothing, and then proceeds to impale Shionne on his sword. He only withdraws after seeing Alphen involuntarily unleashing his Sovereign powers, and it's entirely him going "that's enough for now". It's both amazing and chilling to see just how deadly Vholran is, and you know then that you never stood a chance against him at that point.
- As another bit of awesome, Shionne shrugs off being impaled through the heart like it's nothing.
- After Vholran lands a heavy hit on Rinwell, Hootle puts himself between them. While completely scared and knowing he can't do anything to stop Vholran, he refuses to move to protect his friend.
- Before the fight proper starts for the player, the first one to give Vholran any trouble at all is Kisara, who actually manages to block a stab meant for Alphen and Shionne. She not only blocks the stab, she throws Vholran back by parrying him, which is one of her core gimmicks in gameplay. When they start their second round, Vholran takes special care to take Kisara out of the fight as soon as he can by using one of her friends against her.
- Alphen's Duel Boss rematch with Vholran at the end of the game. While the first half is a traditional fight, the second half sees Alphen use his full Sovereign powers... enabling him to unleash the full extent of the Blazing Sword, replacing all his normal artes with his special artes. Normally they chew through his health, but not this time, giving Alphen (and by extension the player) full advantage to totally wipe the floor with Vholran, which is quite cathartic and satisfying.
- Although Vholran ultimately loses the duel, he does manage to interrupt Alphen's Blazing Pillar, making him the second person in the game to be able to stop a Mystic Arte.
- After Vholran shatters the Renas Alma (killing himself along with it), the only way to seemingly save the worlds and Shionne, Alphen pleads with Dahna's Great Astral Spirit (who has been hinted at but never actually confirmed to exist) to help him finally end Shionne's curse and recombine the worlds. AND IT WORKS.
- All the Lords have awesome battles, and as part of those fights, the player can indulge in at least one cinematic clash using a Boost Arte correctly. The player earns these, and all of them are beautiful spectacles.
- Shionne catches on to the fact Balseph loves to put all his force into mighty leaps that allow him to bring the full weight of his weapon down on his enemies. Recognizing that Balseph going airborne is not dissimilar from the flying enemies she excels in shooting down, Shionne times Balseph's next jump so she can shoot him out of the sky. She even lands a headshot.
- As noted above, Law clashes with Ganabelt. The two slam their heads against Ganabelt's shield, with Ganabelt practically taunting Law, only for Law to smash through the shield, briefly causing Ganabelt to rear his head back in surprise just before the strike as he realizes Law may just be able to legitimately punch through his magical barrier.
- Kisara goes head-to-head with her Lord. Despite Dohalim going on a rampage while powered by the Earth Master Core, Kisara stops his strongest charge and throws him off her shield. When he goes for a flying strike with his staff, Kisara nonchalantly veers her head out of the way and slams her mace into his chest, sending him flying after knocking the spit out of his mouth.
- Rinwell uses her Boost attack to steal Almeidrea's Mystic Arte and use it against her, which is both cathartic and hilarious due to the facial expression Almeidrea makes when she's hit. Sadly, this trick only works once on the first Mystic Arte attempt.
- Dohalim gets to prove himself the better lord and engage Vholran one-on-one and come out on top, before sealing the man to the floor briefly so Alphen and Law can beat him down with attacks of their own. Vholran even looks briefly fearful when he recognizes his main advantage is being taken from him.
- When Vholran comes back for a round two, he manages to bat away projectiles from Shionne and Rinwell, only to be stopped cold by Kisara's shield. Even better, Alphen and Kisara are so in sync with each other that Alphen comes out from behind Kisara's shield just as she blocks Vholran's attack, allowing Alphen to catch Vholran by surprise and overpower him in a bladelock.
- Every boss fight goes out of the way to make the player feel awesome. When the boss reaches half health, the player is prompted to deliver a Boost Attack to bring them crashing to the ground so the player can wail on them uncontested, and the boss fights always finish with another Boost Attack to end the fight. If you bring a boss to 1 hit point with a Mystic Arte, the game doesn't even waste time forcing you to attack the enemy again - it just immediately has you transition to a Boost Attack to really emphasize how you've utterly crushed a boss.
- Pretty much all of the Boost Attacks are visual spectacles, in addition to being quick and seamless beatdowns: Rinwell creating a massive block of ice around Kisara's mace so Kisara can squash enemies flat, Dohalim grafting magical crystals to Kisara's shield so she can swing a massive crystalline shield-sword, and more.
Sidequests
- The battle against Procella Sylph is special in that it has its own cinematic setpiece straight out of the Lord fights - namely, Shionne uses a massive Magna Ray arte to shoot out one of its eyes and send it diving over the tower and into freefall. Alphen then leaps off the tower and lands on its back to finish the fight off, having an entire dedicated playable section where Alphen tears through the enemies on Procella Sylph's back before destroying the beast's core. Based on the levels of the monsters, Procella Sylph is expected to be fought last, and really gives the players an amazing experience as they put the Wedge's lights to bed.
- The Reminiscence Device sidequest allows the party to tackle harder rematches against each of the four Renan Lords. The awesome part is when after facing them each individually the party then fights all four at the same time. Though there can only be two on the field at a time, this is still arguably the hardest Superboss fight in the game.
- The final Superboss fight in the 'Reminiscence Device' sidequest is a fight against Zephyr of all people. Except Zephyr is the only enemy at max level and while not as tough as the previous Boss Rush fight, is able to take on the whole party by himself proving how much of a badass he really was. Doubles as a heartwarming moment since it is hinted that this isn't just a simple projection, but the real Zephyr getting a chance to interact with the party (including his son Law) one last time.
Beyond the Dawn
- Law's competence is highlighted a bit more in the DLC, and he's clearly grown as a person. Once again, he manages to flush out someone actively hiding from the party using his Snake Eyes skills - only this time, instead of finding a woman in full plate mail, he manages to find Nazamil as she's actively invisible. Even better, he detects her nigh instantly after leaving Viscint, meaning that she'd only managed to follow him for a short time before he noticed something was up.
- A somewhat muted moment given the horror of the situation, but when the Niez Dahnans behind the zeugles getting into the city fire on Nazamil, Kisara and Alphen are both shown to have the reaction speeds and reflexes needed to react to stop laser blasts. Alphen only takes the shot to his cheek because Kisara had jumped in closer to Nazamil to block the shot, meaning Alphen was in front of her.
- One quest has Kisara decide that her subordinates in the Service Corps aren't doing enough to protect the people of Viscint due to a fear of the zeugles they're fighting. With this in mind, she stages a massive grudge match against an entire platoon of them to whip them into shape. She does have Dohalim backing her, but she spends the entire fight completely outnumbered by soldiers she'd personally trained over the past year. Despite this, she takes out the entire platoon, proving exactly why she's Captain of the Guard.
- The final boss. It's an epic, progressively more powerful entity that puts the Great Spirit of Rena to shame, as Nazamil was designed to be a weapon almost from birth and has had time to learn how to fight, and the New World is not short on astral energy to feed her as the Oppressor to keep her going. Despite effectively going up against the controlled astral energy of Rena and Dahna combined, the party just refuses to stay down. Eventually, when the Oppressor becomes so powerful it just doesn't stop attacking, the party meets it in kind, and each member achieves permanent Over Limit before pounding the Oppressor into paste while coaxing Nazamil to wake up and accept difference. The two forces then meet for one final clash, with the Oppressor activating its Mystic Arte and Shionne and Alphen activating their own crests to stop the attack dead on. When that still just isn't enough, Nazamil wrestles back enough control to give Kisara, Dohalim, Rinwell, and Law their own crests so they finally manage to overpower the entity. The team really put themselves through their paces to bring the conflict to an end, and their Pre-Mortem One-Liner is a Meaningful Echo to their shared goals to "Tear down the walls!" And this is all set to HIBANA, which begins to play as, one by one, each character activates Over Limit at the same time.
