95. Marche And Montblanc's Farewell (TA)
'You've been a great friend. I never would have made it this far without you'
When Marche is first transported to the magical realm of Ivalice through the power of his friend Mewt's book in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, he is understandably confused about his surroundings. Almost immediately, he manages to greatly insult a creature that he is unfamiliar with (a Bangaa) by referring to it as a lizard, getting himself into a fight. He is saved by the timely arrival of a lovable Moogle named Montblanc, who proceeds to serve as Marche's guide to the peculiarities of Ivalice and rapidly becomes his best friend. Montblanc supports his newfound companion's desire to return to reality, despite the opposition of Marche's real world friends and brother, as well as the fact that it would presumably erase him from existence, supporting him through thick and thin. Eventually they succeed in destroying the Crystals that hold the fantasy world together and convincing Mewt that he cannot shield himself from the pains of reality indefinitely, though in something of a copout ending, the fantasy world remains in parallel to the real one. As Marche and his friends prepare to return to reality, however, it's hard not to shed a tear as he hugs Montblanc and bids him goodbye with the knowledge that he will presumably never see him again. On a footnote, I wonder what Marche and Montblanc were called in the French version of the game, given that their names mean 'Market' and 'White Mountain' respectively.
94. A Misguided Adversary (XIII)
'Ironic, isn't it? The only thing I wanted was a moment of triumph. How it ends isn't important. Just do what you know is right. Trust yourselves'
The Cid character featured in Final Fantasy XIII, Cid Raines, is initially presented as an individual with honourable intentions. First introduced to players through the eyes of Snow before he saves Lightning and Hope, he is an officer of the Sanctum (the authorities of the floating world of Cocoon) who has long wished to overthrow his superiors and give power to the people. Given that Snow believes the focus of himself and the rest of the player's party after being turned into l'Cie is to prevent Cocoon's seemingly upcoming destruction (though others believe it is to cause said destruction), he aids Cid (who has also sought an alliance with the enigmatic Fang) in tracking down his companions, performing his aforementioned rescue of Lightning and Hope before enlisting the help of his new ally to rescue Sazh and Vanille from government captivity. When Cid next appears, however, he reveals that he was turned into a l'Cie prior to meeting the party by the Cocoon fal'Cie Barthandelus, who masquerades as the floating world's human leader (or Primarch), Galenth Dysley. He reveals that Barthandelus and his fellow fal'Cie have manipulated the party's actions as l'Cie, hoping to use them to destroy Cocoon; an action that they believe will ensure the return of their Maker. Cid's own focus is revealed to have been guiding the party down this path by presenting Cocoon's overseers as forces that need to be destroyed, though he manages to regain some of the free will he had as an individual that truly wished to free Cocoon from their manipulation and turns into a monstrous hybrid of sorts. Seeking to save Cocoon by defeating those that he believes are now set on its destruction as a result of his actions, he engages the party in battle. He falls, though not before (in a powerful moment) imploring them to embrace free will and choose their own fate, as he did.
93. The Psychotic Moogle (IX)
'STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT! KU-PHEH!'
As players were able to save the game at any point on the world map in previous titles in the series, an option was added to Final Fantasy IX that allowed players to summon a mobile Moogle at any time in order to save their progress. Calling said Moogle (named Moguo) and then neglecting to use his services greatly annoys him, given that his time had been wasted. Doing it a number of times in quick succession will hilariously render him psychotic, as his annoyance progressively turns from mere frustration into anger and bloodlust, resulting in him threatening to maim the player before losing the plot completely and screaming (or stating in all caps, given that the game lacked voice acting) maniacally. Virtual creatures dislike being tormented as much as real ones, it would seem.
92. Balthier Plays The Hero (XII)
'I am the leading man. Might need to do something heroic'
Following his accession to the position of Archadian Emperor, the grand scheme of Final Fantasy XII's primary antagonist Vayne Solidor is revealed. Wanting to remove control of world events from the godlike Occuria (who have manipulated proceedings for thousands of years by providing chosen individuals with Nethicite), he seeks to rule over all of it himself, teaming with a rogue Occuria named Venat and a scientific genius named Cid in an attempt to do so. Though the party also end up opposing the Occuria, they disapprove of Vayne's ambitions of conquest, wishing to bring individual freedom back to the countries of the continent of Ivalice. They are joined by Vayne's younger brother Larsa, who wishes to avoid any further unnecessary bloodshed following events such as Judge Bergan's massacre. Despite the soft spot he holds for his younger brother, Vayne opposes the newfound alliance in battle but is defeated aboard the Bahamut; a floating fortress that is incapacitated in a breathtaking aerial sequence after the party has taken it over, putting it on a crash course with the largely populated city of Rabanastre. To avoid the loss of innocent lives, the cocky Balthier (who has functioned throughout the game as the self-professed 'leading man' and acted accordingly despite the presence of bland hero Vaan) and his partner Fran prepare to sacrifice themselves by staying aboard the falling structure and attempting to change its course. Bequeathing their ship, the Strahl, to Vaan, they manage to steer the gargantuan fortress out of the way of the city. They seemingly perish in its destruction, but 'you know what they say about the leading man, he never dies' a quote evidenced by how, in the final scene of the game's ending cinematic, Vaan finds that his new possession has vanished, cheekily replaced with a note and a ring that signifies the survival of his allies.
91. The Lamia Queen (II)
'Now, now. Don't keep a lady waiting'
One of the missions that Final Fantasy II's leading trio of Firion, Maria and Guy (who speaks beaver!, which sounds all kinds of wrong) are given during their time as members of the Wild Rose resistance faction is the rescue of Hilda, the Princess of their home of Fynn and leader of the movement, after she and an airship pioneer named Cid are taken prisoner by the Palamecian Empire responsible for Fynn's invasion. Their mission is a successful one and Hilda is returned to the resistance's base, a town named Altair, whilst the party runs other errands. Their return from a trip to a kingdom of dragoons becomes downright hilarious for a 1988 NES game with limited capacity, however, when the Princess attempts to seduce Firion, who responds in awkward fashion as a piece of music almost identical to the one of the main themes from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake plays in the background. A pirate companion of Firion's named Leila interrupts (a rare instance of justified c*ckblocking) and realises that the Princess is in fact a Lamia Queen masquerading as her (prompting yet another rescue mission shortly afterwards) before any damage is done, but not before the game's lead has been thoroughly embarrassed and players have let out a few sniggers at his expense.