90. Auron's Memories (X)
'When Braska and Jecht died defeating Sin...I just couldn't accept it. I came back here...tried to avenge them. But she struck me down. Somehow I made my way, crawling, down Mount Gagazet. But my strength left me just outside Bevelle. That's where Kimahri found me. I told him about Yuna...just before I died. I've been wandering ever since.
The character of Auron is something of an enigma throughout Final Fantasy X. First appearing during the destruction of Zanarkand at the start of the game, he promptly disappears when main character Tidus is whisked a thousand years into the future by the event only to show up again during the introduction of Anima. There it is revealed that he is a legend in contemporary Spira, along with Tidus' father Jecht (who was sent a thousand years forward in time a decade before his son was), for their successful guardianship of Lord Braska on his quest to defeat Sin ten years prior to the events of the game. Joining the party (which includes Tidus) that defends Braska's daughter, Yuna, he then remains in the background for much of the rest of the game until the ruins of Zanarkand are reached and Yuna is on the verge of following in her father's footsteps. There, the memories of his previous visit to the place with Braska and Jecht are revealed. These show that Auron, having learned that Jecht (who opted to become Braska's Final Aeon after realising that travel back to his own time period was impossible in a living state) would become Sin despite Braska's sacrifice, confronted Yunalesca about the vain nature of their mission and died himself as a result. Having promised to keep the children of his respective friend's safe before bidding them farewell, he refuses to pass on to the afterlife, travelling the world (and through time) as an unsent and utilising the character of Kimahri in order to keep his word, though it's unclear as to why he fails to inform anybody about the twisted nature of Yevon and pilgrimages in general (merely telling Tidus that his father is Sin in enigmatic fashion). Auron's unsent status is subtly hinted at through the game, but the revelation comes as a great shock to many players, who then have to bear witness to him passing on to the afterlife in the game's ending, his promise fulfilled.
89. Suicide Over Murder (III)
'I would rather die than hurt my son!'
Because the initial release of Final Fantasy III contained playable characters that had little to do with the plot, a number of the locations visited in the game featured small self-contained storylines. The addition of Luneth, Arc, Refia and Ingus to proceedings in the DS remake added to the overarching narrative of the game, but the individual storylines remained present. One such storyline focuses on the goings-on in Saronia, a Kingdom that is in disarray as a result of the actions of its King, Gorn, who has banished his ten year old son, Alus, from the royal household and divided the country's army with his decrees. The player's party encounters the young Prince and are encouraged to help him stand up to his father by Arc, a previous victim of bullying. The group then make their way to the King's castle, only to discover that his mind is being controlled by Gigameth, a minion of the villainous Xande masquerading as an advisor. Commanded to kill Alus, the King manages to fight Gigameth's spell, refusing to hurt his son. Though he struggles to resist, he manages to plunge the knife in his hand into himself, resulting in his death but ensuring his son's survival. The power of love, eh? (Gabrielle Aplin's cover of the Frankie Goes To Hollywood song of the same name makes for a good musical accompaniment).
88. Entering Memoria (IX)
'...What is this place!?'
Throughout the Final Fantasy series, final dungeons have often been something of a chore long slogs to the finish line that are interrupted every few seconds by the appearance of a random encounter. Final Fantasy IX offers a great exception in the form of Memoria, which is one of the most surreal and interesting areas ever featured in the series. Taking up the entirety of the game's fourth and final disc, the area appears as a portal above the Iifa Tree, which serves as the source of the monsters found across the world of Gaia. A swarm of dragons emerge from it at first, prompting the party and the military powers of the world to unite and combat the threat in a stunning visual sequence. The trip through the mysterious dungeon then begins, in which the party is surprisingly assisted by Garland, a supporting character killed at the end of disc three, from beyond the grave. Made of memories, the area, in which several characters are forced to bear witness to events and tragedies from their past as well as the past of the worlds of Gaia and Terra as a whole, is a bizarre yet fascinating locale that makes the long trip to the game's final boss fascinating rather than irritating.
87. A Sombre Homecoming (VIII)
'A direct...hit?'
Following their attempt on the life of Sorceress Edea, the characters of Final Fantasy VIII discover (after a short prison sentence) that the educational institutions responsible for their training as SeeD mercenaries Balamb and Trabia Gardens are to be hit with missiles in retribution, prompting them to try and sabotage the operation. The hit on Balamb Garden, the former home of Squall, Zell and Quistis fails as a result of this, but the fate of Trabia Garden, responsible for Selphie's upbringing, is left vague until the party opt to pay it a visit later on in the game. This trip reveals that the facility took a direct hit, killing a significant number of innocent individuals for reasons unknown to them and outside of their control. Conversing with survivors indicates that many have lost hope, though the most touching interaction is with a man who covers his girlfriend's grave with his jacket, as she used to like wearing it during the cold nights frequently experienced in Trabia (a snow-covered continent). Plot wise, much of the visit is occupied by a long and boring exposition sequence that reveals that almost all of the game's primary characters occupied the same orphanage as children, losing their memories as a result of exposure to Guardian Forces (summons), but it is the initial exposure to the devastating consequences of the missile attack that lingers in the memory, as players are forced to see the collateral damage that their actions have caused.
86. Saving Midgar (VII)
'My son is in need of power and help. That's the only reason'
The gigantic city of Midgar is where Final Fantasy VII begins, though after spending several hours in its confines it cannot actually be visited again until much later in the game. At this point it has fallen into chaos after the apparent death of Rufus Shinra, President of the world-controlling company that bears his name. The turmoil gives free reign to Hojo, a Shinra scientist with questionable morals and sanity who was one of the masterminds behind the Jenova Project, a venture that involved the injection of Jenova cells into humans to give them superhuman abilities. Whilst his rival Dr. Hollander's creations, Angeal and Genesis, suffered from degradation and failed (a development depicted in Crisis Core), Hojo experimented on his own unborn son and created a success in the form of Sephiroth, a super-soldier that became Shinra's prized military asset before turning on his creators in the belief that he was the last surviving member of an ancient race known as the Cetra. Having developed a messiah complex and a belief that he should be a godlike figure because of this, he seeks to destroy the world after returning from a five year absence by calling forth a destructive magic called Meteor, intending to merge with the powerful Lifestream that flows beneath the planet following its impact. Wishing to see the result of his research blossom (despite the horrific consequences), Hojo seeks to destroy Midgar by overloading its Mako energy reactors and firing its Mako cannon weapon at Sephiroth's location to grant him additional power as the fall of Meteor looms. This prompts the player's party to re-enter the city where their quest initially began to stop him, though they are delayed by encounters with assorted Shinra minions such as Scarlet and Heidegger (who needs to be portrayed by Brian Blessed if the game is ever remade with voice actors). Ultimately, they corner Hojo, defeating and killing him even after he injects Jenova cells into himself, thus preventing the populous city's destruction and giving them their first victory in their final fight against Sephiroth.