120. A Stay Of Execution (VII)
'It's better that we punish somebody... anybody'
Following Cloud and Barret's successful reactor destroying mission at the start of Final Fantasy VII, they are joined for a second one by Tifa, a barmaid, martial artist and childhood acquaintance of Cloud with her own grudge against the Shinra Company. They are ultimately unsuccessful when Shinra foresee their actions and thwart them, but all three eventually escape from the city of Midgar when their focus switches to the pursuit of Sephiroth, a man from Cloud's past presumed dead for five years. Much later on in the game, chaos is prevalent around the world as a result of Sephiroth's actions and following an incident in which Cloud disappears, Barret and Tifa are captured by Shinra, whose President, Rufus, plans to have the pair executed for their earlier misdeeds (and as scapegoats for Sephiroth's) in order to distract the public. Barret escapes from custody with the help of the rest of the party, but Tifa is not so lucky and has to do things on her own after being placed in a gas chamber and left to die by Scarlet, a female Shinra higher-up. With gas pouring into the room, she manages to break free of her restraints, discovering a way out but finding herself forced to evade a considerable number of Shinra personnel before coming face to face with Scarlet once again. Neglecting to utilise the martial arts skills that she uses in battle, Tifa instead opts to engage in an old-fashioned catfight with her adversary, which acts as a good source of humour until she makes her escape by jumping onto a waiting airship that subsequently allows the player to explore the entire world for the first time in search of the missing Cloud.
119. Mog To Madeen (IX)
'Don't worry, Kupo. I will always be with you, Kupo'
The iconic and adorable Moogle race (who have an obsession with the word Kupo) first appeared in Final Fantasy III, though their most prominent appearance in the series didn't come until Final Fantasy IX. In that game, they are located throughout the world and can be visited by players in order to save progress to a memory card (remember those?), use high-powered restoratives, purchase items or partake in one of the game's lengthiest sidequests. Perhaps the most prominent Moogle in the game is Mog, who functions as the pet of a six year-old summoner named Eiko. The two wear matching ribbons as a result of their friendship and accompany each other wherever they go, despite Mog's timidness. Despite his cowardice, Mog is there for Eiko in her time of need, when the villainous twin jesters Zorn and Thorn attempt to extract summonable beings known as Eidolons from her. The reassuring speech he gives her, stating that he'll always be close to her, is enough to bring a tear to the eye, as a six year-old girl is made to bear witness to her best friend sacrificing his existence out of love for her, becoming an Eidolon named Madeen and eliminating the villainous jesters. In one of the games rare misses, the memorable twin clowns (who have contrasting vocal patterns) transform into one forgettable boss that the player's party must take down shortly afterwards, but that takes nothing away from the emotional impact of the moment that precedes it.
118. A Thousand Words (X-2)
'Cause one thousand words, call out through the ages. They'll fly to you, even though I can see. I know they're reaching you, suspended on silver wings'
The announcement of a sequel to Final Fantasy X in 2002 took some fans by surprise, given that every prior release in the series had been a standalone game unconnected to any other entries in the franchise. Final Fantasy X-2 isn't a bad game by any stretch; it just struggles to live up to the high standard set by its predecessor, and features returning Final Fantasy X heroines Yuna and Rikku and a new character called Paine in starring roles. A significant element of the plot involves two individuals by the name of Shuyin and Lenne, who lived in the city of Zanarkand a thousand years before the games beginning. With the city at war with the rival settlement of Bevelle, Lenne as a summoner was expected to fight on the front lines, prompting her lover Shuyin to try and steal a weapon of mass destruction called Vegnagun to end the war and ensure that they remained alive and together. Knowing that Vegnagun could destroy the entire world given its volatility, Lenne pursued her love to its storage place, where the two were caught by guards. The aftermath of this event is shown in gory detail as Yuna performs a concert using a dressphere (an item that allows its user to use different ability sets in battle) unknowingly imbued with Lenne's spirit, making thousands of concert-goers bear witness to the two lovers (who bear an uncanny resemblance to Yuna and Final Fantasy X's lead Tidus) embracing before being shot down. Forgetting the '1000 Words' vocal accompaniment (which is admittedly much better than the dire song used in the game's opening scene and is actually tolerable if an instrumental version is listened to), the scene is a powerful one that more than adequately showcases the tragedy that tore apart Shuyin, who serves as the game's primary antagonist in an undead capacity.
117. Squall's Impalement (VIII)
'Impudent SeeDs!'
Having become SeeD mercenaries following their actions in Dollet at the start of Final Fantasy VIII, Squall, Zell and Selphie (later joined by teacher-turned-operative Quistis) are given their first mission the assistance of a resistance movement in the city of Timber, which is under occupation by the military of the Galbadian nation. They fail to assist the movement in their assassination of Galbadia's President, but learn of the country's appointment of a Sorceress (someone with powerful magical abilities) named Edea, who soon takes control of the country by killing the President herself with Squall's rival Seifer (who failed his SeeD assessment for ignoring orders) at her side. Squall and company learn that opposing Sorceresses was why SeeD was originally formed, and are assigned the services of a sniper, Irvine, to assist with Edea's assassination. The team's new marksman collapses under pressure, however, forcing Squall to take on Edea himself after Zell, Quistis and Selphie have trapped her behind gates. Following their battle, Edea (who later transpires to be an innocent woman under the control of Ultimecia, a Sorceress from the future) launches a large icicle at Squall, which penetrates his throat and sends him plummeting to the ground from a high point. Given that a certain somebody was skewered and died at the end of disc one on Final Fantasy VII, it was more than fair to assume that Squall would perish as a result of his impalement, despite his status as the game's lead character. He survives, however, albeit without any sort of wound, which lends a fraction of credence to the 'Squall is dead' theory (Google it), a hypothesis that operates under the assumption that the rest of the game is a dream of what could've been.
116. Rydia's Timely Return (IV)
'The wheels of a fate greater than us all are turning now. We must stand against it...and we must stand together'
Whilst still the commander of Baron's Red Wings at the start of Final Fantasy IV, Cecil and his friend Kain are tasked with the delivery of a ring to the village of Mist, home to a group of people that can summon celestial beings known as Eidolons. One of these individuals is a young girl named Rydia, whose mother is inadvertently killed when Cecil and Kain defeat her Eidolon, a dragon, on their journey, as an Eidolon's death also results in the passing of its summoner. Her home is also destroyed when the ring Cecil and Kain are tasked with delivering turns out to be a weapon, leaving her orphaned and alone. Separated from Kain by an earthquake, Cecil takes pity on the girl and takes him with her, though she initially hates him for it given the atrocity of his actions. Cecil eventually earns Rydia's trust after turning on his now-tyrannical nation, but she is washed overboard after a ship they are on board of is attacked by the Eidolon Leviathan, resulting in her seemingly permanent disappearance. Much later in the game, Cecil and his allies become paralysed as they fend off an attack from Golbez, Cecil's villainous replacement who wishes to use the world's Crystals for nefarious purposes. Out of nowhere, Rydia comes to their rescue, having been taken to the land of Eidolons by Leviathan to hone her summoning skills, aging into a teenager in the process due to the difference in time flow between the two worlds. Her intervention allows Cecil and his companions to fight another day, as Rydia rejoins them in their quest to save the world from Golbez's tyranny.