Revelations from Patch 5.2

[Cilia]

Everywhere in the fandom I see references to Gundam, which gives me that same sensation of suddenly aging I get whenever I run across a young'un who thinks Tolkien ripped off Dumbledore for Gandalf

It is impossible to describe the effect Evangelion had on Japanese geek culture - anime and games and manga. For about five years after it, everything felt like a footnote to Eva, and somehow the dissatisfying ending somehow prodded people harder to conplete the story their own way.

Back to FFIV...

I think I could name individual episodes those scenes were, though the full on mecha body horror was more reminiscent of the movie. I was definitely thinking of the episode where Shinji was absorbed into his Eva's consciousness and all that was left in the physical world was a suit in the cockpit. The Werlyt orphans are like the pilots. But who is our Gendo in this scenario? Someone new must be leading them if Gaius is gone.

I'd believe it's Gundam, but...

Gundams are purely mechanical, and whatever's going on with the Weapon project they're clearly biomechanical in nature to some degree. Can't sprout a naked Nael deus Darnus out of its back otherwise!

Err. The big question I have, other than who is the VIIth's new Legatus spearheading the project, is how the kupo did they get combat data on deus Darnus? She only appeared in her winged, facemarked form in the Binding Coils... and the only people who saw her down there were Alisae and the WoL, so what the kupo is going on?!

The whole "Oversoul" bit reminded me more of Mari using the "Beast" mode in Rebuild 2.0, albeit with the opposite outcome (Oversoul makes the Weapon stationary, while Beast makes the Eva go totally berserk and frenzied). Whatever's going on, it's some bad shite... though not unexpected of the Imperials.

[Anonymoose]

I'd believe it's Gundam, but...

[Pepsi_Plunge]

How the kupo did they get combat data on deus Darnus? She only appeared in her winged, facemarked form in the Binding Coils... and the only people who saw her down there were Alisae and the WoL, so what the kupo is going on?!

I don't see a problem here.
Nael van Darnus was one of the Garlean Legatus and one of the Empire's most accomplished warriors, of course there is combat data saved on her. What you are talking about are the events of 2.X where she was resurrected, but before that in 1.0 she already played a huge role in the story and was the head behind Project Meteor, the summoning of Dalamud and the destruction of Bozja Citadel - things which will probably come back to haunt us in future patches.

[MrThinker]

I don't see a problem here.
Nael van Darnus was one of the Garlean Legatus and one of the Empire's most accomplished warriors, of course there is combat data saved on her. What you are talking about are the events of 2.X where she was resurrected, but before that in 1.0 she already played a huge role in the story and was the head behind Project Meteor, the summoning of Dalamud and the destruction of Bozja Citadel - things which will probably come back to haunt us in future patches.

The problem is the form she appeared in. THAT winged draconian form in of itself (as well as the adds she summons) was only supposed to have ever been witnessed by the player and Alisaie at the Holocharts in the Second Coil of Bahamut.

[Pepsi_Plunge]

The problem is the form she appeared in. THAT winged draconian form in of itself (as well as the adds she summons) was only supposed to have ever been witnessed by the player and Alisaie at the Holocharts in the Second Coil of Bahamut.

Are we really sure she couldn't do this before she was resurrected? The power for that comes from Dalamud and Bahamut, both already existed before 2.0 and as far as I remember after the fight Nael was shocked because he was possessed by his sister and became a slave to Bahamut, but that was also something that already happend on 1.X

[MrThinker]

Are we really sure she couldn't do this before she was resurrected? The power for that comes from Dalamud and Bahamut, both already existed before 2.0 and as far as I remember after the fight Nael was shocked because he was possessed by his sister and became a slave to Bahamut, but that was also something that already happend on 1.X

Err.... Regarding the part in bold. Nael van Darnus, i.e. the original male Nael van Darnus, was dead before 1.0. His sister Eula went mad with grief, killed their father (who was responsible) and then took his (Nael's) identity and became legatus of the VIIth legion to give him a legacy. The Darnus that appears in 1.x and onwards has always been Eula posing as Nael. As for whether or not she could do this before her resurrection... I think not. In the original battle against Nael in 1.x, she transforms into a form also called Nael Deus Darnus.... but it looks nothing like her draconian form from T9. It's essentially her armoured form + some aetherial wings that only appear in that transformation cutscene before fading for the rest of the encounter.

Granted that information itself is first revealed in the Encyclopaedia Eorzea Volume 1.