Obscure Theories and Plot Analyses

[Yrusama]

Long post, but try not to respond unless you've at least put forth an effort to understand it.

Many classic games have some fascinating (if trivial) fan-derived theories that, whether or not you believe them, pull you deeper into the lore.

Pokemon has things like the death of Blue's Raticate (apparently Red killed him, but this was never outright stated and the idea was derived from fan interpretation of facts.)

FFVII for a while had a "Tseng is dead" theory because of a mistranslated line spoken by Elena (later proven false by Advent Children).

FFVIII has the whole thing in squallisdead.com. (a VERY interesting read, even if you don't favor the theory) It also has a theory where Ultimecia is Rinoa, which I fully support. And let's not forget the heavily implied relationship between Laguna and Squall.

FFIX had the omgwtfbbq appearance of Necron. (would have been better with more foreshadowing and less Yoda quoting)

FFX has Tidus' imperfectly explained existential crisis, made even more interesting in X-2 (one of a few neat things to take away from X-2)


My questions are:

• Does FFXIV have something like this in the lore?
• Can an MMO have any ambiguous plot elements?
• Do you think this type of trivia helps sustain interest in a game many years later?

It's not much, but I considered the following line from Don't Hate the Messenger:

It is a great red sin, exiled to the skies by ancient Allag. There it has long festered, becoming something far more vile than we ever supposed.

What does he mean by that? Why call Dalamud a "sin" and not an "evil entity" or something of the like? Does he (or whoever he got the word "sin" from) feel that Allag had sinned in containing Bahamut? Is Dalamud (and Bahamut therein) labeled as a sin because its destructive nature "festered" from an evil deed? And how would he know if Dalamud was Allag's misdeed, and not created independently and simply sent skyward by Allag? Unfortunately this line was a 1.0 story exclusive, so newer fans may never think much of it when they watch it on youtube.

Can an MMO have things like this? I think it's a matter of Square-Enix putting a few unexplained but subtly related things (or even unclear lines of text) into the game that allude to a more fascinating/disturbing idea that is never outright stated. As soon as SE makes an official statement on the matter, however, the allure of these things fades.

Let's face it: even if these unclear suggestions at greater truths are little more than developmental/translation mistakes, they can drive fans wild. Players stumble on these theories online and, whether they appreciate them or not, their interest is renewed, if not enhanced. I wonder how many people bought a new copy of FFVIII after reading the Squall Is Dead theory simply because it made them nostalgic. Okay, maybe not all of them, but surely there have been some.

Vague trivia really helps to sustain a game's legacy, and I really hope we can see some interesting ideas popping out of the fan community in the near future. This was also part of why I went to such great lengths to cover as much of 1.0 Eorzea as possible on the FF wiki; I hope to see some fascinating discrepancies

[fusional]

there is no cow level

[radhaz]

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...ander?p=871406

[Seraphe]

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...ander?p=871406

Read it /10

[Catapult]

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...ander?p=871406

Yes, you will want to read this, Yrusama. We get stuck into all sorts of stuff, including primal, creating, elements and even time travel and associated causality. Fernehalwes also drops a few lorebombs.

Also, Ascians are a huge ground for conspiracy theories these days.

[Darkillumina]

To answer the "can a MMO have a story like this question,"

Yes, Final Fantasy XI had an amazing amazing story that was laid out well. The only problem was that the game was so brutal when I played (the early days until roughly around 07) that many did not see the whole thing to fruition. Promathia for example had probably one of the best stories ever done in a MMO. Hell, it was so good it would almost work as a stand-alone. The reveals were slow and ambiguous and some questions were left to our imagination. Again, since it was so bloody hard when it was first released many did not get to experience it.

Also, Rinoa is Ultimecia has been officially nixed by Word of God FYI.

[Powercow]

One nifty little tidbit they mentioned a while back (shortly after the servers when down, IIRC) was that the Ascian you see in one of the main scenario quests may have been in more than just that one cutscene. Ascian is a word adopted from ancient Greek meaning "without a shadow." We were told we should go back and watch the old cutscenes and look for anyone who doesn't have a shadow.

Might be worth a look.

[Yrusama]

One nifty little tidbit they mentioned a while back (shortly after the servers when down, IIRC) was that the Ascian you see in one of the main scenario quests may have been in more than just that one cutscene. Ascian is a word adopted from ancient Greek meaning "without a shadow." We were told we should go back and watch the old cutscenes and look for anyone who doesn't have a shadow.

Might be worth a look.

I totally forgot about the Ascian! This is closer to what I'm thinking of, but it's still an official statement from SE. That's actually really creepy, though, and I might have to look into it. Watch it turn out to be our path companion. Or Gaius. Or Ifrit.

@Darkillumina: Yes, XI had a lot of great story content, but I don't feel the need to dig deeper into the story. All of it was pretty clearly explained, even CoP.

And I don't know who this "Word of God" thing is, but I haven't seen enough info to deny the Ulti-Rinoa theory. It might not be an intended interpretation, but SE didn't help by giving Ultimecia the same weapon type as Rinoa in Dissidia.

[Felis]

One nifty little tidbit they mentioned a while back (shortly after the servers when down, IIRC) was that the Ascian you see in one of the main scenario quests may have been in more than just that one cutscene. Ascian is a word adopted from ancient Greek meaning "without a shadow." We were told we should go back and watch the old cutscenes and look for anyone who doesn't have a shadow.

Might be worth a look.

See here a man without a shadow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttrF7...ailpage#t=315s

[Shougun]

See here a man without a shadow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttrF7...ailpage#t=315s

Wow..~

Thanks for that! I really didnt know how much I could be missing.

Definitely on my list of things to do now (try other cities quests).

Hopefully the good stuff isnt removed for 2.0 >.> lol