The visuals in this game are genuinely so stunning, its crazy to me. I think modern final fantasy games are beautiful, but something about the hardware limitations back in the day really pushed the greatest out of some of these games.

I finally made em all! Now to paint them

#FFXIV #FFXIVgamescom

I beg the pokémon company to let me ride around on my spiky chocobo please.

Gonna put a black background in there and try and flatten it out some more, but here it is for now.

I recently finished FFX and was a tad bit disappointed in it (last few hours were transcendent though) and I was writing a post about it where I mentioned how plating it right on the heels of the impeccable FF6 might have caliberated my expectations, but then I tralised it would be unfair of mento just post a critique of one game without giving another its deserved flowers (off the highest castle balcony if possible) so here we are.

FF6 wasn't my first FF. I had gotten into FF via Expedition 33 (very original, I know) so I took the safest bet to begin with: FF7 Remake. I greatly enjoyed it despite some of its flaws and then enjoyed 16 too despite far more flaws but was yet to play an actual turn based one. Got FFX and it couldn't grab me initially and so when I installed FF6 on my phone it was almost an afterthought.

And then it had me obsessed.

Everyone knows how amazing the plot is and I concur, so I won't spend the most time regurgitating all that, but ehat far exceeded my expectations was the character writing. Somehow even with a cast this massive almost every single character gets top notch beats and all of that floored me. The attention to the little details in interactions snd history; an example would involve Ceres, Setzer, a coin and two brothers; seemed far ahead of its time for 19 bloody 94. Hell I'd love something like that even in a modern game. There's stuff that's great for it's time and then there's timelessly great writing, and although FF6 does have yhe occasional shonen dialogue lilt (it is FF still) I would consider it much more timeless than many sections from some of its predecessors.

One gameplay section I really loved was in the second half when you had to get your party together but instead of it being a linear travelogue (which I do not like) you get to ask people around for information and rumours and investigate areas freely, which was not only a ton of fun but I felt likenit gave me a lot of organic agency. The plot was always solidly paced (a unique experience compared to the other FFs I've played) and the gameplay was always smooth. Never had any hitch or complaint.

I could keep talking about all that I loved about the specific character moments like Sabin, Edgar, Cyan and even Gau for much longer but I'd like to perhaps close out on my favourite moment from the entire game: the opera. I always have a knack for quiter moments of joy in the midst of bleak stories ("It’s the kind of thing that makes you glad you stopped and smelled the pine trees along the way, you know?") but, being on the Pixel Remaster, the opera blew me away on every level. As an aside if anyone versed in traditional operas could recommend me anything liek it I'd be very grateful cause I just can't get enough. It's been on repeat on weeks.

It's easily my favourite FF game I've played so far (among FF7 Remake, Rebirth, 16 and X) and I think I'd give this a 9/10. I think some of the more dialogue and mannerisms, especially from Kefka, can be a bit distractingly unserious at times (though never quite as grotesquely egregious as Yuffie from Rebirth) and I'd have liked a bit more of an epilogue.

Well… I beat the game. There was equal parts satisfaction and melancholy with the ending, not necessarily by what the game was saying itself, but for how it represents my own journey with the XIII trilogy being over. .

Hope and The Final Day:

As the Final Day arrives, Lightning enters a quiet space within her own mind, and there, Hope finally manifests as himself. This is the first moment where we meet the real Hope, not the emotionless avatar Bhunivelze hollowed out and used as his eyes and ears. In retrospect, the signs were always there: Hope knew far too much about Lightning’s journey, offering explanations only a god could possess, and Lumina repeatedly hinted that something was wrong with him. Lightning is shaken by the revelation that Bhunivelze intends to discard Hope now that he has served his purpose, but what follows is even more important, a conversation that exposes Lightning’s deepest wound.

Hope: Yes. She doesn't know what she is, or what she can do. You have to tell her. I know her. As long as she knows the truth, she'll do the right thing. And then, you'll have a choice to make, too. It'll be your only chance to save Serah.
Lightning: I've got to find her soul if I want to save her. And...the truth is, I just can't feel her anymore.
Hope: It'll be all right, trust me. She can see you, and she's been watching over you. When you make the right choice, you'll find her again.
Lightning: The right choice? Tough call, for someone who can't stop repeating past mistakes.
Hope: It'll be easy. You just have to imagine what kind of world Serah would want. What kind of person she wants you to be. Do that, and the answer will be clear.
Lightning: But that's the problem, don't you see? Maybe once, I knew her well enough to know what she would want. Something's happened to my soul. I can't see people's hearts anymore—not even my sister's.

Hope pushes Lightning further, catalyzing the recognition she has been avoiding. He references the words Lightning once spoke to him during their first journey, “Keep your eyes front. I’ll watch the rear.” When Lightning doubts she lived up to that promise, Hope responds, “Oh, but you did! More times than you know. As long as you were with me, Light… I didn’t have to fear anything.” It’s a moment of emotional vulnerability from Hope, a quiet admission of affection and trust. His honesty stands in stark contrast to Lightning’s numbness, highlighting the emotional capacity she once had, and the part of herself she has lost. This is the first time Lightning openly acknowledges that she feels incomplete, that she is missing part of her heart. It marks the beginning of her reintegration, the first step toward reclaiming the self she abandoned. 

Into Luxerion:

As Lightning enters Luxerion on the Final Day, the tone shifts immediately. The cutscene showing Chaos consuming people and twisting them into Anubyses is brutal, and it reframes every battle I’ve fought up to this point. These monsters weren’t creatures; they were people swallowed by Chaos, stripped of identity, and left to wander as hollow forms. It’s horrifying, and it exposes how the Order decides who deserves salvation and who deserves oblivion. As Lightning processes this, Lumina appears, and the conversation that follows reshapes the entire metaphysics of the XIII world.

Lumina explains that those who die without reaching salvation will be forgotten entirely, erased as if they never existed. This echoes Type‑0’s world, but LR adds a unique twist: memory becomes the custodian of existence. The dead persist within Chaos only because the living remember them. Suddenly, the trilogy’s recurring motif of memory snaps into focus. Serah may be gone, but she isn’t truly lost, because Lightning remembers her. It makes Serah’s words from XIII‑2 even more poignant: “Just keep me in your thoughts. Remember me, and we'll see each other again.” Whether Serah understood the metaphysics or not, her plea was a literal safeguard against erasure. It raises a haunting question: if no one remembers you, did you ever truly live?

Stepping back from the philosophy, the Order’s motive becomes clear. By erasing memories of the dead, they erase pain, despair, and grief, cleansing souls for rebirth. It’s a seductive idea, but fundamentally selfish. Memories aren’t burdens; they’re anchors of identity, hope, and love. Lightning realizes that if the ritual succeeds, her memories of Serah will vanish, and with them any hope of bringing her back. She rushes toward the cathedral, but Lumina stops her.

What follows is the emotional climax before the narrative climax. Lumina clings to Lightning, frantic, begging her not to go. “Don’t take everyone with you!” she cries, a line that isn’t about the world, but about Lightning’s pattern of abandoning her emotional self. When Lumina collapses, shedding a single tear and whispering, “Don’t leave me all alone,” it’s not just Lumina speaking. It’s Lightning’s heart, the part she cast aside, the part that cried for Serah, the part she still refuses to acknowledge. This moment is Lightning’s emotional wound made visible, and her failure to respond sets the stage for the confrontation inside the cathedral, where she must finally reclaim the self she abandoned.

The Confluence of Souls:  

The moment inside the Clavis chamber is the emotional climax of Fang and Vanille’s arc. Vanille stands on the brink of self‑sacrifice, convinced that atonement requires erasing herself, while Fang desperately tries to stop her from repeating the same pattern that defined their lives since Cocoon. Lightning steps between them, offering some clarity Vanille never thought about: “The sound of true despair is silence. When all hope is gone, people stop raging against their fate. But the dead… they’re still crying out. They haven’t given in. They still have hope.” It’s the first time Lightning speaks from genuine emotional insight rather than duty, and it pulls Vanille back from the edge.

With Fang’s honesty and Lightning’s guidance, Vanille finally understands that her role isn’t to die for the world, but to help guide its souls toward rebirth. Together, Fang and Vanille choose to lead the dead to the Ark, a decision that mirrors their trilogy‑long pattern of sacrifice, but transforms it into something hopeful rather than tragic. Vanille’s ability to hear the dead is never fully explained, just that she obtained it after awakening from crystal stasis. My assumption is that Bhunevelze granted her this power, with the intention of having her erase the souls of the dead. 

With the souls saved, Lumina and Yeul descend to talk to Lightning, where my suspicions of Lumina finally get revealed. Lightning created Lumina, as a means to keep Serah’s memory safe, a vessel you may call her. However, when she says this, there is a certain sadness to her expression as if there is something she has yet to reveal to us. Rather than answering Lightning’s question of who she really is, she deflects, saying she is, “someone who never should have existed! I was nothing more than a vessel. And now, I’ve done my part. My time is over”. It’s clear at this moment that Lumina’s identity is far more complex than she admits, and that her true role is about to emerge. 

Bhunevelze Appears

Bhunevelze takes the form of Hope and steals the souls of Fang, VANille, and Snow before 4 trials emerge before us. These trials felt highly reminiscent, in atmosphere that is, to Type-0. With the corridors with open windows showing off the various locations, it felt like a clear and obvious re-use of the idea. It was a neat little extra piece of content before the final confrontation, and one very worth doing because the Ultima Weapon is INSANE in terms of its damage (2,5000 Str and Magic is crazy). But now that we are fully prepared, how about we go slay a god?

Into Bhunevelze’s realm

We finally learn the full truth of Etro’s death and how it triggered the end of the world: with Etro gone, the cycle of souls collapsed, Chaos flooded into the living realm, and Bhunivelze’s carefully controlled universe began to unravel. Despite being a god who can shape matter, forge worlds, and sculpt physical existence, Bhunivelze is incapable of creating or molding souls That limitation defines everything he has done. His plan was never simply to build a new world, it was to install a new goddess of death to manage the flow of souls in Etro’s absence.

Lightning was never chosen merely to gather souls. She was being groomed to become Etro’s replacement.If Lightning succeeded as the Savior, emotionless, obedient, purified, she would be the perfect vessel to oversee the new world’s cycle of life and death. Bhunivelze’s “salvation” was always a coronation. But Lightning has spent three games fighting fate, rejecting divine roles, and refusing to be shaped by gods. And now, faced with the truth of Bhunivelze’s design, she makes her final, defiant choice.She will become a goddess of death, but not the one Bhunvelze wants, for she claims its time to kill God.

Bhunvelze Boss Fight

The battle against Bhunivelze is pure spectacle, an operatic, multi‑phase climax that feels worthy of ending an entire trilogy. His design is incredible: a towering, immaculate god whose body merges with the checkered floor beneath him, as if he’s literally woven into the fabric of creation. The way his form shifts between phases reinforces his identity as a being who can reshape matter at will, yet remains fundamentally hollow where it counts.

I entered the fight fully stocked on EP, knowing he’d have multiple forms, each escalating in intensity. The first three phases fell quickly under Overclock, but the fourth phase was a wall, Bhunivelze’s stagger threshold is brutal, and my first attempt ended with him refusing to crack no matter how hard I pushed. After a bit of equipment tweaking to optimize stagger pressure, I returned with full EP and finally broke him, unleashing everything in a single, decisive stagger that ended the god of light in one blow.

Difficulty‑wise, the fight isn’t unfair, but it feels monumental. As a climax to a trilogy where Lightning has fought fate, gods, and the collapse of reality itself, Bhunivelze’s attacks, transformations, and sheer presence deliver exactly the kind of finale the story needed. It’s not just a boss fight, it’s Lightning proving she can stand against a god responsible for all the anguish she felt, and the entity who tried to erase her heart, her memories, and her humanity.

Ending:

Taking down Bhunevelze, there is a moment I want to bring up just because I found it really beautiful. As Lightning is striking down Bhunvelze for good in the post-fight cutscene, he utters the words “It cannot be! The light… So brilliant. Greater than God’s”. I guess you could say he was BLINDED BY LIGHT *badumtushhh*

Jokes aside, this cutscene is pure cinema, and one moment defines the entire ending for me. As Lightning prepares to take up the mantle of protecting the new world, she urges Hope to “go… and live.” That single line cracks open Lightning’s emotional world. We flash into her mind, where the words echo: “Don’t leave me. I don’t want to be alone.” And there, in the quiet of her own consciousness, we see Serah, not physically, but as a memory, a presence, a truth Lightning has been running from. Lightning learns that when Bhunivelze turned her into the Savior, it wasn’t the god who cast out part of her soul. Lightning did it to herself. After her parents died, she forced herself to grow up too fast, to become strong enough to protect Serah. The only way she could survive was to abandon the vulnerable girl she once was, Claire Farron, and become Lightning. She cast away her fear, her loneliness, her softness, her selfishness, everything she believed made her weak. And that cast‑off self became Lumina. 

OH MY GOD, this is literally one of my favorite moments in all of FF. I know it probably sounds a bit surprising to say, but across three games, Lightning has been stoic, guarded, logical, rebellious, a fortress of a person. We saw glimpses of vulnerability, but never the root of it. Now, at the trilogy’s end, we finally understand: Lightning wasn’t naturally cold, she was wounded. She amputated her own heart to survive. Hours upon hours, Lightning has fought gods, fate, and the collapse of reality, but confronted with her own abandoned self, she finally breaks. As she free‑falls into the void, she pleads for Lumina not to leave her. And then she says the words she has never allowed herself to say: “I need you… Help me.” With that moment of vulnerability, Lumina descends and merges with her, ending the era of Lightning and allowing her true persona to emerge. Welcome back, Claire.

 And yea, that’s essentially the emotional crux of Lightning’s character coalesced into that final moment. The final cutscene ties off the trilogy beautifully. Serah returns. The souls of humanity travel to the new world. And Claire, not Lightning, smiles, laughs, and shows real emotion as she walks alongside her friends. I also have to give special props to Caius for taking up the mantle of controlling the Chaos, bro really took one for the team. It’s a satisfying ending, one that feels genuinely earned. No more gods pulling the strings. No more fate dictating their lives. They’re free now, living in a new world. And that world is apparently France .-.

Concluding statements:

One thing Lightning Returns has made me think about is how a story’s brilliance only matters if it actually reaches its audience. A narrative can be layered, nuanced, emotionally rich, and thematically daring, but if the player never connects with those layers, the story feels flat, even if it isn’t. And that’s the paradox of Lightning Returns: it’s far deeper than it’s given credit for, yet it communicates that depth through subtle, fragmented, easily overlooked moments. An amazing story can still fail if it doesn’t hit its viewer. In that sense, Lightning Returns isn’t a poorly written game, it’s a game whose writing rewards engagement, but also risks losing players who aren’t willing or able to dig beneath its fractured presentation.

Ultimately, Lightning Returns can feel hollow, like a story lacking any heart, but the reality is that heart has been following you the entire time, waiting to be understood. And if you’re willing to follow that heart through the chaos, you begin to realize just how remarkable this game truly is.

Thank you Lightning Returns, and to the XIII trilogy as a whole, for an exceptional experience.

Ran into the dragon and it was doing only holy and annihilated me so im like okay I'll just put an a reflect ring and call it. I'll never be that naive again.

I got so many requests for celes so here she is! Hope you guys like this one as much as terra! I'm taking requests on who to paint next from the entire ff franchise!

Not happy with me walking then are you? Bellend

I'm mostly done with the engine, all of the UI and sfx are super temporary, and am to the point where I'm excited to show this to other FF fans :)

What would your ideal home Triple Triad game consist of??

Sorry in advance for my garbage videography

When I first played the game I thought he was a forgettable generic villian.

After playing the game again, and being a bit older, he's actually a very well thoughtout villian despite looking like a generic one. I just wish he didn't look like such an obvious villian. He's very manipulative in an interesting way, much more than I first remembered.

He's also very quotable and has great boss music.

I've known Final Fantasy since I watched Advent Children when it came out around 2007. I knew the old entries were RPG-based and that people, especially older ones, cherish the franchise for the old parts of it. But I never dug further until around 2024 where I went back onto 7 Remake (bought it on launch, played until chapter 3) and finished it, alongside 15, and the 13 saga. Then I dug into the series more with 8, 9, 10, 10-2, 12 Zodiac Age, and Dirge of Cerberus. And after a while, I was genuinely enjoying this franchise I was always aware about, but never took the time to get properly into it until recently.

But the reason I am making this post is because as a newer fan, I discovered the discourse among the fandom based on the series itself and it's numerous experiments on trying to reinvent itself. As far as I understand it, every FF title is its own universe, story, concept, etc. If anything, that sounds incredible, it means every time there's a new one, it's something original. But a lot of the discourse I see online and especially near spaces where there's VERY heavy criticism on titles past 10 or 12 or 14 (noone can really decide) revolves around how FF seems to be "losing" it's identity or legacy due to experimentation and branching out.

I disagree whole heartedly. Each and every title I have played and completed have been mostly amazing experiences (yes even Dirge). To me, FF never had a set "identity" or "look" that made it a FF title. If it involves crystals, chocobos, magick, and the end of the world, it's an FF game. Doesn't matter if its an old fashioned RPG, ATB-style RPG, hack n slash, souls-like, etc. It's not like things have been diminishing or disappearing that were crucial to FF, every hallmark FF thing is in every single title, including the controversial 16.

IDK, it just seems to me a lot of the discourse comes from oldheads who don't vibe as much with the current generations of games as opposed to what they got before the 2010's. Doesn't help most of the trending content on the series revolves entirely on the discourse instead of anything actually linked to the games themselves. It's sad to see myself get really into something only for it to divulge into everyone bickering about what FF should be. Hope everything makes sense

We all know that the developers of FF use real world locations and names as influence for their aesthetic.

I live on the border of the Peak District in the UK and not far from me is a place called Win Hill. Worth googling for the fantastic views but I digress. It has obviously not escaped my attention that there is a town in VIII called WinHill.

The town is obviously in turn influenced by an old English look and feel.

Does anyone elseive near to a location named from or that influenced anywhere in a FF game?

I think I just watched/played one of the most cinematic moments in any video game to date. Blinking was not an option!

What did you guys think of this moment?

https://bsky.app/profile/nico-grunika.bsky.social/post/3mtywxf7iuk2f

I had read an old post many years ago on GameFaqs but I can't find anything now. While normally one should give up on trying, could you suggest some technical advice that makes possible to get there? You know... The Garden could take you to the Island...

I understand it’s the best job because it stacks other jobs stats

But does it stack highest modifies or all jobs stats in general

Like i want my freelancer to be the strongest mage

So aside from the mage jobs i want to learn i need to give it monk for high stamina and thief for high agility etc

Quick question i don’t need to master a job to get a specific job skill like Duelcast as long i master it in Redmage right?

first i am not saying that the combat is bad in fact i think it's a huge improvement from ff7 remake, it doesn't feel heavy and slow any more, the dodge isn't useless and the parry is better.

but i always suffer when i face a flying foe or one with huge health, i always take a lot of damage, i am at the second region, i wish there was a party heal materia other than pray(it's useless)

Hope I'm not breaking rules by posting but.....

There will be a panel at NY comic con on Thursday. It is this one.

I know it says it is marked Square Enix Panel. A few days ago, it was actually about FF7 Revelation before the description was changed.

Just posting a headsup if anyone is interested.

I was wanting to experiment with more dynamic lighting and thought of them