7 Unexplained Final Fantasy Mysteries

[@TheReturnersHideout]

I was mentioned in a Final Fantasy Union video?! I'm completely blown away, thank you so much!

[@RobTenken]

I'm always glad to learn about solid FF channels! Glad you got a shout out.

[@hanksmith6592]

I'm a simple man. FF Union mentions someone, I subscribe 🫡

[@alabaster_squier]

I bet that Shoopuf remembers Ject.

[@Ross8k60]

omg 🥹🥹🥹

[@martinadams9682]

Ride ze shoopuff?

[@missingLEGACY]

All aboards?

[@michaelcarst6958]

Hmmm... pity.

[@clearspira]

It's stated in one of the Jecht spheres that Auron was a BIG EFFING DEAL back in his younger days. Not only was he a great warrior, but he was in line to be one of the four maesters of Yevon. The only reason he became the broken man we know of later on is because he refused an arranged marriage. Jecht in contrast is a complete stranger - an alcoholic stranger who is rude, arrogant and claims to be from a thousand years ago. I don't think anyone deliberately set out to forget Jecht, but he was very much overshadowed by Auron right from the beginning.

[@jamesgravil9162]

"The only reason he became the broken man we know of later on is because he refused an arranged marriage." That, and dying and becoming an Unsent, and finding out that the whole religion of Yevon is a lie, and allowing his best friend to sacrifice himself and become Sin, presumably.

[@clearspira]

@@jamesgravil9162 No. You missed my point. The only reason WHY he was on the pilgrimage and thus in a position to die in the first place is because he turned down the arranged marriage. Cause and effect.

[@jamesgravil9162]

@@clearspira Sorry, my bad. Been about ten years since I last played X.

[@clearspira]

@@jamesgravil9162 That's fine. There was nothing wrong with your question, if anything I probably didn't explain it very well :-)

[@Ryder.Draconis]

Don't forget how much Japan hates outsiders.

[@DashingDavid]

You also forgot to mention that the little girls dialogue changes in the church whenever Aerith disappears. She acknowledges her disappearance.

[@AceManning18]

Yes. It was definitely intentional. Either just as a small little scene like it already is, or something more.

[@Fauntleroy.]

I'd like to know more about who or what Minerva is in FF7's world. Is she a thinking, feeling being, or is she just, like, a magical puppet? Is she the goddess of Loveless or is it just coincidence that she resembles the character from the play? Could she ever be a Summon? And where is she by the time FF7 happens?

[@pabloescoe]

Yeah been wondering this myself.

[@jonathanstark9147]

The game very heavily implies that Minerva is a personification of the Lifeforce, much like what Aeris becomes. But you are right: lots about Crisis Core and especially Loveless is very indistinct. I'm not sure if the remake expounds on this or not.

[@KaoruMzk]

It's pretty much the same as Lavos from Chrono Trigger.

[@jonathanstark9147]

@@KaoruMzk Lavos is a space parasite. Are you thinking Jenova? Minerva is something else entirely. Maybe more akin to the "entity" from Chrono Trigger.

[@KaoruMzk]

@@jonathanstark9147 oh yeah, you're right, my bad. I was thinking of Jenova.

[@sswishbone]

Regarding Aerith's ghost, if you actually position Cloud correctly, you run past the beam and she stays on screen... Now, here's where it gets interesting. If you manage to pull this off and talk to the young girl her dialogue is "I'll water them later'. Should you then make for the exit and have Aerith disappear, talk to the girl again and her dialogue reverts to "Hey where's the flower lady?" That doesn't essentially mean there was a quest or outcome involving Aerith, it certainly has some meaning.

[@naosstulos]

8. Who is making, filling, and placing all the chests in the dungeons. Without them, our heroes would go nowhere. Mystery person, you are the REAL hero!

[@zdiddy4112]

That would be the loot rat. KZbin Viva la dirt league's loot rat and enjoy, I assure you it is worth it.

[@jonathanstark9147]

An old interview from the original final fantasy NES days explained that originally they had considered using skeleton bones as the treasure chests but went with chests because they were more recognizable and also less frightening to kids. I think the idea is that all the treasures you find in FF dungeons are actually dead bodies.

[@naosstulos]

@@jonathanstark9147 wow, never heard of that. Thanks. Makes sense, you don't want dead bodies everywhere. Bags are rather bland. Chests are enticing visually.

[@sleepeybunney]

The lunar cry normally builds up a critical mass over centuries but the one in Trabia only had ~80 years' worth of monsters in it, and the one in Esthar had less than 20.

[@paulwright774]

There is this. Also there is a global increase in monster encounters, more powerful monsters appear all over the world following the event, sometimes entirely replacing weaker monsters in the encounter tables across the world map. The event is not as cataclysmic but there is definitely an effect on the world following the event.

[@LyntzbartzkyPerez]

Thats a pretty good point

[@clearspira]

The biggest mystery surrounding FF8 will always be Greiver imo. Who is he? Where is he in the present day? What is the connection to Squall's ring? Why can you rename him? Why does he fight you despite this connection? They seemingly went out of their way to make this GF as confusing as possible.

[@auroninja]

Ya agreed. I always wondered myself. I kind of just assumed at the possibility that Ultimecia and Greiver were just future versions of Rinoa and Squall. It's my theory based on Squall's dialogue about if Rinoa became a sorceress, he would be her knight. It's out there, but that's my theory.

[@scribble71891]

It's explained better in the Japanese version of FF8. Griever is Squall's vision of what the strongest GF would be. His imagination given form via Ultimecia's magic. So it's not like the other GFs in the game, though it can be summoned like one. Just not by the player sadly.

[@timyac]

Yeah it’s essentially a design edgelord Squall drew on his trapper keeper and Ultimecia brought it to life. Pretty hilarious

[@DLMoridin]

@@auroninja The Devs have confirmed that the R=U theory is wrong, in some interview i think its in the ultimania guide. plus in game Doctor Odine stats that "Ultimecia exists in a point in the future well past the point anyone currently there would be alive in" which is why we allow the time compression to reach her instead of a time-skip.

[@mrbabluep]

​@@DLMoridin Kitase has actually backtracked on that already and stated that he is not sure if nojima meant it or not.

[@kamron_thurmond]

I always thought that Vivi's kids were made similar to how the genomes were made, because I'm pretty sure Mitoko made it to Gaia, and she would have known Garland's cloning process.

[@ariannaroncato5361]

Thats a cool ipotesis

[@rosemaryjones5550]

They all made it

[@thundercat_pumyra]

I assumed the black mages and genomes, both being products of Terra, were able to reproduce together. The scene in Madain Sari where Vivi and Zidane are taking a piss off the cliff seems to indicate that Black Mages are so.... "equipped"

[@jettblade]

I think because the Lunatic Pandora was the focal point is the reason why it wasn't devastating. Maybe the Point of Tears was specifically created to absorb the impact of the Lunar Cry in order to harass its power some way. If you really think about it we really don't know the exact impact it had because the world kind of gets put on hold until you decide to attack the Lunatic Pandora and then you're thrown into the future where the world is basically dead. Maybe the force fields around the towns isn't to keep them in but to keep the monsters out. We have no clue what is actually going on in them or any lore about that world because there is no access to them.

[@_aleromano]

I kind of remember it is stated in the game Tears Point was actually created so that the next Lunar Cry won't randomically hit the earth, but would be aimed there. Instead lunatic pandora 's crystal forced the lunar cry to happen. Forcing Lunar cries to happen more frequently reduces the size and the impact of them

[@jettblade]

@@_aleromano Thought I remembered something like that but its been a very long while since I've played it and even longer going through slowly enough to get the world building.

[@etinarcadiaego7424]

Poor 15. Such wasted potential. Ardyn is actually one of my favorite FF villains.

[@jach6393]

Totally agree 15 could have been so much better. To take actual relevant story content and remove it only to sell it back later as DLC. Not cool man.

[@RustyShackleford_]

You mean XIII-Versus. XV is a facade of a Final Fantasy game. It only looks like it might be one.

[@blackbird7781]

​@@RustyShackleford_ oh grow up

[@fastasgaupthebargaining7174]

​​​​​@@blackbird7781i agree tired of this notion that final fantasy 15 is such a bad game that it has to be still considered a spin-off of 13 even tho I remember final fantasy 13 being hated on constantly I think both are great titles and final fantasy 15 is more than worthy of being it's own game.

[@MrXxsnipesXx]

​@@RustyShackleford_ its ff15 be quiet lol

[@josephlipkin5037]

You can ask the same question about Yang surviving twice in FF 4. Once in the ocean next to leviathan and second a big ass explosion

[@N3rv3d4m4g3]

I chalk up every final fantasy 4 near miss to the fact that white mages and recovery items exist in cannon, if you get to someone before the life has completely left them you can fix it.

[@Omnishredder]

He's a monk, they're tanky bastards more than 14 let's you think by calling em DPS but back in 6 they can lift a fucking train, it's that level of bat shit insanity stuff that explains other bat shit insanity stuff

[@TheHeroExodus]

​@@N3rv3d4m4g3 If ff4 got a gritty realistic reboot, I imagine cid and yang wouldn't survive. Or only with severe mangling. I can see Cid diving, landing on a Redwing , planting the bomb, flipping them off and employing a parachute or glider. Only to be torn out of the sky and crash landing narrowly avoiding lava. As for yang.... man locked himself in an exploding cannon... probably got launched like smashbros on 999%.... but he is built like a tank so no explanation required

[@mikemiken1963]

@@N3rv3d4m4g3 Sorry, but I've got to be this guy... it's canon. Not cannon.

[@mac.a.r0nny]

his kung fu is just that good.

[@ohnosmoarlulcatz]

For FF15: Izunia is actually a reference to an old Hebrew name, likely obscured by a history of translation and misspelling. It is usually used as a woman's first name, but the meaning behind it is essentially "My God is an Oath, My God is Abundance." His fake name is likely a reference to how Ardyn was chosen to be King and that he is the True Founder. For FF10: It's important to remember that Yevon on its front is a church with a message that it needs to send. Having a disgraced maester, a man married to an Al Bhed, and a drunk was unlikely. But, since Braska defeated Sin and became a High Summoner, they had to conceal certain facts to maintain the public image of their savior. Many religions do this and end up cleaning the story of all the improper things done by those people. And since Jecht had a record of getting drunk and into fights (we see references to several instances of this during Yuna's journey), it makes sense that a lot of Spira's history would exclude the things he does while Auron and Braska had most of their story kept intact. It's also why they kept Yunalesca and the Final Summoning as a secret too. It helps preserve their image rather than knowingly sending these people to their deaths. For FF8: Remember that the Lunar Cry (Lunar Tears in Japanese) is caused by gravity. That same gravity naturally draws monsters to a certain point on the moon, where the connection between the moon and the planet is possible. It normally occurs when the planet and the moon are lined up, which is why it happens at irregular intervals rather than on a cycle and why you can induce it with something like Lunatic Pandora. The reason it's a line is because this is where the pull is either the strongest or the resistance is the lowest.

[@smsff7]

For the lunar cry in Final Fantasy 8, while it was not stated, I have my own head cannon for the reason. It takes a lot of time for the monster population to grow enough for it to cause the trouble of the first 2, but because it was artificially caused, there were not the numbers of the last two. In a way, this acted like a controlled burn that happens where people set fires in the forest in a controlled method so that the underbrush does not build up too much and becomes a real problem if a fire started in another way.

[@Forever_Zero]

I always thought the whole Lunar Cry thing was "fixed" because the time compression starts immediately after that and Ultimecia is defeated soon after, basically time traveling shenanigans

[@konewhatsthenamespolicy6308]

Wait people thought aeris’ ghost wasn’t intentional? I always thought it was. Either actually her spirit from the planet or cloud hallucinating a memory

[@georgehouliaras7239]

When there is a mystery, there is always one guy responsible. Chaos!

[@fierceblu]

In regards to FF14's porminent unsolved mystery: I would like some more context for the Heart of Sabik. The information we have on it is precious little; They are cores and are like auracite? Are auracite? It was a big deal to Lahabrhea, and it is capable of casting Ultima. Ultima was a major plot point of FF2, as was Pandaemonium. I feel like it could make a re-appearance. I should also point out that the name of the song when you fight P2 of Hephaistos is "white stone black", the translation for the japanese name for The Heart of Sabik.

[@eW91dHViZSBpcyBjZW5zb3JzaGlw]

sabik could be Hephaistos,, ya never know. but i agree with you 100%

[@Tython82]

Well your in luck, at PAX East today Yoshi P was asked about the Heart of Sabik and he said we will be learning more about it in the future.

[@kaleajadesilver8918]

​@@Tython82 I'm betting during Pandemonium's final tier of the storyline. I can only make a few guesses at best here: Lahabrea, the side that was sealed in that crystal could have it. Claudin could have somehow found it while looking for the other crystal with the blue one at Az La before he got into trouble. I definitely feel like, at least, he's in trouble in any situation regardless of anything else theory wise. Or it's in the Aetherial Sea somehow or something like that. Yeah that's all I got.

[@Asmodean1111]

White stone black is a reference to alchemy, in this case, the philosopher stone. White to Black to Crimson/red. A stone that it was thought one could cheat death with... and what happens in the savage fight... the party dies and gets raised by the boss for doing the dance right. He even starts cheering himself for getting to that point.

[@Crowens]

They're gonna investigate Azys Lla next and Allag made the Ultima Weapon using that so yeah we're nearing the resolution of that finally.

[@johnmichaelreyes4577]

FF8 also have these un-answered questions 1. The creation of SeeD and the meaning behind it. 2. Ultemecia being a sorceress from the future... which gives me a theory that she was Rinoa's bloodline. Tbh FF8 has that never ending time-loop thingy

[@shannonblack1394]

1. It's explained in the game. Young Edea was visited by older squall claiming to be a SeeD from the future that needed to defeat a powerful sorceress. So when she awoke her and Cid set out to create Garden and the SeeDs to set into action and all the kids from the orphanage were trained to be militant with the expectation they would face a sorcereress. This however creates a time paradox. If Edea wasn't visited by squall would she create the SeeDs.. 2. Point 2 was debunked by the writers. Ultimecia is simply just a sorceress from the insanely distant future.

[@FelixS.]

2. Ultemecia is Rinoa. End of the story.

[@KarlSolsom]

My theory about why the Lunar Cry that occurs during the game didn't have any effects like the previous two is that it wasn't ready to occur; it was forced to happen so there weren't enough monsters to inflict the amount of damage seen in previous Lunar Cries

[@Morgil27]

Years ago I remember hearing a theory that Banon was the true identity of Gogo.

[@breakfastatepiphanies]

Yes I was gonna say this as well. Although there is also a theory that Gogo is Emperor Gestahl who lost all of his memory after the fall from the forbidden continent.

[@TianaSidhe]

I prefer the theory that Gogo is actually Daryl, who survived her airship crashing but has amnesia. I don't recall any direct dialogue from Setzer stating that her tomb contained her body.

[@travisjordan3853]

It's also possible that the Gogo that appears in Final Fantasy VI is also the same one that appears in Final Fantasy V. During the boss battle against Gogo in V, he will end the battle by casting Banish/X-Zone on himself sending him to the Interdimensional Rift. Given that Gilgamesh was also sent to the Interdimensional Rift via Banish/X-Zone and eventually gained the ability to travel to other dimensions via the rift, then its entirely possible that Gogo travelled to the world of Final Fantasy VI using the same method.

[@Blackfire_2022]

It's soo cool to see the returners hideout get noticed!!! LENARD IS AWESOME!

[@wunderplugvv]

Helpful info: Lunatic Pandora was a beacon device that summoned the monsters in a specific point on the moon (gathered by the Lunatic Pandora structure’s pulling force), which caused them to drop down. The name “Lunar cry” has two meanings: the obvious tear drop motif that the monsters reach earth in AND the Lunatic Pandora’s “cry” out towards the monsters on the moon, causing them to gather at the point of which the Lunatic Pandora structure was stationed. The crushing of the statues also shows the magnetic like force the Lunatic Pandora has as well as the glowing red pods around it activate to power the structure. That’s why Laguna had to move it elsewhere to not only hide it, but to limit the amount of power it had, thus Seifer and crew could only move it slowly across the city.

[@wunderplugvv]

Also that’s why the interior of the Lunatic Pandora was crystalline and also filled with powerful magic. It was an echo chamber created to produce a powerful cry, strong enough to reach the moon and stir the monsters to a condensed blob.

[@kalin6149]

The aeriths ghost situation has a unique situation where if you spawn into the church and rush in past the despawn line, the child has a dialogue line. If you walk back to the despawn line to make aerith disappear the child has a different dialogue line.

[@Dr.Cosmar]

I can't remember what director it was, or the exact quote, but it was something like, Director, "You know what the greatest thing about telling a story in this format is?" Interviewer, "No, what is that?" Director, "I can have as many camera angles as I want!" Heavily paraphrased while already translated from a 1990s interview that came forth from my aging memory.

[@tpar83]

there are a lot of scenes in FF8 that seem just an excuse for a cool FMV/CG 😂

[@celebrei]

Tbh most of the story elements and characters in FF8 are convoluted ideas put together

[@Sisren86]

The Lunar Cry questions that you bring up are easy to explain. The past events that caused destruction were 'natural' Lunar Cry events. The one in the game was prematurely induced, simply to use the tide of monsters to ensnare Adel. Therefor it wasn't a large enough event to cause destruction or overflow the world with monsters (though you do fight stronger monsters after that point in the game, so it clearly did have a bit of impact). Asking why it happens as a jelly pillar that extends from the moon to the world is kind of pointless, if you ask me. Its a fantasy event that happens in a fantasy game. At that point you may as well be asking how Elvoret floats in place without the correct wing/body proportions, or even the correct rhythm/strength flapping.

[@patnewbie2177]

"Why didn't the Fellowship fly the eagles to Mordor?" BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T! Because that would have made the story crappier!

[@khaymengraves]

The jelly pillar can be explained by it being an artificial event as well. The triggering force behind the Lunar Cry was the Lunatic Pandora, a single point as oppose to the entire planet.

[@Sisren86]

@@khaymengraves Possibly, but then you have the question of why the destruction would be contained to two very specific areas during the previous (natural) Crys. Plus, there is the fact that Adel helped design the Lunatic Pandora as a weapon, meaning there was precedent in knowing that the event would be contained. Not to mention Ultimecia knows that a pillar will be created which will snare Adel's tomb in its wake. I'd just chalk the jelly pillar up to artistic license in that being how it always happens, just much more destructive when natural. That way further questions don't pop up.

[@khaymengraves]

@@Sisren86 Fair point, but I think we all know it was artistic license. I doubt any of the writers or designers really thought out the implications of the Lunar Cry outside of "this is a thing that happened an it did this". Most people that played FF8 just enjoyed the cool cutscene and kept playing. Hell I didn't even think about it until I watched this video and I like to over analyze everything. Your idea's as to why the Cry was less destructive makes sense, I was just trying to explain the jelly pillar.

[@paulsmith9192]

Aerith at church is paranormal. Her spirit watching over the flowers

[@YellowMage]

The unexplained FF mystery that most intrigues me comes from my personal favourite entry, _Final Fantasy XI_ ; namely the "Restricted Area" in the Bastok Mines district; even as a rank 10 adventurer who can come and go from the president's office at will, you're never allowed to see what's in there!

[@AttackHelicopter456]

I miss the older games. I'm not gonna a lie, I felt so close to the characters in FF7 I cried like a batch when Aerith died

[@TouruZen]

For Final Fantasy mysteries I have one about ff14. The Heart of Sabik. It is mentioned as being the core of Ultima as well as giving the power to cast the Ultima spell but beyond that we know very little. It is possible the ascians gave it to the Allagans when they were trying to replicate Omega but even then there is still so many questions about it. How did it function what is it's origin. etc.

[@silkyfi6652]

​@Joe Schmoe CLAPS The heart of Sabik has been discussed over and over again in the official forums and reddit for almost a decade now. Your favourite youtuber didn't exactly invent this mystery.

[@hasif9393]

Didn't Lulu mention in Kilika "No one can replace Sir Jecht either" implying that she knew of him. She mentioned this when telling Wakka that Tidus cannot replace Chapu.

[@mindlessmeat4055]

Neat that you include The Returners Hideout theory. That is really fascinating.

[@pillsnpiegaming]

People always seem to forget that Vivi is technically married to a powerful Blue Mage (not saying they did the dirty) his offspring is most likely magical in nature made by combining their powers, the first "True" black mages in that world able to reproduce themselves and probably live much longer lives which makes it even more saddening as from the ending you can assume Vivi died shortly after as he is speaking in past tense.

[@BlazingCosmos]

One mystery I always wondered about was, where exactly did Vivi come from? Was he a prototype black mage made by Kuja, or perhaps Garland? SPOILERS.........I know if you go to Quan's Dwelling past Treno, you see an old eggshell that looks almost similar to the ones of the current Black Mage army.

[@DLMoridin]

cant remember where but there is in-game dialoge that confirms Vivi is a prototype with greater power and increased life-span in comparison to the mass produced ones, probably created by zorn and thorn after kuja explained the process. i have a theory that the black waltz were also prototypes. how vivi came to be at Quan's welling is anyones guess

[@chazclark86]

Pretty sure there is a bit of dialogue to support the claims of Vivi being a prototype, I’ve not had a run of FF9 for a long time.

[@leonardosuarezsanchez3645]

​@@DLMoridin actually I remember a dialogue saying the transport where vivi was suffered some kind of accident and it's crate fell and drifted till Quan find it and then you know the rest

[@leonardosuarezsanchez3645]

​@@chazclark86 is Kuja who says it iirc

[@chazclark86]

@@leonardosuarezsanchez3645 thanks for confirming! I was racking my brain like “I know that this is confirmed about Vivi!”

[@MiriOhki]

Re: Cid's survival - pull a page from Egg Shen: "Wasn't easy!"

[@PiGuy007]

KZbin‘a algorithms…I recently started receiving the Returners’ Hideout videos in my recommendations and now, you mentioned him in this video. Lol.

[@horizonkage]

You can stop aerith from disappearing by holding forward while the scene is still loading. You will move past the disappearance trigger point before it's loaded in.

[@RadzKiram]

Sid survived because he is obviously an innovator and the ancestor of kira yamato who also survived a point blank anti ship cannon in an open cockpit without explainition.

[@TheMasterofMasters1]

For Theory Number Six: "Some Light Comes From The Past."

[@squallphin]

Vivi creating a bunch of black mages makes a lot of sense,he made sure nobody was able to use the remaining mist to create an army of monsters , eventually they will all die and with them the mist

[@Veladus]

My favorite mystery: what drugs did the writers of FF8 start taking between making disc 1 and 2-4?

[@coffeeninja88]

Final Fantasy IV does have an amazing quantity of noble self-sacrifices that get undercut later in the story ...except for Tellah. That one stuck. An old man magically overexerting himself is near-instantly fatal. But a different old man falling several thousand feet with a nuclear-level bomb detonating _in_ _his_ _hand_ just requires a little bedrest to shake off

[@truecrescent00013]

Yes! My absolute favorite discussion in videogames is videogame mysteries! Especially Final Fantasy, Zelda, Mario, Skyrim, and Xeno series. You guys are the best.

[@TheFr0z3nF0x]

You mentioned that Dyne only had a gunshot wound when in fact if you watch the way he walks and carries himself he's got several injuries. It seems his left leg is partially paralyzed and his one arm also barely works because he has to hold it with his other arm whenever he's shooting.

[@timyac]

Cid’s inexplicable survival isn’t even the only one in FF4, let alone the rest of the series!

[@Mithoskrasnej]

It feels like making the Lunar cry a ray of magical energy would make more sense. More sense than sending monsters to Earth through space... Are they space resistant?

[@philoslother4602]

The biggest mystery in FF for me: What happened after Dirge of Cerberus? We see Genesis at the end but then there was no sequel...

[@Snafu2346]

As much as people are happy with the FFVII remake. I was hoping for a full FFVI remake one day as well.

[@Eye_of_Horus]

I hated what they did to ff7 though. I’d prefer an actual remake rather than a total rewrite.

[@FelixS.]

@@Eye_of_Horus It is neither a remake nor a rewrite it is a sequel which acknoledges the existence of the OG FFVII. "Remake" is a narrative subtitle and a meta twist.

[@yomilemondragon1721]

I'm afraid I can solve the Jecht mystery for you lol! It makes sense that nobody close to Yuna, i.e. Lulu & Wakka, remember Jecht; they never crossed paths at all. Yuna met Jecht in Bevelle as a kid, right before Braska, Auron, and Jecht set out on their pilgrimage. Only after Braska and Jecht died did Auron ask Kimahri to bring Yuna to Besaid Island, as Braska had always intended. It was there that she met Lulu and Wakka- we never encounter anyone that knew 7-year-old Yuna in Bevelle at the same time that she would have known Jecht.

[@RikuFanatic]

One of the biggest unanswered 'mysteries' in this vein is the lore implications of the Dark Aeons. Yevonites who could Summon souped-up versions of the Aeons we already knew, and visually looked similar to when Yu Yevon possessed them, suggesting they might have been imbued with special strength to keep Summoners on track or punish those who strayed from the path. Or, were they just Summoners who were charged with keeping the peace and carrying out the will of Yevon, similarly to how Isaaru was tasked with defeating Yuna? Why weren't any of these Summoners on a pilgrimage to fight Sin? How did these Summoners also get access to Yojimbo, Anima and The Magus Sisters when they were all held within lost temples?

[@sandwich4916]

They (and Penance) were just added to the game in the international version as extra challenges. That's it.

[@RikuFanatic]

@@sandwich4916 could've just been random arena monsters then, but there's a suggestion of lord behind it. Definitely something that could've been expanded on as there's still an air of mystery to it. That's it.

[@Nicholas-nu9jx]

I also think FF15 has plot hole that the starscourage was not technically stopped as the Volcano still had EOS body and was burning. So eventually it be a problem again

[@Loreweavver]

I'm still convinced that we were supposed to be able to resurrect Aerith as we got her Ultima weapon after her death and there is no way to access it while she is alive in the party

[@acecrono9189]

One of the biggest mysteries is the friendship between Aerith and Tifa. They would hate each other

[@bradleyzurweller5639]

Well when a mommy black mage & a daddy black mage love each other very much…

[@smsff7]

If I remember correctly Jecht was not really well known because of both his drinking problems as well as not being in Spira long before he got recruited to be a guardian as a way to get him out of jail for his drunkenness. So most of his time on Spira was spent going from temple to temple.

[@short0811]

Returners Hideout is the best!

[@Veladus]

The Banon thing has a much more simple explanation. FF6 was a huge game, and SNES carts were tiny. They simply had to cut some stuff to save room, and one of them was Duncan not getting a unique sprite. The Aerith ghost is definitely intentional. I didn't think it was, but one game where I did *everything* to be nicest as possible to her, and I got a different bit where she stays until you move instead of instantly disappearing, and the kids in the church talk about her just disappearing. It was different dialogue from what I normally got from those kids on playthroughs where I was split between her and Tifa. "Auron survived, while Jecht did not." Umm...

[@jamesgravil9162]

"FF6 was a huge game, and SNES carts were tiny." Super Metroid is 3Mb and came out a month before Final Fantasy VI, which is 2.14Mb according to Google. 3 Mb might sound tiny today, but it's almost half the size of Super Mario 64 which is 3D and seemed massive to gamers at the time.

[@LiminalMan777]

Another fantastic video idea

[@Omnishredder]

Aeriths ghost can easily be explained as the person who had their mother die during the production of the game asked if he could have a character die properly to represent their mother, and the ghost be sort of a thing to remind him that his mother's watching over him, therefore the ghost is meant to be there intentionally to simulate if he could say something to his mother one last time what would he say, but due to time constraints the game had certain things not finished, such as the cave up a vine even though there's clearly data that signifies it as walkable, but yes, that part was intended to be something meaningful only to get dropped last minute along with other things

[@qxz9p]

The original plan was to bring Aeris back. The ghost in the church is a remnant of that, which wasn’t properly removed. If you hack her into the game after her death she even has dialog when traversing the northern glacier. There is no reason for her ghost other than developer oversight after changes to the narrative were made.

[@Enharmony1625]

There are quite a few intriguing mysteries around Shadow from FF6. - Who was his wife, and by extension, Relm's mother, and what happened to her? - How did Relm come into the care of Strago, and did Shadow/Clyde know Strago? - Was Shadow/Clyde's train robbing escapades with Baram before or after Relm got adopted by Strago? - Did Strago recognize Relm in the game? There are a couple different ways this could go.. 1. Yes, but since he "killed his emotions" he doesn't show any sign of affection or recognition; 2. Relm was adopted by Strago when she was still an infant, or very young, so he wouldn't necessarily have recognized her (at least not initially). And of course there is the theory that Baram is actually Kefka before he was infused with Magitek, and that's why Shadow confronts him on the Floating Continent, and why Shadow says he can finally stop running at the end after they defeat Kefka, now that "Baram" is dead.

[@Hc2p3n4t4rp]

Relms mother is Stragos daughter, they are blood related, in one of the deleted scenes, but confirmed would have been canonnical, the one where Strago confronted Shadow to take his mask of so he could confirm it he does say Relms mother is his daughter Shadow initially didnt recognize her until after Interceptor didnt attack her but also went to play with her, as in the flashback it shows they already had Interceptor when Relm was born Baram died when he was caught for train robberie, its this notice that weighted Clyde so heavily that he abandoned his family, partially cause he was afraid it would catch up to him there, so throw it all away and became a Shadow of his former self His action in the floating continent are simpler, he wanted revenge, but also in one of the first interactions you can have with him, the one where you first recruit him he mentions jumping in without a plan is foolish, when they were reading themselves for the confrontation Shadow knew thing would go really bad, so he first made sure Interceptor was safe, hence why even when you dont save him Interceptor is still alive and with Relm, when he came back that was his payback, he actually wanted to blow up with Kefka but it didnt go to plan, this was his first attempt to suicide The after the end, well, as mentioned and showed in his dreams, all of his actions was him running away, but by that point he was already too tired to even try anew, he didnt believe he had the right, essentially he saw himself as the last spec of the ugly past world another thing that didnt have a place in the now new world, so he sended Interceptor to Relm and just remained there to die, in a place he felt was fitting for him, and see again, his sense of suicide is somewhat extreme, as in he wanted to die in a place he felt gave meaning to his life, trapping and destroying Kefka was the first one on the Floatting Continent, even if that one was ment to fail, or as an unfortunate casualty in the battle against Kefka

[@Enharmony1625]

@@Hc2p3n4t4rp I know that it was definitely speculated that Relm and Strago were related, but I thought I'd also read that they actually weren't and that Strago adopted her. I don't recall getting actual confirmation from Square on it. In any case, I love Shadow's mysterious past and his connection with Relm. Such a great character!

[@mikemiken1963]

@@Hc2p3n4t4rp Idk Relm has Interceptor if you don't wait for Shadow.

[@thatoneguy4452]

- Relm's mother would've simply been a resident of Thamasa. It's safe to assume she's dead and how she died doesn't really matter. - It's said that Strago was a friend of the family, whether he was Cylde's or Relm's mother's friend is unclear. It is a remote village so it's not unreasonable to assume that everyone knows each other. - I think it's safe to assume that Shadow's dreams are in order. He becomes a train robber with Baram, a job goes wrong and Baram is critically injured, Clyde barely escapes and winds up in Thamasa half-dead, he forms a relationship with a woman in town and has a child (I like to think they got married and the two Momento Rings in the game are their wedding bands), the woman dies, Clyde haunted by his past decides to leave town. - I assume you meant Shadow here and not Strago. Shadow must have known, he likely would've remembered the town, house, Strago, and of course his daughter's name. I'm not sure why Shadow agreed to go to Thamasa, especially as he doesn't seem concerned when Relm is trapped in a burning house (unless Shadow's a real deep sleeper and didn't wake up when Strago entered the inn or when Locke tried to wake him up).

[@Hc2p3n4t4rp]

@@mikemiken1963 actually Im a bit wrong in the events Before the Floating Continent assault, Interceptor went to Relm, when Shadow separates is for 2 reasons, check where Interceptor was, which was the Airship and giving himself the element of surprise for his vengance Tough, programming wise its a little funky Interceptor is a status that percist throug the game, when Floatibg Continent happens it changes to Relm but in a strange way since while she has it it cannot activate, it has a 0% activation chance, supposedly because he is injured But in the Floating Continent Shadow still has the Interceptor status active, even when its not supposed to, another of the strange quirks and bugs that happen because of Shadow If you save Shadow then Relm loses the Interceptor status but if you dont save him then it returns to its 50% Phisical block rate In some rerelease this is fixed and Shadow no longer has Interceptor in the Floating Continent It is believed that since most of the known removed content in the game, even from what still remains in the game, has to do with Shadow, he became the trigger to so many bugs And I mean, I dont complain, it lead to him learning Thundara, or Thunder 2 in SNES, during the Sabin Imperial Camp sequence one time out of nowhere and Flare on the Floating Continent on another, also out of nowhere, only thing in common for both is I was doing a low lv start for Esper stats later Or also what happened to my brother with him, where he somehow broke Dragoon Boots+Dragoon Horn and 1 cycled Kefka by jumping on him far more than 4 times in a row with that 1st command at the start of combat Also, curious fact that show their blood connection Shadow naturally has the highest Phisical Dodge rate in the game, add to that Interceptor for an aditional 50% While Relm has the highes Magical Dodge rate in the game and 3rd highest Speed (Shadow is 2nd and Locke is 1st), with Relic and Interceptor you can make Relm nearly untouchable Lastly, one of the reasons Shadow is one of my favorite characters is because he is too well rounded on all stats on all fronts, has 2nd natural highest speed but far better strength and bulk than Locke and decent Magic stat where its worth using it, heck, his magic stat is higher than Stragos, who is the weakes one among the mages but higher than all other non mage ones Essentially, in no Esper levels run, best units are Terra (allways the strongest), Celes (Terra but lite), Relm (Highest natural magic stat by a LOT) and mostly these 3 cause FF6 magic is busted, from there it depends, take Locke for fast item support (item bitch) or Shadow for multi propouse with the adition of the Throws for unique water element and Shuriken or even normal attacks that outdamage many other phisical units with ease

[@EvilM0nkeyRules]

Nomura did say that he originally wanted to bring Aerith back but because of time they couldn't add it to the game.

[@midnightlumina7]

Garnet looking like Brahne's kid could be one.

[@milhousmanastorm7591]

The biggest mystery in the series: why didn’t cloud use a Phoenix Down on Aerith.

[@RydiasRevenge]

One thing I always was wondering about Rydia in FF4 - Who is her father, and what about the origins of the summoner people? We know from the lore that Rydia is a summoner, and we are told that she may have been one of many as Cagnazzo of Baron disguised as the King used Cecil and Kain to burn the village down, considering them a threat. We witness her mother dying since Cecil and Kain defeated the Mist Dragon. However, no where in the lore of FF4 or the After Years are we given any information about her father, or any other summoners. One theory that may explain this is that the Maenads in FF4 The After Years were almost identical in appearance to Rydia, and also having power over summons, commanding them. There was also the Rydia impostor in the PSP exclusive Interlude, which may have been a Maenad as well. However, this still doesn't explain how summoners came to be in FF4 - there's no real back story. Who do you believe was Rydia's father, and who do you believe may have been the progenitor for the summoners as a race?

[@zenaasura1769]

Ff8s lunar cry does have an impact! Esthar is overrun after that and also the encounter rate is more than doubled after that.

[@SaHOG]

Aeris's ghost WAS intentional, if you talk to the kids right after she disappears they say "where did the flower lady go"

[@celebrei]

I always thought that was the case but another way of looking at it was the kid wasn’t reacting to why the apparition of Aerith suddenly vanished but rather the kid was wondering why Aerith hasn’t visited the church in a very long time because they’re used to seeing here there gathering flowers.

[@Buttertoast8662]

When Aerith's ghost appeared in the church on my playthrough i was somehow able to get behind and right next to her ghost.

[@sora_ix]

I was going to leave a coment, talking about something interesting, but I'll leave It to the readers imagination.

[@iPlayOnSpica]

Another thing in FFX is, I don't know how Yuna ended up in Bevelle after Sin teleported everyone from Macalania to Bikanel Island. Were the Guado just that swift in finding her (out of everyone) and transporting her (with machina, maybe?) to Bevelle?

[@slimebuck]

here is my theory for the Lunar cry: Time time traveling (sending peoples thoughts through time, changing things) creates a negative feedback loop effect. A gravitational tide is then created from this, connecting past to present. When ever the orbit of the moon alighs perfectly with this gravitational wave, which is gravity pushing in a direction making a line through the universe, and if the mass of the monsters was large enough, they would then get pushed by this gravitational line. So if there was no time travel at all I believe the lunar cry would not exist, and there for there would be no monsters on the planet. I think are also products of time travel, and have cells in them that are not native to the time they are in, so they become out of control and monster like.

[@thundercat_pumyra]

My guess is that the Lunar Cry is a natural phenomenon that can be created artificially using the Lunatic Pandora (which was probably created by Ultimecia sometime in the past for this very purpose). The previous times it happened it was natural. The moon fills with monsters, those monsters come down and overrun civilization. Because this time it was artificial, the moon wasn't *full* of monsters. So not nearly as many came down during the Lunar Cry.

[@lordshadow19]

I just assume Bannon died either when the Empire betrays you after Thamasa, or when the world was destroyed.

[@Zhello79]

Same here

[@gurvmlk]

I feel like that Banon/Duncan idea would only really hold weight if Final Fantasy 6 were a newer game. As it stands though, palette swaps were too common of a thing in video games to give that sort of thing any thought. Especially since Duncan only appears in the one scene, so they probably just considered it easier and more efficient to reuse the old man sprite they already had, rather than create a brand new one for such a rather insignificant character. Either that, or it's much more likely that Banon and Duncan are brothers, and that connection could be related to how Sabin wound up involved with the Returners in the first place. Or, at the very least, knew about them. I think the other ideas make a lot more sense. Especially the idea of him being killed in Vector. Perhaps they were caught fleeing after Edgar's "espionage" discovered what was going on, and Banon stayed behind to cover everybody else's escape. Issuing his final order to hurry to Thamasa, and stop Kefka as the Imperial soldiers were closing in.

[@0bskureference]

I always thought of the lunar cry destroying centra being because the massive influx of monsters overwhelmed the population, hinted at by the fact that the encounter rate at the centra ruins seeming to be higher. I concede that I got no good explanation for the crater at trabia besides some crazy tinfoil that Ultima Weapon caused it when it arrived during the lunar cry and was later brought to the deep sea lab for study and to try to draw monsters away from populated regions, only real evidence is the increased encounter rate at that dungeon. So yeah, just a quack’s theory but it makes sense in my mind

[@heromedley]

i think the thing with cid is that he is a dwarf and its pretty stereotypical for dwarves to be associated with explosions and machines that makes a lot of explosions so i guess thats just fantasy convention working out for him

[@scorpionsting90]

Speaking of FF VIII, Shumi and Moombas are a thing that never truly got proper explanation in the game

[@tleman185]

One year later: "Why is there a ghost of Aerith...?" period lol.

[@Kate_Hanami]

I believe that Vivi's children are some black mages left / escaped right before the factory was destroyed and they were adopted by vivi the same way qinno adopted him before

[@jwoodharmer]

I think Cid overdramatized his "sacrifice" being an engineer and inventor, likely had some trick up his sleeve to survive an explosion (some kind of armor or invention) as for the lunar cry, I think it occurs once there are so many monsters on the surface, the gravity of the earth starts pulling them towards it, hastened once they start rushing towards the phenomenon. the lunatic pandora likely activates the phenomenon early, lessening the effect of it.

[@Blakobness]

The Lunar Cry kind of reminds me of a phenomenon that happens with planetoids with low atmosphere that have moons. Specifically Pluto and it's moon Charon come to mind, where ice material comes to the surface and sublimates out into the planetoid's outer atmosphere, kind of like a comet tail. Then the other planetoid crosses through that sublimate and materials are exchanged, you see this as the kind of patchy red almost algae-like stuff created on it's surface. The exact cause of this exchange of material is a lot different from the explanation given for the Lunar Cry, but it still holds an interesting similarity as the monster host also appears as a red-ish cloud. "Gravity" is just sort of a weird explanation, certainly it would be part of it as the host approaches the planet but it could never be enough to start such a process, so maybe it's just one half. A time in the orbit of the two bodies where there is enough of a pull for the fiends to utilize in some way by their own action, rather than just getting sucked off the moon arbitrarily.

[@astroboy3002]

From memory the lunar cry introduces a whole bunch of harder monsters that werent there in those areas before

[@FoNgThOnG]

Dyne suffered more than just a gunshot wound to his hand. He walks with a limp also so there is some leg damage there from the fall.

[@jkn2k]

The only secret is in FF7 getting the 1/35 soldier item... Get 35 of it and you will see !!!

[@Muncheiy]

Man seeing those bytes of episode Ardyn makes me want to play FF XV again. Such a great game.

[@genkaiba15]

Seeing as most summons live undergeound in FFIV, perhaps they cought Cid? I mean, he still blew up, but Sylph or Ifrit may have grabbed him? Iunno...🤔

[@jennyf-eg5gl]

I always wanted to know how Squall survived that ice pick. I am playing ff9 and ff15 now. Each had their own plot holes...one more than other.

[@screamlikecookies]

But FF15 is such a beautiful mess ❤😂

[@jennyf-eg5gl]

@screamlikecookies it is! I had no idea what I was getting into when I got it. I went into blind then had to Google stuff because I had no idea what was going on. Then I found out how messy it was with everything. 🤣

[@danielgonzalez6609]

just see the scene again, it hits him on the shoulder and its actually smaller than it looks

[@patnewbie2177]

@@jennyf-eg5gl Half the story isn't even in the damn game itself! You gotta watch movies and anime and play through all 4 of the DLC chapters to understand what's happening in the BASE GAME! Which just speaks to how thoroughly screwed 15's development was. I mean, this was a game languishing so long in development hell that it was originally revealed as "Final Fantasy Versus 13"...

[@JetstreamTheSexSam]

​@@screamlikecookiesnah it's actually really good

[@alumlovescake]

Izunia was Adyrn's real name while Lucis Caluem was the name given to him by the gods I only played the english version and this what I understood from it all

[@Tython82]

The Japanese makes it a bit more clear but Izunia was just a random name Adyrn picked to hide his identity.

[@screamlikecookies]

Nah, IZUNIA means injury in Latin. Thats why he choose this Name. All main characters have latin names. Its pretty sad and clever.

[@KittyKatt_Luna80s]

​@@screamlikecookiesReally? Interesting.

[@michaeljohnson6905]

Jecht was known by everyone, and they recognize Tidus being his son. Why would anyone really talk about him when he's considered dead, Braska was the High Summoner, and Auron was a *massive* deal in the church before her was a Guardian

[@missingLEGACY]

Nobody acknowledges Titus as being the son of Jecht except for the main party, and, with the exception of Yuna, that is only after Auron confirms it.

[@michaeljohnson6905]

@@missingLEGACY Seymour does. It never gets brought up to anyone else, because why would it? It's a recognizred sore spot by the party so why would they go around Spira and randomly tell the residents "This is Jecht's kid!"

[@missingLEGACY]

You're right, I did forget Seymour knew, but I'm still not really convinced the general public did. Keep in mind Seymour knows a lot more about sin than anybody else, including the fact that Jecht would have to have been sacrificed for the summoning if Auron is still around, due to him already summoning the final aeon. Plus being a maester grants him a lot more information than most.

[@calamaria9221]

Just because Seymour knows doesn't mean everyone knows. Considering how many people mention Yuna through her being Braska's daughter, or address her as being the High Summoner's daughter, I don't see the same people not doing the same thing for Tidus if they knew Jecht.

[@michaeljohnson6905]

@@calamaria9221 Seymour finds out because he's told. No one else in Spira knew about Tidus, not even Yuna whom Jecht had connected with. What's more, Jecht wasn't exactly 'honorable' the way Auron and Braska was; until the Shoopuf incident, he was a drunkard and loud mouth who popped out of nowhere in the middle of Braska and Auron's pilgrimage

[@philbuttler3427]

OH MY GOD when i was a kid people told me about Aerith's ghost and i could never get it trigger and that glitch explanation was probably why. closure is nice sometimes

[@maygayming5275]

Uhh for Cid and Dyne not dying being a "mystery" umm... Phoenix down and life/raise magic exists eh 😅 As for Aeris, I've always had the impression that she had to sacrifice herself willingly to activate Holy and that prevented her from being revived.

[@L_o_c_a_l_G_u_y]

Bigger mystery: how did Cid fill a hole with a bomb??

[@MichelleJNorton]

Remake suggests in the game that Aerith has some how gone back in time to change the fate of the group and that they are going to make different choices this time and save them all.

[@FelixS.]

It is not only suggested but a fact at this point Sephiroth went back in time and is changing the outcome of the story, which is the reason why the Whisperers are a thing. It would benefit his cause to prevent his former self from killing Aerith because this is what led to his downfall. Only due to Aerith being one with the Lifestream, Meteor could be stopped at the end of the OG FFVII. The one sequence during the night at Aerith house you are obviously refering to is ambigious. There is a possibility the OG Aerith also being around. Acutally it would make sense for Aerith and Sephiroth both being back because it could already be the explenation why one or both of them are able to travel through time: Both of them are one with the lifestream at the end of Final Fantasy VII so maybe the lifestream itself exceeds the boundaries of time.

[@lordnoodle2146]

I think Aerith's ghost was either a way to show how people who die are never really gone and their life's work and influences on others will never truly die or it is supposed to be a reference to cloud's guilt and sorrow having flash backs of her as the memory still haunts him

[@berniesharpe2767]

No flood of monsters? No effect on the world? Did you miss that the Esthar region has different monsters post and prior Lunar Cry event and that the city of Esthar becomes completely overrun with the strongest monsters in the game after the event?

[@jaykknight2248]

I don't think Aeris' death is that shocking, and i think it is telegraphed, especially in that cave place. Many other characters have died in video games before, even characters who seem like a permanent party fixture.

[@wanderlustwarrior]

I don't think the issue of being forgotten is specific to Jecht. It seems like most of the historic guardians got forgotten over time. Consider that we only know about Zaon because Yunalesca was the first "High Summoner", and outside of her, Seymour mentions him like once. But we never hear anything about any of Lady Yocun, Lords Mi'hen, , Gandof, or O'Holland's guardians, until that scene at Yunalesca's temple, and their sacrifice isn't generally known. Meanwhile the High Summoners all have statues about them. It feels like the suggestion is Auron is one of the few, if only, guardians who "survived" the entire journey. I wonder, if Isaaru or Father Zuke had completed their pilgrimages, what would've happened to the guardian who didn't become the Final Aeon? Was Auron the only guardian who served a high summoner and then returned to guard another? What happened to Lady Yocun's other guardian(s)?

[@wanderlustwarrior]

Were there other summoners besides Seymour who obtained the FInal Aeon but didn't use it? What happened to them and the people who knew their chosen guardian? Or did they have other guardians as well? It really seems like Seymour and Auron are among very few who knew the truth and returned to the people. It's possible Yocun's other guardian(s) died in the fight against Sin anyway. Or maybe they died to Yunalesca like Auron did.

[@missingLEGACY]

This is pretty much the same conclusion I came to, you posted your comment before I did though. High 5 for random great minds thinking alike.🤚

[@wanderlustwarrior]

@@missingLEGACY Thanks, but to be honest, clearspira's comment before mine got me thinking about how else Auron was treated as "special" compared to other guardians.

[@missingLEGACY]

I honestly feel that your comment and clearspira's comment actually kind of support each other, rather than counter each other.

[@wanderlustwarrior]

@@missingLEGACY Oh, I mean I was definitely building off of clearspira's comment. I'll comment on theirs to explain that there, too.

[@GeaForce]

As far as I know, the only way to die in FFIV is casting Meteo

[@TimedRevolver]

Didn't they establish that Tidus is pronounced 'teedus'? Think it's when Zidane was revealed to be 'zidawn' instead of 'zidayne'.

[@KittyKatt_Luna80s]

It is Tee-dus. It comes from the Okinawan word for Sun, Tiida. Yuna is Moon. That's why Tidus's ultimate weapon needs Sun items to unlock it and Yuna's needs Moon items.