Blog post 5: "The Fangs of the Lion"

The Lion Heart Limit Break (End of Heart)

Now, I'm not sure if this is still considered as "mythology", but I just want to point this little tidbit out. Remember that weapon where you had to exert so much weapon to forge? Yep. The Lionheart. Well, Squall also has a Limit Break called Lion Heart which can only be executed when the Lionheart is equipped and its worth it if it does 9999 damage per hit. In Dissidia, you need to trade it with the Punishment weapon, 5 Unshelled Bullets and 5 Bless Orbs and as for FFVIII, you need to get all the rare stuff you can find (from monsters, of course. That would be no fun if it wasn't).
The Limit Break's Japanese name is translated as "End of Heart" which is also a bit similar to Ultimecia's EX Burst in Dissidia: "Sorceress Heart" which is "End of Memories" in Japanese and Lionheart sounds very similar to Leonhart. Don't get it mixed up, okay? For me, I can never have the time to even start getting the things I need to create this weapon because of school stuff but I guess since I have SOME free time, maybe I could continue in making this. But that's a big "maybe".

The Lion Heart weapon as it appears on FFVIII

Okay, enough about that. There's a reason for everything that's happening to you. Like why is the Lionheart so hard to obtain. Here's my answer to that: WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU GET A SUPER BADASS WEAPON WITHOUT EVEN BREAKING A SWEAT (Caps). Maybe Square Enix based Squall's name on the weapon itself. From where I see it, Squall is a soldier who is performing well in his duties although he has a hard time expressing his emotions (That's where Rinoa comes in). Wanna know someone else who's excelling in the military? He is Richard I of England or commonly known as "Richard the Lionheart". He's the son of Henry II of England, whom has agreed to make him his successor two days prior before his death. Well, Laguna was Squall's dad but I never really knew what became of him because I haven't progressed to that part yet.

Richard I of England

Back to what I was saying, Richard was appointed as heir by his father before he died. When Henry II died, Richard used his newly obtained powers to ban the Jews from his country. And according to Kennedy Hickman's article, he would punish the perpetrators accordingly and he was able to assemble a force of around 8000 men to crusade the Holy Land. Well, I guess he's kinda like Hitler of medieval times. I bet he's also feared like Hitler. That's probably why Nomura decided to make this weapon Squall's final weapon because it is a force to be reckoned with. Just like Richard I (and Squall too).

"A sword wielded by knights loyal to a hero-king of old"

That quote was from the description of  Final Fantasy Tactics A2: The Grimoire Rift. I don't play a lot of Final Fantasy but I have played this game. So based on what I've researched, I'm getting a sense of symbolism in it. Like Richard I did not want any Jews. Same thing as to why Squall rejects people around him.
What have I realized? Squall is a force to be reckoned with. Even if you're a total noob at this game, it's pretty easy to kill off unnecessary monsters with Squall because he never misses. Even with the Darkness ailment with him. Square Enix does it again and I give them credit. So I guess making games weren't as easyas I thought because you need to provide a certain back story to it. Otherwise, it would be sort of a bad game. Or maybe the little back story thing isn't mandatory. I don't know.
Once again, thank you for taking your time in reading this short, yet informative blog about the Lionheart. Have a good day!

Blog Post 4: "The Allfather of the Norse Gods"

Yes, what you're thinking is right. It's Odin! He's pretty awesome due to the fact that he has a six-legged horse and can defeat you in an instant even though its just a 50% chance. Anyways, its obvious for you by now that Odin is like the Ares of Norse mythology. Why? Come on, a six-legged horse and a huge spear, that's pretty much overkill. I did a little bit of research in FF8 some time ago and I figured, I should research about Odin since it caught my attention. I was gonna do research on Bahamut but I don't think he's a part of FF8, sorry. I could make a special blog about Bahamut though, if I feel like it. Now, the Norse mythology came from 5 countries in Europe called the Nordic countries: Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Norway. In the game, though, he doesn't wield the Gungnir and has Zantetsuken instead. Odin's name can be translated as "Master of ecstasy" in Scandinavian. Sleipnir isn't always in every Final Fantasy game Odin is in and is sometimes a separate boss. One thing I really is that she is Lightning's Eidolon, which I find awesome because Lightning is awesome. In FFXIII, using Odin would cause the user to experience anger which is in par with his Nordic name. Odin's appearaces have been changing and evolving from a knight of darkness to a knight with a white cape and turns into a steed for its master to ride.

Odin's original portrait. Drawn by Yoshitaka Amano

According to Micha F. Linderman's article, it says Odin is not just a god of war and death, but also a god of poetry and wisdom. He has the Gungnir, which never misses is target and is accompanied by his wolves, Freki and Geri. Resides in Valhalla, where slain warriors are taken, and is slain by the wolf Fenrir in Ragnarok, the day of the final battle. Lastly, Wednesday was based on him (Wōđanaz). Odin has many sons, the most famous of whom is Thor, the thunder god. (Famous because of the Avengers movie? Maybe.) There was an anime show about these Norse gods with Loki as its main character but that's another story. Some say that the Roman historian Tacitus refers to Odin whenever he mentions Mercury.

"Odin, the Reaver... Only once he has known defeat, and that only when lightning struck his fearsome blade" 

     Eidolon Library (FFIII)

Yep, that pretty much sums up that he plays a huge role in Norse mythology and he's a really hard to obtain summon so have patience and don't be lazy. I kinda see what they did with the "Lightning struck his fearsome blade" part. Lightning, anyone?

Odin using Zantetsuken in Final Fantasy VII

I've realized that there's more to the whole mythology of Final Fantasy than what I thought. I've actually praise Nomura for being able to connect these summons to his own world. Maybe that's why he made Claire Farron's alias "Lightning". In my opinion, Odin is just one of the many  great summons (and Guardian Forces) and I feel even more compelled to research and learn what's up with them. Until then, see ya guys!

Blogpost 3: "Who are they really?"

Good day to you, person who is reading this! You know, I've always wondered if there's any other mythologies or random tidbits that I would find cool in Final Fantasy besides... well, the summons. And since I love FF8, I did some research and found out some pretty cool stuff. It's pretty interesting due to the fact that you never knew stuff like these but you've been thinking about them all the time. Take Shin-Ra from FF7: It actually comes from Egypt which means "Dark God" and is portrayed as a vampire, which makes sense because the Shin-Ra Company is seeking world domination using Mako energy. Cool, right? Too bad I'm not an FF7 person. I'm more centered on FF8 because i don't any other Final Fantasies having gunblades... XIII doesn't count because Lightning is the only one who has a gunblade and gunblades are like a standard military weapon in FF8. So far, this game's been pretty awesome because you can actually control your critical strikes. I'm always wondering if a gunblades in FF8 can actually shoot bullets or maybe the "bullets aren't used to shoot but power up its user's magic instead. I'll never know... or maybe I will. Heck, even gunblades have their own history... according to Joe Juba's article "Final Fantasy's Mythological Roots" Seifer's gunblade, the Hyperion-- is from the Greek mythology who is supposed to be one of the twelve titans who were defeated by Zeus. I'm not gonna be talking about the gunblades for the time being, though. Maybe next time.

The Rhine river

The Loire river, located in France

All right, you probably know that Laguna and Raine are Squall's parents, right? If you didn't, I'm sorry for spoiling you. Laguna is spanish for "lagoon", which is a body of water. And his last name, Loire, is a river in France. Some fans also say that Raine is a mis-translation of  "Rhine" which is a river that acts as a border between Switzerland and Liechtenstein. And if you look around your dictionary, Squall means a storm at sea and it is contrasted by a lagoon (Laguna).
Laguna probably came from the word "Ragnarok" which can be written as 「らぐなろく」and can be pronounced as "la-gu-na-rok" which is a sword used in the FF series (not this one, though) and a spaceship in this game. See? Even their names have their own origins.

"Squall is a cold and taciturn youth"
- Dissidia: Final Fantasy's brief description of Squall
Like I said, it's parallel to the meaning of his name because squalls are sudden gusts of wind that may bring rain or snow or dust. Storms are cold and so is his personality but he started thinking about his life when he met Rinoa, which comes from "Eleanor" meaning "light" in French and she gave light to Squall's life.

After all this research, I've finally realized that there is more to mythology in Final Fantasy than just summons. I highly recommend you try this game out because it was good in its time and you'll understand more what I'm saying. I gotta say, I'm impressed as to Nomura's selection of references with regarding the character names. Gonna put a blog about the weapons next, so stay tuned!

Blog post 2: "An ice queen or The Destroyer?"

Shiva as she appears in FFVIII

Heyo! It's me again, and welcome back to my blog. And this time, I'm gonna be talking about the other default Guardian Force: Shiva. Her debut started in Final Fantasy III as a summon but that's another story. Shiva also has her recurring move called "Diamond Dust" that has been carried ever since her debut, which is an attack that will deal major Ice damage to the enemy and Ifrit will say something if you summon her in his fight. However, Shiva is not a god from any mythology... At least, not as an ice queen, but as someone known as "The Destroyer". This "Destroyer" identity comes from the Hindu, which says that Shiva is one of the three most influential denominations in Hinduism. You could say I got a bit shocked after finding that out. I mean, the Final Fantasy Shiva is a woman and the Hindu Shiva was like the Ares of Hinduism. I can't really say I summon her a lot because most of the enemies in FFVIII have resistance to Ice but it's not that I never summoned her... The skills you get from her aren't that half bad either, because you don't receive Doom from a random GF. I didn't notice this quite early, but the damage of your magic also depends of the GF you're junctioned with. So if you cast Blizzaga while junctioned with Shiva can deal massive damage to one who is weak against Ice damage. But don't neglect the fact that you're still very vulnerable to Fire magic. The Hindu Shiva is portrayed as some badass guy who is in charge of death and destruction, as well as destroying ego in a positive sense.
More info about Hindu Shiva can be found here: http://www.sanatansociety.org/hindu_gods_and_goddesses/shiva.htm

Shiva from Hindu mythology

Moving on, if I were to rate Shiva from 1 out of 10 being the best summon, I'd give her a 6. Why? Because first of all, she's too common of a summon. Second, I'm not a magic person, so the stat boosts that she gives don't really do much for me. And lastly, she may have a lot of flaws, but she's quite reliable when fighting inside a dungeon that has a lot of monsters who are weak against her element. Now if you're going to ask if I have given a summon a 10/10 rating, then your question's gonna be answered in the next blog.

Blogpost 1: "The Serpent of the Skies"

Quetzalcoatl's appearance in Final Fantasy VIII

I've been playing video games ever since I was a child. But at that time, it didn't have too much impact on me because I was a kid who would go out and play. But it all changed when I watched Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children on a random DVD. It made me get hooked into the series, and eventually, ending up playing most of it. I've played FF I - IX because my PSP could only handle a PSX emulator. This particular Final Fantasy has caught my intention-- Final Fantasy VIII. It's probably because the main character is someone who I can relate to. Now, there are these creatures (or spirits) called "Guardian Force" (GF for short) who enable the characters to cast magic, or draw magic from the enemy. They also influence a character's growth and they skills they would obtained once junctioned with them. Guardian Forces are obtained through many different ways: Either by fighting with them, meeting with them under certain requirements or being an initial GF. The player has the choice of summoning them in battle for inflicting massive damage for no cost but you risk the GF's HP being depleted as you summon it. Quetzalcoatl is one of the inital GFs along with Shiva. And personally, I never had him junctioned with Squall. Sometime around the middle of the game, it states that these Guardian Forces actually take away the memories of their user, for they are drawing power from the same section of the mind that stores memories but this is only made for the plot. Overusing GFs don't

Quetzalcoatl as described by the Aztec: A flying serpent with wings

actually inflict any negative effects to the characters during battles. As a guy who find joy in conserving, I don't summon them as often as most players do because I have a thing that makes me think that there's a cost for everything... Then there's me realizing the abscence of MP in FF8. I never let a Guardian Force be defeated so I have no idea whether or not you can still use their abilities and magic so I guess you should grab your old PSX, play this game and find out (unless you already know).

More info about Quetzalcoatl: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quetzalcoatl
http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/487168/Quetzalcoatl