FFVI – Part 53: Brand New Day

Summary: Celes safely washes ashore near Albrook. We learn a whole lot about this brand new world. Kefka rules as a malicious god, and everything is awful. We set out to find our friends.



Albrook

-We land on the southern continent and walk to Albrook.

-Well. Kefka’s alive. AND APPARENTLY A GOD WITH THE POWER OF THE TRIAD.

-Yeah, that’s pretty much the worst thing possible for the people of this world, and one of the best things possible in terms of tropes I love: “The Bad Guy Wins” trope.

I love when stories show the bad guys getting everything they want. This is Kefka’s world now, and we get to see what he made of it. [Quick plug: a phenomenal short story collection that embraces this trope is “Cthulhu’s Reign,” a series of stories by different authors imagining a world where Cthulhu successfully awakens. READ IT NAOW!
http://www.amazon.com/Cthulhus-Reign-Darrell-Schw...

-A glint in our eyes reminds someone of a young martial artist here recently. Sabin?

KEFKA’S “LIGHT OF JUDGMENT” WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK

On top of the horrifying imagery of Kefka zapping towns at will, we start to see a theme emerging about Kefka’s world: despair. The residents of Cid’s isle killed themselves from despair. Celes nearly went the same way.

And here we learn the impact that Kefka’s constant threat holds: “There’s no point in even trying.” Hopelessness and despair.

-More good news. Apparently, many ancient legendary monsters that were sealed away were set free when Kefka shattered the world.

As long as the FFV Shield Dragon isn’t among them, I’m excited.

-Someone in town painted the Emperor’s portrait, but the Emp didn’t like it. “I even painted that thing he originally asked for in the background.” Color me interested. What thing? Also, does he mean Gestahl, Kefka, or someone new? My money’s on Gestahl. I can’t imagine Kefka, with the power of a god, has much interest in the bureaucracy of an empire.

-He sold the painting to Owzer in Jidoor.

-“Eight dragons seal away its awesome might… the might of the one called Crusader… And when the eight shall fall, the one again shall rise…” YES PLEASE

-Someone recently came to this town looking to someone matching Celes’s description. Sabin again? The man went to Tzen. If it’s someone looking for Maria, I’m going to be annoyed.

-The pub is empty. The guy who runs it feels nostalgic, and we get a brief sepia flashback to the days when the joint was hopping with music, dancing, and imperial soldiers.

The good ol’ days.

I remember worrying early in the game that we were covering the same ground a lot, going back to old towns and caves and the like. I needn’t have worried. FFVI jiu-jitsus something that could have been lazy and turns it into a tremendous strength.

Take Albrook, for instance. I’ve seen so many iterations of this town. Imperial-occupied Albrook, false peace Albrook, and now post-apocalyptic Albrook. I get to see its citizens develop and change, and it makes the whole experience so rich. When I saw the flashback, I get why he was sad that those days are gone. I feel his loss.

I cannot WAIT to revisit the rest of this world.

-When the world shattered, debris from all over gravitated to the center of the south continent and now forms Kefka’s tower. Does this mean Vector is no more?

I don’t know why this image of Kefka sitting atop a tower and zapping towns at whim (FOR A FULL YEAR – WTF) appeals to me so much as a story arc. Maybe it’s because Kefka’s path to godhood feels like it was the exact opposite of Exdeath in FFV. We fought Exdeath frequently, and kept getting our asses kicked until we were strong enough to win. With Kefka, we kept kicking HIS ass until HE grew strong enough to win.

For all I know, he’s watching Celes right now. Laughing.

-Someone saw Deathgaze “soaring up among the clouds,” and worries that someone in an airship will run into the monster. I’m gonna go out on a limb and call that foreshadowing.

-Let’s go. Let’s see more of this world Kefka made. (Still bitter at underestimating him so badly for so long. GAH.)

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Next time: North to Tzen to find someone. Sabin seems most likely.



“Go ahead and laugh.
Yeah, I’m a funny guy.
Tell everyone goodbye.
It’s a brand new day.”