Summary: The four trials for Ultima. Lightning takes Etro’s mantle. The final fight against Bhunivelze for the soul of his new world.
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Inner Temple
-Yeul and Lumina float down, heralding the end of time.
-LUMINA ADMITS SERAH WAS INSIDE HER THE WHOLE TIME, I KNEW IT
YEUL: “You made Lumina. Do you remember? You made a tomb to keep someone’s memory safe.”
-Lightning first stored Serah in her soul on Etro’s throne. Then Bhunivelze cut her out. (It keeps hitting me what a jackass Bhunivelze is.) Serah’s soul floated in the Chaos. Lumina kept her safe.
LUMINA: “We’re just particles of dust, brushed from the palm of God. He didn’t care what happened to her. But I did.”
Bhunivelze is not a weep-for-every-sparrow style of god.
-Lumina came into existence just as a vessel.
NOOOO, SHE’S DONE HER PART AND SHE’S ENDING NOW
-She disappears. Serah bursts forth briefly, then flickers out.
-The temple’s clock chimes it’s last. And God is awake.
-And he took the form of Hope??? *rage rising*
-He yoinks up Fang, Vanille, and the rest into his palm. More hostages.
LIGHTNING: “I don’t care if you’re God himself. I’m taking them back, I swear it.”
-Lightning’s now alone… until Mog rushes in.
-God lies just ahead, working on his new universe.
-Huh, looks like there’s still stuff left. Four trial doors that can power me up if I succeed.
-I have a feeling this’ll destroy me with superbosses, but let’s try it.
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The Four Trials
-The first trial is the Altar of Salvation.
-It’s just a hallway with monsters. They’re the tough ones I’ve faced, but at least I’ve seen them before. I have a strat all set., ones I’ve seen and have a sort of strat for.
-The occasional windows her overlook a hall of statues with smoke. Hm.
-Not TOO long. No boss either, just a slightly tougher monster pack.
-I’m awarded with… holy shit, with Flare! Fire magic that does more the lower my health is. Situational. [Later edit: the other altars all reward different elements of this magic type.]
-Next is the Altar of Judgment.
-The window here looks out on a cloudy expanse, with pillars or structures of some sort. A bridge?
-Each trial completion activates a statue in the main lobby that zaps an orb in the middle.
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Inner Temple
-Yeul and Lumina float down, heralding the end of time.
-LUMINA ADMITS SERAH WAS INSIDE HER THE WHOLE TIME, I KNEW IT
YEUL: “You made Lumina. Do you remember? You made a tomb to keep someone’s memory safe.”
-Lightning first stored Serah in her soul on Etro’s throne. Then Bhunivelze cut her out. (It keeps hitting me what a jackass Bhunivelze is.) Serah’s soul floated in the Chaos. Lumina kept her safe.
LUMINA: “We’re just particles of dust, brushed from the palm of God. He didn’t care what happened to her. But I did.”
Bhunivelze is not a weep-for-every-sparrow style of god.
-Lumina came into existence just as a vessel.
NOOOO, SHE’S DONE HER PART AND SHE’S ENDING NOW
-She disappears. Serah bursts forth briefly, then flickers out.
-The temple’s clock chimes it’s last. And God is awake.
-And he took the form of Hope??? *rage rising*
-He yoinks up Fang, Vanille, and the rest into his palm. More hostages.
LIGHTNING: “I don’t care if you’re God himself. I’m taking them back, I swear it.”
-Lightning’s now alone… until Mog rushes in.
-God lies just ahead, working on his new universe.
-Huh, looks like there’s still stuff left. Four trial doors that can power me up if I succeed.
-I have a feeling this’ll destroy me with superbosses, but let’s try it.
---
The Four Trials
-The first trial is the Altar of Salvation.
-It’s just a hallway with monsters. They’re the tough ones I’ve faced, but at least I’ve seen them before. I have a strat all set., ones I’ve seen and have a sort of strat for.
-The occasional windows her overlook a hall of statues with smoke. Hm.
-Not TOO long. No boss either, just a slightly tougher monster pack.
-I’m awarded with… holy shit, with Flare! Fire magic that does more the lower my health is. Situational. [Later edit: the other altars all reward different elements of this magic type.]
-Next is the Altar of Judgment.
-The window here looks out on a cloudy expanse, with pillars or structures of some sort. A bridge?
-Each trial completion activates a statue in the main lobby that zaps an orb in the middle.
What’ll happen after I finish all trials?
-Third trial is the Altar of Birth. The windows show stormy weather, and… wait, is that Valhalla?
-Last trial is the Altar of Atonement. Soldier of Peace with Artemis’ Arrows is really carrying me.
-This looks out on a ruined city. Not sure what to make of these images beyond the apocalyptic feel.
-The last fight here is tougher than others. It’s like six fire/ice gremlins and a big dude they charge up with their elements. I gotta take out the big dude first.
-The Last One Sugriva isn’t too bad. Debuff, Deprotect Hunter/Artemis Arrows, dodge as needed.
-All four trials done. Let’s check out that altar in the middle.
-Lightning puts her weapon in the energized altar, like a forge. It glows red and crackles with power.
Lumina’s voice: “It’s a gift from Serah. She says, ‘Use this to get it back. Everything that’s been taken from you. I know you can do it. You’re the only one who ever could.’”
HOOOOOOOLLLLLLYY SHIIITTITITIT “ULTIMA WEAPON!” STR +2500, MAGIC +2500, ATB SPEED +15, ARSENAL OF ONE+. AND THE ULTIMA SHIELD, HP +8000, ABT SPEED +20, GUARD DEFENSE +330
I doubt I’ll use the Flare line of spells now, but this gear is bananas. Ready for the final boss.
-Incredibly nervous. Getting flashbacks to FFVIII’s Ultimecia, the hardest final boss in the series for me. Took me lots of attempts and had me legit raging.
Chill, self. Dying is okay. Watch the boss’s attacks, counter/block as best you can, and make gradual progress. If you get stuck, it’s okay to look up a guide.
Seriously. It is. You do it for FFXIV, and it doesn’t significantly lessen your enjoyment. Try treating yourself the way you want to treat your friends.
-Okay, NOW I’m ready.
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Final Battle
-Mog will stay behind as a beacon, a smiling face to draw Serah’s spirit back home. I love how this game honors the prior games. It’s a huge benefit to treating this as a post-cliffhanger sequel to XIII-2.
-As she enters, Lightning mentions how foolish it is for a human to fight Bhunivelze. But she’s more than human. She’s been remade by the gods.
-The boss area is the Chamber of Creation.
-Hope voiceover. Bhunivelze dreamed this world waswould last forever. But alas, Etro was destroyed. Entropy advanced.
-There’s Hopivelze.
-God can’t create or mold souls, so he needed “a fisher of souls” for his reset. That was Lightning.
-It was a test for a bigger role. He wants her to replace the lost goddess Etro.
-…I was actually prepared for this! This is a good thing imo. LR foreshadowed well that Lightning was being molded to replace Etro. The biggest surprise is that Bhunivelze was behind it.
I expected her Etro powers to be a big shock for Bhunivelze, the thing giving her power to defeat him.
-Hopivelze just did an evil laugh, and it’s SO WEIRD to hear coming from his mouth.
-Third trial is the Altar of Birth. The windows show stormy weather, and… wait, is that Valhalla?
-Last trial is the Altar of Atonement. Soldier of Peace with Artemis’ Arrows is really carrying me.
-This looks out on a ruined city. Not sure what to make of these images beyond the apocalyptic feel.
-The last fight here is tougher than others. It’s like six fire/ice gremlins and a big dude they charge up with their elements. I gotta take out the big dude first.
-The Last One Sugriva isn’t too bad. Debuff, Deprotect Hunter/Artemis Arrows, dodge as needed.
-All four trials done. Let’s check out that altar in the middle.
-Lightning puts her weapon in the energized altar, like a forge. It glows red and crackles with power.
Lumina’s voice: “It’s a gift from Serah. She says, ‘Use this to get it back. Everything that’s been taken from you. I know you can do it. You’re the only one who ever could.’”
HOOOOOOOLLLLLLYY SHIIITTITITIT “ULTIMA WEAPON!” STR +2500, MAGIC +2500, ATB SPEED +15, ARSENAL OF ONE+. AND THE ULTIMA SHIELD, HP +8000, ABT SPEED +20, GUARD DEFENSE +330
I doubt I’ll use the Flare line of spells now, but this gear is bananas. Ready for the final boss.
-Incredibly nervous. Getting flashbacks to FFVIII’s Ultimecia, the hardest final boss in the series for me. Took me lots of attempts and had me legit raging.
Chill, self. Dying is okay. Watch the boss’s attacks, counter/block as best you can, and make gradual progress. If you get stuck, it’s okay to look up a guide.
Seriously. It is. You do it for FFXIV, and it doesn’t significantly lessen your enjoyment. Try treating yourself the way you want to treat your friends.
-Okay, NOW I’m ready.
---
Final Battle
-Mog will stay behind as a beacon, a smiling face to draw Serah’s spirit back home. I love how this game honors the prior games. It’s a huge benefit to treating this as a post-cliffhanger sequel to XIII-2.
-As she enters, Lightning mentions how foolish it is for a human to fight Bhunivelze. But she’s more than human. She’s been remade by the gods.
-The boss area is the Chamber of Creation.
-Hope voiceover. Bhunivelze dreamed this world waswould last forever. But alas, Etro was destroyed. Entropy advanced.
-There’s Hopivelze.
-God can’t create or mold souls, so he needed “a fisher of souls” for his reset. That was Lightning.
-It was a test for a bigger role. He wants her to replace the lost goddess Etro.
-…I was actually prepared for this! This is a good thing imo. LR foreshadowed well that Lightning was being molded to replace Etro. The biggest surprise is that Bhunivelze was behind it.
I expected her Etro powers to be a big shock for Bhunivelze, the thing giving her power to defeat him.
-Hopivelze just did an evil laugh, and it’s SO WEIRD to hear coming from his mouth.
HOPIVELZE: “You must become the ruler of Chaos. The goddess who takes the souls of the dead and places them in the hearts of the newly born.”
It just hit me. If we win, what happens? If we beat Bhunivelze, that doesn’t beat back the Chaos, does it? Can we just hop into Bhunivelze’s new world even without his support?
LIGHTNING: “I’ll become a goddess of death, alright. But not the one you want.” *draws her sword at GOD HIMSELF. FHDJKLSFHDSKLFDHKLS HELP I LOVE HER.
I get intellectually that these are 80s action hero one liners, but something about the character and voice actress gets me on board. And women in this role are not super common. It feels fresh.
-What is this final boss room??? It’s the Sanct of Theogenesis. The room of the creation of a god.
-Bhunivelze gstures to a dark orb in the distance, the souls in the Chaos. I stopped him from destroying them for now and getting a fresh start.
-WHOAAA we see ACTUAL BHUNIVELZE BEHIND HOPE AND HE LOOKS FUCKING AWESOME
-He pulls at Hope like a puppet, literally holding him up by strings of light.
-Bhunivelze is going full [steven universe spoilers] juvgrqvnzbaq. Purity through possession.
LIGHTNING: “You took [Hope’s] body, but what did you do with the soul?”
BHUNIVELZE: “I do not know. Your souls are invisible to me.”
What a fascinating weakness. And again, it’s been well-foreshadowed this game. Lumina told us over and over that God couldn’t see into human hearts and minds.
-THIS IS SO COOOOL – HE SUMMONS FORTH PULSE AND LINDZEI AS WEAPONS
-First phase goes by quickly. Which is GOOD, cause he cause Doom on me early.
-Second phase down too. He used ice magic which didn’t hit that hard, and I kept him debuffed and slammed with Artemis Arrows.
-He’s got some Inception effects going on, where the checkered ground rolls up behind him.
-Third phase down! Same strat. This is going super fast?
-This last phase, idk about. My attacks aren’t doing anything, and he seems immune to debuffs. Gotta find a way to stagger him maybe.
-His Heartless Angel attacks are straight from Kefka, dropping me to one HP. Takes me a couple of near-death experiences to get the block timing.
-Yessss staggered! Guarded Heartless Angel, built stagger with fast magic and physical attacks.
GOT HIM FHDJKLSFHDSJKLFHDSJKLFHFLD
[Later edit: I was afraid of an Ultimecia repeat, but needn’t have worried. That was one of the series’ easiest boss fights, up there with Kefka in FFVI (though not at FFX Yu Yevon levels). Debuffed and just slammed with Artemis Arrows. Healed every so often. Never really felt threatened until the end.
To clarify: that’s NOT a bad thing. I don’t mind easier boss fights. The game was plenty challenging on its own, and I’m glad I chose easy mode.]
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Next time: the end.
