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Let's Play Every Final Fantasy Game In Order Of Release [Now Playing: Final Fantasy IX]

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Omicron said:
As you can see, I've placed Black in several characters' identity, but the nature of Final Fantasy stories is such that this is, ultimately, a trauma or character flaw that they resolve and overcome. And don't get me wrong, Black is one of my favorite colors to play, it's just that although Magic's narrative insists that it's as full of positive potential as any other color, it mostly kind of sucks on a psychological level.
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To my eternal dismay, I always loved Black decks as well as the idea of heroic characters repping it, but dang does Magic make it hard to justify at times.

I think it does work as a willingness to push above and beyond for the people you care about, and a willingness for (sometimes excessive) self-sacrifice when fighting the good fight, but it does have a lot of other baggage saddled with it.

Also, new personality quiz - what are the Magic colors that fit your personal FFXIV WoL. We've got the canon omni-master, but everyone has their own spin on their WoL.
 
venom3053000 said:
No Irvine?
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Entropy Judge said:
Referring to me? ... I don't like Irvine, so I find it difficult to be objective about him. That aside, he certainly presents himself as Red, but he's also sharper than he lets on, so how much of that is presentation and how much is just exaggeration, I don't know. 🤷
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[guy who knows nothing about Magic voice] Irvine Kinneas is obviously RED WHITE AND BLUE BAYBEEE

*America Fuck Yeah blasting as Galbadian Garden troops storm enemy lines while Irvine curls into a ball and sobs quietly at his sniper nest*
 
StormyEyed said:
To my eternal dismay, I always loved Black decks as well as the idea of heroic characters repping it, but dang does Magic make it hard to justify at times.

I think it does work as a willingness to push above and beyond for the people you care about, and a willingness for (sometimes excessive) self-sacrifice when fighting the good fight, but it does have a lot of other baggage saddled with it.

Also, new personality quiz - what are the Magic colors that fit your personal FFXIV WoL. We've got the canon omni-master, but everyone has their own spin on their WoL.
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Emerging from my lurking cave to excitedly ramble about my OC, Ducain Voldaren. (I spent too much time on this and I'm sorry but the brainworms must be appeased)




Ducain is a Sage primarily by trade, an acerbic academic by nature. While his in character color palette is Green and White, his actual identity would likely be Azorius (Blue/White). Ducain is intelligent and has a drive to heal those in need after a childhood in war-torn Bozja, traveling to Eorzea to learn the healing arts. As a sage, Ducain applies preventative care and disrupts the enemy's attack, making him a classic control piece.

Ducain Voldaren 2 U W
Legendary Creature - Cat Doctor

Lifelink, Ward - 2
When Ducain Voldaren enters the battlefield, place a shield counter on up to one other target creature you control.

Whenever a counter is removed from a creature you control, or a creature you control with counters on it leaves the battlefield, draw a card.
 
Kuja said:
[guy who knows nothing about Magic voice] Irvine Kinneas is obviously RED WHITE AND BLUE BAYBEEE

*America Fuck Yeah blasting as Galbadian Garden troops storm enemy lines while Irvine curls into a ball and sobs quietly at his sniper nest*
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I think he does unironically fit Red/Blue or Red/White/Blue, though.

He presents as some of the worst aspects of Blue and Red: self-absorbed, egotistical, but also lacking the cool self-possession and drive of a sniper when it counts. Also, flirting with everything that moves. But he also follows his own moral compass at the expense of his Garden, thanks to a secret store of knowledge none of the others possess until he awakens the memories in them.
 
venom3053000 said:
Gilgamesh demands to be every color
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I'm pretty sure Gilgamesh is mono-Red. Driven by his id, no regard for rules and is a thief, but not ruthless or edgy and has enough compassion to not be Black-aligned, uses crafted weapons and techniques rather than raw natural bulk. He's even got a predominantly red costume.

Also, more importantly, Red is, or at least was back in the day, the color that got most of the silliest, most amusing flavor text.
 
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Where does "capitalism, ho!" falls? For NORG and Shinra inc? Mono-black, as greed is good?

(If so, Reeve at the start would be black-white, as a corporate man who still cares for the city, transitioning into mono-white as he decided to put the people and his friends before the company)
 
BarnabusBarnabus said:
Hit me. I sent it to one of my friends already and got battered for my crap design, what you say cannot hurt me any more. ( :V )
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All right.
Phyrexian mana's gotta go. It always has hideous knock-on effects for balancing. Make the card cost 2UB or whatever.
This design doesn't feel very blue-black - it feels green, honestly. I would look into him "mutating" another creature, e.g "{U}{B}{T}: Put a mutation counter on another target creature. It gains "When this creature deals combat damage to a player, draw a card, then discard a card". It's a Horror in addition to its other types."
 
To get another kick in on a dying horse, I like the idea of Jenova being Abzan (White/Black/Green) using Phyrexian mana. It synergizes with the flavor she has of a devourer of civilizations. Beyond that, she's probably a flip card that's a shapeshifter on one side and some sort of abomination on the other, likely also a land or artifact card of her in the pod Shinra stuffed her into.
 
Zap Rowsdower said:
I'm pretty sure Gilgamesh is mono-Red. Driven by his id, no regard for rules and is a thief, but not ruthless or edgy and has enough compassion to not be Black-aligned, uses crafted weapons and techniques rather than raw natural bulk. He's even got a predominantly red costume.

Also, more importantly, Red is, or at least was back in the day, the color that got most of the silliest, most amusing flavor text.
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I wasn't saying he was every color I said he'd demand to be every color

Gilgamesh: "No no no. Those abilities aren't strong enough for a card about me!"
 
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I can see why people would be inclined towards Colorless Jenova, but I don't think it fits. Sure, Jenova and the Eldrazi are both planet-hopping apocalyptic entities that spawn, corrupt the local life, and drain the planet of life. The difference, though, is that the Eldrazi are granted by the setting a degree of... Metaphysical legitimacy that Jenova lacks. They are unfathomable cosmic powers, whose physical shells are merely 'fingers dipping into a pond,' partial manifestation of a greater self so cosmically vast that it does not even truly perceive us even as it ravages our world. Now, one could argue that's a lot of high-falluting bullshit for what are essentially slightly less angry Tyrannids, but it's why they are outside/beyond the color cycle; they are literally entities that exist out of step with this reality.

Meanwhile, Jenova, as powerful and apocalyptically dangerous as she is, is fundamentally 'just' a living being. She is a colony organism with shapeshifting powers and a distributed consciousness. She's an infection, one that is exceedingly difficult to permanently get rid of because any lingering trace can sprout to become the whole anew, but she is fundamentally organic and physical. She's a cancer on the Planet, a parasite within the Lifestream, a corruption at the heart of Cloud and Sephiroth. Though she is in some ways greater than we are, she is also less. A being defined by exploitation, parasitism, and predation. A cosmic exile carried on a comet like stray fungal spores away from their likely destroyed home. No one is going to try and argue that the destruction of planets by Jenova is part of some Galactus-style cosmic cycle in which new planets are born as a result, as I've seen some people say about the Eldrazi. Jenova has no cosmic purpose. She's only not evil to the extent that she can be argued to not understand human morality, and even that is dubious.

Jenova is not metaphysically different or greater than humans are. She is just a very, very advanced hostile alien organism, and it is both possible and morally correct to burn out every cell of her in existence.
 
Me and my long standing irritance against the UB sets because I love how well they manage to capture some of the concepts and ideas from their source material in magic mechanics but hate how pushed they often are and how absolutely lacking in that design spark 90% of the main sets are.

Also me: entirely anticipating to be sobbing on my knees as I open my wallet upon seeing the cool Venat card that bloody well better be in the set or so help me-
 
GilliamYaeger said:
Shinra would be Black-White. It's order, but their order.
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My knowledge of Magic is limited, but I'm pretty sure you don't need White to have any kind of state, ever. A fantasy evil empire would just be Black, for example.

And Shinra isn't even that. It is at its core a corporation that grew out of control to the point of becoming the state and taking over all of its functions, but it's still run on the primordial "fuck you, got mine" principle. If the bottom line demands the end of the world, it's time to break the seven seals.

You could make the case that Rufus, specifically, is White/Black since he does seem to be on some level invested in things continuing to run, but his father (and, by extension, Shinra under him)? Nah.
 
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Omicron said:
I hate all of them. On principle.
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Oh thank God. I was dreading having to feign politeness about how much I hate the new era of "outright corpo shill playable ad" MTG. Gott Straffe WoTC.

Omicron said:
As a collective entity, they represent all colors but Black
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If we get around to doing Villains, are there any who aren't just going to be some shade of black?

Omicron said:
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hand of the living god, etc.
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"Ne raillons pas les fous; leur folie dure plus longtemps que la nôtre ... Voilà toute la differénce."


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Anyways, my picks. Mostly a random grab back of antagonists that I can squeeze in cheap and quick:
(FF1):
-GARLAND:
BLK/WHI
Once heroic Fallen Knight. Beatstick. Self explanatory. Has some kind of "once in graveyard summon Chaos" gimmick.

-CHAOS:
BLK/GRN/RED/BLU
Lord of the Elemental Fiends. Absolutely some multicolor abomination save for White, with a land-based gimmick to represent his domination over the elements. Maybe a self-rez condition for timeloop shenannigans?

(FF2):
-THE EMPEROR OF PALAMECIA:
BLK/BLU/
Sorcerer king, master of men, monsters, machines, and magic. Evil intent with a penchant for underhanded tricks. a strong case can be made for Red, but I saved that for the next entry.

-THE EMPEROR OF HELL:
BLK/RED
The Lord of Hell. Infernal mastery and a now total reliance on overwhelming force squeezes out Blue for a stronger focus on Red and Black.

-THE EMPEROR OF HEAVEN:
BLK/WHI
The Lord of Heaven. I know you didn't play Dawn of Souls, but I'm including anyway because I like it. "Just trust me bro, I've reformed." False idols and heavenly tyranny = Schwartz un Weiss.

(FF3):
-XANDE
BLK/RED
Barely even a character, but nihilistic rage seems like a Black/Red thing, probably?

-CLOUD OF DARKNESS
BLK
It's a literal cloud of Darkness, c'mon. No clue how to flavor "spam Particle Beam" as an interesting mechanic.


(FF5):
-EXDEATH:
BLK/BLU/GRN
Evil=Black
Magic=Blue
Tree=Green
Evil Magic Tree = Black Blue Green.

-GILGAMESH:
RED
God's perfect idiot. Pure Red. Has a multi equipment equip gimmick or something probably.

FF7:
-RED XII:
RED/WHI
Even if he wasn't a brave and noble warrior protecting his community who has a fierce fighting style with lots of self-buffs...his name is RED.

-CAIT SITH / REEVE TUESTI:
COLORLESS ARTIFACT / BLU/WHI...MAYBE???
Purely colorwise I'd peg CS as a colorless artifact creature. Reeve being the only Shinra employee with morals and a brain is some combo of blue and white.
I don't know nearly enough about current MtG to know how you'd model this in gameplay though. Endless Cait Sith tokens? That story mechanic to represent having 2/3rds of your character development occur offscreen?

-YUFFIE:
BLU/BLK
Impetuous anti-authority ninja thief is Blue and Black for sure.

-CID:
RED
Mono Red, because he's a tempermental self-serving jackass who manages to be a hero almost entirely incidentally. Also, explosions and machines.

-VINCENT:
BLK / ?
Honestly, Vincent is such a thematically busy character I think you could make strong cases for and against either Red or Green for a secondary color. Monster transformation seems very Green, while vengeance blood oaths and guns is very Red. He can be one of those flippy transformaton cards from Innistrad that I liked so much.


There's like...fifty possible XIV cards, so that'll have to be a seperate post.
 
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Cypocryphy said:
If we get around to doing Villains, are there any who aren't just going to be some shade of black?
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FFIV villains, aside from the racist alien, because they were all mind controlled or replaced, so not actually responsible for their evil actions. Cecil is the only one who willingly did war crimes.

You could maybe make the case for Jenova being pure Green, just a nasty part of nature randomly deciding to fuck you over as a part of its reproduction cycle, but then again, she did come as a manipulator, a tempter figure, so probably still has some Black.
 
illhousen said:
My knowledge of Magic is limited, but I'm pretty sure you don't need White to have any kind of state, ever. A fantasy evil empire would just be Black, for example.

And Shinra isn't even that. It is at its core a corporation that grew out of control to the point of becoming the state and taking over all of its functions, but it's still run on the primordial "fuck you, got mine" principle. If the bottom line demands the end of the world, it's time to break the seven seals.

You could make the case that Rufus, specifically, is White/Black since he does seem to be on some level invested in things continuing to run, but his father (and, by extension, Shinra under him)? Nah.
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Colors kinda work on a setting-level sliding scale. You can have civilization without White, but if you are the most organizedand hierarchical polity within the world you probably do pick it up. Midgar as a pile of skyscrapers and slums surrounded by rurality and wilderness would thus be pretty white.
For this UB it's gonna be weirder since it's kind of a crossover between all of Final Fantasy, but Shinra might still get some White due to being the biggest purveyor of cubicles and senior deputy directors within the franchise.
 
Cypocryphy said:
If we get around to doing Villains, are there any who aren't just going to be some shade of black?
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Rubicante maps surprisingly cleanly to Red-White.

He is passionate and has his own values that he follows even to the detriment of his mission, yet that passion is tempered with unshakeable loyalty to his master and a clear sense of "fairness". Rubicante also throws around enough fire to fit Red elementally while also healing his enemies like White does.
 
I know very little about Magic The Gathering, as in I knew almost nothing about it until Omicron's post describing the colours.

So I'm a little curious about the "colourless", and what it's supposed to represent. The impression I get is it's for beings and concepts that work on different mechanics to the rest of the setting?

Would Meteion in her Endsinger form be considered colourless?

I assume Meteion as sent out by Hermes is probably Blue, both in actual colouration and her mission to seek the answer to a single question. But after that, when she decides to save the universe by ending it, what colour would that be?

Meteion operates on dynamis, which is different from the aether-based assumptions and magic of the rest of the setting. She also emits a signal that induces despair, which is potent enough to end civilizations. She's a hive mind consisting of an arbitrary number of copies, and it's implied the Meteia can replicate themselves at will using dynamis.

But she can also theoretically be reasoned and negotiated with, as happened in Endwalker. She's not an utterly incomprehensible alien intelligence; she's just a person who's hurting who happens to also be steeped in the despair of the universe for twelve thousand years.
 
Adloquium said:
Endwalker
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I might be mistaken from my brief stints as a player, but colorless stuff, IIRC, is usually either works of artifice like automata or equipment, or relegated to stuff like cosmic horrors that are explicitly outside of the physical laws of the multiverse. Meteion I would probably peg as WHT/BLU (curiosity and freedom guided by empathy and logic), and the Endsinger as BLK/WHT/BLU (Empathy warped by flawed logic and despair into nihilistic total stasis). Something like the Eldrazi are also transformative existential threats looking to warp and obliterate the universe, but that's more of result of being big hungry unknowable eldritch horrors.

Someone like (Dawntrail spoiler) Sphene, however, would probably be Colorless.
 
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