FF 30 day challenge day 29: How many Final Fantasy games do you own?

Hmm . . . that depends. Does Kingdom Hearts count as well?

Final Fantasy X
Final Fantasy X2
Final Fantasy XIII
Final Fantasy XIII 2
Final Fantasy Dissidia
Final Fantasy Dissidia Duodecim
Final Fantasy Theatrhythm

Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 days
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
Kingdom Hearts 3D Dream Drop Distance

FF 30 day challenge day 8: Who do you think shouldn't be on the Dissidia Roster?

Vaan

He was never a warrior to begin with. He always wanted to be a sky pirate, and he was pretty obnoxious and immature. Balthier or Basch would have been a better knight for Cosmos's Army. Even though Balthier was a pirate, he still became a hero. Basch served in Princess Ashe's army, so he was always a warrior. While playing Duodecim, I found that Vann's storyline was very odd. Other than teasing Light every now and then, he didn't do much except fight Galbranth. He also seemed like a secondary character in Terra's storyline.

FF 30 day challenge day 7: Favorite Couple

(I'm skipping ahead because I've never played Crystal Chronicles)

Tidus and Yuna

I love their story, and how their personalities compliment each other. Yuna is very reserved, while Tidus is always joking around and trying to lighten the mood. Considering the journey Yuna was on, without Tidus, she might not have had the strength to continue on. Tidus showed her how to have fun, and taught her to believe in herself. Yuna taught Tidus how to be responsible, and she gave him the courage to do the right thing. Both Yuna and Tidus were never the same after meeting each other. They even have a sweet side story in Dissidia, where Yuna tries to help Tidus overcome his anger toward his father and remember the journey they had together. Because of these two, I had to get the best ending in FFX2 and bring them together again. I was a little sad that they never met in Kingdom Hearts.

FF 30 day challenge day 6: Favorite Antagonist

Jecht from FFX and Dissidia

In Final Fantasy X, Jecht has no choice but to become Sin. I felt sorry for him, because Tidus held such a grudge against him, but in the end, neither Jecht nor Tidus knew what to say. The story gets more completed in Dissidia and Dissidia Duodecim, because Tidus and Jecht have to fight, and both are hestitant. Jecht may not have been the best father, but he became a hero in his own way, letting Tidus know how to defeat him, and supporting Tidus, regardless of his duty as Sin.

Reminiscence

(made with a photo I took at the botanic garden, and screenshots of Dissidia, FFX and FFX2)

Memories dance
through fog and mist
forever recorded
with glowing lights.
Pieces of history,
results of a choice
linger forever
with a silent voice
The places you go,
the people you miss
all become clear
when you reminisce.

True Strength

It lies not in anger
It lies not in pride
The true and real power
Is much easier to hide
Once life begins
From the very start
True and real strength
Lies in the heart

Conflict is Never-ending

I just finished playing the game Final Fantasy Dissidia which takes place in a timeless battle of good and evil. The Goddess Cosmos and the God Chaos are trapped in this never-ending cycle to battle. Even if they die, they are reborn again once the damage of the battle scars the world enough to destroy it. The destruction creates the rebirth of the same cycle. I have read stories and seen movies with a similar idea. Good versus Evil and Light versus Darkness are always the main conflict in any popular story. This observation brings an interesting philosophical theory. Once the conflict is gone, there is no purpose. Ironically enough, I read about this in my Mythology class. King Arthur and his Knights become idle once their quests are over. Arthur confides this to Guinevere who tells him that it is not so surprising. Without purpose, the knights have nothing. Cosmos and Chaos must always battle for this same reason, and once one is gone, the other loses all meaning.Even Sailor Moon, when she is given the opportunity to destroy the Galaxy Cauldron and end the rebirth of her ultimate nemesis, decides that the action would be pointless. This is also similar to the reoccurring theme in Kingdom Hearts that light cannot exist without darkness. Because I'm a writer and a thinker, I try to understand what these conflicts mean. You could say that this is a product of the common mythquest, or you could say it is the troupe of yin and yang. I choose to look at this theme in a different approach. Conflict makes us who we are. Every battle whether internal or external teaches us something. I'm not saying that conflict is good or even bad, it is conflict regardless. And conflicts push stories along. Everyone wants to see the ultimate battle where the hero faces the villain and conquers his or her fears. This symbolic battle displays a rite of passage and shows growth in the characters. It's an interesting concept to think about. Does conflict really define good and evil? Is conflict a necessary cycle in order to learn about oneself? Would a hero still be a hero without a nemesis? Maybe I can answer these questions in a story one day.