It’s always painful for me to screencap my baby dying but I was playing the final boss battle for screencapping purposes and… how come I have never noticed this before?
After pulling out Cid’s Phantoma and absorbing it, the current member you’re controlling dies off (in this case, Ace) and you replace with another, yeah yeah, but I didn’t notice the two Phantoma thingies from Machina and Rem leaving the bodies of the Class Zero member until I looked at this. When I play, I usually replace them with another member immediately when the current member dies, so my eyes are usually trained on the reserve list.
I see, I seeee, so Machina/Rem’s Phantoma-like thingies bring a Class Zero member into battle and lend them extra power, and when that person “dies” after absorbing Cid’s Phantoma one-by-one, MR’s Phantoma thingies leave, only to bring back another member…? Maybe that’s why you only control each member one at a time, because that invicibility/Haste mode can only be granted one at a time? I dunno. 8D;;
At any rate, it also makes sense why Class Zero members die in the ending, because they were already severely weakened from this scene: (where you will fail the S.O. no matter what and Cid “kills” them, leaving them bloodied and weakened)
And Machina and Rem’s powers were only temporary. (As per the novel when Ace tried to heal Izana: Even if you close the wounds, blood which has flown out will not return. That’s why Queen commented, “It is no longer of any use.” to Ace.)
Locations of Class Zero’s l’cie brands:
Machina: Right shoulder
Rem: Left shoulder area
Ace: Right arm below elbow
Deuce: Back
Trey: Left arm below elbow
Cater: Right arm below elbow
Cinque: Right shoulder
Sice: Right arm below elbow
Seven: Left shoulder
Eight: ???
Nine: Right arm above elbow
Jack: Right arm below elbow
Queen: Left arm
King: Back
I can’t see Eight’s in the cutscene, so I guess I’ll have to go on the l’cie route (ugh) and play as/take control of him.
l’cie Machina
I wish there’s a way to be able to see his eyes, they would be glowing green thanks to the Byakko crystal *A*
Completed Type-0 twice and I decided to go on the l’cie route/bad ending first to unlock the vids, since I didn’t do it for my first gameplay. Yay red eyes, since l’cie’s eyes glow red/blue/green depending on the country they are from. (Which means Machina’s already-green eyes would become more beautiful *w*) There’s something creepy about l’cie!Cinque, I think it’s her standing pose + those “my eyes are staring into your soooooul” look.
Ace + Deuce were the last ones standing (Ace got killed off first ;w;) because they both have Avoid equipped to dodge the Lulusath’s attacks. The Lulusath were also targeting Ace because he was the one attacking them, so Deuce could keep on healing the two of them. I think I managed to last only up to Level 145 for the Lulusath before my game over. (Lulusath’s levels increase with each round… I heard someone managed to last till Level 240+?)
Why the Type-0 final chapter is horrible: Instead of Agito coming, it was the Lulusath warriors who descended upon Oriense, which is a very horrible twist on the “warera kitareri” (we are upon you) part in the prophecy/book of Akasha thing.
When you return to the Peristylium, there’s red rain and dead bodies all over the place, before a panicked student started screaming at Ace via the intercomm. ;_;
It was heartbreaking to see Ace just quietly listening while the student was screaming, “It’s already the end! The “Time of Finis” has come! Everyone is being killed by the Lulusath! In the first place, everything started becoming strange when all you people from Class Zero came! That’s right! What’s this awesome Class Zero?! Because of you guys, Suzaku—- no, the whole of Oriense has become weird! You’re not the candidates for Agito; you’re the devils who called Finis upon us!” at him T___T;;
Big Bridge and a bit of Byakko’s Cetme region before and after the summoning of Alexandra, as seen from the top of a cliff near the Suzaku city of Meroe. This is also the place where Caetuna and Kurasame died, because you can pick up Caetuna’s l’cie stone and Kurasame’s Knowing Tag here. ;_;
And if you hand Kurasame’s tag over to Naghi (as part of one of his requests), he probably passed it to Emina because the next time you get knocked out by Kazusa, you’ll get a scene of Emina handing the tag over Kazusa. And you get some uh, suspicious info on Kazusa and Kurasame’s relationship, because Kazusa said, “My ears hear his voice. My hands have touched him. My body remembers him.” and I was like half “okay?” and half giggling.
Surfing around Youtube looking for Type-0 MADs and ahhh this is beautiful. (Spoilers!)
And I recognized Ishikawa Chiaki’s voice even before she started singing 8D
The True Chapter. It’s not in the actual gameplay but in the Crimson Codex/History as a tokuten vid. This scene was over seven minutes long ;w;
Cid: If this goes on… I will not let all of you do as you please…
Cid: People… are not puppets of the Gods!!!
(Then he beheads himself wtf while the Arbiter of Lulusath or something looks on before leaving)
(Meanwhile, in the Alto Crystarium)
Tiz: The large number of souls which they have gathered…
Tiz: The large number of emotions which have affected them…
Tiz: And then, the infinite world which connects to all of those…
Tiz: Yes, that’s right… I can hear your voices too, all of you.
Tiz: The Blue which gazes over with large eyes, the Black which thirsts for everything…
Tiz: The Crimson which has chosen quintessence, and the White which bestows great compassion upon all…
Tiz: I will deliver all of those, so that’s why… please listen to just one of my hopes…
(Back at the place where Cid died/final battle took place…?)
Lean: Mother!
Arecia: Hm?
Arecia: This is rare. How long has it been since you last stood in front of me?
Tiz: *bows* I cannot remember very well, but we have not met here three or four times.
Arecia: I see.
Tiz: Do you intend to put this world back into a spiral yet again? (i.e. the stable time loop)
Arecia: Come to think of it, this would be the 600,104,972nd time.
Lean: Mother!
Arecia: Joker? So you were with Tiz all this time, right?
Lean: ………Look at that.
Arecia: Hm?
Lean: Did you know? They defeated the Arbiter. And then…
Tiz: They died. While confronting their own fear of death.
Tiz: It is not just them. In this world, a large number of souls chose death of their own accord, and have led fruitful lives. (What she said was “accomplished their lives”.)
Tiz: Together with the Crystals’ feelings, I have come to deliver everything.
(Various lines by the characters)
Ace: We have chosen this… but…
Seven: We didn’t know if it was the right thing to do.
Jack: That means Class Zero is pretty messed up, huh~
King: As long as we’re messed up nicely, that’s fine.
Eight: We have gone past that, right?
Cater: You mean, we sprinted with all our strength unexpectedly?
Nine: I reeeeally would’ve liked to run a bit more.
Cinque: Sooooo courageous~ but in the end, you’re pretty beaten up~
Nine: Naaaah no way! I’m still ultra-flexible!
Deuce: Were we able to forge a path ahead of us?
Trey: It is a path which connects them to us.
Sice: We think it connects properly too.
Queen: That is right. It is a path which we have connected. I would think it will continue to connect always, from now on.
(Class Zero saying, “Mother”)
Arecia: Hm?
(Class Zero saying, “You see, we…”)
Arecia: Really?
(Class Zero saying, “Really/That’s right” and then “so…”)
Arecia: What is it?
(Class Zero saying “But…”)
Arecia: And then?
(Class Zero saying, “I love you” and I teared up at this point orz)
Arecia: That’s what you wish for, right?
(Class Zero saying, “Yes!”)
Arecia: ……..I accept your feelings.
Arecia: Let me ask a few more questions.
Arecia: On what those children had done, or how they greeted their end.
Lean: Well, that’s… instead of asking us… (to Tiz) right?
Tiz: Yes, instead of asking us, please ask those two who were with them.
(Machina and Rem’s crystal)
Arecia: You can hear my voice, right?
Arecia: Tell me.
Arecia: About yourselves…
Arecia: And about my children…
Arecia: I understand.
Arecia: The two of you will move forward.
(Machina and Rem are revived from crystalstasis)
Arecia: The world from now on will be a world where one will no longer be able to forget the dead.
Arecia: That’s why… the two of you will remember those children.
I think that “messed up/confused/in disorder” part was a callback to the scene where Class Zero didn’t know what to do when the Lulusath appeared because none of the higher-ups or Arecia were around, and seeing that they are used to following orders. Someone (Trey?) also lamented that Class Zero is utterly “barabara” (also “scattered”). Oh, I guess Sice was referring to herself and Queen when she used plural.
And you know how you see “undaunted in the face of death” in many graphics for this game? So Class Zero really feared death a-and the ending… ;_;
Sound clip here! There’s some whirring sounds of the UMD rotating in my PSP but it can’t be helped. :D;;
I’m not usually an OTP person since I ship too many pairings but ahhh
According to Tiz and Joker, the Class Zero members are already dead before Arecia revived these two from crystalstasis though. :/ So the thoughts of Machina and Rem being revived just to record Class Zero’s deeds (to be fair, Arecia heard the voices of Class Zero telling her they love her and she said, “I accept your feelings” and was curious about how her “children” met their end, which was why she visited Machina/Rem’s crystal) and happy!Machina/Rem running towards their classroom only to be greeted by the sight of the bodies of their classmates are… orz Talk about a mood whiplash.
And sorta OT3:
Except that while I ship Machina/Rem and Machina/Ace, I find it hard to ship Ace/Rem…
I finally found the “Ace going back to being a spoiled child” scene KajiKaji mentioned in his interview! Ace was really cute here, it was as though someone gave him a rainbow pill and he subsequently vomited sparkles.
Arecia: Okay, you’re good to go now. Looks like there’s nothing wrong with you.
Arecia: How are you feeling?
Ace: Not bad.
Arecia: Have all of you gotten used to the Peristylium?
Ace: *rubs nose in an embarrassed manner* It’s been going well. That’s what I think.
Ace: The reports go to you too, Mother.
Arecia: Well, if I don’t hear that kind of thing from you directly, I won’t know.
Ace: Even though we were recommended to be student cadets?
Arecia: You don’t have to worry about that.
Arecia: It’s only normal for mothers to be concerned for their children’s well-being.
Arecia: It’s fine if you want to participate in missions you have chosen…
Arecia: But do drop by and show your face once in a while.
Ace: You can say that, Mother, but aren’t you busy with your work in the magic department as well?
Arecia: Well, that’s the usual thing, but I will always free up some time to meet up with all of you.
Ace: Yes, yes.
Arecia’s a nice woman, but seeing how she has seen Class Zero turn into l’Cie and die 600,104,971 times due to that stable time loop… @_@;;; (Cater’s the only one feeling the deja vu, strangely.) I mentioned this before, but that’s why if you turn them into l’Cie it’ll lead to the game’s bad ending. If you let them remain as humans, then in this 600,104,972nd cycle, you’re making them break this time loop which causes their fates to change slightly and the path leads to the true ending.
So I guess Class Zero has not made a single appearance until the day Byakko invaded Suzaku, because if you run around and talk to other students, they will be like, “Class Zero?! You do exist?!” That makes the whole Ace-reading-the-prophecy in the intro/warera kitareri part more impressive. And that was also probably when Class Zero finally go to school in the Peristylium (having been under Arecia’s care the whole time) and made into student cadets/kouhosei, which was why Arecia’s asking Ace how they have all been doing, and how he shouldn’t be too concerned about her worrying over them. XD;;
And I have to give credit to KajiKaji for having to record this scene over and over again until the director was satisfied. Maybe it’s my Kaji/Hope/Ace bias, but you can really sense the happiness in Ace’s voice, his smiles as he talks, and his childish, “Hai, hai.” ahhh.
[Edited on 13 May 2012] Replaced older pics with screencaps!
I love all these behind-the-scenes stuff of what happened to Aria who was still stuck in Byakko while Class Zero peeps were back at Suzaku 8D;;
Qator: You. It’s been three days already, aren’t you going to open your mouth?
Aria: Is it alright for me to talk?
Qator: So you can talk.
Qator: While you may be treated as a prisoner, I don’t remember prohibiting you from talking.
Aria: Whaaaat the hell! So it is fine for me to talk, huh! AHHHH WHAT A RELIEF.
Aria: Mom told me, “Don’t open your mouth in front of others!” you see.
Aria: I heard that you saved me, so I wanted to thank you, jeez!
Aria: Here, have some of my gratitude!
Qator:
Qator:
Qator:
Qator: Maybe you should just remain silent after all.
Anyway, this is one of the reasons why I hate this mission: Nimbus will pop out of nowhere and proceed to kill off the character you’re controlling. Usually I make Cinque or Jack my scapegoats seeing that I don’t use them much, but since I wanted to level up Cater, Queen and Nine, I decided to sacrifice Machina for this one (and I might as well practise playing as him for the first part of the mission before I replace him with Cater). I still love you, Machina!
Kasumi, one of the Suzaku commanders with Serah’s voice, will instruct the team to get the hell out of there since the l’Cie in this game are somewhat revered/mega-powerful and the appearance of one = srs bizniz = obviously no one can win against Byakko’s l’Cie, but they’ll all just stand there and wait for the character you’re controlling to get stabbed anyway… :/
The first time I played this mission, obviously I had no clue and was using Eight, and then decided to switch over to Ace right before that happened. orz Best part is Nimbus saying, “You have bad luck.” Bad luck indeed.
As for the other reasons why I hate this mission:
1. Fighting against that crazy dude in the machine which has a drill-claw thing that swipes across the ground (I know you’re supposed to run into the alleyway when he does that but sometimes he sticks his claws in there too…)
2. Another fight against Nimbus, but it’s easy since all you have to do is to stick to the sides/walls of the rooms during his Beam Spam because for some reason, the beams can’t reach you there and keep your finger on the lock-on button so you know when he appears behind you and attempts to stab you again, so you can dodge away. The hard part is keeping this up for two/three minutes (it does test your patience lol) until the announcement of a ceasefire which marks the end of the mission =_=
Then there’s also that Level 79 Mandrake (?) sleeping in the basement… wake it up and you’re doomed. So I just ignore all enemies in that area and go to the next one.
Ace: We can only cut off and throw away our past, and move forward.
Ace: For that reason, we have to forget our memories of the dead.
Machina: Shut up! By doing so, you guys cut off and abandoned my brother!
Seven: Calm down a bit, Machina.
Queen: You are like a child throwing a tantrum.
Queen: If you want to play the tragic hero, then by all means, remain in the Milites Empire and act it out all by yourself!
Machina: What do you know?!
Rem: Ma-Machina, let’s just stop this. Just rest for a bit right now-
Machina: ….Damn it!
Rem: Machina?! Where are you going?
