LogFAQs > #954618264

We get to Terra, and after an awkward interrupting exchange with the man who refuses to let the text boxes call him Garland, we get to exploring this bizarre place (hey, Movers!) and finally get to see what Terra is all about. I had gathered from the info leading up to this that Terra wouldn't be a regular alien planet or anything like that, but I can't say I figured out any of the twists here.

Well, except for one. Zidane is originally from here, though to his credit neither Zidane nor the game act like this is a big surprise. Dagger finally realises that the Invincible is what destroyed Madain Sari all those years ago and collapses, and we actually get to figure out large parts of the plot for ourselves here by going around talking to the locals. We learn about the nature of Terra: soulless genomes, blue and red lights, Terra becoming Gaia, slumbering Terran souls entering the vessels' bodies so they can replace the souls of Gaia that have been stalled by Garland and the grand plan- all of it great stuff that fits into the game's themes and makes sense with what we know so far, but what is most striking here is Zidane's very passive response to all these grand revelations. The single best thing about this is that the game treats all the wild fantasy exposition going on here as if its primary importance is as a character beat.

OK, let's talk about Zidane for a bit here. Honestly, I haven't been the biggest fan of his for most of the game. He's had great moments of wisdom and caring for others, and he's really toned down the womaniser stuff, but overall I just haven't connected with him on a deeper level. I'm trying to figure out why, and I think it's just that he doesn't let the player inside a lot of the time. He's very reactive and cocky and we don't get inside his head very much in the way we did Squall, for instance. I know who he is to Dagger, who he is to Vivi, to Steiner, to Eiko, to Amarant... but I don't feel like I fundamentally know who he is to himself. At his core, what kind of a person is Zidane? Now as said, this isn't entirely true, as he's had some great scenes and hints at his hopes and desires here and there, but he's just felt a little... empty.

Which is why this sequence feels so massively important to me. I don't know if the game had wanted me to feel this way (I thought I just wasn't feeling him the way others do), but things make so much more sense now. Every plot beat on Terra is to strike at the core of Zidane and force him to reckon with who he is. He suddenly slides into the plot in a way he didn't before, and he fits right in with the central themes the game is blaring out at this point: the nature of individuality, free will, what it means to live. It's no coincidence that his origin is pretty dang similar to Vivi (as Vivi points out!). As the scenes progress here and Zidane uncharacteristically distances himself from the group, it becomes clear what he's doing, and how fragile the image he created for himself actually is. The gang try to help in the background, and as Zidane grows distant he is relegated to ATEs while we control them, a good touch.

As he is wont to do, Zidane creates a simple plan to 'solve' this mess- kill Garland. The rest can be pushed back to be dealt with later, but killing the evil man is a good thing to do so that's all there is. Of course Garland doesn't let this happen, and instead pushes Zidane deeper into himself. He calls Kuja Zidane's brother and claims they are both very similar while calling out Kuja's denial of his own nature. After explaining his grand plan (which I'm gonna need to go over in my head some more lol), Garland basically imprisons Zidane in his own mind, and in the castle Pandemonium.

Now this is where the game somehow ascends to an even higher level. Note to JRPG devs regarding the way to my heart: create a heightened emotional sequence with an absurdly kickass piece of music that overrides the main battle theme. Holy hell I had a grin on my face this entire time, they left the best music til lategame for sure (Garland's theme and Pandemonium's theme are also terrific). This sequence is absurdly good.

Zidane breaks, finally collapsing under the weight of all this new information and becoming a loner who resigns himself to his fate. Taking things back a couple of paragraphs to when I said that I know who Zidane is to those around him but not who he is to himself- the game's thesis seems to be that who he is to his friends is who he is. Every member of the party is committed to fighting to help him here with zero hesitance, just as Zidane has done before to help others. Amarant calls out his hypocrisy and I begin to see the purpose of his character as a mirror of who Zidane could've been (same with Kuja, he is retroactively much more interesting now), Eiko (who has been great the whole time on Terra) also accurately calls out his self-absorbed actions here, and the best line is of course left to Dagger, who finally convinces Zidane that friendship is a two-way street.

I would very much like to continue on but it appears we have puzzles and stuff ahead of us so I'll continue tomorrow. Whew.


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Slowly becoming a Final Fantasy aficionado.
Currently playing: Final Fantasy IX!