It’s a rather obvious fact that Final Fantasy 5 is not as popular as many of the other FF games, which is clearly seen by how dead this particular forum is. In general, FFV seems to be dislike by many people, who claim that it was no where near as complex as its latter counterparts. But how true is this really? What do the other FF games have that Final fantasy 5 didn’t? Apart from a deplorable script, the game had a solid story line, and while the characters weren’t as deep as some of the later ones, they were certainly an improvement over its predecessors from FFI-IV. So, why do people really consider this game “simple” compared contemporary games, especially when FFVI, a game that was only FFV’s superior in terms of the script, was so well received by the general populace and still held (IMO not rightly) as the best FF game of all time? Well, here is something that other FF games have that FFV didn’t: Ridiculously Complex Theories. Ever since FFVI, people have analyses the s#!% out of these games. So why didn’t FFV receive this sort of treatment? The thing that you have to remember about FFV is that it was released in the western world many years after it’s release in Japan, and the game looked no where near as impressive in 1999 as it did in 1992. Frankly, the game was receive too late in the US for anyone to consider it seriously, while FFVI was released at a time when it still had a “revolutionary story and graphics”. This is why I feel FFV has never really had an in depth analysis and, in turn, is why people overlook this game when considering ‘great’ FF games. Don’t get me wrong, FFV was not supposed to be the overly serious game that FFVII was, the focus was put primarily on game play. However, people seem to assume that FFV was a particularly shallow game, so I have taken it upon myself to prove to gamers that it needn’t be seen in this light. In this thread, I hope to shed some light on the devices employed in the creation of the character ‘X-Death’ as well as Neo X-Death, the Void and the world of Final Fantasy V itself. Just so you know, all of the quotes from the game are from a game script by Apathetic Aardvark, and is based on the fansub of the game rather than the Anthology version. In that sense, X-Death appears as ExDeath, Bartz as Butz, Reina as Lenna and Krill as Cara. If there are any other differences, I apologies, hopefully you will be able to work out what I’m talking about.
Please note that this is just my opinion, I realize that I’m probably reading WAY too far into this, but then almost every FF theory is the result of over analysis *coughRinoa=Ultimeciacough*, so I don’t think this should be anything new for anyone reading it. Anyway, let’s begin…
I’ll deal with X-Death first, as he ties all of the other aspects of the theory together. There seem to be so many Final Fantasy villains that people choose to do an “in depth analysis” on; Sephiroth seems to be very popular in this respect, as is Ultimecia. However, one antagonist that seems to be constantly overlooked is the dark mage X-Death. Why? Well, I think it has a lot to do with the fact that no one seems to like character, and he was blatantly upstaged by his lieutenant, Gilgamesh; yet this has let some questions as to what exactly X-Death was. Basically, I have decided to try and answer a few of the reasons for the…err…let’s just say “odd” decisions that were made concerning the character.
As most of you know, the name X-Death is simply an abbreviation of “Exceeding Death”. This is why the fan sub of the game calls him “Exdeath” rather than “X-Death”. Whichever you consider correct isn’t really important, as they both mean the same thing. So what exactly is meant by “Exceeding Death”? Does it mean to live forever, or does it mean to rise “above” death itself?
I would say that X-Death is more than likely a self-imposed title rather than a name that was given to him, simply because it is VERY unlikely that a tree would have a name to begin with. There is little evidence within the game itself that alludes to the origin of X-Death’s name, or why he is called such. However, consider the fact that Square decided to make X-Death a descendent of a tree. Why would ANYONE make their main antagonist flora, I think most people wonder the same thing about the odd direction Square took with him. It just seems to take away the impact of an antagonist when you know that they could have been taken down with an angry redneck with chainsaw (not that an anger redneck with a chainsaw isn’t dangerous to everyone…). Square must have had a good reason as to why they would make him a tree, it simply wouldn’t make sense sacrifice the integrity of their antagonist without one. However, there is one symbolic devices that uses the image of the tree as it’s median: the Systema Sephirotica. The Systema, also known as the Tree of life, was a complex diagram found in the Kabbalah, a document from the Jewish Religion. The following is a quote taken from http://www.yashanet.com/studies/revstudy/rev6.htm.Quote:
Guido: About 500 years ago, an evil spirit sealed in the Mua Forest turned one
of the trees into a monster. The tree is Exdeath. For 500 years, I had kept
Exdeath sealed, but 30 years ago, the seal was broken.”
Butz: The battle of the Four Warriors of Dawn 30 years ago.”
Guido: Yes. Dorgan and his fellows did very well. They resealed Exdeath with
the power of the Crystals. But, now he has returned.
Essentially, the Tree of Life is a map of the Universe, or more everything. It is also used to understand the nature of God, and as one climbs higher to the top, he becomes subsequently closer to god. The Tree is formed from 10 Sephirot, the attributes of God, which interconnect to create its form, and lie in a pattern similar to this:Quote:
As with DNA in the world of science, the Tree of Life is God’s "blueprint," and is consistently found in all aspects of understanding Him, in the written Torah, and all that is found in nature. It is a diagram of the principles working throughout the universe. As human beings were created in the image of God, we too are modelled on the Sephirot, and reflect the nature of the cosmos.
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-...3/untitled.jpg
picture from http://www.yashanet.com/studies/revstudy/rev6.htm.
But what does this have to do with X-Death? Well, as his name means “Exceeding Death”, this could be interpreted as “to become Greater than Death” or “to become a God”. The Tree of Life is one method of obtaining such a position ( or at lest come close), so it is entirely possible that X-Deaths status as a Tree was a reference to the Systema, and in turn represented his desire to exceed death itself. This may seem like a improbable suggestion, but this wouldn’t be the only (and maybe not even the first) time that Square has made references to the Systema Sephortica throughout the FF series. Here are a few examples of references to the Tree of Life:
FFVII: Sephiroth: obviously, derived from the word ‘Sephirotica’ or Sephirot.
Tifa: The centre Sephirot is Tipheret, which means Beauty.
FFVIII: Seifer: from the English word Cipher, which is a derivative of the word Sephirah or Sephirot.
FFIX: The Lifa Tree: obviously the name is based on “Tree of Life”.
As you can see, the symbol of the Systema has been used numerous times throughout the series, so why not in FFV? One could argue that FF games used to be more basic, and Square may not have tried to integrate this sort of religious device within the script. However, no one can argue that the names of the summon creature in FF games since FF3 weren’t based on figures from Norse Mythology (Odin, for example) as well as weapons such as the Ragnarok. Is it so much harder to believe that they would incorporate aspects of other religions within the early games?
The world of FFV as well, has a Systema quality.
Quote:
Exdeath: Fwahaha! Do you even know what I'm trying to do?
Butz: What??
Exdeath: I'm returning the world to its original form.
Butz: To a world of evil!
Exdeath: No, you don't understand. I won't let you interfere!!
As anyone who has played the game knows, the World of FFV is split into 4 section:Quote:
Guido: Yes. 1000 years ago, there was a powerful evil called Enuo. Enuo was
able to control the power of the Void. The battle raged on for a long time.
Eventually, using the 12 Legendary Weapons, the people defeated Enuo. But
they were not able to get rid of the Void that Enuo had created. The people
were left with no choice but to split the Crystals into two. When the
Crystals that supported the world were split, the world split into two as
well. The space between the two worlds, called the Cleft of Dimension, was
where the people chose to seal the Void.
1. The world you start of in.
2. Galuf’s world.
3. The combination of 1 and 2 (ie, the true form of the world)
4. The Cleft of Dimensions.
As stated by Guido, Bartz’ world and Galuf’s were originally one and the same. The world was split into two because the Void was accessible from the original. Separating the worlds into 2 created the Cleft of Dimensions between the two worlds, which was used to store the power of the Void.
Now, consider this:
From this information, you can see that the Tree of Life is separated into two distinct sections: The Upper Face and Lower Face. Together, the two halves form the perfect image of the Sephirotica. This information in itself probably isn’t enough to link the World of FFV to the Tree of Life, but there is additional information that might:Quote:
Another aspect of the Tree of Life is the idea of the upper and lower "Faces." In this scheme, the "upper Face" of the Tree (shown in orange) is seen as extending between Keter, Hokhmah, Binah and Tipheret, with Da'at lying in the middle. The "lower Face" (shown in yellow) is made up of Tipheret, Netzah, Hod and Malkut with Yesod in the middle. This last point is important, as Yesod is the "foundation" of the Tree, through which things pass upward and flow downward.
As the upper Face of the Tree is associated with the Supernal Sephirot (Keter, Hokhmah and Binah), it is said to represent the "merciful Face." The lower Face is the "severe Face," and is a reflection of the upper. The upper Face imparts grace to the lower Face, which receives it. Thus, the lower Face is more complex, with more governing laws, it being further from Eyn Sof than the upper Face.
Quote:
Note in the diagram above, how the central Sephirah of Tipheret plays a pivotal role between the upper and lower faces. As we will discuss, the Four Worlds (see below) "overlap" in such a fashion that the "upper Face" of one World corresponds to the "lower Face" of the World just above it.
While the 4 worlds that the Systema speaks of are metaphysical, if it was to be taken literally, the result would be worlds that are able to “overlap”, as is seen in FFV when 2 worlds become whole again. Basically, the “Upper Face” (being the metaphysical part of the world) overlaps with the “Lower Face”( being the physical) of the second world. The new world is left with 2 “Lower Faces”, and the “Upper Face” of the second world. Essentially, since the physical and metaphysical of each world exist within the same space anyway, when the metaphysical aspect of world one is replaced with the physical aspect of world 2, the space that was once taken up by the metaphysical is now replaced with the physical, thus the worlds experience an “overlap” of physical matter. The result: A world map with the locations of both worlds.Quote:
The Four Worlds are not places such as planets, but rather correspond to four "stages of removal" from Eyn Sof. These stages are another aspect of the "creation process" and do not conflict with the "six days" of Creation listed in Genesis. As the light of Eyn Sof move progressively further away from its source (from Azilut through Asiyyah), it becomes "more physical" and more laws are necessary.”
“The four world of Azilut, Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyya, though having their own specific attributes, are not totally separate from one another. There is a systematic order to how each one "flows into the next."
In addition to this, when the Worlds overlap, the Sephirot also overlap:
Now, here is an important concept. You may note ( if you’re still awake at this point) that one of the Sephirot is drawn with a dotted line. This is known as Daat, and it is not really a Sephirot.Quote:
."For the sake of instruction, we will view how Azilut interacts with Beriah. We will begin with "A" which in our example represents the Keter. Following the standard layout of the Tree, the Tipheret of Azilut would be located at "B." As the beginning of a lower world emanates from the Tipheret of the one above it, this causes the Tipheret of Azilut to correspond to the Keter of Beriah, the world below it at "B."
Following suit, the Hod (C) and Netzah (D) of Azilut, coincide with the Binah (C) and Hokhmah (D) of Beriah. the world just below Azilut.
At "E" we have the Yesod of Azilut above, being in alignment with the Da'at (E) of Beriah below. (If this seems confusing, remember that "B" is also the Keter of Beriah, and take it from there.) This is important as through Da'at of a world below (the realm of the Ruach haKodesh), we have access to the foundation (Yesod) of a world above. Conversely, Yesod is seen as "procreative," thus through Yesod above, is "knowledge" (Da'at) of the world below.
The process of each new world beginning with the Tipheret of the one above it, continues within each of the Four Worlds. As will see however, although this method begins at Tipheret, the foundation of each world is established at Yesod, which, as mentioned, lies in the center of the lower face of the Tree in each World.
Taken from http://www.greatdreams.com/treeol.htmQuote:
Daat is said to be a secret, hidden, eleventh sephira. It is depicted as a circle formed by dashed lines below the main triad of three circles at the top. The "hidden" sephira called Daat means "knowledge." The idea of moving into Daat, then, may indicate that God has or will move into a position to transmit new knowledge to mankind.
Also, and more importantly:
Taken from http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:B...aat+void&hl=enQuote:
Daat = chaos = void = point of manifestation
So not only is Daat a source of knowledge, it is also a point of manifestation of the void in the physical world. Note also that for one to get to Daat, it must be overlapped with the Yesod (foundation) of another world.
In order to reach the Cleft of Dimensions, X-Death has to remerge the worlds into one. In this respect, the Cleft of Dimensions could be considered Daat, the emergence point of the void. In order for X-Death to reach Daat, he must create the foundation, Yesod, below it. In order to do that, he is forced to destroy the crystals so the world will become whole again.Quote:
Exdeath: ... My true objective is to obtain the power of Void sealed in the
Cleft of Dimension.
Butz: What!?
Exdeath: That is the reason I brought the world back to its original state.
Hahahahaha.
Guido: The Cleft of Dimension is beginning to appear in this world!
Faris: The Void.
Exdeath: Yes! That's what I'm after! Now it's time to make the power of the
Void mine!!
Now, a bit on the void:
While the Void is not touched upon in any great detail within the game, some information is given in relation to the war with Enuo.
Unfortunately, there is a slight contradiction within this passage. It seems to allude to the idea that Enuo created the void, yet at the same time it also implies that it was simply a power that he managed to harness. Consider a line from the end o the game.Quote:
Guido: Yes. 1000 years ago, there was a powerful evil called Enuo. Enuo was
able to control the power of the Void. The battle raged on for a long time.
Eventually, using the 12 Legendary Weapons, the people defeated Enuo. But
they were not able to get rid of the Void that Enuo had created. The people
were left with no choice but to split the Crystals into two. When the
Crystals that supported the world were split, the world split into two as
well. The space between the two worlds, called the Cleft of Dimension, was
where the people chose to seal the Void.
This of course means that the Void, in fact, was already there and Enuo simply stumbled upon a means to harness it to his whim. I would say that the Void that Enuo was said to “create” was probably similar to the black vacuums that cover the 3rd world map after X-Death reaches the Cleft of Dimensions. It’s possible that the void that Enuo ‘leaked” into the world was let behind after he was defeated, thus the world had to be separated in order to trap this “Void power” into the Cleft of Dimensions.Quote:
In the beginning, there was Void. Then four Spirits came. Together in this
Void, the Crystals were born and the world was created.
But what exactly is Void? Well, as far as one can tell, Void is simply ‘non-existence’. It is said to be only thing that existed before…well, existence. Void is basically the opposite of the Crystals; where the crystals bring life, the void brings death and destruction. But if the void is nothing, then what exactly was left behind when Enuo was defeated?
It would seem that it is the power to control the Void, rather than the Void itself, that X-Death was seeking, and it is probably ‘the power to control the void’ that was trapped in the Cleft of Dimensions. If it is the power of the Void, rather than the Void itself, then it’s entirely possible that the power IS slightly material, rather than being none-existent. So basically, within the game there are two incarnations of the void; The Void itself (which is immaterial), and the Power of the Void (which IS material). I hope that sheds some light on a question that I know NOBODY asked.Quote:
Exdeath: Splendid! Behold the power of the Void! The power that devours all,
the strongest power there is! And soon it shall be MINE!
Another thing we know about the Void is that X-Death had NO idea what it was.
This was the first sign of X-Death lack of understanding of the Void, which is later made obvious by what he had told his minions:Quote:
Exdeath: The power of the Void. I can't control it? How's this!? Power of
the Void! Show yourself!
In actuality, the void would not unleash a world of monsters, because the void does not have the power to create, only to destroy. Whether this was a mistake by X-Death himself or whether it was just something he told his minions is debatable, but it is far less complex to assume the former.Quote:
Monsters: We are the monsters who have been sealed in the Cleft of Dimension
for a millennium. Exdeath will unleash the power of the Void and a world of
monsters, a world of darkness will be born! We can't let you stand in his
way! You will die here in the Cleft of Dimension, by the hand of our dark
powers! Hehehe.
Once again, this shows that X-Death could not comprehend the power of the void, as the Void would destroy the world in the process of its use. It is possible that he would use it in the manner o any weapon, but up until this point in the game X-Death seemed to think that the Void was going to do something for him that it simply wouldn’t, as can be seen from the words “a world of darkness will be born”. In the end, it his ignorance that destroys him:Quote:
Exdeath: You're late! Fwahaha. I finally have it!! The ultimate power!
Power that will rule the world! The power of the Void!
His failure to control the power o the Void was eventually his undoing, and the very power he was trying to control was his undoing. But after X-Death is consumed by the Void, another creature appears in his place. In the final Section of my post, I shall examine the being known only as Neo X-Death.Quote:
*The void begins to consume X-Death*
Exdeath: WHY? I had the power of the Void! What is Void? Arrrgh!
First of all, Neo X-Death is NOT simply a ‘evolved’ form of the original X-Death: it is a completely different entity.
As you can see, Neo X-Death’s motives are very different from the original X-Death’s; while X-Death wanted to control the world, Neo X-Death simply wishes to destroy it.Quote:
Neo-Exdeath: I am Neo-Exdeath! I shall erase all memory, all existence, all
dimensions. Then I too, shall disappear for, eternity!
So who or what is Neo X-Death? Well, the literal translation of his name would be “New Exceeding Death” or maybe simply “the next level of ascension”. If you consider my theory that X-Death was simply an honorific title rather than an actual name, then Neo X-Death could be considered in the same way as saying “the new king”. Basically there are 4 possibilities as to what Neo X-Death is:
1. A physical manifestation of the Void: While this may sound logical, The Void is ‘nothing’, so it doesn’t really make sense that it could take on the form of a monster.
2. X-Death after being consumed by the Void: While this might work as well, Neo X-Death looks completely different to X-Death, so unless it has the power to changer appearances (which, if logic prevails, it doesn’t) then this is just as unlikely as the first.
3. Some random Monster that just “shows up”: lol, it could imaging this, simply because I think Necron in FFIX was a reference to Neo X-Death, but lets just say for now that there MUST be a more logical solution.
4. It is Enuo: IMO this is the most logical choice. While we know that Enuo was defeated, it is never stated whether he was actually killed or not. It possible that he was banished to the Cleft of Dimensions in the same manner as Gilgamesh was. Also, we know that Enuo was truly able to control the Void, which means that he probably wished to use it in the way in which it was intended, for complete and utter destruction of existence. We also have no idea what Enuo looked like, and is described as a “powerful Evil” rather than a person. It’s entirely possible that he is this creature that would become known as Neo X-Death.
That, of course, is entirely speculative; we really have no idea who Neo X-Death is, and we will never know unless Square decides to tell us (assuming they know…). However, we do know that it is NOT X-Death, and it is probably NOT an incarnation of the Void. You decide for yourself what you think it is, you won’t get any conformation though….
Well, that’s the end of my ridiculously LONG theory. Let me state once again that everything I have stated is rather unlikely to be true. However, it’s another way of viewing Final Fantasy V, albeit a much more complex method, and goes to show that FF games are as complicated as you make them. Besides, what would you rather do; Believe everything that I have said, or think that Square doesn’t love you enough to put this level of complexity into their games?
Thoughts?
