Am I missing something? (Final Boss SPOILERS)

[Crowseye]

I dont remember it being said anywhere that destroying Orphan would lead to Cocoon falling. Which Datalog are you referring to? I got the vibe that it was Ragnarok which destroys Cocoon.

Chapter 12, Entry 2 "Eden Under Siege"

"... Even now, the members of the Cavalry charge into the heart of the capital, unwittingly seeking to extinguish the power that keeps Cocoon aloft: Orphan. Their idealism is being used against them.

Their quest for liberation is just another cog in Barthandelus's scheme to call back the Maker. He will see the world shattered, and offer the lives of its inhabitants in sacrifice."

At any rate, that is an interesting read LB.

On the one hand, I agree with the party's observation that humanity would never be free of the fal'Cie if Orphan survived. That is the story I thought the game was going for early on when Lightning decided to take out Eden back in Chapter three -- except it backtracked on that storyline after getting to Palumpolom.

The argument is not really about killing Orphan, which I think most players would agree was necessary for humanity to free themselves from under the thumb of the fal'Cie...it's about killing Orphan without a plan in place for what to do afterwards, fully knowing that Cocoon was "doomed" with Orphan gone -- the entire reason they had decided to protect Orphan the several hours of gameplay previous.

Even the guide doesn't say exactly when the realization hit Fang and Vanille that they could turn into Ragnarok to save Cocoon rather than destroy it, and the game makes it pretty clear IMO that none of the other four party members were in on the secret (much less the player his or herself).

We see no discovery of hidden knowledge on Pulse, no discussion among party members, let alone Vanille or Fang, that "Hey, this may just be possible." The most the game shows is that our heroes "hoped" a solution would present itself (and were confident that one would -- because they were the "heroes" after all). They knowingly gambled the fate of the world based on a last minute change of heart, or a last minute change in perspective, however you want to view it. Fortunately for them, in the final moments before Cocoon crashed into Pulse, they got bailed out by some quick thinking by Vanille and Fang.

[Loony BoB]

Haha, totally.

[arcanedude34]

So basically between a comfortable life of ignorance and near-certain death, the heroes decided on the latter on behalf of all of mankind. Classic.

[eestlinc]

Well, I'm not sure a "comfortable life" was an option to them, especially at the point they were facing Orphan. And really, Orphan is such an annoying piece of crap, how could they do anything other than destroy it?

[Raistlin]

So pretty much they were banking the entire world on a last minute deus ex machina to just fall from the sky, eh?

As far as I can tell, yeah. The plot overall seemed very haphazardly put together.

[No.78]

The way I saw it, they couldn't avoid their fight with Orphan it was what they did about it that was different. They fought their destiny and ended up completing their focus.

It's delicious ironing!

[arcanedude34]

The way I saw it, they couldn't avoid their fight with Orphan.

They could have let themselves die for the greater good. You know, like good guys.

[VeloZer0]

Which I think they were planning on doing. Then they just kind of forgot about it.

[arcanedude34]

Which I think they were planning on doing. Then they just kind of forgot about it.

That would have made everything SO much better for me. They defeat Oprah, they all look accomplished, then Sazh goes, "Wait... why did we do that again?" One 'oh ' look from the rest of the group later, then Cocoon starts falling. That would have been so awesome.

[kotora]

You know there's something wrong with the storytelling when players need to use guides and ingame encyclopedias to explain the ending. Even though those don't even explain it fully. Then again a deux ex machina was the only thing that could've happened anyway, with the party not knowing how they're going to save Coccoon right until the end. It's just bad storytelling on a poorly worked out storyline.

[Loony BoB]

I wonder just how many FF's have a surprise twist at the end.

[kotora]

Aside from the occasional random final boss appearing out of nowhere, I think all of them ended as they were supposed to, with the party saving the world and all. Same for 13, except the story didn't point to anything they could do to save the world, besides "just finish walking the long path and see what happens after beating the final boss, even though that's supposed to destroy the world".

[Elpizo]

Wasn't it kinda the case in VII, too, though? Sure, the party fought Seph to free Holy thinking that would save the planet, but it didn't, and then Aeris pulled the Lifestream out of nowhere. Not nearly as unexplained as XIII's Ragnarok, but still, there was, as far as I remember, nothing indicating that the Lifestream itself could help out.

[kotora]

The Lifestream at least had a story behind it, being the source of life of the planet and all. Plus there's the thing of Aeris' sacrifice, so it all made some kind of sense. We didn't get anything in 13 indicating that there was anything they could do to save Coccoon (except of course, all the cutscenes in which they all boldly proclaimed to save Coccoon instead of destroy it, which just made them seem like they were all talk because nobody had any idea on how to do it).

[Loony BoB]

I only know that VIII had a totally unpredictable ending. I mean, sure, beating the obvious boss did it, but all the stuff that happened immediately afterwards was nothing short of bonkers to me.