FFV theories

[Shin Gouken]

Yeah i'm just kinda pinching threads from other forums

Neo X-Death = Enuo ??? Neo X-Death = Physical manifestation of the void?? Or Neo X-Death = X-Death and the void as a single entity??

We know that Enuo once had the power to CONTROL the void. X-Death attempts this and is engulfed by the void. His motives then change from wanting to have absolute power to control the world to simply wanting to erase everything including himself.

This to me is the void talking. My guess would be that the void has taken X-Deaths free will and can now control itself after merging with X-Death. But did this happen with Enuo? I'm sure it didn't.

Thoughts




Also, it occured to me that the Blue magic spell Explosion (anthology) only KO's a character when used. So Gilgamesh would only have been KO'd after the battle with Necrophobe and isn't actually dead. But his speech to our heroes certainly implies that he is going to die.

Thoughts

[Christmas]

HATE.

[Shin Gouken]

HATE.

Thank you pupu :rolleyes2

LOL i have read that actually but i thought maybe some people who joined later might have some theories of their own

[Ciretho]

There are a lot of things loike the explosion in most of the Final Fantasys. Especially when you play X and X-2 how people can get shot in a battle and only a bit of hp goes but outside of a battle they die forever... But it's all good, its just a small plot hole and doesn't detract from the game.

[Slade]

I still believe that Neo X-Death is either Enuo or the pysical manifestation of the Void. Just because of his name being the same, dosn't mean that he is the same guy. The name X-Death comes from 'exceeding death', so the name could belong to anyone who has done so. Plus 'Neo' means new........so the full name is 'New Exceeding Death'.

[The Devourer Of Worlds]

I remember hearing about theory somewhere that ExDeath may actually have been a reincarnation of Enuo.

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.

The main concept behind the theory is that when Enuo was defeated 1000 years before the game starts, his spirit somehow ended up in the Mua Forest. It would then possess the tree that would later become ExDeath. The main problem with this theory however is that a villager in Mirage town gives us the following info on Enuo’s demise:

Villager: The evil wizard Enuo who tried to make the world his own with the power of the “Void”…he himself was sucked into the Void and disappeared.

As you can see, Enuo wasn’t sealed at all; he met his end at the hands of the Void. Unless someone can come up with a logical reason as to why he would then end up in the Mua Forest, this theory ultimately remains rather flawed.

The main points this theory has going for it is that it is chronologically possible (Enuo being defeated 500 years before ExDeath’s ‘birth’) and the fact that ExDeath and Enuo have very similar goals. ExDeath also seems to have a decent knowledge of how to obtain the power of the Void, something you would only expect Enuo to know.

[Masamune·1600]

Although I previosly posted my thoughts in the linked thread, I feel I should take the opportunity to bring them together in a single post.

**********

Neo Ex-Death is the physical embodiment of the Void. This is, in my estimation, the only reasonable conclusion one can reach reach regarding the final boss of Final Fantasy V, and I will do my best to explicate this opinion in the following paragraphs.

Both X-Death and Enuo are notable, for the purposes of this explanation, for sharing a desire for power and ascendancy. Both see the Void as a means to achieve this ascendancy; dialogue from the game supports this idea.

Villager: The evil wizard Enuo who tried to make the world his own with the power of the “Void”…he himself was sucked into the Void and disappeared.

and...

Exdeath: Mwahaha. I had disguised myself as a little splinter, waiting for
this moment. 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.

Likewise, both seemed to have been defeated by heroes (Bartz and company in the case of Ex-Death; the precursor heroes who wielded the Legendary Weapons in the case of Enuo), only to meet their true ends as a result of the power of the void.

Villager: The evil wizard Enuo who tried to make the world his own with the power of the “Void”…he himself was sucked into the Void and disappeared.

and...

Exdeath: WHY? I had the power of Void! What is Void? Arrrgh!

(At this point, Ex-Death is basically absorbed by the Void)

Neo Ex-Death, however, seems to have no interest in the motivations of Enuo or Ex-Death. Rather, Neo Ex-Death seems only concerned with destruction and negation.

Neo-Exdeath: I am Neo-Exdeath! I shall erase all memory, all existence, all
dimensions. Then I too, shall disappear for, eternity!

These would certainly be odd sentiments for either Enuo or Ex-Death. However, if one assumes (as I am throughout this post) that Neo Ex-Death is the embodiment of the Void, one must consider how and why this development came about. After all, prior to the incident with Enuo, there is no evidence (presented in the game, at least) of the Void having any real influence.

The answer, I believe, rests with the ambiguous matter of when the Void came into existence. One could argue that, if not begotten, it at least predates the world; the ending suggests as much.

In the beginning, there was Void. Then four Spirits came. Together in this
Void, the Crystals were born and the world was created.

However, Guido's explanation regarding Enuo would seem at odds with this statement.

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.

Given that Guido states that Enuo "[created] the Void," the ending statement becomes problematic. This apparent contradiciton, however, can be resolved by distinguishing between the "original Void" and the Void Enuo created. My argument, essentially, is that Enuo somehow changed the Void, granting it an awareness. His Void was a manufactured entity, the original nothingness of the universe given purpose. As the Void is negation, a desire to return everything, including itself, to nothingness makes sense. This desire, needless to say, is exactly the sentiment expressed by Neo Ex-Death before the final battle.

Another argument in favor of this notion, as well as one that would seem to deconstruct any case for Neo Ex-Death being a form or reincarnation of either Ex-Death or Enuo, lies with the previously explored fact that both were effectively devoured by the Void after seeking its powers. Both met the same fate, and the problem of the Void itself was left to be handled. Again recall Guido's statement on Enuo...

Guido: [...] 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.

Presumably, the defeat of Enuo was much the same as that of Ex-Death. After the villain was battered by the heroes, it was absorbed into the Void. The final difference lies in the ability of Bartz and company to actually defeat Neo Ex-Death itself, whereas the precursor heroes of 1000 years ago could only seal the manifested embodiment of Void. The ending again attests to this.

When the day comes that Void shall again envelop the world. If within people
live the four spirits, Light shall again be born.

In spite of Ex-Death serving as the primary antagonist throughout the game, the critical action of the party involves stopping the Void (which, clearly, Neo Ex-Death embodies), with Ex-Death suddenly nothing more than incidental.

**************

This ends the primary argument for Neo Ex-Death being the embodiment of the Void as pertains solely to FFV. However, I feel that the mysterious final boss of FFIX, Necron, also seems to help bring this view of Neo Ex-Death into focus. Consider this excerpt from my essay, "FFIX and the Implicit Reference."

[...]Thus, as long as evil is perpetuated, so is the potential for Necron to see reason to perform his nullifying work.

Furthermore, in saying "nullifying", I suggest that Necron's purpose was more than to kill, to turn life to death. Rather, Necron sought something more profound and more horrible: the negation, the very dissolution of existence as we understand it.

(Necron): "I exist for one purpose..."
"To return everything back to the zero world, where there is no life and no crystal to give life."
"In a world of nothing, fear does not exist. This is the world that all life desires."



Necron, according to the dialogue, desires to return "everything" to the "zero world." Not only is this zero world a place with no life, it is also a place with no crystal. If the crystal, which gives life, disappears, then theoretically even the possibility of life also vanishes. Also, the crystal deals heavily with the idea of memory.

Voice of Garland: You have entered a new realm. There are no more
words. There is no more space... Follow your memory, and march forth...

Zidane: Garland, what exactly is our memory!?

Voice of Garland: .........

Zidane: Why can I remember other people's experiences and events that
happened before my time?

Voice of Garland: .........

Zidane: Garland, please! Tell me!

Voice of Garland: ...Do not limit memory to just one individual's
experiences from birth. That is only the surface. Every life born into
this world, whether natural or artificial, requires a parent. And that
parent also requires a parent. Life is connected, one to another... If
you trace the root of all life, there exists one source. The same can
be said for memory. All life constitutes an intelligence that holds
memory beyond experience. Memory is not isolated within individuals. It
is an accumulation of generations of memories that continues to evolve.
You can say that memory and evolution go hand in hand. But most life-
forms do not understand the true nature of memories... ...which explains
why most memories never cross paths.

Zidane: ...So, what am I gonna find by tracing back our roots?

Voice of Garland: ...A presence that presides over all life and memories.
The crystal...

Zidane: Crystal...



As noted in a previous post, it's possible that the zero world doesn't necessarily imply total negation. However, it is a possibility. What's really relevant, however, is this: the idea bears striking similarity to a previous FF concept. Note that I managed to sneak in the word "voids." Clearly, negation and nothingness are not new concepts to the series. Neo Ex-Death, the final boss of FFV, is the very embodiment of the Void. Similarly, Necron can be interpreted as the embodiment, or more accurately the will, of negation. However, even if you find these ideas difficult to accept, the fact remains that Necron bears a clear resemblance to Neo Ex-Death.

Furthermore, "Necron" was not the original name for this entity. The Japanese version of the game calls it the "Darkness of Eternity", which still appears in the dialogue.

Zidane: U-Ugh... What happened to the crystal...? ...Where is this?

Unknown Voice: You stand before the final dimension, and I am the
darkness of eternity...

Zidane: Wh-Who are you!?



Necron, the Darkness of Eternity, is just that. He is the force that would remove the light, the crystal, from existence. And who's to say that, at least in theory, the crystal is not responsible for time? If the crystal disappears, taking with it time, then the darkness of eternity (you can, for fun, compare this to Chrono Cross' Darkness Beyond Time if you like) becomes a chilling reality. Neo Ex-Death, should it prevail against Bartz and company, would seem to signify the victory of the Void over that which currently exists. The Void is a plot device, and can be interpreted in different ways, but I don't think it's too great a stretch to compare the darkness of eternity idea.

Throughout this post, I've constructed a view of Necron as a force to essentially dissolve existence.[...]

That particular essay argues primarily that certain plot points from previous Final Fantasy installments (most commonly FFs IV and V) were in various ways recycled in the FFIX plot; they became "implicit references," as opposed to explicit references like bosses named Lich, Marilith, Tiamat, and Kraken (FFI), or the story of Josef (FFII) being retold by Ramuh. Central to this debate, however, is the similarity between Necron and Ex-Death. Both are entities that seemingly appear out of the blue; neither had an obvious hand in the stories until they appeared for the final battles. However, if one accepts my arguments for the connection between Neo Ex-Death and Necron, it suggests that this argument for Neo Ex-Death being the embodiment of the Void is accurate. Moreover, this would seem to explain Neo Ex-Death's interest in memory.

Neo-Exdeath: I am Neo-Exdeath! I shall erase all memory, all existence, all
dimensions. Then I too, shall disappear for, eternity!

Erasing memory seems to be a minor threat compared to that of deleting "all existence, all dimensions." In the context of FFIX, however, where memory is directly linked to all life and its origins, this becomes more clear. Given that all originates from the Crystal in FFIX, the reexamination of FFV's Crystals at the end also takes on new significance.

In the beginning, there was Void. Then four Spirits came. Together in this
Void, the Crystals were born and the world was created.

In this context, then, it seems very clear that Neo Ex-Death is the embodiment of the Void, and separate from Enuo or Ex-Death (other than having absorbed them). No one, after all, would argue that Necron is actually another form of Garland or Kuja.

***************

Thus, as repeatedly stated throughout the needlessly long and convoluted "essay" above, I feel that Neo Ex-Death is the embodiment of the Void.


As regards the matter of Gilgamesh, one could argue as to the canonicity of his death. Necrophobe can be defeated before Gilgamesh shows up, and there is no FFV Ultimania that might serve to confirm the matter. In my opinion, however, Gilgamesh dying is probably what the creators intended.

As for the possibility of the party reviving Gilgamesh, one would have to question why Necrophobe, or any other boss, could not being similarly resurrected. In fact, via use of a Blood Sword, Galuf can finish his fatal fight with Ex-Death and have more than 0 HP. Of course, he still dies. The conclusion one must reach is that their is a divorce between story and gameplay elements (there usually is), and that Gilgamesh's sacrifice was the closest a gameplay element could come to expressing what was really an element of story.

[zell1990]

All I can say is Wow.

That really explains heaps about the Final Fantasy series, good job on writing it ^_^

[Zeromus_X]

I always though Neo X Death looked like the monsters of the void fused with X Death, or something. meh.

[Shin Gouken]

Yes, i pretty much agree with your entire "essay" ^_^ Your explenation makes a lot of sense. Perhaps somebody can come up with an equally detailed reason as to why Neo X-death cannot be the void, or as to why the void could be Enuo, i'm open to possibilities, but for now, this is what i believe.

Zeromus i think your right too. Neo X-Death does look like a monster made from other monsters. These perhaps are entities the void has absorbed, and such X-Death or Enuo could well be a part of what makes up his physical manifestation.