- AKA
- Tim, Ryu
So, recently, a few hours ago, in fact, I read the power tier list on the front page and noted that SoS had ranked Firion at the bottom of the list, and while I didn't really disagree with this idea- he is the only hero on the list who is 'merely' human, after all, but I noticed his one extraordinary ability, his apparent telekinesis, which is a major aspect of his fighting style, was not mentioned. I contacted him regarding this omission, and as we talked, the discussion turned to fighting styles, and how, though Firion might be at the bottom of the list, his skill with weapons is near the top. This, and thinking of if any of the other heroes could handle his quick weapon change style made me realize something- Firion's style is very similar to several tricks Cloud does- throwing his sword, his advancing dual wield slice through a building, and Omnislash v6- during the course of ACC.
Now, this is not to say Cloud actually learned these abilities from Firion in the course of his personal timeline- though given Dissidia's status as a cross universal sidestory, it's technically possible- and this idea is not in fact concerned with whether or not Cloud could have learned these techniques from Firi, or even if this connection was intentional, merely the narrative satisfaction of such events.
Let us look at Dissidia. In this game, Firi's fighting style is fleshed out for the first time ever, and some of his most notable abilities are his 'Reel Axe', in which he throws an axe at an enemy, which both returns to Firion after travelling in a direct line, but also pulls the enemy along with it so Firi may attack them further. He also has 'Double Trouble', a rising attack that links between several blows of an axe and a sword held in either hand, an attack which chains from 'Reel Axe' as well as several other techniques. Also especially of note is 'Weaponmaster', in which Firion uses his telekinesis to hold his weapons out in front of him and have them repeatedly attack his foe at range. The specific significance of these techniques as they relate to the narrative of ACC will be dealt with momentarily, so keep them, especially 'Weaponmaster' in mind.
Now, in Dissidia, Cloud's primary conflict is not having a thing to fight for, which is contrasted with his ally Firion, who spends the entire game fighting for his dreams, the dream of a peaceful world- a dream Cloud tests and approves of- represented by the wild rose. During the course of this story, Firion fights and is defeated by Sephiroth, and his rose, his symbol, is taken from him.
Cloud, later in the story, fights and defeats Sephiroth to retrieve this symbol and return it to Firion, in the process taking this dream of a peaceful world for everyone as his own. Now this could, and in Dissidia, does, mark a satisfactory end to this tale. However, that does not mean it's not possible for it to be referenced in 'later' tales, which ACC is, both in Cloud's personal chronology, and by the release dates of both materials as the Japanese Dissidia was completed several months before Advent Children Complete, which means that it is more possible for events in the latter to deliberately reference the former, instead of being accidental.
Now, in Advent Children Complete, Cloud saves his adopted son Denzel by taking one of the blades of his six part sword, and throwing it to that it flies through the air, strikes all the monsters menacing the child, and then returns to him in a 'Reel Axe' analogue, indicating that Cloud, much like Firion in Dissidia, can direct his weapons without the need to actually touch them. Immediately after using the analogue for 'Reel Axe', he begins wielding the blade thrown and his other sword to advance through the wreckage of a falling building to save Tifa, the woman he lives with, and uses alternating slashes from each blade to clear the wreckage obstructing his path- a possible analogue to 'Double Trouble' which chains off of the 'Reel Axe' which, as mentioned, Cloud had just used an analogue of.
This is very possibly a roundabout example of narrative satisfaction, as just before using these two analogues to save Denzel and Tifa, he sees images of the deaths of Zack and Aerith, two people whose deaths he feels responsible for, and who he blames himself for not being able to save.
A major narrative theme for Zack was to have a dream, to hold onto his dream, and a major recurring theme with Aerith is flowers. Both of these themes, Dreams and Flowers, are found in Firion, whose personality- which reminds Cloud of Zack by his own words- and his defeat by Sephiroth could be narrative stand ins for Zack and Aerith and their demises, but with more positive resolutions- to show Cloud that he can make a difference. In this way, by using Firion's techniques to save the lives of his woman and child while simultaneously flashing back to two lives he could not save, Cloud could narratively be using his positive experience with Firion, the Zack and Aerith stand-in, to prevent a repeat of the negative experience of losing both of the friends he represents.
The final, and most satisfactory possible narrative connection to Firion and Dissidia comes at the climax of Cloud's battle with Sephiroth, in which he makes all of his swords come apart, fly into a circle around Sephiroth, and then uses spirit energy to move these weapons to attack independently of himself, in a technique eerily reminiscent of Firion's 'Weaponmaster' attack. To use an attack of the weakest of the warriors of Cosmos, whom Sephiroth had soundly defeated, to lay the final blow to Sephiroth himself, is both a perfectly fitting end to their battle, to Show Sephiroth how far Cloud had come, and also to further drive home to Sephiroth how soundly defeated he just had been. That where once Sephiroth was unstoppable, even now, at his best, even the techniques of one he had previously utterly defeated, were now sufficient for Cloud to defeat him Soundly.
And intentional or not, that's a satisfactory narrative conclusion.
Addendum: Keep in mind, I am not saying any of this actually is the case, just that if it is, it is actually a well executed usage of a side story influencing a major part of the narrative without being necessary for the enjoyment or understanding of the main story, or vice versa.
Now, this is not to say Cloud actually learned these abilities from Firion in the course of his personal timeline- though given Dissidia's status as a cross universal sidestory, it's technically possible- and this idea is not in fact concerned with whether or not Cloud could have learned these techniques from Firi, or even if this connection was intentional, merely the narrative satisfaction of such events.
Let us look at Dissidia. In this game, Firi's fighting style is fleshed out for the first time ever, and some of his most notable abilities are his 'Reel Axe', in which he throws an axe at an enemy, which both returns to Firion after travelling in a direct line, but also pulls the enemy along with it so Firi may attack them further. He also has 'Double Trouble', a rising attack that links between several blows of an axe and a sword held in either hand, an attack which chains from 'Reel Axe' as well as several other techniques. Also especially of note is 'Weaponmaster', in which Firion uses his telekinesis to hold his weapons out in front of him and have them repeatedly attack his foe at range. The specific significance of these techniques as they relate to the narrative of ACC will be dealt with momentarily, so keep them, especially 'Weaponmaster' in mind.
Now, in Dissidia, Cloud's primary conflict is not having a thing to fight for, which is contrasted with his ally Firion, who spends the entire game fighting for his dreams, the dream of a peaceful world- a dream Cloud tests and approves of- represented by the wild rose. During the course of this story, Firion fights and is defeated by Sephiroth, and his rose, his symbol, is taken from him.
Cloud, later in the story, fights and defeats Sephiroth to retrieve this symbol and return it to Firion, in the process taking this dream of a peaceful world for everyone as his own. Now this could, and in Dissidia, does, mark a satisfactory end to this tale. However, that does not mean it's not possible for it to be referenced in 'later' tales, which ACC is, both in Cloud's personal chronology, and by the release dates of both materials as the Japanese Dissidia was completed several months before Advent Children Complete, which means that it is more possible for events in the latter to deliberately reference the former, instead of being accidental.
Now, in Advent Children Complete, Cloud saves his adopted son Denzel by taking one of the blades of his six part sword, and throwing it to that it flies through the air, strikes all the monsters menacing the child, and then returns to him in a 'Reel Axe' analogue, indicating that Cloud, much like Firion in Dissidia, can direct his weapons without the need to actually touch them. Immediately after using the analogue for 'Reel Axe', he begins wielding the blade thrown and his other sword to advance through the wreckage of a falling building to save Tifa, the woman he lives with, and uses alternating slashes from each blade to clear the wreckage obstructing his path- a possible analogue to 'Double Trouble' which chains off of the 'Reel Axe' which, as mentioned, Cloud had just used an analogue of.
This is very possibly a roundabout example of narrative satisfaction, as just before using these two analogues to save Denzel and Tifa, he sees images of the deaths of Zack and Aerith, two people whose deaths he feels responsible for, and who he blames himself for not being able to save.
A major narrative theme for Zack was to have a dream, to hold onto his dream, and a major recurring theme with Aerith is flowers. Both of these themes, Dreams and Flowers, are found in Firion, whose personality- which reminds Cloud of Zack by his own words- and his defeat by Sephiroth could be narrative stand ins for Zack and Aerith and their demises, but with more positive resolutions- to show Cloud that he can make a difference. In this way, by using Firion's techniques to save the lives of his woman and child while simultaneously flashing back to two lives he could not save, Cloud could narratively be using his positive experience with Firion, the Zack and Aerith stand-in, to prevent a repeat of the negative experience of losing both of the friends he represents.
The final, and most satisfactory possible narrative connection to Firion and Dissidia comes at the climax of Cloud's battle with Sephiroth, in which he makes all of his swords come apart, fly into a circle around Sephiroth, and then uses spirit energy to move these weapons to attack independently of himself, in a technique eerily reminiscent of Firion's 'Weaponmaster' attack. To use an attack of the weakest of the warriors of Cosmos, whom Sephiroth had soundly defeated, to lay the final blow to Sephiroth himself, is both a perfectly fitting end to their battle, to Show Sephiroth how far Cloud had come, and also to further drive home to Sephiroth how soundly defeated he just had been. That where once Sephiroth was unstoppable, even now, at his best, even the techniques of one he had previously utterly defeated, were now sufficient for Cloud to defeat him Soundly.
And intentional or not, that's a satisfactory narrative conclusion.
Addendum: Keep in mind, I am not saying any of this actually is the case, just that if it is, it is actually a well executed usage of a side story influencing a major part of the narrative without being necessary for the enjoyment or understanding of the main story, or vice versa.
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