Stratovania

Two weekends ago was Monster-Mania. The problem is that we usually spend most of our time there at the question-and-answer panels, but due to the writers' and actors' strikes, people weren't allowed to discuss their work. They could still be there and sign autographs, but there weren't any panels. Beth had already paid for it, though, so we still went, but didn't spend a lot of time. We walked around the dealer rooms and bought some drawings from an artist named Jen Tracy. She got a haunted one, and I got Tik-Tok.

I also thought her Medusa drawing, which we didn't buy, was really cool. And we watched part of a game show called Curse Your Luck, a play on Press Your Luck with horror movie characters instead of Whammies.

There was a trivia part, but it was difficult for the audience to play along. The screen was too small to read, and the hosts didn't finish the questions if a contestant answered them before they were done reading. We did learn that Friendly's has the mini mozzarella sticks again, at least at the location we went to, although Beth says they taste different than they did before. It's hard to tell, as it's been so long, but I think I got what she meant.

This past Wednesday, we went to Playland, where we both felt kind of sick after going on some pretty tame rides. Beth swears by motion sickness pills, and thinks the ones I bought just weren't up to the task. I also bought more pizza than we could finish, because I wasn't sure how big the personal ones were. And I'm usually capable of eating a lot of pizza. But anyway, it was pretty fun, but there wasn't anything new, although I think it was the first time we rode Catch a Wave. There used to be something quite similar at Clementon Park, where it was called the Falling Star.

I mentioned last year that the Derby Racer seems slower now, and one of the employees confirmed that, although he didn't know the reason why that happened. His guess was that there was an injury. I also mentioned the Old Mill, actually the first thing we rode on our first visit to the park, but I didn't talk about the sign that says it has a "dark and forbidding atmosphere."I guess things have changed since 1929, and dragons aren't as scary when they audibly creak anyway.

I always like to take pictures from the Ferris Wheel, and I guess it's a good thing I'm calm enough about it now, because I used to get really nervous when that kind of ride (not this particular one) would stop at the top to load more people. I'm still kind of scared I might drop something, though.


We've been watching the new Futurama episodes, and from what I've seen and the descriptions of the ones that have yet to air, it kind of seems like they're overdoing the commentary on current events. They've always done that, but not quite that often. I'll wait until I've actually seen the entire season to pass judgment, though. Also, I downloaded the Steam version of Final Fantasy X some years ago and decided to check it out this weekend. There's a guy who ends up 1000 years in the future and befriends a guy voiced by John DiMaggio, which is pretty familiar. I'll probably write more about the game once I've gotten a little further into it or it becomes too frustrating for me to want to continue, as FF8 was.


Finally, tomorrow is Ozma's birthday. How are you going to celebrate?

Beth and I both had birthdays last week. She's now forty-three, and I'm forty-five. Too bad that's a number that's now closely associated with Donald Trump. I understand some people find birthdays depressing because they're an indication that you're getting older, but that doesn't bother me so much. What does depress me somewhat is that I feel I always let my birthday go to waste, like it's a day when I'm allowed, to an extent, to make things about me and do what I want, but for the most part I don't. This year, we went to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden on Beth's birthday on Tuesday. Strangely, there were still some roses blooming, if usually only a few on an otherwise barren bush.

And there were a lot of squirrels around.

I often find myself taking pictures of plants that have unusual names, or at least ones I consider unusual.

There's a kind of rose called Peach Drift, which makes me think of Super Mario Bros. 2.

After the garden, we went to eat at a Georgian restaurant. We'd ordered from there before, and I really liked the Acharuli Khachapuri. This time, I had Khinkali, dumplings with beef and pork filling; and while the meat was spicy, I still would probably get them again. I guess I tend to associate "spicy" with "hot," as is often the case with Mexican or Indian food, but that's not always the case when it comes to...west Asian? I'm not quite sure what you'd consider Georgia and other nearby countries in that respect. My birthday was Friday, and after work, we went to a Hard Drive comedy show in Manhattan. A lot of the jokes were video game related, including a presentation of world events interpreted through gamer culture, but the comics covered other topics as well. The music before the show included the training music from Punch-Out!! and the surf version of the Chocobo theme.


I'd looked up the guitar tabs to that, the main Super Mario tune, and the overworld music from Super Mario World; and play them occasionally for fun. It might not be a bad idea to get a video game music book. I got Beth Mario and Zelda piano books a few years ago, but we don't really have room for a keyboard right now, and the notation doesn't really translate well to a different instrument, or at least it doesn't for me. I'm still technically taking guitar lessons, but scheduling problems means I haven't actually had one in a while. The place I go, which is right down the street, is more focused on kids, and there's a lot of turnover for the instructors. Anyway, after the show, we ate at Katz's, which was nearby. We'd only been there once before, although I've occasionally gotten food at their stand in the mall in between. It's kind of stressful with all the different lines and instructions, and both times it was so crowded that we had to hold our trays for longer than I was comfortable with. That said, it was much less crowded than it had been when we passed the restaurant on our way to the show, and there were lines outside the building. The food is quite good; I had the same thing I think I did previously, a half pastrami sandwich and chicken noodle soup.

We had another sort of combined birthday dinner yesterday at the Olive Garden. As birthday presents, she gave me a kalimba, the new Pixies album, and the Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia.

Last week was kind of a weird one at work, as my office is changing locations. The new place isn't far away, and it's actually one subway stop closer. I know I'd heard about the move prior to the pandemic, but they had to delay it a few years. Aside from that, I'm constantly wishing for more free time, then wasting it as soon as I get some. It's kind of annoying because there's so much I want to do and never get around to. That's especially true of writing. But I think a lot of it isn't just having time, but the general idea that there isn't anything I have to do for a significant amount of time. I'm so hung up on upcoming obligations even if they don't turn out to be anything big when they actually happen. I've gotten back into playing a lot of Sims 4, and one of the expansion packs I installed gives all of the Sims fears that don't always make a lot of sense. I'd kind of think only the ambitious ones would be concerned about being in dead-end jobs, but no, it's all of them. Interesting idea, I guess, but not all that practically executed. I try to check in on Animal Crossing once or twice a week, preferably on Saturday evenings so I can get a new K.K. Slider song, but as of late I've often been busy around then. I feel like I've gotten to the point where I just keep seeing the same stuff over and over again, except for the few things I still need to complete collections. I didn't get a chance to play on my birthday, but the neighbors did wish me a happy belated one yesterday.

I turn the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything today. Forty-two is a number Lewis Carroll used a lot as well, and I've written on the topic of recurring numbers before. Friday was Beth's birthday, but I couldn't think of anything to give her. I did order a few things, one of which came today, but she's gotten harder to shop for, as she already has a lot of books and buying DVDs isn't really necessary anymore.

To go back even further, on Wednesday, we saw a presentation on Halloween at Green-Wood Cemetery, which I have to wonder if they had to delay for some reason. It was pretty interesting, and the presenter brought some old decorations with her. One thing I particularly recall is how older decorations often focused on the harvest, while now the only real remnant of that aspect of the holiday is the pumpkins. We went to Friendly's on Friday, then to the Olive Garden on Saturday and Applebee's on Sunday. Today, we went to Pizzeria Uno, which isn't all that exciting as it's right around the corner and we go there fairly often, but I couldn't think of any better ideas. I really don't think the shrimp and crab dip is as good as it used to be, though. There are apparently no longer pieces of shrimp in it, unless they just messed it up that time. Maybe next time we can try the garlic bread instead. As for my presents, Beth gave me St. Vincent's MassEducation, Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn for 3DS, and a book of Dragon Quest illustrations; her mom gave me some shirts; Uncle John gave me Volume 1 of the Final Fantasy Ultimania Archive (the one covering the games I'm more familiar with, I through VI); and my brother gave me FF and DQ mangas.

Okay, so what is there to say? I'm nervous about moving, which we're going to have to do soon. One of our friends, one of maybe three people in the city who ever invite us to anything, is moving across the country. We went to her farewell party at a karaoke bar last week, but neither of us sang anything. I wasn't really that fond of the setup or the selection. Speaking of performing, I've been asked to participate in a few panels at the upcoming OzCon, which is cool. It's weird because I'm really socially awkward but don't so much mind public speaking. I'd rather not watch any audio or video of myself, though. I was thinking recently how I don't do well with embarrassment, and I guess nobody does, but some people can laugh about embarrassing moments in their past. For me, even if it's something fairly minor, it still usually bothers me when I think of it later on. I'm pretty open about my flaws, but I don't like to give specific examples. I've made thoughtless offhand comments in the past that really bothered people, and I do genuinely want to be liked. I guess even more than that, I want to be appreciated. Whenever I see comments about cutting out toxic people on social media, they have a valid point, but I tend to be worried I'll be one of the ones cut out, and it bothers me more than it probably should. Not that I think I'm toxic, but nobody thinks that of themselves. Even Britney Spears was singing it about another person. I've occasionally been blocked on Twitter, not realizing it until I replied to something. I've never known it be by someone who actually has any idea who I am, but it still bothers me that I'm apparently that annoying. Or are they just the sort of people who overdo blocking, or who have been trolled so much that they just do it without thinking? I wouldn't be offended if Donald Trump blocked me, although he's apparently breaking the law by doing so, at least if he does it with his presidential account. It shouldn't amaze me how many people still support him, or at least don't actively oppose him, but it's really depressing.

I probably would have gone to the Mermaid Parade on Saturday if I'd been in town. Amanda Palmer was the Queen Mermaid, which I still kind of think should be Queen Salacia, although that makes her sound like a salty bitch. I was away, however, celebrating my uncle-in-law's seventieth birthday by visiting the Cape May Zoo and eating at Red Lobster.





That night, Beth and I watched the XTC documentary This Is Pop, but I think I'll make that its own post. I also finally beat that smug jackass Marcello in Dragon Quest VIII, and I think I'm near the end of the game.

That doesn't necessarily mean I'll finish soon, though; there are several games where I basically gave up after repeated deaths in the final dungeon. I started playing Final Fantasy IX on PC, but haven't really gotten anywhere yet. It's weird using keyboard controls since I'm so used to playing RPGs on consoles, even though they were on PCs first. And it seems like my characters are dying a lot, although resurrection isn't that difficult. I'm probably going to get Dragon Quest XI for PC, since there isn't going to be a 3DS release outside Japan.

Born to Ride - Mario and Luigi are trying to install a sink in the Dome Castle. Well, at least they call it a castle, even though it doesn't appear to be an actual seat of government, and doesn't look much different from the other dome houses. Maybe the Princess refused to live in a building that wasn't a castle. They use bamboo for the plumbing, but Yoshi eats it. So the brothers yell at him, and he runs off and meets up with a motorcycle gang called the Dino-Riders. There had been a line of toys and cartoon series called Dino-Riders a few years prior to this, and they were also dinosaurs on motorcycles, so I suspect that's where they got the name. There appear to be only three members, the leader Duke, the big dumb guy Rock, and the biker babe Lulu.

I have to wonder how they obtained their bikes when Mario just introduced the wheel to Dinosaur Land a few episodes ago, and also what they run on, but these issues are never addressed. The Dino-Riders think Yoshi is a wimp (gee, I wonder why), but when they find out he knows the Mario Brothers, they pretend to be his friends so that they can get their hands on the plumbers. Their intention is to give them to King Koopa (who, by the way, doesn't appear in this episode) for the reward money. Why would Bowser bother offering a reward when he's had the Marios imprisoned approximately fifteen billion times before, and they've always escaped?

Well, anyway, the Dino-Riders spring their trap at the Tar Pit Milk Bar, and offer the brothers something called Goomba Quiche as their last meal. Mind you, a quiche is a pie, and this food clearly isn't, but I guess I should be impressed that dinosaurs can cook at all. When Yoshi finds out he's been had, he takes one of the Dino-Riders' bikes to get the Princess, and the two of them free the Marios. What follows is a chase sequence with Mario and Luigi on one motorcycle, Yoshi and the Princess on another, Rock on a third, and Duke and Lulu on a fourth. (Lulu, by the way, spends the sequence doing her nails. Women! Especially talking dinosaur women!) There were only three bikes in previous sequences, so I'm not sure where the fourth one came from. Also, we see Yoshi push over one of the Dino-Riders' bikes to gain some time, but they pick up TWO toppled motorcycles. Sloppy animation, anyone? The chase scene is accompanied by a song that sounds enough like "Born to Be Wild" for the audience to recognize it, but far enough from it that they don't have to pay any royalties. Rock falls into a pit of flaming magma and the other two Dino-Riders crash into a wall of blocks, yet they're all okay about a minute later. To make a short story even shorter, the good guys get away through a warp pipe, and the Dino-Riders don't bother chasing them anymore. Then Yoshi plays a hilarious joke where it looks like he's eating the plumbing again, but it's actually just an unrelated piece of wood and the sink works just fine. Oh, Yoshi, you regular cut-up!

The Fractured Fantasy of Captain N - Well, here it is, the last episode of Captain N, and it resolves absolutely nothing. Another interesting thing about this one is that I believe it was the only animated version of Final Fantasy that existed for a while. Eventually the Japanese turned out some anime based on the series, as well as a movie that doesn't appear to have anything to do with the games beyond its name, but those were later. The plot of this Captain N episode is based on what I still tend to think of as Chapter 2, because that's how the ElfLand part was identified in the old Nintendo Power strategy guide. It starts with Princess Lana going to have lunch with the Prince of ElfLand, who's an old friend of hers, and taking along Kevin, Mega Man, and Kid Icarus. (I guess Simon's reputation preceded him, and he wasn't invited.) Kevin is jealous of the Prince for some reason that isn't fully explained, and this jealousy is exploited by Astos.

Yeah, that guy. The dark elf hypnotizes Kevin, causing his irises to disappear and his voice to become robotic. He uses a potion to put the Prince to sleep, then goes off with Astos to train his warriors. He uses his Power Pad and Zapper in this training, because the warriors all have Power Pads and Zappers of their own, and can hence imitate his movements. No, wait, they don't. Lana, Mega Man, and Kid Icarus meet up with the witch Matoya, who in this cartoon isn't blind.

Her crystal still exists, though, in the form of the Light Crystal, which can reveal people's true selves. It turns out that Astos stole it from the witch, so the heroes sneak into the villain's castle with the time-honored method of disguising themselves in uniforms that just happen to cover the entire body. Lana uses the Light Crystal to break the spell on Kevin, and it also reveals the true forms of Astos and his henchmen.

I think I see now why the soldiers insisted on wearing full-body armor. The four heroes escape from Astos' castle, but leave the villain himself alive and kicking. Matoya uses an herb to wake the Prince, and Kevin says he's learned his lesson and is no longer jealous.

As I said, this was the last Captain N, but there are other Super Mario World episodes. When the show first aired, these Mario cartoons were accompanied by shortened versions of Captain N episodes from the first two seasons. Since there was no point in including these in the box set, the entire rest of it is Mario.

Today is both Arbor Day and Walpurgis Night, two holidays to which I've never put a whole lot of thought. Frankly, I'm not quite sure why, if we already had Arbor Day, we really needed Earth Day, especially in the same month. Did the creators of Earth Day think Arbor Day had gotten too commercial? I know I'm sick of how you can't walk into a store at this time of year without finding racks of Arbor Day cards, green and brown M&M's, and novelty oak trees that play Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" when you clap your hands. And what about that annoyingly commercial mascot, Millie the Lonely Maple, the source of a song by Johnny Marks and a Rankin-Bass stop-motion special? Anyway, I hope you planted a tree today, because I didn't.


As for Walpurgis Night, it's actually named after St. Walpurga, the eighth-century English missionary to what is now Germany. It really sounds, however, like it should be some kind of creature that's part walrus and part something else. Maybe a cross between a walrus, a cat, and a jellyfish. If I knew how to draw, maybe I'd come up with my own depiction of this monstrosity, but I don't. Maybe one of my fans could do it, if I had fans. Anyway, in Germany, it's regarded as the night when witches meet for their crazy celebrations on the mountain known as Brocken or Blocksberg. I don't think you see as much of that here. America has a reputation of being unfriendly to witches, what with the stories of witches being burned alive by the Puritans in Salem. This, however, is entirely untrue. The Puritans actually HANGED witches, which is an important distinction. Hanging leaves the body intact and able to be resurrected with a spell like Life 3 from Final Fantasy VI. And really, what self-respecting magic-worker WOULDN'T take such a precaution before going to the gallows? The only problem was the people they were hanging WEREN'T witches, but simply unpopular people. Perhaps witch hunts were yet another case of the popular kids attacking the nerds. You know, the eggheads who thought medicine was more effective than a Hail Mary for curing disease.


Since it's past midnight, I guess that means it's technically May Day, which was widely regarded as the first day of summer before everyone became sticklers for the solstice. I'll be sure to celebrate by dancing around the maypole and watching that Rankin-Bass classic, Bella, the Beltane Bellbird.

All right, I think it's about time for my post on Siegfried.


No, not THAT Siegfried, but the character in Final Fantasy VI. who presumably has his roots in the Sigurd of Norse mythology.

He makes a few appearances, suggesting that he might turn out to be important, but he really isn't. Not as far as we can tell, anyway. He first shows up on the Phantom Train, where he introduces himself as the world's greatest swordsman. He doesn't live up to his boasts by any means, however, as he's actually quite wussy. He does manage to escape with a treasure, though.

As I mentioned last week, Ultros makes a reference to him when attempting to steal the golden goddess statues. That would suggest that the two of them know each other, but Ultros gets around so much that I would imagine just about everybody knows him. On his next actual appearance, he follows Edgar and his gang of thieves into Figaro Castle, taking much of the treasure he finds along the way. After that, he spends the rest of the game in the Coliseum, where he's a quite formidable opponent. His attacks include the damaging Metal Cutter and Hyperdrive.


You can talk to Siegfried outside battle, and he mentions that an impostor has been pretending to be him. With only three appearances, however, it's difficult to tell which ones are real and which fake. The Siegfried on the Phantom Train might be the impostor, since he's so weak, but it's also possible that he just leveled up a whole lot after that. When he appears on the train, he's referred to as "Zigfried," which is presumably how he'd pronounce it if he has the German accent hinted at by his name. This could also be an indication that he's not the real McCoy, though. I understand that the Game Boy Advance version of the game cuts out the impostor reference entirely. Maybe it was something the game developers wanted to do more with, but there wasn't time and/or space.

Not surprisingly, the fake Siegfried has been the source of some fan speculation. I remember seeing a few suggestions that the impostor could be Baram, Shadow's former partner in crime. I don't know that there's much reason for this identification other than that they're both characters with names but little development, though. On the other hand, Baram was a train robber, so that could explain why you come across him treasure hunting on the Phantom Train. I also remember one person on the alt.games.final-fantasy newsgroup promoting the idea that Locke could have been disguising himself as Siegfried while not under the party's control, although I forget his reasons. I guess this would mean the Siegfried on the Phantom Train was real, though, since Locke was in South Figaro at that point.

Being intrigued by the character of Siegfried in the game, I decided to do some research on the figure, partially to see if it could give me any indication as to the mysteries surrounding him in the game. It didn't, but I still found out some interesting stuff. My first reading on Siegfried was a book from the school library, which told the tale of the legendary hero in a manner that reminded me a bit of Arthurian lore. I wrote the story "Siegfried in Oz" using this version of the character, but I later found out that there were many different takes on the character's adventures. They had elements in common, but some parts differed considerably, like the history of Siegfried and Brunhilda. Considering the general opera theme in FF6, what with the opera house being a considerable plot device and one of the major kingdoms being called Figaro, the Siegfried in the game might be intended as a reference to Wagner's Ring Cycle, in which Siegfried plays a major role. In fact, it's the title of the third opera.


I actually said a bit about Siegfried in a past entry, focusing on his near-invincibility. As for the Oz story, I've been planning a longer tale based on my main ideas from it, with Siegfried replaced by an ancient Ozian hero of my own making.

I've often seen the idea expressed that, when writing fiction, evil characters are more fun to work with than good ones. This isn't always true, but it does hold some significance in the world of literature based on the Bible. It seems, for instance, that Dante really didn't have his heart in describing Heaven so much as he did in detailing the torments of Hell. The traditional cultural view of heavenly angels is kind of dull, often simply consisting of their sitting around all day playing harps and singing songs of praise to God. In Islamic mythology, they don't even have free will. There's actually a fair amount of interesting angel lore (check out the Archangel Michael, for example), but popular culture hasn't really picked up on it so much. On the other hand, demons have really captured the imaginations of theologists and writers, and indexes and grimoires through the ages have depicted many of them as fascinating and ferocious combinations of human and animal features. Here are profiles of some of the more frequently recurring demons:


Abaddon/Apollyon - Mentioned in the book of Revelation as the angel who rules the abyss, the former is the Hebrew form of his name and the latter the Greek. He commands the bizarre locusts that plague the world. Earlier references to Abaddon use it as the name of a place, with Revelation being the first indication that it's also the same of a specific character. Mind you, personifying places is common in ancient lore, and Abaddon is mentioned as hearing things in the book of Job, so maybe the author of Revelation thought that turning the place into a person (well, sort of) was a logical step.


Asmodeus - This demon is a major player in the apocryphal book of Tobit, in which he kills seven successive husbands of a woman named Sarah (not the same Sarah as Abraham's wife in Genesis). It's been held that Asmodeus killed the husbands because he wanted Sarah for himself, which is why he came to be associated with lust and carnality. Sarah's eighth potential suitor, Tobias, drives off Asmodeus with the scent of a burning fish heart and liver (he must have had a very sensitive nose, which makes me wonder how he could live among the burning sulfur usually identified with Hell), and the angel Raphael binds him. The character also shows up in the Talmud and the apocryphal Testament of Solomon, which show him as more mischievous than purely evil, and as on somewhat friendly terms with Solomon himself. The king is said to have tricked Asmodeus into helping him build the temple, and the two of them switched places for a little while. Really, I don't think the picture of him that I included above makes him look so much malicious as just somewhat miffed. Hey, I would be too if I had to share my body with all those animals! In addition to being the demon of lust, Asmodeus was also identified in the Malleus Maleficarum as keeper of the gambling houses of Hell. I wonder if the house always wins, or if it's like that Twilight Zone episode I never saw where the guy realizes he's in Hell because he always wins and that's boring.


Astaroth - As far as I'm concerned, it's hard to think of a more occult-sounding name than this. The name was actually derived from that of the goddess Astarte or Ashtoreth, whose cult was a major competitor to that of Yahweh in the days of the Jewish kingship. Oddly enough, the demon is pretty much always referred to as male. Maybe he used to cross-dress when appearing to the Phoenicians. He's identified as Grand Duke and Treasurer of Hell, because it only figures that the worst place in the universe would be hierarchical and bureaucratic. (Then again, that's also how some theologians portray Heaven.) He's also incredibly well-learned, and can converse knowledgeably on just about any subject. Unfortunately, he has really bad breath, so you'd probably need to use some nasal protection when picking his infernal brain. Astaroth is usually identified as ugly, but some sources actually call him beautiful.


Beelzebub - Sometimes given as an alternate name for Satan himself, but identified as a Prince of Hell when seen as a different entity. His name literally means "lord of the flies," but I've seen speculation that that this name might actually be a play on "Ba'al Zebul," or "Lord of Heaven." "Ba'al" was the Canaanite word for "Lord," and was the name given to one or more of their gods. Since the main source we have for Canaanite religion is from their enemies, the name has taken on a negative connotation, although historical data suggest that Ba'al and Yahweh really had a lot in common. I guess it comes back to that whole thing about your worst enemies often being the ones who believe ALMOST what you do. There are a few references in the New Testament to a figure named Beelzeboul as Prince of the Devils, and some of Jesus' critics accused him of exorcising demons with the power of this infernal prince, rather than God. In later demonology, Beelzebub was identified as a cherub who served as Satan's lieutenant in his rebellion against the Almighty, and as a Prince of Hell after being cast out of Heaven.


Mammon - The identification of this name with an individual being presumably didn't originate until later than many of these other demons. It means "money," and is used as an indication of greed, as in Jesus' admonition that someone cannot serve both God and Mammon. Since this statement personifies Mammon, it was only a matter of time before it came to be the name of a demon who represents greed. In the Middle Ages, he was viewed as the demon of avarice.


Pazuzu - While not generally included on lists of Judeo-Christian demons, I'm including him here because of his significance in popular culture. This was the name of the demon in The Exorcist, as well as boss monsters in both Dragon Warrior II and Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, and Professor Farnsworth's pet gargoyle in Futurama. He was a wind god worshipped by the Assyrians and Babylonians, being associated most closely with the southwest wind. While a rather unpleasant being himself, he could be invoked to drive off other evil spirits.

I could probably keep going with this, but I think six of them are enough for one post. (Hey, and six is the number of the Devil! I didn't even realize that was how many I had listed until I just counted them.) If you're interested in further research on this topic, however, here are a few of the sources I consulted:
Demons Central
Demons A-Z
Wikipedia's list of theological demons
Demon Names

When dealing with the classical elements, we can't forget how often they play a significant role in Square Enix games. The first Final Fantasy has the Light Warriors facing off against four elemental fiends: Lich for earth, Kary (Marilith in the Japanese version) for fire, Kraken for water, and Tiamat for air. FF4 also uses elemental fiends, this time named after demons from Dante's Inferno: Scarmiglione for earth, Cagnazzo for water, Barbariccia for air, and Rubicante for fire. (Due to limited space, translation errors, or possibly a combination of both, the original North American translation referred to these four as Milon, Kainazzo, Valvalis, and Rubicant.) Final Fantasy IX has four Chaos Guardians with the same names as the Fiends from the first game, and Mystic Quest has the Vile Four: Flamerus Rex, Ice Golem, Dualhead Hydra, and Pazuzu. Also making significant use of the classical elements are the Mana games, in which there are eight Mana Spirits. Four represent the elements we all know and love, while the others are associated with wood, the moon, light, and darkness. Kind of an odd combination, I'd say, but what are you going to do?


Elements are also significant to Chrono Trigger, but instead of the typical four, we're instead presented with fire, ice, lightning, and shadow. The first three seem to be the most typical families of spells in role-playing video games. It's also fairly typical for lightning to work well against water monsters, fire against ice monsters, and, oddly enough, ice against fire monsters as well.

Today, we take a look at the end of the world. More specifically, it's the final war of Norse mythology, Ragnarok. One fascinating thing about the myths of Ragnarok is that the descriptions are so specific, and the gods know all about them, but they're simply resigned to carrying out their roles. No point in messing with fate, I suppose.



According to the myths, the great war will be preceded by three years of harsh winter, during which morality will break down. Then the bonds holding some of the most fearsome monsters will break, and the creatures that have been trying to cause chaos for centuries will finally succeed. The wolves that have been chasing the Sun and Moon will devour them, and the serpent Nidhogg will chew through one of the roots of the World Tree. The monsters will join forces with the frost and fire giants, including Loki, who will escape from his prison. Sources mention two ships, one made of the nails of the dead, that will convey the giants and their allies to the final battleground; as well as the giants invading Asgard by way of the rainbow bridge Bifrost, which would break behind them. The gods will be assisted by the Einherjar, the virtuous dead who had been dwelling at Valhalla. The exact order and location of the events seems to vary from one source to another, but the last battle will be fought on the plain of Vigrid, which is ten thousand square leagues in area, and fills the same basic role that Armageddon does in Christianity. While we know that Armageddon refers to Megiddo in Israel, where many battles have been fought over the centuries, I haven't seen any speculation as to whether Vigrid might be a real place. At some point in the fighting, the wolf Fenrir will kill Odin, who will in turn be avenged by his son Vidar. Thor and the Midgard Serpent Jormungand will take out each other, with the thunder god killing the serpent but falling to the dead snake's venom. Eventually, after many more deaths on both sides, the giant Surtr will end the whole thing by setting all nine worlds on fire with his magic sword.



As is generally the case with mythology, this death of everything is followed by a rebirth. Some of the younger gods will survive the destruction, as will two humans, who will repopulate the world. In the new world, crops will grow by themselves, and peace and happiness will reign. The main dwelling place of the new gods will be Gimli, a hall that shines more brightly than the sun (and the source of the name for the main dwarf in Lord of the Rings). I seem to recall seeing some different takes on the new world from after Christianity started to gain prominence in Scandinavia, in which there's only the one god after the Aesir die. While an interesting way to try to reconcile old and new beliefs, wouldn't that mean Ragnarok would have to have happened already without anyone noticing? ("Hey, did you hear that a giant wolf ate the sun the other day?" "No, I was inside all day.")



The Norse apocalypse has become a popular theme, and the name "Ragnarok" has also been used for things that don't have an immediate connection to the end of the world. Indeed, most of the Google results I found when searching for the term did not refer to the battle, but to the RPG Ragnarok Online. Other references that come to mind are the Esper Ragnarok from Final Fantasy VI, Ragnarok Canyon in Battletoads, and the avian villain Ragna Roc in Piers Anthony's Two to the Fifth.