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 Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 1:47 pm
 This is one I have trouble with. The only explanation for them can be "magic". A world just can't exist with ground that hovers around in the air.
I do like the idea, but because of its credibility I simply won't use it. It's a nice thought, but just not possible. Of course, fantasy is generally what you want it to be, and there are some companies that have pulled off the idea well - although they've never really explained it except for perhaps one.
Three examples of floating continents are:
* Bhujerba and Lemurés (Final Fantasy XII and Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings).
* Skies of Arcadia.
* The Granstream Saga.
In the Granstream Saga, the "magic" that keeps the contients afloat is failing, and they're gradually beginning to sink towards the ocean. The world consists of four little islands, each with a single town on it and a couple of areas to explore (the volcano island, Volcos, has two little towns and they have to keep the mountain balanced weight wise). The task of the main character, Eon, is to find the Lifting Verses and to have the main girl, Arcia, recite them in order to raise the continents again.
That's the only one that can vaguely be explained. We can only make assumptions about the other two. Unless there's some kind of gas that makes the continents float around, there's really no other way to explain it.
Oh, pardon me, there's another "sort of". It's not a continent, but it has some kind of credibility. That's the Valley of Corrupted Gravity in The Legend of Dragoon. It gets is name from what it does. Gravity is warped there and therefore rocks float around and you can even transport yourself on to rocks upside down because the place is just so damn weird.
---------------------------------------------
HEAVEN
Some of us also think of Heaven as being the paradise in the sky. We always look upward when we think of God, the Angels and Heaven. When I see a beautiful sunrise or sunset, I can often make out what looks like continents and seas in the sky. It's beautiful. People have of course looked for Heaven and can't find it. The reason being, it's not on this plane of existence. It's on a higher plane. It's also probably where Square Enix (when they were Squaresoft though) got the idea for the Ancient's "Promised Land". The Bible speaks of Heaven as the "Promised Land", or it could mean the utopia that's said to be created after this world falls.
It could be said that the "places in the sky" are floating continents, but we know they're not really, at least not in this plane. A Bible reference states that in the Lord's second coming, he will "come on the clouds with fire". Could that mean the gateway to Heaven lies in the sky? We don't know, but I'm simply speculating for some reasoning behind the fantasy idea of "floating continents."
In Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, there are a winged people called the Aegyl who come from the floating continent of Lemurés. There's another idea Square have played with.
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Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 3:24 pm
I get where yer coming from Mel, believe me! I like to see stories about floating lands but I don't feel like using them myself for some reason. rolleyes
I can't wait to see what Revenant wings is about cuz I have a DS but not a PS2 so I can't get FF12.
I can't believe how many stories I've missed cuz I haven't even tried Skies of Arcadia, Legend of Dragoon or The Granstream saga.
Too bad, eh?
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Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 12:37 pm
Revenant Wings is it's own game I suppose, and it's more of a spin-off than a sequel. However, it'd still make more sense if you've played FFXII first.
PS2s are really cheap these days. You can get them for less than £100 in the UK now, so they should be about the same for the US (of course in terms of dollars though).
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Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 10:39 am
Yeah, yer probably right but I just don't want to get another PS2. And I'm not sure if I'll be able to buy anything right after buying FFT for DS. It's too bad that game is not about floating continents otherwise I'd be able to chat about it here. mrgreen
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Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 9:58 am
Maybe I'm more of a gamer geek then? I've had my PS2 since 2002, and as soon as I have wads of cash I will buy another so I'm covered for when the one I have now eventually dies.
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Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 10:18 am
Floating continents is an interesting idea. I agree it seems improbable, except with really high level magic, which is itself usually improbable anyway and very rarely explained how it works. I am interested what you mean by continents. It doesn't sound like you mean continents like Europe or North America, which are huge and if in the sky would essentially eclipse and eternally darken any more conventional continents unfortunate to lie beneath it. Floating lands more akin to cities and perhaps some surrounding country might seem more feasible. In fantasy magic is often used to make people or objects levitate or fly, so these floating lands don't require a new mechanism of magic, just a much more powerful source.
As for the analogy of Heaven, what DM_Melkhar said makes sense. Ancient people believed that Heaven or their cultural equivalent was in the sky for numerous reasons. First, they looked at the universe in a very different light. They considered Earth to be both the center, and one of the main constituents, of the physical world; not a tiny planet in a vast space. In many cases they didn't even recognize the earth was round, so that earth, heaven above, and hell below existed literally like flat parallel layers. And of course the sky was utterly inaccessible to ancient people.
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Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 3:24 pm
High level magic isn't improbable SK, however I think it's improbable in the sense that it would take a continuous stream of it in order to keep floating continents/islands aloft. I think high level magic is perfectly possible in short bursts, but to keep it going continuously forever is completely improbable - if that makes sense. confused
The Granstream Saga vaguely points that out as the islands themselves have begun to sink toward the ocean. Therefore you have to acquire the lifting verses and have Arcia perform them in order to raise them up again. Still, that idea isn't likely to work with such an easy task.
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Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 3:33 pm
DM_Melkhar Maybe I'm more of a gamer geek then? I've had my PS2 since 2002, and as soon as I have wads of cash I will buy another so I'm covered for when the one I have now eventually dies. I believe you may be Mel, he-he. sweatdrop There are some stuff about fantasy that I completely don't know about or didn't, just like in the case of the "Drow" that SK pointed out at the catacombs sub-forum. Guess what though? I might be getting my PS2 back one of these days. I'm not sure if I'll actually get it back and in what condition though. I'll keep you posted if you want. I may end up getting FFXII after all! mrgreen
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Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 9:54 am
It's a fantastic game, so I hope you do get it back in good condition.
It really doesn't feel like Final Fantasy to me, but perhaps that's because I've never played the Tactics games as those types have never been "my kind of thing". Ivalice is the Tactics world isn't it? Revenant Wings is a tactics game, but it's very different to most others. The musical score is basically the same as in FFXII as well.
My problem with Revenant Wings is more that you're pretty much bound to the sky continents and at least as yet have not been able to wander around the world you explored in FFXII.
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Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 2:42 pm
Yeah, I hope so too. I still haven't heard from my pal but I suppose it's only a matter of time since he is busy.
Really? So FFXII doesn't feel like FF for you? That's strange. I've seen a video of the version for PS2 but, I still haven't seen anything from the DS version. I have seen a couple of reviews an done of them said: "Age of Empires meets Final Fantasy" or something. I'd like to try it sometime.
Gee, it's too bad that yer bound in RW but since it's a game for a console that doesn't have much power, you have to understand. mrgreen
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Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 3:44 pm
The remake of FFIII was brilliant for the DS. Played it recently and am already about....2/5 of the way through it.
Anyhow, back on to the concept of floating continents. smile
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Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 4:11 pm
I've heard that it's very good also but it has little Wi-Fi stuff available. You can only send mail and that's a bit of a let down if you ask me.
Say, FFIII is not about floating continents, is it? Guess not...
Gee, I wonder if J.K. Rowling has ever considered adding floating continents to HP. neutral
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Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 10:05 am
It seems that in FFIII there is a lower world because the world you start off in is actually in the sky. However it's not a floating continent. In FFIII the continent you begin and spend about half the game on is supported on a pillar of sorts I believe. I've not played that far yet though.
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Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 12:21 pm
I see...
You know, I was thinking that since FFXII is about Ivalice and has floating continents, why didn't FFTA have floating continents also? After all, the story takes place in Ivalice as well.
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Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 12:19 pm
Perhaps they hadn't mapped the entire world at that point.
Has anyone got a reason why floating continents might work at all?
I suppose the explanation needs to be scientific if possible. If you just say "magic" then there's no discussion or debate really.
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