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Atma/Ultima

Posted: 23rd November 2010 05:21

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Quote (Atma/Ultima)
I'm Atma...Left here since birth...Forgotten in the river of time...I've had an eternity to...ponder the meaning of things...And now I have an answer...

I've been wondering for a while what this "answer" is. He doesn't tell you; he just attacks you.

I've been able to come up with two possibilities -
  • Being an existentialist myself, I assume that Atma has had the aforementioned eternity to come to the conclusion that all life is, ultimately, meaningless. Perhaps his attacking you is his way of attempting to freeing you from the meaninglessness.
  • 42, of course.


Anyone else have any other theories?

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Posted: 23rd November 2010 13:35

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Interesting, I've never seen that translation before. Here's what he says in the SNES version:
Quote
My name is Atma... I am pure energy, and as ancient as the cosmos. Feeble
creatures, DIE!


So I'm curious, does he actually say 'left here since birth' in the japanese version? And is there really that much ambiguity in the translation?

Well, if we take your translation, then I would say that if he's been in solitude since birth, he's probably built up a lot of bitterness which has skewed his ponderings, leaving him with a very self-centered philosophy which, coupled with the fact that he was designed as a weapon (there's a villager, I think in south figaro who says so), makes him think he needs to destroy others.
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Posted: 23rd November 2010 16:34

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But when was Atma born?

I would think that it was created at most a year before the end of the game, when Kefka created that fortress.

I would think that Atma was just born there. Or perhaps Kefka took parts of Atma Weapon's soul and pieced it back together and made a new monster.

The other two non-statue bosses, Guardian and Inferno, can be explained by being rehashed from the original Vector.

This post has been edited by Glenn Magus Harvey on 23rd November 2010 16:45

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Posted: 23rd November 2010 17:39

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Quote (Glenn Magus Harvey @ 23rd November 2010 12:34)
But when was Atma born?

I would think that it was created at most a year before the end of the game, when Kefka created that fortress.

I would think that Atma was just born there. Or perhaps Kefka took parts of Atma Weapon's soul and pieced it back together and made a new monster.

The other two non-statue bosses, Guardian and Inferno, can be explained by being rehashed from the original Vector.

I always thought he was created during the War of the Magi... could be wrong.

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Posted: 23rd November 2010 17:47

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Quote (BlitzSage @ 23rd November 2010 09:39)
Quote (Glenn Magus Harvey @ 23rd November 2010 12:34)
But when was Atma born?

I would think that it was created at most a year before the end of the game, when Kefka created that fortress.

I would think that Atma was just born there.  Or perhaps Kefka took parts of Atma Weapon's soul and pieced it back together and made a new monster.

The other two non-statue bosses, Guardian and Inferno, can be explained by being rehashed from the original Vector.

I always thought he was created during the War of the Magi... could be wrong.

I thought that too.

I could be wrong though... sleep.gif

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Posted: 23rd November 2010 18:55

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Quote
I always thought he was created during the War of the Magi... could be wrong.


That might apply to Atma Weapon, though I don't think Atma is given any backstory at all.

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Posted: 24th November 2010 12:22

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No.

Search for a guy in Albrook, he's a scholar, and he's outside the buildings on the east side.

In the WoR, he tells you about the 8 dragons, but in the WoB, I think he's the guy that tells you about the Atma weapons. It goes something like this:

Quote
During the war of the magi, two weapons named Atma were created. One was a sword, a magical weapon for use in battle, which was said to reflect the power of that who wields it, the other a creature of unimaginable magical power.


Also, sorry about my earlier post, I forgot, Atma beast appears twice, first on the floating continent where he says:
Quote

My name is Atma... I am pure energy, and as ancient as the cosmos. Feeble
creatures, DIE!  -Atma, SNES


And then you can optionally encounter him in Kefka's Tower, where he says:

Quote
    "I'm Atma... ... Left here since the birth... Forgotten in the river of time... I've had eternity to... Ponder the meaning of things... And now I have the answer..."
    —Atma, SNES

    "I am the one known as Ultima... Forged an eternity ago and left here... Forgotten in the mists of time... Long have I pondered what I should do... Long, long have I pondered... But now it seems I have an answer..."
    —Ultima Buster, GBA
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Posted: 24th November 2010 17:29

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But that talks about Atma Weapon the Floating Continent boss. Not Atma the Kefka's Tower boss.

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Posted: 17th December 2010 09:06

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wow, confusing to ponder on, huh?

i've been reading this and it sems to me that atma was created when the worlds formed, maybe as a being of plasma (energy) as a state of matter. and forged life through time and sees how everyone else is organic and is jealous.

its just a theory and im probably wrong. but my logic is sound. then again, its final fantasy, and earth logic does not apply.

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Posted: 17th December 2010 15:42

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Quote (Vihera @ 17th December 2010 09:06)
wow, confusing to ponder on, huh?

i've been reading this and it sems to me that atma was created when the worlds formed, maybe as a being of plasma (energy) as a state of matter. and forged life through time and sees how everyone else is organic and is jealous.

its just a theory and im probably wrong. but my logic is sound. then again, its final fantasy, and earth logic does not apply.

Plasma is either Super Heated Gas/Liquid or the liquid your Blood flows through

Atma and Atma Weapon meanwhile I made of pure magic, hence their deaths upon the removal of MP

I think it's possible that Atma inside Kefka's Tower was created by the Goddesses when they created the Universe and akin to Phunbaba, the 8 Dragons and the like, ended up sealed deep in the planet over the eternities only to surface during the Cataclysm

Meanwhile Atma Weapon may have been created during the War of the Magi by the Goddesses or possibly even by the Magi who wanted to mimic the Goddess's
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Posted: 18th December 2010 01:34

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Quote (Dark Paladin Danny @ 17th December 2010 15:42)

Plasma is either Super Heated Gas/Liquid or the liquid your Blood flows through

Atma and Atma Weapon meanwhile I made of pure magic, hence their deaths upon the removal of MP

I think it's possible that Atma inside Kefka's Tower was created by the Goddesses when they created the Universe and akin to Phunbaba, the 8 Dragons and the like, ended up sealed deep in the planet over the eternities only to surface during the Cataclysm

Meanwhile Atma Weapon may have been created during the War of the Magi by the Goddesses or possibly even by the Magi who wanted to mimic the Goddess's

plasma could be created when a world forms due to the heat and gravity. but its all speculation.

magic could be interpreted as a form or plasma. (Ex. lightning, as a force of nature.) but its final fantasy.

if what you say is true, then atma was sleeping in the world of balance and escaped when phunbaba and death gaze escaped. they were saying something about 3 sleeping demons and 8 dragons when the world was torn asunder, this is what i think they were talking about.

i think atma was created like you said, but was sealed somehow. or else he would be causing havoc in the world of balance prior to the floating continent.

maybe atma and atma weapon were brothers/ kin to each other. but were sealed inside the world when the Goddess's sealed themselves. it makes sense.

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Posted: 19th December 2010 14:59

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The scholar in Albrook mentioned how there are two Atma Weapons. One monsters, one sword. The party can obtain the sword as soon as the Cave of the Sealed Gate, and encounters the monster on the Floating Continent. That's the story of the Atma Weapons.

But when Kefka is left alone, he goes creative. We know that with his god-like powers, he can create (with the first three tiers of the final battle as proof). Even though the Atma Weapon sword is a unique, 1000-year old blade, you can steal at least one more during the same final battle. The only explanation is that Kefka created a duplicate (duplicates in the GBA game).

So given this train of thought, I figure it's only logical to assume "Atma" is Atma Weapon created anew. Its "eternity" is likely less than a year, but with nothing going on I guess it can feel like a supremely long time. Since it was created by Kefka in a cave with a box of scraps, and his only action in the game is to try and destroy you, I guess the answer to Atma's pondering is the same as Kefka's conclusion.

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Posted: 20th December 2010 17:02

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So given this train of thought, I figure it's only logical to assume "Atma" is Atma Weapon created anew.


So basically, every time an AtmaWeapon sword is created, another Atma beast is also created?

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