Bresha Ruins



Bresha Ruins is a location in Cocoon in Final Fantasy XIII-2, and a returning location from Final Fantasy XIII, although various changes have been made to the layout. Several aspects that are different include there being no crystallization on the landscape, the lake is no longer there and so the ruins are just chunks of the Hanging Edge buildings.

Datalog
''During the catastrophe that befell Cocoon, the Bresha Ruins were the site of terrible casualties. The reason for this can be found in the Purge.''

''The Purge was the name given to the mass deportation of Bodhum's residents. The fal'Cie manipulated the actions of the Sanctum and the elite army known as PSICOM, sowing chaos and inciting conflict among Cocoon's populace.''

Many civilians fled to Lake Bresha and its ruins to escape the Purge, but a great majority were crushed by ancient structures that collapsed when Cocoon's momentum was suddenly halted.


 * Travel Guide: Bresha Ruins

''The Bresha Ruins are the remains of an ancient city that once stood on the shores of Lake Bresha, one of the eeriest sights on Cocoon. During the events of the Purge that immediately preceded the fall of Cocoon, a Pulse fal'Cie turned the waters of the lake into crystal.''
 * Area Information

''Even burning flames became crystallized, creating spectacularly evocative and unusual landscapes. However, because the waters of the lake are now frozen solid, the famous fish restaurants that once dotted the shore are sadly no more.''
 * From the Editor's Desk:

Story
Serah Farron, Mog, and Noel Kreiss arrive in the Bresha Ruins at 5 AF through a Time Gate after departing from New Bodhum at 3 AF. Serah introduces Noel to Cocoon before a giant arm emerges from a nearby rift and attacks. Noel protects Serah from the towering opponent, and they take it on together until military airships arrive and destroy the beast for good.

The travelers are taken into custody because they are civilians in an off-limits area. A few moments later, a woman called Alyssa Zaidelle, an Academy trainee, tells the soldier who guards the prisoners that they are special guests of the Academy, acting as observers. Alyssa tasks Serah, Mog, and Noel with defeating Atlas, who appears in the ruins because of a time paradox. They defeat a Cait Sith and Zwerg Scandroid, and recruit them into their party via the Paradigm Pack system, and Mog speaks for the first time, explaining Serah's ability to tame monsters.

Alyssa informs the party that a device which appeared alongside Atlas has been detected. Near the device, Atlas takes them into a Temporal Rift, within which they resolve an anomaly to escape. The party uses the mysterious device to weaken Atlas and slay it by destroying the crystal atop its head returning the Bresha Ruins to their former glory.

Noel approaches a gravestone and reads the epitaph dedicated to those "cast out", which Serah explains must be a gravestone dedicated to the victims of the Purge. When Alyssa arrives at the Lamentable Rest, she searches the gravestone for her name, and is relieved to not find it. She reveals a friend of hers died in the Purge while she survived, and that ever since she's dreamt of dying, her soul raised from her dead body, and seen the aforementioned gravestone with her name on it. Noel says she seems real enough to him. Serah is wracked with guilt, believing the Purge was her fault for being made a l'Cie five years ago.

Fifteen years later, at 20 AF, someone from an unknown anti-Academy terrorist organization tampers with the device responsible for controlling Atlas and summons horde of monsters in the ruins. The Academy abandons the site and offers money for dealing with the monster-infestation and mercenaries occupy the area. The gil offer drives Mog who says he has lots of space in his pockets, but when questioned what he would use the money for, he claims to need money to decide.

By traveling across the timeline Serah, Mog, and Noel find two passwords for the device. In year 100 AF they release Kalavinka that crossed through time, which they slay and free the Bresha Ruins from the monster-influx. By resolving the paradox, the party is given a toilet paper coupon, much to Mog's disdain.

Areas

 * Excavation Site
 * Echoes of the Past
 * Lamentable Rest

There are numerous changes to the original areas in the five years prior to the visit of Serah, Mog, and Noel, just as there are changes in the hundreds of years after. The Excavation Site is the same as the Forgotten Commons from Final Fantasy XIII, but in Final Fantasy XIII-2 the south-eastern way has been "locked" by a wall, Atlas's hand protrudes from a deep gorge where the ruins of a fountain once lay, and there is a new tunnel in the north-eastern corner of the Excavation Site.

Echoes of the Past is an area previously known as A City No Longer with several entrances to the tunnels; in Final Fantasy XIII, A City No Longer had no indications of side entrances or tunnels, although it is possible the Academy made them to study the ruins' depths. The Lamentable Rest area is the smallest area covered in tombstones and houses a memorial dedicated to Purge victims; it resembles a part of the southern area of Echoes of the Past in the first game. There is no way to the northern parts of the old Echoes of the Past, as massive ruins block the passage.

In Final Fantasy XIII, the Pulse Vestige housing the fal'Cie Anima crashed into Lake Bresha's waters, and the resulting waves and spray crystallized as they formed. The lake cannot be visited Final Fantasy XIII-2, leaving no evidence of its current state.

Enemy Formations
005 AF - Before Atlas=
 * Excavation Site
 * Paradox Alpha (Boss)


 * Echoes of the Past
 * Zwerg Scandroid, Cait Sith (fixed encounter)
 * Garchimacera x2, Uridimmu
 * Hoplite
 * Gremlin
 * Meonekton, Nekton
 * Pulsework Knight
 * Dendrobium
 * Atlas (Boss)
 * -|005 AF - After Atlas=
 * Echoes of the Past
 * Garchimacera x3
 * Garchimacera x2, Uridimmu
 * Gremlin x3
 * Gremlin x2, Uridimmu
 * Cait Sith x2
 * Cait Sith, Uridimmu x2
 * Uridimmu, Dendrobium
 * Dendrobium
 * Dendrobium x2
 * Pulsework Knight, Cait Sith x2
 * Pulsework Knight
 * Hoplite x3
 * Hoplite, Cait Sith
 * Svarog
 * Albino Lobo x2
 * Amanojaku x3, Notsugo x3
 * -|100 AF=
 * Echoes of the Past
 * Munchkin x3
 * Munchkin x4
 * Munchkin x5
 * Munchkin x2, Tempest x2
 * Tempest
 * Tempest x2
 * Don Tonberry
 * Purple Chocobo
 * -|300 AF=
 * Echoes of the Past
 * Munchkin x3
 * Munchkin x4
 * Munchkin x3, Circuitron x3
 * Munchkin Maestro, Munchkin x2
 * Purple Chocobo
 * Circuitron x5
 * Circuitron x6
 * Tonberry

Creation and Development
There were several different concepts of how the Bresha Ruins would appear in the game. In one of the concept artworks, Eden, the floating capital city of Cocoon, has collapsed into Lake Bresha that lies at the bottom of the crystallized Cocoon. The ruins of Bresha from 500 and 900 AF are also included within the artworks of Final Fantasy XIII-2 Ultimania Omega. By the time's passing, the area wouldn't change that much, but in 900 AF, the ruins would have been completely submerged by the lake.

Musical Themes
At 5 AF, the Bresha Ruins has two main themes: "Unseen Intruder" and its remix, "Unseen Intruder -Aggressive Mix-", the latter of which is played when monsters appear on the field. They are composed by Naoshi Mizuta, and in the Japanese version of the game, the songs are accompanied with vocals from singer Aimee Blackschleger. "Invisible Invader" was the first song Mizuta wrote for Final Fantasy XIII-2, and that it is a vocal song with rap makes it a piece that reflects director Motomu Toriyama's desire to have a sound that's unlike the typical Final Fantasy title.

The North American and European versions have removed the vocal work making it a purely instrumental track and added some extra instruments during the main choruses of the original song. In the localized version of the theme's Aggressive Mix, one lyric is included: "Time Traveler". After Atlas is defeated, "Missing Link" becomes the new background theme. At 300 AF, the Bresha Ruins' theme is "Full Speed Ahead", a rearranged version of "Noel's Theme".

Lyrics

 * Entwine the design
 * Make me into a higher being
 * Enzymes in real time, rebirth
 * Insight to a better plan
 * Take command


 * Entwine the design
 * Make me into a higher being
 * Insight to a better plan, rebirth
 * See it all come to life
 * Make the wrongs right


 * A place in my heart, a place in my mind
 * A prayer for the souls that are running out of time
 * A fight to live, it's a fight to breathe
 * It's the only way to be, you be you and I'll be me
 * Wakin' up in a world where the warriors reign
 * The pressures of life drive you literally insane
 * Don't be ashamed of your race or the place that you're from
 * Stand strong 'til the end
 * 'Til the battle of the world is won


 * Can't stop, won't stop 'til the day that it's done
 * The enemy's always there, let 'em come, let 'em come
 * Who am I?
 * What am I here for?
 * All these questions appear and barge down the door
 * I was here and there at a time then lost
 * Everyday I tell myself I won't die without a cause
 * Be bold I say... be bold
 * You don't really have to do what you've always been told
 * Laws of old, share the gold
 * Find the truth of life unfold


 * Entwine the design
 * Make me into a higher being
 * Insight to a better plan, rebirth
 * See it all come to life
 * Make the wrongs right


 * People of the light, come out, stand tall
 * Be strong through the night, come one, come all
 * Warriors stay loud, stay proud
 * Don't shroud the features you are blessed with
 * Don't confine or define the reality we're all left with
 * Making new lines
 * Entwine the design
 * Make your light shine
 * Enzymes in real time, watch your soul unwind
 * I walk through the terrain where the ashes were before
 * See it all come to life
 * Now I know what the rain was for


 * Now is the time
 * Today is a new day
 * No shadows of doubt, all has been done away
 * A feeling washes over me
 * Make me into a higher being
 * Wash away this anguish I am feeling
 * Wash away the strife, keep me in the light
 * Until I am reborn, don't let me slip into the night
 * Give me the strength to carry on
 * Show me the place where I belong, right the wrong
 * Insight to a better plan
 * Take control, take command


 * Entwine the design
 * Make me into a higher being
 * Enzymes in real time, rebirth
 * Insight to a better plan
 * Take command


 * Entwine the design
 * Make me into a higher being
 * Insight to a better plan, rebirth
 * See it all come to life
 * Make the wrongs right

Trivia

 * In early materials, a Flandragora and Myrmidon are seen to be enemies in the ruins. However, Myrmidon was scrapped, while Flandragora were renamed Flanbanero and moved to the Sunleth Waterscape. The reasons for these changes are unknown.
 * This is the only area where insignificant people communicate with the player directly in non-event cutscenes. In this case, it is when the talkative guard runs up to the player and Serah responds to his question.