Mog (Final Fantasy XIII-2)



Mog is a supporting character in Final Fantasy XIII-2 accompanying Serah Farron and Noel Kreiss on their journey through time, teaching them about the game's mechanics, and acting as Serah's weapon in battle. In Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, Mog leads the Moogle Village in the Wildlands of Nova Chrysalia.

Although officially called "Mog" some official material calls him The Moogle or just Moogle, for example in the EU wallpaper. In the Japanese version of Final Fantasy XIII-2, Mog is referred to as "Moogle" and rarely called "Mog". His entry in the Datalog of Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII suggests his real name is not Mog and that he doesn't know his real name.

Final Fantasy XIII-2
''Mog is a small, mysterious creature covered in white fur. He has bat-like wings that he often beats as he flits around, but his power of flight does not appear to rely on them.''

''Mog has a crystal bobble that reacts to the presence of anomalies, and he is proficient at finding lost objects, but his most astounding feature is his ability to transform into a weapon. With the right components available, Mog is capable of evolving into even more powerful weaponry.''

Lightning came across Mog in Valhalla, and asked the strange little being to act as Serah's protector and good luck charm.

Although he closely resembles the fictitious moogles described in Cocoon's fairy tales, the connection is uncertain.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
''When Lightning first found herself stumbling through the unfamiliar world of Valhalla, Mog was the first friend she made. Late, Lightning asked Mog to go help Serah and Noel on their adventure.''

After the adventure, it was unclear what had happened to Mog, but it appears that he was reunited with his fellow moogles and named chief of their village.

''He quickly picked up the name "Mog", short for "moogle". This is because, at the time when he was first called by this name, no one knew that there might be other moogles in existence—including Mog himself.''

''Once, long ago, in the warrior's realm of Valhalla, Mog challenged Lightning, but in the pitched battle that ensued, he was defeated by three scissors in a row and quickly surrendered. He is always looking for shortcuts to an easy life.''

Appearance
Mog is a white moogle with a human-sized head that is big compared to his body. He has oblique eyes, a big round nose, puffy pink cheeks, small ears, short arms and legs, purple bat wings, and a pink crystal bobble instead of a traditional fluffy pom-pom on a black antenna. In Final Fantasy XIII-2 he carries a clock staff composed of a blue rod, a bronze clock with a white clock face adorned with the same kind of crystal that is on Mog's antenna. In the "Time's Shell" fragment entry in Final Fantasy XIII-2 Mog says his body is just a puppet, and that he actually exists inside the clock. This is contradicted by another fragment where Mog insists he is not a puppet and is offended when Arbiter of Time calls him such. In other fragment entries Mog elaborates it is his crystal bobble rather than his wings that enable him to fly.

Downloadable content lets the player choose a new look for Mog. The sixteen different designs contain a pirate look and a panda look, among others. Some of the outfits are reused in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII as moogles from the Moogle Village.

Mog's overall appearance remains the same but he now wears a small gold-and-red crown with a green jewel on top.

Personality
Mog is shy and reluctant to talk at first, but as time passes he shows to be a caring and lively being with a spunky and sarcastic side. Whenever he feels a strong emotion he expresses himself in an over-the-top manner. He hides behind Serah whenever scared and doesn't like people holding or poking him. Final Fantasy XIII-2 Fragments After details Mog's friendship with Lightning, revealing he challenged her despite being at a disadvantage. Mog is depressed and lonely without friends, and is indebted to Lightning for her compassion towards him and swears to "follow her until the day he dies".

Despite initially keeping his distance, Mog bonds with Serah, hovering around her when she is knocked out in battle and fretting until she is revived. As Serah and Noel help Mog recall things from his past in Oerba from 300 to 400 AF, he chooses not to take what might be his only chance at returning home, and claims his new home is at Serah's side. Despite his initial distaste Mog warms up to Snow, occasionally commenting on him. Mog has a greedy side, displayed in Bresha Ruins at 100 and 300 AF where he schemes to solve the area's monster infestation and secure a bounty of gil from the government as compensation. His voice becomes sinister, a change from his usual easy-going personality, as he dreams of earning "all the gil my little heart could desire, kupo".

Mog has a sense of humor as seen in the paradox ending, "Mischievous Mog's Marvelous Plan with Flan", and various Live Trigger conversations. For example, in the Yaschas Massif 10 AF Mog plays along with Serah's joke about Fenrir's appearance if the player chooses the "Moogle Conspiracy" answer to the Live Trigger regarding the fal'Cie's appearance. In the paradox ending, Mog shows a diabolical nature as he describes feeding the poison flan to the giant flan noting it would "keel over and die on the spot". Mog has a temper, his eyes changing shape to show his angry face, and Mog will blow a raspberry at the person angering him and/or repeatedly flail his wand at them.

Mog attracts the attention of others with his appearance and the use of his talents. When using his Moogle Hunt or Throw abilities in Final Fantasy XIII-2, NPCs will run over to watch, or chase him as he flies toward his target. As shown with the Miniflan in the Sunleth Waterscape at 400 AF, Mog understands the languages of monsters.

In Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, Mog is full of regret for failing to save Serah but remains the same moogle Lightning knew centuries before. Mog has reunited with his brethren and displays a new leadership skill in heading the moogles' village deep in the Jagd Woods of the Wildlands.

Story
Mog originates from the Ocean of Time, a place abundant with moogles. While playing hide-and-seek with his friends Mog was sucked into a paradox, losing his memories of his home, friends, and family. Mog drifted into the Void Beyond and during his travel encountered a chocobo chick and many other various creatures in many humorous encounters, including those with five flan, a Centaurion Blade, an Imp and his Ahriman friend, and the Proto fal'Cie Adam.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 Fragments After
Mog ends up in Valhalla, battling the Eidolon Odin and the knight Valfodr upon learning the realm's rule is that the weak serve the strong. Neither wanted anything to do with the moogle due to his weakness, and Mog was found by Lightning. He tells off Lightning for mistaking him for a stuffed toy and pushes away her attempts to help him.

To live up to his title as the "Weakest Monster of the Void" Mog challenges Lightning to a duel and loses, but instead of abandoning him Lightning takes him under her wing. Mog pledges to serve her forever and tells Lightning about Valhalla, the Void Beyond, and the goddess Etro. He accompanies Lightning and Odin to the Temple of the Goddess, but stays outside with Odin as they are denied entry. While Lightning battles the throne guardian Bahamut she loses her weapon. Sensing Lightning in danger, Mog breaks the rules and comes to her aid. Transforming into a bow, Lightning takes Mog and defeats Bahamut. Lightning goes before Etro's throne and is made the goddess's champion.

Final Fantasy XIII-2


During her battle with Caius Ballad Lightning summons Mog and gives him to Noel Kreiss so he would pass Mog on to Serah as a gift and good-luck-charm. Noel travels to the Gran Pulse village of New Bodhum in 3 AF where he meets Serah, who is surprised to hear Lightning now lives in Valhalla. Mog follows Serah and Noel to the site of a meteor crash, which turns out to be a Time Gate. The next morning, Mog uses his item detecting ability to help Noel and Serah find an artefact to activate the Time Gate and the trio enters the Historia Crux.

They emerge in the Bresha Ruins 5 AF in Cocoon where they are attacked by Atlas and an Academy researcher Alyssa Zaidelle enlists their help in defeating it. When Serah and Noel witness a defeated monster turn into a crystal, Mog speaks for the first time, explaining the monster is now under their control. As Serah and Noel approach the device capable of weakening Atlas they are dragged into a paradox. Mog follows them into the Temporal Rift and explains they need to solve the puzzle to get out.

After defeating Atlas, the trio travels to the Yaschas Massif in 10 AF where they meet Academy leader Hope Estheim and his assistant Alyssa. They talk about the Farseers and the seeress Yeul, who was able to glimpse the future. To resolve the paradox affecting the area, the trio ventures to Oerba in 200 AF where they encounter this era's Caius and Yeul. After solving the paradox they return to the Yaschas Massif in 1X AF, an alternate reality where the eclipse never happened. After meeting with Hope and Alyssa again Mog senses a new gate in the area, which Serah and Noel use to emerge in the Void Beyond, a place Mog says is the area between Time Gates.

They travel to the Sunleth Waterscape 300 AF and find Serah's fiancé Snow. Noel, Serah, and Mog travel to the Coliseum and the Archylte Steppe in ??? AF and retrieve the White and Black Hole fragments before returning to the Sunleth Waterscape to resolve the paradox manifesting the Royal Ripeness. Leaving Sunleth Waterscape, Serah, Mog, and Noel emerge in the Void Beyond and travel to the highly-advanced Pulsian city of Academia in 400 AF whose citizens are transformed into Cie'th. They encounter Caius and as they chase him through the Cie'th infested city they find Yeul whom they save from a Zenobia but she dies, leaving behind an artefact.

In the Augusta Tower in 200 AF the party learns Hope created the Proto fal'Cie Adam to re-levitate Cocoon. The party talks with the Yeul they previously met in Oerba and battles Adam, and Serah uses Mog to intercept the Proto fal'Cie's attack before Noel uses Mog to fire at the fal'Cie's core. Receiving a shock from the ordeal, Mog says, "You guys play rough, kupo", while Serah and Noel call him a hero for saving the day. When the Proto fal'Cie revives itself through a paradox Serah yells at Hope for creating it and it vanishes as Hope received Serah's message through the Oracle Drive.

Arriving in Academia 4XX AF, Serah, Noel, and Mog are greeted by Hope and Alyssa. Unsure if they are the real deal, Mog inspects Hope before the latter puts their minds at ease. After helping out Hope's "New Cocoon Project" Alyssa gives the trio an artefact. Before leaving through a new Time Gate, Mog, Noel, and Serah say their goodbyes, but Mog notices Alyssa smirking before he heads into the gate after Serah and Noel. Mog gets knocked out by a dislodged piece of the Historia Crux and Serah saves him, but the two get separated from Noel and emerge in Valhalla's shadow in the Void Beyond. Mog's soul is separated from his body and he is unable to interact with Serah. After Serah's confrontation with Caius, Mog continues to follow her throughout her dream in the Void where she encounters Vanille and Fang who help her find Noel in his own dream world to save him.

In the Dying World in 700 AF, after Noel and Serah activate the Oracle Drive at the Farseers' Relic, Mog's soul is freed from the Void Beyond by Lightning and returns to his body. Mog brings Serah and Noel new information from Lightning about Caius, explaining he is the one creating the paradoxes around the timeline. In New Bodhum 700 AF they meet with Lightning who tells them how she came to Valhalla and became Etro's protector and how Caius plans to kill the goddess. Mog reveals a Time Gate to take him, Noel and Serah to the year 500 AF, the time of the prophecy, when Caius attempts to destroy both the old Cocoon and Hope's New Cocoon.

In Academia 500 AF Serah and Noel fight Caius in his Chaos Bahamut and human forms until a wormhole opens in the sky. Mog, Noel, and Serah follow after Caius into the hole and emerge in Valhalla. After Caius impales himself with Noel's sword and fades away, numerous Time Gates appear throughout Valhalla. Mog says the final paradox has been solved and that he does not sense Lightning in Valhalla.

They return to Gran Pulse at 500 AF though a Time Gate where the new Cocoon, Bhunivelze, has risen into the sky, and the gate to Valhalla closes. Serah dies after having a vision of the future through her Eyes of Etro, and Hope joins Mog and Noel as they mourn for her. The world darkens, Mog grows weak and faints in Hope's embrace, saying Etro is gone. When Caius died the Heart of Chaos stopped beating, killing Etro, and without her the unrestrained chaos consumes Gran Pulse along with Bhunivelze and the world merges with Valhalla.

In the paradox ending, "Mischievous Mog's Marvelous Plan with Flan", the Sunleth Waterscape at ??? AF is taken over by monsters under the rule of a new giant flan, which plans to eliminate humans and make monsters the dominant species. Noel and Serah use magic to disguise themselves as a Microchu and Miniflan to move about unnoticed. With Mog's help, they plan to confect a poisonous flan to kill the giant flan with. After Noel tells Mog to find the rest of the ingredients for the poison flan, Mog gets annoyed with having to do all the work and says that Noel will be the first to taste the poisonous flan before laughing maniacally.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
After the birth of Nova Chrysalia, a new world formed in the wake of Gran Pulse and Valhalla's merge where no one ages, Mog was pulled into a vortex of chaos and wandered through the Void Beyond for centuries before being reunited with his moogle companions. In Nova Chrysalia they built a village in the Jagd Woods of the Wildlands with Mog as their leader. The village is under attack from monsters when Lightning helps them and meets Mog. Mog tries to run, but Lightning greets him with a smile. Mog regrets having been unable to save Serah, but Lightning takes the blame and tells Mog Serah will be revived in a new world that will come into existence after Nova Chrysalia's destruction, and asks Mog to be there to welcome her in case she will be unable to.

An overjoyed Mog tries to hug Lightning, but she is uncomfortable with such displays of affection and flicks him off, angering him. When Lightning has healed her white chocobo, the Angel of Valhalla, Mog comments on having a feeling of familiarity with him. After Lightning has completed her quest in the Temple of the Goddess Mog recognizes the Angel of Valhalla as Odin, and tells Lightning he battled Odin in Valhalla before he met her. Lightning hopes Mog and Odin will befriend, and a reluctant Mog promises to try.

On the world's final day Mog appears in the Ark after Hope disappears to assume the boy's role in selling Lightning items in exchange for EP. After the Soulsong has been stopped and Lightning's friends have been captured by Bhunivelze, Mog appears in God's Sanctum of the Luxerion Cathedral and rallies Lightning on before her final battle. After Lightning battles Bhunivelze Mog finds the revived Serah along with Sazh and Dajh, and joins Lightning to help finish off Bhunivelze for good. As the Eidolons depart Mog joins them, giving Serah a parting hug as she tells him they will meet again.

Final Fantasy XIII: Reminiscence -tracer of memories-
While Serah and their friends start their lives anew in the new world, Mog ends in the new middle realm between the living world and the unseen realm where souls pass through to either be reborn or to fade into the Chaos. Mog appears to Aoede during her near-death experience to guide her back to the land of the living once she learns she is merely unconscious. He is described as a "soft and fluffy whiteness, carrying a rose colored lantern". Before leaving, he tells Aoede "It's alright. You can go home now, kupo!"

Gameplay


In Final Fantasy XIII-2, Mog can not only transform into Serah's weapon, but can execute the Mog Clock pre-battle system and detect hidden treasures on the field with Moogle Hunt. Mog can be thrown by Noel or Serah toward out-of-reach areas through the Moogle Throw command.

The Moogle Hunt command is used to find hidden or "phased out" items. Usually, if there are hidden items in the area Mog's pom-pom will flash, and he will approach the area where the item is hidden. Upon a press of / a disc of light expands from Mog, and treasure, fragments or even phased out people within its radius become visible. The / button can then be used to attain said item as normal.

As the player gains Mog's trust the Moogle Throw command will become available allowing the player to throw Mog to a location where he can attain out-of-reach treasures, although Mog will protest. This can be utilized via the / button.

There are two fragment skills that augment Mog's abilities; "Mog's Manifestation" unlocks Advanced Moogle Throw allowing Mog to always bring back items after thrown; this is obtained upon speaking to the mystic in Serendipity for the first time; and "Mobile Mog", which reduces the cooldown time of the Moogle Throw and is acquired after obtaining all fragments from Oerba in all time periods, including Oerba ??? AF.

Shop
Near the end of Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, Mog sells items in Luxerion Cathedral's God's Sanctum. His shop is called Moogle Supply Depot.

Creation and development
In Final Fantasy XIII, moogles only appear on the sign for the Moogleworks shop. Motomu Toriyama, director of Final Fantasy XIII-2, said that having a moogle as a mascot type character in the sequel is fan service and that the team intends to show moogles as a symbol for the Final Fantasy series and to make it easier for players to get involved in the game's rather serious main story. Mog was designed by Toshitaka Matsuda, who was the lead art designer of Final Fantasy XIII. His design was chosen over other possible designs made by various members of the development team. It was based on the idea of a "baby moogle" with exaggerated features.

Voice
In Final Fantasy XIII-2, Mog's Japanese voice actor is Sumire Morohoshi, while his English voice actress is. Both English and Japanese voice actors also voiced Marlene Wallace in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete, Moglin in Final Fantasy Type-0 and Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call, and in the Kingdom Hearts series. For currently unknown reasons, Mog's English voice actress for Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII changed to Bailey Gambertoglio.

The sound designers struggled with Mog's voice, especially ad-lib or responsive sounds and answers. "Kupo" is Mog's main means of communication, but with each scene the emotion is different, and so the sound designers divided the "kupo" into categories such as "angry", "sad", and "happy", and recorded it many times in different ways. Afterward, the team chose which "kupo" was applicable to the situation.

There are times Mog speaks quite a bit, but at first, during the beginning stages of development, the team had made him talk too much to the point of Mog talking nonstop while navigating the map. Through trial and error the designers changed the occurrence patterns and the script to balance things out.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
Mog has numerous ice-elemental cards.

Merchandise
Ultimate Prize winners of the Word to Your Moogle tour received a pink and white PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 featuring Mog. A tag featuring Mog was also available in the Japanese Square Enix shop.

Glico, the snack company, has been working with Square Enix to promote Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII in Japan. Friend Bakery has Mog and Chocobo Chick on its wrapper.

Trivia

 * Mog Clock is a weapon in Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade and Final Fantasy XIV.
 * The clock face of Mog's staff is divided into twelve sections like clocks in the real world, as opposed to the thirteen-sectioned clock face seen Nautilus and Oerba's Deserted Schoolhouse, as two hours were lost due to Etro's intervention at the end of Final Fantasy XIII. For some reason, Mog does not have his clock staff in the ending FMV.
 * By completing quests Lightning can bring back the lost hours in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.
 * Mog is called "Piggy Kitty" by Noel when a Breshan researcher asks him about his name. Moogles first appeared in Final Fantasy III where they said "nyaa", the Japanese onomatopoeia for "meow", which was replaced with "kupo". Moogles in some games resemble a pig; hence the 'piggy' part of the nickname.
 * In the last Live Trigger in Yaschas Massif 10 AF where Serah notices something is on Noel's mind and the player chooses an option regarding Mog, a funny conversation about Mog's face will take place: Serah will say Mog's face is "cute", while Noel's says it's weird or "unique".
 * According to the fragments obtained in Oerba the "duel" between Mog and Lightning was actually a rock-paper-scissors match. This is later confirmed by his Datalog entry in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, which states that he was "defeated by three scissors in a row and quickly surrendered."
 * If the player loads a save around the beginning of the game any time after Noel appears in New Bodhum, Mog may be heard narrating "Final Fantasy XIII-2: The story so far, kupo!" even though he has not yet been revealed to say more than "kupo!"
 * In the Brain Blast quiz, it is said Serah and Noel's journey through time caused a "moogle throw simulator" research project to receive funding.
 * A doll of Mog is present in Chocolina's chest.
 * Mog themed items can be obtained as adornments in both Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.
 * Although Mog does not appear in Final Fantasy XIII, an emoticon of him can be obtained from the crafting system on Steam, with Final Fantasy XIII cards.