Birthday Cup Review: Beatrix/Sora vs. James/Mogrid

It was quite the fight between these two wonderful teams. I would believe that both teams took on, and dealt quite some damage. However, James and Mogrid were nearly out of energy by the end of the fight. Which would turn the tables on them. James had fallen unconscious when he had launched his last attack due to exhaustion, leaving only Mogrid to finish everything with one final attack. Sora and Beatrix had some energy left to spare, allowing them to push on with the fight. Allowing them to keep going. Sora using his guard and cure moves allowed him to stay in the battle longer, showing that he wouldn't go down easily in the end. Mogrid having to fight Beatrix/Sora would not end well without James would not end well.

The opponents of this fight both had really great attacks. Like the use of offensive and defensive spells. Sora's classic Fire spell and James's Kao spells are all interesting attacks, both have a different style. With Fire being one of the most classic spells that can be used in the original Kingdom Hearts game series. By far I believe, there was no character going out-of-character with their spells. Everything seemed to be going smoothly. Of course, when it came to the entire fight, it was neck and neck. Sometimes, the atmosphere or position of the battle would change. Depending on the strategies that were used. James pretending to cast a spell, even though he was silenced was quite the idea. Then when he actually was able to cast his intended attack, It really surprised Sora I bet. I think Both teams used defense and offensive moves equally, even though defense might've been used more often if one opponent was greatly injured, or unable to attack. I'd say the style of all the character's fighting techniques were quite impressive. James using his Koa and his sword was quite an interesting way to fight his opponents. Sora's ability to cast magical spells like Light, Fire, Cure, and Blizzard would certainly give him a bit of an edge in battle.  Whoever had the battle in their grasps changed throughout the fighting, going from one side to the other. It would be like being in a tug of war. Mogrid also had some interesting abilities like Bladecatcher. Being able to catch someone attack is impressive, but would be hard to pull off. Beatrix being able to blind an opponent was quite interesting to me, but its a way to prevent an opponent from attacking. She was also able to heal Sora up as well after blinding her opponent, allowing him to stay in battle much longer. Allowing them to both pull through the fight. James's final strategy was certainly something, but it costed him a great amount of energy, causing him to get knocked out.

The Sportmanship and Descripting Writing for the entire fight was greatly detailed. It really put in a lot of words to describe every move used during the entire fight. Both teams worked good together during the entire battle, Like James using his healing spell to try to keep Mogrid in the fight was a good idea, and the same goes for Sora and Beatrix using their own healing spells to keep themselves fighting. Not sure about blinding other opponents though. However, I believe I didn't see anything by far that would account for being unfair. Beatrix had quite the descriptive posts, there were very long to read. But it's fine. James's and Sora's posts were also pretty descriptive as well, I didn't really find a problem with any of their posts. 

So, I will adamantly admit that I felt that each party involved was undoubtedly fair with the damage dealt and taken, there was definitely a semblance of realism involved that is often times forgotten. I will note it felt like Beatrix and Sora controlled the tides of war, if for no reason beyond the fact that Beatrix went out from the gate to secure her enemies’ magick and debuffing them. I will also tact on that Beatrix seamlessly alternated between her targets, undoubtedly keeping them on their toes. Meanwhile, I will say that Mogrid and James’ usage of curative magick, not to mention Koa’s presence, I felt were valiant attempts at changing the battle’s pace – it lasted for a very brief period of time. None the less, I still have to give this one to Sora and Beatrix.

So, I will say that both Beatrix and Sora did a commendable job remaining in-character throughout the duration of their battle. I was thoroughly pleased with the way that Beatrix addressed her opponents, retaining that distinct grace and regalness that I’d come to love during my tenure of FF-9. I also like how Sora’s air-headed antics just kept making themselves apparent, however, he also maintains that adaptability that is token for his fandom. Now, James, I will say that you utilized your skills very tactically, you attempted to turn the tide of battle, a feat you succeeded in for a very brief period of time. Mogrid, you also made use of your racial-passives, not to mention your abilities as a mage and a keyblade. So for this one, I am going to have to label it as a draw because both teams were fairly well matched in the terms of skill-usages and trying to capitalize on other’s weaknesses.

So, on this front, I want to first commend each of the participants for their fine displays. Beatrix's posts while lengthy provided a great detail of flourish that I simply relished in. I know that Sora's posts were shorter but they managed to capture his essence. Mogrid and James, both of your writing painted very vivid pictures be it from internalized monologues, or James' reluctance to utilize the full might of Koa's powers because of fears of killing or injuring people. Now, I will say that James, you did a stellar job on your exit in the thread, having him over-extend himself just for a chance at victory - if Mogrid would have been in better condition, there was a very probable chance of your securing victory. However, based off what is written, it was a blinded Mogrid against Beatrix and Sora, so I have to give them that.