I personally would love to go back in time and change what I have done. I think we have all thought of that at least once, yet technology has yet to bring us a time machine. Tales of Xillia 2 has our hero, Ludger Kresnik, going back to different dimensions to see how things “could have” been, or even “should have” been. Maybe someone wasn’t supposed to die, an accident happened, or his or her childhood didn’t turn out as innocent as others’. Regardless, each of these characters has gone through struggles, from Alvin’s decisions to be a part of a terrorist organization, Elize not growing up with her parents, to Jude’s father putting pressure on him to be a doctor. This is what I truly enjoy about the Tales Of series: many of the characters can be related to real people and experiences. They are not these super-powerful, unrealistic designs that don’t exist.
I am almost finished with this game, and I predict that I will have one more article for it and that is it. After reaching the final area, The Land of Canaan, and what was needed to do to get there, I was inspired to write this post. After finally gathering the waymarkers (keys needed to open the gate to this hidden land), a bridge is needed to cross over. To make this path, a sacrifice must be made from the clan of Kresnik. The only ones available at the time are Ludger and Julius, the Kresnik brothers. Julius has been on the run since the beginning of the game and kind of took a back seat in the plot until now. He comes back to help everyone continue by being that sacrifice, even though Ludger refuses to kill him. After a one-on-one emotional battle, the deed is done and the bridge is created.
The game takes you to another dimension where we see our main hero actually talking, instead of being the token silent protagonist, and living a normal life. The prime dimension Ludger (the character you have been playing as) meets up with Julius in his home, knowing what he must do. Once Ludger destroys the catalyst inside his brother, the dimension fades and we are brought back to the prime one. It’s as if we had to go back in time and erase Julius from history so we can move on.
Elle, Ludger’s daughter, is also doing her best to survive and move on from her past. She ran away from dangerous circumstances at the beginning of the game and has stayed by Ludger’s side for protection. Another character, Rowan from the first Tales of Xillia, also tried to escape his mistakes from when he was a general until they caught up with him and he had to face them. Milla, the Lord of Spirits, also spends the entire first game trying to figure out her past and essentially moves on from her mission because it involved her being used by Maxwell. The constant theme of moving on from past pain is a common thread with many of the characters, and there’s a lot I was able to pull from them.
I myself would love to jump into a fractured dimension and see what my life could have been if certain situations had gone differently, whether with my friends, family, jobs, career, or decisions. Even though I couldn’t change a thing, I’d like just to play out that day of my life where everything pivoted in a different direction to see how it might turn out differently. Each character that went through these moments was emotionally overwhelmed in a good or bad way. We do not have second chances sometimes, and there are opportunities, people, financial blessings, or meetings that we have all passed up or missed out on. If I think about it, though, that’s okay, because in life there are many routes to go, but as long as I follow God’s will for my life, He will always steer me in the right direction.
Knowing what I am to do in life, even without being able to erase my past (in which there are plenty of things I want to!), is fine with me because I’m so blessed and grateful for how my life has turned out so far. I cannot complain as I have so much. Instead, I am often on my knees thanking my savior Jesus Christ for all He has given me. He makes the crooked ways straight for us to walk in (Isaiah 45:2), and His will is perfect and pleasing (Romans 12:2). As life goes on, there’s no way to change what has already been done, so I just have to pray, plan and accept the decision that I made and trust God. It sounds easy to say, but it’s hard to do because it involves surrendering our will to His, and a lot of people have trouble with that.
As I am about to finish this game, I’m looking forward to the ending and how Ludger will decide on how to rescue Elle and stop Chronos (the antagonist). All I do know is that he can’t go back and change what has already been done.
Would you want to go back in time and see how certain decisions could have turned out? If you want to share, what would they be and how would you have changed the situation?
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Yes. I had a crush on a girl named Allison all throughout high school, but I was too shy to admit my feelings to her. Had I approached her and confessed to her, then things may have turned out very differently in my life. Instead, I’m pretty much a complete failure at the age of 31. Allison… what could have been…
Hey there crazy packers fan, thanks for the comment. I did have one girl I confessed my feelings to, but she didn’t feel the same way. I honestly liked her cause she likes anime and video games….but the best decision after Christ I ever made was confessing to my now wife. Its all good man, let me encourage you to just not be afraid to ask a girl out you like. Whats the worst that happens, she says no and life goes on. You will find another one, God will put the right person in your way
“Would you want to go back in time and see how certain decisions could have turned out? If you want to share, what would they be and how would you have changed the situation?”
A couple of years ago, I would’ve known how to answer this question. It would have been a resounding “YES, there’s plenty of stuff I would try to go back and fix.” As humans, by the time we’re adults, we all build up a great list of regrets. Things we should’ve done and could’ve done. Just like all of you…I’ve got my fair share, too. And they’re ugly. They’re the result of pure immature selfishness on my part that I despise my past self for. Some of them couldn’t happen again. But the more I think about my answer, the more I realize that changing the past could have implications you’re unaware of.
To use myself as an example…There is a man out there who points out that if not for my immature chuunibyou lie in my teens, he would have committed suicide. My lie was a lifeline in an empty world full of broken promises. My lie was worth living for. If not for that lie, I wouldn’t have become as close of a friend as I am with my best friend. I wouldn’t have crafted things of such beauty and grandeur and intimacy between us that I can’t describe them.
As another example…If I hadn’t written this one note, and left it in my desk out of pure rage and hatred and bitterness at such a young age (12), created by the abuse of a system that was supposed to help me learn…I wouldn’t have brought great trauma on my family. Or gone to the outpatient Funny Farm for a week and a half. But if I hadn’t done either of those things, I would not have learned tact, respect, and social deceit at the same ages. I would never have understood the possible consequences of my actions.
My mind also wouldn’t have become so frayed and full of despair that it shattered and split, allowing me a way to encounter the spiritual world more fully. To meet the divine prosecutor. More than anything else, that is why I would not take it back.
Tell me….When you look at the events of your past, can you really say that there was no benefit to your sinful mistakes? That there wasn’t some kind of purpose or Plan behind the way things actually happened? God uses the wicked and the divine in us to further a greater design, and I think there’s more of that in our own lives than we think. That there’s a reason we can’t go back in time.
Your replies are always clever and intriguing. Thanks for sharing those stories Luminas. True, the bible says that God will use what satan wanted for evil, for good instead. Many times, I’ve met, read, and heard about people who have gone through….whatever vice you can think of. Prostitution, drugs, alcohol, physical abuse, violence, etc. etc. etc. and after God has set them free, they go to free others. Whether it’s through a book, church, one-on-one conversations, facebook posts, whatever it is, God will use the most messed up people for His glory..