This kid gets asulted a lot...

Today in the world of Grandia, let's start the plot!

We don't get too far into the Sult Ruins before we see a large army of troops. They stand behind their commanders, who stand before their leader, Mullen! He informs his army of their tasks down here, which is to find anything and everything. It's an ancient ruin, so it all has value. Alongside him is commander Leen, but she's just kinda there until all the troops leave. Once they're gone, Mullen says how he's looking forward to making Leen the Aide-de-Comp soon. I don't know what that is.

The rest of the Sult Mines are a maze of empty stuff filled by soldiers we can't interact with. We can overhear them talking about various things that don't really matter, but it does build on the world, and the army I'm expecting will be our reoccurring bosses. I would suggest listening in on the three commanders, Saki, Mio, and Nana. They really don't like Leen and openly discuss all the pranks they've pulled in an attempt to get her away from Mullen.
The monsters are slightly more powerful stuff we fought in the roads to reach here, but there are a few bats that even Sue can one-shot. The second floor is filled with, what I think are, puzzles. It's just more maze like things that are only hard to navigate because the camera is so high and the lack of a good map. I'm pretty sure I reached every nook and cranny and got some good stuff. I got new armor and ad ax for Justin and almost enough money to fully upgrade my equipment later on.

Eventually, we'll stumble upon Mullen and Leen in front of a head. They can't figure out what to do with it, so they leave, nearly seeing us in the process. With them gone, Justin walks up to the head. As he and Sue think about what the head means, his pants begin to glow. He takes out the Spirit Stone the curator just gave back to him, and we see it's burning green. The curator didn't know if it was real or not, but since it's splitting the head in two, opening the path forward, Justin thinks it's a good bet that it's legit!

Justin and Sue now descend into the hidden inner sanctum. It's a clean metallic hallway that looks like we stepped into another dimension. This isn't something Parm build recently. The team comes to a path, but both forks lead the same way. There's a green switch on the floor that turns the door in front of us. After spinning forever, we can enter the room. There's a red switch that spins the room again. We have to reach the north exit, which I did by leaving the other path and spinning it again from there. Re-enter and toggle the red switch one last time. That doesn't make sense, but I don't think the puzzle is difficult and is, hopefully, understandable if you see it. Beyond the door is a dais and a voice.

The voice we hear comes from nowhere. A bright light begins to shine in the center of the room, and scenes of the opening cinematic play again. There are voice lines this time, though. The female voice talks about the relationship between spirits and the ancient civilization, the Angelou. It's not subtitled, so I missed a bit turning off my podcast. When we come back, we see a shadowy woman, Liete, ask us, the bearer of the Spirit Stone, our wish. Justin can't answer, so she eventually tells us to travel east, across the ocean, to the New World. Justin, the great adventurer, happily agrees.

As they try to exit, Captain Mullen and Leen have entered through the now open door. They stop us from escaping the spinning room, and Mullen asks us who we are and why we're down here. We can answer correctly, but I don't think it matters. If we're cagey, Mullen threatens to kill Sue. Leen tries to talk him out of it, so maybe she's cool? In time, he gets what he wants, but he still won't let us leave. He plans to make us informants, meaning we'll never return home. Rather than comply, Justin and Sue step on the red switch, spinning the room and trapping Mullen and Leen on an isolated platform across from the exit. The two use this time to escape, but there's more to this story. As we exit the head, we see the first boss in the game. The Rock Bird blocks our path, but it's pretty easy. It has 300 HP but seems to have a terrible defense stat. It took me three rounds: the first was using special attacks, and I finished it off with three combos. The Special attacks knocked it out of its first attack, so we got four free hits. Rock Bird only manages to do mild damage to Sue before it died. With that dead, the two kids leave the ruins and return home. Mullen exits the head just after us and starts laughing. Leen is happily surprised as Mullen changes his mind. He deems us a worthy rival and gives up the chase. What can two children do to change his plans anyway?

The Sun is down when we get back, so Lilla abuses her son again because he's late and had her worried. The three sit down for a nice meal, where they discuss the two kids going across the ocean. If Lilla was worried before, why is she so cool with letting the two of them travel to a new world. They make plans to figure out how to traverse the ocean in the morning.

The next day they go to ask the dock workers how to travel across the ocean. We need a Pass. Word is there's a guy who frequents the cafe in North Parm who has a Pass. When we find the cafe's key, back at the docks, the owner lets us talk to the customers later that night. That night, he's not there, but the other clientele tell us his name is Java, and he lives at the mines to the south. The next day, we take the train down there, have an awkward first encounter, and we begin our task of getting a Transcontinental Travelling Pass!
 
But that comes tomorrow.

There was also a scene with Mullen and Baal where Mullen is annoyed at himself for failing in the Sult Ruins. Baal tells him not to worry because there's no one else in the world who can do what he does regardless.

The Grandia Adventure Beings!

Grandia was one of the games I played during the Dark Ages of my life, and there is only more game (that I remember) from this era that I'll get to one day. I don't recall anything about it except the main character's name was Justin. His "sister" was named Sue, and you can't go back to places in previous chapters. There's something about a wall or a cliff and a water dungeon. That's it. I enjoyed it back then, so let's see if super depressed me had good taste.

The opening cinematic/credit role is backed behind human evolution; From the early starts of life and ends with winged humanoids in their advanced cloud cities. I can't make hide nor hair of it, but I'm sure it's important.

The next scene has a King on his throne waking up from a nap. He asks a nearby soldier how long he was sleeping, and the soldier says for thirty minutes. The King asks the soldier, Mullen, to simply call him dad when there's no one else around. Mullen tells Lord Ball that there is someone else. Leen is here. Baal doesn't give her much thought other than acknowledging her as someone important to the Sult Mines...

MIDI Bagpipes play as the camera pans around an early industrial revolutionizing city. Chimneys bellow black smoke into the air, and there's an aura of mild steampunk around. It zooms in on a small girl with purple hair and a ribbon frantically searching for someone. She hears a commotion in the distance and runs towards it to find a boy named Justin getting thrown out of someone's shed. Justin tells the man that he's searching for treasure, but the adult knows nothing of value in his shed. This seems to be a reoccurring event in the town of Parm. The girl, Sue, walks up to Justin because she has something for him. It's The Legendary Armor. At level one? Why is it an old apron? Her ribbon turns into a bird at this point to remind Sue that it was her, Puffy, who aided in finding the apron. The two then discuss why we need such an item, and it's because Justin made a bet with a rival of his, Gantz, that he could find all pieces of the Legendary Armor in North Parm in one day. The two boys had such a wager to find out who's the best adventurer. Should Justin lose, Sue will also have to marry Gantz, which makes her upset. With the "Armor" in hand, we should return to Gantz. He and Justin have at it for a moment before we head off to find everything else. We now have to go on an item hunt as the first quest of the game. I'll admit, I've never started an RPG off like this. I don't know if it's good, but it's a thing. While we do this, we can get a lay of the greater world around us. We're in the Port Town of Parm, a boomtown because of the nearby ancient ruins. A big, technological conglomerate that may be a cahoots with the military made this possible when it built all the factories around town. The citizens find the soot from the factories intrusive, but they welcome their new lifestyles and jobs. It's also home to people with dreams about the new world across the ocean. The port has piqued the interest of many a young adventurer. Justin, for example, but he's always lived in Parm.
 
 Find the "Helmet" (a banged-up Pot) is on the banks of the canal and the western bridge, and the "Shield" (pot lid) is in the port to the north. When we head back to Gantz, he'll outright tell us that the Sword of Light is in a treasure chest in this house, but he's hid the key! Find Gantz' younger brother, Tentz, near the cafe. He's crying because he dropped the key his brother gave him to keep safe. If we promise not to tell (this game needs some editing), we'll help him find it. It's an easy task, and Tentz lets us keep the key because he doesn't hand to have debts to people. Find Gantz' house, talk to his mom if you want, and open the chest. Inside is the Sword of Light...a wooden sword, which is better than Justin's Wooden Pole.

When we return to our rival, we'll see him being yelled at by an adult. Gantz blocked the bridge for some reason, and it's the only way across town since the other is blocked by soldiers protecting Lord Baal. Justin and Sue try to sneak past, but the adult knows we're often in league with Gantz. At this point, Justin, Sue, and Puffy cheese it to Justin's house. Inside is Lilly, Justin's mom and Sue's aunt. When we talk to her, she hits her son with a pot because he's tracking dirt into the kitchen restaurant. There are no customers to see the child abuse, but this is a pretty good place to get a meal later on. Before talking to mom again, search around the house. We'll see a map Justin's dad got of the new world and pictures of his ancestors. All of them are famous adventures, which explains Justin's fervor. Dig through some stuff in Justin's room while we're here. Lilly will ask us what we've been up two, and we have three ways to answer. All three will lead to more physical trauma for Justin, and one leads to some emotional abuse, as well. I kinda hate my mom, guys. The last one advances the plot. Lilly invites Sue to stay for dinner again, and they sit down to a nice meal. Eventually, the topic of discussion turns to the fancy technologies Justin's dad found, the Spirit Stone, and how he and Lilly met. One night, Justin's dad was on a cruise ship. Before long, it was attacked by pirates! The captain saw the Stone around Papa's neck and demanded it, but Papa adamantly refused. This caused a surge of emotions in the captain that they instantly changed their ways. The two of them later got married because the pirate captain was Lilly! How romantic! Lilly informs the two that the museum curator is done examining the Spirit Stone and wants to return it to us, so that's the plan for tomorrow. After dinner, they hit the hay.

Sue wakes us up, and we can explore South Parm. In the restaurant are a bunch of creeps who try to hit on Lilly. One is a casual pedophile who can't wait for the eight-year-old Sue to grow up. I kinda looked around town, and it's much of the same from North Parm. I didn't see if anything new happened to Gantz, though. There is a nice fountain if you want to chill around it. The museum is in the southeast, and the guy at the desk lets us in. In the only exhibit room in the place is the curator. He's impressed at the ancient relic, an Icarian Statue, he rebuilt. After he and Justin gush over the thought of finding new ruins in the new world, he heads off to find the Spirit Stone for us. He leaves two unattended children in the room, so, wouldn't you know it, Justin breaks the statue! He tries to fix it, but it's not good. We leave and go to the curator's office. It turns out the Stone was in his pocket the whole time! Along with the Stone, he also hands us a Letter of Introduction that we can use to get into the Sult Ruins to the north. Without telling anyone what we did, we leave the premises. A commotion is heard, but we decide not to go back in to confess. If you're feeling guilty, there was a diary in the curator's office that says he's broken it three times already, so don't feel too bad.

The Sult Ruins are to the north, past the Marna Road. Finally, we can try some combat! It's a turn based type of thing where you can see everyone's turn order on a timeline at the bottom of the screen. Faster characters zoom on it, while slower ones do less so. There are three stages on the timeline: standby, ???, and action. If you attack someone as they're about to perform their action, they lose their turn. I'm sure I'll be able to take advantage of that more often than my opponents. Otherwise, you slightly delay them. Some parameters are strengthened by use. We don't have any magic abilities yet, so I got Justin's sword skill to level three and Sue's bow-and-arrow (throw) near there as well. Battles aren't random, and we can see what we're about to get in a fight with when we come into contact with a monster on the field. In between turns, characters randomly run around trying to avoid getting too close to mobs, which makes sense. I can dig it! Anyway, explore around Marna Road to get an understanding and some experience. The EXP is painfully low, but I got all the treasures (I think), and pretty close to level four.

Afterwards, we can gain access to the Sult Ruins. The camera pans around what looks like a mine with soldiers around it. Near the human head entrances are three high ranking female commanders and their soldiers. The commanders tell everyone their duties, and they head in. The three women hang back to discuss the tardiness of one of the squads and the terrible punishment6s each other would have given them. They're all S&M femdoms, and I get the feeling they'll be bosses down the line. After we walk around topside, meeting Gantz' older brother, Gontz, who's nothing like his sibling, we head down to the head. The commanders are still there and wonder why two kids are down here. When Justin shows one of them their letter, they destroy it. We're told they'll be merciful this once if we return to town, and they proceed down to the ruins. Sue asks Justin what we're going to do, and he says they're going in anyway!

But that'll happen tomorrow!

The game looks pretty so far, and combat seems solid. I'm hoping to get some new moves soon as we can only combo and critical right now, meaning it's kinda boring. But we're at level three, so what do you expect? Also, I looked this up, and Justin's dad doesn't have a name. I'm gonna call him Mortimer.

The game that started it all (for me).

I was in first grade in 1996. I had recently moved, but I stayed in the same school district, so it didn't matter. What did change was my new next door neighbor was a year younger than me and had a gaming dad and/or was a gamer himself. One of those games he had was Final Fantasy IV (II) for the SNES. I vaguely recall it being the only JRPG he had. From the first time I played, I was hooked. I was six years old, so I had some problems. I struggled to defeat the Myst Dragon because I sucked at reading. I had no understanding of elemental weaknesses, and I was terribly underleveled because I just wanted to open chests. Despite that, it's a memory and event that made me who I am today. I have mixed emotions about that statement, but thanks anyway, Rich!

Final Fantasy IV was the first FF game on the SNES, and it shows. The plot and character growth is a major upbeat from the older NES games in that it actually exists. FFII tries to have a good story, and it hits that for a 1989 box, but it's hardly anything to point at now. FFI and III were just vague inferences towards stuff. In all of the games, characters didn't grow, change, or learn anything. There's no moral to the story obvious to people who aren't looking into it. But in IV, everything changed. Some people change appearance, some change their loyalty, and others remain relevant even after they've left the team. Can you believe a few even have backstories?! I know! But let's look at it from the eyes of 2021. Does it hold up? Is it worth playing? Is it actually good?

As I always do, what sucks?
Ignoring the scene where Cecil becomes a sexist, there's nothing that sticks out at me. A lot of people like to point at the death tropes of, well, everyone. Out of the twelve characters, seven of them die. Not all of them stay dead, though. To make things worse is that they come in droves. Three "die" in the same scene, and there's a string where more people die about sixty percent through the game. It never gives us time to grieve as it's on the following death instantly. Often still, is we can find them very much alive shortly afterwardsl. Hell, two of them should have been an easy fix and had no plot weight, to begin with.
Is Cecil important to the plot? I feel like he doesn't really do much to save the world. It's always something going on around him that pulls him towards the next thing. Every time we get close to our mission, we fail. The dwarves, Epopts, Eblan, and Fabul should all hate us. We not only fail all the time, but we lead the enemy right to his goal. Our only advancement is tertiary stuff. Killing the Archfiends is nice, but it's Golbez we need to stop. Cecil becoming a Paladin and leading the way to using the Crystal at the final boss fight is the only thing he actually does to help out. We're just a bit part in this theater of Golbez. Hell, we watch two old dudes beat up the final boss we give a try.
Before I continue, I just want to say that drop rates are terrible and need a buff. I want to get the Onion Equipment, but I don't want to go bankrupt getting Sirens to summon all the mobs with a .8% chance of getting them. But with those excretions, FFIV does a great job at everything it sets out to.

First of all, I knew they suck at doing them, but everyone has clear goals in the game. To stop Baron from ruling the world, saving the crystals, protecting Cecil, revenge, jealousy; everyone has a reason for doing what they do. No one is just wandering around and opts to join the team for no reason. I want my characters to feel important in this world. Bartz, half the cast of FFVI, Yuffie and Vincent, Amarant, Penelo, and others add no value to the overall plot of their game. Everyone in FFIV, with the slight consideration of Edge, has a purpose. And not just to story, but to combat. Everyone has their niche, and they fill it perfectly. Looking at the characters should instantly tell you what they do. Cecil, the knightly Paladin, is a tank. Rosa is draped in light white clothing: healer. Edge has a face mask (and doesn't whine about it), so he's a ninja. Rydia is clearly a mage of some sort, and that's good enough. Yang doesn't wear a shirt or have weapons: monk. Kain is another knight, but, honestly... Look, Dragoons are the coolest class in Final Fantasy, but their teamwork skills are a little lacking. You'd think they'd be perfect tanks, but they like to be untargetable which means your mages get hit more. I love 'em, but they fill a strange role, especially to someone who doesn't know what a Dragoon is. They're a very FF-specific thing. I know I'm asking for a lot when I say I want my characters to a part of the world and story while having a presence in combat (Kimarhi, Relm), but I like jobs. Call me a capitalist because I just want everyone to have a job!

The world is great! Every location feels unique and has its own theme. Damcyan is a desert kingdom, and Fabul is filled with monks. Mysidia is run by an elder, and eight women are in charge of Troia. It falls off a bit in the Underworld, where there's not much to explore, but there's something that sets every kingdom apart. Sometimes it's location, and others are about the troops they train. It makes FFV, VI, and VIII feel bland and boring.

The music was spectacular in 1991, and it's just as good thirty years later. The Overworld theme is one of the best in the franchise, and the town theme is one of my go-to when I want to relax. And the battle theme is the quintessential song for slaying monsters. Judging by the number of remixes, re-arrangements, and orchestral pieces Square has officially released, I think they know it. If you trust capitalism, then the people know it, too. Whether it's the SNES 16-bit tracks or the remastered versions on Steam, it all holds up against the best. And the remaster on the Steam version makes a few songs pop even more. There's something about how they redid the Moon's Theme and the Underworld that made me realize how good they are.

But, the story itself, does it hold up? I say yes! It's not gonna blow your socks off like something modern anymore. It may not hold your attention like a classic, but it's yeoman enough to get you through to the finish. In a world that needs a great evil, this was amazing for the time. There's plenty of twists and turns about who the real evil is, and the locations and dungeons aid that. The character's actions provide a moving force even if you don't see them at the time or become tropey. Hot take: Golbez is one of the best villains in any JRPG. No, not just one of the best but THE best. Ex-death is a tree. Kefka is evil because he's a boring nihilist. Sephiroth is alright, but Golbez did the "I'm brainwashed" thing first. Kuja was programmed, and Sin is interesting but lacks personality. Vayne had potential but lost it late. XIII is a terriblegame. There, I said it, and I'm taking it back!
 
The turn-based, ATB battle system started here in FFIV. The fact I'm typing this now shows how terrible of a writer I am. How many other games looked at FFIV and thought, "I'll just steal or borrow from this"? Being the first means it's not flashy or intricate, but it's of vital importance to the genre and cannot be overlooked. It works great, gives enough strategy, and is smooth enough to work today. This alone should make the game worth your time for any game historians out there.

For the DS/Steam version. I'm gonna get more flak for saying this, but I think it's the best version to play. I'm not one to point at graphics, but these models hold up against the SNES sprites. I doubt I'll be saying that in ten years' time, but it is what it is. I loved how cool the battle backgrounds look compared to the dull SNES ones. The voice acting is top notch, and Liam O'Brien needs more work. The augment system seems small but can change how characters act, opening up more entertaining playthroughs. Want to make Kain a debuffer on your second go around? I think it's doable. Try making Cecil a Black Mage with all the Archfiend Augments? Give it a try! I don't know how good these strategies will work, but it gives me an idea for a challenge run down the line. Dungeons have a map, which I'm told is essential to people these days. And to top it off, several new scenes add much needed story. They're small, but they show more about baby Cecil, how he became a knight, his relationship with Kain and Rosa, and makes our not-so-great-evil more human. This version is most accessible to newcomers and has a lot in store for veterans.

Final Fantasy IV was one of those games that I've been thinking about declaring the best Final Fantasy. I don't know if that's the case anymore, but that's not because it failed anything. FFIV is the structure from which the entire franchise grew. It's the blueprint. It's just such an important historical pin that it deserves all the respect and love it gets. Without the Blue Planet, I wonder who I am today? As I said, I have mixed feelings about this, of course, but it's nice to know where I am now instead of where I could be. What else could I be writing about in these blogs? What other games could I be playing, if any? Had I not had a basis in high fantasy, would that game I'm trying to write for be for me? I like video games because of Final Fantasy IV. I like JRPGs because of Final Fantasy IV. I like high fantasy because of Final Fantasy IV. I don't know how to end this, but Final Fantasy IV is good.

The body dies...but the spirit...also dies!

The party enters the Red Moon's Crystal Palace for the final time. Behind where we met Fusuya are the Moon's eight crystals. If we talk to them, they tell us stuff we should already know. In the middle of this room is the teleporter down to the Lunar Subterranean.

"The Baron Red Wings" plays as we head to the center of the Moon. This is a long, perilous maze that kinda sucks. Actually, it's probably a perfect Final Dungeon that isn't much different from other titles from the time. It's eleven floors down, and it took me two days to fully explore it all. The first seven has us walking on rocky terrain, looking for secret passages, and searching caves. The last three are made of what appears to be crystalline in nature. The random battles are also different down here, but we'll get to them later.

The most common mobs are what we found in the Bahamut's Lair. However, there also several types of dragons down here, as well as a giant robot. Ahrimen are also common on floor four. Many of the treasure chests are defended by a somewhat random assortment of local mobs. Everything down here is worth getting. Kain (Dragon), Cecil (Crystal), and Edge (Black Garb) all find their best armor down here. Rydia and Rosa also have the Minerva Bustier, but it's not great for their magic stats, so we won't be using it. Rosa does find a White Robe down here, so only Rydia misses out. Rydia does have her best weapons in the Subterranean, so not all is lost. But the best weapons for the men are behind some truly diabolical bosses. Zemus has sealed the power of their Ultimate Weapons behind minions to protect them from our hands.

The first I found was the Murasame. This is the first of Edge's ultimate weapons because he can dual wield! It is protected by the White Dragon, which should not be confused with the Myst Dragon Rydia's mom summoned. It can counter all elemental magic which a likewise elemental spell. It will also respond to all summons. It also counters all physical attacks with slow, so cast slow on it before you do anything. Believe it or not, it does have its own actions that aren't tied to what the player does. It can attack with Maelstrom, leaving the whole party with critical HP. Have Rosa waiting for a Curaja at all times. Accept the slow and have Rydia use Flare.

Next up Cecil's actual best sword, The Ragnarok! We have to beat up Dark Bahamut, who is a lot harder than regular Bahamut. Like the White Dragon, DB counters a lot of things. All summons will be met with a Megaflare, and magic causes the user to be hit with average Flare, assuming you can get past Reflect. Bahamut's basic actions are casting Reflect and bouncing Flare off of himself. Regular attacks also retort with physical attacks. I didn't see it, but Bahamut's attacks can result in Insta Death. He starts the battle with a Megaflare, but even Edge should survive it. Heal lots and lots, and hope the randomness of a Reflected Flare won't hit the same character twice.

In the room to the east of the B6 Save Point room is the Holy Lance for Kain. It's guarded by the Plague Horror, a hyped up version of the Ahriman. It casts Doom on the whole party, so we only have a set amount of time to kill him. Fortunately, this guy is simple. Go into full on attack mode. I think I even had Rydia and Rosa attacking as well, but Holy and Flare would probably have been better. Rosa should only do one Holy as PH will cast Protect and Shell on himself on his fourth and fifth turn. Dispel them.

To the east of that room is the Lunasuar. It likes to cast Bad Breath, which functions like a Marlboro attack of lore. It changes its pattern once struck with a physical attack, though. Once hit, it casts Reflect on itself and will bounce Bio off itself on to us. Since Rosa can't cast Holy, have her heal every turn. Rydia should still use Ifrit or Bahamut even though Lunasaur will cast "Heal" on itself in response. Alternatively, since Lunasuar is an undead. Use a few Elixers. I got a lot of them looking for tails, so you should have plenty. Casting Reflect on your whole party and using Curaja on them will also do a lot of damage. Lunasaur was defending two Ribbons, so it's a bit poetic he uses Bad Breath.

From here on are the final four floors of this place. The mobs are a lot harder or have some interesting lore about them. You'll run into a lot of Behemoths down here, as well as something called a Deathmask. Its strategy is to either Reflect magic off of him or spam Laser Barrage. It's probably better to run, honestly. There are also a few guys called Zemus' Breath and Zemus' Malice. One will cast Libra on the party to inform Zemus of what he's going to be up against, and the other is a boring mob with a lot of HP and attack power. I don't think the Libra fella actually affects the final boss, but it's a nice story, regardless.

But the final Ultimate Weapon for Edge is down here. The Ogopogo guards the Masamune. He looks and functions a lot like Leviathan in the Feymarch. You should expect a lot of water attacks but don't use Lightning magic. I think Ramauh was fine, though? Heal lots and good luck.

As we get deeper and deeper into the Lunar Core, we see the center of the Red Moon in the background. In the room just after this is the lair of Zemus, himself. Fusuya and Golbez beat us here as we see a scripted battle between them. Golbez casts -ga Black Magic spells, and Fusuya casts White Magic debuffs, that kinda work, and Holy. To put the finishing touches on the great evil, they decide to combine their powers into one Twin Meteor! It does 99999 damage, and Zemus dies.

Edge runs forward to remark that we're too late, and the rest of the party congratulates Fusy and Golby. But it doesn't last long... From the body of Zemus comes a voice telling us that it is hatred that gives him life. Black miasma spews from the spirit of Zeromus, and Golbez prepares to keep his vow of revenge. He and Fusuya enter another battle with the tendriled being. They both cast Meteor, but they do 0 damage. Golbez tries to use the Crystal, but nothing happens. Zeromus says no man of darkness can ever use such an item and will only stain it further. Zeromus casts his own Meteor that wipes wipe the two combatants, as well as our party. As Cecil, Rosa, and the others lie there defenseless, we return to the Tower of Prayer in Mysidia. All of our friends are there. One of the twins senses that we're in trouble and starts a prayer for us. Everyone says something, and we cut back to the party. Golbez has landed near Cecil and is barely alive. Cecil calls out to his "brother," and Golbez hands him the Crystal he tried to use on Zeromus moments before. The prayers from the Blue Planet reach Cecil, who manages to regain some stamina. He stands up and prepares to fight Zeromus.

The final battle begins, but our party is as critically close to dead as can be. Cecil has one HP, and everyone else is KOed. The images of our friends and their cheering of us on reach us. Polom and Porom cause everyone to be revived. Edward and the spirit of Tellah restore the HP to Rosa and Rydia. Yang and Cid give Edge and Kain their life. Finally, Golbez and Fusuya give Cecil back his HP. From here, we're in a stand-off. Zeromus does nothing, and our attacks do even less. To bring the fight in full, use the Crystal Golbez gave to Cecil. He's the only one who can use it. However, buff up before you do. Cast Haste, Shell, and Protect on everyone. If you're playing the SNES version, steal the Dark Matter. It doesn't do anything in the version, but you want it anyway because it exists. I had Kain Focus for three turns but ended up blowing it because I have bad timing. When you're ready, use the Crystal. It'll take a moment, but Zeromus begins to groan in pain and starts to change shape. He turns into his final form, and the fight commences properly. From here, go full out. Attack, attack, Focused attack, Bahamut, and Holy. I had four turns of free reign, even if Zero used Black Hole to remove the buffs on his first turn. He used Big Bang twice, but I don't think it did any damage on the first go around. From here, have Rosa wait to heal incase he does something that hurts. I made the mistake of letting Rosa attack only to be struck by a Meteor/Big Bang combo, wiping out my whole party except Cecil. Cecil had just enough speed, though, and was able to get four attacks in, which was enough to kill Zeromus. Even with my grind, I still had problems with my mortal enemy. Thank you, Tails!

With Zeromus' dying breath, he screams at the party that he can never die. He will always exists in the darkness of man! Fusuya wonders if the power gap between the Lunarians and the Earthlins has been shortened and outright surpassed, but we then turn our concerns to Zero's last words. As long as darkness lies in the hearts of men, he will always be around. When everyone wonders what could mean, Fusuya tells us that darkness will lie in the hearts of man. But so will light. Our light should always be stronger than Zemus' darkness. Edge says something cocky, and Rydia tells him off. Fusy tells us he's gonna go back to sleep, and Rosa says our friends are waiting. Golbez walks towards us and asks the Lunarian if he can join him. Golbez believes he can't return to the Blue Planet after what he's done and wants to meet his lineage. Fusuya warns him of what that means, but he comes anyway. Golbez tells Cecil how nice it was to be called brother despite all the suffering he's caused. They walk away, but our party asks Cecil if he's really going to let his brother walk away. Cecil tells Golbez, "Farewell, brother," and Golbez turns around. His dark armor falls off, and we can see Theodore's smiling face for the first time. It hangs on the faces of the son of Kluya before the camera cuts to space.

We see the Planet and its two moons revolve around the sun as we see the Lunar Whale go back to sleep beneath the waves near Mysidia. We now see our characters in their final story moments.
The twins are in Mysidia getting their daily lecture from the Elder. The male one is missing, so the female one goes to find him. He's telling a fair young maiden how he helped saved the world but is interrupted by the scolding sister. The two return to the Elder, who punishes Polom (?), much to his chagrin.
Edge has reluctantly taken his birthright as King of Eblan. He keeps thinking about Rydia, and his chancellor keeps telling him to focus.
Speaking of Rydia, she's in the Feymarch with the King and Queen. A random denizen shows up and wonders the difference between humans and eidolons. Rydia says there is no difference, and the royal family remark how much things are going to change.
Yang has taken the throne of Fabul, even though the former King is still there. He's standing right behind him! Shiela refuses the get the hang of formal speech, and Yang is more interested in training. He runs off while his wife and former liege talk about great he'll make Fabul.
Edward is overseeing the rebuilding of Damcyan. Three kids show up and ask him to retell the tale of The Paladin. Ed will only do so after they've done their chores, so they all run off. He talks to Anna and asks her to wait for him a while longer. He hopes she and Tellah are resting well.
King Giott and the dwarves are repairing the castle from the Red Wing assault. They lack the necessary supplies, so the King tells them to dismantle the tanks since they won't need them. Giott tells Luca that Cecil and Rosa are to be King and Queen of Baron, and they're invited to the ceremony. One of the workers tells him that he's not helping, so he gets mad they all run away.
Kain is alone on Mt. Ordeals. He removes his helmet, revealing long blonde hair, and tells the aether that he refuses to see Cecil and Rosa until he's atoned for all he's done. It takes seventeen years until he does, so I kinda hate this.
We return to the astronomer in Agart, who's noticing something strange about the moons. We cut to space and see the same revolving scene we saw before the Lunar Whale landed. In time, though, one of the moons leaves the Planet's orbit and flies away.
Cecil and Rosa are in his room, just like they were when the game began. Cecil says he thinks he heard a voice, but it could have been his imagination. Cid runs in and tells the two to cut out the lovey-dovey until later as the day is too beautiful to lounge around. Cid gets asked not to call them King and Queen as they're friends before anything, and Cid runs off to prepare for the ceremony. Rosa remarks that it's been a while since they've seen everyone and then leaves to get ready herself. Cecil still thinks he heard Theodore say, "Farewell."
Finally, we return to the Baron throne room. Cecil is his Paladin gear, and Rosa is a queenly dress of white. Baron soldiers and mages are on either side as our traveling companions greet them. There's no dialog but plenty of pantomiming.
Edge is first and says something to Rosa before Cid pushes him away.
Giott and Luca enter and are as proper as can be.
Yang enters and shakes Cecil's hand.
Palom and Porom walk up, and the boy one climbs into the King's throne. He's told off by girl one but tries to talk to Luca before joining the order.
Edward is next.
Rydia is afterwards, and Edge tries to act like she's not there.
Cid walks up to place the crown on King Cecil's head. While the soldiers and mages overact in hilarious fashion with high jumps, hugging, and swan dives into people piles. The party mates rejoice with a round of applause as the credits roll.

We see Kluya, young Theodore, and Cecilia staring at the Blue Planet with the words "The End" over it all.


Namingway asks tells us about save data and NG+ as we're booted to the main menu.

The End!

I regret not naming this blog Blogingway...

...anyway, here's a special episode dedicated to him. I spent eight hours, hundreds of thousands of Gil, and got beat up by pink flans while collecting two Ping Tails and one, single, solitary item that has no impact on the game. All glory to The Rainbow Pudding!

When we first met Namingway, he was in Baron Castle, pondering his future in a world where names can't be changed. Cecil and Kain saw him next in the Myst Cave being a cartographer. He lost his tools, so he was just hanging out in Kaipo for a while before becoming a historian in Fabul. Recordingway then learned he likes to camp in a Chocobo Forest but became a Baron Weapons/Armor Shop renowned musician soon thereafter. He got the hots for two women in Toria, which leads us to right now...
 
Puddingway, still eagerly waiting for us in Agart, is thrilled to see us! We happily hand him the rare and exquisite Rainbow Pudding (Red Moon variety), and he hops off to meet his girlfriend.

We find him again in the Dwarven Pub of Giott all alone. When we talk to him, he asks if we're here to drown our sorrows too? We're not, but he reveals that he found his pudding loving, puddin', eating pudding with another man! I don't tell him that he was two timing two women a few days ago because I'm not that type of guy. Mopingway continues to drink. If we try to talk to him again, he, in a drunken stupor, becomes angry. He attacks the party?! Well, not really. I waited for him to strike us first, but he never did. He only has 32 HP, so make him hit rock bottom. We knock him out of depression, and he gives us the Eye Gouge Augment. I assume it can blind a target, but I gave it to Rydia to increase her speed when she levels up. Mopingway promises to get his life back together, so I'm sure he'll be fine when we next meet.

The bad news is we next see him in the Feymarch. Is that bad news? The good news is he's found a new love who seems to reciprocate the feelings! They move fast, almost like rabbits, but it's so romantic. Lovingway asks Cecil if he's seeing anyone as well and asks us her name. I guess Rosa is the correct answer, but I love you, Lucy! It's a nice callback to the SNES version, regardless. He'll run off to be with his girlfriend.

If we head to Mysidia to see all of our friends, we can meet Lovingway's love. She has a dancer girl model, so good job, buddy! They tell us that they're here to get married, so it is a happy ending! Weddingway grants us the Lucy's Love Augment as thanks for all of our help, and he hopes we can feel like he does one day. His wife worries about his wanderlust, though...

He and his bride are on their honeymoon on the moon! Weddingway's changed his name to fit his ancestors, so he's a boring Hummingway now. He, once again, thanks us, and his wife tells us how romantic it is to be on the moon for a honeymoon. With her honey, no less! Once again, though, I have to wonder how they got here? He leaves us with the quote, "When all is said and done, it's what's inside that truly matters. Still, a catchy name never hurt."

The last time we see our friend is a random location across the Blue Planet. I found him in the Baron Chocobo Forest, which was the first place I went. He's all alone, but it seems fine. Going-my-way is feeling nostalgic about his travels and wishes to see the places he's been to again. Wouldn't it cooler if he brought his wife? But what do I know? He hands us the Safe Travel Augment, which removes all random encounters from the game. It's a little late, but it's cool anyway. Going-my-way heads back to his travels, never to be seen again?

Challengeingway shows up in The After Years, but I'm not playing that.

We'll end Final Fantasy IV tomorrow. I tried to get a few more tails, but their drop rate, even with the Treasure Hunter Augment, was too low for me to keep my sanity. I got to level 83, though, so I suspect we'll make quick work of Zemus. It's actually one of the reasons why I wanted to get the Rainbow Pudding. I could never beat Zeromus on the SNES or PS1 version, so I have a vast reservoir of intimidation. There's no such thing as being over leveled for Zemus.

Giants, Archfiends, and Drago(o)ns! Oh my!

The party starts at the head of the Giant and climbs all the way down. Each body part has its own map completion, so, since we'll never come back here, collect them. Every mob is weak to lightning and isn't that hard. Maybe don't fight multiple centurions, though. They strike fast and hard, and Rosa might not be able to keep up the heals. The searcher fellas from the lower Tower return here and function the same as they did before. They bring forth much harder enemies, of course, but the EXP to difficulty seems spectacular. Ramah didn't one-shot them, though, so we must fight.

From the head to the neck, into the chest, and out we come to the Inner Stair. I love my Inner Stair. I don't think I missed anyplace... We'll enter a room where we see a Namingway next to a Save Point. It's not a Namingway, but it is a shop! We can stock up on various items we may need. Save and continue onward. In the next room are four gem things in the floor. When we get to the middle of them, Rubicante will appear before us. He'll say some stuff, and the revived bodies of Scar, Cagnazzo, and Barb surround us. They inform us that Zemus has brought them back, and they want revenge. Rubi tells us he's learned from our last fight that there is power in numbers, and a boss fight breaks out.

We now must run the gauntlet of Elemental Archfiends. They function the same as before, so I hope you remember your previous strategies and can update them with Augments and new spells.
First up is The Blighted Despot, Scarmiglione. We only fight his second, undead form. He counters Ire spells with Gas, so prepare for that. Keep in mind, Fusoya has Holy.
Next up the Drowned King, Cagnazzo. This is the most annoying of the four, as he can bring up his stupid shield at a whim. It's the dumbest thing to spam. I almost got through the Giant last night, but this guy constantly making me heal him was painfully tedious and time consuming. The second time, he used the shield once... Go figure...
The Empress of the Wind, Barbariccia, is third. She'll bring up her Tornado Shield early, and you can't remove it this time because Kain is gone. Instead, we'll have to spam magic against her. I don't know if she was weak to Holy, but it did nearly max damage against her. Edge and Cecil were just kinda there... Also, slow works!
Finally is Rubicante, Autarch of Flame. Cast slow on, first of all. Rydia and Fusy should be Hasted by now for maximum firepower. I think he still counters physical attacks, so don't do much with Cecil and Edge. Feel free to double check this, though. This is going to sound strange, but have Edge try to Steal Rubi's nonexistent item. Doing so will cause him to open his cloak. Shiva and Blizzaga him for a short time. It only took me two rounds to finish him off.

When the four callbacks to Final Fantasy I die, they bemoan their deaths again and cry out to Zemus. Return to the Save Point behind us to heal and save. In the next room is the core of the Giant of Babel. Destroying this will shut down the whole thing.

Fusuya will tell us to defeat the Defense Core first as it heals the main CPU. Ignore him; he's an idiot. Use a Spider Silk to slow all three enemies first. If you're lucky, it won't be reflected off the Main CPU. The Defensive one casts Reflect on the Main Core, so you may want to Dispel it before Slowing everything. Take out the Offensive Core first. It's the only thing that can hurt us. It doesn't absorb anything, so do you're best. If you keep it around, you get hit by a team wide move called Laser Barrage that can two-shot a party. Rosa may not be able to outheal the attack. It's somewhat fragile, so it must die first. From here, ignore the Defensive Heal. It's easy to outdo and is so much worst if we defeat it. Our target is the CPU. It will just stand there and let us beat up on it. It'll probably be Reflected the whole time, so cast Ramah and have Fusuya Bless the party to make sure we don't run low on MP. Cecil and Edge don't do much damage, but it's cool. After a year and a half, it'll finally be destroyed. This leaves us against the even more defenseless Defense Core. It absorbs all elements, so unequip the Excalibur and Blitz Chain on Cecil and Rydia and enter Auto-battle while you get a snack. If you take out the Cores first, CPU will start to spam an Insta Death Attack and eventually revive the cores, so this is the way to go.

After the fight, we hear Golbez enter from behind the cores. He's upset, but it doesn't last long. Fusuya casts a spell, or something, that brings Golbez back from under Zemus' control. Fusuya, in a roundabout way, tells us Golbez is the eldest son of Kluya, therefore, Cecil's older brother. We flashback to a new scene in the 3D versions! We see a boy, Theodore, being born and walk around a small village as him a few years later. One night, he leaves his house to search for his father, staring up at the two moons. The few people we can talk to tell us that Kluya, our dad, has taught people how to use magic, but there are a group of people who plan to misuse this power for evil. When Theodore asks his father why he always stares at the moons, Klyua says, "he'll tell him some other day," and to go back to back to bed. Back home, he sees his mom collapsed on the floor, and he helps her back in. Cecilia tells her song she's pregnant, which causes the boy to jump for joy. Sometime later, we see that Kluya has been murdered by people upset at magic. Theodore tries to cast a Cure spell but is unable to. We cut again to Cecilia giving birth. She manages to hold her new son for a moment before her frail constitution leaves her, and she dies. There is one more cut, where Theo is looking out a window until the room goes red, and he hears a voice. It's a voice that tells him the new child is the cause of all his pain. If he wasn't born, Cecilia would still be alive. He tries to fight it, but the voice gets through and renames him Golbez. Golbez takes his brother and abandons him just outside Baron, where the King and his retinue find and adopts him. We come back to the present time, and Golbez regrets his actions. Cecil wonders how the roles could have been reversed had Zemus gotten him instead of brother, but Theodore says Zemus attacked the hate in his own heart. He was hurt by the perceived slight of Cecil killing his mother, which allowed the evil Lunarian in. Golbez vews vengeance upon Zemus, and Fusuya joins him. Despite us having the only means of transport between the Planet and Moon, they had to confront Zemus face-to-face.

But for us, the Gaint begins to shake. We've beaten it, but what of us? We hear a voice behind us, and it's Kain. He asks us to follow him to safety, but Edge doesn't trust him. Rose, though, does without hesitation. We see a cutscene where the Giant of Babel falls as the Red Wings and Dwarves look on. We return to the Lunar Whale, ready to follow Theodore and Fusuya. Kain rejoins despite Edge's protestations. Kain assures the ninja that if he turns again, Edge should kill him without a second thought. We then see a scene where Kain and Cecil's "rivalry" started. A young Kain views a young Cecil as a spoiled son of a King, undeserving of such a rank. Kain is the son of the Dragoon commander and worth more than he. They get into a bit of a tussle before Rosa breaks it up. After this, a scene that I've never liked plays. Cecil tells Rosa this isn't a place for her, a woman, and asks her to leave. She gets upset, but Cecil is adamant, so she takes her leave. Edge says something similar to Rydia, but about age, so she storms off. Cecil, Edge, and Kain head to Moon, but Rosa and Rydia hide onboard and trick their way back on the team. What was the point of this? It only showed that Cecil is a sexist, and Edge is even more of an idiot than I thought? And it was so short that it never lets any ramifications happen. Just, why? Regardless, we're at the final dungeon, but I'll do that...

...tomorrow.

I finished up a few sidequests. I got Bahamut, which was pretty easy. Cast slow on him, Haste on yourselves, and attack. Protect/Shell/Defend if his countdown is at 1. Even Edge survived Mega Flare. I also got Odin, the True King of Baron. Finally, I finished up the Eidolon Search stuff in the Feymarch because I wanted the Reflect Peirce, I guess? I don't think I'll finish this tomorrow, even if I blitz it, but by Monday, for sure. Also, what would have happened if Fusuya used Meteor?

Side Quests on the MOON!

The Lunar Whale is a ship that has its own interior map. It houses a robot Fat Chocobo, four (not five) stasis pods for sleeping, a square wheel to pilot it, and a shiny, glowing crystal in the middle to take us to the Red Moon of the Blue Planet.

Before doing what we're supposed to do on the Moon, I fly around and find other stuff. The easiest to do is the Hummingway Cave. It's filled with people who look like Namingway, but they only hum a-pitched song at us. There are three who speak our language, and they seem to indicate Namingway is from here. I wonder how, though. Guess we'll have to find his Rainbow Pudding!
The hardest thing up here is the Lair of the Father. It's a cave on the eastern side of the map. Rydia's menu thought wonders if this is what Leviathan meant... It's nearly impossible to get to the bottom at this point as we're weak little baby heros. The random encounters are hard enough, but there's also a mandatory behemoth fight on the second floor. The randoms are women mages and warriors. The warriors are pretty simple, but if the mages spam their spells, we're done for. The worst part is they're not even worth the effort. 5000 EXP for this much of a hassle... We just can't hang yet, so we'll finish this up later. You can find four pieces of Genji gear if you venture down now, though, which is worth the excursion.
The last place to go is the giant palace. Landing on the Moon sucks, so we need to walk a while. We'll pass through two caves. Each cave is filled with the same mobs: Flans and various giant single celled organisms. Multiple thought bubbles have our characters wondering how anything is alive up here, and Cecil's are how he feels like he's been here before. Each path has its map completion award, so we might as well get them. It's a surprisingly hard walk, even with the Genji gear. In time, we will enter a shimming room, and the FF Prelude plays.

To either side are healing springs, but up the middle is where we need to go. There we see a man with a long beard waiting for us. This is Fusoya, and he tells us the truth of this world and the Moon. Long ago, there was war, and the survivors of it went to our home, the Blue Planet. However, the planet already had life on it, so many did not want to live there just yet. They, instead, put themselves to sleep to awaken when our world and theirs in better harmony. But not everyone felt this way; one man wanted to wipe out all life on the Blue Planet. That man was Zemus. Zemus' power was so overwhelming that the rest of the Lunarians forced Zemus into slumber. But even then, his power grew. It infected the hearts of man and allowed him to control them. Wanting to limit Zemus' power on the planet, one man when to Earth. There he taught the civilizations certain advanced technologies such as the Devil's Road and airships. We also fell in love and had two children. That man was a Paladin and Cecil's father, Kluya. There is more to this story, but Golbez has all the crystals and will soon open the way for the Giant of Babil to wipe all life on our planet. Through Golbez, Zemus will win. Fusoya joins the team, and we return to Earth.

Fusoya is Tellah on steroids. He knows every White and Black Magic spell, including Meteor, but his physical stats are just as terrible. He was more MP than Tellah, but it's still pretty bad compared to Rosa and Rydia. He's Kluya's brother, so his early menu thoughts are him wishing his younger brother could see how noble his son became. His special command is Bless, which grants a Regen like status for MP.

As we return to the planet, we land near the Tower of Babil. But we're too late. We see the magical energy around the tower billow as it summons the destroyer, Giant of Babil. The robotic Giant stands as tall as the Tower behind it, and it shoots lasers from its hand, razing the landscape around it (but not really). But there is hope still! Dwarfs in their tanks begin to fire upon it from the ground! The Sylphs, as well as Yang, are nearby too for some reason. Cid and the Red Wings begin to fire from the skies, as does Edward and the Torians. The Mysidians and the cured Palon and Porom have a ship as well. The combined force of every nation on and under the planet manage to damage the Giant, which gives us time to enter it. Cid comes down and takes us to the Giant's mouth, and we now much destroy the destroyer.

But that's a story for tomorrow.

Also, I got the Knife from Yang's Wife, Sheila. She got a name in the After Years, so I'm gonna use it here since we'll never see her again. Also, also, there's no Save Point at the start of the Giant of Babel, so the early part of tomorrow's blog will be from tonight. Let's just say some stuff happened...

[Insert Gojira Lyrics]

Day one of side questing is done, so let's get through this Sealed Cavern!

We enter the cave northwest of Tomra and come to a locked door. As we were told, Luca's Pendent will open the gate. We have now allowed Golbez to enter the save, so it just makes sense that I left. The first battle in here gave my team Silence, and I had no Echo Herbs. I stocked up in Giott's Castle and gave it another go. This cave is painfully long and filled with monsters. I'm beginning to remember why I hated combat in elementary school. None of the enemies should strike fear into you, but I'd suggest you run if you come across two Chimera Brains. Those guys love to spam Blaze, which does fire damage on the whole team. Edge will not survive two of them, and the rest of the party isn't in good shape either. It's just easier to Smoke/Escape. There are many, many doorways through the caves. All of which are traps. Fortunately, the fights are very easy and a free 5000 EXP. I never took damage in any of them, but I do wonder what Ninth Dimension does. Do take note, if you don't kill them while they're weak, the doors will summon a Yellow Dragon to fight for them. YD gives a lot of EXP and has a chance of dropping rare items, so it may worth a fight.

Navigating is done through the trap doors and several ropes strewn around the place. Some chests are only found on the otherside of the ropes. Any that lead to a dead end has a quick turnaround. Most of the monster doors lead to empty rooms, but there are a few treasures and a Save Point behind a few, as well. Since they're so easy, there is no reason not to fight them.

At the bottom (B5), we find the Crystal Chamber. The final Dark Crystal is just hanging out, totally unguarded. We grab it and exit the room. As we start to cross the bridge, we sense a disturbance in the air. The room begins to rumble, and the wall behind us grows closer...and closer..and closer still! This is Demon Wall. It has a simple gimmick, easy looking strategy, but a terrible secret. For the entire battle, it will slowly approach the team. It will not attack, but it, slowly but surely, grow ever closer. I was a little too preoccupied to count how long it took, sorry. When Demon Wall reaches us, it begins to use Crash, which inflicts instant death on one character at a time. During its march, attack with all your might. Have Rosa Haste everyone to get started, and Rydia should use Leviathan for nearly 7000 damage. Have your physical attackers do what they do. I was unable to slay the abomination before it got to me, so Cecil died. Forgetting I had him Drawing Attacks, I did not revive him, so Rydia died. I keep trying to revive him but failed every time. In theory, this could have gone on for a while, but you should try to avoid this state. I've read Slow works, so use it along with Berserk. With Rydia and Cecil dead, everyone gained two levels off the EXP, so there goes Cecil's MC EXP privilege. We now get to walk our way back to the top of the cave! As we get to the exit, the room turns purple, and a voice echoes around us.

Golbez!

He instructs Kain to steal the Crystal and join him again. Cecil and Rosa try to convince him otherwise, and it seems to work. But suddenly, Kain knocks down Cecil, taking the Crystal with him. Everyone wonders why Kain did that, but then Golbez talks to us, saying this was always his plan. He let loose the "leash" just for something like this. The whole team then watches as Kain leaves with the thing we were instructed to protect. Seriously, they just stood there and watched. Kain even had his back to us. I'm beginning to see why people aren't fond of FFIV in 2021.

We return to Giott, and our disappointed dad is disappointed. He worries about what's to come and mentions a prophecy. It's the same prophecy we learned about in Mysidia. Giott is shocked that Mysidia exists and asks us to go there. The Elder must be praying for something related to that dragon! The problem is, the hole to the surface is still sealed. We hear a voice from behind us and see Cid is feeling better. When we tell him the problem, he decides to make a drill for the Falcon. We then cut to everyone standing on the airship's deck while Cid hammers at the air. At one point, he runs over to stop Edge from hitting on Rydia. Sometime later, Cid passes out again. We all return to the infirmary, where Cid finally acknowledges his age. We wish him well and set off towards the surface! The drill works, and we can continue side questing!

Main quests are for losers. First up is back to Fabul. If we talk to Yang's Wife (who doesn't have a name yet), she begins to cry over what happened to Yang and the Sylphs. She hands us a Frying Pan and tells us to hit him with it. Before going back to the Underworld. Take the Enterprise and hovercraft to Mythril. Nearby is the Adamant Cave. There's a mini man inside that will exchange a Rat's Tail with the legendary Adamantine! The Rat's Tail was found in the Feymarch if you recall. Make the switch and return underground. Fly to Kokkal's Smith and give him the ore. His spirits will be lifted, and he'll return to his forge. He'll also take our Mythgraven Sword, which is the blade Paladin Cecil starts with. It'll take a while, but we can get Cecil's second or third best weapon when he's done. Go back to Yang and, against the Sylph's wishes, hit him the pan. He'll wake up and joke about his wife. Seeing that we're down a man, he tries to join the party again. Edge convinces him that he's still injured, and the Sylphs want him to stay as well. Rather than gives us Yang, the Sylphs teach Rydia how to summon them. It's is a mediocre heal, but I won't say no to utility.

We can now head to Mysidia, where the Elder is waiting for us. We see the prophesy again and meet up at the top of the Tower of Prayer. A cutscene happens where we see it unfold. A massive airship rises from the sea near Mysidia. It turns out the dragon wasn't an ancient myth but the actual continent of Mysidia. It's shaped like a dragon, you see. The Elder informs us the Lunar Whale is a space ship that teleports us from Earth to the Moon in the blink of an eye. He knows this because a voice told him while it rose. So it looks like we're heading to the Moon...

...tomorrow!

This is a reminder to myself to return to Kokkal. The Excalibur has been forged.

Undead and Not Dead are Two Different Things

With the Tower of Babel behind us and ground above us, let's talk to King Giott!

We tell him we suck. Like a disappointed father, he says how bummed he is we lost to a basic trap. Maybe a good thief would have noticed it? He informs us that Golbez has found the last crystal and is trying to break the seal. The key, though, is something Golbez will never have. He asks his daughter, Luca, to step forward. He takes a necklace and hands it to us. That is the key to the Sealed Save in the southwest. Giott asks us to get the crystal before Golbez does and keep it safe. Luca tells us to bring back the necklace as it's a family heirloom her mother once had. Before we leave, some guards tell us they found an old man and took him to the infirmary. We also see the first few dwarven women and their majestic beards as nurses.

In the infirmary, we spot the unmissable Cid! He's seen better days, but he's mostly functional. After Edge insults him, which causes Rydia to rebuke him, making Cid laugh, we tell him the Falcom sucks and can't fly over lava. The thought of this energizes Cid, so he hops out of bed. The nurses try to get him back in, but he convinces them to help in his scheme. We cut to the Falcon and see Cid hammering away at stuff while the Nurses run around. In time, we return to his bed. Cid has done something to the airship to make it fly over lava. The game gives us a minor heart attack when it pretends Cid died for real this time, but we quickly hear him snoring. We find a note about his last wishes under his pillow, and it's a heartfelt apology to his friends and family about the worry he's caused. But we have a mission!

But I'm not gonna do it. This is the point in the game where sidequests start to open up. South of Giott's Castle is the town of Tomra. There's not much here, but we can find new armor for Cecil and Kain. The weapons aren't great, but you can buy Shuriken if you want Edge to throw stuff. Fun note about this place, the dwarves don't say "Lali-Ho" here. They say "hi-ho." To the east of Tomra is Kokkol's Forge. Kokkol is the greatest blacksmith in the world, but he's lost all passion. He wants to find Adamantine. So if we find any, bring it here.
 
In the top left corner of the map is Sylph's Cave. When we enter, our character's menu thoughts warn us of damaging floors. These floors are easier to see in the SNES version, but they're green flowing goop in this version. To pass them unharmed, have Rosa cast Float on the party. It wears off between floors, so you're gonna recast it a lot. This whole place is a massive maze with invisible walls and secret passages across three floors. The enemies aren't too tough, but they are overly abundant, and I hate it. Don't be afraid to run from a Marlboro, though. Even with Cecil drawing all attacks, he can still go down if you're not careful. And Rosa's going to run low on MP casting all these Floats. I suggest looking up a map since this place is hell to navigate. A lot of the treasures are high quality, so it's worth venturing down here now. Although the best item, Avenger, kinda sucks. Eventually, though, you find a cabin in the cave. Inside are several Sylphs and a man they're protecting. It's Yang! He's still knocked out, so we can't talk to him. The Sylphs are upset their love hasn't healed him, but there's nothing we can do yet, except get yelled at. We'll return here later...

Our next destination is the lone island in the southeast lavocean. As we enter, Rydia tells us this was the path she traveled to reach our world. At the bottom is the Feymarch, home to the eidolons she summons. Like the Sylph's Cave, this has painful floors. This time it's lava, though, so it makes sense. Use the same strategy, and use a map. It's far less annoying to navigate, but you've already cheated once tonight, so go for broke. DO find the Defender sword for Cecil while you're here, though. At the bottom is a warp spot to another world! Inside the Feymarch are various personages that look likes hooded figures, bombs, and chocobos. In between telling us how cool Rydia is, they give us background on this place. But what we're looking for is royalty. In the basement of the library is an old man and the Queen of the Summons, Ashura. Rydia asks her foster mother for power, but Ashura tells us that power can only be obtained through battle.

I remember this being a lot harder as a kid. First of all, only Rydia is allowed to attack. Anyone else doing so will result in too many counterblows. Have Cecil cast Protect and Shell on the party. Haste Rydia and use Blink on Cecil while he Defends. Using Reflect on Ashura will save you a lot of time. From here, spam Dragon. Ashura absorbs everything else and counters physical blows, so it's all you got. I had no problems here. The next battle, though...

The old man sitting on the throne ends up being the King of the Eidolons, Leviathan! Who saw that coming? He, too, challenges us to combat. He's weak to Lightning and absorbs Water and Ice. Once again, Haste Rydia and spam Thunderaga. It did a little more damage than Ramah. Even if it didn't, its cast time is far shorter. Edge can use Blitz as supplemental damage. I also had Kain jump just because. Leviathan's attacks aren't terrible, but he a move called Deluge. That soaks the battlefield in a devastating water attack. Edge died a few times, but Rydia usually survived. Hope he doesn't spam it and keep Rosa using Curaga. Don't be afraid to have Cecil Cura as well. Time your phoenix downs with the Cures, and you'll be fine. His regular stuff isn't too bad, but Deluge has no counter.

We have now gained the ability to summon Ashura and Leviathan. We now have water damage, so I wonder if we'll see anyone with a weakness for it. I generally wonder that since my mental bestiary doesn't exist. We'll find out if anyone in the Sealed Caved has one...

...tomorrow!

While we're down in the Feymarch, don't forget to pick up the Rat Tail. Veterans of the franchise know what it is, but it's for something vital down the line. Also, I should have gotten Odin before beating up Rubicante...

Party's All Here

...kinda wish they weren't.

Before doing anything, head to Mist. We'll see it's rebuilt, and it's doing pretty well. No one mentions Rydia, and only one dude states the town was even destroyed. In the northwestern house is a glowing sparkly thing. That sparkle is the MP +50% Augment. I put it on Rydia because summons are expensive!

The Cave of Eblan is west of its castle. The first floor is a dungeon floor, but just after that is a small alcove of survivors. The Eblanese are a kingdom of ninjas who won't take the destruction of their home lightly. They're digging a cave to the upper parts of the Tower of Babel through the mountain and hiding out "right under the enemies' nose." Inside are the usual town shops and people. We learn that the Prince of Eblan has gone ahead with a small assortment of his ninjas to get their revenge on Rubicante, the man in the red cloak we saw with Dr. Lugae. Beyond a door in the back is the rest of the dungeon. Out here, we see gravely injured ninjas telling us the Prince has gone ahead. If we keep following the people crumbs, we'll run into their leader.

Prince Edge is talking to the Archfiend of Fire and vows revenge. A scripted battle takes place where Edge does weak damage before healing Rubi with a Flame Ninjitsu spell. Rubicante then casts Inferno and ends the fight. Rather than slay the Prince, Rubicante suggests he should focus more and become a fine warrior. He then walks away. The party runs up to the disheartened Edge, who has become hellbent on vengeance even it means his own death. Rydia is tired of seeing people die and starts to cry, which causes the womanizing Edge to rethink his actions. Rosa cures him, and he hits on her too. Really, Cecil? You're gonna let this happen right in front of you? After he tells us stuff we already know and inferred, he joins the party.
 
Edge kinda sucks. He lacks physical defense to be good, and his magic skills are wanting, but his physical damage ends up pretty good late game. He's the game's ninja, which grants him the Throw and Steal abilities. I hate using Throw, and his Stealing rate is one of the worst in the franchise. Plus, as I said, he's a womanizer. I don't like those types of characters. It has something to do with sexism, but I also find them boring people. It's always a character's most prominent feature that overrides any other quirks. I don't like my characters being one dimensional! And it has nothing to do with the fact he's after Rydia, too!

We follow Rubicante to some scaffolding outside the Tower of Babel. Edge uses his Ninjitsu magic to walk the party through walls, which everyone seems excited about. How did Rubi get in? Welcome back to Babel! I'm pretty sure we start at floor one and work our way down. The enemies are stuff we've already fought and are nothing too bad. All of the scary stuff from the earlier floors aren't up here. The Mythril Golems are the hardest, but only because they're so tanky. I started using the Augments before this. I equipped Cecil with the Draw Attacks and Counter Augments. This means he took ALL the damage, which he's built to do, and hit back every time. Rosa only had to focus on healing one person, and everyone else sailed smoothly through this place. This will probably come back to haunt me soon, but I like this strategy!

Nothing happens until we reach B5. Two people block our path forward, and Edge knows them well. They're his parents! They try to get Edge to join them, but Edge has no idea what's going on. They quickly reveal themselves to monsters and attack the party. They're quite easy. Wail away on one, and, in time, the two of them come to their senses for a moment. The experiments done on them have changed them into terrifying monsters that warped their brain. Us attacking them has caused them to momentarily revert, however. During the time, they say farewell to their son and wish us luck. Edge doesn't want them to leave, but they know nothing should exist like this. It's presumed they kill themselves and disappear from the battle.

Rubicante teleports in, and Edge becomes furious. Rubi tells the party, "it was Dr. Lugaue who turned them into chimera." He made it rhyme for some reason. The anger rising in Edge causes him to learn two new Ninjitsu magics, which hypes up Rubicante. Rubi gives off the noble warrior type shtick, but I'm not buying it. He warns the party that "even the frozen winds of of the ninth circle of hell cannot pierce [his] robe," and a fight breaks out!

Edge is so, so fragile. Rubicante has two forms: robed and unrobed. When his robe shrouds him, do nothing but act defensibly. Have someone cast Shell, and Haste up Rydia, Edge, and Rosa (if you want). If you attack him now, you heal him, and he counters with a strong Fira spell. When he takes his robe off and shows his legs, use Shiva and Flood. Cecil and Kain should still do nothing, even with Ice weapons, as it'll cause the same counter. With Haste, they should be able to get two spells off before Rubicante re-robes himself. Shiva, for some reason, causes him to counter with Blizzara on himself, doing even more damage. When he gets cold, he'll cast Inferno on us. Edge died every time, but Rydia can sometimes survive. Kain and Cecil can take it like champs, though. Revive the dead and buff up again. It takes a while, but he's unlikely to kill Cecil even with his drawing of attacks. Probably shouldn't have equipped Counter, though. Cecil healed the boss so, so, so many times...

Rubicante will be shocked that emotions evoke so much power and is even more surprised at the glory of teamwork. Regardless, he congratulates us on winning and leaves. Edge's seneschal and back-up will approach us, and Edge tells them vengeance is ours (even though it's not). The seneschal wants Edge to return to help rebuild, but Edge knows Golbez, who he just learned of, is the bigger issue. Edge will then walk towards the room that was behind Rubicante, prepared to fight Golbez. The party informs him we're here to take the crystals, which Edge will play off as "I meant to do that." The party's menu thoughts are of Edge's lack of humility and false bravado, but we enter the crystal room.

As we approach the seven crystals, the whole party falls through a pitfall trap. We fall for several floors and end up across the gap from where we killed Lugae. The party regrets being so close, but we now have to get out of here to get back. We descend to B8 and collect the missing map bonuses until we stumble upon an Airship. Edge calls it the Falcon, and we all leave the tower to the Underworld. The Falcon sucks since it's not heat resistant and can only fly over the ground. Since the exit to the Underworld is blocked, the only place we can go is Giott's castle. But I'll do that...

...tomorrow!

I really don't like Edge. He feels like the least plot relevant character in the game even though he's not. He's no worse than Yang or Edward, but he's just out of place. Worse is, he's not even good. He's five levels lower than the party! Why do I hate thief characters?

More Farewells

Truly, it is we who have turned our backs on god.

We enter the Tower of Babel, and the location that appears on screen is B13...we're thirteen floors under the surface!? I wonder how far we have to climb? It's actually not that far. We only need to get to B6... As we climb, we encounter various mobs weak to Ice. Flamebeasts function like the Frostbeasts in Zot but with fire magic. I'd suggest running if you're up against two or three of them until you find some equipment I'll talk about in a moment. They can also be accompanied by a Flame Knight. There are also an assortment of basilisks and armadillos. To keep the party from equipping only Ice weapons, there's a chance of encountering a chimera that absorbs all elements. I only ran into one, though.
 
The treasure within are various items, but all the good stuff is behind some monster-in-a-boxes. Each monster is a searcher who will summon a mob when it's attacked. The summon will be randomly chosen from the area encounters you can find down here. It'll only bring forth one at a time, and I think it can be done several times. This may be a good, safe way to grind if you want to. If Rydia summons Ramuh, he'll destroy it before it brings anything forward. Every time you fight one, you'll get a piece of Ice equipment (two weapons, shield, and armor) for Cecil and Kain. Yang's best weapon, the Cat Claws, is also down here. Why is Yang's best weapon so early?

Most of these floors are unrevistable, so explore as much as you can now if you want the map rewards. I think B7 and B8 are the only ones you'll see again. For now, let's climb. At one point, you'll enter a room with three exits (B9): the one you came from, one on the far side of the screen, and a third in the exact middle. The middle door is locked, so ignore it for now. On the next floor is a Save Point that you should use. Above that is where we meet the guy in charge. Kain's menu speech bubble mentions someone named Rubicante. We see a man in red telling a doctor about the plan and the destruction of Eblan before he teleports away. Rydia wonders who that was, which gets the attention of the doctor. He and Kain argue, and we learn this is Doctor Lugae, Golbez' Chief Strategist. Because the mad doctor is a tinkerer, he fights us with his robotic pet, Barnabas.

This is one of the most interesting fights in FFIV. It has three different outcomes, you see. If you kill the doctor first, Barney will self-destruct. Killing Barnabas first makes Lugae "take control" of the remains. In time, Barnabas-Z will also explode, though. Both explosions do damage based on his remaining HP. It's also possible to defeat them both at the same time. Neither of these guys are particularly strong. Barnabas is the only one of the two attacking, but he's slow and doesn't do much damage. He can inflict confusion on a character, so be wary of that. Lugae will occasionally heal his robot when he speaks of oil, but guess who's also made of lead? The heal is easily undone. I went the Barnabas-Z route, which I'm not sure I've ever seen. Sadly, he exploded on me, and Yang didn't survive...
 
This defeat infuriates the bad doctor, so he brings out his Proto-Hojo guns. He turns himself into an undead monstrosity. His opening action will be to cast Reverse Gas. This makes it so characters are damaged when they're healed and healed when they're damaged. I think this is the only time this status is in Final Fantasy until XII. Despite being dead, Yang is also affected by this and cannot be brought back with Pheonix Downs. I tried to fight him without cheese the first time and died. I didn't want to mess around in fight two, so I just used two elixirs. I know it's wasteful, but I've got other stuff to do. When else am I gonna use them? The final battle?!

Lugae dies and informs us that the crystals have already been moved. He continues by saying he's activated the super cannons that will wipe out the dwarves still fighting below. Because the party aren't monsters and appreciate our new friends' generosity in being used as meat shields, we want to save them. We get Luage's key and head down to the door I told you to skip. Inside that room are three goblin commanders who try to fight us but die in one hit. Before they perish, they rush to the cannons and activate auto-mode or something. This causes the cannons to go into overdrive and electricity sparks from them. We cannot get to them to turn them off. Yang, though, knows what he must do. He keeps trying to reach something but is unable. Eventually, he physically kicks the rest of the team out of the room and closes the door. The rest of the party calls out to him to open the doors and wonders if there's another way. Yang, though, has joined the mindset of Tellah. We hear him scream as an explosion rocks the room... The dispirited team now prepares to descend back to the Underworld with no good news.

At the bridge we entered from, we hear the voice of Golbez yell at us. He won't let us live and drops the draw bridge connecting the tower to the ground. We try our best, but we can't reach safety. Fortunately, the camera cuts to the Enterprise and its new gear flying towards the tower. Cid manages to catch the falling team just before we land in lava. How serendipitous... A glad Cid asks where Yang is, but everyone hesitates to answer before Cecil informs him of his sacrifice. Cid laments, "another good man lost," but Rydia can only weep so much as Cid notices we're being followed by a Red Wings ship. He tries to shake it, but the Wings have been upgraded since Cid last had command of them. The ship manages to get into firing range of us near the Underworld's exit. Before the Enterprise takes too much damage or overheats, Cid tells Cecil to take the helm. Cid tells everyone he'll block the exit to allow us to escape and holds up a bomb. Rosa doesn't want him to do anything, but he jumps from the ship's deck anyway. He wanted to see Cecil's and Rosa's kids someday, but he wants to keep Yang company. Our fabled enginner has no fear of death and is even excited with his irreverent quips. He mentions how he's too young to die and brags about his "once-in-a-lifetime, unaided flight" as the bomb explodes. The Enterprise leaves, and we see lava spew from the mountain range near Agart. It's even less picturesque than before. The whole party begins to mourn Cid and wishes people would stop dying around them.

Before Cid died, he told us to head to Baron and talk to his workers. If we head there, they'll attach a hook to the Enterprise that allows us to take the hovercraft with us. As we leave, they give us a nudge towards Eblan Cave. They don't believe Cid is dead and are unchanged about what we tell them. Cid's daughter is equally as unmoved. It doesn't feel like denial, but genuine belief that Cid will never die as he's far too stubborn. If we travel around the world to talk to others, Yang's Wife feels the same way towards Yang. Edward is sad, though, and I wish I had spoken to him after Tellah died. But I'll listen to  Cid's co-workers and explore the Eblan Cave...

...tomorrow.

Everyone over the age of twenty one will die in this game.

Lali-ho!

Let's start with our, attempted, daily update on Namingway. We can find him in Agart, blocking a doorway to an empty house. He's stopped being a ladies' man and is only dating one girl now. The both of them have developed a taste for pudding, but there's one, in particular, he wants us to get for them: Rainbow Pudding. Rainbow Pudding is a painfully rare drop from various flans throughout the game. Last time I played, I got one from the Yellow Jellies in the Antlin's Nest, but it took twelve hours and 900 kills (where I gained 10 levels). I don't remember exactly what I killed, though. Regardless, you can skip ahead in the story and return to Namingway's quest, which is what I'll do. I'll, probably, be back later to finish his sidequest, but don't be surprised if I don't write about him for a while.

Elsewhere in Agart, we can meet an astronomer studying the moons. One is the moon, but the other seems to have life on it. Not only that, but it's glowing red. We can gaze into this telescope to see what he means, and it kinda looks red, yeah. All of the villagers seem to believe that they're descended from dwarves. In the middle of the town is a well that is the cornerstone of the place. As we get close, use the Magma Stone Kain gave us. It'll begin to glow red and get hot. Cid asks to see it, and it begins to burn his band. In his game of hot potatrock, he accidentally drops it down the well. The earth starts to shake, and we see the mountain range to the north explode in spectacular fashion! No one in the village seems phased.

Back on the world map and Enterprise, we can sail (is sail the right word) into the hole formed by the explosion. We descend into the lava filled chasm called the Underworld. As our ship is made of wood, we can only sail over the ground. There's only one path to follow, so the game does for us. As the team explores, we see the Red Wings in the distance. Tank on the group open fire and, rather than go around or wait, Cid flies us directly into the middle of a battle. As you'd expect, the Enterprise begins to take damage from both sides. Couple that with the overwhelming heat down here, and she begins to fall from the air. Cid manages to land, but the Enterprise won't be flying anytime soon. We're hoofing it from here.

Fortunately, a castle is nearby to the south. As we approach, we see dwarven guards, who invite us in with a welcoming "Lali-ho!". They have an understanding that all people are different and won't judge us based on one. Somehow, they know of Golbez... When we reach the King, Giott, we ask him questions about the crystal and Golbez. He informs us that Golbez has two of the Underworld crystals, but the one he (Giott)) has is safe. Yang then senses someone is eavesdropping. Someone has breached the walls and is in the crystal room. Giott seems totally fine with us poking around his crystal, so they let us in. Inside are dolls: talking, dancing, and fighting dolls.
 
Round one has us against three Calcas and three Brinnas. I don't know if it's possible to finish the fight here, but after I killed two Calcas, the third exploded on me. Despite the boy dolls being dead, they all form into one mega toy, Calcabrinna! Both versions have counter attacks, so be prepared to heal.
Round two is against a single doll, but it's not easier. Cast Slow on it to lower its DPS. Its counters are going to be enough of an issue, so make their normal moves less often. All of the damage comes from physical attacks, but I'm not sure Protect was useful. CB has two status effects that odes quite often. Hold, which is just a stun, and Glance, a charm spell. Yang seemed very susceptible to this move, which never ended well for the teammate he attacked. I've read you can cast Hold on them yourself for free damage.

After the battle, the Calca will regret that they could not take the crystal for Golbez, but they've opened the way for him. And on that cue, Golbez teleports in. As a reward for surviving the last encounter, Golbez lets us try to kill him. We only have one turn, but you can't win. Before our second round of attacks starts, Golbez will use Biting Cold to paralyze the party. He will next summon Shadow Dragon. SD will use a move that causes instant death on a target. Yang, Kain, and Rosa go down, but something happens before he killed Cecil. The camera will cut to a Myst Dragon that looks like the same dragon Cecil and Kain killed long ago. Its attack kills the Shadow Dragon and does max damage to Golbez. Cecil will be cured of his status ailment, and a woman with green hair will join the party.

Rydia has come back!

She can't use White Magic, but she knows more summons now. From here, the real battle against Golbez starts. I think he only uses magic attacks, so Shells up. I revived the rest of the team and used Cecil to cast Libra. Libra allows us to see the target's weaknesses, which we need to exploit to damage Golbez. At the start of the battle, he uses Barrier Shift that changes his elemental weakness. Rydia has a full assortment of elemental damage (except water) to exploit that. I went with Summon magic, and he died in two turns. In hindsight, maybe I should have kept Yang dead for maximum EXP gains.

Golbez falls before us and is, presumed, dead. Everyone is excited to see Rydia again and wonders how she grew up so fast. Leviathan brought her to the Land of Summons, where time flows differently. She grew ~ten years old and learned more summons magic than just Chocobo. Cecil still feels remorse about what he did and wonders why she'd help us. Rydia says the Queen of Summons informed her that there are pressing matters she must attend to. Golbez managed to meet the ire of the gods, it seems. As the party leaves the crystal room, they forget the body of Golbez there. As you'd expect, he claims that death can never take him, gets up, and teleports away...with the crystal...

Giott tells everyone that there's only one more crystal left, but it's behind a powerful barrier in the Sealed Cavern, so even Golbez can't reach it. He then comes up with a good idea. Golbez has been living in the Tower of Babel. Legend has it that that tower will open the path to the moon when all eight crystals are gathered. Most likely, all of the crystals are there. If Golbez is away, perhaps we can steal back the crystals? Cid leaves the party to oversee the reconstruction of the Enterprise. Afterwards, he'll return to the surface to refit her to withstand the Underworld's temperatures. Giott lets us have free reign of the castle, which I make use of. I upgrade gear, explore the Developer's Room, and make my way to the back exit of the keep. The dwarves are sure of themselves, but they're not stupid or reckless. Walking to the tower can be an adventure as the mobs down here and powerful and frequent. As we approach our destination, we see three tanks shooting at the Tower of Babel. These are the diversions that we'll use to sneak in. But I'll do that...

...tomorrow.

The Tower of Babel is long and not fun. It was so bad that it's the only location I didn't get 100% map completion five years ago. I'm gonna do it this time, so let's hope I get something to type tomorrow that isn't just rage!

Let my life fuel the spell that ends his!

Firstly, let's talk about Namingway. He's in Troia being a playa. When we find him, he informs us that he's scheduled two dates at the same time. Cheatingway then asks us to keep the girl at the bar busy while he finishes date one. To do this, talk to the bartender. She gives us some milk, and Cecil is confused. I, too, am confused.

But we have to climb the Tower of Zot and save Rosa! It's both weirdly quick and strangely hard to get to the top of this "tower." First of all, we only need to climb five floors in this seven floor spire. Along the way, we fight a lot of things that don't like Ice. The notable exception to this rule are the dogs that absorb the element. They're the most terrifying things in here, so cool double whammy! Frostbeasts use a single move that affects the entire party with devastating results. In the tower are two items that half Ice damage, Flame Armor and Shield. Once equipped, they're a bit easier but expect characters who don't have them on to perish. Cecil could out heal the damage when he's alone, so it might be a good idea to do some grinding near the Save Point. Although the frequency of other attacks makes this terrible, now that I think about it. The various warriors, mages, and puppets make this ascend daunting. Don't worry about missing anything unless you reach the Save Point before getting all the treasures or map rewards.

Just after the Save Point, we'll meet three unique sisters. Sandy, the tall one, Cindy, the plump one, and Mindy, the small one, are the Magus Sisters! They introduce themselves as the Magus Sisters. They're not dresses as bugs as they will be in FFX. They're the elite guards of Barbariccia, the Archfiend of the Air. The time for talking is short as the battle starts fast. We can get a turn or two in to Shell up, which we should do. I had such an issue with these three back in the day, but I found them to be pushovers tonight. I didn't pay attention to who used what, but the Sisters brag about their Delta Attack move. It consists of one of them casting Reflect on Cindy, with the other one casting high level black magic on her. Sometimes this results in them casting Reflect on us to make healing hard. Rather than deal with that noise, Tellah should cast a -ga spell on Mindy. He should do the same to Sandy. Cast Dispell on Cindy and let her meet the same fate as her sisters. She's a lot tankier and will need two hits to die, though. I remember one casting Revive on a dead girl, but I either got lucky or killed them in the correct order. Return to the Save Point and rest.

On the next floor, we see Golbez and Kain waiting. After we hand off the Earth Crystal, Golbez says he doesn't know anyone named Rosa. Not wanting to complete his end of the bargain, he tries to leave. Tellah, still enraged, then tries to take his vengeance. A staged battle takes place where Golbez allows himself to be attacked. Tellah does plenty of damage with this -ga spells, but they don't seem to phase the dark lord. Out of options but full of rage, Tellah decides it's time to cast Meteor. Cecil, Yang, and Cid try to talk to the old man out of it but to no avail. Tellah is hellbent to die as long as Anna is avenged. "Let my life fuel the spell that ends his!" Meteor is used. It deals max damage to Golbez, and we see the "boss died" animation. When it returns to the cutscene, Tellah passes out. Golbez, though, is very much alive. He seems a bit weaker, but nothing to worry about. The others run up to Tellah and prepare for a battle, but Golbez can Force Push them back. As he goes to slay Cecil, he says something vague and stays his hand. He goes to leave, and Kain collapses beside him. It turns out Meteor managed to, at least, break the tie Golbez had over Kain. Golbez still exits the tower, but he's alone this time.

Tellah regrets that he never had the power to kill such a being. Everyone tries to save him but are unable to do so. Despite just meeting him, Cid seems the most furious with the other two are just sad. Cecil vows vengeance for both Tellah and Anna. The three of them go to Kain, who gets up when they wake him. He's unsure about himself, having been utterly controlled by Golbez. Cecil knows what's happened and tries to talk his friend out of his depression, but it isn't working. But that's for later; Rosa is still in trouble! In the room behind us is our White Mage tied to a thing. Just as Cecil frees her, a guillotine like device drops. Had we been even a second later, Rosa would have died painfully. Rosa and Cecil embrace, while Kain turns away, heartbroken. In the next conversation, Rosa tries to forgive Kain, but he can't forgive himself. Kain says that, while he was brainwashed, he was cognizant of everything he was doing. He was even, somewhat, in favor of doing it all. In not-so-many words, it's revealed that Kain is in love with Rosa. Despite that, she still invites him onto the team, which he accepts.

As we go the leave, we're attacked by another Archfiend. Barbariccia makes her appearance and wonders how Golbez could have lost. After she wishes Kain wasn't a traitor and being happy Meteor will never be used, she plans to kill all of us in her boss battle. I nearly died here! Barbariccia often shrouds herself in a tornado that makes her dodge all attacks. To get her out of this, Kain needs to Jump. While we wait for him to fall, Barbariccia will attack us with Stone Touch, afflicting us with gradual petrify and Tornado. Tornado reduces a character down to a single digit HP. She can also cast a teamwide thunder attack. When Kain falls, and we see gaze upon her scantly clad body from the Simpsons, she uses the same moves, minus Tornado. We can do damage to her, though. Unfortunately, she has an incredibly high dodge! Everyone will miss more than they'll hit. What's worse is she'll counter misses with the teamwide lighting attack. Don't cue up too many attacks in a row just to be on the safe side. Rosa is very fragile at the moment, so good luck keeping her alive. Play defensibly, use Shell, and always have Kain ready to jump. Rosa and Cecil had plenty of MP to heal, so just don't kill yourself by missing too many times in quick succession, and you'll probably be okay.

As with the other two Archfiends, Barbariccia leaves us a parting attempt on our lives. She causes the entire tower to collapse. To escape, Rosa hacks the game and casts Teleport on the whole party. Warp and Teleport didn't work before this, so maybe I'll just chalk this up to Meteor breaking some magic barrier. We wind up in Cecil's room in Baron. We all wonder what Golbez will do with the four crystals, but Kain informs us that there are more still around. Kain lets us in that the legends of an underworld are true, and the remaining four crystals are there. When Golbez gets all the crystals, he'll open the path to the moon. He gives the party a Magma Stone, as well. No one's sure what that means, but they spend the night there and set out...

...tomorrow!

I traveled around the rest of the world. It turns out the Mythril stuff isn't that good, but I got a few shields. Maybe I should have gotten the armor, too? I also cleaned out Eblan, which I've never done before. Having the Sleep Sword and Blood Lance this early are pretty rad, yeah? I feel strong!

Conservative Elf Hates Metal and New Age Folk

We parked the Enterprise near Troia. Troia is a location ruled by eight women protected by elite shield maidens who remark on the absurdity of their armor. If we enter their sanctum, they'll tell us that their Earth Crystal was stolen by an evil elf. The elf absconded to the northeast and hides in a cave of lodestone. Lodestone is a mineral that has a great magnetic quality about it that makes metallic weapons useless. In terms of gameplay, it grants an auto-paralysis effect on the character. Should we enter the cave, we should remove all such equipment.

But there's something else in this castle. In the left wing of it, we can find a nearly dead body of a prince. Prince Edward is resting in the infirmary. He managed to survive the Leviathan attack and washed up near here. He's glad Yang is alive, but we all wonder about Rydia's whereabouts. Edward tries to get out of bed to join us, but he's far too weak to move now. He gives us some whsiperweed as a replacement. It's only marginally worse than himself, probably.

The Lodestone Cavern is across a small canal between it and the mainland. To reach it, you need to travel north, on foot, from Troia. There will be a Chocobo's Forest that contains a Black Chocobo, another first for the franchise. Take that fella to the forest around the cavern. Inside, the team will remark about our equipment issues. Yang is fine, but make sure you've removed his accessory. Cid's only weapon is wooden, but be wary of armor. Tellah falls into the same category as Yang, and Cecil is the biggest issue. You can find armor for him, and everyone else, suitable in Troia, but his weapon list is wanting. The Iceshard sword is probably the best thing he can wield for the time being. It's terrible, but it does exploit the most common weakness of monsters we're about to fight. Worst case scenario, he's our tanky, mediocre healer!

There are four map completion rewards, but I'd advise against exploring for the time being. Everyone is fragile, and we've got a long road ahead of us. There are two places to Tent and save if you too, so that's nice. As I said, most of the mobs are weak to ice and don't have too much HP. They do have a tendency to afflict a lot of status effects. Paralysis is a common one, and Sap and Stone aren't rare, either. The treasure therein isn't vital, so if you enter the wrong room, feel free to find the correct way before opening the chests. In time, you'll come to several burning tiki torches that mark the location of the crystal room. The last Save Point is across the bridge to the right. In the room beyond these is the Earth Crystal and the Dark Elf that stole it. He'll tell us that our feeble weapons are nothing compared to his magic, and a battle breaks out.

We lose. He was correct, and our terrible gear sucks! Edward, though, will get the feeling that his friends are in trouble. Rather than ask the attendants, he gets out of the bed and stumbles over his lute. He uses the whisperweed to talk to us and begins to play a soothing melody for us. Not only does it revitalize the team, but the Dark Elf starts to panic. He hates lute music, I guess. This causes him to drop the magnetic spell affecting the cave. We can then equip our proper gear and head into round two!

Round two has him lobbing elemental spells at the whole party. Shell would be a good idea as the damage can add up, and Cecil sucks at healing. Elfy can cast a spell that turns the party into pigs, but the Ruby Ring can negate that. After he's taken enough damage/time has elapsed, we enter round three!
Round three is against the Dark Dragon. This form has all the magic of the previous and a physical attack, too. He also has a breath attack that hurts a lot. Exploit his weakness to Fire with Tellah casting Firega. Yang can also throw on the Fire Claws. In my game, DD had a weakness towards ice. The Wikia doesn't indicate he should, so maybe I misread something. He has less than 8K health, so he's not as tough as Cagnazzo, but Cid and Yang didn't survive the fight because of a last second Dark Breath. So I guess Cecil got caught back up from missing the Baigan rewards.

With the Elf dead, we walk out of the cavern. I wanted the map rewards, so I didn't use the emergency exit item in the chest to the left of the crystal room entrance. Return the black chocobo to the forest and take a yellow one down to Toria. When we speak to the Epopts, a voice echos through the chamber. It is Kain telling us what to do with the crystal. Despite it belonging to them, the Epopts grant us use of the crystal and access to their secret treasure trove. There's not much inside that trove other than misc items, elemental arrows, and 55000 Gil... Like I said, nothing much. Talk to Edward before you leave, though. Tellah will recognize that maybe Edward isn't so bad and swear revenge upon Golbez for both of their sakes. Ed will grant us the Bardsong Augment as we leave. When we return to the Enterprise, Kain's airship will meet with us. Kain will tell us to follow him to reach where Rosa is. They somehow get separated, and Cecil ends up in the Tower of Zot without his treacherous friend. Kain's voice will echo again, telling us that Rosa is at the top of the tower, but we should hurry, or something bad will happen. So we'll be climbing a tower and saving a girlfriend...

...tomorrow.

If you need to return to the world map at this point, you can, but the airship won't allow us to navigate the world. Instead, head back to the black chocobo and fly around. I went to the village of Mythril, home to pig people, mini people, and frog people. It also sells Mythril equipment, which is pretty good. It's better than what we have, although without the Holy Element, but is it better than the Sleep Sword in Eblan? Also, can we reach Eblan?

EDIT: SO we can't reach those places by chocobo. I went there on the airship before the caverns, but I didn't say so. I lied.