The Edge is a very short dungeon, and I wholly appreciate that. It's about seven small screens with one clear path with just enough extra walkways to keep it feeling fresh. We've gone through two dozen dungeons, three-and-a-half planets, eleven characters, and a thirteen hour journey in a 16-bit game released in 1993! We don't need a grand journey that takes four hours and is filled with plot twists and new mechanics. Gotta love it!
The party reaches the bottom of The Edge and senses a disturbance coming through a deep, black dimensional gate. But it's weak and can be dealt with now before hell breaks loose. The Profound Darkness is a being that doesn't have much personality, so we get straight into the final battle!
It's a three part tale that more than makes up for the short dungeon length. The bang is here, not back there. Admittedly, neither of the forms have a lot of differences. Part one is pretty simple. Buff up and do damage. The first time I fought this guy, I went all out. As you should suspect from the "first," that was a minor mistake. By the time I finished getting strong, I had won round one.
I don't know if stage swamps remove buffs, but I reapplied the basic ones anyway (Barret and Saner). I've read they stack, so it's worth doing. From here, I went all out. I tried to use Grand Cross (Crossout and Effress), but it didn't combine very often. I really don't understand how Magic Combos work. Raja got to use St. Fire a few times, which is even more reason why he should be your fifth character. We started to run low on MP around now, so Raja can use Atraxia to bring it back. I don't know if it's a threshold thing, but at one point, PD jumped the line and hit us with AnotherGate. I was low on HP, so that's how I died the first time I did this battle. It taught me to go all out in stage two and not to be afraid to have Rika heal. She's a lot faster than ol' Raja, and her NaSar is pretty good, even if her mental stat is low. Maybe it makes the battle longer, but we're not going to die. Outside of that one random attack, this went smooth, too.
The third and final stage is a FFIII, Cloud of Darkness, type of woman. Did devs have a thing for naked women in the early '90s... ... ... Don't answer that. Things can get action packed here, but nothing feels cheap. She can attack the whole party with a few moves, all of which require a full heal. Whether it's Rika, Raja, or an item, use someone fast to heal. PD can also strike someone with a massive physical attack, which will probably kill Rune or Raja. I think this is why a lot of guides suggest equipping them with two Silver Shields. My favorite move of hers is when she puts someone to sleep. It only worked on Rune, but he woke up without missing a turn. It gave us a free round to go all out, so I'm a big fan of stupid boss moves. Another move I'm iffy on is her ability to remove buffs from us. I still re-upped my defense and speed, but I guess any move that doesn't do damage is rad. Profound Darkness will push your character's defense, speed, and marathon skills to their limits. But with Raja and level 40 characters, you should be fine.
After aeons of imprisonment, the great evil is dead, but she has one more trick left. Wren called it a Time Warp, and it tries to suck us into whatever is on the otherside. We can't fight against it, but the spirits of all other heros combined can. The sword, Elsydeon, begins to glow and forms a bubble around the party. Rika calls it pretty, but it looked pretty pixelated to me. It's 1993, so it was...
We appear safe and sound on the plains of Motavia with everyone together. It seems some time has passed as we're already saying our goodbyes. Wren plans to take Raja and Krya back to Dezolis, and Demi wants to live on Kuran with him. He's taking the Landale, so this means we'll never see our alien friends again. But someone important isn't here. Rika plans to leave the planet and has already made her way to the ship. I don't know why, but, regardless, she's not good with farewells. Once everyone has said their piece and loaded into the Landale, we see the ship lift off and fly away. Wren warns Rika that her future will be challenging but is entirely up to her.
The Motavians say their goodbyes to Chaz. Hahn will return to the Academy. He hates a lot of the people there, but he'll make do. Gryz goes back to Tonoe to be with his sister. This leaves just Rune and Chaz, the two rivals, together. It's not as awkward as you'd think as Rune gets to business. Despite just beating Satan, he doesn't believe he's strong enough. He plans to gain experience to make the next Lutz even better. I was wondering why he didn't return to the Esper Mansion, but who am I to second guess an immortal wizard? He says his goodbyes and ends with a promise that they'll never see each other again.
Chaz is now alone, but he isn't for long. As Rune walks away, the Landale returns into view. It's pretty low, and a door is open. It's Rika! She and Chaz call out to each other before she jumps out of the ship and into Chaz' arms. How romantic!
"Narration" plays over the final scenes of our characters, talking about all the people who've died in the last several thousand years. It promises that they'll never forget their sacrifices, but it's time to enter into a new age; One freed from the eternal curse.
Hahn is teaching somewhere.
Gryz and his sister are playing with a butterfly.
Raja is drinking with his friends.
Krya is just somewhere, probably the Esper Mansion.
Demi is happily spending time with "Master" Wren.
Rune is out and about in a setting sun.
Rika and Chaz are wearing casual clothes, simply spending time together.
The credits roll as the camera pans...downward, I guess...showing us the final images of the planets in space. When it's all over, we're in the town with the statue of Alis and her cat. Alis was the first hero in this franchise, so her story is finally over.
Fin.
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