Tonight we climb the Tower of Mysidia. It's located in a lagoon north of its namesaked village. As we come through the horns/isthmuses of the area, a whirlpool appears before us. Leila can't do anything, and we all sink into the middle of it.
Firion, Maria, and Guy are in a strange, orange colored cave with pulsating walls. However, Leila isn't here. No one wants to guess what happened, so we all trek on. None of the mobs are scary, but there are strange pools that damage us when we walk through them. The damage is low, but there's something about lava style floors that makes me uncomfortable. A few floors away from where we dropped in is a village?! It's guarded by a man in dark armor that looks super rad. We ask him about the ultima tome, but you should show him the Crystal Rod to progress. This signifies we're real about climbing the Tower of Mysidia, and Ricard will join the party! He's a dragoon from Deist, so equip him with a spear and heavy armor. He'll mention that we were shallowed by Leviathan. So we're walking around in the bowls of a sea serpent and wading through its stomach acid... A few other people down here let us in on why, and it's because Leviathan was another defensive barrier for the tome. But how do we get out? There's a ship deeper down, but it's guarded by a worm that's easily killed. Dispose of it, and we get a replacement ship to sail north.
Or wherever you want to go again. There are two places of note: Deist and Fynn. Sailing to Deist has Ricard meet with his friend's wife and child. This is where Elene and her son, Kain, get a name. He's very famous, you know? Ric promises to get revenge on the Emperor for the whole kingdom and to train Kain when this is over. Heading to Fynn just lets us know that Leila is fine and survived. Of all the people who die in this game, I wonder why she was chosen to live? Don't get me wrong, I like Leila, but she seems the most disposable.
So it's back to the Tower of Mysidia. We use the Crystal Rod on the world map, and the seal breaks. We now have to climb a ten story tower. Many of the floors represent the natural elements, but earth is shafted for some reason. The first is fire, the second is ice, and thunder is last. Each element gets two floors, and the transition between them is blocked by a gigas of the corresponding element. Their only attack seemed to be dropping a rock on us, which did minimal damage. The ancient sword is OP, dude. The treasure is decent if you don't have them yet. Three are of especial importance. On the eighth floor is a flare tome that's guarded by Gotto's twin brother, Gotto. And on floor nine is a black robe, which is defended by a white dragon. The robe is great and all, but the dragon can drop the best heavy gauntlets in the game, the Genji Gloves. I save scummed (using hard saves) and got the gloves after a few tries. The dragon isn't tough, so why not? It only uses an ice breath attack. There's also a white robe for Maria on floor one behind a secret passage.
At the top is Minwu, waiting for us. We broke the seal, so I don't know how he got here first, but okay. He says that the final door is guarded by powerful magics, but, if he puts his entire spirit into dispelling it, he should be able to open it. We all stand back, and he launches a green Kamehameha Wave at it. The barter disperses, but when Minwu said "all of his spirit," he meant it. He falls to the floor in agony and asks us to grab the ultima tome and end this war before blinking in and out of existence and fading away. With a nod at each other, we head into the room. There are five crystals in this room, and the four on the outside will randomly raise a selected stat on one character. Clockwise from our nearest right is the crystal of fire that increases strength, earth raises spirit, water ups our intelligence, and wind buffs agility. Who gets the bonus is random, but it can be save scummed using hard saves again. Who you want to get them is up to you, but I'd suggest resetting if Ricard gets any...for...reasons... In the middle is the Ultima Tome in an orange crystal. Activate it, and a teleport pad will appear behind it.
We have the strongest magic in the world, so let's return to Fynn. I stopped by Altair first to test out this new spell and found new mobs around the village. Odd. Also, why does ultima only do 50 damage? Also, also, why can't we enter Altair? Or Galtea? Heading to Fynn town lets us know that the Empire attacked those two places, as well as Poft and Pallom. Rush up to Hilda and Gordon, and they'll let us know that the Emperor's magics have conjured a tornado that he can control, which attacked everything that opposed him. If we want to go at it, we'll need something that can take to the skies!
Remember that mirror from last night that did nothing but show us the wyvern egg? If you perform the action again, we'll see the egg has cracked, and the last wyvern will be born! It'll fly to us, connect with Ricard, and be waiting for us outside the Cyclone. Before going there, though, speak to Paul. He has some gear he's been storing for just a crazy time like this. It's nothing that great, but I'm sure I can make use of the Blood Sword later... I've also decided to equip Firion like a mage now. His physical attacks exist to inflict curse, and that's it. Rather than have him be wishy-washy, I opted to up his magic damage. It also gave him more defense, somehow? Ultima is still doing 50 damage, though...
Approach the Cyclone on the world map, and our wyvern friend will fly us up. We have to climb a seven story flying fortress, but the floors are pretty small. The treasure is mostly heavy armor, but the Defender Sword is found here, too. There are two branching paths, but the first one is the one of note. I don't remember what was down it, but it is worth doing. The second one is okay enough, but don't enter the four rooms in the corner of floor six. Go no further than the electric floor. Those paths all extend in the order you'd pass them if you were speedrunning, so don't worry about missing anything. On the otherwise of sixth floor wall is a chest worth getting. It's a wind flute! I don't know what that is, but it's guarded by a green dragon. This guy can drop diamond gloves, which are the best in slot at the moment, so I save scummed again. It's slightly harder than the white dragon, and he uses poison attacks instead of ice. It also has more HP but still dies in a few rounds. Beyond that is our big bad evil!
The Emperor thinks little of us and sicks his personnel guard on us. We first fight three royal guards, who were random fights on this climb up. After that, he attacks us with four royal guards! He finally recognizes our power and fights us himself. But not really since he brings friends. He's got two more royal guards and a wood golem. Kill the guards first, and then focus on the golem. It's a bit of a doozy trying to kill it as curse didn't proc, and it has very high defense. It's also not weak to fire as you'd think. In time, though, it'll die. The Emperor doesn't really do anything to harm us in this fight, so this is a very strange final battle.
But we win! The Cyclone...vanishes, and we all return to Fynn to celebrate. Hilda and Gordon dance, as do Firion and Maria. I have no idea where Guy or Ricard are, but Leila just, kinda, stands back. We cut a good rug until a soldier rushes in! He tells us Palameca has a new Emperor, the Dark Knight, Leon! Leon? Our long lost friend and brother has crowned himself leader of Palamecia to fill the power void we caused and is still our enemy. The celebrations end, and Hilda and Gordon ask us how we'll fight our former ally. We don't say anything, but we do nod. They ask us to see Paul because he might know a thing or two about breaking into the enemy stronghold.
Head back to his house, and we'll see Cid standing in a doorway. He's not doing well because of the Cyclone's attack, so he goes to rest. He tells us we still need to fight and LENDS us his airship. He then phases into and out of existence before fading away. Head to Paloom, where Cid was stationed, and we can pilot his airship. The entire world is accessible now, but there's nothing new, so we'll be storming the gates of Palamecia...
...tomorrow!
Minwu died so that we could do 50 damage... The strongest magic in the world that stopped the denizens from hell and needed five gates keys to defend it only does 50 damage to a random mob. Final Fantasy II is anticlimactic.
No comments:
Post a Comment