Sacred Trap

Let's finish chapter 1!

Bikanel Island is first, and we're dropped off in the middle of nowhere. Rikku, as she did before, guides us...somewhere. But even she's lost. We should still follow her because why not. After a while, Yuna accepts defeat. There's nothing around us except for an endless sea of sand... As all three girls are passed out, some Al Bhed show up on their hover carts and take us to base camp. The leader, Nhadala, isn't here, but a sandstorm has kicked them out of where they usually are. Apparently, there's another heading this way. The storm never appears (yet), but after you speak to everyone, Nhadala will finally get here. After a short conversation, she lets us go digging. We'll start in the western expanse, which is the safest. The rules for these digs are: we have sixty seconds to find treasure hidden in the sands. All digable areas are marked on our map. The goal is to get the yellow X, which is mission critical, and we can keep the rest of what we find. It's usually a small amount of money or an enemy ambush, but I got a couple of Al Bhed primers. My first dig was a failure because the stupid sexual harassment bot stops us from moving when it warns us we're low on time. If we're not back to the hover when time reaches zero, we fail because now they need to waste precious resources reviving us. It's pretty peaceful, and I did a few more digs for 100 gil each. Occasionally, something strange attacks us, and we're forced to fight a boss named Angra Maniyu. We can't win, but we'll see this unique monster in chapter five. Do steal from it before fleeing, though.

Mt. Gagazet is next, and the only reason to be here is to speak to the ronso. We see Kimarhi first, and he's having some troubles. Two ronso pups, Lian and Aide, have gone missing. Half of the clan is worried about the kids, and the other half wants to destroy the guado. We now half to speak to the few we can and get them on our side. Our actions here will set Spira on a path down the road. There are numerous guides out there for the best strategy to do this, and I'd suggest you look into them. It's a lot quicker than the PR and Marriage campaigns. A lot more important, too. And don't forget the random guy standing guard in the dungeon portion.

If you want to walk to Zanarkand, you'll pass by familiar sights. The water portions where only Tidus, Wakka, and Rikku could go are gone. The fayth disappearing took the water with them, and now there's no reason to go down there. The fish mobs are now fought in Macalania, somehow... There's also a new climbing portion, but the game couldn't let me climb. It's a scene for later, I guess.

But, eventually, as it was two years ago, we'll step into Zanarkand. It's not perpetually twilight anymore, as the sun has gone down. But that's not the only change. The Sacred Sight of Zanarkand has been invaded by shoobies, tourists from around Spira. Yuna is disgusted. One of the tour guides makes us climb up to where Tidus said, "listen to my story." Doing so re-introduces us to Issaru, a tour guide working for Cid now. Rikku has no idea her dad is doing this. Yuna is upset because she didn't want anyone else to stand there. Issaru wishes us well, and we can make our way to the dome. We see three children claiming to be sphere hunters and chase after them. Along the way, we notice (and fight) Leblanc goons. When we reach the kids, we recognize Pacce, Issaru's youngest brother. He and his Kinderguardians have a clue about a special treasure. "Key." After we see them off, we overhear a Leblanc goon thinking the password was "mon," Yuna says something stupid, but Rikku thinks the password is "Monkey"! Until we reach the fayth, we get ambushed by more goons. Monkeys have also invaded the ruins, and one seems to be madly in love. It's a thread we'll look into later, but we need to see where "we cast off our faith" first. Just before that, though, is Cid. Yuna tells him she's outraged, and he walks off. Rikku compares what he's doing to Zanarkandas to turning the ruins of Home into an amusement park, which got him thinking.

The Chamber of the Fayth is empty, and we can open some treasure. Beyond the stairs is where Yunaleska was killed. As Yuna approaches the gaping hole, an evil laugh comes through. It asks us for the password. Answering correctly makes the voice quiver. Did he not expect anyone to get this far? In response, he asks us about the meaning of life. Some of the answers seem like they could be funny ("To marry a hypello), but I recognized the voice as Issaru. He gives up the play and admits that he's just trying to make some drama for the tourists. Issaru's journey ended in Bevelle, when Yuna beat him in Via Purifico, so he never made it here. But he's gotta do what he's gotta do and turns back on the shtick. He leaves us to our devices, and the group thinks about quitting. But Paine remembers there's a sphere here.

Head down the stairs in the back, and we'll reach a new dungeon. It's short, and there's a boss at the end. I don't remember the name, but it's the same guy we killed atop Gagazet two years ago, minus the pomp and circumstance. What it was guarding was...a broken sphere?

Back on the Celcius, Buddy and Brother are speaking Al Bhed. Rikku tells us they found something "awesome," an Awesome Sphere! It's been discovered in Killika, so we head there with no opportunity to do anything else. Beyond the gate we couldn't get through before is a group from the Youth League. Mayven Nooj is before them, telling everyone that New Yevon has a sphere pivotal to learning Spira's history. If NY won't share it, YL will just have to take it! The two groups are seen arguing in the forest where we once fought Ochu. This means we can't use the main path, but the obvious side branches are wide open. We can't head straight to the temple yet, so take a detour to the north dead end. We can overhear the guards talking about their password system. If an odd number of guards is there, the password is Coward Monkey. If it's even, Craven Monkey. We can now get to the temple. We can fight our way through, but we get some items and a grid if we do it stealthily. Odd, Even, Odd, Even, Odd, Odd

Dona has gotten here before us, and she's asking about the Awesome Sphere. The New Yevon rep is feigning ignorance, but another YL member comes down the stairs with the sphere. Just as he does, New Yevon shows its trump card. For a group that once shunned machina, they're now using it against us. It's the same golem guy the guado used against us at the Calm Lands. Because of all the walking I did, it poses no threat to us. But I did break its armor and power. The Gullwings will win, and the other groups will be stunned. In the confusion, partially caused by Yuna's awkwardness, Paine takes the sphere, and we all return to the airship. And, with that, we end chapter one! We'll do all of that again...

...tomorrow!

I really hate what they did to Zanarkand. But we're supposed to, so it's great. I don't hate the devs for doing what they did, no. I hate that that's what would happen. Once the threat of Sin is gone, of course, people would flock to Zanarkand and pay big bucks to do so. It happened to the 9/11 ground zero site. Mecca is a tourist trap, as is everything in Jerusalem. Nothing is sacred on Earth or Spira.