A Tale of Two Scripts: Let's play FF3 US & FF6 RPGOne!

Oh buck up, Captain Optimism.



Celes catches a fair-quality fish for Cid next.



Cid's getting morbid on us. THIS CALLS FOR ANOTHER FISH!



Er, I'm sure it'll be fine...



He's getting worse! MORE FISH!



Oh this one is much better! That should help a ton!



He actually improved a bit! Bring on the fishies!



Oh, WHAT? I totally gave him a good fish! Er, and a rotting one. Hmm...



Goodbye? What, you going somewhere? Here, let me get you a departing gift of fish!



No fish left... Oh well, guess it could be worse. Maybe he'll take a nice pet seagull as a going-away present.

...Wait a minute, this is a deserted island and we have no means to get off.

...OH CRAP, CID'S...!



Open your eyes, man!

*Celes goes to the foot of the bed*
Celes "Grandfather. You need to eat, or you'll... What's wrong? Grandf...?"
*Celes walks back up to Cid's side, then blinks after a moment*
Celes "Cid......"



♪♪ Celes' Theme ♪♪

Celes, you... No, you didn't...

Celes "It can't be true... It can't be! We made a promise that we'd keep living for one another......"
*Celes walks back to the foot of the bed and shoves Cid's corpse about a bit*
Celes "Grandfather, answer me! Tell me this is a joke!!"



Oh snap. Cid is dead. And it's all Celes' fault.



I know where this is going, and it's nowhere good.

One died quickly, another went mad and killed himself, another died of sorrow, one drowned himself, and the last one jumped off the cliff at the North Cape."



Are they really going to...?



No way...



Holy. Crap. Celes just jumped off a cliff to kill herself. That is DARK.

...Hmm? What's that? Ted Woolsey made this powerful moment into a "leap of faith" that made it sound like jumping off the cliff perks people right up? Oh. Well, um... I think we can blame Nintendo's censorship policies on that one, actually... And rather ironically, as said censorship led to promotion of suicide as a way to perk oneself up, to boot! Hooray for backfiring intentions!



And she washed ashore coincidentally to the exact same beach she failed to catch any decent fish at. Huh.



Er, no. Seagulls do not protect humans. They're a bit too small for that. Also, dig the scarf, bird. Wait, birds don't wear scarves!

Why would you waste your effort on me, somebody who's lost all hope...?"
*Celes pops a ? over her head*
♪♪ Forever Rachel ♪♪
*Celes walks around to the rear of the bird*
Celes "This bandanna is...? It can't be..."
Celes "Where did you get this? Is the person who treated your wounds still alive? No, I know the answer..."
*The seagull flies off*



If you say so.



Cid left Celes a letter! Not sure how she missed that before...

Beside the stove is a stairway leading below. My final gift to you is waiting there.
Grandfather"



Sure enough, Cid made Celes a raft!



It's all a bit bittersweet, really...



Celes finally makes landfall eventually near a town. But man, why did Cid have to die? If only we had more time...

Time! What am I thinking, we have a time machine! To the DeSavestateorean!



♪♪ 88 MILES PER HOUR!! ♪♪

Ha! It WORKED! According to my calculations, we've arrived at precisely the moment when Celes went to catch her first fish! And now we can discuss what she did wrong before and change the past in the process.

You see, feeding Cid is a tricky business. Cid has a health count for this event, which goes up by a bit for every great and good fish you give him, but goes DOWN for every fair or rotting fish you give him (technically fair fish do nothing, but we'll explain that in a moment). Meaning you're actually better off not bringing him anything when there's only slow-moving fish in the sea.



Every time you talk to Cid after leaving the house and returning, his health counter goes down by 1, and is supplemented by whatever fish you bring him. This also generates new fish in the sea to catch (or potentially generates no fish; either way, you have to talk to Cid to get more to appear). Cid is secretly Poseidon, you see.



If you're insanely lucky (as I oddly enough was), you can sometimes catch both a great and a good fish at the same time.



It takes a lot of fish to get his health up. Generally speaking, you can expect to make anywhere from as few as 7 to as many as 25 trips, depending on your luck. It's always a good idea to save before you start this out on the world map, because if you get a bum series of randomizer rolls, Cid's doomed.



Cid's healing quotes can potentially freak you out and make you think that you're doing something wrong, but rest assured, you're not.



SUCCESS! We've done it, MartyCeles! We've changed history! The Ripple Effect guarantees that Cid will never have died at all!



Cid "Celes. The result of my many restless nights here is below. Go check it out."

We already know what's down there, but okay.



Cid "Celes. You need to see what's left of the world. Your friends have to still be alive, somewhere out there."
Celes "I know. I'll go, then. But I will come back here, some day. I'll bring everybody with me."
Cid "And Lock, too......"



♪♪ The Day After ♪♪

Let's get this bad boy out on the water!



So long and thanks for all the fish, Cid!



And we've come full circle! The time loop is closed and the corrupted 1985 non-specified era never existed! Tune in next time as Celes seeks her fortunes in the nearby towns and begins searching for friends.

I always considered saving Cid to be an Easter egg, since it's so random and tedious, and him dying and Celes' "leap of faith" being how it really happened. It's just better that way.

I saved him first go. (Again, I think I can blame my brother.)

Last week, the world ended. Oh, and Kefka gained the powers of the goddesses and killed Gestahl, and most of the audience let Shadow die.


Oh look, a little house you can just make out through the jpg artifacts, there next to the patch of sand.


After entering, Cid checks on Celes, stokes the stove, checks her again, then sits down at his desk.


[CID rushes over to CELES.]
CID: You’re finally awake!
Celes: I...feel like I’ve been sleeping for ever...
CID: For one year, actually... I thought you were out for good.
Celes: A whole year... You’ve watched over me the whole time?
CID [stepping away]: Yes, and I’m about out of energy. We’re on a tiny, deserted island. After the world crumbled, I awoke to find us here together with... ...a few strangers.
Celes: The world...! So, it wasn’t just a dream. Where are my friends? Where’s Locke...?
CID: I don’t know. I only know we’re here... Maybe we’re the only people left alive...


CID: The few others who washed up here with us passed away of boredom and despair.
Celes [hanging her head]: My friends... they’re probably all gone...
CID: Celes... you’re the closest thing to family that I have...we could just live out our lives here peacefully...


CID: Gramps, eh? I’m overwhelmed! All of a sudden I have a granddaughter! Cough... Wheeze...
Celes: My long-lost Granddad...
CID: Ha, ha...hack...cough!
Celes: Hey, are you hungry?
CID: I...haven’t eaten in 3 or so days, ever since I became ill.
Celes: What would you like?
CID: Well, unless I ask for fish, I won’t get anything! That’s all there is here!
Celes: I’ll go catch some.
[CID allows CELES to put him to bed.]


Just outside of Cid’s house, we find a beach with water so clear we can see the fish swimming around our ankles. We catch a couple of fish with our bare hands and take them back.


CID: I...I’m not long for this cruel new world... Cough...wheeze... I can’t bear this any longer... Hackack!! I feel a little better! Celes, thanks for all you’ve done for me! My dear, I... feel I’m not going to be around much longer... I feel much better! Thanks, Celes!


[CID walks to the wall between the desk and stove.]
Celes: What’s up?
CID: Celes...the project that kept me going over the past year is down below. Go have a look at it!


[CID follows her down the stairs.]
Celes: Granddad.
CID: Celes... You must leave this place. You have to find your friends!
Celes: I know... But I’ll bring’em all back to meet you!
CID: That Locke fellow, too, no doubt...
[CELES drags the raft out of the basement workshop.]

Not shown: untold dozens of trips to the beach to catch fish. The game seemed determined to kill Cid this time but dammit, I’m not going to live with a dead man in a hot dog suit on my conscience.

As for monsters on the Solitary Island, they’re specifically designed not to challenge you. Both Peepers and Earthguards have only a single HP and start with Sap, ensuring they won’t live past their first attack. Later on you can return with other characters to steal Elixirs and Megalixirs from them or learn their Lores, but for now you can ignore them. Black Drgns can spawn in the desert here and are definitely a match and more for a lone Celes especially if they Zombify her.

And that’s pretty much it. Oh, there is this encounter on the mainland:


Hope you remembered to equip Celes, since she wakes up in the World of Ruin completely free of equipment. With a Morningstar on Celes and her in the back row with her best armor, she can hit tolerably hard without needing to fear reprisals too much. She takes down the Gigan Toad in one hit and the Osprey presents little more trouble. (Of course, they’d be a good bit more trouble if I didn’t have perma-Haste from Running Shoes.)


Of course, the Chitonid Sneezes and blows Celes out of battle after one hit, ensuring she won’t see a single XP or GP.


Fortunately it blew us over to the nearby city. Let’s give Celes a week to catch her breath and prepare to talk to the first non-Cid survivors of the apocalypse she’s found.

...when is the final episode of the Telltale Games BttF game supposed to be out?! MAN.

This was the first thing I thought of. I'm sorry.

You're nothing, you're just a little chick. CHEEEP-cheepcheepcheepcheep-CHEEEEEEEEP!

Heh. I wonder what you call it when you make an accidental reference to something you weren't even aware of peripherally when you made it? I'm guessing "an incredible coincidence".

So you're saying that you weren't referencing Tommy Wiseau's masterpiece?

Well played, sir.

(Yeah, I first heard of The Room when NC made his review of it. Any similarities between the two, hilarious, horrible, or hilorrible, is entirely coincidental.)

Last week Celes woke up from a year of unconsciousness to discover that everyone but her and Cid were dead. After wading through the breakers for hours to find enough food to make sure the population wasn’t halved immediately after she got out of bed, Celes took a raft across the ocean looking for other survivors.


Oh look, survivors. I always thought it was a nice touch that the “ruffian” sprite was used far more often in the World of Ruin, when everyone’s nice and maimed by the Apocalypse. Eyepatches – not just for criminals anymore!

Not even the end of the world can purge town NPC chatter!
Fellow: Did you see that tower...?
Eyepatch: Kefka’s up there, ‘n he’s using the power of the Statues... He’s like a god...
Overalls: How can ya make a GP in a world like this?
Scholar: On THAT day, debris from all over the world floated eerily to the center of this land mass, and formed that tower...
Man: I saw Doom Gaze soaring through the sky! I’d rather take an acid bath than fight that thing!
Academic: I found this in a 1000 year-old text: 8 dragons seal away this awesome beast. Its name is Crusader... Defeat these dragons, and its power can be released...
Scoundrel: Anyone who opposes Kefka gets his or her town fried by the “Light of Judgment.”
Survivor: Everything changed on that day...
Sage: When the world was ripped apart, many long-sealed monsters were released... Phunbaba...Doom gaze... And the 8 Dragons...
Painter: I finished the Emperor’s portrait. It was a true representation of the Emperor... but he hated it. I ended selling it to Owzer, a rich man who lives in Jidoor.
Old Man: You...the sparkle in your eye... You’re the spittin’ image of a man who came through here recently.
Blonde: Uh? You again...? Oh, sorry. You look just like a man who was here searching for his friends... He said he was going north, to Tzen.
Considering Celes looks nothing like Sabin, I have no idea how this mistake is made. Ditzy blonde, I guess.


“...and realize it’ll never be the same again...”
The real point of Albrook is to let you rest after your introduction to the World of Ruin (there’s a good chance you’d miss the fact you’re naked at the start and go through at least one fight with no equipment, if nothing else) and give you a chance to pick up new armor and any elemental swords you might have missed. Be careful, though, and keep in mind that the game’s idea of an equipment upgrade is decided only by Bat. Pwr for weapons and Defense for armor.


Final dungeon time! ...Except that we can’t actually get there without an airship. You can’t actually enter except from above, no matter how you try. Notice the hypnotic spiral in the land leading into it.


Oh, and there’s these guys. They can either use Escape to run away from you or T.Lash to give you Sap. They aren’t a huge threat either way.


North from Albrook, past Kefka’s tower, we find the small city of Tzen. Nothing exciting ever happens here.


Man: Must have irritated Kefka...
Old Man: We resisted Kefka, so he unleashed his Light of Judgment on us!
Woman: My child’s inside! Do something!


Try to visit the inn to heal up before checking out the cause of all this commotion and you’ll get a free heal.


Sabin: Hey! Celes!
Celes: Let’s head in!
Sabin: Wait!! If I move... The whole house’ll collapse. First... save the child that’s in there... I can’t hold this up forever, so... Get out on the hum...urgh...

Timed dungeon time, and Celes is all alone. That means it’s easy, right?


Well, Pm Stalkers start off with inherent Sap sucking down their life, and while HermitCrabs can hit kind of hard a single multitarget Ice2 spell will wipe out any encounter down here. Easy peasy.


Oh, except the HermitCrabs can Petrify you when they die. I reload and slap a Ribbon on Celes like I should have done in the first place and head back into the breach. (HermitCrabs can also give you the Stop status, but only on their third action. If you’re letting these battles go that long, you probably won’t get through this dungeon in the time limit.)


Between giving you Condemned status (which isn’t blocked by Ribbons, as you can see) and not having any decent way to kill them quickly, the best thing to do with Scorpions is to run away. The encounter rate is already punishing enough if you’re trying to get all the loot from this house and rescue the kid in six minutes.


Both of these traps are foursomes of Pm Stalkers that are easy enough to take out but don’t give you anything; skip them if you can remember to do so. The other chests yield up Heal and Pearl Rods, Tincture, Hyper Wrist, Drainer, and a Magicite. This is the only place to get Drainer without stealing it from a monster, but otherwise the haul is pretty forgettable.


Yep, now that we’ve got the kid and about eighty seconds on the clock, this’ll be easy.


Uh-oh. Guess we won’t be pulling a Shadow here. On our way out all the fights are back attacks, but constant running gets us out just before we run out of time or HP.


Celes [runs down the steps to SABIN]: Sabin! You’re alive!
Sabin [laughs]: But of course! You think a minor thing like the end of the world was gonna do me in?
Celes [looks down]: I thought everyone was gone... I had given up all hope... But... fortunately, I was wrong! Now I know they’re all alive! We need to find everyone! Then...
Sabin: I know, I know... We smash Kefka, and deliver peace unto the world...

With the laser done and gone and the collapsed building safely containing the random encounters (why were they there anyway?), we can finally get some town chat going on.


The Child: Heeeeee... I’ve never been more frightened!
Townsman: Many monsters nowadays attack with “Zombie”, “Petrify” and the like. Have you equipped suitable Relics?
Old Lady: The “Serpent Trench used to be deep under water. Now it’s above sea level. Some “Cult of Kefka” members have built a tower there...
Scoundrel: The world’s going to heck in a hand basket...just look at this weird stone! If you want it, just give me 10 GP.
Received the Magicite “Sraphim.” (Yup, you can save a decent little chunk of change if you wait until this guy’s really desperate to eat to buy the Esper off him.)
Scoundrel: Got any juicy gossip?!
Fellow: Anyone who opposes Kefka is doomed. He uses his “Light of Judgment” from high atop his tower to burn whole towns.
Elder: To the east you’ll find the “Serpent Trench.” Further east you’ll find the village of Mobliz. Boy, the Light of Judgment really fried that town...
Old Man: I saw it! Kefka used a light beam to burn the village of Mobliz, to the east. Most of the adults there perished trying to save their children...
Floozy: Head north on the Serpent Trench and you’ll reach Nikeah. Ships still sail from there.
Overalls: I was on lookout duty for Kefka... But I lost my nerve...
I don’t know what good a lookout does against a magic laser beam anyway, but shame on you, I guess? Anyway, Celes and Sabin have now teamed up again. With no clues as to where anyone else might be, our first priority is transportation. To Nikeah!


With Sabin in tow, the enemies here are largely jokes. Bloompires have crazy high defenses and can Zombify you, but very low HP – a single Fire Dance will wipe out all of them in the party and defense-ignoring attacks like Atma Weapon will yield OHKOs. Lizards occasionally will turn a character into an Imp but aren’t any real threat; their Rage’s special is Break, which is precisely as useful as you’d expect a randomly targeted free Petrify spell to be. The Black Drgn shown above did survive an AuraBolt to the face despite its weakness to Pearl, but was immediately finished off by its own inherent Sap status.

The other two enemies you’ll encounter in this area are even bigger pushovers than the above. Delta Bugs die in droves to any magic attack like Fire Dance, and Buffalaxes are notable only for the fact that they can use Sunbath on enemies to heal them and that its Rage uses Slow2.


Along the way north to Nikeah, we pass this tower walled in by mountains. We can’t get close now, but soon - well, soon-ish - we’ll find its secrets.


Let’s talk to everyone here, see if anyone has a line on a ship we can borrow or some such.
Old Woman: I’m hiding away from Kefka.
Red Vest: After the end of the world, I awoke all alone in Doma Castle. When I would try to sleep there, demons would come for me... Oh! I don’t want to remember that!
Townsman: The ship to South Figaro’s about to leave.
Little Boy: The road you followed here used to be under water.
Woman in the Red Dress: While traveling under the desert, Figaro Castle hit an obstacle and came to a halt.
Woman in the Blue Dress: The thieves are hanging out at the coffee shop. They all escape from Figaro Castle.
Ooh, that sounds promising. First, a little shopping. The equipment available here offers the first impressive boost we’ve found in the World of Ruin.


Ah yeah, those are what I call upgrades.


Pacing Rogue: The boss wants to sneak into Figaro Castle. He wants to get our booty back from the storage room there.
Scoundrel at the Bar: Our last boss perished that day. We met up with Gerad in this town.
Lazing Ruffian: We’ll enter da castle through a secret cave dat only we knows about!
Roving Ne’er-do-well: From out of nowhere a bunch of huge sandworms burrowed into the prison! We followed their tunnels back to the surface and escaped.
[The LAZING RUFFIAN jumps up on his table.]
“All right, let’s go!”
[The THIEVES pace out after him.]
Bartender: I understand they escaped from Figaro Castle’s prison.
Barmaid: I’ve been chatting with the boss of this gang, Gerad. He’s kinda handsome!


Crimson Robber: What’re you doin’? Get away!
Alright, so the thieving hoi-polloi won’t let us hitch a ride with them. Let’s go look for their leader in town.


Celes: Y... you’re Edgar, aren’t you?!
[GERAD pushes us out of the way to inspect the wares sold by the LITTLE KID MERCHANT.]
Celes: Edgar?
GERAD: Enough of this nonsense! I have things to do.
[GERAD heads towards the port, but CELES stops him.]
GERAD: I’ll be busy getting ready for our departure to Figaro.
Celes: Don’t play possum with me! Edgar? Or have you somehow lost your memory?
GERAD: Listen, my lady, I’ve been “Gerad” all my life! [He walks away.]
Celes: Only Edgar would say, “my lady.”


GERAD [wagging his finger at CELES]: What’s all the bloomin’ fuss about? The words, “my lady” are used the world over!
[GERAD leaves for the port. The PARTY follows behind.]


HENCHMAN: G’ho ho, do we ever!
GERAD: Yeah, You lead the way since it’s buried.


Celes and Sabin stow away on the ship. It’s about a week’s boring travel from Nikeah to South Figaro, so we’ll pick up again once we’ve arrived.

Part XXIII - Wandering the Wastes

Last time Celes let Cid die, then violated temporal mechanics to save his life. I'm sure that won't come back to haunt us later or anything. Anyway, she's washed ashore near a town, so it's time to get into action.

Central Continent
Enemies: Fafnir, Killer Mantis, Lunar Dog, Gigan Toad, Murussu, Rukh

(I'm not sure what "Murussu" is supposed to be, but to be fair, I don't think anyone at Square is either since it's called that in FFX too.)



♪♪ The Day After ♪♪

Oh hey, it's Alburg! ...Oh no, it's talking time.

Walking Around
Man "That tower is one hell of a sight..."
Rogue "Kefka has locked himself in his tower with the power of the Three Gods of Battle... He's a living god now..."
Scholar "The day that the world was torn asunder... All of the debris from the world was sucked into the center of this continent. The debris formed a tower."
Merchant "Look what's become of the world... Making money now is all but impossible."
Old Man "I saw Death Gaze soaring through the air! You could probably encounter it, if you had an airship......"
Scholar "I recently discovered tihs phrase in an ancient 1,000-year-old document... 'This, the ultimate power, has been sealed into the 8 dragon lords. Its name is Jihad... Should the 8 dragon lords be defeated, the seal upon it will be released...'"
Woman "Hmm? You... Oh, I'm sorry. You just remind me somehow of a Monk who came by here a while back, looking for someone... I seem to recall that he said he was going north to Tsen, and left town."
Old Man "When the world was shredded, many of the monsters of yore were revived from their slumbers. Death Gaze, Hunbaba... And the Eight Legendary Dragons......"
Rogue "The world has been ripped to shreds... There's nothing left to live for..."
Rogue "Kefka burns any town that opposed him with the 'Light of Judgment'... Resistance is futile..."
Old Man "Say, that sparke in your eye... A Monk came to this town recently, and he had the same sort of sparkle..."

In the Pub
Bartender "Things were so much happier before the world was shredded..."
*Sepia-toned flashback to the Imperial-infested version of the pub*
Bartender "The same life never comes twice."

In the Armor Shop
Old Man "I completed my painting of the Emperor... It was truly a magnificent picture of Emperor Ghastra. Unfortunately, he disappeared before I could present it to him. Seeing as I had no use for it, I sold it to a rich man named Owzer, who lives in Jidoor."

So, to sum up: the world's gone to hell, super-monsters roam the world, Kefka is a total bitch, and basically we're in the midst of the Ragnarokr. Lovely.



♪♪ The Dark World ♪♪

There's Kefka's trash-tower. It's pretty huge, all right.



♪♪ The Day After ♪♪

Oh not MORE talking time...

Old Woman "The valley called the Serpent Trench' is no longer submerged below the sea... Now it's at sea level... A group of Kefka fanatics have built a tower there, and spend all day there..."



Whoa nelly! Talking Time has been interrupted!



♪♪ The Unforgiven ♪♪

Aaaand talking time resumes. DAMN IT!

Old Woman "Hurry up, that house is going to collapse any minute!"
Old Man "We opposed Kefka, so he used the 'Light of Judgment' on that house."
Merchant "There are monsters in the house! They've been petrifying everybody that goes in... We need accessories...!!"
Woman "My son is in there! I beg of you. Please help him!"

As the merchant unsubtly lampshaded there, we'll be wanting defense against petrification for this little rescue mission... Fortunately Celes has a Ribbon.



Oh hey, muscle-brain's here.

Matias "Urgh...... Celes!"
Celes "Let's help out!"
Matias "Wait!"
Matias "If I move... This entire house will collapse. First... Save the boy who's still inside the house... I can't hold this thing up forever, so... Would you mind hurrying...? Kh...!"

Right-o!



Collapsing House
Enemies: Scorpion, Zokker, Night Walker

We have 6 minutes, roughly, to save this kid. Should be a snap!



Or rather, WOULD be a snap if this place didn't have encounters up the ASS!



And there's loot all over the house too. This will be annoying, methinks...



You're all right now. Come on!"

We're running hella short on time! Hurry, Celes!



Live on for me..."

♪♪ Rest in Peace ~ Game Over ♪♪

Oh goddamn it, Celes.



Actually, that didn't happen. But it could've if I hadn't run from every fight!



The house finally collapses!



And how!

*Matias gets up and laughs*
Matias "Naturally! Even should I fall into the deepest crevasse, I'll always have the strength to climb back out!"
♪♪ Edgar and Matias' Theme ♪♪
*Matias gets pumped and Celes looks down*
Celes "I was so sure that everybody was dead... I had given up all hope... But now... Now I know I was wrong. There may be other still alive! We'll look for everybody... And..."
*Matias nods*
Matias "Yep. We'll bring Kefka down, and return peace to the entire world!"
*Celes looks up and nods*

Woo, our party has doubled in size!



♪♪ The Day After ♪♪

Of course, there's not much left of it, after what the 'Light of Judgment' did to it..."

Agh, MORE TALKING TIME...

Woman "You're the one who saved my son's life...! Thank you very much for your help."
Boy "Eeek... I was so frightened..."
Man "There are many monsters nowadays who use attacks such as 'Zombie' and 'Petrify'... It can be dangerous to fight without propper accessories equipped."
Man "All who oppose Kefka have been killed... He burns their town down with the 'Light of Judgment' from that tower of his..."
Old Man "I saw it myself. The entire village of Mobriz, far to the east, was burned to the ground with the 'Light of Judgment' by Kefka... All of the adults died protecting the children..."
Dancer "If you travel north along the 'Serpent Trench', you'll reach the town of Nikea. Apparently ships still sail from there..."
Merchant "I was acting as a lookout for Kefka... But I got scared..."

ARE WE DONE YET? Thank GOODNESS. Let's get out of here before someone ELSE decides to talktalktalktalkSHUTUPtalktalk.

♪♪ The Dark World ♪♪

Serpent Trench
Enemies: Vampire Thorn, Dual Horn, Lizard, Delta Beetle, Black Dragon

It's good to see that civil engineering projects are still underway in light of the complete devestation of the entire world.



I hate Vampire Thorns...



Well, there's Mobliz...



The local guard dogs spot us, and some kid runs out to see what's up. Then he runs back inside. Make up your damn mind, kid!



Inside the ex-post office, that same kid tries to keep us from entering.



Oho, someone comes to our defense!



It's our first party member ever!

*The kid walks up to Tina*
"Mama! Are these people mama's friends?"
*Tina nods*
*Tina and the other two walk up to each other*
Tina "Everybody... You're alive. I've been meaning to search you out!"
"Tina! Let's go together! The world's going to be totally destroyed if we don't stop Kefka..."
Tina "Yes......"
*Tina looks down, then walks back into her room*

What ever could be the matter, I wonder?



Who cares, we've got MORE talking time! Oh hooray.

Boy "Dean and Catalina are the oldest kids here. Tina treats all of us like equals, though!"
Girl "Tina takes care of everybody around here, so we all just call her mama."
Boy "I saw Dean and Catalina kissing each other!"
Girl "The injured soldier who was in this village also died......"
Girl "Tina, mama... You're not gonna take her, are you...?"
Boy "If Tina is gonna return, we'll be happy!"
Girl "The light took everybody... Everybody... ... Father, mother..."
Dean "This region is ours. We decide how things are done around here."
Catalina "Everybody relies on Tina around here. Every since Tina arrived, everybody has been more hopeful."



Oh that's just great...

*Tina looks down*
Tina "On the very day the world was sundered, the adults of this village all died protecting their children from the light that Kefka unleashed on them..."



That reminds me, there's about a dozen kids here. Didn't Mobliz only have about 3 or 4 kids before? Hmm...



Oh well, whatever makes for dramatic tension.

*The parents fall*
"Papa!!" "Mama!!!"



♪♪ Awakening ♪♪

*Dean walks up to Celes*
Dean "You can't take Tina with you!"
*Catalina comes in, and Dean runs off*
Catalina "Dean... I'm sorry. But, if Tina were to leave, we would lose all hope for survival..."
*Tina takes a step to the right and Celes and Catalina face her*
Tina "I don't know why these children need me... I have no reason to stay here and protect them. But something strange has happened to me. And... When I saw these poor children, I lost all desire to fight..."
*Tina looks down*
Tina "I can only partially understand what's happening to me. I can't explain it, but the more I try to find an answer, the less inclined I feel to fight..."

Sounds like Tina's a lost cause for now. Let's blow this popsicle stand.



Uh oh.



♪♪ The Unforgiven ♪♪

Tina puts on her game face and goes to protect the village!



♪♪ Decisive Battle ♪♪

This goes about as well as you'd expect since she forgot to equip anything.

Now let's try that again, with feeling!



Hunmbaba and Bio don't like each other.



And Humbaba doesn't like muscleheads. Go fig.



I give Matias an A for effort, at least.



That could've gone better...



After a lot of hell, he finally decides to run.



Well you can, you just didn't bloody well put anything on when you tried to fight Humbaba! Foolish Tina...

*The kids near Tina jump*
"Mama! Be strong!"
Tina "I'm going to stay here. I would just be an encumbrance in this state. These children need me more right now..."
"But, Tina..."
*Tina looks away*
Tina "I just need more time... Then, maybe I can find the answer I'm looking for..."

So much for a third wheel ally...



ARG MORE TALKING

Girl "You can't take mama with you!"
Boy "If mama dies because of this... I'll hunt you down and get you back!!"

Yeah, I'm so scared of a pre-teen.



Received the Magirock "Fenrir"!

Oh hey, a new summon! Haven't had one of those in forever. Let's have a rundown, shall we?

Fenrir

The Norse death-wolf makes a showing! This is hardly the only bit of Norse mythology referenced in FF6, but it is one of the summonable bits of the legend. On that note, this is probably the first FF where the constant references to Norse mythology actually take a bit of an appropriate (if unfortunate) status.



Howling Moon causes Mirage status on all allies. Mirage is sort of Vanish's little brother: it guarantees the next physical attack will miss and also doesn't cause magic attacks to always hit those inflicted with it. Most of us would prefer to stick with Vanish, methinks.

Spells Taught
Teleport x10
Degen x5
Stop x3

Level-Up Bonus: MP +30%

Fenrir's main claim to fame is Degen (aka. X-Zone), which combined with Vanish is just as deadly as combining Vanish with Death. His level-up bonus is somewhat unique, but outclassed later too.



♪♪ Kids Running Through the City Corner ♪♪

Looks like some Chocobo stables survived the devastation!



Hooray for work ethic! Let's ride.

♪♪ Techno de Chocobo ♪♪

As Lucas noted, there's the tower of Kefka fanatics.



And there's Nikea. Sailing time!



♪♪ Under Martial Law ♪♪

But first... *sigh* MORE talking time...

Walkin' Around
Old Woman "In the interest of self-preservation, I'm hiding from Kefka." {In broad daylight, no less. You're a ballsy old crone.}
Boy "The long rode that you followed to get here was previously submerged underwater."
Man "After the world was destroyed, I found myself at Doma Castle, all alone. Whenever I tried to sleep, evil spirits, entered my dreams... Urgh... It scares me just thinking about it..."
Woman "An accident occurred at Figaro Castle, and it stopped while it was traveling under the desert."
Woman "There are a lot of thieves hanging about the Pub in town. They all escaped from Figaro Castle."
Man "Apparently, the ship that goes to South Figaro survived, if only barely."

In ze Pub
Bartender "They say that they were held in the prison of Figaro Castle."
Dancer "I was talking with Jeff, the leader of these thieves. He's kinda cute. Hehehe......"
Thief "Our former boss died on that day. We met up with our new boss, Jeff, in this town."
Thief "The prison managed to hit right up against a nest of Sand Crawlers. We escaped through their tunnels."
Thief "The boss thinks we should go back to Figaro. He sayst hat we should get the treasures in Figaro's store room."
Thief "We'll enter Figaro Castle from the secret cave that only we know about."

At the Port
Merchant "This ship is being used by a gang of bandits."
Thieves "What? You're getting in the way. Go away."



The thieves are on the move!



...Nice outfit, Edgar.

Celes "Is that you, Edgar?"
*"Jeff" walks off somewhere else*



Seriously, nobody is fooled.

Jeff "You're being illogical... I'm busy right now."
*"Jeff" walks towards the port*



I bet you are, Edgar.

Celes "Why are you feigning ignorance? Or... Have you lost your memory?"
*"Jeff" faces Celes*
Jeff "Look, my lady, I've been called Jeff since the day I was born."
*"Jeff" starts to walk away*
Celes "Only Edgar would call me 'my lady'."
*"Jeff is shocked, and looks back at Celes over his shoulder, then wags his finger*
Jeff "Come now, 'my lady' is an expression used world-wide."
*"Jeff" walks down to the port*

This is getting old fast...



Celes hops down to hide as Edgar Jeff Edgar-in-disguise rallies the troops.



Henchmen "Aye!"
*"Jeff" takes a step up and gets serious*
Edgar "You lead the way, then. Once we've infiltrated, I'll take over."
*Celes sneaks on board*



And we're off! Come back next week as we find out what really happened to Figaro Castle!

Jeff? What were the original kana?

ジェフ. Kinda doesn't leave a lot to the imagination, does it? Actually, it's also a play on words (ジェフ also means Jefe, which is Spanish for "boss").

"Se me cayó el castillo, jefe!"Those ruffians' hair when facing right looks remarkably like clover hats, if brown. My manipulation skills fail me here though.

Last week Celes caught up with Sabin, who held up an entire two-story house for several minutes while she took her sweet time saving the little kid inside. Then we headed up north to Nikeah, where we ran into a palette-swapped version of Edgar running a gang of thieves. Sky Render also threw in part of getting Terra back, because he is a perfect machine of Let’s Play who is unsatisfied by my puny updates =I


Arriving in South Figaro, the Crimson Robbers make their way off the boat, Celes and Sabin close behind. Of course, new town means new talking times:


Around town:
Regular-looking man: We may be thieves, but at least we have goals in life!
Robber: We’re storming Figaro Castle! That treasure’s rightfully ours!
Worker: We musn’t rest now! We have to start rebuilding!
Scallywag (standing in front of abandoned Magitek armor): Souvenir of the Empire, anyone?!
Merchant watching the waterwheel: Whoa! Am I dizzy!
Determined kid: If the “Light of Judgment” should burn our town down 100 times, we’ll rebuild it 100 times!
Babushka: Did you hear that Duncan’s alive? His wife said so!


These guys are easy to miss.
Young man: For each life lost, a new one arrives to fill the void! Okay! Nothing’s gonna stop us!
Young woman: Oh...! That person!

In houses:
Old cider addict: I’m so relieved to know my grandchild’s alive!
DUNCAN’S WIFE: No, dear! Duncan’s still alive and well! He’s meditating just north of Narshe.
Rich man’s young maid: There’s nothing left of my home town.
Rich man: Just when we thought the Empire was gone... heeeeeres Kefka!
Rich man’s daughter: Jump on the turtle. Oh, jump on the turtle... Oops...never mind.

In the Cafe:
Lass in green: Now all these thieves are demanding all our time. Phew...I’m exhausted.
Old fellow: Figaro Castle disappeared the day the world became... unzipped...
Ruffian: Figaro Castle had an accident under the desert. Don’t know what happened to its people...
Bartender: That sweet little girl stopped coming around right after the world ended...


Celes: Be polite now... Edgar!
[A CRIMSON ROBBER enters.]
Robber: Boss, everything’s ready. Let’s go!
GERAD: Case of mistaken identity, my dear. Give it up! [GERAD leaves with the ROBBER.]


After them!


These helpful guys die in one hit and counter your Fight commands by casting Cure, Cure2, or Remedy on the person who hit them (33% chance of each).


We promptly ignore Siggy and follow right behind him. The enemies here are moderately dangerous, with two of them able to Confuse your characters, but in most cases a Fire Dance followed by a basic attack from Celes to kill stragglers will finish off any groups.


This is one of the worst situations you can end up in here, as multitarget attacks can only hit enemies on one side of you and Blitzes will randomly choose which side they hit. In this case Fire Dance hits the left side, killing the Cruller and injuring the NeckHunter; if it had hit the right side it would have wiped out the Humpties altogether.

You probably remember that the treasures in this cave changed over time; if you’d never picked up the two Tinctures earlier they’d now be an Ether and a Hero Ring. We were too impatient for that, however, so this dungeon is pretty much just a straight shot for us.


GERAD: Now, where were we...?
[A ROBBER approaches the water.]
Robber: Here, boy... Here’s some nice food for you!
[The TURTLE begins swimming back and forth.]
Robber: Presto!
GERAD: Good Job! I used to have a turtle...!


The Crimson Robbers form a line and use the turtle as a stepping stone to cross the water to the doorway, followed by Gerad, Sigfried, then us. Sadly, the apocalypse took away the water’s healing abilities, so don’t bother stopping to try and refresh yourself here.

The next room is just a straight shot lined with four opened treasure chests. In the room after that...


“On the hum, let’s go!!!!”
And he runs off. Stupid Sigfried. You didn’t even reduce the random encounter rate at all! And decide how to spell your own name already.


Finally we emerge into the Figaro dungeon, where we see Gerad solicitously checking on the guard. Talk to the guard (or the three other collapsed guards you’ll find scattered around, or the castle driver) and all he’ll say is “I...it was awful...” The only way we can go from here is upstairs, then down into the bowels of the castle’s engine room.


Heading downstairs, we come out in a large room with three doors coming off it; we entered through the right door. We loot a Gravity Rod (which would be more notable if there were more major enemies susceptible to Quartr), an X-Potion and Ether, and a Crystal Helm, the second-strongest heavy helmet in game. Sadly, that’s not saying much. Going through the left door and heading upstairs nets a Regal Crown, a hat for Sabin and Edgar that has one point less Defense but has higher Mag.Def. than the Crystal Helm, additionally giving you an extra point in each of your stats.

Going through the center door leads us into the Engine Room right behind Gerad. Strange yellow things are flitting about the massive engines that power the castle.
Robber: Boss! What’re we gonna do? Our treasure’s stored in the room back there!
GERAD: You guys get in there while I keep this thing busy!
“But boss! That’s dangerous!”
GERAD: Get going!
[The CRIMSON ROBBERS run through the door at the top of the screen.]
Celes: Edgar!
Edgar: What’re ya waiting for, Celes? Give me a hand!!
Celes: Edgar! It IS you!


With that, we enter the battle to free Figaro(‘s engine). The Tentacles don’t have a huge damage output, but they are very annoying because their most commonly used moves inflict Slow. Entwine attempts to do it to every character on one side of them while Seize inflicts Slow on a single character or, if someone is already Slowed, it’ll grab the Slow character and suck the life out of them to heal itself. Sabin and Celes’ Running Shoes make them immune to this attack, but Edgar will be wrapped up in Tentacles for most of this fight.

The first thing to do in this fight is have Edgar use the BioBlaster. Each of the Tentacles has different weaknesses, but only the top left is immune to the Poison status and Poison’s mechanic of multiplying its damage by the number of turns it’s been in effect means that by the end of the battle it can be doing nearly 2000 damage each time it pops. After you get them poisoned you can do pretty much anything you want, keeping in mind that the bottom left Tentacle is weak to fire and absorbs ice and the bottom right is the opposite.

It’s probably worth noting that each of the Tentacles has a different amount of health and magic points. Clockwise from the upper right Tentacle, they have 5000/600, 7000/800, 6000/700, and 4000/500 HP/MP. Other notable lack of status immunities these guys have: the top left and bottom right Tentacles can be Petrified for instant kills, if you have any way to inflict that, and the bottom left Tentacle is not immune to Instant Death so any such attacks (Demi, Quartr, Chainsaw) can take it out of the battle quickly.


Edgar: Well, I heard that Figaro had had an accident. I wanted to help, but didn’t know where to look. Then I heard that those idiots had escaped from the prison.
Celes: You needed to use them...
Edgar: Bingo. I had to wait until they led me to their secret cave.
Celes: Amazing, considering that you threw most of ‘em in jail to begin with!
Sabin: Don’t treat us like strangers anymore!
Edgar[listening at the door to the treasure room]: Uh, oh...! Let’s hide!

BEST. HIDING. EVAR.
“Must have been eaten by that thing...”
“It wasn’t even much of a monster...”
“Well, let’s go...”
[The CRIMSON ROBBERS exit and the PARTY leaves their hiding places.]
“You don’t want that treasure back...?”
Edgar: It’s completely worthless. Besides, Kefka’s the one we need to worry about. Those guys haven’t committed any serious crimes...
Celes: Come on, let’s go...
Sabin: There’s only one little problem, eh, brother!


Sure enough, if you go into the treasure room you’re confronted with a ring of looted chests. The Crimson Robbers overlooked one thing, however...


That’s no old ceremonial sword on the armor. In addition to dealing normal damage the Soul Sabre also absorbs MP from enemies and randomly casts Doom. (It also gives you 10% Evasion if you’re playing a version of the game with fewer bugs than the SNES version.) Sadly, it’s not quite as generally useful as the Enhancer Celes is already using, which has a higher Battle Power (135 versus 125), gives her a bonus to her Magic stat, and provides 20% Magic Evasion.


When we leave the Engine Room the castle engineer finally takes us to the surface near South Figaro. Before heading to Kohlingen, I go talk to the couple of castle denizens with new lines:
Dungeon Guard: I know someone who deserves to be locked up in here!
Castle Inn Maid: Several of the castle’s citizen’s left to join the Cult of Kefka. If a loved one should call out a cult member’s name, however...


The Castle has one new Tool for Edgar: the Debilitator, which forces a random elemental weakness onto an enemy. This will never be used. At least we’re still getting the Edgar-in-front discount from Figaro’s merchants, post-apocalyptic setting or not. This brings us to seven Tools out of eight in our inventory.


These guys are jerks, each one having a 66% chance to use Sandstorm each turn, hitting the entire group for several hundred points of damage. Even worse, Fire Dance can’t OHKO them like almost every other random encounter up to this point, which threw me off a bit and led to me crawling to Kohlingen with about a third of my HP left despite this being my only random encounter between the Castle and the town.

Anyway...

Yay for nostalgia! At least this flashback isn’t in sepia.
Narshe guard: Narshe is filled with monsters. I don’t have any place to go home to... But I refuse to give up! I’m going back to Narshe. There’s that frozen Esper... With you guys along, we’ll be able to wake that thing up!
Old woman: There’s a real mean guy fighting at the colosseum. Seems he’s looking for a weapon called the “Striker”...
Old man: There’re still some people with vision, even in this world. Like my brother up north.
Lass: A handsome man with a quaint way of talking visited our village recently. He kept saying, “Thou” to everyone!
Old coot: Huh?! Locke? He must be searching the world over for that fables treasure... Find the treasure, and you’ll find Locke!


[EDGAR jumps a space to the north and looks ashamed.]
Little girl: We planted some seeds, but nothing’s growing...
Townswoman: It’s as if the plants have lost their will to live...


Celes: Come along with us! We’re after Kefka!
Setzer: Phew... I don’t know if I have it in me anymore...
Celes: What are you saying?!
Setzer: I’m just a gambler... I just want to be left alone... This world is too chaotic for me. What’s worse, I’ve lost my wings...
[SETZER looks down, then walks over to the bar. CELES follows.]
Celes: But before the world collapsed, you fought with all your heart! You were absolutely fearless...
Setzer: That was then... We can never have that world back!
Celes: You want to live in this world as it is? No? Then do something about it!
Setzer: Mwa ha! All right...you win! I’m starting to feel lucky!! Thanks... I needed that. Now, let’s go visit Daryl’s Tomb.


Don’t worry if you can’t see the next dungeon in this screenshot; the game goes to no pains to make it obvious. We equip Setzer with the same Genji Gloves/double Darts setup we had on him before; Kohlingen is selling an more powerful weapon for him right now, the Trump, but it has a random Instant Death effect on it and there’s enough undead in Daryl’s Tomb that we don’t actually want that triggering. We’ll just have to muddle through with Darts and mass usage of Fire Dance. We’ll make it through somehow.

But all that is for next week. See you then!

Part XXIV - Indiana Figaro and the Tomb of Darryl

Previously on Final Fantasy VI: The After Year: Celes made her way from Alburg to Tsen, re-recruited Matias, visited Mobriz at the end of the Serpent Trench, failed to get Tina back, and intercepted what looks like obviously is Edgar in a cheap purple costume. She and Matias hitched a ride on the ship, and are now on their way to Figaro.



♪♪ Kids Running Through the City Corner ♪♪

Ah, fortuitous timing! They've arrived!



Unfortunately, now it is the time of talking. But I guess we can forgive Celes for this since she did think only a few hours ago that she and Cid were all that was left of the world.

Walking About
Man "We may be thieves, but we still need to have a purpose in our lives. If we don't help, we lose out, too."
Merchant "This is no time to be taking a break. Thi stown lives on, it must be renovated."
Thief "We're going to break into Figaro! Those treasures belong to us!"
Thief "Care for a souvenir of the Empire?" {He's referring to a suit of Majick Armor that the Imperials left in South Figaro after the invasion. And no, sadly, you cannot actually buy or use it.}
Merchant "Just keeping watch......" {I don't think the water wheel is gonna pull anything, you silly merchant.}
Kid "In the spirit of that old metaphor, if the 'Light of Judgment' were to burn our town down 100 times, we would rebuilt it 101 times!" {So we'd end up with 2 South Figaros in the end? Get burnin', Kefka!}
Old Woman "Master Duncan is alive? His wife certainly thinks so."
Scholar "For every life lost, we must make a new one to replace it! Okay, let's do our best!!" *runs off*
Woman "Oi...... That man is hopeless." *follows him* {They were hiding out in the trees behind town. I think you can figure out what they were doing back there.}

Duncan's House
Duncan's Wife "The master isn't dead! He's in pursuit of knowledge in a house just north of Narche..."

Porter's House
Little Boy "My grandfather was a waiter for the rich man's family up north a long time ago."
Old Man "I'm simply relieved to know that my grandson is still alive."

Rich Man's House
Maid "I have no home country to return to, it was totally destroyed."
Man "Even though the Empire was stopped, now we have Kefka to deal with......"
Woman "In this room, somewhere, there's a draft coming through in gists. It gets really cold in here because of it. But where is it?" {Lady, that is SO 10 hours ago.}
Boy "KACHUNK! KACHUNK! I'm riding Majick Armor!"
Girl "Jump on the turtle! Jump on the turtle...... Um, I'm just talking nonsense." {Or possibly playing a Mario game.}

Pub
Old Man "Figaro Castle disappeared on the day that the world collapsed......"
Waitress "Now we've got thieves to deal with. Phew..... It's so tiring."
Thief "A young man came through this town a while back, looking for some sort of revival treasure or somesuch." {That'd be Lock!}
Thief "Figaro Castle is currently out of order, under the desert. Its people may already have died of oxygen deprivation..." {Can't you just say "suffocated" like everyone else?}
Thief "We're going to break into Figaro! Those treasures belong to us!"
Bartender "That cute little girl hasn't come in here since that day. You know, the day the world shattered......"



Fun Fact: the random treasures in barrels around town, if you skipped them before, are now often better items! Er, except this one; somehow I picked the one item that didn't change at all.



JeffEdgar seems to be planning some sort of rescue. Let's listen in.

Celes "What's wrong with you, Edgar?"
*Edgar looks to his right as a thief walks in*
"Boss, everything is ready. Let's go."
Jeff "It's a case of mistaken identity. Give it up."
*Jeff and the thief leave*

May as well follow.



♪♪ The Dark World ♪♪

Figaro Area
Enemies: Cure Rotor, Oceanos, Cancer, Sand Horse

The Figaro continent's gotten seriously rearranged. Somehow the South Figaro cave is now west of South Figaro! ...Don't think too hard about that. The developers sure didn't.



South Figaro Cave
Enemies: Humpty, Dudufedu, Neck Hunter

♪♪ Forest of Illusion ♪♪

Who in the hell are you? ...Oh yeah, that douchebottle who stole our goodies on the ghost train ages ago. You suck, Siegfried.



All of the rewards here are vastly improved too! All three of them. The others are an X-Potion and a Brave Ring.



Looks like we've found the thieves and Edgar!

*Edgar walks up to the thieves*
Jeff "Now, what next?"
*One of the thieves walks up to the pond*
"Here, turtle turtle turtle... I have some food for you."
*The turtle moves into position in front of an opening*
"See?"
Jeff "Not bad."
"I used to have a turtle of my own."
*The thieves, Edgar, and even Siegfried hop on the turtle*

Looks like it's time for Celes to embrace her inner Mario!



100 points!



BOO! Someone's already raided all the treasures here! ...Probably the thieves.



Aha! Siegfried is in league with these bastards!

*Siegfried runs off*
"Pick up the pace, slackers!"

Forward, to Figaro!



Amusing little bit here: random battle transitions don't fuzz up invisible text boxes.



♪♪ Edgar and Matias' Theme ♪♪

At the castle basement, Edgar lets his disguise slip while nobody's looking to reassure one of the inhabitants that help is on the way.



Thanks for the tip, suffocating man.



Figaro Castle Basement
Enemies: Humpty, Dudufedu, Neck Hunter, Dante, Drop

♪♪ The Returners ♪♪

Random encounters? In my basement? It's more common than you'd think.

Apparently the thieves are in a hurry, seeing as they've skipped all this awesome loot.



Why the hell is Edgar hiding this in the basement? Whatever, Matias can equip it, so I don't care.



Looks like we've found Edgar and the thieves.



The engine appears to be on fire, but those are actually tentacles.

"Boss, what are we going to do? The treasures are hidden in the next room!"
*Edgar walks up to them and gets in his fighting pose*
Jeff "I'll keep this thing at bay while you get the treasure..."
"Boss! That's dangerous!!"
Jeff "Shut up and get moving!!"
*The thieves all run into the back room*
*Edgar starts to follow and Celes takes a step up*
Celes "Edgar!!"
*Edgar turns around and flips Celes off*
Edgar "Would you lend a hand, Celes!? Come on, help out!"
Celes "I knew it was you, Edgar."

We all knew it was him, Celes. We all knew.



♪♪ Decisive Battle ♪♪

Oh hell I hate this fight. But then, everyone does. The trick to it is to beat the tentacles one by one, illogically enough. They all have different weak points, however.



And they can do THIS. Siezed characters cannot act and get slowly drained of HP. They let them go after a bit, but it's a serious dent on productivity in this fight and can get you killed if you're not keeping up on healing.



This pretty much sums up the fight perfectly. Not really that hard, but DAMN is it annoying!



That took forever, as you can imagine, but a victory is a victory just the same.



This should be good...

Edgar "I heard that Figaro Castle broke down under the desert. I really wanted to help, but I didn't know how to get back in. Then I heard those thieves talking about storming the castle."
Celes "So you used them."
Edgar "They would never have shown me the way to their secret cave if they knew I was the king of Figaro."
Celes "Of course, you threw them into that prison as king in the first place."
*Matias steps up behind Celes*
Matias "No more games."
*Edgar checks the door the thieves went into, panics, and looks back at the other two*
Edgar "Uh oh, here they come. Let's hide."

So basically, those thieves are raging idiots who don't even recognize the face of the man who tossed them into prison as long as he's wearing a purple suit instead of a green one. Well, obviously, right?



*The thief in front steps down*
"He must've been killed by that monster......"
*The next thief in line walks down to the first one, and they face each other*
"Boss never should've taken such a risk..."
"Well, let's go..."
*The thieves walk off, oblivious to the party*



Edgar "Those 'treasures were just worthless junk. Besides, Kefka is the bigger threat. Those guys are small-time in comparison."
Celes "Shall we go, then?"
*Matias pumps his arms and gets battle-ready*
Matias "Well, let's get moving, big bro!!"

Aww yeah.



♪♪ Edgar and Matias' Theme ♪♪

Even though the treasure room is looted, you can still nab this from a nearby statue! It acts like the Blood Sword, only it drains MP instead of HP.



After one last fight in the engine room to get the insanely rare Drop encounter, we'll head on back upstairs.



Well that was fast.



Ahh, sweet oxygen. How I've missed ye.

And now that the castle's back, it's talking time again.

Scholar "Magic really has been revived..."
Scholar "So, magic is drawn from Magirocks. Interesting."
Soldiers "Sir Edgar. Welcome back."
Woman "Several of the people of this castle went to join the Kefka Fanatics. But if they were to hear a loved one's voice......"
Soldier "Kefka is the most vile human being in existence."



Looks like the Corlingen Express is still in operation, too!



Pretty impressive given that they have to travel under the sea now to get there.



Corlingen Area
Enemies: Marchosias, Mousse, Deep Eye, Bogey

♪♪ The Dark World ♪♪

Looks like we're here. That was a mercifully short walk.



♪♪ The Day After ♪♪

This town already has an air of unhappiness to it. Better talk it up...

Around Town
Old Woman "Those beautiful days will never return..." *flashback to before the end, with happy children running around and birds chirping*
Woman "An older man with a mustache came to our town recently. He was quite charming, calling everybody 'sir'! Apparently, he went to Maranda."
Old Man "There are still people left in this world with dreams. Take my younger brother, for example... He managed to fulfill his dream up north, even in this world."
Old Man "I can remove things that are equipped for you." {Ahh, it's one of Setzer's crew! I wonder if Setzer's here, then?}
Old Woman "There is a frightful person at the Coliseum. Apparently, he's looking for the 'Ichigeki Blade'."
Girl "Even though we planted some flower seeds here, no buds are sprouting..."
Woman "Even plants have lost the will to live... New flower buds won't sprout at all any more." {Okay, I call bullshit. Plants find a way even in the worst of environments.}

Creepy Old Man's Basement
Old Man "What? Lock? He's probably still looking for legendary treasures. Hm? If I know Lock, he's probably looking for treasures somewhere that he couldn't reach before." {And where he technically still can't reach now, but we'll get to that soon enough.}

Pub
Bartender "Dreams..."
Thief "*hic* This world's already lost..."



Oops!



Woohoo another party member!

Setzer "You're alive?"
*Everyone fans out of Celes*
Celes "Let's get going. We're going to put an end to Kefka!"
Setzer "Feh... I don't have any motivation left in me." {Arrrgh! First Tina, now you too?}
Celes "What are you talking about?"
Setzer "I was the world's number one gambler... I miss how the world was before, when it was peaceful and my body was as free as my mind to wander... But now, the world is too harsh for me. And I've lost my wings, too..."
*Setzer heads to the bar, no doubt for a stiff drink*
*Celes goes and badgers him some more*
Celes "Before the world collapsed, you fought with just as much intensity as the rest of us, right? You fought so sincerely......"
Setzer "But that was the old me... Those hopeful dreams of mine have been abolished now."
Celes "Why should you abandon your dreams just because the world has changed so? Dreams are the only thing the world has left...!"
*Setzer looks up, turns around, and ponders*
Setzer "Humph...... You seem to really believe what you say. Do you really? My dreams are..."

I think we've got him convinced.



♪♪ Setzer's Theme ♪♪

Success! Also, where?



Awesome.



Our destination is just a bit west of town. Off we go!



Setzer's change of heart impacted the rest of the town too, it seems. Let's see what else is new!

Thief "I heard you talking earlier... I, too... Shall pursue my dreams again!"
Narche Guard "I started thinking when I overheard you talking. I've been so negative... But no more! I'm going to return to Narche. That frozen Eidolon... Maybe we can find a way to free it from its icy prison and awaken it!"

And finally, it's time to go shopping.



Rather cruelly given the next dungeon, Setzer's best weapon for sale at the moment causes instant death.



♪♪ Forest of Illusion ♪♪

Setzer "She was really something. She would go to the end of the world and back just to prove a point."
*Setzer opens the entry to the tomb, then faces the party*
Setzer "I haven't been in here for years. I have no idea what may be in here now. Be careful."

No worries, Setzer, we've all got our Amulets and Ribbons on.



Darryl's Tomb
Enemies: Barghest, Deadly Bone, Energy Demon, Antesansan, Morbol

I'm impressed they've kept those torches lit for all this time.



For some reason, Darryl's Tomb has multiple tombstones. This one opens the way to a switch to adjust the water levels. ...This is a weird dungeon.

Sounds good to me.



Damn it!



Anyway, before raising the water level, you should hit the switch down here.



Why are there turtles in Darryl's Tomb? I reiterate, this is a weird dungeon.



Further in, we find some epitaphs with very odd words on them: RENI RAMB ONOS and USAF. What the hell does that even mean?



Oh, we have to carve something here! Okay, what can we spell with that... Hmm...



What d...oh. It's a Woolsey reference! How cute. (The original Japanese had their equivalent of "Rest in Peace" written backwards for this puzzle.)



♪♪ Rest in Peace ~ Game Over ♪♪

That sounds very useful and also very Engrish.



Sure enough, there it is!



More turtle-riding...



OH NOES!



♪♪ Decisive Battle ♪♪

This optional boss has an interesting quirk to it.



You can kill the shell with Death.



You can also kill the head. If you use Degen on them, you can kill both parts at once.



This gets you TWO Dragon Claws instead of one.