Part 69: Xtreme Boat Repair
Entry 66: Xtreme Boat RepairI swear, if I have to take another jaunt across this ocean...
Back at Grandship, the party returns to the door Edea was examining earlier.
Are none of you worried that we're following instructions in Ringabel's journal and that old manuscript without knowing what we're doing?
We have to act, whether we like it or not. What will happen to that poor proprietress if we can't keep the ship afloat?
Yeah, you're right. What's our next move?
Hold on! We don't know what will happen when we do that. Shouldn't we have everyone evacuate the ship first?
You're right. It doesn't look like this door has been opened in a while. Anything could happen.
There are 298 lifeboats in storage hold 89. It was written on the first page of the council record.
So the council members used those boats to escape... Good grief...
It can't be helped. Let's split up and lead the townspeople to safety.
Wow, so this is what the inside of the council hall looks like... You all head on into the engine room.
The party welcomes Zatz and Datz's help, as it'll spare them a tedious minigame.
Before the two go, Tiz takes a moment to ask Zatz about his name.
I know Zatz Mightee is an awfully impressive moniker for a little guy like me.
Er, no, that's... That isn't--
It's fine, buddy. I don't mind. Don't worry about it. Datz and I both. Our names are weirdly at odds with our builds. Always have been...
We used to get teased a lot as kids, and we'd pound the kids doing it. Normal kid stuff.
Ah ha ha, I can just picture it.
Having a name at all, knowing your roots... I'd say that's a blessing in itself.
Ahh, right. You lost all your memories, didn't you, Ringabel?
Heh, I don't even know if Ringabel is supposed to be a given name or a family name.
Yes, very tragic. Now stop talking.
Datz and I always talked about how we wanted to just ditch our names.
Wanted...in past tense?
Yeah... At my old man's funeral, everyone who came by to talk to me said the same thing.
"He was a little man with the biggest heart I've seen. He never ran, even from a losing fight."
"He was the sort of guy to walk right up to a bigger man and sock him one in the gut."
My old man wasn't big, but he was sure as heck Mightee. I could feel it, that day. Something important, handed down from my grandpa, to him, to me...
It was like I could hear him telling me it was my turn, now. My time.
I understand that feeling well. All vestals adopt the name of Oblige.
Like you, we continue the chain, connecting past and future.
Ah ha ha, golly. My name's nothing to compare to a vestal's, but thanks.
Way I see it, something I didn't care about at all turned into something I like, that's all.
And you still punch anybody who makes fun of it just as hard. Bah ha ha ha!
Hah! Ain't that the truth.
I like this scene. Some background on the characters, some world-building.
Zatz and Datz have headed off to do their part, so let's start ours.
Beyond the door is an elevator, which the party gets on. It descends...
Descends...
Descends...
Descends...
The elevator stops and opens.
I've never seen an elevator like that. How far down did it take us?
My ears are popping like crazy...
This must have existed since the time that old manuscript was written, but it still looks in working condition.
It's pretty well documented nowadays, but Final Fantasy owes a huge influence to Star Wars (which, yes, in turn owes influence to other properties). This includes not just Good ol' Biggs and Wedge, but certain dialogue lines. Bravely Default, as Final Fantasy's little kid sister, follows suit.
Visually, Engine Room is a more orange recolor of Grand Mill. Which -- if you're going to reuse assets, you could do worse than giant moving mechanical parts everywhere.
We've got a bunch of new monsters to get acquainted with.
Again, pretty much everything will be a recolor at this point. The game cuts a lot of corners this way, likely due to limited budget.
Who knows how many centuries or millenia it's been since someone was down here. That's a lot of time for things to go haywire.
The lower levels of Grandship are apparently open enough to get sea life seeping in. What else has gotten into the ship?
More of these flying fish, for starters.
They're all too eager to introduce the party to the local, interior-of-a-giant-ancient-city-ship food chain.
What the--
Where is that water even coming from?
Edea's right. There's something bad here, that much is clear.
There are two elevators in this dungeon, one on either side of that giant central gear. The left elevator is the dungeon entrance. The right elevator leads to where we need to go, further down into Grandship.
The problem is a gate barring the way to the right elevator.
As in Grand Mill, you need to find two switches to open this gate.
Along the way, the party finds all the amazing treasure others have abandoned down here.
Note that the dungeon entrance elevator took the party down to B27. While searching for the switches, you move between B27-B29.
Nice! We can donate this to Norende when we're done with it.
At some point a hero from Wa visited Grandship and got stuck. It's Edea's, now.
The trident is commonly associated with Poseidon, Greek god of the sea, or Neptune, his Roman successor. The age of the Roman gods was snuffed out with Rome's shift towards Christianity.
Between the hostile sea creatures and multiple lightning-elemental weapons, the game may be trying to tell us something about what awaits below.
After flipping both switches and taking the elevator down, we reach the central section of Grandship's engine, where the party immediately scrounges in mildewed corners for more treasure.
And what a find! The object of worship bit is paralleled, of course, by players treating megalixirs as sacred and untouchable.
The party has now found every consumable type in the game.
There are also a handful of consumable types only obtained by using the game's online features, but those are not included in D's Journal.
Last on the treasure hunt is something which is not as delicate as it sounds, given how much the party gets wailed on in combat.
The engine's central chamber looks suspiciously empty.
On the other side is the top of some sort of smoking machine.
This place gives me the creeps even worse than before.
Ah, more writing in the script of the Crystal Adventists...
Insert...orichalcum...
Ringabel has perfected the art of sounding chill under stress.
Huh!? Did it say that in your journal?
Forget about the journal. I can feel it breathing down my neck...
*ROAR*
The final boss of Chapter 3...
Is Behemoth, a giant overevolved fish.
One hit takes over half a character's health. It can also poison.
Extra healing and physical defense doesn't hurt.
Behemoth occasionally does a multitarget silence, which shouldn't be an issue if you bring in a salve-maker to heal.
It's weak to lightning, shockingly enough.
Agnès continues to be more than sufficient on both self-healing and damage output.
It's a simple, straightforward fight compared to the last three bosses.
It's a filler boss, really.
And whose fault is that?
Edea's become overly eager to blame Ringabel. Then again, by this point she's had to deal with his playboy antics for months without a break.
Alright, let's insert the orichalcum. I'll do it. You should all stand back.
The others step back as Tiz walks to the edge of the engine...
And drops in the orichalcum.
*WOOP**WOOP**WOOP*
That can't be a good sign.
The siren stops.
It seems to have subsided.
I wonder what it did...
Next: What did it do? Find out in the final entry of Chapter 3 and the year!
--
Event Viewer
Main Scenario:
Into the Engine Room
The Engine Room
Forget About the Journal
Orichalcum in Place
Party Chat:
Zatz's Name