Breath of Fire Part #11 - Chapter Eleven: I Am Alive

Part 11: Chapter Eleven: I Am Alive

Last time around the party had just been given the key to the cave where the Ring is hidden. The cave is right next to where the robot is standing, so let’s skip over there right away.

The Lake Cave is only the first half of Ryu’s journey. Thankfully it’s also short and free of enemy encounters, and contains a stat-boosting item.

: The cave to the north west is the Lake Shrine. My people use it as a place to secret away valuable items in times of hardship. It has seen much use since Zog’s madness began.

No new enemies this time, just more of what the party has faced so far.

: This door…

: It is the gate that guards the Shrine against thieves. It was crafted by the Gant mechanists and is completely impregnable.

: But we have the key.

Thankfully, the teleport pad near the top of the screen is not the prelude to another warping puzzle.

Here we get to wade through water. Sadly there isn’t a secret passage behind the waterfall.

We do get to ride down one though.

: Can you see the ornate chest over there? That’s where the Ring is.

: This water is freezing…let us quickly retrieve the Ring and leave.

: Wait, Nina. We cannot reach the chest from here – the current and sharp rocks are impassible from this angle. Follow me – I know a safe path.

Contrary to what you may think the stairs are a red herring and simply lead back up to the waterfall area. To proceed it is necessary to go south.

The next few areas are long and boring and have nothing unusual to comment on, so I’ll skip around a bit. The general gist is that after a long trek the party takes another dive down a waterfall and comes out on the other side of the rocks that were preventing direct access to the chest.

: Here we are. Now we can take the Ring and return. Will you be attending the wedding, Ryu? I’m sure the chief would like that.

: I have my own journey to consider, but I’m sure I can spare the time.

: The bridge to Auria is still broken, after all.

Once the Ring is taken the teleport pad behind the chest activates and provides a shortcut out of the dungeon. The Ring itself is described in the inventory screen as, “A symbol of power and courage”, and that’s not wrong – equipping it in an accessory slot boosts the user’s strength by ten points.

: Chief! You came to greet us?

: Indeed. Terry has recovered enough and the wedding is about to begin.

: It’s taking place in the town hall. You’re the guests of honour – the ceremony won’t begin until you arrive, so please proceed with all haste!

: We’re here to join Terry and Amelia. Have a long, happy life together.

Music: 25 – Carnival

: You’ll find a port in the town on the other side.

: Of course! The stone robot could cross the river easily. I feel foolish for not realizing sooner.

: Let us continue to the stone robot.

:…! Ryu, quickly! Look over there!

: Faking my own death was a desperate gamble, but it certainly paid off well!

: NO!!! STOP!!!

: Skies above…Tuntar…it was…

: Grr! This is unforgiveable!

: What! Do you want me to say “Simon Says?” Destroy the next village, now!

: Now’s our chance to flay that bastard general alive!

: We can regain control of the robot!

: This time I’m going to make sure that piece of scum is dead before we leave!

We’ve already seen the inside of the robot and nothing’s changed since last time, so I’ll be skipping ahead to the control room.

: General! You’re going to pay for what you’ve done!

: So you’ve got the Ring. Well, we’re going to have to take it away!

: Over our dead bodies, you craven wretch.

: That’s fine by me!

: What is this?!

: Hahaha! A little gift from the goddess Tyr! With her power I can crush you like the pathetic worms you are!

It’s time to fight the General again, but for this third encounter he transforms into the Gremlin to do battle with the party. Before anything else…

GRRREEEMMMLLLIIINNN!!!!!

Gremlin is the sort of enemy who would come around to your house and shoot your dog just to see the look of misery on your face. He’s the sort of enemy who would come around to your house and, if you didn’t have a dog, would buy one for you just so that he could shoot it in front of you. Okay, enough hyperbole. What makes this guy so bad?

Gremlin has two basic attacks – a bodyslam that does minor damage and an energy ball that does double that. However, he also has a third attack that hits everyone in the party for high damage which he will spam incessantly once his HP gets low. He’s also faster than everyone except Nina. This means he can easily force you into a vicious cycle where you have to keep healing yourself to such an extent that you can’t actually damage him. Like previous bosses, he has the second wind mechanic, but his invisible HP pool is actually significantly larger than his regular HP. Even worse, once his visible HP is gone he’ll begin to use his fireball vomit attack every turn. Overall he’s definitely the hardest boss so far – I had to use both of my precious M.Drops, which heal and fully revive the whole party, just to survive.

Bo is the key to this battle. Even buffed up, Ryu’s attacks will only be doing around 30 damage. Meanwhile Bo can hit for 80 damage per turn with Fry. Have Nina focus on healing and perhaps a bit of buffing at the start of the fight whilst Ryu keeps Bo supplied with Acorns and Herbs to replenish his HP and AP as necessary. Save the M.Drops for late in the battle and use them if a party member falls, since using a Life item will only cause them to die again next turn when Gremlin busts out his hit-all attack on their 1 HP ass.

(Video – Gremlin)