Part 42: Update Forty: Almost There

Update Forty: Almost There

Welcome back! Last time, on Final Fantasy IV, we recovered some more of the powerful gear sealed down here, including defeating Dark Bahamut. Today, we're going to reach the lowest levels of the Lunar Subterrane, so let's mosey.





We start out today outside of the three rooms where we fought the bosses last update. There's not much left to these parts.



There still aren't many new enemies around, but I mostly encountered Dinozombies and Gold Dragons.





To the left, we walk past a long staircase toward this small area.



There's not a whole lot we can do around here, so let's just march down those stairs.



Ah, stairs; the hip's worst enemy.



Nothing interesting over here.



Straight into this door we go. I hope you haven't grown too attached to this tileset and music.





Look at our new surroundings and listen to the change in music. Shit has gotten real around here.



Nothing to the left, except that we can see a chest to pilfer.



We're in the depths of the Moon now. I wonder if Cecil blends in with the floor.





Random encounters are, if anything, more common down here, with more powerful monsters than the normal fare.



Including Behemoths, as well as Red Dragons and some other cocksuckers. This guy goes down the same as usual, except I don't even bother with Blink anymore. After I saw 'em pop Kim for 1 HP and Goemon for only about 500, I don't even let these guys rank on my Threat-o-Meter anymore.



That chest we spied just a second ago holds a Fuma Shuriken. Eventually, I'll remember that Goemon can throw stuff and I'll be whippin' shit left and right.



Down those stairs, we see another set of stairs and a path off to the right.



You can see a bit of a pillar over there. Remember what that means?



Err...It doesn't mean that I fight a new pain in the ass enemy, but I will anyway.



These guys suck. Not because they're particularly difficult or require some obtuse strategy to defeat them.



This Reflect is only part of it.



And this is the other part of it. This is a full-party Reflect, so no healing of your guys, unless you bounce if off the Mask.



He knows Holy, which hurts like hell, and Flare, which also hurts like hell.



He'll bounce it off himself and onto one of your guys.



Rosa will learn Holy, soon, but not this update. It's also every bit as powerful as it's shown to be here. When she casts it, it's about a 6000 damage spell.



He also has Bio, which is nowhere near as scary as it once was. It still hurts, but compared to what else he can do, I'd rather see Bio.



Bahamut is in order, as he doesn't give a shit about Reflect. He deals his regular 9,999 damage, which is good, as the Wicked Mask has 37,000 HP.



When Rosa casts Curaga on a solo target, it will heal about 5,000 HP.



However, the Wicked Mask isn't very spirited, so his Curaga sucks.



He also has Haste, which, as I mentioned earlier, sucks.



The Wicked Mask is also kind of stupid, as it won't notice if Reflect lowers; he'll attempt to reapply it, but he usually does this when his Reflect is still up, which means that a party member is re-Reflected.



Not a ton of damage, but I'll take it.



Once this jerk is dead, he gives out a shitload of gil.



And a great amount of XP to go with it.



Anyways, that guy is floating around here, too, but for now, let's focus on this katana.



Wait, I thought that the Murasame was the cursed blade, what with the blood-craving and all?



No matter, as we've got a boss fight on our hands.



...We're fighting a Canadian water-serpent for a ninja sword.





Never mind the fact that he starts the fight with a dual Tidal Wave.

We're fighting a water serpent, from Canada, for a ninja sword.



Final Fantasy games sometimes confuse me to no end.



Anyways, uh...I hope you had your fill of the yellow crescent-moon strike, as this is the last fight we'll see this one in.



Ogopogo has 50,000 HP to tear through and no weaknesses.



Aside from the beginning Tidal Waves, he's not very dangerous. He'll occasionally use Tidal Wave, in addition to physical attacks, but as long as you keep an eye on your HP, he's easy enough to defeat.



Do keep in mind, though, that he'll counter summons, at least, with Blaze.



Nowhere near as horrifying as it once was.



Hell, Tidal Wave isn't anything to worry about. If you're not properly leveled, this guy can be tough, but if you've not been running like a coward, he's basically a bump in the road.



Though, still, Canadian water serpent guarding a ninja sword. I don't even fucking know.



No cash, but lots of XP.



And Kim gains a level!



Death probably won't see much use, as Break is more reliable, as it dealing straight damage.



And, after the fight, we receive the Masamune.



It adds +3 Agility and fully kits Goemon out (for now).



However, it loses the crescent-moon strike effect, which is not cool in my book. I think it would have looked pretty cool as this gray color.



Time to head even further in.



Immediately, we see another treasure chest.



But we won't get it by going this way.



Down these stairs, though, we'll get closer to it. I also, apparently, completely forgot to go to the left.



We snag another Elixir, which I toss on the pile.









Gysahl Whistles let you summon the Fat Chocobo wherever you are. So, if you had anything important in storage, this is a great way to get it, especially this deep in the Lunar Subterrane. To get out, you can't Teleport or Warp, so you have to walk all the way back to a floor before these crystal tiles.



And with all the assholes wandering around on this floor, that's more of a pain than you think.







I really like this area. It's oddly off-putting, with good music and the sort of powerful encounters you'd expect just before the final boss. I hope nobody is surprised by that.





Those two treasure chests disappoint me.





I suppose I can throw these things. There's at least one thing I'm throwing at the final boss, so these may as well go with it.



Why, yes, this staircase is absolutely superfluous. And that's exactly why I used it.



Over here, I suspect there was a save point, but it was removed for whatever reason.





Almost done down here.







So far, there's been nothing new down here, enemy wise. Down here, though, that changes.



There are two new enemies, one of which I encountered.



I do not know why Zemus' mind is running rampant around here, and I don't think I want to know.



Physicals don't really scratch him; he has a Defense of 254 and 20,000 HP to tear through.



He also counters physical attacks with Protect, making them suck even more than they already do.



This is just a testament to Cecil's immense strength.



However, magic is the way to go against this jerkoff.



As it's the only thing effective against him. Bowser's new spear can cast Holy when used as an item, so that's something for him to do, even though it'll only deal about 800 damage (and the Mind counters with Shell when this happens; apparently, he won't counter summons).



He can also Confuse people, but as long as it's not Kim, I'm not too worried.



And when it is defeated, it gets the standard boss fade, instead of the regular death animation.



And it drops a shitload of XP, too, like everything else this deep.







After heading down that staircase, we come to this final teleporter.



And here we are, folks. The final fight.



What we've been working for and what Puddin and Golbez rushed off to finish before we could.

But, we'll deal with that next time. Stay tuned.