Part 17: Bonus - Calca and Brina

Bonus - Calca and Brina

We're going back to Rydia's Tale for some unfinished business today. If you remember, the Tale ends with Luca having to sacrifice Calca and Brina in order to fix the Falcon. However, there is a way to get around using them, fixing both the Falcon and the dolls.



So let's start off by returning to the Agart Cave.




All the leveling I did in Rydia's Challenge Dungeon makes this part a breeze.



You want to get to this save point, which is at the end of the dungeon.




You also want a Waxing Moon for this part.




The last time we visited this room, it was empty with nothing of interest.

In a Waxing Moon, however, a very important enemy pops up.





Meet the Quatro Puppets. They will always pop up in batches of twos, they only appear in this room, and they're the only enemy you'll encounter in this room. They also have the Calcabrena theme playing when you encounter them.




They have a high amount of HP, and they can deal decent damage. This will build up, as you'll be fighting them a lot if you want to revive the dolls.



The Gil and EXP you get from these guys are crap. But that's not why we're fighting them.

Now, normally they're a pain to fight. But there is an important trick that makes these fights trivial.





That's right. Toad makes these guys a joke. Keep it mind it doesn't always work, but it'll work more often than not.



They can't deal damage, and physical damage is doubled against them. It'll still take a couple of hits to hurt them, but it makes battles go by more quickly.



Oh, wow. That was only the second battle, too!

These guys are important because of their drops. The Mythril Bolt has a 1/32 chance of dropping, while the Mythril Nut has a 1/64 chance. You need both of these as well as the Mythril Spring in order to fix Calca and Brina. The Mythril Spring we already got from a chest in this cave, and we have the Bolt after two battles.

Unfortunately, the Nut proves to be a pain in the ass to get. I did a 30-minute session, failed, did another 30-minute session a couple of days later, failed, and then held off until yesterday, when in my third battle...



Bingo.

Now, there is a way around this, and many other rare drops. You see, the RNG, or random number generator, for this game starts off the same every time you start the game. People have taken L40 characters with preset stats and equipment, and posted exact steps to get from booting the game to achieving the rare treasure. If you have the same stats and follow the same instructions, you will get these treasures due to how the RNG works. Someone else can go more in-depth if they wish, but if you're willing to grind, you can guarantee yourself rare treasures, including the Mythril Nut. I didn't do that here though because I didn't want to grind to L40 and try to get all the equipment the main FAQ for it had. But those extra levels will come in handy in the end game, so it may be worth a try.



Anyway, once you've got all three items, you finish the Tale all over again.





Which means beating the shit out of the Agart Turtle again and obtaining the Agartite.



And of course you use Warp to exit. You'll probably go back and forth between this room and the end one a few times before exiting.




Then you go back to the airship and try to rebuild it.



Most of the dialogue is the same so far.





And here comes the point where things change.



But...
You grew up with these guys! You've known them since childhood!
...
Can't you use these?



This is perfect! Not just for the Falcon, but I can use these to fix Calca and Brina too!
Really?
Yes! Thank you, Rydia!
I'll help too, Luca. We can repair this ship together!
All right!

...





And that's that. Everything else is the same, except with Calca and Brina hanging around in the background.




We still fight Titan, though the dolls sit back and do nothing.




Bio is still awesome.




Then the Man in Black comes in and shows off. And the Tale ends.



Even though Calca and Brina are fixed, they still don't rejoin the party here, so you can't use them in Rydia's Challenge Dungeon. They are around for the end game, however, and are the two main optional characters, and the only ones excluding the Eblan Four. Unlike the Eblan Four, these two are a pain to get, but hey, I've got them.

Hopefully they'll justify the time I spent saving their asses. I didn't get them the first time I played, so I'm interested to see how they thrive in the end game, especially with all the new clothes they'll be getting. Chances are I'll let Calca rot while experimenting with Brina since Dance rocks the shit out of Jive, but I might play with both.

That's one less pain in the ass dealt with, at any rate.