Part 50

Chapter 42





We're starting off at Kaipo today.



Certainly.

Fortunatley (or unfortunately), Ceodore will not be getting Desert Fever. The writers aren't crazy enough to reuse events from the same game. At least not yet, since they're running out of events from the original to recreate.



Of course, our next stop is the underground waterway, making it the 4.5th time we'll have to go through it this game.



You knew these people?
This is Tellah the sage...and his daughter, too. He fought alongside my father in the old war.
...
What about you? Did you know about them?



Someone's touchy about a dead man. I mean, it's not like you were there when he died like, say, Kain.

...Oh shit, it all makes sense now. The Hooded Man is actually Cid!



There's some nice upgrades in equipment here, but I skip them because they're pretty damn pricey. I do stock up on Hi-Potions, though. You can never have too many of those babies.



Letting people stay for free can't be good for business, especially since these days Kaipo's a bit of a tourist hub considering the ferry route to Baron and all. At least the original had a good excuse for giving you free room and board.




And now, for no reason, Baron soldiers attack us. Even in a game that half-consists of its own previous game, this scene is shoehorned in and serves absolutely no purpose whatsoever besides a boring fight.



We've got him.
Look out, Ceodore!



The only notable thing about these guys is that they can cast Drain. Even then, Ceodore and Hooded Man hit hard enough to make these guys a non-issue.



They weren't human...not anymore.



I know...
We need to stay on the move. When day breaks, we'll traverse the underground waterway to the northeast.



Seriously, where the hell did that Hovercraft go, anyway? We never see it in this game. It might've broken down right before this game started, but you'd figure it'd be important to have considering it's a safe route between Damcyan and Kaipo.





Same dungeon, tougher enemies. There's some really nice loot, though.



Fun Fact: Bats are weak to wind attacks, like the Wind Spear. I can actually one-shot these fuckers. The Mizuchis like to cast Tsunami, which does hilariously weak damage in a dungeon where enemies regularly deal triple-digit damage.



I don't even know what these guys do.



But I'm just fine!
You need to pace yourself. We've got a while to go.
Oh...all right, then.

Couldn't you wait until we get to the overworld part first? I thought urgency was our top priority.



Of course, because the Hooded Man is a slacker, Kain beat us to Damcyan.



But, sir...



For some reason, I just love this line. It's the closest Kain gets to a personality that isn't cartoonishly evil.

Yes, sir. But if things prove to be more difficult than anticipated...
Don't count on it.




You can't explore Damcyan Castle, but as you can see, it's deserted.



In the throne room stands Edward, alone. No trace of even Harley.

You...
I never expected to see you here, Kain.






Alright, back to the game.




Alright, what you want to do for this guy is



Oh.

Remember that I said that physical attacks won't wake up sleeping enemies? This guy is pretty damn trivial because of it.




Our reward is the Icebrand, which is a huge upgrade to our current weaponry. Since the Sleep Blade has the same strength as the Wind Spear, I give the Sleep Blade to Ceodore so he can inflict Sleep on random enemies. The Wind Spear's still nice to have for bats, though.



But look at that sweet, delicious damage. Not even a critical, either.

Things are actually going to get fun soon.



Combined with the Ice Shield, Ceodore's in good shape.



We aren't through this yet. Watch yourself.
Right!

So of course it's time to check up on Kain.





Mm-hmm.
Will you continue this act of kindness and hand over the Fire Crystal?
Is that what you're really after?
It's not the main thrust of my business...but yes.
So what are you really after?
I'm going to kill Cecil.



Not yet. That's why I'm here.
I see... Sadly, I'm afraid I can't let you have my Crystal.
Even if it costs your life?



There's something to be said for a guy who responds to a death threat with, "Mm-hmm."






Huh, now all of a sudden Rosa's here. Was she there the entire time?




Of...of course!
Time to see what you're really made of.
Yes, sir!




Of course, that one whole minute of gameplay segues back into more Kain drama.



Your mind hasn't been...
No. I'm acting on my own volition.



Hahaha. Kain's betrayed everyone so many times that Rosa's still not buying it.



Kain!




Well, this isn't good.

Sadly, time's up.



I believe I've already made myself clear.
What?






Here it is.












Kain's still naked, so this takes awhile.




Without heavy armor to protect him from the horrors of music, Kain takes a bit of a beating.



Eventually I just give Kain a sword to speed things up. I have no clue what happens if you lose here, but I don't want to risk restarting stuff to find out.






So yeah, turns out things didn't work out. Still, you have to give Edward credit. He blew up his own fucking castle to try to stop Kain. It didn't work, but at least he tried. You can't really expect a non-fighter like Edward to stand up to an insane hermit dragoon who lives up in a monster-infested mountain.



Alright, let's finish this damn thing already.







I don't really have much to say about this guy.




The tentacles cast L2 spells, but even at full strength they aren't that bad. And that's before the armor resists some of these spells.



If there's a gimmick for killing the tentacles, I don't know it since I just focused on the main body until the guy quickly died. A nuisance, really.



Intensely boring, maybe.

If this is how violent the monsters are getting, then we must fear the worst!







We're too late!

Maybe if you didn't spend so much time sleeping, you'd have stopped him, you fucking oaf.



Farewell, Edward.
Kain, you must stop this madness!



Suddenly, the airship starts shaking.





The Enterprise ain't no spring chicken, but it's still healthy as ever! Just like me, y'know!



Well, there goes my Cid = Hooded Man theory.

He never gives up...

The guy blew himself up, then proceeded to get up and fix an airship like two days later. If there's one thing you can call Cid, it's resilient.





Let's go, Ceodore!

Next time, the exciting climax for this tale, where we at last discover the true identity of the Hooded Man.