Final Fantasy IV: The After Years

Part 56

Chapter 46

Back from hiatus. Anyway, Golbez and Fusoya managed to kill the Mysterious Girl. Suck it, everyone else!

So we return to the one notable location on the moon.

The Crystals are all dark and lifeless. This is not good.

So how could this get any worse?

Oh yeah. Of course.

You're still alive!?

You have my gratitude for leading me here.

What? Oh no...

Oldest damn trick in the book. Though why she needed to be leaded to the place with a giant crystal palace sticking out, I don't know.

This concludes our business.

So we're fighting Mysterious Girl again, this time with Leviathan. This battle is also legit, so go all out.

Leviathan hits hard, but nothing Fusoya can't cure. It's really the same as the former fight, just that the enemy is much more offensive than defensive this time.

Just keep laying on the attacks and you'll fucking kill her again.

I cannot say, but there is one thing of which I am certain.

(Cecil!)

I wll call for the Lunar Whale.

What?

We must attune our Crystals with the Lunar Whale's flight Crystal.

How?

By the power of our prayers.

Yes, Fusoya!

You know, I kind of like how the big bad of the original game is actually under the tutilage of someone else. It's a bit weird, but I like the dynamic between Fusoya and Golbez, especially considering how Golbez acts all-knowing when he meets up with Rydia and Edge while here he's relying on Fusoya for guidance. It's a bit refreshing to have a character who acts as though he knows everything that's going on being revealed as actually being in the dark as much as everyone.

Anyway, Fusoya and Golbez pray so hard a crystal explodes.

Shit.

What happened!?

Oh great, her again.

...Wait a minute.

There's more than one of her!

This is the big plot twist this tale throws at you. The reason the Mysterious Girl is everywhere at once is because there are a bunch of her. It also kind of explains her complete lack of personality.

What?

Oh, no! They're after our comrades in stasis!

To the moon's core! Now!

Back to the Lunar Subterrane. This time, the entire dungeon is available to us, and the place is thick with random encounters.

Nothing that magic can't kill, of course.

Well, magic can't kill Mad Ogres, but this is also the point where Golbez's physical attacks finally become worth using.

It may not be a bad idea to let Fusoya die so Golbez can absorb more EXP, considering Golbez will easily benefit more from levels than Fusoya. Golbez can always use the Blood Sword to gain HP. I wouldn't recommend Golbez soloing the latter parts of the dungeon, though that may be because I got two Game Overs trying that before keeping Fusoya alive.

+10 Strength, +10 Stamina. This is a huge find, as this combined with an attack-boosting moon means Golbez can kill everything but Flans in one or two hits with a sword. That is pretty damn awesome.

As you delve deeper into the dungeon, the remaining crystals start exploding one after another.

Look at that damage. Golbez with a good moon is now dealing over 1000 damage a hit. He has a whopping 50 Strength at L39 thanks to those Giant's Gloves.

If you go down the Ragnarok/Crystal Sword path, you get a free Soma Drop. If you give it to Fusoya, he will gain 2MP from Bless instead of 1MP.

Don't fucking give Fusoya the fucking Soma Drop.

We get to the last stage. This was where the original game ramped up for the climax with an awesome backdrop, insane random encounters, and some fantastic music.

The enemies here are certainly tougher. These are monsters you'd normally see in challenge dungeons.

These guys apparently are undead. Oops.

Even the fucking Chimera Brain is a random encounter here. He's not nearly as deadly here, though. I mean, he still wiped me, but that's because I didn't have Fusoya on healing duty.