Part 64

Chapter 51






There's a couple of areas around Eblan to gather Small Tails, so let's knock those out before the main event.



And now we do one of my favorite parts of the game.





You see, Kefka's not the only one who can set a stone castle on fire.






I love how Edge exclaims that the castle is on fire. No shit, I think everyone else noticed.

What is happening here? Even Eblan has fallen into chaos!



Wait... This fire wasn't conjured by Ifrit's magic.

So we climb up each tower, kill a monster, and then progress. Simple enough.




Of course, we run into Ifrit immediately.



Ifrit! Please, you've got to come to your senses!




Yeah, at this point you still can't fight Ifrit, even though we just laid the smackdown on Ramuh and Shiva.



There are random encounters right now, all of which are fire-themed.




The two guardians are Melt Golems, who have a nice chunk of HP but otherwise aren't of note.






Simple enough.




Ifrit may randomly pop up in random battles in the area. He's just a dick like that.




Seneschal, damage report!
We've already evacuated all the women and children! I'm afraid our castle can't hold out for much longer, though!






Leave that guy to me!
That's suicide!
There's no other way! All of you, flee from the castle in the meantime!











So yeah, Edge has had enough of this shit and decides to fight Ifrit solo like a fucking man.





Of course, it proceeds poorly.



Rydia...did you make it out?





(Listen to this.)

That's right, fucking Rubicante is going to help us.








You expected me to listen?
Heh. It's your funeral.



Again, this fight is cutscene fueled.









So yeah, Rubicante just helped us by burning the shit out of us.



That's it! The blast from an explosion will quell the flames... An eye for an eye!
So...fire against fire?
You got it!

Uh... You're going to put the fire out by blowing up the castle?



On the brightside, now we can finally use Rubicante's sick-ass move.










Maybe it's because Black Magic is on a down move, but that wasn't much to write home about.



Surprised? You're not the only one who wields fire.



Heh. Well, whatever. Let's go!





So yeah, now Rydia and Edge can cast the Inferno band.




That doesn't mean you should really bother with it.




Ifrit likes to bust out Hellfire from time to time, but again, he's not that challenging.



Ifrit! You're back!





Not by myself.



As weird and nonsensical as that scene was, it makes up for it by being one of the most badass moments in either game. Edge deciding to solo a fucking Eidolon, and then having his former rival literally burn knowledge into him so that he can proceed to burn the shit out of that Eidolon... That's just fucking awesome.

At any rate, let's watch another minute of plot development over at Baron.





Cecil, stop this!






This is one scene where it'd be more chilling if not for the limited spritework.

Ceodore! You dare point your sword at your own father!?
Ceodore!
...






That... was actually kind of interesting.



So of course, we cut from there.



The store has a nice long-ranged upgrade for Edge to replace his Metal Boomerang.



There's also a katana that's the same strength as the Mage Masher Edge is currently wielding. I find the Boltslicer's thunder affinity more useful than silence and added damage to mages, though.



Let's go take a side trip to Damcyan.



Another piece of Diamond equipment hidden in the ol' storeroom.





There are people inside. I can feel it.
Let's go!



You know of these creatures?
These monsters... Have they overrun the entirety of Damcyan?
Antlions are normally peaceful, docile animals. I've never heard of them harming people before.

What about the time you were fucking attacked by one?



Hey, look everyone! Golbez actually has dialogue! How cute!



Wait!
Rydia...
Please spare their lives! They're not the ones at fault here.
Fair enough. I will be lenient towards them...when we can afford to be.



So the place is full of antlions, but they won't fight unless you initiate it. They just wander around like idiots.




Halt!



I am. And I believe you are...
Harley, royal secretary to King Edward.
Indeed. You have accompanied Edward to Mist many times.
Where is Edward?




That... did not happen at all. I know Harley has a good reason not to know exactly what happened, but she seriously just pulled that idea out of her ass.

And we all know what's happened to Baron Castle since. Who knows what has happened to them inside?
...

Golbez has exhausted his vocal cords from his one whole line of dialogue. Time to rest his voice.

I have faith in King Edward. He isn't someone who would fall into the enemy's hands so easily.
You're right!
We will guard this castle with all of our forces! Until then, we leave our lord's fate in your hands.



I'd reconsider that. This isn't exactly staid clerical work here.

Hah!



What...?
There is no one in the world who cares more for our lord than you, Harley.
Chancellor...

Of course, the Chancellor's true intent is to hope that Harley dies during this mission, so as to eliminate the corruption that's slowly destroying Damcyan from the inside.



You may join us, but only until we meet Edward again.
Oh, thank you! Thank you!
You can stay inside the Falcon until we track him down. I'm sure your advice will prove invaluable in times of need!
Y-yes, ma'am!

How nice of Luca, pretending that anything Harley does actually matters!



I love how the useful characters we recruit are bedridden from injuries, while the useless characters are just fine and hang around the airship doing nothing while the real heroes save the world.




So next time, we go visit Kaipo and recruit our last two characters.