Final Fantasy IV: The After Years

Part 70

Chapter 57

This game is pretty kind in giving you checkpoints in which you can go back and restock in the Lunar Whale or change your team. In a game that encourages you to mess with various party members, it's kind of a necessity, so I'm glad they didn't fuck that up.

There really isn't much to talk about, as it's pretty much the same ol' dungeon.

We get a nice upgrade for Kain, as the Lustrous Sword outclasses everything else so far. Golbez can't use it, which is a shame since Kain's better with spears, but I'll take it.

Time for another rehash!

It's back...

So be it...

(These...these are Barbariccia's underlings!)

Barbariccia's cronies!

The Magus Sisters...

These guys gave me trouble as a kid, but once you know their gimmick, it's not that bad. In the original, Cindy could revive her sisters, making her the biggest threat. I don't know if she still does that, but she should still be your biggest focus.

That said, I start off by attacking Mindy to make physicals hit Cindy harder, and because Mindy doesn't have fucking Reflect up.

Sandy loves her status spells, which can screw with your plans.

While thinking of a way to attack Cindy, I figured it out using a spell I rarely used before.

Quake makes this fight into a joke. It completely rips this team apart and makes your life much easier. Though to be fair, I think it came to mind because I'd have Cid do the same thing in the original with the Earth Hammer you get at that dungeon. Still, Quake's more awesome than I thought.

I kill them off one by one, eventually winning the battle with ease.

Rest in peace forevermore...

(If that was the Magus Sisters... Could they be coming next?)

Oh God no. Not this scene. This is the scene where I realized I hate the Eblan Four.

Read this, pretending there's a second pause between each line. Realize that every time Edge says something, all four end up saying something that adds absolutely nothing of substance to the conversation. Read it, and realize just how void of personality and how interchangable these four idiots really are.

Master...

I...I...

I apologize...

...

We couldn't just stay there and watch, Master! Not while this moon is advancing ever closer to our homeland...

We've come here to defend our honor, my lord.

My creaky old body may not be capable of much... But if it'll help stop this moon, I will gladly lay my life on the line.

I wanted to contribute to the cause...no matter how little it may help in the end.

Trust me, you'll be even less help than you expect.

No...

I did not mean that, my master!

Not at all, Master! I...I just...

My apologies, Master.

Master!

I...I thank you for your kind words, Master!

I will do whatever it takes, Master!

Thank you, my master! I will do my best to avoid dragging everyone else down...

Yes?

A promise?

What would that be, Master?

Yes, two of them just said the exact same thing.

Y-yes, Master!

It is a promise!

I will do my best!

Yes, Master! You too, Master!

You see, this is what I fucking hate about these scenes. They're the perfect opportunity to further develop these characters, yet all they do is reinforce what we already know. It also points out one of the biggest flaws of the end game: the need to have every single person get a line at every opportunity, no matter how pointless it is or how little involvement that character may have. I've been cutting it out, but Calca and Brina literally have the same lines every time we fight a boss, which are ellipses with the occasional exclamation or question mark.

If they spent less time giving every character a line for every occasion and more time developing the lines for the characters that actually matter in the scene, maybe this part of the game wouldn't have such annoying dialogue. It's a huge step down from the somewhat-witty and clever dialogue in the last tale. Here, all the dialogue is cookie-cutter to the point of being annoying.

This is part of the reason why I believe this tale is when the game's nonexistant plot goes to shit. Despite the ample opportunities, there really is little character development in these campfire chats. The dialogue's too banal to even be interesting. There's some great relationships, some great teams reuniting, some great friendships being forged here, and the writers just can't make any of this work. To say it's disappointing is a big understatement, especially later on.

Fortunately, the gameplay ramps up from here, so at least there's that to keep me going.

Hey, this team is Mind-Controlled Boss Fights, right?

Hah! Now we're the ones controlling minds! Suck it, evil!

This little prick just made me waste a bunch of Antidotes.

There's also a lot of dragons around here, including Golbez's little pet.

Oh boy, I wonder who we'll be facing next!

The monster with the giant cannon!

Ugh... Not him, too!

(The man under Rubicante's command!)

Seriously, Golbez, why can't you just say your thoughts out loud like a normal person?

Lugae!

Never would I have thought to face you again!

Barnabes hits hard and can hit twice a turn. Lugae... he's a bit of an oddball in this fight.

Quake's still a great multi-target spell.

I Haste Yang because he's great at punching stuff, and Calca because I need a medic at all times.

Lugae likes to Target people without ever really doing anything.

Lugae can be a dick and do moves like Poison Gas or Blaster.

He can also heal status effects and HP. Alright?

Of course, this immediately follows with a Beam attack.

After killing Barnabes, he'll use Sleeping Gas at times.

Ouch.

And thus not-Hojo goes down, probably the only boss who isn't all "I'M SORRY I'M FIGHTING YOU AGAIN" when you kick his ass.

I will remember your last words!

(Such talent... If it were only pointed in the right direction...)

This time, we're checking up on the twins. They've grown apart to the point where they can't even use Twincast. Surely their experiences since being separated will give them newfound appreciation for each other and lead to some pretty in-depth discussion about their bond as twins.