Final Fantasy IV: The After Years

Part 72

Chapter 59

So we start off the update with a White Robe, and nobody to use it.

We're getting close to what was the end of the original dungeon. This particular room is different, in that it has a brownish hue and has more of an earth theme. I think you guys know where this is going.

There's several rooms on the bottom, much like the original room this is a mirror of. The first one has a teleporter back to the Lunar Whale. The save point also activates a cutscene, but we'll wait until after we fight the next boss to do it.

Edge gets himself a nice weapon upgrade. As a bonus, the weapon casts Protect when used. Nothing major, but a bit useful.

More important is that Edge is now averaging over 2.5k damage a hit. FF4 Edge he ain't.

This area is where you start seeing all kinds of new enemies. There's also a Behemoth, who as you may remember has some deadly counterattacks. Thankfully, Stop nullifies him.

The final room has yet more awesome treasure. We get our first piece of Dragon equipment, which resists all elements and protects against Dragon attacks. The Protect Ring also resists all elements and gives a nice beefy boost to your defensive stats.

Alright, time for another boss battle.

Or not.

Seriously, it's not worth talking about these guys.

Hohh... So we've got a necromancer on our hands next, do we?

A man who has the dead do his bidding for him?

Where is he!? Where's the guy bossing these zombies around?

(An archfiend... The one with control over the dead!)

So the Four Elemental Fiends that played a huge role in the original game? Other than Edge's BFF Rubicante, all they get are these boss battles. Still, it's badass to see these guys again.

Haven't changed much, have you?

Not you, too...

Scarmiglione, archfiend of earth!

He starts off by summoning six Revenants, who are a joke at this point of the game.

Quake makes quick work of them.

By doing this, Scarmiglione will counter all attacks with Thundaga, which will hurt even with Diamond equipment. Hell, I've had it outright kill Edge at full health.

Of course, if you have a White Mage with Reflect or don't mind blowing a lot of Lunar Curtains, this fight is a joke. Even without Reflect, I still use a bunch of Phoenix Downs to stay competitive and eventually end the fight with relative ease.

Well, that was easy. Guess we'll move on to

You should've seen that coming by now.

Scarmiglione can now do some serious damage with his attacks. He also loves to inflict status effects, especially Poison.

This is what makes Edward such an awesome character, and perhaps more reliable than any White Mage. Keep in mind this is using Hi-Potions. If I used X-Potions, I'd heal 4000HP to everybody, which is overkill at this point.

Oh, for fuck's sake. That bastard just Slowed my entire team.

I haven't been using Spider Silk much because, well, the bosses are already rather easy without it. I use it now to even the odds, because seriously, Slow is a powerful debuff.

Took a couple of tries, but Edward then nails a Hastemarch, which completely ruins Scarmiglione's day.

Not that it matters, as the very next hit by Edge ends the battle.

The fiends get special dialogue if Golbez is around, which makes me glad you guys brought him, even though it's just fluff. Also, the Fiends are much less dickish this time around.

That fiend is among the monsters here, too, no doubt...

Scarmiglione... The demon that Tellah fought against.

(If this archfiend was resurrected...then is the one who disguised himself as our king also near?)

(To the earth with you once more... and may it be a more peaceful slumber this time.)

The fiends also drop treasure chests when defeated.

This is a nice weapon for Palom, as it casts Comet when used. It's not super-useful, dealing only ~500 damage to all enemies, but it's more helpful than you'd expect in weakening enemies for Edge and Golbez.