Part 87

Chapter 73

So last time, we made it to the final boss, only to find out it's some humanoid blue blob.

Today is an important day. After 72 updates, ~35 hours of gameplay, and 4.5 months in this LP, we are finally going to learn the plot of Final Fantasy IV: The After Years. We will also be fighting the final boss in this same update.

You can tell this game was developed with the utmost care and love.





Wh-whoa... I was expecting a monster to pop out of there, but not this.
Wh-what is that!?
It could be some kind of armor, even!
This? This is what was behind the Crystals, and the Maenads?



Understand?
He's gonna try to talk it out if he can't beat us?
You must think we're some kind of inferior being, don't you?
We...we have to understand! We need to know how to stop this moon!
Let's hear out your story, then.



You seem to see the Crystals as embodiments of wisdom, but that is not their sole function. Certainly, the Crystals have granted you the tools you needed to grow and advance as a civilization...



So all those boss fights we did were recordings of other bosses, including the ones from other games.

And this is how The After Years found a way to successfully ruin an entire franchise.

Wh-what!?
So...what are you going to do with the Crystals' knowledge?



That was the reason why I created the Crystals. The Crystals I sent to your planet are no exception. Now, the time has come to harvest them. I had sent a force of Maenads to your planet to handle the duty.
You mean those girls?



So this guy is using the Crystals to record data to help him research evolution. The personality-less Maenads are a result of his research.

This guy isn't a very good scientist.




I fear that you have not achieved enough on this planet to satisfy my needs. I cannot allow the universe to be overrun by inferior species that fail to evolve to their fullest potential. Hence the reason why this moon has not stopped...

On one hand, it sounds like he's saying FF4 is inferior to all the other games, which is just hogwash. Then again, considering how everybody's been acting this game, he does have a point.

But yeah, he's ramming the moon into the planet for no reason other than to be a dick. Lovely.

You...you cannot do that!
A-are you kidding me!?
You monster...!
Wh-whoa! Wait a second!
You're going to crash them into each other!?



In other words, this is all my work... The Crystals, the Maenads, and this new moon.

Not content with just stealing from the FF series, now the game's stealing its plot from Chrono Trigger. Wonderful.



And they stole the final boss name from FF Legend. God, I could use a chainsaw right about now.






I forgot that Creator revealed his name here, so disregard the "SPOILERS" in the song title. This is actually the same music as the final floors of the dungeon.

Right, so we're fighting... Whatever the fuck that thing is.




This form researches your party's habits and shit. I don't really understand its gimmick, because I beat the crap out of it before it could do anything interesting.



Like this. I don't know what the fuck this is.






I mostly stuck to physicals, so it'd counter with Binding Glare. I think its counters differ depending on what you use on it.





There's not really much to this fight.



Now Creator has changed shape. Get ready for some more plot.



We prospered more than we could ever sustain...until we consumed our very planet down to its core. By the time a small group of experts noticed, it was already too late to reverse the trend.

Oh for the love of god, he better not be talking about Earth, or some other FF game or whatever. That "small group of experts" sounds too specific for this fucker's origins to not be important.



Months and years passed, and generations lived and died aboard our fleet as we voyaged. Eventually, our ability to survive slowly deteriorated to nothing...stunted by the artificial environment we lived in.



What kind of civilization should we have built? How should we have evolved instead? In search of an answer, I embarked on a lifetime of experimentation, creating the Crystals to record all of my proceedings. After I made them, I sent them out to countless planets...anyplace that had the potential to sustain life.

I wasn't kidding about this game linking the FF games together. This fucking game has single-handedly made all the FF games occur in the same universe.



I am sorry...but my craft cannot hold out any longer... The chemical reactions...that were controlled by my outer frame...! They are changing...me... My brain has started to...transform...!






OK, I don't know what the fuck anymore.






Humanoid Form is a lot more dangerous, using shit like Megaflare.







To be honest, there's not much else to say. Every single battle has the same strategy. Spam Haste, spam Salve -> X-Potion, Spam Doublecast, Spam Attack. I did kill Creator with his own Megaflare, so at least there's that.








Oh boy, here we go again!



This fight is unwinnable. Don't bother wasting any items. Just wait it out.






...Welp.



In each of the following scenes, imagine hearing the Crystal sound.





Palom?
Elder!
Porom!









We can't let them defeat us! Not until His Young Highness returns!







Hah hah hah! This castle isn't going down that easily!




Luca!











We believe in you!
If you give up, then all is lost!
You promised me! You said you'd stop the moon...and we'd all come back home together!
Please! Fight until the end for me!
You must believe! I know you can live through this ordeal!
All my heart...I put it into my fist!
Everyone back home is fighting for you!
C-can you hear us!? Our feelings!?
Please...may my prayers reach you!
We're waiting for you...and so is everyone else!
You have to feel it! All of our feelings are with you!
I believe in you...all of you!
You aren't the only ones fighting here!
(Father...Fusoya! Lend them your power!)





LISTEN:













Hey, we're close to the end of the game anyway. Why not just rip off the last fight of the original? At least it gives them an excuse to finally play the Prologue.





Right down to the boss doing nothing until we use a Crystal on it.









And now we reach the final boss.



He starts off with Black Hole, so no exploiting the pre-fight buffing up.





Creator has some pretty strong attacks, like Multiply.




Creator can also randomly heal itself for 9999. Hopefully you're outpacing that by a wide margin.





Split will hit a single person for heavy damage, in this case 4k. Creator is smart enough to always target my one healer.



At the start, your elementals won't be impressive.






Creator does have a weakness-changing gimmick, though. Pretty much use the element he casts, or else you'll heal him.





Creator is full of nasty attacks like that.





He can also do a mass Drain sort of thing, which works as a breather.




If you don't hit the right element, as I said, it heals the Creator. If you get it right, though, you should score some solid damage.




So yeah, looks like the Hero Shield can absorb elements, or at least it does if you resist them like the Protect Ring does.



Fuck you, Creator.




Hilariously, Creator can also cast status spells like Mini, Pig, and Toad. My Lunar Equipment and two Ribbons kinda make that spell pointless, though.