Part 9: Cecil Relies On Today's Youth to Get Through These Trying Times

Chapter 9 - Cecil Relies On Today's Youth to Get Through These Trying Times





This is probably the biggest plot twist in the game. You leave on a boat to the bad guy's base to rescue your girlfriend, and then a sea monster comes out of nowhere and your friends are as good as dead. Cecil is once again alone, for the first time since Mist.

In a lot of ways, this scenario is similar to Mist. Cecil lost his friend(s), he's alone in unfamiliar territory, and the only thing to really drive him is his mission to stop Baron. This is much more devastating, though, as you had a chance to bond with Rydia, Edward, and even Yang, while Kain was just kind of there. Edward and Yang in particular followed Cecil due to their loyalty to him, despite him being a dark knight, and Rydia was an innocent girl that got wrapped up in all this. They didn't really know Cecil the way Kain and Rosa did, and yet they still saw he was a good guy and followed him.

Once again, Cecil is alone, his friends presumed dead. The only thing he has now is the drive to rescue Rosa.

There's no way Cecil's lot can sink any lower.





...Welp.

Welcome to Mysidia, the city of mages.






Remember how we came in, murdered their friends, and stole their crystal? Yeah, they're still a bit pissed about that.



Luckily this guy will change us back.



But yeah, Mysidia fucking hates us. I like how the Black Mages are all "FUCK YOU ASSHOLE" while the White Mages are "WE'RE SO DISAPPOINTED IN YOU" or even semi-informative. It seems a bit cliche that the Black Mages are centered around hatred, but their skill set is all about harming others, while the White Mages help others and have to see the good in everyone, even the guy who invaded their home.




This town mostly sells mage gear, though they also sell Paladin armor. Unfortunately, we can't equip it yet.



This is also the point where some more items are available, mainly Cure2 and Cabins.






Ugh!




I do like how the town actively tries to hurt Cecil. They don't outright attack him, but they hate him enough to poison him and turn him into various animals.



This one... Well, this is another dance where I simply recommend watching the video.

Video: Meeting the Twins



So now we're a poisoned purple pig. How pathetic.




After washing up on a strange continent and terrorizing the closest town, Cecil decides to call it a day.




Luckily, a good night's sleep has made him feel less like a pig and has given him the courage to ask for some help.



This is where we invaded Mysidia last time. You may recognize the Elder from the beginning.

Time to beg for mercy.





I am Cecil, the ex-captain of the Red Wings. I could not disobey the King.
Apologies will not bring our friends back alive. But I can at least listen to your words.
I'm fighting the one called Golbez who is the mastermind of Baron. A girl was captured. So we were on our way to Baron for her rescue but we were attacked by Leviatan... and...



...cannot defeat true evil. Moreover, you might be consumed with its evil at any time. If you wish to fight against evil with good, go to Mt. Ordeals to the east of Mysidia.



At first you must climb Mt. Ordeals and renounce this evil sword and gain the sword of sacredness.



Many went to Mt. Ordeals to be a Paladin, but none returned. Will you try?
Yes!
But it would be hard for you alone with your Dark Sword. Take wizards with you.

Video: Meeting the Wizards





You called for us?
Where is Palom?
Palom! Come on!






Meet Palom and Porom, the twin mages.






Hahaha.

Palom and Porom. They may be of help. Do not be deceived by their appearances.
Be thankful that Mysidian genius Palom will accompany you!
Palom! It's for your own good!



Well. How do you do, sir.





So the Elder decided to help the man who invaded their town by having two young kids tag along with him. Yes, this makes perfect sense.










Porom's a White Mage, Palom's a Black Mage. They start off looking unimpressive, but as the Elder said, looks can be deceiving.



So now that we have two Mysidian natives who actually don't hate our guts on the team, and now that we're on a mission to become a Paladin, the town's not quite as actively hostile toward us.




That said, they still don't have much faith in Cecil.





Anyway, Mt. Ordeals is to the east. It's a bit of a walk, so it'll give us time to check out a few new things.



The Raven is a pretty fearsome foe. It can attack twice and has a ton of HP.

This makes it the perfect target for Cecil's new toy.





The Black Blade has a chance of instantly killing a target, which makes it seem fucking amazing. And normally, it would be.

This is the gameplay and story working together again. On the surface, Cecil's blade seems awesome as hell, but the Raven's the only enemy we'll encounter that can actually get affected by the sword's power. Everything else right now is too weak to survive one hit from Cecil. The Raven was specifically designed to show off Cecil's sword and how powerful wielding darkness can be. In a way, it shows the power of temptation for the path of darkness, as the Elder suggested.



The thing to take from all this is that Cecil can wipe the fucking floor with the overworld enemies here.

Also notice the attack menu here. Palom and Porom have access to their respective magic, but they also have a Twin attack, where both spend a turn casting one of two spells.




Flare is the weaker of the two, but it still does great multi-target damage. We'll see the other next update.

Palom and Porom are also targets of removed abilities. Palom lost Bluff, which boosts his Intellect and thus gives more power to his spells, and Porom loses Cry, which helps the party flee in this version, and does other stuff in other versions. Not big losses in either department, and Cry's probably one of the weakest abilities anyway.

One more fun fact: Palom is one of the three characters in this game that are left-handed. Kain is the second, and the third is actually Golbez. Yeah, the big bad guy and his brainwashed bud are both left-handed. How sinister.

I'll go ahead and spoil that Palom doesn't turn evil at any point in this game.





Though they only know basic spells, the twins' will quickly gain more powerful magic as you level them. Palom's first level gets him both Piggy, which sucks as Piggy is just Mute with a different sprite, and Ice-2, which is pretty awesome. Porom gets the less-awesome yet still important Life1.



Slow reduces the action time of enemies, meaning they hit less often. This works on bosses, too, which makes it the most powerful debuff in the game. I won't be using it simply because this version of the game is already pretty damn easy, but in other versions you will learn to love this spell.




Ice-2 is a welcome upgrade, causing some solid damage to enemies.



South of Mt. Ordeals is a Chocobo Forest.



Hey, this is actually useful for once!



Alright, let's tackle Mt. Ordeals.




Looks like there's...fire blocking the way? Alright, then.

Video: Palom's Ice Burn



I know! You don't have to say that!





Sure, why not.







Palom! Our Elder taught us not to submit to arrogance!



The twins are little more than comic relief at this point, to be honest. We're still going to like having them in our party, though.

...Holy crap, I just realized that the twins look like recolored Onion Knights from FF3.








Welcome to Golbez's hideout, where he has Rosa tied up under a giant ball.

Oh, that fucking ball. Don't worry, we'll get to that at the proper time.





Milon of Earth, at your service.
We must not leave Cecil alive. We'd better make a move against him. Fortunately, his Dark Sword is nothing to fear for your monsters.



Your mission is to dispose of him beforehand.
Yes, My Master.





Yes. But Cecil might prove quite a formidable opponent.
I understand you respect your former friend... But I sent Milon after him. Milon is one of my Four Fiends of Elements. He'll put on a good show. Don't you think, Rosa?




You only have to watch this girl!



Ahahahahaha, Golbez is fucking over Kain's whining at this point. Seriously, you gotta love how Golbez puts Kain in his place like that.




Next time, we randomly meet an old friend and run into Milon and a secret castle.