Part 12: Cecil Uses the Power of Compassion to Stab His Friends

Chapter 12 - Cecil Uses the Power of Compassion to Stab His Friends





So yeah, Cecil is a Paladin now. This change isn't purely cosmetic, as Cecil is L1 again. Despite this, he starts off with a massive 600HP and some pretty good stats.




Cecil's starting equipment is, well, lacking. If you had the foresight to buy the Paladin equipment in Mysidia earlier, Cecil can now put it to good use. I only got a couple pieces, but it'll do.

The Legend sword, unlike Cecil's previous swords, is Holy-Elemental, which is convenient in a mountain full of undead. Of course, this also means Cecil can no longer use his old equipment.




Going with the "Defensive and Compassion" angle, Cecil also gains White Magic. However, Cecil only gains a whopping six spells of marginal use, so he might as well not even have the command. At least a couple of spells have some use, I guess.




Cecil's not the only one to get a battle makeover. Tellah regained his lost spells, so now Tellah has access to nearly every spell in the game. There are a few he can't use, though. In the White school, he lacks access to White, aka Holy, the ultimate White spell that deals hefty damage. He also obviously lacks the three dummied spells for obvious reasons, though otherwise he would have them (at least Protect/Shell, don't know about Dispel).

In the Black school, he's missing Quake, whatever Death is called in this version, and Nuke (aka Flare). Tellah has picked up Meteo, but the problem is that Meteo costs 99MP, while Tellah's max never goes above 90. So Meteo is useless to us, especially since we don't have access to the Max MP-boosting Soma Drops in this version.

However, Tellah still has some great stuff, including Fast and Slow, Virus, and the L3 spells. Too bad his MP pool is limited, especially since the L3 spells cost 30MP each. Still, Tellah can be quite a boss killer, and at this point he can be almost too powerful against certain bosses, in particular one we'll get to soon enough.

Finally, in other versions, Tellah loses his Recall ability, not that we have it here nor would I have ever bothered using it anyway.




Even at L1, Cecil could probably solo this entire area with his holy blade.





Oh, did I mention that Cecil gained six fucking levels in this one battle?



This is how you prove to the player that having the protagonist change from a badass Dark Knight to an Upholder of Good was the right move. Cecil had a sort of rebirth, yet he's already beating the shit out of enemies he couldn't even harm before.




Of course, I'm not going to let Cecil have all the fun.



With that, we've already learned half of Cecil's spells. Lovely.



Cecil's gained enough levels where his attacks are actually hitting pretty hard.




Cecil's special ability is Cover, which allows him to take physical damage in place of an ally. You choose Cover, then an ally, and Cecil will take all physical damage in place of that ally. As a bonus, Cecil will automatically protect Near Death allies, like he did for Palom. Considering Cecil will be your tankiest party member for the rest of the game, this is a pretty nice perk. I don't think he'll do it if he himself is at low HP though, plus it doesn't block magic.




Holy shit, Palom.




HOLY SHIT TELLAH



Oh yeah, we're off the mountain now. Glad that Chocobo has a use after all!



Alright, now let's go back to Mysidia and gloat about our awesome new look.










Time to deck out Cecil in Paladin gear. The other stuff is also nice for your mages.



I'm so used to hoarding items in modern RPGs that I just never get around to selling the crap I don't need. This is important because inventory space is limited, so it's good to regularly sell your outdated items.






They can't even speak well, they're so shocked.



Yeah fuck you too.




Here you are!
Man! Unbelievable!
What about?
I felt guilty, but I had them spy on you. But it turned out that there was no need for it.
That is the reason why we accompanied you.
I'm sorry I didn't tell you.
I do understand. You did the right thing. I deserve it.

So the Elder sent two kids to spy on the Dark Knight that invaded their town. Alright, then.



I received it on Mt. Ordeals.
The inscription upon this sword is exactly the same as the Mysidian Legend!
Legend?






The game will then reveal the legend, line by line, as the Prelude plays. It's pretty memorable, though it also doesn't make much sense. At this point, we can assume Cecil is the one "hoisting the light and the dark," though I will tell you right now that Cecil wasn't born from any fucking dragon. All I can say is that whoever wrote that legend was batshit insane and the Mysidians are idiots to take a lunatic's ramblings as gospel.





I do not know what it is nor do I know what the legend means... But we Mysidians, from generation to generation, are told to wish for this legend.




Now we must get rid of Golbez in a hurry!
Oh, Tellah!
It's been a while!
We have met him on the Mt. Ordeals.



What!? Is the world in such a dire crisis as to unseal Meteo...!?
It seems so. I'll avenge Anna with my Meteo!
Avenge!? You mean...



Do not fight with vengeance, Tellah. Moreover, you are in no condition to use Meteo!
Even if the price is my life, I can't forgive Golbez!
I thought you'd say so. You haven't changed.
You too...

We've also really started to get into Tellah's story arc. He lost his daughter, and he really doesn't have anything left, so he has no regard for his own life at this point. He's too old to cast Meteo without sacrificing his own life, but he's willing to do it to stop Golbez.

Is it foolish or noble? Is Tellah really doing the right thing here? Is this really the only way Tellah can stop Golbez? These are some good questions to think about as we go through the next few chapters.



We must go back to Baron and get the airship to fight Golbez on equal terms...
Very well... I open the Serpent Road. Go to Baron!









It's not over yet! You told us to help him!
Please allow us to go with him!
...The Mt. Ordeals accepted you and returned you alive...... Thus this may be your destiny.

...You expected them to die!?



But...
You know what we can do, don't you?
Right!
Never worry. I am with you!
Okay... I'm counting on you all!
Thanks, old man!
Calm down! And let's go!



We will be wishing for not only you but for all those living on this earth!



And thus the Elder goes upstairs to pray for the safety of the world wish everything turns out fine and dandy.




Past the Crystal Room is the Hall of Wishes, where the Elder is fervently wishing for more wishes.



Palom and Porom. Behave yourselves and help Cecil.

As much Engrish as this game has, the ridiculous censorship didn't help matters. It's a good thing we were all too young and stupid to notice this shit growing up! Hell, I haven't even noticed just how ridiculous replacing "prayer" with "wishing" is, even though the difference is slight. Then again, there's no better way to translate it if you can't have religion in your game. At least this game had the luxury of being retranslated several times. Imagine all the other SNES games that don't have that luxury.




Time to take the Serpent's Road to Baron.










The game makes a big deal about how the trip can really drain the stamina of those who undergo it, though our group are big enough badasses to handle it. It's actually left up to the imagination of what exactly happens, which is kind of cool. It's a mysterious passageway that is never explained, requires a strong constitution to take, and fits with the mystique of the game. I'm kinda glad that they didn't bother explaining what it is.

Especially after the sequel shows us what it is. Jesus Christ, did I fucking hate that.



Anyway, we're finally back in Baron. Nice to get back to some normalcy.




Except the King's become a tyrant and has imprisoned Cid for hiding his latest airship. Wonderful. The front gate is blocked, too, so we need to find another way in the castle.



Even worse is that the King managed to rope in a Fabul Karate Man to betray his people and lead his knights. I don't know why you need a brawler to lead infantry, but it just shows how little I know about war.




Very sad.

I'm pretty sure the video of her dancing is my highest-viewed video in this LP so far.

Time to check out the inn and put a traitor in his place.



...Oh shit.








These guards are pretty simple.




They'll counter attacks with Size, which inflicts Mini. Mini reduces your physical attributes to nothing, though you can still cast magic just fine. At least it's a White Mage spell, so it's not completely irrelevant next to Toad like Piggy is.



These guys are too weak to be even a remote threat.





Looks like Yang visited Namingway and got his name changed to Karate. To be fair, Karate would be a bitchin' first name.





This is pretty much a straight-up fight, so don't treat it like a gimmick.





Karate has no problem kicking your team for a good amount of damage, which could make things tough if you're not prepared.




Luckily, I have a badass sage flinging level 3 spells in his face.






Well, shit. I think he's dead.






Nah, Yang's fine. He even got his name back!



I must warn you that this scene is especially Engrishy.

I am sorry.



Where's Rydia and Edward!?
Rydia was swallowed by Leviatan. I don't know what happened to Edward.
I see.



Where am I?
We are in Baron. Soldiers will hear us. Let's talk over there.



On the bright side, Yang's rejoined, giving us a five-person party and our first physical fighter since...well, since the last time Yang joined.




Sometimes the dialogue's better with the crazy translation.




-in-law. God knows how many people were confused by that line, myself included.

My daughter loved him...even sacrificing her own life.
I see. I am a Karate Master of Fabul.
I'm the Mysidian genius, Palom!
Please do not mind him. I am his twin sister Porom.
You hurt us, man!



Stop it, Palom!
I'm ashamed.
Anyway, we must rescue Cid.
But it won't be easy to sneak into the Castle Baron.





So I guess Yang was given a special key due to his rank, which makes me wonder why Cecil didn't have such a key in the first place, considering he was the fucking captain of Baron's air force.



Next time, we pay the king a visit.