Part 19

So many lives lost every year, especially because of him...
Hardly. The festival is a test of manhood. I tingle with excitement every year.

Might want to keep that to yourself, buddy.



Very good. Now we wait for the signal.







What!? We haven't even received the minister's authorization!
We believe that they're going to release "him" any minute.
Alright, release the mus before they let him loose.







Alright. Standby!





Ha ha ha! What power!
Hey, make him stop! It's too early to let him loose!
How? I have no control over him.
Dammit!







This is the big creature everyone's freaking out about.



And this is the big creature everyone's freaking out about bouncing back and forth like a ping pong ball.



And this is the big creature everyone's freaking out about being shot out of his holding cell like a bullet.

I haven't done enough goofy GIFs lately.

-----







Okay...





Don't know how Freya got in with the rest of them, but okay.

Alright, let's begin.





So the Festival of the Hunt is a mandatory mini-game of sorts where you run around fighting for points. The big thing is that there's more going on here than "Zidane wins/loses." Freya for instance can win as well, and you still get the Master Hunter key item.



Not only that, but each character has a different reward.



Zidane, for instance, gets 5000 Gil if he wins. Which wouldn't be bad if I weren't going to get 70k gil from the Wrist exploit in the next update. Also technically he can win a date with Dagger but all it leads to is a couple throwaway lines further in the game and the date never actually happens.



Freya gets an accessory that gives her a nice ability early. You can get this accessory later, and it does cost less than 5k gil making Zidane's reward technically the most profitable, but letting Freya win is definitely a solid idea as well.





I thought you would do pretty well, so I signed you up. Don't worry. With your black magic, it'll be a piece of cake.
I...I don't know...
That was very inconsiderate of you, Zidane.
Oh!





Dagger's reaction is the best thing.

(SHHH! Keep it down!)
What was that!? You just mentioned the princess.



It's nothing, right, Vivi?
Y-Yeah.
So, what would you like for your reward?



Vivi's reward is a fucking card. Not even a one-of-a-kind card, just a boring-ass card for a card game I plan on never touching again except for one instance.



Even the guard isn't buying it. The only reason to let Vivi win is to have the little guy win one for once, and even that's a bit difficult to do compared to the other two.

The festival will begin shortly. You all have different starting points. Hunter Zidane will start in the Theater District, Hunter Freya will start in the Industrial District, and Hunter Vivi will start in the Business District.

And with that, everyone heads off to their starting spots.





We just need to go to the air cab to start the festival.



-----







Oh, hush. We get a great view from here.
Hmm, you're right. I can see the entire town.



I can't believe it. He seemed reluctant earlier.



COME ON, VIVI!!!



No! Master Vivi!



YOU CAN'T WIN JUST BY RUNNING! A GOOD OFFENSE IS THE BEST DEFENSE! ATTACK!





NOW'S YOUR CHANCE! ONE MORE TIME!







Once we get off the cab, we have twelve minutes to navigate the three parts of Lindblum and kill as many monsters as we can.





And, what a surprise, people are getting attacked by monsters.



Mus take more than a hit and are a bit annoying, but you only fight one monster at a time and you have to try to die from them.



So it doesn't take much to take them out.



I almost got devoured by one.

Each monster gets a certain number of points, which I think is a bit random but generally enough to keep you competitive. You don't get EXP, AP, or Gil from these fights.





Next is the Trick Sparrow. You can take it out in one hit.



There are other competitors, of course, and they can end up in the lead as well. As long as you're regularly killing monsters, you should be fine.





Fangs are the third enemy, and are just as fragile if you're using your support abilities.







After this Trick Sparrow, we've cleared out the Theater District. We also got screwed for points on that one and end up getting passed by Vivi.



He looks a little scared out there, but he's steadily raising his score.

These guys will comment on whoever is currently leading.



Next up, the Industrial District!





I've probably missed a few in each section. Oh well.



It doesn't help I waste a lot of time getting into Trance against a freaking Mu.



Which gives Freya a chance to pass me up.



After this guy, I head back to go to the Business District. Freya's in the lead now, so if we talk to an attendant...

Freya's leading right now. She's a dragon knight from Burmecia. Now, she can fight! Hell, I saw some monsters run away from her.



There's no monsters in the first couple screens. There is a key thing to this area, though. We don't want to go to the area with all the shops until it's 4:30 or less on the clock, as that's when the boss triggers there.





Damn, you're ugly!



Okay, but I get to finish him! I've got a date with Dagger on the line!
...You're ridiculous. Fine. As you wish.





This is Zaghnol. He's worth a ton of points compared to the other monsters.



This is our first battle with Freya. Dragon is just various dragoon-related skills she can learn. Jump, well...



She jumps. If you've seen a FF game before, you know how Dragoons work.



Anyway, this guy has some nasty physicals.



And as you probably suspect, he also has some steals. This is his Common one.



This is decent damage, though Zidane's slightly better with his insane gear and all.



Zaghnol can electrocute himself as well, which lets him use Thunder as an attack. Pretty much in line with Heave when single-target.



Eventually I grab the other steal, a weapon we can't use quite yet. Soon, though.



The trick to this fight is that Zidane has to land the killing blow to end the fight. As long as Zidane is alive, Freya cannot kill the Zaghnol. If you KO Zidane though, then Freya can kill him and get the points.

Alternatively, you can just let them both get KOed and hope Vivi gets the win.





Anyway, eventually Zidane lands the killing blow.







But a wee bit too late to get the points. Yep, I was angling for a Freya win all along and kinda lucked out with it in the end. I want the accessory more, plus it makes more thematic sense for the dragoon who've been training her butt off for this to win over the guy who's only in it to get laid. Plus it's fun seeing Zidane come so close only to lose on a technicality.

Next time, Freya gets her reward and we get our next plot trigger. We're almost out of Lindblum!