Final Fantasy IX

Part 27

Oh, you mean about Burmecia? I heard they were attacked by an army of soldiers wearing pointy hats. I wanna go fight on the frontline. Instead, I'm rotting away in this stinkin' place.

Really? I don't like wars. Why would someone start a war...?

No... I don't think so.

But weren't you the one who thought he was suspicious?

You know me! I'm always like that. I'm telling you, people who eat pickles are nice people. I envy them. Gysahl pickles are the only pickles I can't eat.

WELCOME TO DISC 2, PEOPLE.

The conductor said we'll be arriving at the Summiy Station soon.

She's sleeping...

(Queen Brahne would never start a war... It's all a misunderstanding. She will see that when she talks to the queen.)

Oh Steiner, ever the loyalist. In case you had any doubts about Steiner's single-minded dedication to his duty, which you probably didn't, the game takes another opportunity to beat you over the head with it, much like Steiner does with every person he meets.

-----

Take care.

How long will it be?

It arrives when this car returns to Bohden Station, so...about as long as you just spent in the car. Why don't you go wait in the rest area up ahead?

Okay.

P-Princess...

Hey, what did I say about-

Really...?

We're home...! But I still can't see the castle.

Hey, are you making fun of me for being naive?

N-No, I'm not...

It's okay. Let's go.

I like this bit here. Steiner obviously has a high regard for Alexandria, and that includes all of it. Dagger's too sheltered to really understand, but Steiner's loyalty isn't just for the castle and the royal family, but for the entire land that Alexandria covers. This entire region is his homeland, and he loves every square inch of it.

It's a nice character touch for a giant goofy oblivious buffoon.

Also we now have control of our characters and can deck them out. Unlike last time, we'll been spending a good bit of time with Dagger and Steiner, so it's not a bad idea to deck them out.

From my current armor selection, I can have Steiner learn Add Status (though I don't have any swords yet that inflict status effects) and can teach Dagger Scan from the Desert Boots.

We're also finally at the point where Dagger will actually start learning passives. In addition to Antibody and Jelly, Dagger can learn Chemist, which doubles effectiveness of all healing items. It's...pretty underwhelming since Dagger's Cure spell already outclasses the hell out of Potions, but it's not like she has anything else to invest in right now.

We're currently at the halfway point between Lindblum and Alexandria. Kind of surprising a podunk town like Dali is listed on this thing, to be honest.

There's not many people here except people utterly obsessed with cable cars. Let's plead ignorance about cable cars.

The Berkmea cable cars were built 8 years ago. They are a symbol of the friendship between Lindblum and Alexandria! They are powered by Mist engines, invented in Lindblum. The cars work by pulling on each other. When one car is at the bottom of the mountain, the other is at the top.

OK FINE SHUT UP I KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT CABLE CARS NOW.

Good! Why not go to the rest area?

I wanted to stay by his side, but I have my work, too.

This place isn't that rowdy, unless you consider having identical twins sitting around being pretty rowdy.

Seen here: Steiner gathering information by staring at a wall. Brilliant tactician to the end.

I'm never gonna fall in love! It's just not worth it...

Free Kupo Nut if you managed to give up the one you had beforehand. You can only hold one of these at a time, remember.

Also more moogle mail.

We don't actually need a map since the path is pretty straightforward but alright.

But the gate's broken right now; the airships can't pass through.

I'm not making shit up here. The game actually uses a semicolon here. Yes, I know. Yes, really. You have to trust me on this.

What's the special?

Ah, yes! You gotta try our famous bundt cake! The perfect gift for the family! Take one home today for your loved ones! It's the world-famous South Gate Bundt Cake!

OK OK shut up how's business?

Business is good! It's always busy here.

Some new weapons for Dagger, plus a chance to grab some stuff in case you didn't think to buy stuff for Dagger and Steiner in advance.

Also another chance to stock up on Steepled Hats to do our favorite money-making method once again.

Air Racket sucks since the only new spell it teaches is Scan, with Dagger's boots can also teach. Silence and especially Life are handy to have right now, though.

TRAIN STOPPING NOISES

The car to Lindblum just departed.

...? That voice sounds familiar.

Remember Tantalus? Remember Dr. Tater? Wait, you don't?

How the heck should I know...? You were the one who wanted to watch the scenery while eating South Gate Bundt Cake.

I'm gonna be late returning to Lindblum...

There's nothing we can do. I won't tell the boss.

Thanks, buddy!

Geez...

Are you actually good at anything Cinna, even in battle you're pathetically weak.

Who's the big tin man?

WHAT!? How dare you!

He's the captain of the Knights of Pluto.

Grrr...! Have you no respect?

Steiner being Steiner.

Princess!? What are YOU doing here?

Hey, check it out! It's the princess.

Those two screenshots pop up when talking to Cinna or Marcus, so to shut up Steiner we're gonna need to scold him like the whipped puppy that he is.

Can't I even talk to my friends?

Friends!? But they're...

He's bein' scolded.

How embarrassing.

It's here!

But you're goin' to Lindblum.

I-I know that! But you're going to Alexandria!

Yeah, I'm heading to Treno.

I'll see you off!

Let's go, Steiner.

Now that Dagger has made Steiner pout and cry, let's go do more plot by following Cinna and Marcus.

Yeah. I'll save our bro!

Say, why is Marcus going to Treno?

Are you going to Treno, too? Marcus's got a deal in Treno.

A deal...?

You'd better get on the car.

Fine I'll advance the plot.

To save our brother.

Who?

Remember, Marcus and Blank are BFF's. If you read the supplementary materials you'd fucking know that (and probably wouldn't be reading a Let's Play on the game instead, so thanks for being ignorant about Final Fantasies).

We've been gathering info to cure his petrification.

Soft already exists to cure petrificaiton, so let's just have a more potent version exist to be even more awesome. Where's the Superphoenixdown by the way?

Cinna's going to the Tantalus hideout in Lindblum to tell the others.

I see...

It's my turn for questions.

Yes?

Got rid of him as soon as he got you to Lindblum, huh?

...Yeah, you're not fooling anyone, Dagger. Between the way she talks about him and her body language (turning away as soon as he's mentioned, then turning back in anger when Marcus says she used him, and of course shaking her head incredulously), it's obvious there's still something there.

And Marcus is still a total bro to his (former) Tantalus buddy.

Dagger can talk to people some more, but I forgot to talk to the other two and go back to bugging Marcus.

Help with what?

Well... I was partly responsible for what happened, so...

No, thanks. We'll be fine on our own.

But wouldn't it be better if-

CAR BRAKING, MUSIC CUTS OFF

It's a demon! A demon with a pointy hat!!!

A pointy hat!?

Look who's back!

Isn't that the one we saw on the cargo ship?

Wait, Steiner!

Princess, it's too dangerous! Please stand back!

Mission...retreieve...princess...alive...

It's no use! It doesn't understand!

But-

Time for our first battle of Disc 2!

A rematch against Black Waltz 3! Since the guy's a bit beat up, it's not as bad this time.

You know what's nice against a boss that mainly casts magic? Shell. Too bad it wears off very quickly, like two attacks from the guy.

Not too shabby, at least.

Rememeber, the Tantalus crew can also steal. Marcus doesn't have the passives Zidane has to make stealing less of a pain, though. This is the common steal.

The only new move Black Waltz 3 has is Freeze, which inflicts the Freeze effect. If a character is hit with a physical attack while frozen, they instantly die. Not a huge issue since the Black Waltz only uses physical attacks rarely, plus it uses the fire spell sometimes and that heals the effect. Also the Black Waltz once again doesn't target Dagger, so she's free to cast Life.

And it misses anyway so it's all moot.

The only new item here is the Semi-Rare steal, the Flame Staff. It teaches Fira and Sleep. Vivi has way too many weapons to learn things from now.

The Uncommon steal is another Lightning Staff.