Part 64

Eiko's been kidnapped! She's been taken by Kuja to the Lost Continent.

A few party members have updated dialogue now.

Why is Kuja making Eiko and everyone suffer!?

First the princess, now Eiko... Kuja will pay dearly for this!

Why did Kuja abduct Eiko...?

Anyway, before we continue the plot, let's do a couple of things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIlviDqlyyM



First, the last summon I can show off for now is Odin.



His attack is, like the rest of the series, Zantetsuken.







He basically slashes the enemy party with his giant fuck-off sword.



It inflicts Death on enemies. The chance to hit is (# of Ore/2) + Level + (Magic/4) - Target's Level. If it misses, then nothing happens unless you have the Odin's Sword passive ability equipped, which I'm not sure we actually have access to yet. If it is equipped, then Odin will instead do damage with power equal to (145 - Ore), meaning less Ore is useful for dealing damage (as opposed to more for the instant death effect). The damage with no Ore ends up being pretty solid, but will get outclassed by Leviathan with maxed Aquamarines and Dagger's last two summons.





The penultimate friendly monster is Feather Circle.



This one wants a Moonstone. Simple enough.



It'll be a little bit longer before we can find the last friendly monster.



That's enough dicking around for now. We've got a party member to save!





First off, nobody's outside anymore. There's encounters with Garudas out here now, nothing too scary but it's certainly changed things up from our last visit.



The bishop from before is hanging out. Also Vivi decided to join us so he could get a faceplant in.



You are in a holy place. Keep the noise down. Hmph! Just like the other pointy-hats! No manners at all.
Hey, mister, what did you just say? Have you seen some guys that look like my friend here?
How dare you address me so! I am the priest of Esto Gaza, the holy place in which you stand. Mind your tongue, child. Are you in league with that brazen crew?
Tell me where they went! Was there a little girl with them? My friend's life is in danger! Tell me what you know, now!
All life is equal. The living will return to the stars. Through the Path of Souls of the Shimmering Island.

This guy...is kind of a douchebag.



...
I just watched them. Besides, they didn't do anything wrong.





Mount Gulug?
An enormous volcano that went extinct in the days of old.







And? What about the girl?
Oh, yes. One of the black mages carried a little girl, too.
That's gotta be Eiko!



I'm going, too! I think everyone will understand.
Yeah. They can't let Kuja control them forever!



For the next dungeon, Vivi is mandatory. That's fine with me because Vivi is fucking awesome and powerful and one hell of a shitwrecker.





Nah, fuck that guy.



This shop updates at this part of the story, which is pretty frustrating since if you miss out on it and don't find an optional town you can miss out on some of these items. The most notable one is the Octagon Rod. It absorbs wind and water attacks, boosts water damage, has a 10% chance of inflicting Trouble, but most importantly teaches Vivi all three -aga spells. Yep, you can miss Firaga, Blizzaga, and Thundaga in this game. Can you believe I managed to do that in my first game even with the terrible BradyGames guide?

There's more stuff as well. The Zorlin Shape for Zidane isn't really needed, teaching only Flee. The Flame Saber's nice, teaching Steiner Magic Break while having a 10% chance of inflicting the awesome Heat status, even if a fire-elemental sword isn't the best thing to bring to the next dungeon. The Heavy Lance has a 10% chance of inflicting Stop, another wonderful status, and teaches Freya Six Dragons, a really weird ability that can fully heal HP, or MP, or both, or reduce one or both to 1. As you may guess, it's too random to really be useful. The Scissor Fangs have a 15% chance of inflicting Venom (yet another insta-kill status) and teach Amarant Counter and Aura, a really nice buff that gives the target Regen and Auto-Life. Asura's Rod teaches Dagger Mini, Confuse, and Silence, which I think Dagger already knows all three of. Finally, the Hamelin is a flute that teaches Eiko Curaga, Might (boosts target's Strength by 25% for the battle, can be stacked up to a stat of 99), and the rather-baffling Jewel (50% chance of extracting Ore from a target, can be repeated but I have no idea why you'd want to). Armor-wise, the only new item is the Red Hat, which boosts Fire damage and teaches Cover and MP Attack.



I opt for Quina because they're my most reliable healer now with Eiko gone and Dagger still depressed, plus there's two new Blue Magic spells to learn. The last slot doesn't really matter as much, but Amarant has a bit more flexibility and more abilities to learn, so I go with him.









Fuck Meteor.





Pilgrims come from afar to follow the Path of Souls. But you see... Soon after the black mages came, terrible monsters appeared here. Thanks to them, very few people come to visit nowadays.

The black mages came like thirty minutes ago.





I told Artemicion not to use it!



A bit more Mognet stuff this update.



Remember this door that was closed earlier? It's open now, and we can use it to access our next dungeon.





Series fans should recognize this music. If not...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYdSH34z5hg

The music and name are a giant callback to a similar dungeon in FF1.



There are notes from the mole people of old here. This place has seen better days.



Most of the treasure here is lying on the floor, hidden. There's only a couple actual chests in this dungeon. Adds a bit to the ruined city aspect.



As usual, there are plenty of enemies here.





Vepals love to use Lava Gun to deal fire damage and Mustard Bomb to inflict Heat (Body Temp is a good idea for this dungeon). Scorch nullifies all elemental attacks to protect against their Ice and Wind weaknesses.



Flare gives no shits though.



Move to the right, skip past the well...



This sweet treasure boosts Water damage and teaches Loudmouth and the wonderful Auto-Regen. With this, Zidane is now only one ability away from learning all the ones he can possibly learn. And we still have a good chunk of Disc 3 to go!





With that, let's head down to the next level of this dungeon.





I see. That's why we haven't been receiving mail lately. Kupo.

Mognet relies on a machine to deliver mail, apparently. It needs lubrication to work properly, but Artemicion decided that lubricant is better put to use to make his coat a shiny purple. Which leaves us to do his damn job for him.



Speaking of doing his job, there's another moogle like three screens away from this one we have to deliver to. Joy.



This creepy-looking guy is a Worm Hydra.



It mainly breathes stuff that do percentile-HP damage attacks and statuses like Freeze and Venom. Antibody is another valuable passive to equip here since it stops Venom.



Grenades aren't anything special other than their sweet armor. Firaga and percentile damage spells.



If we go to the right, we end up with another Gaia Gear. But we also have to go this way to trigger something.



Not that...





That.



There are three set points in this dungeon that we fight Red Dragons. They're pretty beefy with some nasty attacks like Aerial Slash and Twister.



The latter is a move Quina can learn. It's a wind attack that hits all enemies and ignores magic defense, but in return the damage is random, essentially 55 * a number between 1 and (Level + Magic - 1). It's not terribly impressive, but it's still one of Quina's better damage moves.



Plus the thing is weak to Wind, so Quina can eat one and use its move on the other. Of course, Vivi's Blizzaga and Amarant's physicals (his Kaiser Knuckles just happen to be wind-elemental, a weakness of most encounters here) are much more impressive.







A lot of enemies are a level multiple of 4, but it's kinda moot because L4 Holy is pretty terrible.



The west has a house, and right beside it a mine entry.



Just a Demon's Mail and another clue here.





Come to think of it, I don't really know much about Mognet Central...

The mine has the other moogle here.



And further on, a sole Red Dragon.



The puzzle is to pull the lever down three times.



This lowers a weight that lets us proceed down.



...where two more Red Dragons lie in wait.



Before we continue, here's the Red and Blue Wraiths. They do nasty stuff.



They both have Devil's Candles, can cast Firaga/Blizzaga respectively, and can inflict Doom.



The blue one teaches Frost, which has a 30% chance of inflicting the Freeze status. Not that great, but with that we only need one more spell to complete Quina's Blue Magic list.



All we need to do now is go through the hole and we're pretty much done.

FADE TO SILENCE



Looks like we found them.

Zidane, it's Eiko! Kuja and the black mages are there, too!
Eiko! That must be the extraction spell!









So it looks like they're doing the same thing to Eiko that they did to Dagger. Uh oh.





Also, Dagger has joined us randomly.





!!!
We all know how you feel, Dagger, so leave this to us... Okay?
...







Odd, that was.



Did you make some mistake?
Make mistake, I did not! Yours, the mistake must be!





Of course, I speak the truth!







I said shut up! I don't want to hear excuses! I sense power from within her. Continue the extraction!
Continuing further will endanger the subject's life!
Only at the age of sixteen can eidolons be extracted!
You two just don't get it! I need an eidolon more powerful than Alexander!



His powers are so incredible; I cannot even come close.



Who cares if she lives? I want that eidolon!

What is Terra's plan exactly, and why does it involve Kuja losing his soul? It seems Kuja's life is at stake here, thus his desire to stop Garland at any cost.

FADE TO SILENCE



Where did that come from?
You, get out of our way!



For once, Mog has courage. Eiko's life is at stake, and it seems Zidane and company may not make it this time.





Her pet moogle is interfering with the extraction process!
Certain are we that it caused the failure!
Kill the runt! We're running out of time!



Mog...







Mog, what are you saying?









https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxEux7tIvkY







Automated plot battle time! If you can see the video, you'll probably notice we're about to witness Eiko's final and ultimate summon.







Terra Homing is the attack of Madeen.





A rather elaborate and fancy attack.



Madeen is pretty much an original summon. The name's similar to FF6's Maduin, a plot-important esper with an important bond with one of the main characters, and considering Madeen is Mog, the similarity kinda fits. I don't think it's wholly intentional, though.









Anyway, Madeen does Holy damage with power equal to (71 + Eiko's level). It's by far her strongest summon, though not as strong as Dagger's last two. But Eiko's more White Mage than Summoner anyway so it's all good. Plus it's strong enough to wreck Zorn and Thorn.







Post-battle, Zidane and Vivi manage to make it in.



I'm alright.





I never knew that Mog was an eidolon. She always looked after me...disguised as a moogle. Even though...even though she was weak...



So that's what happened...



Mog's ribbon...





The Ribbon is a FF staple, best known for being the ultimate light head armor that usually protects the wearer from most status effects, though it's a bit different here. It's an add-on for everyone that absorbs wind and water damage while halving fire, ice, lightning, and holy damage. It also buffs magic a good bit and strength and spirit a little. It teaches Ability Up and Concentrate, and it teaches Eiko how to summon Madeen.

The passive ability Guardian Mog also will now actually work for Eiko. It basically cures all status effects she has at the end of battle, which is nice for stuff that might otherwise prevent her from getting EXP and AP.



Mog'll always watch over you.
You're right...







Kuja!
So...an eruption of anger against one's surroundings induces a complete Trance! It's not the will to live, nor is it the desire to protect another!



That means...I simply need a powerful soul, even if that soul is not my own! No, wait...





Mog underwent a Trance to unlock her true potential as Madeen. This kinda sets off a lightbulb in Kuja's head, you see, as now he realized he doesn't necessarily need an incredibly powerful Eidolon to defeat Garland, but simply needs to exploit the intense power that Trance gives you.



I am done with you!



Vivi! Look out!
Don't worry, I hear these twins put on quite a good show.







Vivi's gonna be replaced by Eiko for the upcoming battle.



Zidane, something's wrong.
I thought we defeated them!

For you see...



...Kuja's right. They aren't twins. They're halves of a monster.







Meet Meltigemini. This guy is pretty god damn creepy to look at up-close. Fortunately, he's kind of a pushover otherwise.



He's got a pretty powerful physical attack, for starters, and will cast stuff like Venom Breath and Bio.







Its big attack is Viral Smoke, which inflicts Virus on everyone. All Virus does is stop EXP and AP gain at the end of the battle, but since Meltigemini gives off a nice 11AP it's worth it to cure after you're done stealing from him and ready to end him.





Bad Breath is great as it'll inflict all three of Meltigemini's weaknesses: Darkness, Mini, and Slow.



This guy has another Golden Hairpin and a Demon's Vest, which teaches Auto-Potion, Locomotion, and Devil Killer (which by the way is a good ability to have equipped for this battle!)



After that, it's simple to kill him off and exploit his Fire and Holy weaknesses.





Vivi?



He said that our life spans can't be extended, and that we were fools for believing him.
What!? Kuja said that?
I-I'm so sorry...for all I've done...
You guys don't have to apologize. Where are the others?
They were so shocked to hear it, they're all sitting down over there.



Vivi...





I mean, how can you console a group of people who just learned they will die soon? What can you say to ease their fears?







Uh, OK?



Oh, him. He split, lady.
What? You chased him away? I know not who you are, but you have my sincere gratitude.







...
Oh, how long it has been! I haven't seen Your Highness for ages! Why, look how you've grown... So, whatever brought you to this dreadful place?





As you might have guessed, this woman is none other than Hildagarde Fabool, Cid's estranged wife.



I-It's me <ribbit>! Cid!
Of course, that moustache... It really is you!
Hilda, come back to the castle <ribbit> and return me to my former self <ribbit>!
Dreadfully sorry, my sugar cup, but I surrendered your favorite airship to a man named Kuja.





So, uhh... You know Kuja? I'm gonna make him pay! Please tell me all about him!



And we'll resume with this next time. With Hilda back, we may just finally get ourselves a functioning airship!