Part 86: By Popular Demand
Personally, if it's just going by the original merits without arrangement, I actually really enjoyed Howl of the Departed. It's actually relevant to the game's musical themes, and--now don't quote me on this one, because it's only scraps and bits and pieces and my grasp on Japanese has waned to pretty rudimentary at best--from what I've been able to pick out, it sounds like it's basically about all the terrible things the villain wants to do to the heroes for all eternity once he wins.If you mean counting arrangements, though, then Dancing Mad all the way; there's just no question. And this is just one of those situations where if you don't think that this is absolutely glorious, you ought to just go back and listen to Motoi Sakuraba while weeping to yourself about how he's not really one of the most disgustingly, offensively, objectively terrible composers in the industry today and how he really does care more about his music than his latest bishounen hairstyle.
Is this Lindblum? Is it Alexandria? Who knows.
The Strong Phantom is one of two Card Masters that has cards that are very difficult to get players to use elsewhere. Eidolon Master Leyra in the Card Stadium will very rarely use Madeen, and the Magic Master will use Holy once in a while, but this is just a very nice way of saying, "almost never."
You can also win Two Moons from it, and I'm pretty sure that this is the first place you can see that card, maybe someone else in the Card Stadium uses it.
And once you circle around and cross the bridge above the place, you'll notice that it's no longer burning.
"Why does this look so familiar...?"
"Five thousand years ago, Terra, already an old planet, sought to assimilate Gaia. Terra needed to merge with a younger planet to survive.
However, there was already life on Gaia.
And so, the story began..."
"Life on Terra was coming to an end... We had no choice but to proceed with the fusion, which tragically destroyed Terra's native civilizations."
"Wait so you mean like all the Amerindians and Pacific Islanders all disappeared?"
"What? No, no, I mean like--"
"No way, Garland, you rich, power-hungry white people are all the same, you just count 'brown people' as Natives, I know how you people work"
"Thus, I created the Iifa Tree to regulate the flow of souls back to Terra."
Pff, I already used 'Iole, Makie, and Kawelo enough. My contractual obligation is fulfilled.
"Swimming after fish. Kilika, you help catch fish, too.
Ugh... What this? Hard to breathe now."
"I can breathe just fine."
"Fish all gone. I sad..."
Hmm, what's this area, I wonder?
No, seriously, I forgot what this area was for. I always know there's something back here, but I can never remember that it's
the ugliest motherfucker in the entire game.
I think my favorite part about The Black Mages is that they're all experiencing their midlife crises. It makes their fun arrangements that much more endearing
"Onward!"
Not really sure why I had Holly's white magic menu up, probably to abuse the ATB.
oh shit
You know,
I'm not even sure what happens when he finishes charging it.
You probably die or something.
It would only make sense.
"Bring 2 Pumice Pieces here, and I will synthesize them for you. The end product is something only I can create."
He's not kidding; he really can make a bunch of powerful stuff, but I don't know why you'd spend your Hammer on the Tin Armor.
The infamous recipe here, of course, is the fuck-you Save the Queen that requires equipment you haven't been able to buy since the second disc.
Who knows if Huihui was originally supposed to be able to equip it; all I know is that if he could, it would be stronger than the Excalibur II since its power formula is in the 20s (24, I thinK?) plus your character level, so that's 120-something, while Excalibur II's is comparatively only 108.
Having it in your inventory is supposed to add an extra scene to the ending, but if it does, I've never noticed. Maybe it's supposed to act as a stand-in if you used the Hammer to make the Tin Armor (or break a Pumice into a Pumice Piece).
•••
"... I don't know.
For some reason, it's in my memory.
I wasn't even born at the time. It doesn't make any sense...
And I was born on Terra, not Gaia, so how can it be in my memory...?"
"Well, yeah, that's because you're a fuckin' amoeba, you came from the ocean"
VIDEO GAME REVIEW:
THIS GAME PROMOTES EVOLUTION ZERO STARS THIS IS SATAN'S WORK
And on your way up is another scripted encounter.
Kraken's main attack is casting Water on the party, which is pointless if you have Auto-Reflect equipped.
Pointless for Kraken, too, when Huihui can completely out-damage it with Climhazzard. I dunno, I think you learn it from the Excalibur?
Okay yeah we've had this shit since Disc 2, fuck it.
Rare Phantom is the last one you need to challenge.
She has Mog,
and she uses Boco a billion times more often than Fat Chocobo does.
And with that,
we can cross another item off the
FF9 Bucket List
"Over 5,000 years ago...
Terra reached the peak of its prosperity at this time. The people believed that their future was secure. Ultimately, that very hubris led to Terra's demise. Thus, I was created to deal with our plights..."
Man I dunno, FF9 teaches evolution but it also teaches the 6,000 Year Old Earth shit, it's like Squaresoft was going for something scientific but then they got charmed by western mythology again and decided that the world should only be a few thousand years old.
The Mace of Zeus teaches Ozma's Doomsday spell to Makakao. It's the last ability we need before everyone has all their skills mastered.
The opposite side has the Dark Phantom, but we don't need that shit anymore.
One last scripted encounter.
"But your life ends now."
He can cast Roulette, I don't know.
someone was too lazy to equip auto-float
As you can see by the countdown above Kilika's head, he also has Doom. I think we beat him with Flare before the counter expired, though.
'There's nothing...
Is this it? Is there nothing else?"
"Your journey is not over.
Do not fear. Step forward, and you will be closer to the truth.
Go, Kilika..."
wait
no
fuck, no, i still got things to do stop that kilika come back here right now
eating only apples posted:
Yeah, I know. It's just something I've never seen.
FF9 Bucket List
•••
"Follow your memory, your original memory, and march forth..."
"........."
"Why can I remember other people's experiences and events that happened before my time?"
"........."
"Garland, please! Tell me!"
"... Do not limit memory to just one individual's experiences from birth. That is only the surface.
Every life born into this world, whether natural or artificial, requires a parent.
And that parent also requires a parent.
Life is connected, one to another...
If you trace the root of all life, there exists one source.
The same can be said for memory.
All life constitutes an intelligence that holds memory beyond experience.
Memory is not isolated within individuals.
It is an accumulation of generations of memories that continue to evolve.
You can say that memory and evolution go hand in hand.
But most life-forms do not understand the true nature of memories...
... which explains why most memories never cross paths."
WELP, so much for FF9 not having mandatory exposition dumps. Can't deny it, and I refuse to bear a double-standard.
"... A presence that presides over all life and memories. The crystal...
You are on your own now.
Kilika... take care of Kuja.
... and protect the crystal.
Farewell..."
•••
"It's time for us to find out the truth."
And so we arrive to final bit of the final dungeon.
The only encounters here are with slightly-weaker versions of the four fiends. You can eat the Tiamat that appears here, and it will teach you Twister, but it is a very rare encounter.
NEXT TIME
