Final Fantasy Legend II Part #31 - Everything Comes Together

Part 31: Everything Comes Together

It is good to see you are still functional, RY-29. Unfortunately, your adaptive AI has evolved in ways we did not anticipate.

I... have no idea what any of that means.

Your neural network is uniquely patterned after the human brain. If left among humans, it is only natural you would come to act like them.

What, that's a bad thing?

Affirmative. It is an impediment to our primary directive.

Which is?

Elimination of all threats to the status quo of this world.

I'm down with that!

Yeah! That's what we've been doing this entire time, isn't it?

Based on recent events, we have concluded that humans and espers have enough threat potential to upset the balance of this world. They must be proactively eliminated.

Less down.

Same.

They're my friends! I'm not going to kill them!

Happily, we can repair this deficiency. Your memories and experiences will be offloaded into storage while we reformat your neural network. We can expedite the process if you will provide us a direct interface.

If you want to take my boy, you'll go through me first!

As you wish.

If you're an RPG player of the 90s and froze up when you saw WarMech, that's a perfectly healthy reaction. Dumb Insane Challenge Monsters didn't start with FF7. The earliest one I can remember is Bard's Tale's "Soul Drinker" on the C64. (I don't think Wizardry had one, since ~~Werdna~~ **WERDNA** was really the only unique monster, and he was a final boss.) Regardless, WarMech—née "Death Machine"—is still a pioneer in that grand tradition. You could find him in the original (NES) Final Fantasy as a 1-in-64 encounter on the bridge leading to Tiamat. As a ten year old, nothing made you edgier than having to walk that bridge, because you never knew if WarMech was coming. And, even though it was late game, if he showed up en route... you were fucked.

SaGa being SaGa, it looked at that and went, "Hey! You know what would really be great? If this were a guaranteed boss fight!"

Oh, not related to anything: I promised someone in the thread I'd get as close as I could to suplexing a sentient train.

SUPLEX CITY, BITCH

Promise fulfilled.

Are you finished?

Finished? We're just getting started.

Yeah! Roy's our friend! You're not going to take him away and wipe his brain!

These negotiations are unacceptable. Fortunately, we do not need an intact chassis to rebuild RY-29. We are wirelessly downloading its programming and experiences into our matrix as we speak. This flawed iteration can be terminated along with its companions.

You keep away from my son!

It is fascinating you hold these biological creatures in such high regard. Shall I show you how weak they are?

fwoop

...

_{Uh oh}

_ow

WarMech's trademark attack is to nuke your whole fucking party. Seriously. Any time WarMech shows up in a game, the bomb's coming. It's just a matter of when (and if you'll survive it). Here in SaGa 2, NukeBomb does a straight 450-600 damage and does not give one single shit about your Defense or Mana stats. Once the number's decided by the RNG, that's what you're taking.

With that being said, NukeBomb is about equivalent to a Tornado or Whirl attack. (I'm not really sure how that works, but whatever.) Also, WarMech only has one in his inventory; once it's detonated, he's not going to fire it again. Still, that leaves Sara stunned and just a handful of HP for the rest of our party. This is especially bad because WarMech's other big attack is Missile. Just like the ones you can buy, Missile hits everyone, and he can spam it the entire fight if he so chooses.

Add all this up, and we need an equalizer if we're to stay alive. Fortunately, we just so happen we have one!

In principio era la Luce!

Woah! I didn't know you could cast spells, Mr. Butte!

We've got incoming, Zero! Now is not the time to compare notes!

Dad comes equipped with a Heal Staff. When used, it casts Cure on every single party member. Combined with Dad's massive stats, he has a very good chance of going first and countering WarMech's party damage shenanigans. Granted, it only heals about 200-225 for Roy and Heather due to their insanely low mana—but those two have massive HP to start with, so they can take a nuke to the face and a missile and still walk away. Missile only does about 200-250, and Dad and Zero heal for 400 because of their high Mana, so that basically puts us in a holding pattern.

Which means it's time to go to work.

Nuke, was it? I'll show you how!

Not that I'm arguing, but how did even launch that?

Hmm?

Right. Dumb question.

For starters, we have some heavy ordinance of our own.

Also, now's the time to break the factory seal on our legendary weapons.

For Odin!

Internal damage multiplying. Rerou-Reroute power to weap-p-p-pons system.

Everyone! Stay close to me!

prioritizeunitrecovery|target|target|target|target

...I don't know what this little red light in the corner of my vision is, but it can't be good.

Roy! Look out!

*kzzzptkkbzbzzzt*

Wow! I owe you big time, bud.

Ain't no thing. You'd do the same for me.

You know it! ... By the way, can you flip me back over?

Whoops! There you go.

Thanks. One of these days, I should really get something other than tank treads.

We did it, guys! We got the last magi!

"We?" Uh, some of us put in hard work instead of lying around on their back all day.

I wouldn't know, Heather. I was knocked unconscious by an atom bomb.

Right, I'm gonna go ahead and open the chest. You two let me know when you're done.

Huh. Not really what I was expecting.

Me either. Come to think of it, we never did find out what the last magi was. We sent people in, but they never came back. Guess now we know why...

So what's this? The Heart of Isis?

Looks like.

I'm not really sure how this is going to help us beat Apollo, but it's more than we had before!

So, uh, Roy.

Yeah?

Wasn't that kind of weird? Meeting your real dad and all?

Dude, I don't care if that guy put my parts together. He was a total asshole who tried to kill us. My real dad is right here.

D'aww. C'mere, kiddo. *noogie*

Daaaaaad! Cut it out!

Alright, we got what we came for. Everybody ready to go save the world?

Yeah!

_*sniffle*

Well, this is it, guys.

Great! Let's go kick Apollo's ass!

Yeeeeeah. I wouldn't try that if I were you.

You!

Yeah, you! ... Wait, who's this again?

This is one of those helmeted guys that've been following us!

Dammit. I told those asshats to maintain a safe distance...

You best tell me who you are, or I'm warming up my chaingun right here and now.

Easy there, cowboy. I represent Project SPARTIN. We've had our eye on you for a very long time.

Project SPARTIN? Magnate told us about you...

Yeah. That's an intel leak I could've done without.

What do you want with us, anyway?

Your help.

Shyeah, no. That's not happening.

Agreedo. Whatever you're up to, we're not interested. Take a hike.

Please, just hear me out. I promise we're with the good guys.

...okay...

The Guardians did a fantastic job of protecting the magi. I mean that. But as long as that stupid top hat still existed, it was only a matter of time before someone collected all of it.

You knew about the Hat? And you didn't you do anything about it?!

We couldn't if we wanted to. This world is filled with powerful gods and stupidly dangerous monsters. Dealing with all of them would take way more resources than we have at our disposal. The purpose of Project SPARTIN was to locate a group of adventurers who could collect magi—all the magi—without being corrupted by them. We needed four individuals who still had unlimited potential, and thus, wouldn't be tempted by absolute power. We needed children.

Wait! You're the ones who evacuated our town!

Yes. We didn't expect Magnate to know who we were. He waited until we were out of position, then sent all of his available forces. We ran back and evacuated as many civilians as we could, but by the time we got inside the base, it was almost entirely trashed.

If you've been following us this entire time, why didn't you help us?

Because it's not our place. This world can't have outside forces running in and saving it all the time. We'd be as bad as Apollo if we tried. No, you four had learn to trust and rely on each other. Until then, our job was to keep enemy forces busy and leave a clear path to ... well, here.

So we made it. So what? We don't have magi anymore.

Yeah. How are we going to last more than five seconds against somebody with all of them?

Screw the magi! You just took down a War Machine unit with nothing but your God-given strength! What other proof do you need?

...

You're not going to be able to slug it out with Apollo, true. If you go toe-to-toe with him, you'll get flattened. But you're smarter than him. He's hopped up on god-level power, and his ego is out of control. His tiny little mind can't comprehend that you're still a threat. You can use that to your advantage!

...!

Zero?

Guys. Guys! I think I know how we can beat him!

No. We're not doing this. Not now.

...let's hear Zero out. He knows what he's doing.

What?

What? I mean, uh... Yeah! What she said!

You know what, dooder? You pushed me out of the way of a death missile. I'm willing to trust you on this one.

Great! So, here's my plan...

Later...

Pardon my French, but this is so bug-ass crazy it might work.

That's the idea!

Here's the central palace. Apollo's inside, trying to unlock the magi's power. This is as far as I go.

Everybody ready? You know what your roles are?

Yep!

Good. Let's do this thing!

And off they go—the four least likely people to save the entire universe.

Heh. Reminds me of when we got started.

Go get 'em, kids.

Apollo!

...Butte. As I live and breathe.

Using the power of the magi is too dangerous, Apollo! Humans weren't meant to have this!

Humans?

And anyway, it's too late. I've already used them!

What? How?

Do you have any idea how hard it is to swallow 77 separate pieces of stone? You have to be really dedicated.

Well, if they haven't taken effect yet...

Well. You can certainly try...

This is it. This is the FFL2 fight everyone talks about. It's probably the single hardest encounter of the entire series.

Time to go one on one with Apollo.

Ooooh yes. I can feel its power already!

Dammit!

Hahaha! Normal weapons no longer harm me!

Apollo has 25,000 HP. That's not a typo. Twenty five thousand. At best, we can crank out 1000-1200 combined against major bosses, which means this fight will last about 23-25 rounds. That is a lifetime in SaGa terms.

For the first few rounds, he's content to sit back and talk smack about how powerful the magi are. I don't think I showed it off, but the Aegis is a magi that works as a shield and gives O-Weapon and O-Change for the entire fight. Since a full-blown god using it, it's now a passive ability instead of a shield. (Woo.) Regular swords aren't any good here, and any damage from legendary swords or ordinance will be halved. That's a lot of lost damage output before the fight even starts. Not good.

This rush of magic! The sharpness of the masamune! I am invincible!

Yeah? Let's see if the Aegis defends against 25mm shells!

Ha! Hahahahaha!

Now. Shall we begin?

After about five or six rounds, the magi finally hit, and he changes forms. After this, he will use one of two attacks every round:

Masamune to a single target for 500-600
Flare to everyone for 500-600

It's bullshit. Pure and utter bullshit. If we're going to have any hope of winning this, we need to tread water as fast as humanly possible. To wit...

Aaaand... now!

ARGH! You should already be dead! How are you still fighting?!

You should've been paying attention to us instead of Roy's dad!

quote:

(Vat o' Espresso™.)

ohgodheartracingcan'tthinkhelp

JUST KEEP DRINKING

Seriously. How did you not know we'd bring coffee?

Or that I'd totally remember the only shop that sold that brand?

Yeah! Eat all the magi you want, loser—we're still as fast as you!

The first thing we're bringing to the fight is the Heart magi. You can equip it just like any other magi, and using it wakes up all your stunned party members and heals everybody back to full HP. You can only do it once before you need to recharge, but it can really save your ass if it's strategically placed. If nothing else, it gives you more time to fight, which you definitely need.

The second and more critical item is called SpeedUp. There's only one shop in the game that sells it: Port Town, on (fittingly enough) Apollo's World. Using it boosts your agility by 20 points until the end of the fight. More importantly, multiple uses of SpeedUp stack. Let's be honest—five rounds isn't enough of a head start on 25k HP. You need to use that time more constructively, so swill SpeedUp until you're sick of it. By the time Apollo transforms, your guys should be maxed out at 99+ Agility. You have a good chance of acting before Apollo on a regular basis, which is a major step forward.

There's other advantages, too...

I cast you out, Hat! In the name of the Saw, the Chain, and Holy Lady, I cast you out!

What on Earth are you talking about?

Such a weirdo.

Well, he's not wrong.

...but that only gets us so far.

We've seen the other necessity for this fight already—but this time, Zero's getting in on the act. There are plenty of shops that sell Heal Staves at 15,000 gold apiece, and we have plenty of gold to buy them with. We equip our best armor and a Selfix on Roy, then shove him and Heather (who has maxed out at 999 HP, by the way) onto the front line. While they absorb punishment, Zero and Dad are using Heal Staves every round to keep them going. After that, we uncork our Samurai bow and Xcalibur every round...

What, that's it? This is your plan?

...and it doesn't make a damn bit of difference, because 600-700 a round isn't even going to make a dent in his HP total. Plus, he's eventually going to act before us. And when that happens...

Okay I'm not gonna lie. Him being invincible wasn't something I expected.

Wait, what?

...welp!

...he's going to hit a Flare quickly enough to wipe out our fighters. Roy and Heather have next to no mana, which means Cure spells only heal 200 or so. That eventually catches up to us, leaving Zero and Dad with group healing and not a lot else.

So how do we win the damage race in a fight like this? The answer is surprisingly simple.

We don't.

This is pathetic. I at least expected you to at least put up a good fight.

Zero, we could really use that plan right now!

I'm aware of it dude

Why are you prolonging the inevitable? Your staffs will run out soon. I'll make you a deal—if you surrender now, I'll make it quick and painless.

...uh.

Oh, what is it this time?

You... kind of have something on your cheek.

...eh?

I... I think it's his nose.

Just like I thought! Without all the magi, he can't keep his power stable!

We told you not to use them, Apollo. You only have 77 magi, and...

Y...you... I'll kill...

All you have to do to win is survive. If you can stay alive for 8-9 rounds after his transformation, his incomplete magi collection backfires, and he starts to melt.

Which, by the way, is pretty horrific by 90s gameboy graphical standards. It's no "Master D taking a bazooka to the face," but it's up there.

N... n...

This was not part of the plan this was not part of the plan

*dive*

Don't! You'll go up with him!

You all have to survive! This is the only way!

One last condition: Dad must be alive at the end of the fight. When Apollo self-destructs, Dad'll throw himself on the grenade to keep your party from taking the damage. If he's not around, everyone eats 850 for a total party wipe. (I mean, presumably. If you can take 850 damage after the Non-Stop Flare Express, good for you.) The point is, only one of your guys and Dad need to cross the finish line. If everyone has around 600+ HP and you go nuts on SpeedUps and Heal Staves, you will more than likely make it to the other side. It is rough sledding, though. It took me nearly an hour of planning, inventory management, and repeated tries to get this to work. Also, I had to break my own rules and spend 15 minutes grinding—otherwise, Sara wasn't going to have the HP to survive more than a single Flare. We needed as many people as possible to stay alive as long as they could if we were going to win this thing.

This is a murderously difficult fight, and you don't have the cheap out of a working Chainsaw like in FFL1. Plus, there's no indication Apollo will just up and explode after rounds and rounds of futile effort. It's a sterling combination of gaming the system and untold combat rules that is probably the most SaGa fight you'll ever encounter.

And the worst part? He's not the final boss. We're not done here yet.