Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift Part #36

Part 36: Don't Get Lost In Heaven, Part 2

Update 36: Don't Get Lost In Heaven, Part 2

In This Update:
- The truly final battle with Illua!
- The power of friendship prevails!

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We have a brief interlude to catch our breath after the battle with Illua.

As Cid said, we're back in Zellea, the Forbidden Land.

And just like before, we can teleport back to the main land using this crystal.

: I know why you have come. Samuel. I will leave this gate crystal open. You may use it to pass between here and the Forbidden Land as you wish.

: Um, Cid...

: Don't worry. You can keep Illua waiting as long as you like for all I care.

: Right.

: Welcome back, Samuel. I sensed the Mist grow denser... Someone's attempting to use the rift's power.

: Well, they're out of luck because I'm closing that rift. But, before I do...

: Have you forgotten what I told you?

: Right.

: Should you wish to return to the Forbidden Land, all you need to do is come here.

We aren't going to stop here. Illua's waiting!

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The final story quest: The Two Grimoires.

[OST] Front and Back

She casts her spooky dark magic thing again.

: ...You're opening the rift!

: Alas, all is not yet ready. Not until the final battle is fought. Then, only then, will the grimoire be complete.

: And you expect us to go along with this!?

: Whether I prevail or fail, the grimoire will record the truth of my life. It is not I, but the book that will open the rift.

: What!?

: Calm yourself, Samuel. If the rift opens, we'll just close it again.

: Oh? Can you?

Those are Behemoths, one of the toughest monsters in the game.

: We've found it best not to underestimate Samuel. Haven't we, Cid?

: Wise words. You'd do well to heed them, Illua.

: Um, guys...

[OST] Putting Words Together

The theme of friendship, of the journey, of adventure, of summer vacation!

: Leave your doubt behind, Samuel. We won't need it where we're going. You know your power is the greater here. Maybe it is hard for you to see this yourself... but you possess strengths beyond what you know. Strengths people like me and Illua discarded long ago... To our loss. You future, too, is a blank slate - like the remaining pages of your book.

: You go on ahead, into the unknown, never slowing. It is something we could never do.

: But I... No. You're right. If that rift opens, I'll close it. We'll close it!

: Worried yet, Illua?

[OST] Resolution

Like many other video game soundtracks, this is basically Mars from "The Planets" by Gustav Holst.

: Why would I worry? In the end, I win.

How confident are you feeling? Do you want Haste, Regen, or even Shell and Protect? They would all be really useful here. But is it worth the risk of not being able to resurrect your units?

Illua's equipment is still full weeb. With 10 Evasion and 95 Speed, she's going to move faster than some of our units and dodge an annoying number of attacks.

But her new abilities are really what make this battle hard. She pops off Rebirth whenever her health drops below half.

No Bonus AP to be had here. MP Channeling will be much more useful though!

This is a two part team. Samuel and Zoe are going to bring the fight to Illua -- Samuel has the Faerie Shoes so he can teleport right up to her. Lenolia has enough range on her Summons to be able to support them from the center platform.

Meanwhile, Leed and Imino will be providing ranged support. Imino can hit almost every square on the battlefield, and his conditions will really help against the monsters. Of course, Leed doesn't care about range at all. Lian is a bit of a flex character: his basic attack matches Imino's range, but he can toss around some spells to support the rest of the team. His main job will be protecting the central square.

Let's do this.

There's an exchange between Illua and Cid if you bring him to this battle. I didn't, but it's worth printing:

: You reap what you sow, Illua. To think, we were once comrades.

: You must have known, Cid. You must have known I'd follow when you left us... Khamja.

: Did I not invite you to join me?

: And I refused, as you knew I would. We walk different paths. Mine leads to the summit of power. It always has.

: ...I know.

: It was nice reminiscing, Cid, but the time for talk is past.

: Agreed. Let's end this.

So what you're seeing is actually my third try on this battle. This is the first time this Behemoth went west instead of heading south towards us. This is kind of annoying, because now he'll be involved with the fight against Illua.

This Behemoth is magically inclined. It knows Firaga, and it has a P-Ability that boosts its Magick Power and Resistance.

The other Behemoth heads south. This one is physically focused, with a P-Ability that boosts its Weapon Attack and Defense. Both Behemoths are weak to ice, for some reason.

They're also insanely fast, getting two turns in before Illua can even take a step.

But that works in our favor! On Illua's turn, a Lamia should spawn where the Behemoth is standing. But it won't be able to, which buys us a little time.

I wish we could apply some buffs before charging in, but there's no point in risking the law. Illua is still way strong -- maybe I should have invested in some debuffs instead.

Oh wait no, she's impervious to all debuffs. Never mind.

As you can see, Lenolia can just barely hit Illua with her Summons. She'll be in a good position to heal Samuel and Zoe, fortunately.

Stopping the Behemoth would have made things so much easier! Not only would the Behemoth be out of the fight for a while, the Lamia would be completely unable to spawn in. But no such luck.

Samuel doesn't quite have the movement to reach Illua. Unfortunately, you can't wear more than one pair of shoes, or I'd have seriously considered giving him both Ninja Tabi and the Faerie Shoes.

Hmm.

[GIF] It almost stops on Lian.

Completely worth the risk.

Leed spent his first turn recharging MP, and he'll spend the rest of the battle firing off Magick Frenzy Illusions. Do note that Illua absorbs Dark damage, so don't grab the Heretic Rod. (It has great weapon attack and +20 Magick Power, making it the best rod in the game.)

Behemoths have only a few abilities, and Rend Defense is the scariest. Not only is it a huge hit, but it can inflict a Defense Down debuff. Most characters can't survive two hits from it, especially with the debuff.

Wish this was a turn earlier, but I'll take it.

The Lamia's appeared up north, but we've almost killed Illua already!

There's one last enemy in this battle: a Werewolf to the south. That's why you keep someone there to protect your squishy supports! The Behemoth would have reached this spot at the same time, if we hadn't killed it.

It takes an embarrassingly long time for us to kill Illua. I really should have brought more melee units, or given Lenolia the other pair of Faeries Shoes so she could have contributed more. We just don't do enough damage to outpace her Rebirths.

We have plenty of damage for the enemies, at least.

On the other hand, the monsters and Illua aren't really doing enough damage to threaten Samuel and Zoe.

The other monsters aren't much of a threat. A lucky Break (heh!) takes out the Werewolf.

And Leed gets a beautiful double-critical Magick Frenzy to kill the Lamia.

See? Perfect range to heal Zoe.

Illua does her Rebirth thing a couple more times, but even she gets bored of standing in the corner. I guess she's trying to bring the fight to us? The AI likes to move away from other units when doing battlefield-wide attacks.

[GIF] Sheol: the ability Tinkers wish they had.

Fortunately, we have enough Ribbons and Orbs of Minwu that even Sheol isn't enough to bring us down. The spell inflicts multiple debilitating conditions on us while buffing Illua. Samuel was hit with Slow, just off the top of the screen.