Final Fantasy Tactics Part #40

Part 40: Yardow Fort City

The center is a tree. This arrangement screen really doesn't tell you that the enemies are coming form the top, not the direction the arrow is.

The exotic wizard is talking to a girl of similar appearance.

Yeah, somehow we already know her name is Rafa.

: We're not tools. Tools for murder! If we stay here, we'll be used as tools till we die! Come on, Malak! Let's escape together!

: Who helped us when we lost our parents in the war? If Grand Duke hadn't saved us, we'd have starved... he cared about us... Now you're returning the favor with vengeance?

: You've been deceived! Barinten took advantage of war and burned the village! Why? To get the family skills only our family knows. He burned a village to get my Heaven skill and your Hell skill! He killed our parents!! Don't you see?!!

Malak slaps his sister for insulting the person who saved their lives.

: That's ridiculous!

: You know what he did! What he did to me!

"You know, don't you? You know of the...the thing he did to me. You are my brother, you know of this, and even yet you-" Is the line in WoTL. I might as well mention it now, there's a running theory that Barinten raped Rafa. A later scene is more evidence, but I figured I should mention it right now.

As far as I can tell, it's never been confirmed what "the thing" exactly is but the FF wiki thinks there's enough evidence to proclaim the rape an absolute fact.

: Don't you say anymore! Otherwise, I...

: I know. It's all set...

: Malak...

Rafa runs to Ramza's group!

And she shouts-

GET OUT OF THE DOORWAY.

Thus begins the long, sordid tale of escorting Rafa, the wunderkind of Riovanes.

This is the first battle against enemy Ninja. Ninja have chaotic equipment selections, mixing flails, knives, and ninja swords with wild abandon, but having two weapons usually renders them uncomfortably dangerous regardless.

Malak himself doesn't know what good equipment is. A Linen Robe? Really?

I should mention this now, no summoner has had more MA than the ones at Bariaus Hill. They've been hovering around those numbers. Summoners are getting less dangerous because they're being static while your team is growing. The Magic Ring prevents Berserk and Silence, and the Gold Staff is a plain cudgel.

Malak is a Hell Knight, and his Un-Truth is... interesting, we'll see it when he casts Heaven Bolt Back.

Rafa, to contrast, is a Heaven Knight.

Thank goodness for mantles!

: You're supposed to be waiting at Riovanes Castle!

: That was what Grand Duke said! I'll prove we can beat you without the Shrine Knights!

He's got a Heaven Bltback on Rafa.

I assure you that this will end pitifully.

But first, Ramza shoves his balls in Malak's face.

Agrias brutalizes one of the ninjas.

First off, Un-Truth uses the inverse of Faith to deal damage. The less faith the target has, the more damage. Rafa believes really hard so Malak can barely scratch her. Truth just ignores Faith.

Second, it hits several times in a random panel in its area of affect. This makes it unlikely to hit even once. Furthermore, these spells have really good vertical tolerance so it's hard to cut out panels to focus the spells.

So they don't hit hard and they rarely hit.

Truth and Un-truth are bad skills.

Time Magic is a good skill.

Malak gets back at Ramza for earlier!

: I'm not a true believer in Glabados like Zalbag, but I do believe St. Ajora was a 'Child of God' sent from Heaven to save this troubled world. Rather, I should say I did believe... Until I was jabbed with this pole.

Innocent reduces the affected's Faith to 0. This might be the game being witty by making Malak's spells as powerful as possible, but maybe they didn't want to give him an Octagon Rod or Ivory Pole.

Ramza begins his Godless rampage by killing people in the streets. I guess Religion is the only source of morality! \/

\/

Wait, he did that anyway. carry on.

I finally got the swirling clouds in all their glory! Malak and the summoner get blown to bits.

He teleports away. The last summoner is quickly excused from life.

: Y... yes... thank you... I... I...

: If they return, we're in trouble. Let's hide!

Later, in a shack...

: They call him 'Weapon King' for making strong weapons and training many wizards.

: There is one who incites the Grand Duke that is of the royal family. Killing Larg and Goltana set the stage for him to become a regent...

: Why do you keep fighting being branded a 'heretic'? I think I know why. But nobody'll thank you for beating him.

: I'm not fighting for thanks.

: You can't ignore injustice or evil in front of you.

: You flatter me. I'm not that good. But what're you going to do? I must go to Riovanes to save Alma. But you barely escaped from there, right?

: I must get my brother out.

: Why are you two fighting?

: I'll never forget those days looking through garbage and dead bodies for food... That's when Barinten saved us. I believed in God then.

: Barinten built orphanages for the war orphans. But, he provided training to 'gifted' children to be professional assassins... You must be those children.

: We, Galthanas, have 'secret skills' of the family.... My Heaven skill and my brother's Hell skill. These two skills differ from magic... Barinten wanted them. But the family elder refused him. So he burned the village. He decided if he couldn't have them, he'd erase them from this world. He probably was excited when he found us among the orphans.

: You tried to escape when you found out the truth.

: We yearned for him to be like our real father... But even then...