Part 43: Inside of Riovanes Castle

For this to work, Ramza needs to float. I don't have my own pair of Feather Boots, so I get... Float.


Chameleon Robe? Check. Floating? Check. Yell and Accumulate? Check. High evasion with Abandon? Not needed but I want to show off.


The buddies show up later, making positioning them quite difficult.


Well, this is it.

This is probably the most famous battle in Final Fantasy Tactics.

The stopping point of a thousand playthroughs, who didn't think to keep a second save. This is Ramza's second duel, much harder than the first because the opponent hits way harder and there's no out for it like opening a gate or using teleport, Ramza is literally alone.

Second, immediately after beating the opponent, Ramza's pals arrive and the battle immediately turns into a Zodiac demon fight, and the demon has pals this time.

Read anything about FFT? It's probably someone complaining about how rough this fight is. Find any entry in something about hard bosses, this fight is up there with guys like Nocturne's Matador. He's very hard if you don't know what you're doing.

I know all too damn well what I'm doing.


Ramza walks into the main hall to find Riovanes soldiers strewn about! At the other end of the hall is...



: Draw your sword.

Ramza hesitates.

: What's wrong? If you don't, I will.
: How miserable you are... Giving your spirit to Lucavi just to avenge yourself. If Miluda knew about this, she'd be very disappointed.
: Revenge? Ha! That's not what I'm after.... I want far more than that. I don't give a damn about Miluda's murder. I want to bring 'chaos' into the world...to hear the screams of humans... But, don't worry, Ramza, I'll kill you....myself.


This is it.

This is Ramza's duel with Wiegraf.


He opens up with a... a...


Yeah. I bet those of you who have played this game before were expecting a Lightning Stab, one of Wiegraf's famous, killer Lightning Stabs.

He won't use it. For whatever reason, the AI treats it like it's holy elemental despite Wiegraf's nonelemental sword and it being described as a lightning attack. The Chameleon Robe absorbs holy, so he won't bother with Lightning Stab.

That leaves him with his two Punch Art abilities, Wave Fist and Earth Slash. Ramza's floating, so Earth Slash is out of the question. That leaves Wiegraf's only ranged option as Wave Fist.


His skillsets are tiny compared to normal. He literally only knows Lightning Stab, Wave Fist, and Earth Slash.

Maintenance prevents Ramza from stealing or breaking his sword, stopping the Lightning Stabs, and his shield makes physical attacks unreliable.

On another note, I love his entirely diamond set of equipment.


This plan relies on Ramza not getting hit and using Yell and Accumulate until he's some sort of wanton death god by sheer stats.


Thanks to my use of Concentrate, Ramza can't miss. Thanks to my use of a mantle, shield, and Abandon, he's very hard to hit. Those parts are me just rubbing it in, the important things are the Chameleon Robe and float, stopping most of his attacks, and using stat boosts to make Ramza powerful. The fight with Velius is a continuation of this one, so Ramza keeps his boosts.



: The legends we believed in were all lies!
: Hya, ha, ha. So much for 'God's miracle'. Governments falsify history only so it favors them. But you can't blame them. Because people always hope for a 'miracle'. Endlessly complaining, lazy, nuisances... that's what the masses really are. Governments give the people what they want...and history repeats itself. Governments might well have taken advantage of their insecurity.... But then again, people are satisfied being used... 'God' is nothing but an image created out of their insecurity. It's their fault for knowing they're comfortably numb, and not doing anything about it.
: And what about you? Relying on miracles instead of beating your insecurities!
: It's because humans are insecure that they rely on 'miracles'. Can you honestly say you're not, with any confidence?
: I'm trying!
: Then your efforts have come to an end!


He gets a lucky hit. This would go better if I had bad or worst compatibility, so he'd hit less and hit softer.

On a side note, Worst compatibility renders Lightning Stab's damage as 70, the exact amount Hi-Potions heal.


I get bored and cut down Wiegraf.


At this point, I reset.

Having to take a dozen turns... This will not do.


Remember Concentrate? How Ramza can't miss?

This fight is the real reason I bought it all those ages ago. I can't have anything interrupt the splendor!


Tactical!




"I don't have one you nimrod."


Okay!


Yes, what you think happened just happened.


Ramza literally beat Wiegraf before he could even move.

How is that possible?

Ramza has 7 PA worth of equipment on on the Ninja's already high PA, and with his innate 97 brave, martial arts-less punches are still lethal weapons. Due to his good compatibility, one punch would send Wiegraf to critical and end the fight. Due to Concentrate, Wiegraf's shield and high class evasion don't matter. Ramza's faster, too, by 1 point, and with Move +1 his Move is 5, exactly enough to walk up to Wiegraf's face.

There was no way Ramza could fail to punch Wiegraf to death.

: You've improved...


Wiegraf teleports away.


Ramza returns to his starting position.


Wiegraf teleports in on his starting position.



Wiegraf pulls out the Aries stone!






With a similar aura to Queklain, Wiegraf becomes...


Velius, the Warlock!

Sensing the evil power, Ramza's friends arrive!



: Come out, loyal servants!


Velius's magic pulls three lesser demons from the depths of hell!

: Here I come, Ramza! Let me show you the power of evil!


So begins the second fight with a Zodiac demon!


Archaic Demons are an interesting bunch. They've got an assortment of unique spells. Dark Holy is a dark-elemental variant of holy that, while somewhat weaker, is still dangerously strong. It also has great sound effects. Giga Flare is kinda weak, but it's instant, faithless, and hits a large area. Lifebreak deals damage equal to the caster's lost HP.

Archaic demons are immune to Holy, wouldn't you know?



Though Velius's Fear has Loss, Seal, and Lose Voice, instant, AoE 100% accurate status spells, his real danger is his summoning magic. He's got Titan, Lich, and Cyclops.

"Clops", as it's called by the little message, is as strong as Holy. Cyclops is Velius's main spell and holy shit does it hurt to be hit by it. Doesn't help that he loves pinning it on guys and watching your party scramble in the fairly confined spaces in a vain attempt to escape a summon.


None of that matters to Ramza. He still has some CT from punching Wiegraf to death, as this is still technically the same fight, so he gets punched twice. Velius has around 1,000 HP, so cutting of 600 helps a little.


Then the strangest thing happens.


Ramza immediately gets another turn.

I have no idea how that happened. Ramza only has 1 speed on Velius, and his CT should've been near empty after Wiegraf, enough to give him an edge, but not enough to be literally doubleturning folks.


Ramza punches Velius to death. Ramza ended the whole thing in three turns. His turns. No one else could so much as speak.


You were exactly right.


Velius is level 31, huh.


I am as confused as your are buddy.


Velius (and the game's difficulty curve) explodes.


The magic of Aries fades.


With it, the archaic demons are returned to hell.

But suddenly a woman's scream echos through the hall!



_{Credit to Zeikier for the picture or Wiegraf getting punched.}