Part 31: Getting the gang together

Loose Ends, Part Salmonella

Last chapter, I claimed that there was no way to determine that the slow fish were bad for Cid. Turns out I was wrong.



On the items screen, there's a tab you can select for Rare Items, things like the Clock Key that don't really fall into the realm of regular items.



If you happened to check there while carrying one of the bad fish, you'd notice that the item description for the fish says that it's rotten, thereby hinting you that the fish you picked up and can't put down again is bad for Cid. Granted, the odds of you realizing that the fish actually show up in the Rare Items menu are pretty slim, but points for effort, I guess.

Chapter 31: Getting the gang together



Music: Dark World (World Map Theme #2)

The raft drops us off a short distance away from Albrook. Not much to do there but chat up the locals and shop a bit, but they've got a wealth of information about all sorts of subjects.



One major topic of gossip is Kefka's new abode, a tower constructed from the pieces of Vector, and a superweapon of some kind called the "Light of Judgment."



Old Man: Phunbaba...Doomgaze...and the 8 Dragons.



Man: Its name is Crusader...Defeat these dragons, and its power can be released.

Those sound like bonus bosses to me. Can't wait to meet those guys.



Woman: He said he was going north, to Tzen.

This part of the World of Ruin is mostly about traveling from town to town and gathering leads on where to go next. In this case, they're directing us north to Tzen, where we'll find people hinting about the next place to go from there. Of course, you can safely ignore that if you already know where to go, and you can even just ignore characters outright.

Matter of fact, you can go through this entire second half of the game having only met two old party members. Hardly recommended, of course, and certainly not what we're doing for this LP, but it's possible.



As we head north, we pass by Kefka's Tower itself. It's inaccessible from the ground though, and it'd be a bad idea to go there at this point anyway, seeing as it is the final dungeon, and we are hardly ready.



The upheaval of the land has also brought a plethora of new monsters into the world. Things like dinosaurs, giant insects and the like. It's too bad that Locke's not with us, as there are going to be a number of good things to steal.



Well, Tzen seems relatively untou-



HOLY CARP!

Music: The Unforgiven



Everyone's running around in a panic, and once you investigate further, it's easy to see why.



I'm not sure how strong you'd have to be to hold up a house, but I'm going to say pretty dang strong.

: Sabin!
: Hey! Celes!
: Let's head in!
: Wait!! If I move, this whole house will collapse. First...save the child that's in there...I can't hold this up forever, so...get out on the hum...urgh...



This house is heavy. Very heavy. So heavy, in fact, that Sabin can only support it for exactly six minutes. We should probably make ourselves scarce before then.

Not to say that you should neglect the acquisition of treasure though. There's a Drainer sword and a generic Magicite to be had in here, among other things, and it goes without saying that once the house goes down, we're not getting back in here.

Be warned though, some boxes have monsters in them, just for purposes of wasting time.



The NPC's in town make a point of warning you to wear Petrify-proof Relics, and these HermitCrab things are the reason why. This is especially dangerous, since the game ends instantly if Celes is petrified, and once the Light of Judgment event occurs, you can't leave Tzen and come back with additional party members.

Fortunately, a Ribbon should be more than sufficient for this.



The kid we're here to save is, naturally, at the back of the house. Once we have him in tow, all we have to do is run all the way back to the entrance.



Even with fooling around a little and intentionally triggering monsters-in-a-box, I had a minute left at the end. Sprint Shoes, a Ribbon and Fire 2 are your friends.



Given that Sabin was the only thing keeping it up, the dungeon collapsing right as we leave it makes sense this time.



: But of course! You think a minor thing like the end of the world was gonna do me in?
: I thought everyone was gone... I had given up all hope...But...fortunately, I was wrong! Now I know they're all alive! We need to find everyone! Then...
: I know, I know...We smash Kefka, and deliver peace unto the world...

Sounds like a plan to me. And with that, Sabin has (re)joined the party!



And since levels get readjusted when characters rejoin the party, Sabin has a shiny new Blitz technique to show off next update.

Anyway, since we've tracked Sabin down, it's time to hunt for our next clue.



Old Woman: Some "Cult of Kefka" members have built a tower there.

More evidence of Kefka's growing narcissism. He's gotten himself an entire fan club. More importantly, the Serpent Trench rising up means that we've got ourselves a new landmass to explore.





Old Man: Many of the adults there perished trying to save their children.



Mobliz and Nikeah, eh? Sounds like they're worth a look-see.

Next Time: We face the fearsome Phunbaba and follow the trail of the mysterious scoundrel Gerad.