Part 74: Visiting Mideel

Chapter 73 - Visiting Mideel




Last time we checked a dog and it triggered all the events at Mideel City, so we didn't get to explore it.



So we're going back there.



Mideel is actually the last town in the game we haven't visited yet.



More on the environmental propaganda, which is pretty much the main theme of the game.



The first thing we're gonna do is actually check on Tifa. We're nice guys.



Talking to the Doctor will trigger a rest scene, healing you completely.



Good, so he's getting back to normal.



Well, Cloud is literally a drooling wheelchair retard right now. In a way it's weird to become so dettached from your game avatar and see it completely broken.



Yea, this is just depressive.



As you talk to him, he'll say random stuff. This is a small Easter Egg -



"Zeno gias" would be a reference "Xenogears", another Squaresoft game that was in production back then, released later.



So let's take a look at the city.




Mideel has some interesting stuff.



Mostly related to the way Cid interacts with others, as you'll see.



First we get that [Elixir]. Business as usual.



Huh



Oh crap.



Clearly Cid doesn't have the same experience as Cloud does when it comes down to walking around stealing things.



I thought this was a clever way to introduce a reaction to that since it was a pretty core game mechanic of JRPGs back then (looting stuff that doesn't belong to you) and no one ever seemed to care.



Anyway, I love this exchange. There are two ways the chat can go.



This is in case you decide to act all tough. The old man will just let us use it. Nothing suspicious here.



Or, in case we pretend we're clean...





I love this game.



Don't you worry though, that Elixir is just an item like any other.






Some more flavor text.



There's something funny about the stores in this town. For starters, they all play this variation of the Chocobo Theme. The same one from the Gold Saucer.



In all stores we find the girl in magenta as well as the little white Chocobo. So let's see what's up.





Huh, interesting.



Aww, Cid is adorable.



Anyway, we tickle it behind the ears, and...



Chocobos sure like to poop out materias.



[Contain] is an exquisite Materia. It has a series of different abilities, each with a different effect. I'll go in detail later on when we get to do some combats. Suffice to say it's the strongest Magic Materia we have for now.





VERY REST AND RECREATION. Nice use of Engrish here.



Wait, what?



Oh for fuck's sake.



We have some Gil, but everything's very expensive now.



Next, the Item Shop.



And here's that girl with the Chocobo again. She's walking around frantically.



So basically she's going from store to store buying everything on sight. Makes sense.



Honestly I love these little environment details.



There isn't a lot of variety when it comes down to the Item Shops in this game. We take our refill of Tents.



This is what you get in case you approach the White Chocobo without greens. Some people think only a specific green will work, but that's not the case.





She has a different talk for each time we see her in a shop.



Not crazy at all. She's not very happy with the competition.





Well she may be crazy but she sure got capitalism right, I'll give her that. In a pre-apocalyptical scenario, exchanging all your money for trade goods would be a somewhat logical idea.











































Hahaha fine I'll bite.



How is a weapon store a charity store about courage, I'm confused.



All things aside, the charity store does offer a lot of great weapons. Pretty much the best non-gimmick plug-and-play weapons we can find until now.



Plus, some very decent armor pieces. The [Wizard Bracelet] greatly improves the Magic Damage.





We've been missing on upgrades for Barret. That's over twice the damage!





[Crystal Comb] is also the first full-fledged upgrade from his father's weapon in Cosmo Canyon.



We got the Materia straight away, but there are hints around on getting the Contain materia for those who read the dialogues.








That's the spirit, sis.



Yea, we're all out of money. I imagine getting a job is out of the way, so we'll have to get creative soon.



So, back at the Weapon Store, there's a, uh, door at the back. Let's see.



Cid simply doesn't care about the others. Unfortunately, the door won't open.



By smashing the Ok button around the back of the Accessories Shop, you can find this -



No, I'm not sure how one is supposed to find it out by themselves either, although I do go around smashing the button in front of everything while playing J-RPGs.



It was a great skill to have in FF9.



But for the most part, FF7 is pretty good at explaining you what to do and where to go. Most people who played it back in the day and were kids probably ignored all of it though, especially since the 90's were the decade of gaming magazines and walkthroughs.



I find it amusing how this kinda becomes Cid's small town adventure now that Tifa and Cloud are out of the equation.



Yea, Cid's an amateur. Cloud is a specialist at looting stuff while being unseen.



Which is good, because when confronted, his solution is always to beat people up or have seizures.



If Aeris were here she'd be solving this situation by dressing Cid is a girl. And selling a shitload of flowers to the Chocobo lady.



Cid is great.



It's like two English gentlemen discussing the fine arts of doormaking. While drinking their goddamn TEA.



Anyway, as you may have learned, lying is never the proper solution. Let's apologize.







Wait, what?





I think this entire town is suffering from Mako exposure.



They're so close to the Lifestream fountains they've been slowly poisoned over the decades and all became weird.



Ok, this is not exactly a proper gift. Fuck, Cloud is being treated in this town. We need to get him away and get out.





Actually, screw Cloud. We're out.



The [Curse Ring] is another common theme between Final Fantasies. In this case, the accessory increases Magic and Strength by 35 as well as a small buff to the other attributes, but you start the fight with Death Sentence (a one minute counter, after which your character dies), which is only useful in case you're stacking status for Tifa's damage. This is being very positive about it because Death Sentence can really fuck you up since the battle won't stop the DS counter during animations to optimize how screwed you can get.



Don't worry, we'll find a use for it.



And with that, we conclude this update.

NEXT TIME:

More roaming around! Making Money!


Awesome music we've listened in this update:

Fiddle de Chocobo - Makes buying items in stores much more pleasant. Especially when we're broke.