Part 30: Holy Buffalo Wings!

: You finally woke up! Alex, I've been worried! You've been unconscious for seven days! I didn't know if you were gonna wake up!



Welcome back everyone. Last time, we tried to approach the Grindery, and... well, it left us in a coma for a week. Now that we're-


"Welcome to Reza! You've been out of commission for quite a while, son! You gave us all quite a scare! You'll find that your friends are sleeping upstairs."

...anyway, now that we're awake, let's collect our bearings. Like... why are we in Reza?


"We hid you in the bazaar so the Magic Emperor's grunts wouldn't find you!"

I certainly appreciate that, but that doesn't answer the question. Wait, they hid us? That would mean...


"He says he'll keel anyone that doesn't ben' to his rule!"

...that Ghaleon's already pretty much taken over. Well, we have been out for a week, and Ghaleon has a shiny new death castle-tank, so it makes sense that he'd act quickly.

Before we go check up on everyone else, let's discuss the remake a bit. The Grindery's destruction of Vane happens in the remake, but very, very differently. For one, you do take some steps to prevent the attack.



Do you remember the Silver Spire? And how it was pretty much a useless filler dungeon in this game? Well, in the remakes, the Silver Spire isn't a dungeon at all, but rather a chamber where Mia can wield Vane's power. While Mia doesn't still stop the fall, she does manage to break the barrier on the Grindery. And you enter the Grindery!

Unfortunately, in the original we don't have that option and suffered for it. Let's go see how everyone else is doing.



: A... Alex. It's good... to see you. I... I'm afraid I can't... move my legs yet. Why don't you ju... just give me a minute?
: Uuuuhhh, Alex? You're... all right... I think... I'm okay. I just can't... move yet.

As well as one can expect, I suppose.

: Kyle hasn't been around. A... Alex, can you try to find him for me? I think he's downstairs.
: Did you find everyone else? I think they're around here somewhere... they say Nash is in shock.

For the moment, though, let's take them up on their suggestion and check up on the boys.



That didn't take long. Who wants to take bets that Kyle's drunk off his ass?



No one, of course, because why would you?

: There's no use fighting anymore! Ghaleon has the Goddess and the Grindery! There's no way we can beat him now! Let's drink to the good times we've had... 'cause it's all over now. Cheers!
: I'm a simple mountain thief. How did I ever think I had a chance to defeat Ghaleon? It's hopeless, Alex! Just have a drink and forget it... Even though Ghaleon will rule, we'll still be able to get by.
: Alex will never give up! I can't believe you're saying this, Kyle!
: Hehehe... I don't care if you hate me! It'd be a problem if you loved me ...hiccup!

Did he just say "hiccup?" How weird.

Let's see if Nash is less mopey, and if pigs have learned to fly.

: Alex, it's no use. This is hopeless. Face it... it's over! There's no way we can win this. I knew that from the beginning. Magic Emperor Ghaleon is just too strong... too smart... and too insane! Now that I've been stupid enough to try and betray Master Ghaleon, He'll have my head for certain! What a fine mess I'm in now! Alex, forget this stupid plan! There's no way we can win against Emperor Ghaleon!
: What Nash? Trying to chicken out? What about all this attitude you've been spewing? I guess that was just talk, huh? When it's time to show the goods, you just stop and turn your back on your friends, hmmm?
: This isn't my fault, so... just shut up! I don't need this lip from a flying freak show!

Pigs are indeed still ground-bound, but he does bring up a good point. Considering what he did with all that "betrayal" business, he has a very good reason to fear retribution.

Although good reason or not, that mopey attitude ain't getting us anywhere. Maybe someone else could be a little more inspiring.



Or not. Oh, by the way.



He's being literal. Yeap.

Okay, that's bad. But there's a silver lining.



No buts! You shut up!


"The only way they could have broken free is if Althena let them... but why did she?"

That's... also pretty bad, yeah... but-


"But no matter. It's no use buying a son who couldn't be a Dragonmaster."

Jesus! Everyone just loves rubbing it in, don't they? Okay, does anyone have anything non-depressing to say?


"He's left Reza, so I don't know where he is right now."

Well, that's a step in the right direction. But now I'm just confused. I know his ability to mysteriously pop-up has been established, but that might be straining it a bit.



Yeah, you're right. Let's focus here.


: I have to get out of bed to kick that loser's arrogant butt! Take me to that creep!

That's the spirit! Smack the self pity outta them!


: problems in a drink! This is the lowest... I wish I'd never met you.
: How can you say that? I've helped you get this far!
: Only to turn your back on us when it really counts! ...you make me sick!
: You know... hiccup... you're right! Death or no, I've got to see this thing through!

All right, Kyle's back in the saddle!

: No problem... hiccup... I just need... hiccup some coffee!
: I think he's well beyond the point of being helped by a pot of coffee...

Even if I doubt he could say in a saddle at the moment.

Let's see if Mia can work the same magic and convince Nash to stop staring at the wall like a weirdo.


: But... you don't know how powerful Ghaleon's become! It's suicide... But, I guess you're right to turn my back on you now would be cowardly... All right, then... I'm still in! Let's go! There's no where for us to hide from Ghaleon, so I guess it's a fight to the death!
: That sounds more like the Nash we've all come to know and love!

Well, "know" anyway. Funny thing: those last three lines are repeated when Nash re-joins. I think they were scripted to play after he joins and were accidentally placed before as well.

In any case, we're back baby! We may not have a plan yet, but we're ready for anything!



Oh. Funny you should show up.


: Have you still got the courage to fight Ghaleon to the death?

Oh yeah, the balloon! A balloon could surmount unclimbable mountains, like the one the Goddess Towers rests upon. Well, there's the plan! Let's go!

: All right then, in the Goddess' tower there's Althena's sword. It's the last piece of the Dragonmaster's armor.



...



: I'm sorry I couldn't bring myself to tell you sooner, but my real name is Dyne.
: Holy buffalo wings! Talk about a plot twist!



So. Dyne was alive this whole time! And he was also this dude. I... I have so many questions.

: I lost all my magic power when I sealed off the Black Dragon. I barely survived at all! And now... All of my ability as Dragonmaster has been lost. But I love my new life as Laike: easygoing guy. I just can't stand to see Ghaleon ruin everything I love about this world!

I mean, wasn't Dyne's death the whole reason Ghaleon went off the handle? Ghaleon clearly knew Dyne was alive (as evident in their little chat on top of Myght's tower.)

: A Dragonmaster is just a servant to Goddess Althena. Ghaleon was never cut out to be a "servant." ...but this is too much. Alex, you must stop him!

Although there might be an alternate reason: as far as Ghaleon was concerned, Dyne losing his abilities might as well have killed him. Which suggests an interesting reason why Ghaleon took such an affront to the monument in Burg. This conflicts quite a bit with Ghaleon's motivations in the remake, but that discussion will happen shortly.

In the meantime, let's go and get our fancy new balloon. Fortunately, our Dragon Wings will let us warp right there.


: From the looks of it, you've had a long talk with my buddy Dyne! I think you're ready to fly the balloon. It's waiting upstairs.

If you talk to him again, he'll reiterate the fact that the Grindery runs on steam power and has to stop for water every once and a while.



And he makes a little request. Whatever. Anyway let's get flyin'!







Oh fuck me.

: You'll never see the Goddess' Tower! Because you're dead meat, as of right now!



Not to worry, Dyne to re- how the hell does he get around so fast?

: Don't be so sure, you witch! You'll have to kill me to halt our advance!




: You don't have enough power to stop her to Ghaleon yet. But one of the Dragon Tribe yet lives, so there is still a chance for you... Hurry! Get to the balloon! Combine your strength and save that we hold dear! I'll stay here and stop this little Ghaleon wannabe. Too bad she's so cute...



And he gets turned to stone. Th- thanks for the distraction, Dyne?

: Laike, Dyne... whatever you call the fool, has lost all his magic power! With no magic power, he won't stand a chance against my awesome power. Even though Ghaleon said not to lay a finger on him, I've got no choice... and now, Alex, you're next...


: Dyne is fighting my magic while his body is turned to stone! Aaaaahhhh!



Oh. Okay, so apparently Dyne is so manly he can fight back while still a stone statue. He's got some shit he could teach Simon, that's for sure.

In any case, let's not find out how she gets free, shall we?


: Don't worry! Leave everything to me...

And thus, we take a little balloon ride.









Oops.


: I wonder if Myght's airship can be salvaged at all?

As you can tell from Nall somewhat disjointed dialogue, the power of Althena herself struck us down. It makes sense that the tower would have some defense mechanism from more crafty folks, although we got here anyway so it's kind of a wash.

On the other hand, the only way we're getting off this mountain is if we warp off, because the airship is...



We're really not good at not destroying things, are we?




But we're here, finally. The Goddess Tower is quite possibly one of the most simple dungeons in the game, aside from perhaps the lighthouse. Each floor is laid out the same way; four square rooms diagonally connected to a center rectangle. Each of the corner rooms has a treasure chest or a staircase. It is absolutely impossible to get lost.







The treasure is largely high end consumables. Most of that is just rubbish like Thunder Essence that you never use and don't have the room for anyway, but there's some good stuff mixed in. The Sage's Cane is the only non-consumable there. It provides a bit of anti-magic and casts De-Protect. It's neat, I guess.



The monsters are the real challenge here. Both of them are rather simple and straightforward, though; giant walls of HP with high attack power.



And the encounter rate seems to be pretty high in this area, so you gain a few levels. Landquake is Mia's stronger target-all spell, and Bye Bye Air is her strongest single-target spell. She's learned every spell now. Healing Litany (not to be confused with "Heal Litany") is Jessica's long-awaited upgrade to her target-all healing spell, Calm Litany. Jessica and Kyle are now the only ones waiting for new spells.

Unlike every other unremarkable dungeon in this game, I don't mind the simplicy of the Goddess Tower. The simple, stark, and austere design of the tower combined with the ethereal music gives the area a solemn atmosphere, quite befitting of a goddess.

Which I think is what the remake is missing. This dungeon does show up in the remake... sort of. It's actually the final dungeon in the remake, and it's far bigger and harder to boot. It's honestly so different that it's only the Goddess Tower in name. Now that's true of a lot of dungeons, but it feels especially notable in the case of this one. The newer version just... lacks a certain je ne sais quoi, I feel.



Anyway, the tower in the original is only six stories high. Past the row of candles is our goal, but there's something interesting to the right...





An eerily familiar sight, isn't it?



And Nall more or less confirms our suspicions. The resemblance can't be a coicidence, not at this point...

Let's continue on.



Oh! Turns out there is something other than monsters in the tower. I guess they look after the place while the master is away.

By the way, the chest on the left is a Vigor Peach, but on the right...



Another cane! Unlike most of the other canes, only Mia can equip this. The Goddess' Cane casts a single-target heal spell. Very nice.

Anyway, let's greet these orange fellows.


: Are you the one hoping? Are you the savior of the Goddess and our world? You possess the powers of wisdom, courage, and truth. Now prove yourself worthy of the title "Dragonmaster!"




Of course, there's one last test before we can claim the title. These guys (they're Dragon Angels, but I'm not sure if the game ever tells you this) are not hard, exactly, but since this is a solo fight it can be a bit tricky.



They have two attacks, a thunder attack and a regular attack. They only do about 40 HP a pop, and they're slow to catch up to you. But you can't beat them in a straight-up damage race; they're pretty much immune to physical damage and you will run out of MP casting Dragon spells. And Dragon spells are the only thing that does very damage to them. Dragon Quake does 350-400 damage, and his strongest non-Dragon spell, Light Rain, does about 130. You need to bring a Silverlight or a Seed of Vigor (and possibly an Herb of Althena.) But if you go in prepared, it's no trouble.




: Now, take Althena's Sword for your own, and face your destiny, Dragonmaster Alex!
: But, all the Dragons are dead... so, how can he become Dragonmaster?
: Ah, dear child, you still cannot see the truth, can you?





As Nall flies towards Althena's Sword, we can hear a familiar voice.


: Ah, you are indeed the brave one. You have proven the purity in your heart. Step forward and become your destiny, Dragonmaster Alex!



It's finally happened. We've completed our quest to become Dragonmaster.


: Now that he's gone, I have become the last dragon...



Ah, so that's why there are five Dragon spells.

Hm... something seems different somehow.





In addition to gaining the title of "Dragonmaster" we've also gained a snazzy makeover. We have a cape now!


: She was borne into our world as a baby, and Dyne left her with your father. Your father was told to take her in and raise her as his own. But now, Ghaleon is trying to swallow her in his heart of darkness. If you can defeat Ghaleon, the Goddess will be released from his wicked spell. You have to hurry, though! Ghaleon's hold on her grows by the minute!


: If Althena keeps singing songs of death, darkness will cover all the world! Soon, all that is good will be swept away, and evil will reign supreme. The Grindery is protected by a synergy of Ghaleon and Althena's power. But, as Dragonmaster, you can break through the barriers they constructed. Take the weapons and armor of a Dragonmaster, for you have them all now, and go... you must succeed. The fate of our world rests with you.

After some exposition and pep talk, we're ready to descend (they don't let you warp out of here either) and finally take on Ghaleon. And next time we'll... not do that. Yet. Sorry.

But before we end, let's talk a bit more about the remake. As I've mentioned previously, in the remake you traverse the Grindery right after the Frontier. The plot twists in this update (Dyne, Luna, and Nall's true identities) are revealed at the end of or shortly after the Grindery. The party also still has the lowest point/pity party portion, but it also happens after the Grindery. Much like with Iluk/Reza/Damon's Spire, the remake shares the same story points as the original, but rearranges the order.

A major difference, however, is that after the party picks themselves up, you head to Burg. There, you obtain Althena's Sword (in the remake, Althena's Sword was in Dyne's Monument the whole time. I guess Alex is the king of England now) and Nall transforms.



Yeah, you actually get to see Nall transform into a full size dragon! Instead of the balloon, Nall flies you to the Goddess Tower and the final dungeon.

Finally, let's briefly touch upon Ghaleon's motives. The remake goes a bit more into the birth of Luna. Ghaleon, you see, is against the Althena reincarnating and becoming human, as he feels humanity needs the Goddess to guide them. Ghaleon's descent into villainy is driven by his desire to rule humanity in the Goddess's place.

This is not an aspect of the character present in the original. The original doesn't go very deep into Ghaleon's motivation, and doesn't present him all that sympathetically. He seems more driven by his own mental instability than any higher goal (not to say the whole "mental instability" thing isn't present in the remake). Although I can't say that the remake's Ghaleon is particularly sympathetic, just that his motivation is.

In the end, though I think the difference between the two versions of Ghaleon come down to presentation. That'll become more obvious as we get to the end, though, so stay tuned for that!