Part 55: Final Boss pt2

What is that thing?


UPDATE 55: It's like a Matryoshka of gimmick bosses

BOSS BATTLE: NEGA FILGAIA



MUSIC: The Beginning of the End
VIDEO: Phase 1



Don't tell me this thing here is supposed to be her Filgaia... Is this some kind of joke?
Yes, the [Filgaia Theory]! How the world is a single life entity. It seems to be at its larval stage now, but it will grow and mature into a true threat!
Then we have to stop it now... It may just be another Filgaia, but its will is that of Beatrice!
I'm sure it doesn't have a liking for us, either... Let's do it!!



It looks weird, but it's not all that threatening yet.



It will never actually attack... just skip its turn over and over. But...



At the end of the turn, it will counterattack everyone who affected it in any way. It's actually quite a powerful hit, (600-1000 damage) but it shouldn't take you by surprise.



Also, once it is below half health it will divide, creating a Red version of itself. The red version is identical to the blue but starts at full health so it can prolong the fight. But if you kill the blue version quickly enough, you can prevent the red ever being spawned.



Since there's no rush to defeat this form, this is an excellent time to get some buffing done. This is a series of battles and buffs persist between them. I start with Permanence and layer on Shield, Protect, Hyper and Reflect.



Eventually enough damage will destroy both of them, and it explodes, only to reform into...



this thing.

MUSIC: Breath Born of Mud
VIDEO: Phases 2 & 3



He only has one attack, which causes paralysis and no damage.
What's this? A final boss who can't do damage? There must be a trick...



There is. Fail to kill him by turn six and...



He resets the battle. You have to do enough damage in those six turns to kill him, but of course... paralysis can stop you from doing that.
It's not too hard if you're prepared to gatling a lot or abuse Finest Arts. The biggest problem getting Reset causes is that it resets all your buffs, so you'll have to recast anything you cast in phase 1.



When he explodes, he evolves into...



... a puddle of goo.
Yeah? Yeah.



The goo is immune to all ARM damage, but magic still works.



Its only attack is a weak physical, which has a strange secondary effect.



Exposing its core. However it's even slower than Doc, so nobody can attack it now and the core is secured again at the start of the next turn.

Unless...



Replay works like a charm, as the replay happens after the core is exposed but before it is covered up again. It takes a lot of damage from ARMs, so you can quickly defeat it this way. (just sticking to magic is probably as fast though)



What will be next?



MUSIC: Fangs and Claws of Fierce Evil
VIDEO: Phases 4 & 5

Lizards! Neon glowing lizards!



The color these guys glow is important. For example, the green one is weak to wind, strong to earth and uses earth-based arcana.
Red is weak to fire, strong to ice and uses ice arcana, and so on.
Yes it's the opposite to what you might expect. They are tricksy.

The thing is, if you hit them with an elemental attack, they change their alignment to be strong to that element. It doesn't matter what their current alignment is - if you hit one with Earth damage, it will become strong to earth, weak to wind, and use earth attacks.



Don't use ARM attacks! They'll counter with Critical Heal, which heals all four lizards for all the damage they've taken.



Instead, I exploit their elemental shifting. Summon Flash Hit...



Now they're ALL strong to Light, use Light elemental arcana, and...



Weak to dark. This kills them off rather easily.



Boom!



Dinosaurs!

They look identical, but they have slightly different skills.



The left one casts Hyper to buff their damage, while the right one casts Fragile to lower our defenses.
The right one also has Critical Heal, so it dies first.



Oh, and watch out, they have Reflect. Don't go casting Arc Impulse on yourself while three allies are guarding.



Still, a more straightforward battle. Soon, he explodes. I wonder what will appear next?

NEGA FILGAIA STAGE: 5/?



MEANWHILE, ON (POSI-)FILGAIA


CLAIBORNE


What have I been workin' fer all mah life? Once you lose sight of what's in yer heart, you lose sight of yer direction in life, too...

I haven't been able to concentrate lately. Just the other day, I was counting out change for a customer when I lost count. 'Two Gella... three Gella,' and when my customer asked me what time it was, 'ten o'clock, sir... eleven Gella, twelve Gella...' Maybe I'm getting too old.

People come up with the strangest ideas. Why would anyone think of sittin' on top of a horse?
<<Beep>>... TAKE CARE...

That's funny... Ah know Ah wanted to do somethin', but Ah can't remembah what that somethin' was... Ah guess Ah'll just have to stay here 'till Ah remembah...

All my memories are gone. They were all traces of my life... I feel like I'm the last person standing out in the middle of the vast wasteland...


LITTLE ROCK


Here I go, gettin' hungry again. But I don't feel like doing a thing. Sure is weird.

Now, where are my glasses... Oh, I'm wearing them! How strange...I was never this forgetful.

When I awoke, I lost my desire to enjoy anything. It was what got me through the wasteland. What's happened to me?
<<Beep>... TAKE... TAKE... TAKE... <<Click>>

For some reason, I feel so liberated, as if all my worries just went up and flew away.

I need a light to guide me. What made me yearn so passionately for life before?


LAXISLAND


Legends and folklore are passed down because they're easy to retell. Legends die when they're forgotten. Kind of sad, isn't it? Hmm... I just started feeling sad, myself.

Why do I wear such a childish costume? Most unbecoming of a cavalier!
Uh... Exactly how much did I charge for antidotes, again? Oh, I have no idea! Let me check my purchase costs real quick. Uh-oh... Where did I put my cost list?

Passion is flame that burns hot inside men's hearts. Passion's fire moves people. Makes them do stuff. Therefore, people only come stop when internal fire go out. Poof!

Argh! Can't remember... Can't remember a thing. They've altered my memory! That's it! Reverse hypnosis! I'll reverse their hypnosis and find the truth that's out there!