Game - Final Fantasy 6, Day 42
Hours Played/Hours Total - 4-1/2 hrs / 19-1/2 hrs
Starting Point - Nearby the Imperial Base.
Current Goal - Sneak through the Imperial Base and make it to the Sealed Gate. Defeat the Empire. Save the World!
What Happened - No fancy foreword needed. Let's go!
I started off by the Imperial Base and entered inside...ready for a fight! However, there was no fight to be found, and the base was deserted. Oh well, time to get right along. I walked through the base and entered the Cave to the Sealed Gate. I have accidentally referred to it as "Sealed Cave", but it is most definitely "Sealed Gate". I figured it to be another easy dungeon for the taking, but I was most definitely wrong. The first battle I got into almost turned into a nice "Game Over" screen. It didn't help that my first attack (Bio from Terra) was ABSORBED by the enemies. They confused the next party member (Sabin) who proceeded to use his Blitz command on the party. It just got progressively worse, and so I ran for it. Figuring that was just a fluke, I kept going into the cave. However, the next battle (being the same one) proved that I was ill prepared and had stupidly chosen. Sabin was equipped with a Fire-based weapon that basically all the enemies in here absorbed, and my only alternate weapon was a Poison-based one...They absorb that one too. Setzer was proving to be somewhat useless, and I kept rolling bad on his Slots ability. Thankfully, I was able to manage with Terra and Cyan for a bit, but I had a hard time regardless. On top of all this, these three were new to having magic, so I didn't quite have any spells with them yet. Once I got through a couple of battles, I was finally in a better position with both magic and status. It wasn't a fun entrance for sure...
The cave proved to be a challenge, but I still managed to make it through. I got some nifty items along the way, so that helped curve my attitude back up. (I wasn't happy with my earliest battle results here.) I made it through the cave and located the Sealed Gate. As Terra went to open it, Kefka appeared with troops. It seems they had stood back and used the group (namely Terra) to open the gate for them. I was then thrown into...STORY BATTLE! It looked like a boss battle with Kefka, but nothing happened. As soon as I got off my first attack, the game jumped over to Terra. She had opened the gate, and some Espers were spilling through. We go back to the battle with Kefka, and before anything can happen, the Espers start rampaging through and attacking everything. Kefka is amazed at the sheer power and ability of them. He runs off, and the group is left passed out there. As they awaken, the gate seals closed and is blocked by rocks on top of that. Well...guess I should leave now.
I left the cave, went through the base, and ran into Locke who simply asked "What happened?" The group explains of course and find out that the Espers are heading for the Imperial Capital, Vector. With that in mind, we jump on the airship and head that way...or at least we sure as hell tried. As soon as the airship takes off, it gets overwhelmed by Espers. In their anger, they're attacking and destroying all sorts of things. The airship goes down for the count and crash lands on the southern continent (the one where all the Empire is...lucky us). I reformed my party and made my way to Vector.
Upon entering Vector, it was already apparent that the Espers had their way with the city. Buildings were destroyed and on fire. I ran to the castle and was greeted by one of the Emperor's soldiers who said that we were already expected. I followed him inside and to the Emperor. Gestahl said that he was going to surrender and stop the entire war. After some thinking (and the recent attack), he realized the war was pointless, and that we needed to talk with the Espers before they destroyed everything. He invited us to a feast in celebration of the war ending. However, before the dinner started, we were asked to talk to some of his soldiers about the whole ordeal. I was presented with a four minute timer...and GO!
I ran all about the Imperial Castle trying to talk with everybody. I did fairly well, but I missed a few people along the way. Nevertheless, I know I will be rewarded in time. (I'll talk about it in a bit) The dinner/feast/whatever was basically a test of your memory and people skills. According to the guide, if you chose the best responses, you'd get better rewards before it's all said and done. The correct responses were generally the most neutral and not emotionally filled. After the dinner was done, the Emperor requested that we go with him somewhere. He brought along General Leo, and we were to meet him in Albrook. After that, the group got together and were already questioning his motives. It was quite suspicious that he wanted to suddenly drop the entire war. A large portion of the group stayed there, and I was left with only Terra and Locke in my team. As I was leaving the castle, I was approached by one of the Emperor's guards who told me that I was to be rewarded for my efforts (talking to soldiers and my dinner manners basically). The Emperor rewarded me by pulling troops out of Doma and South Figaro. He also allowed me access to the far base's treasure (the one near the Sealed Cave). Finally, I was presented with a small gift from the man himself. I missed out on one item in the end, but I did fairly well despite that. I left the Imperial Castle and the capital Vector and began exploring.
I made way to the Imperial Base first to loot it of its goods. I got away quite handsomely there, but seeing as I only have two people, I decided I might as well move on. I made way for Albrook and met up with the General Leo. They still had to prepare the ship, so we weren't shipping out until tomorrow (AKA Sleep at the Inn for a scene!). Before that, we were introduced to a few other people accompanying us...Turns out, we would be working with Shadow again! (Yaaaay!) Also, Celes finally reappeared, and of course there was tensoin between her and Locke (Uuuuugh). After the stay at the Inn, I reported back to General Leo, and we set sail for the Crescent Island. During the trip, I was presented with a small cutscene. Basically, Terra is all curious about "love" and such. Also, Locke got seasick. That's the jist of what all happened. We disembarked at the Crescent Island, and I was given Shadow to control (along with my previous group Terra and Locke). Celes was left to work with General Leo. Onward to the village of Thamasa!
Rumors of this village was that its inhabitants had the use of magic. Venturing around, many people were trying to "hide" their use of magic in plain sight! They kept using it then being like "uh oh!" when they saw me. After walking about a bit, one man suggested I ask an older man in town about the "Esper" thing. When I went over, I met TWO new party members! Yeah, that is right...a double whammy! The first one was the blue mage (basically) named Strago. He had a granddaughter named Relm, and her power wasn't as directly revealed. We'll find out later though. Anyways, Strago denies any knowledge of Espers and of the town's magical abilities. After that, I made my way to the Inn and slept the day off. However, our sleep was interrupted by Strago. It seems a nearby house caught on fire, and Relm was inside! The entire group rushed out and over. Shadow stayed behind, but his dog rushed right off. Earlier, the dog, Interceptor, had been very friendly with Relm (to Shadow's surprise). Strago tried putting the fire out with magic. Even with the help of the town, they couldn't manage to get it out. So we all rushed inside.
The house was all fire by the time we were inside. The fire was being caused by Balloons (Bomb-type monsters). I slowly fought my way through the house until we finally came upon the cause of it all...Flame Eater. BOSS BATTLE TIME! Before anything else, I'd like to say...Wouldn't a monster called "Flame Eater" be something that would EAT fire rather than create it? It sounds like it would simply want to eat the fire all around it. I guess that isn't important, but I thought I'd say it. A fairly formidable boss it was. It was able to summon Balloons and cast up to Fire 2 (guide says up to Fire 3, but I didn't see that). I did lose a person here or there because of Fire 2, but overall, it was a pretty straightforward battle. Strago came with the Aqua Rake water magic ability. That along with some Cure magic and supporting attacks easily put this Flame Eatting bastard in the ground!
After defeating the boss, it seems that Interceptor had made it there before us. He was trying to protect and get Relm out of there. Unfortunately, the fire was spreading too rapidly and the group passed out...Lucky for them, Shadow came through and saved everyone. The next day, Strago came forward and revealed the town was capable of magic, and that there was a reason for it all. It seems that Strago's people were all descendants of a group known as the Mage Knights. Back when Espers were around, the Mage Knights made use of magicite to wield powerful magics. However, when the War of the Magi ended and the Espers were gone, the Mage Knights were hated and hunted down. Some of them managed to escape it all and set up the village of Thamasa. The people living there weren't nearly as skilled in magic, but they all had a small amount of magical prowess. With the story told, Strago decided to help us out in thanks for saving Relm. He would help us locate the Espers. He figured they would be located in the mountains to the west, and even said that they were born from there. So...time to head out!
As we were leaving the village, Shadow parted with the group. He claimed something about looking for the Espers in his own way. He also mentioned that he only helped because he wanted to get his dog back. Something is most definitely up with him, but I'm not going to worry about it now. Onward...to the Esper Mountains! It was a short walk along the world map to the mountains. Once there, I quickly climbed up and made my way in. Along the way, it seemed we had a little follower (Relm). We continued a short ways in, and I learned a bit of in-history about the Espers. We came upon a trio of golden statues, and Strago explained about them. The magic and power behind the Espers was a sort of "curse" by these three gods of magic. When the gods fight, they transformed people into Espers to use as weapons. However, they eventually came to their senses and sealed themselves away. They gave the Espers their freedom and asked the Espers to watch over them as they slept. The statues on the mountain weren't the gods themselves but representations of them made by the Espers. As the I started to leave the statues, someone else came along...everybody's favorite recurring boss Ultros! BOSS BATTLE TIME!
It wasn't too hard of a battle really. I just kept after him with all the Fire magic I could, and he went down...or so it seemed. Halfway through the battle, Relm walks in and the conversation starts. Relm wants to draw Ultros, but he wasn't being cooperative. Eventually, she starts crying, and the group yells at Ultros for making her cry. Ultros consents, Relm uses her ability "Sketch" to draw an Ultros that attacks and beats the real Ultros. He runs off, and we are free to proceed up the mountain plus one member. It isn't a lot farther, and I run into the Espers. Things look a bit grim as they start to surround us, but they end up talking it out. The Espers felt bad for destroying Vector and killing innocents. The group asks the Espers to accompany them to talk it out with the Empire. The game jumps, and I find myself back in Thamasa. The Espers begin talking with Leo, and everything seems to be going fine.
Of course, it can't possibly keep going okay. Kefka jumps out along with a group of Magitek Armor. He starts killing Espers left and right and claiming their magicite. It seems the Emperor's actual plan was to lure the Esper's out and kill them for magicite. Leo rushes over to defeat Kefka in a short battle. (I got to control him for it.) It appears that Kefka is defeated, but he simply disappears. He reappears later and kills Leo. After that, the Sealed Gate opens up and more Espers rush through it. However, Kefka simply kills them left and right. After slaying a large group, he claims a lot of magicite and returns back to the Emperor. The group wakes up, and the rest of the crew flies over to them and reveals the plan the Emperor had. Of course, we already knew this. The group gets back together and begins to make their way to him, but it seems things have taken a downward turn...
The next scene depicts a the Emperor and Kefka going through the now opened Sealed Gate. Moments later, an entire portion of the land pulls out of the ground and floats into the sky. They located the ACTUAL three statues of the magic gods. They plan to take this power and use it for their own it seems. On an even more unfortunate note, it seems that the gods sealed themselves in a certain alignment to keep their power in check as statues. It seems that if one of them is moved, the entire world would fall into chaos and despair. So...that means it is time for us to stand up! I gather the group and prepare to charge towards the continent!...in another post. I've gone quite far enough for now, and I'll end it here...in a TO BE CONTINUED! sort of way.
Ending Point - Nearby the village of Thamasa.
Current Party -
- Celes - Level 23
- Relm - Level 22
- Mog - Level 24
- Gau - Level 23
Next Goals - Chase after the Emperor and Kefka on the Floating Continent. Defeat them both. Save the World!
~May the Crystals Guide Me~
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