Wednesday, October 22, 2014

FFV – Part 52: Phoenix Rising

Summary: We take down Bahamut on North Mountain, then proceed to Phoenix Tower. After one of the most messed-up flashbacks ever, Hiryu (who was on the top of the tower) expends his remaining life to become a phoenix. 


Overworld 

-Found a forestnear the massive desert to land my pink chocobo. 

-Will try Lenna as mime. She gets THREE abilities now, possibly substituting one out for !Item. 

-!Mimic copies the last ability casts, be it Fira, Curaga, basic attacks, whatever. Really interesting. 

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North Mountain 

-!Mimic also mimics the cast, not the exact thing. Like, if she mimics !Gaia, the initial caster may get Stalactite and Lenna may get Windslash. 

-Summit. Oh shit, here comes Bahamut. 




He’s huge! 

-Attempt #1: I reflected myself early, but there was no countdown when Mega Flare went off and by the Reflect had worn off. 


Ow. 

-Attempt #2: Success! Mostly. Got Reflect up on Lenna JUST before Mega Flare hit, and won the next turn. I now have Bahamut. [As I write this up, I realize I forgot about Carbuncle for that quick group Reflect.] 

-Let’s head to Phoenix Tower in the south next. 

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Phoenix Tower 

-Initially just one floor, no stairs. I walked into the pillar in the middle, and got 

-huh? Soul Cannon? Like, the boss guarding the floating city? 

-Each floor is set up the same way. I walk into the middle pillar, and have a 50% chance of opening a stairway with no problem, or opening a stairway guarded by a boss. 

-…I’m now fighting a Magic Pot. A gremlin sitting inside a pot. He’s got the Moogle Village music as his theme. Can’t hit him, but he starts asking for Elixir. I give him a couple. 


Who wouldn't love an elixir? 

He then flees. AND I GET 100 ABP WHAT. 

-Oen of the random monsters, Parthenope, casts Roulette. It sucks. The indicator finger spins from character to character like a roulette wheel, gradually slowing. Whoever it lands on dies. 

-Another Magic Pot. I’m glad I saved all my elixir! 

-One of the floor bosses is now Liquid Flame from Karnak. 

-AND ANOTHER MAGIC POT! This place is like Candyland. 

-I repeat: fuck Roulette. 

-Already on my third Magic Pot on the 20th floor. How high does this place go? 

-Finally. Krile’s Red Mage hit mastery, 999/999. The new ability was totally worth the wait. It’s Dual Cast. It’s amazing. 

-Bartz’s ranger hit mastery also, and Rapid Fire is astoundingly good too, distributing less damage per hit four times, ultimately for way more damage. 

-29th floor looks different… 

-Summit. 

-HIRYU!!! I thought he was dead! Or is he? There was that flavor text earlier about someone seeing a dead dragon come here or something. Is he a spirit now and about to come back to life? 

-Hiryu start to fly away. Or rather, to fly down. He dives down the tower. Starts dropping fast, and GETS SET ON FIRE. 



IS HE A PHOENIX NOW?? 

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Flashback 

-Young Lenna learning her mother’s going to die. The only cure for her mom is a wind drake’s tongue. 

-HOLY SHIT. Lenna grabbed a frigging KNIFE. She ran off to kill Hiryu and cut out his tongue. LENNA. 

-You have to be kidding me. 



-This game just gave me the choice of brutally murdering a beloved and innocent wind drake (the last of them) or allowing Lenna’s mother to die. 

-Dude, this is pretty fucked up right here. What a fun and wacky game! 

-I say no. I wonder what happens if you say “yes.” 

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Phoenix Tower 

-Hiryu rises. He expended the last of his energy to help Lenna, help us, by becoming a summonable phoenix. 

-Lenna is crushed. 



-We teleport out. 

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Next time: the search for the final tablet.