In the Van
-I swear, Zell is like a hyperactive little brother. “Show me your gunblade, Squall!” “Come on!” “Just a peek.” All Squall responds with is a surly “…….”
-And of course, Quistis just sits there laughing and copying Squall everytime he responds with brooding grumpitude. Zell wants to know what’s on his mind, and just as Squall says “nothing” Quistis says “nothing” while laughing. I can’t physically imagine getting tired of this dynamic.
-omg zell chill
-what is this what is life. Seifer just called Zell “chicken-wuss.”
-Squall wants to know who “the girl in the infirmary was.” Quistis is a touch to coy in her denial to make me believe she doesn’t know what Squall is talking about. “Who? Girl? What girl?” That sort of thing.
-And of course, Seifer is annoyed at EVERYTHING.
-The team drives to some nearby docks in what I now think of as “the Turtle Van.”
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Balamb
-It looks like we’re going into a submarine for this mission. Awesome!
-I have the chance to wander a bit before starting the mission. It’s a hotel here, guests from “Galbadia.” This is the Balamb Hotel.
-A hotel room upstairs looks a lot like something out of the City of the Ancients from FFVII.
-There’s a red and white striped flag with something inside it. Must be the Balamb flag. Not sure if it’s a nation, a city-state, a region, or something else altogether. Don’t know much about the political make-up of this world yet.
-Found a junk shop. They offer me the chance to use stuff to remodel a weapon and I have no idea what that means. I don’t have enough items to try it yet.
-Someone tells Squall that it’s peaceful here while there’s fighting elsewhere. Seeing the SeeD candidates reminds him of the fighting elsewhere. These guys are mercenaries – makes sense.
-Inside a house, a woman is cooking. She just has one line of dialogue: “How’s my rowdy boy doing?” I’m guessing this is Ms. Dincht.
-Yup! It’s her.
-KITTY!!!! Another house has a kitty inside.
I used the action button on it, and it got up, meowed, stretched out, and resettled. AW.
-Kitty’s owner is an old fisher.
-A couple at the gas station will perform at the Garden Festival.
-Huh. Car rental is a thing. You can rent a car, but you need to buy gas too. It avoids monsters. I wonder if chocobos are a thing in FFVIII.
-lol. I tried leaving the city and a car nearly ran me over. It now blocks the way out. I guess that means it’s time to move on. No shirking your duty, Squall!
-The kids may love Quistis, but the Garden Staff seem to look down on her.
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At Sea
-Xu is on the ship. A dark-haired woman who I remember from her strong moderation.
XU: “Seifer, how many times has it been now?” Wow. Unexpected. I take this to mean that Seifer has tried this exam a few times and not passed it. But that doesn’t make sense, with all his braggadocio about what a great student he is. Hm.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it…
-The client for this mission is the Dollet Dukedom Parliament. They’re under attack by the G-Army. (My initial reaction to this was, “OH GOD GENESIS FOLLOWED ME FROM CRISIS CORE” before remembering that this is not part of the FFVII compilation.) We’re fighting the G-Army at Lapin Beach and liberating the city.
-Xu gave that mission rundown, but Quistis is still the primary support.
-G stands for “Galbadian” here.
-If they tell us to withdraw, we do it.
-Cinematic of the ships storming the beach. The music continues to be amazing.
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Dollet
-Preparation for battle. I’m using the compatibility bars as a general starting guide for which GF to match with which character. Shiva with Quistis, Quezacotl with Squall, Ifrit with Zell, and nobody with Seifer. Of course nobody is compatible with Seifer.
Getting ready on the beach.
-Just read about what Vitality is. I thought it would govern HP, but it looks more like armor where it mitigates physical damage. Going to swap Shiva’s learning from Vit Junction to +GF HP.
-Hm. Much as I don’t like Seifer, the status screen makes it seem like Quistis will sit this one out. FINE. I’ll give Seifer Shiva.
-Let’s roll out!
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Next time: fighting for Dollet.
