The Desert
-The two cars full of SeeDs roll to a stop at a fork in the road mid-desert. Both a literal and figurative fork.
-So the main issue right now is what to do about the incoming missile launches at the Gardens – both the Balamb and Trabia Gardens. Most of the team wants to go warn the Balamb Garden, but Selphie wants to stop the missile launches. She transferred to Balamb from Trabia and is protective of it.
I’m inclined to go with her plan. We should aim to protect both Gardens. Squall has to split the party up. One team goes to the missile base, the other to the Balamb Garden.
-LOL THAT DIDN’T TAKE LONG. As they’re debating next steps, we see a barrage of missiles launch from a nearby building. Irvine says he heard that they were targeting Trabia first.
Selphie slumps to her knees in despair.
-The teams are set. Squall, Rinoa, and Quistis to Balamb Garden. Selphie, Zell, and Irvine to Trabia.
-Selphie plans to infiltrate the missile silo using the Galbadian military vehicle as a disguise.
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Balamb Team - Train Station
-The Balamb Team goes to a nearby train and hops aboard.
-A Galbadian soldier sees them on the train and chases after, but it’s too late.
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Missile Team - Dingo Desert
-Going to take a brief break here to review my junctions.
Zell (fighter)
This is my fighter, my bruiser. I’ve junctioned him with Ifrit and Diabolos. Ifrit gives him strength, Diabolos gives him Mug.
He has 98 Thundagas to boost strength as well. I changed his El-A to Blizzara, since I have 100. Big boost. Left El-D open in case I run into something specific to fight.
He had Slow junctioned to his Magic automatically because Diabolos has the magic junction, but I removed that. It’s useless for Squall.
Can’t inflict statuses.
Selphie (magician)
-She was using a small stack of Thundaga to boost magic. Screw that. I used Quezalcotl’s T-Refine to convert Wizard Stones to Thundagas and give her a full stack boosting her magic.
Loaded Selphie up with a full stack of Slow for a status attack junction. That should make auto-attack useful.
Irvine (summoner)
I actually don’t care too much about his junctions, but I adjusted his GFs so that he has both Siren and Shiva for massive summoned magic boosts.
Good enough to go on for now.
-lol whoops. I drove around for a while exploring the neighborhood then ran out of fuel. Um. I hope that I can just walk into the missile silo!
-Dangit. Nope. Gotta refuel at Deling City.
-Actually, it seems like I can still ride the fuel-less vehicle; it just moves at a glacial pace.
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Missile Silo
-Success! Now with the vehicle, they let the team into the silo.
-Selphie is such a badass leader here. Gives a pretty great rah-rah speech about the team breaking whatever obstacles stand in their way.
-For all the shit I’ve given Irvine, I’m glad to be able to give him credit here. I like him supporting and encouraging Selphie.
-I think I like the funky music that comes on when we enter the silo – like, a lot! But is it just me, or does it sound a bit… porny?
-Locked door in the Silo. Selphie uses an ID card that Irvine found in the car.
-hee! I have the choice of how to infiltrate – act casual? Sneak? Walk by?
I choose act casual. I really want to see this goofball group trying to act casual.
-Soldiers all around the place are busy with maintenance. Or busy with not-doing-maintenance, so they ask us to go in their place while they work on other stuff.
-hahahahha – not just writing that, this game makes me actually laugh. Love it.
The Selphie Squad goes into the launcher room for “maintenance,” and Selphie just starts swatting buttons. XD
-More choices later as we encounter other guards. Play it cool? Run? Fight? Play it cool.
…screw that. Fight!
-Ruh roh. The alarms are going off now.
-Some soldiers are preparing for the final launch. Come on, Selphie Squad!
SELPHIE: “Up yours! We’re gonna screw up this plan of yours!” HELL YEAH TELL EM SELPHIE
Boss fight against the officers.
-DAMMIT. They used Confuse on Irvine. Not normally a problem, but instead of just shooting us, Irvine blew one of my major items, “Mega Phoenix.” Grrr.
-NO. Stop using Phoenix Downs, confused people!
-One good Shiva blast knocks em all out.
-The team runs around the room smashing buttons (will I ever get tired of this? Signs point to no). Zell finds the right one. Now to makes the base self-destruct.
-…fucking a, game. Why.
My sentiments exactly, Selphie.
-I set 20 minutes for the self-destruct. Don’t know why. Seems reasonable.
-OH SHIT! One of the base leaders we “killed” gets up and starts crawling to the control panel.
-Hm. He doesn’t stop the countdown. Probably instead unleashes a horrible boss.
-Nope. Seems instead like he’s resetting the missiles to fire on Balamb before the explosion. Selphie Squad is almost at the exit but has to go back.
-Interesting. A wounded soldier is blocking our way, but when Selphie tells her that she wants to stop the missiles to save her friends in Balamb, the soldier relents.
-This is really tense. We’re in the navigational/targeting system now with that soldier’s ID/password. Can’t change the target without other authorization directly, but maybe one of the other controls here will work?
-Uploading data, increasing the error range, and other stuff I don’t know about. This computer moves with infuriating slowness given the time limit. There’s nothing else for me to do in the computer, so hopefully that worked. Dunno.
-Diabolos learned Darkside, but now’s not the time to experiment. With about 12 minutes left, we leave the silo. Full evacuation going on.
-oh shit the missiles went off
-please miss… no. We don’t see them, but Selphie looks defeated.
-I was afraid that’d be “Game Over,” that I missed something and would have to redo it, but one of the officers on the base has a vehicle thing and it’s boss time.
”BGH251F2.
-It’s like Octomamm from FFIV. When I do damage to it, different turrets on the vehicle start blowing up.
-WOOHOO!!!!! Selphie’s Thundaga did major damage. My magic junction adjustment for her pays dividends.
Hahhaha
CAPTAIN: “OWWW HOT HOT HOT HOTHOT”
PRIVATE 1: “That piece of crap!”
They’re pissed that we blew up the vehicle, but the soldiers piloting the vehicle get out. We probably have to stop them from repairing it.
-Victory! One of the rewards is a new Weapons magazine.
-This is bleak. The team is locked in, and begins to face their deaths. I don’t believe for a second that they’ll actually die here, but still.
-Zell thought he’d be prepared, but is angrier and more frustrated than he’d expected.
-Irvine is disappointed in himself, seeing just another failure.
-Selphie on the other hand feels the most hopeful, most upbeat.
Of course she does. She’s Selphie.
-WAIT WTF. THE SILO BLEW UP. DID THEY ACTUALLY DIE?
-No. No way. This is a fairly goofy game, and I know that FFV killed off Galuf and was similarly goofy, but these are three major characters. It’s not even like they just fought Sorceress Edea in an epic showdown. Plus, I remember Cid falling out of an exploding airship in FFIV and doing just fine. There’s no chance this “death” sticks.
And yet, that’s a massive fucking explosion. How will they survive that? Burst of magic shield or something?
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Next time: Team Rinoa at Balamb Garden.
