Overworld
-Xu tells me that there’s a lighthouse on Centra, southern tip of the world map.
-There’s a giant crater here that I can’t get past. It makes the gauges on the Garden go haywire. [Later edit: maybe this was where the Galbadia Garden ripped out of the ground. I have very little sense of the world’s geography.]
-Brothers learned “Defend.” It just reduces damage until the next command. Not that great unless avoiding a massive incoming attack.
-Heavily forested landmass to the east that I can’t access.
-Found the lighthouse! But not disembarking yet. I see an isolated forest that screams chocobo to me.
-Also, there’s a floating red Garden above the forest just north of the lighthouse. Drew near to check it out and got a cutscene.
-Squall sees it, thinks it’s the Sorceress’s Garden, and that this will be the final battle. IT BETTER NOT BE. I have like a million things left to explore!
---
Balamb Garden
-lol. I get a wonderful list of dialogue options for Squall’s command to the Garden. I pick an array of stuff to say – didn’t write down the order, but touched on his feeling about this, calling his comrades, protecting the junior classmen, preparing for the attack. I avoided talking about the hot dogs.XD
-Apparently I screwed up because I said too much. Boo! I wanted to give a rousing rah-rah kinda thing, but Nida chides me.
Also forgot to talk about the defense. Minus 10 points for Hufflepuff.
-Seriously. If this is a final battle coming up, I’m going to be pretty annoyed. I trust it’s not. I’d be shocked if I’m wrong.
-There’s some secret about Zell that he hasn’t been sleeping much of late. The way Quistis laughs at this makes it sound like he has a secret girlfriend that they’re not telling Squall about.
-A party of Squall, Selphie, and Irvine head to the Quad to look for Zell. The game says we don’t need to worry about GF yet. Ty game.
-The kids helping out here are so young.
-The Garden is bustling with soldiers in formation. Can’t really explore since most of it is blocked off except for the Quad.
-Zell is on the Quad, awake and ready to go, getting the groups organized.
Go Zell!
-Uh. Zell wants to borrow Squall’s ring for some reason. Maybe I was right about the girlfriend thing and Zell will propose to someone?
ZELL: “YEAH! THANKS, MAN! Rinoa will be so happy.” ???? He’s proposing to Rinoa? No, can’t be. Maybe giving her a memento from Squall.
-Anyway, she runs along with Quistis to the Quad. She wants to fight.
-Zell, Quistis, and Rinoa stay at the Quad. Nida calls Squall back to the bridge.
-Nice cinematic of the Galbadia Garden flying right up to the Balamb Garden, led by Captain “Asshole” Seifer.
-OK THAT’S FUCKING COOL
A squadron of Galbadians on motorcycles launches from the Galbadia Garden across the chasm like something out of the X Games.
---
Starting Up
-I’m tempted to do what I did back during the party split at the Deling parade, where I keep three party members loaded up with junctions and leave the other three to just swap junctions over when its their turn.
I’ll play it a bit safer though this time and just split up my junctions. If I die, I’ll adjust.
TEAM RINOA
Rinoa (GF): Shiva
Zell (fighter): Ifrit, Pandemona
Quistis (magic): Quezacotl
TEAM SELPHIE
Squall (fighter): Brothers, Diabolos
Irvine (GF): Leviathan
Selphie (magic): Siren
-Good enough for now. Auto-junctioned fighters to attack, GF to defense, magic to magic.
---
Team Rinoa
-Zell gives the ring to Rinoa. She apparently asked for it, and Zell says he’ll make her a copy of the ring later. Is she going to propose to Squall? This plot is going over my head currently.
-Oh shit! Before Team Rinoa could attack, the Galbadian Garden clipped the Balamb Garden, destroying what they were standing on. Zell and Quistis got to a safe segment, but Rinoa fell.
Cliffhanger.
-Zell and Quistis leave to find a rope to pull her up. Where the hell do I get a rope?
-lol. We’re wandering around the whole frigging Garden looking for a rope, taking the elevator around to each level. Poor Rinoa.
-They eventually run into Squall and ask for his help. He wants to help, but there are a million things going on and he gets (pretty unfairly imo) lambasted for not immediately abandoning things and rushing off to help her.
-Now we’re splitting into three groups. Quistis and Xu in one; Squall, Selphie, and Irvine in another. Zell will help Rinoa.
---
Squall, Irvine, Selphie
-They all head to the second floor to protect the classroom.
-Say what you will about Galbadia: they’ve got style.
Some mech suit dudes fly off from the G-Garden, clamp onto the B-Garden, leave their suits, rappel down the side of the B-Garden, and crash through the classroom window. YES.
-The SeeDs repel the attack thanks to Irvine’s Leviathan.
-Dr. Kadowaki wants them on the Bridge.
-The Gardens keep colliding. Injured are strewn about the halls. Conversation with Kadowaki confirms that our defense is on its last legs – the Galbadians have more experienced soldiers while the Balambers have more students.
-Kadowaki wants Squall to face Seifer. Sees the clash as inevitable.
Maybe that’ll end it, but I don’t see how. Especially is the Sorceress is on that ship.
-RINOA’S STILL HANGING ON FOR DEAR LIFE???
SQUALL: “I… I have to lead the attack.”
IRVINE: “I don’t care what you have to do, or how you feel. Just do it… please! For Rinoa.”
Look. I want to Rinoa to live as much as anyone, but come on. If a last-ditch attack on the G-Garden is the only chance they have, and Squall is the leader, it really rubs me the wrong way that the others would act like it’s a bizarre and heartless choice to not drop everything for Rinoa.
And it’s everyone, everyone ripping into him. Yes, yes, Rinoa’s “one of us,” but there’s a WHOLE GARDEN FULL OF PEOPLE – INCLUDING MANY CHILDREN – TO THINK ABOUT AS WELL.
ZELL: “It’s gotta be you! You’re the one that has to save her! You’re both on the logo for FFVIII, so I guess that’s the reason none of us can apparently save her!” [Ok, I may have added that last part in, but it seemed to be implied.]
-But first, because time is only occasionally of the essence I suppose, Kadowaki has Squall give a final speech over the PA to the Garden.
-The speech is pretty good.
Sympathetic and honest and encouraging.
-Now, it’s ramming time. As with many of the cinematics here, the ramming is awesome.
-Selphie, Zell, Irvine, and Quistis charge down the front of the B-Garden into the G-garden.
---
Squall Alone
-Squall stops at the second floor for reasons beyond my understanding, and finds someone he has to help there.
-I run down the hall, find the kid, and get him out. Then a mech suit comes along and starts poking me.
It pokes me until I die. I have no idea how to escape it.
-Ok. Stopped, pushed some buttons, and eventually opened up the emergency exit behind me. The mech warrior and I both tumbled out and are punching each other in the air.
I die, because I forget which buttons are which, but I get the options to punch, kick, and block.
-Take three. I got this.
-lol no, died again.
-VICTORY! Squall takes the mech, swoops down to Rinoa, and saves her like the end of Empire Strikes Back.
---
Next time: into the Galbadia Garden.
