Play!
-Beautiful swooping shot onto the castle at night.
Two moons? Or perhaps a moon and a set sun or something.
-The kids take their place in the back of the theater.
-We zoom in on someone’s face with heavy white make-up. It spooks me with its sudden zoom-in.
Is that person the queen? Not sure. She’s delighted as heck about the play starting though.
-Unlike Garnet, who looks bored.
Or sad maybe.
-Baku emerges on the stage and starts telling the story. Princess Cornelia (hee! Nice callback to FFI) is in love with Marcus, and her father King Lio notices, stops them from eloping. Marcus will fight Lio.
-The Tantalus begin to act. Baku plays the king, and Zidane plays Marcus. I wonder if this is foreshadowing, if Zidane will really have to fight a treacherous king at some point over Garnet.
-Ok. This is fucking cool. We’re in combat on the stage, but it’s like real combat even though it’s the combat within the play.
-They have abilities now, new ones. SFX. OH!! Special effects. XD XD XD
-We attack Leo a bunch with a mix of SFX and melee hits and make him flee to the top of the castle. (I’ll also add that it’s a bold maneuver to open FFIX up with a play. Immediately invites comparisons to FFVI.)
-Blank blocks Zidane’s way. The music turns into this amazing Spanish guitar. Blank’s character is a different prince who wants to make a play for Princess Cornelia.
-The acted fight spills near the spectators (no doubt trying to get closer to Garnet). Oh crap. I have to play a little Simon Says game with these new controls.
-Got it! And the result is some pretty spectacular fight choreography. I impressed “59/100” nobles. Not bad I think, given that the game was calling out the keyboard controls, not the gamepad controls, so I had to adapt on the fly.
-Queen Brahne wasn’t impressed. I get the chance to perform it again – sure, why not?
-Second time, got 69/100, but still not Queen Brahne. Let me try once more.
-83/100 the next time. Encore? YES!
-That last time got 70/100, and still didn’t impress Brahne. That’s enough for now. They shower us with 444 gil and scoot off-stage.
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Alexandria Castle
-Blank and Zidane head off-stage and change. Not sure whether they’re changing into guard uniforms to blend in or into new costumes for the play. They don’t like their garb, finding it wet and stinky and poorly sized.
Probably guard disguises then.
-Zidane will pour sleep potion into Garnet’s tea, and Blank will deliver “the package.” Looks like either a bird or large insect bouncing around.
-oh lol, didn’t notice the two unconscious and naked guards lying in the corner of the room.
-Upgraded Zidane’s weapon to the Mage Masher.
-Walking around the castle. I can only seem to go one direction. Alexandrian guards (both women, a change from prior FFs) pop out and we have to hide when we try alternate routes.
-Upstairs we cross paths with a hooded girl. I’m guessing she’ll be another party member. Her hood makes her look like a classic FF white mage.
-Whoa. Things get intense as Zidane looks at her and is like “nbd, just thought you might be the woman I’ve been dreaming about all my life since I was born.” This could be a legit prophecy dream or Zidane could just be a player.
-Hooded Girl blows past him and blank down the stairs. Is she also trying to do something nefarious? Certainly seems that way.
-OH SHIT THAT WAS GARNET
-OH GOD THAT PORTRAIT OF QUEEN BRAHME
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Jesters
-We see two jester-types, Zorn and Thorn, freaking out that the queen will be pissed at them. Getting definite Queen of Hearts vibes from Queen Brahme so far. Their job may be to guard or watch Princess Garnet.
-They don’t know what to do, and are panicking. Their inflections, the way they talk about the Queen… MASSIVE Alice in Wonderland vibes. Massive.
That portrait though. Tim Burton’s FFIX.
-Zorn and Thorn argue a bit with their Yoda-esque speaking style then head off to see the Queen.
-The Knight Captain of the Pluto Knights stops them. Someone named Beatrix (an advisor? Handmaiden?) stops them too.
-Strike that. Looking at Beatrix’s design, I think she’s more likely a personal assassin or bodyguard than handmaiden or mere advisor.
-Beatrix tells Brahme that Garnet ran off with the Royal Pendant.
-Aha! “General Beatrix.”
-Holy crap. I did not expect this.
Steiner.
The Captain of the Knights gets a name too. 33 year old plain ol’ vanilla human. Another righty.
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The Mustering of the Knights of Pluto
-Steiner heads back into the castle to assemble the knights of Pluto. The music is dramatic in a goofy, cartoonish way as the knights he calls don’t show up.
-oh lol. The guards Zidane and Blank knocked out are the knights of Pluto. They run in from the other room naked but for their boxers.
Kohel and some other dude whose name I missed. The other six knights are nowhere to be seen.
-Found another knight, Mullenkedheim, in the dining hall. Loving the names. He complains of hunger, and we learn that women are more highly regarded than men in Alexandria.
-Gourmet food is on the tables. I get the option for Steiner to try some, but I get the sense that he wouldn’t do that when he has a task.
-Definite rivalry between Squad Beatrix and the Knights of Pluto. Squad Beatrix is the Queen’s personal guards, and the individual members of the Squad show strong disdain for the Knights of Pluto.
-hahahahha – no wonder. The Knights of Pluto are a bunch of goofs. XD Instead of searching for the princess, Kohel and Blutzen are gossiping.
-A registry shows that there are nine knights, including Steiner himself.
-I like the sound effect of clattering armor as Steiner clomps around.
-Interesting. I used “help” on Steiner’s equipment, and each armor piece has a secondary effect. For example, his Bronze Helm reduces water damage by 50%.
-CHECK OUT THE HEAD CHEF!!
In the bottom left.
There are too many cooks (too many coooooks) in this kitchen.
-The library has some interesting info. Dali is a farming town near Lindblum in Alexandria. The globe of Gaia was presented by the late King (what killed him? Hmm…) in honor of Garnet’s birth. Doctor Tot is Garnet’s royal tutor.
-Garnet was looking for the script to “I Want to Be Your Canary.” Maybe she’ll try to involve herself in the play as a means to escape. That’d be ironic – trying to use the kidnappers to escape.
-Oh no! Laudo, one of the Knights of Pluto, doesn’t want to be in the military. He just wants to write fantasy novels. Do I stand in his way? Steiner might… but you know what? It’s giving me a choice, so I’ll let him. Maybe Steiner just wants people who WANT to be knights!
-Steiner’s can’t let him go, but at least tells Laudo that he would LIKE to let him go.
-The Queen ordered books on eidolons. Ruh roh. Amassing power, are we?
-There’s an Ice Cavern in Alexandria. Five bucks says Shiva lives there.
-Spent a few minutes trying to chase down this particularly elusive knight, Dojebon, but eventually caught him.
-Found Haagen outside the castle, chilling by the fountain. Hee! Haagen at least takes his role seriously. He learns of the need to find Garnet and charges off, “FEEL MY FURY!” LOLOL
-Weimar is hitting on one of the Alexandrian soldiers.
-Breireicht is climbing the stairs and is getting winded. An older knight.
-Laudo is the writer. Blutzen and Kohel are “super-sleuths.” Dojebon is an artillerist. Weimar is a ladies’ man. Haagen has a “knack for navigating the neighborhood.” Mullenkedheim won something called a cannonball race. Because I found them all, Brereicht gave me an elixir. Thanks!
-Only one place left to explore: the top of this tower after a long spiral staircase.
-Steiner himself is pretty winded by the top, but he persists.
-THERE SHE IS! He spies Princess Garnet being chased by Zidane in the tower across the way.
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Next time: the escape!
