Remiem Temple
-Finally found the chocobo rental woman in the Calm Lands.
-Tried to access the door behind Belgemine, but couldn’t. It’s “sealed by a strange power.” Something separate from the Celestial Mirror then.
-Against Belgemine again. This time, she has Yojimbo. This should be… interesting.
-Using Bahamut.
-Yojimbo is dodging my physical attacks. Magic seems to be the way to go.
-Yojimbo is so far just using Daigoros. Eventually used a single Kozuka. Bahamut’s 33k Mega Flare finished him off.
-She rewards me with Shadow Gem x8.
-It’s possible the door unlocks when I do something on the racetrack. Not gonna explore that for now.
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Mushroom Rock
-Let’s see what’s up with the statue.
-Got “Masamune.” Slick-looking Auron weapon. Unusually long hilt.
-Albeit one with “No AP.”
-I’m pretty sure I’m missing one crest. I have Sun, Moon, Mars, Saturn Venus, but there’s a gap between Saturn and Venus. I’ll be a bit irked if I can’t activate any ultimate weapons without having all the crests first.
-Next up: Bikanel, then Sanubia Sands, then Mt. Gagazet, then *deep breath* Omega Ruins.
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Bikanel Island
-I’ll bet the Sanubia Sands will take me past the wind btw, take me to that cactuar area.
-While I’m here, going to try interacting with Al Bhed ruins. I’ll bet there’s another message here – although I imagine it just completes the “VICTORIOUS” puzzle I already solved.
-Yup. Found the second half of the victorious puzzle.
-I see someone standing in the desert and am immediately nervous. Fearing another dark aeon.
-Went back to save. Let’s see what this desert traveler has in store.
-It’s a woman. Her child is lost in the Home ruins. Well, last time there was a lost child I got the Celestial Mirror, so you bet your ass I’m helping her out.
-OK I’M PRETTY SURE THAT’S DARK IFRIT. Is she luring me into a trap?
-There are two Al Bhed near the woman who don’t know her.
-Yup. Definitely a trap. She’s a Yevonite summoner in disguise who reveals herself soon as we get near Dark Ifrit.
-Yay! Zanmato on the second attempt. Got an Acropolis bracer as a reward.
-HAHAHAHAH – the summoner started to run away and got eaten by a Sandragora that sprouted in his path.
-The Acropolis is a Kimahri armor that has Break HP Limit, Ribbon, and two empty spaces. Sweet! For the moment, Ribbon is a premium item and Break HP Limit does nothing. Eventually Break HP Limit will be awesome too.
-Tried heading towards Home. Got stuck. The two Al Bhed refugees said nothing is left there.
BIKANEL FIENDS CAPTURED [6]
-ALCYONE
-CACTUAR
-MUSHUSSU
-SAND WOLF
-SAND WORM
-ZU
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Sanubia Sands
-It didn’t take me to the Cactuar sandstorm area as I was hoping. Instead, it took me to a single treasure chest: Ascalon, a Tidus weapon with Double AP.
-Hm. Seems nice, but is it better than Ambitious? Ambitious has Overdrive -> AP, removing his overdrive gains but doubling his AP and giving him counterattack to boot. What’s better – Overdrive or Counterattack?
Hard to say, but in the long run, Ambitious is better because it also has two empty slots.
-Still not sure how to reach the sandstorm area. Went back to the airship and tried the open map “search” clicking around Bikanel Island. No luck.
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Mt. Gagazet
-I’m here searching for one fiend. Already captured: Achelous, Ahriman, Bandersnatch, Bashura, Behemoth, Dark Flan, Grat, Grenade, Maelspike, Mandragora, Splasher. One left.
-Maechen is here. He tells a story I don’t think I remember. Back during the war between Bevelle and Zanarkand, Bevelle went across Gagazet and “heard a song echoing across the snowy slopes.” A song from an otherworld. Sin appeared immediately after.
The soldiers later scouted across Zanarkand and found it obliterated. They found fayth swarming on Gagazet, and heard them singing. The Hymn of the Fayth.
-This is fascinating. I was under the impression that Bevelle destroyed Zanarkand. It sounds like it was actually Sin, not Bevelle’s machina of war.
New theory: someone in Bevelle used a spell to summon a being from another world, to ask for help from the creature now known as Yu Yevon. Made some sort of pact to destroy Zanarkand, and didn’t foresee the damage Sin would do to the entire world.
-Maechen surprises me! He usually just finishes his stories with “that, as they say, is that.” This time, he keeps going. “…well, maybe not all of it.” What else ya got?
-ALMOST. I was half right. A summoner called Sin (according to rumor), but not one from Bevelle.
Yevon himself.
Another theory: this Yevon will be the final boss. Seymour will be Kuja to Yu Yevon’s Necron.
-Sounds like Lady Yunalesca as in on this. She was Yevon’s daughter. She and Zaon had fled and defeated Sin.
-The religion and teachings of Yevon were spread to quell Yevon’s wrath.
“A fair trade. She defeats Sin in exchange for her lord father’s honor!”
-This is amazing.
-He keeps going. Maechen is a veritable font of information today.
-The Hymn of the Fayth started out as an anti-Bevelle song from Zanarkand. Eventually, those who disliked Yevon adopted it, and it became a symbol of defiance against Yevon.
Then Yevon adopted it once more, and appropriated the story, saying it soothes the souls of the dead.
-A Ronso woman confirms that the unsent Seymour killed many Ronso.
-Phew. There’s a warp pad here that lets me teleport to any part of the mountain, including the cave. I think that’s where the missing fiend is likely to be.
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Gagazet Cave
-Huh. “The Summoner’s Trial.” I have to do the ball game again.
-Ok, I hit it. Now what?
-FUCKJLH FUCK FUCK IT’S SEYMOUR’S AEON I WOKE IT UP I CAN’T REMEMBER IT’S NAME BUT I WOKE IT UP!! (Maybe it’s even a Dark version. Couldn’t quite tell.)
-Phew. It doesn’t immediately attack me. I’m on the Yojimbo-or-Bust path with Dark Aeons, so if I had to fight it without Yuna I would’ve been scraboodled.
-Found a Grendel. I think this should be the last monster to capture.
-Getting pretty good experience running through this place and hunting for the aeon.
-The area from a previous trial, the one with the three lights, is underwater now.
-I love Wakka’s damage limit break so much.
-Definitely feel like I’m missing something here. There seems to be a path higher or lower than me and I can’t tell which. Grr.
-On the Sphere Grid, I’m going to start moving Lulu to Ultima. I have enough Lv 4 key spheres.
-This aeon is surprisingly elusive. Maybe I have to go up and out of the cave, where I fought Seymour.
-Or not. I don’t see it on the Gagazet Summit trail.
-Going to head back to that SUmmoner’s Trial with the ball game. Maybe I missed something there.
-Nope. DANG IT, DUDE, WHERE ARE YOU? I feel pretty sure I explored everywhere. The only place I didn’t go is backtracking across Gagazet.
-*bonks self in the head*
Ok. I just went back to my screenshots of the chained aeon rising up, and it was clearly outside. Not inside the cave. Come on, Coldrun. Don’t be a doofus.
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Mt. Gagazet
-Going to head outside.
-Found a chest I missed before. Defending Bracer for Auron. Stoneproof and Poisonproof.
-This place is WAY easier to navigate with No Encounters equipped.
-THERE YOU ARE
-She was at the very beginning. Chained up.
-Starts the fight out with heavy status inflictions that I wasn’t ready for. Let’s try again.
-Oop. Never mind. This isn’t Anima (that was the name!), but rather Dark Anima. I had been prepping for a straight-up fight, not a dark aeon fight. Gonna try again in Yojimbo mode.
-50k with a full overdrive gauge got me a Zanmato on the second try. The reward is a Soul Bangle for Lulu with Deathproof.
-Last thing I want to do for this session is make sure in the Calm Arena that I completed the capture task for Gagazet. If all goes well, I’ll get destroyed by another monster shortly.
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Calm Lands Arena
-The guy literally says “wowzers.” I love him deeply, despite his efforts to kill me repeatedly.
-He gives me a Mars Sigil. Interesting.
-Yay! Time for more “nasty beasts.” From Bikanel and then presumably from Gagazet.
-Shadow Gem x99 for Bikanel.
Abyss Worm.
It’s fairly slow. I can get some attacks off.
-It uses a swallow/regurgitate similar to the worms of Sanubia Desert, but does 9999 to the character it regurgitates.
-It’s “readying quake.” I don’t have any float spells or items. How will I deal with it? I’ll try bringing in an aeon to soak it. Ooh, Valefor floats! Maybe she’ll work.
-Perfect. It worked. Dismissing her for now. I have a strategy.
-The fight seems to be going well, but she has SO. MUCH. HP.
-Aw crap. I screwed up about 10 minutes in. I forgot that when Valefor uses Energy Blast it delays her a turn, and in that turn the Abyss Worm killed Valefor.
-Seriously. Wtf. How much HP does this have? I feel like I’m not supposed to fight it until I’ve broken damage limits on multiple characters.
-Earthquake incoming. I bring out Ifrit to at least try to soak a hit.
-It works. The problem is that I’m limited now by how many aeons I have left. I can’t keep this up forever. If this is some bizarrely high-HP challenge boss with like a BILLION hp or something, I’m dead. (I’m probably dead.)
-Trying Shield on Bahamut. Maybe that’ll help reduce damage… yes!!
-MOTHER OF GOD I DID IT
LIKE 15 MINUTES OF FIGHTING, NOT KIDDING, AND I DID IT HDFJKLHSFDJKLS
I BEAT ONE OF THE ARENA BEASTS HOLY HSIISIIST
ARENA DUDE: “Try to beat him quicker next time.” How about fuck off. How does that sound.
-The reward is a Platinum Bangle for Lulu. Defense +20%, Defense +10%, and Defense +5%. Tank mode initiated.
-Got a Blossom Crown for the Mt. Gagazet monsters.
-It looks like a behemoth, but its name is familiar from past FFs. Probably will use Stone/Petrify attacks.
-Power Break and Armor Break land.
-lolol it heaves Kimahri up with something called “Pop Fly.” I guess baseball was the main Spiran pastime before blitzball took over.
Catoblepas sending Kumahri flying. Wheee!
-To be honest, I give up at this point. I’m doing very little damage, I don’t want to blow through all the Phoenix Downs like winning would probably require, and I’m kind of tired.
-The way the Mars Sigil is set up in the inventory makes it seem to have some tie to the Mars Crest.
-The Blossom Crown has a connection with a hidden aeon, as does the Flower Scepter. Some sort of super flower power aeon hidden around.
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Next time: Remiem Temple again to check if my new items open up the door behind Belgemine, taking stock of items and weapon/armor upgrade options, then finally taking the plunge into Omega Ruins.
