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Augusta Tower – 200 AF
-The next gate is at the tower’s top. The party hopes this will open the way to a better place, one without Proto fal’Cie Adam. I’m not so sure.
-We pop in the Artefact of Rebirth and go.
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Academia – 4XX AF
-This is a bright and cheery version of Academia without Adam.
-wait wtf, hope and alyssa are here. Are they immortal now? They don’t seem like duplicates.
-Lol, a random citizen NPC hits on Noel HARD.
-Duplicates are still a thing in this world.
-Hope used to be the director, but he’s not anymore.
-Ooh, I can play “Brain Blast!” It’s a quiz game. Trivia.
I get the second question wrong: “What does Vanille lovingly call her eidolon, Hecatonchier?” I guess Tonton.
WAIT WAIT WHAT THE FUCK WAIT, VANILLE IS ALIVE AND KNOWN IN THIS WORLD??
[Later edit: The more questions I saw, the more I don’t think this was a valid conclusion. Many questions seem to be for me as a player rather than for the citizens of Academia 4XX AF.]
-What the hell kind of questions are these? For example:
“Stage actor John Barker is a less-than-handsome man who is always late for rehearsals. What flimsy excuse does he use as the reason for his tardiness?
a) I found a tonberry’s knife and I wanted to return it.
b) My chocobo left without me.
c) The moogle’s stomach was in my path.
d) An ochu was flirting with me.
-oh my god I got it right with option d.
-The quiz draws on my knowledge from the rest of the franchise, even poking fun. Like, for “which academy team was ordered to investigate the disturbance in the Vile Peaks in 10 AF?,” one option is “Knights of Pluto,” from FFIX.
-Some of these questions are straight bullshit. “Left or right?” “Black or red?” No context, just 50%. Not a fan. I kept looking for some design trick like with the first Mettaton quiz in “Undertale,” where you can look at Dr. Alphys on even the most BS question.
-Others probably come up in lore at some point (like, “What’s the first line in the duet ‘Nautilus Yearning?’”) but it FEELS random because I just don’t remember seeing it before.
-WOOOO perfect score! After like 20 minutes of trial and error lol.
-Shockingly, reading all the item descriptions and fragment lore legitimately helped here. Like, said “mixing soda with what will make you sweat?” I remember a fragment that talked about how flanbanero byproducts were used as spices, so I correctly guessed flanbanero.
Or even back in XIII, I remember one of the first item descriptions I read was Lightning’s Blazefire Saber, given to top Sanctum soldiers. That was a question.
-Another of these out-of-phase spheres surrounded by a ring is here. Can’t access it.
-Academians take pride in how their city is built by people, not fal’Cie. We even see this when a citizen describes why Hope doesn’t go by “Director Hope.” He feels the title puts him on a higher plane, almost as if people were worshipping a fal’Cie.
-Elsewhere, There’s a gate that’s also out of phase. We have to resolve some sort of paradox to unlock it. I’ll bet when we do that, those ringed spheres will open too.
-Found the next Brain Blast terminal. There are a few of these apparently. I’ll note interesting stuff I learn from them.
-Hope has a capsule that slows time within the device. That’s some serious tech.
-Still hating the 50-50 chance questions.
-The Academy tried to build a new Cocoon initially after finding problems with the pillar holding real Cocoon up.
-People wore cocoon charms as proof of enduring friendships in 150 AF.
-There’s a wrestler named the Masked Microchu!
-I want to take Edenwalker Restaurant’s “BBQ sheep challenge.”
-Masamune is the world’s best weaponsmith.
-This second Brain Blast is brutal. I’m 45 minutes in, lots of trial and error, and I’m mentally checked out tbh. It’s tedious to continually have to answer the questions I know only to get stopped by a question I don’t know like 7 into the streak.
-FINALLY. Again, lots of answers were cute and funny, but the trial and error was not.
-WHOA WHAT’S THIS?? Someone tells me about an old craftsman who first designed the antique moogle dolls. Perhaps something to do with Mog’s history. Or just a coincidence.
-There’s something called the 13th Ark.
-Arriving at the Academy. It seems they’re preparing for a time jump, like cryostasis?... oh, no! It’s the other way around. Some people – INCLUDING Alyssa and Hope – woke up from a time capsule.
-One dude here is literally creeping in the bushes, trying to muster the courage to talk to Alyssa.
-From walking around the city, I’m pretty sure 73% of Academia residents have a crush on Hope.
-Okay, into the Academy.
-There’s a Monster Professor here, Dr. M. Wants me to return to him when I have enough of a bestiary.
Yeah lol, that’s not happening. Maybe in a future 100% run.
-Meeting a “Captain Cryptic.” He’s a duplicate of Lightning’s old commanding officer, Amodar.
And he gives Brain Buster style puzzles. Very strange.
-Ah, but he just asks one question then disappears. Looks like I’ll have to Where’s Waldo my way to him again.
-oh mother of god, another brain blast inside the Academy.
-Sazh was a train conductor before being a pilot. I had no idea.
[Later edit: I get the sense I would’ve had a better time with Brain Blast at end game. There’s prbobably questions would’ve been better answered if I
-WOOO! Cleared it on the back of a semi-random guess about the name of a chocobo NOT in the races: “Thunder Chicken.” Sad, because that would’ve been an incredible chocobo name.
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Next time: into the heart of the Academy research facility, or perhaps chasing Captain Cryptic if the mood strikes me.
