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The Errand Prince
-It’s been over three weeks since I last played FFXV. Time to shake off some rust.
-Fished for a little bit to get back in the swing of things, then it’s more exploring Goldin Quay.
-A “suspicious stranger” greets me, complaining about the ceasefire.
Literally every aspect of this guy screams “MWA HA HA, I AM A VILLAIN!”
-He says a port is closed, tosses us a coin.
-Neat! There’s a photo contest, and I’m pretty sure the photos in this are from players.
Director’s Choice Award: “A Snowy Night,” by sion.
-Expensive as it is, I’m trying to eat all new food. The Quay’s restaurant is the Mother of Pearl, specializing in all manner of tasty seafood.
Galdin Gratin.
-A book on “Cosmogony” announces the “Hexatheon.” Six gods, I guess. Going back to the classics. Titan, Ramuh, Shiva, Leviathan, Bahamut, and Ifrit.
-This level 17 hunt is brutal. Multiple enemy packs that outlevel me. (Plus, I basically forgot how to do combat in the last month.)
-After camping, Gladiolus invited me for a “tour” on the beach. A race! Lots of Rocky 3 vibes, with the training montage between Rocky and Apollo. Makes morning exercise look invigorating.
-Back to the docks, an Altissia pamphlet advertises the Celluna Cascades. Some epic waterfalls perhaps.
-The ferry to Altissia is closed, just as Villiain McVillainpants hinted.
-An interesting note at the end of the pier introduces Angelgard, an island off Galdin Quay where the gods supposedly gather. Nobody ever sails there. It’s sacred ground, forbidden even to the royal family.
That sounds like somewhere I’ll be heading later. Maybe to learn XV’s version of summoning.
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A Gentleman’s Agreement
-I meet a reporter named Dino. He seems to have a heavy Brooklyn accent.
-Dino acts like he really followed the scoop and sniffed us out of hiding. Dude. We’re like the LEAST INCONSPICUOUS GROUP EVER. Four flashy, leather-clad public figures in a royal car.
If we find him some precious gems, he’ll help grease the wheels and get a ship for us.
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Kitty Catering
-OMG KITTY! He’s just sitting there on the Galdin Quay pier with a quest marker.
-Animal-lover Noctis starts fussing over this adorable lil Siamese. I try feeding him some raw fish I caught, but Professor Catface is a picky eater.
-Ignis is right here. Hopefully he doesn’t take offense that the quest directs me to the chef at the nearby restaurant to cook it up.
IGNIS: “Clawed his way into your heart.”
GLADIOLUS: “Might keep on clawing… fur ever.”
-Eventually, this beauty gets some gourmet cat food served up. Best quest ever.
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A Gentleman’s Agreement
-HOLY SHIT! I was weaving around this mountain to reach the gem, when we nearly bumped into a sleeping, gigantic bird. Maybe even the one that flew overhead before. (A hurricane iirc.)
Am I in Sekiro now? Giant beasts disproportionately freak me out.
-Getting too close triggers doomy music and the fishing interface that appears when a fish is about to bite. It’s tremendously effective in freaking me right tf out.
-The trick was to just keep my distance, give it a wide berth… and success! Got the garnet stone.
-JESUS DFJKLSFDHJKLS – It scares the piss out of me when it wakes up and stretches. Majestic, awe-inspiring, and terrifying. Doesn’t even notice me as it flies off. See ya, bird.
Btw, I often find the controller vibration gimmicky, but it works here. Adds to the jump scaritude of the waking bird and mimicks my own personal shaking.
-I bring the stone back to Dino. He’s a reporter by day, but a jeweler by night.
-He tells me that the coin that Villainsaurus gave out commemorates the Oracle’s ascension. Probably came from the city of “Niflheim.”
-The ship leaves tomorrow. We’ll rest here tonight.
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Insomnia, Lucis
-Cutscene takes us back to Insomnia.
[Later edit: In hindsight, this must be the treaty signing.]
-A fight breaks out, but it’s hard for me to make sense of who or what. It involves Noctis’ dad.
-And a giant, rocky beast rampaging through the city. Perhaps Titan?
-The city is getting destroyed, and the main one-on-one duel seems to be between the king and a heavily-armored knight. It ends with the knight stabbing the king.
Is this a premonition or a current event?
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Back at the Quay
-Noctis wakes up. Seems like this was just a prophetic nightmare.
-…Nm. Ignis walks in with a newspaper: “Insomnia Falls!” The Imperial Army took the capital and killed the king.
-Ixnay on the wedding. We’re turning back and heading for Insomnia.
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Ill Tidings
-We drive back, the tone in the car shocked and betrayed. After all, they attacked during a ceasefire and treaty signing.
-Dreadnaughts float in the skies above, giant imperial battleships that transport magitek and soldiers. They’ve existed as imperial ships in the series since FFII.
-Magitek are “mass-produced humanoid weapons of warfare.”
-Looks like we repainted and disguised the car. Good.
-The empire garrisoned an inspection point outside the city with magitek and soldiers. We gotta find a way around. Perhaps those sewers I read about when I checked this area out.
-Hm, not yet. We fight through a gauntlet of troops up a hill for a better vantage of the city. Some troops include “empty” magitek soldiers. Not sure if that means they’re brainwashed or straight-up robots. I think robots.
-Prompto’s radio declares that both Noctis and Lunafreya have been pronounced dead. I get why they’d want to act like Noctis is dead. Why Lunafreya? Internal power struggle?
-Noctis hops on his phone – and holy crap is it surreal to see an FF character using a smart phone – and talks to Cor. If we’ve met Cor, I don’t remember who he is.
-Cor confirms that Regis is dead. He’ll meet us in Hammerhead.
-And that’s the end of chapter 1!
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Next time: Hammerhead, redux.
