Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Locked thread
Blaze Dragon
Aug 28, 2013
LOWTAX'S SPINE FUND

Mega64 posted:



Eiko's understandably torn between honoring her late grandfather's wish and following her heart and leaving Madain Sari. Despite her grandfather's good intentions, a dead city with nothing but moogles is no place for a lonely six-year-old. She needs human friends and companionship, and Zidane, Dagger, and Vivi at least are going to try their best to protect her and help her when she needs it.

Hence why she's joining the party composed of a grand total of zero humans. Dagger, as shown now, is a Summoner (who at least differ in having horns from regular humans), Vivi is a Black Mage, and not even Zidane knows what he is but he's clearly not human considering his tail. Of the people who left, Quina is a Qu and Freya is Burmecian, leaving Steiner as the only actual human until Amarant himself joined (even when Amarant's skin is very clearly inhuman, he's listed as one in the Ultimania and Amano's art does give him normal skin).

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Fister Roboto
Feb 21, 2008

I don't think he meant that literally. They might not be homo sapiens but they're still human. And Dagger, Eiko, and even Amarant are humans anyway.

He just has a skin condition, ok.

Fister Roboto fucked around with this message at 03:34 on Aug 17, 2016

Bad Seafood
Dec 10, 2010


If you must blink, do it now.
Dude's in the middle of a philosophical quandary. His whole worldview's been challenged.

Even a tough guy like Amarant's allowed to be blue sometimes.

Blueberry Pancakes
Aug 18, 2012

Jack in!! MegaMan, Execute!
Amarant's a good battle unit, but his character leaves much to be desired. More on that later.

Fister Roboto posted:

Should have named him Lips.

You beat me to it. :argh:

Tuxedo Ted
Apr 24, 2007

I really like that scene with Mog for some reason. Every time that ribbon pans up into frame it makes me laugh.

http://i.imgur.com/lqAT4XA.gifv

Rabbi Raccoon
Mar 31, 2009

I stabbed you dude!
I like that Zidane is a reader. It's not touched on much (and I like it that way) but he's actually got a working brain beneath the cheerleading and skirt chasing

Fister Roboto
Feb 21, 2008

It's more that it's a line from a play, and as an actor he knows a lot of plays by heart.

Even if it is just a front for robbing and kidnapping.

Cattail Prophet
Apr 12, 2014

He does moonlight as an actor when he's not busy thieving, it's not exactly farfetched for him to know some of the repertoire.

EponymousMrYar
Jan 4, 2015

The enemy of my enemy is my enemy.

Cattail Prophet posted:

He does moonlight as an actor when he's not busy thieving, it's not exactly farfetched for him to know some of the repertoire.

Pretty sure the entirety of Tantalus does this, since they're based (or used to be) right next to one of Lindblum's theaters. (Rip that place.)

Dastardly
Jun 14, 2011

Fresh outta hecks.
All versions of Melodies of Life are great and I like how many themes Uematsu got out of it.

Bad Seafood
Dec 10, 2010


If you must blink, do it now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa7uLxu0XAc&t=2s

Endorph
Jul 22, 2009

Even if acting is a cover, the fact that he actually bothers to learn the meaning and history of plays instead of just remembering lines does speak to his character. He's not especially smart, but he's very much a romantic - he left Baku because he was certain his home was out there somewhere, that he could find it if he just looked hard enough. That's a pretty wistful notion.

bewilderment
Nov 22, 2007
man what



Actually, it seems a little surprising that Zidane knows a play that Dagger is unfamiliar with - she knows most of Lord Avon's work by heart, after all. Maybe Ipsen's Tale is recent, or is more 'vulgar' than a princess would normally read about.

Iretep
Nov 10, 2009
Yeah its probably a story more famous in Lindblum than Alexandria since it starts there. Which also probably means its more of a commoner story than what the nobles would care about.

bewilderment
Nov 22, 2007
man what



Iretep posted:

Yeah its probably a story more famous in Lindblum than Alexandria since it starts there. Which also probably means its more of a commoner story than what the nobles would care about.

Actually, the story starts in Treno. Which is probably what you meant since you mentioned commoners and nobles.

Bufuman
Jun 15, 2013

Sleep in the briefing room.
At your own peril.

bewilderment posted:

Actually, it seems a little surprising that Zidane knows a play that Dagger is unfamiliar with - she knows most of Lord Avon's work by heart, after all. Maybe Ipsen's Tale is recent, or is more 'vulgar' than a princess would normally read about.

Did she actually say she knows all of Lord Avon's works? Either way it's possible that the play could have been written by someone else.

But certainly, the play is at least somewhat well-know, given that a later character that we haven't met yet will make use of the name Ipsen later in the game.

Tendales
Mar 9, 2012
I've always loved Zidane's motivation of "because I want to" for being on this whole journey. Especially in contrast to 7 and 8's leading men, Zidane's not motivated by a tortured past, or an identity crisis, he's helping Garnet purely because he wants to. It was pretty refreshing, actually!

Southhouse-
Oct 15, 2012
Yeah, "You don't need a reason to help people" and all that. That's really the kind of protagonist I can get behind.

Jay Rust
Sep 27, 2011

People complain about Vaan though

morallyobjected
Nov 3, 2012

Endorph posted:

[Zidane]'s not especially smart

I'm not sure where you get that idea. he's not an academic scholar or something, but Zidane is quite intelligent. he's quick to see through people's schemes (like Steiner's in Dali) and he's generally quick on his feet. he's good at reading people's emotions and giving them a pep talk (Vivi), and while he's occasionally juvenile where Dagger is concerned, you can tell there are deeper things to his relationship with her than just chasing a pretty girl.

his motivations are simple, but that doesn't mean he is.

NikkolasKing
Apr 3, 2010



It's time for the final showdown with Kuja where we beat him up enough and discover he was being mind-controlled by an evil sorcerer from the future moon.

Jay Rust posted:

People complain about Vaan though

And then there's also Snow, the nicest and most altruistic guy in all of XIII yet also the most hated.

Fister Roboto
Feb 21, 2008

Jay Rust posted:

People complain about Vaan though

The difference is that there is more to Zidane's story than "I'm just along for the ride".

bluerocker
May 30, 2013

Never trust anything with beady eyes and a knife. Especially if it offers hugs.

morallyobjected posted:

I'm not sure where you get that idea. he's not an academic scholar or something, but Zidane is quite intelligent. he's quick to see through people's schemes (like Steiner's in Dali) and he's generally quick on his feet. he's good at reading people's emotions and giving them a pep talk (Vivi), and while he's occasionally juvenile where Dagger is concerned, you can tell there are deeper things to his relationship with her than just chasing a pretty girl.

his motivations are simple, but that doesn't mean he is.

He's what DnD nerds (like myself) would call a "High Wisdom, Low Intelligence" character.

For the uninitiated, Wisdom corresponds to Intuition and Street Smarts, whereas Intelligence is use of logic and Book Smarts. Another way to look at it is that high intelligence would be someone who's well educated - academically, where Wisdom is application and experience. Conversely, Garnet could be the opposite, having a High Intelligence and a Low Wisdom - she is very well schooled, but lacks a bit of wordly experience and can be taken advantage of. Another classic archetype for High Int, Low Wis is the "absent minded professor".

Bad Seafood posted:

Even a tough guy like Amarant's allowed to be blue sometimes.

But he's already blue! :cheeky:

Magic Fanatic
Oct 28, 2008

bluerocker posted:

But he's already blue! :cheeky:

At this point, I have to wonder if anyone ever renamed Amarant to "Eiffel" or something like that.

Blueberry Pancakes
Aug 18, 2012

Jack in!! MegaMan, Execute!

Tuxedo Ted posted:

I really like that scene with Mog for some reason. Every time that ribbon pans up into frame it makes me laugh.

Eiko's head bob is pretty funny for some reason.

W.T. Fits
Apr 21, 2010

Ready to Poyozo Dance all over your face.

Bad Seafood posted:

Dude's in the middle of a philosophical quandary. His whole worldview's been challenged.

Thought this was about Zidane having to cope with the discovery that Samus Mog is a girl. Then I read the next line and was like, "Oh, right, that guy."

Endorph
Jul 22, 2009

morallyobjected posted:

I'm not sure where you get that idea. he's not an academic scholar or something, but Zidane is quite intelligent. he's quick to see through people's schemes (like Steiner's in Dali) and he's generally quick on his feet. he's good at reading people's emotions and giving them a pep talk (Vivi), and while he's occasionally juvenile where Dagger is concerned, you can tell there are deeper things to his relationship with her than just chasing a pretty girl.

his motivations are simple, but that doesn't mean he is.
I more meant 'booksmart.' He's a clever guy, and emotionally intelligent, but he probably wouldn't do well in a traditional academic setting.

No Doctor Zidane.

Mega64
May 23, 2008

I took the octopath less travelered,

And it made one-eighth the difference.
Looks like the rest of Disc 2 will fit into one update, so tomorrow's update should finish things off there.

We're probably a bit past the half-way point since Disc 4's pretty bare and pretty much just the final dungeon, but Disc 3's probably longer than the first two discs and also has the large brunt of sidequests (I expect catching up on Chocobo Hot & Cold alone to take at minimum two updates, possibly three). I'll likely get a start on Disc 3 Friday since I'm on vacation this week and No Man's Sky got old back on Monday, plus the intro to Disc 3 is too weird and awesome to delay showing off.

Also, it's starting to look like Tindeck is gonna croak soon so there may be some broken music links in the future. Once I find a better alternative for hosting I'll start replacing the links in the updates.

e: Apparently the audio links are setting off Chrome's security so you probably shouldn't click the Tindeck links for now.

Mega64 fucked around with this message at 20:45 on Aug 17, 2016

Blueberry Pancakes
Aug 18, 2012

Jack in!! MegaMan, Execute!
I know people say that they like Disc 2 a lot due to what it does for character development, but Disc 3 is honestly my favorite of the game.

Granted, that might be because the game actually lets you start choosing party members at this point and things become less of a straight line.

ManSedan
May 7, 2006
Seats 4
I think one reason I love FF9 is that it uses the "every character is their own class" thing as opposed to "every character can do everything" of some of the other games. It's also why I like FFIV so much. It allowed for characters' abilities and style to be part of their personality and story, as well as using abilities outside of battle.

McDragon
Sep 11, 2007

Vivi's "my face always looks like this" never fails to make me laugh. And then a bit sad.

EponymousMrYar
Jan 4, 2015

The enemy of my enemy is my enemy.

NikkolasKing posted:

And then there's also Snow, the nicest and most altruistic guy in all of XIII yet also the most hated.

Another contrast. Snow might be nice and altruistic but it comes off as hollow and naive. Mainly because he doesn't seem to actually care about who he's helping/leading. 'Forgetting' about Hope's Mom after watching her plummet to her death is pretty callous no matter how you cut it.

Meanwhile Zidane earnestly cares for the party. Partially shown by his more supportive role to the party (he does keep the party moving but most of his decisions are 'hey do whatever you want to do, and then LETS DO IT') and also shown that he has regrets for people who have suffered from his actions/decisions. Mainly Blank in this case, since it's a pretty direct parallel to Hope's Mom.

Snow's better in the sequels anyway where he's still Snow but he's mellowed the heck out.

ApplesandOranges
Jun 22, 2012

Thankee kindly.
Zidane's better than Tidus and Vaan because... well he's taken seriously by the game. The game actively dumps on Vaan (how old are you Fran?) and Tidus spends half the game whining about his dad. Zidane's confident and actually has the charisma to back it up. In some characters that would come off as cocksure but they write Zidane really well. He's also actually a leader, whereas Tidus/Vaan are pretty much tagalongs for most of the game.

NikkolasKing
Apr 3, 2010



EponymousMrYar posted:

Another contrast. Snow might be nice and altruistic but it comes off as hollow and naive. Mainly because he doesn't seem to actually care about who he's helping/leading. 'Forgetting' about Hope's Mom after watching her plummet to her death is pretty callous no matter how you cut it.


Meanwhile Zidane earnestly cares for the party. Partially shown by his more supportive role to the party (he does keep the party moving but most of his decisions are 'hey do whatever you want to do, and then LETS DO IT') and also shown that he has regrets for people who have suffered from his actions/decisions. Mainly Blank in this case, since it's a pretty direct parallel to Hope's Mom.

Snow's better in the sequels anyway where he's still Snow but he's mellowed the heck out.

You did put it in quotes so I hope you realize he didn't actually ever forget about her, he just kinda had a lot of other poo poo on his plate after that.

And less "mellowed out" and more suicidally depressed in the third game.

XIII-2 Snow is great, though. He saves the world on his time traveling motorcycle with his girlfriend.

Xander77
Apr 6, 2009

Fuck it then. For another pit sandwich and some 'tater salad, I'll post a few more.



SorataYuy posted:

Looks like Lani's lumbered in for a light-fingered liason with the local's loved items?

Mega64 posted:

As some posters have said, it'll probably also result in any airships aloft at the time to come crashing down and likely killing the crew and passangers, plus crippling trade for the continent.

Mega64 posted:

Ipsen? Who's that?
Ipsen is a character from a play, but he's a real-life adventurer. I think the play is based on his adventures.




Is that the music that's supposed to play at that point? Weird if so.

Also, I still have no idea what's the song Dagger is singing you keep going about but don't link.

Mega64
May 23, 2008

I took the octopath less travelered,

And it made one-eighth the difference.

Xander77 posted:

Is that the music that's supposed to play at that point? Weird if so.

Also, I still have no idea what's the song Dagger is singing you keep going about but don't link.

Yeah, the Madain Sari music plays during the Ipsen story.

The song Dagger sings is just the Song of Memories with only the vocals. I don't have that particular track so I just opt for "Dagger sings stuff" instead.

e: Tindeck seems to be fine now. I'll worry about replacing links and stuff once it goes down, but I'm gonna keep using it for now.

Mega64 fucked around with this message at 12:41 on Aug 18, 2016

YggiDee
Sep 12, 2007

WASP CREW
What? What's going on with Tindeck?

Rigged Death Trap
Feb 13, 2012

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

YggiDee posted:

What? What's going on with Tindeck?

It (presumably) finally got sold and whoever is in charge may or may not be in the process of preparing to delete everything.
This was tipped off by the site going on google's phishing/untrusted poo poo list, and the banner advertising the sale disappearing.

Bufuman
Jun 15, 2013

Sleep in the briefing room.
At your own peril.

Rigged Death Trap posted:

It (presumably) finally got sold and whoever is in charge may or may not be in the process of preparing to delete everything.
This was tipped off by the site going on google's phishing/untrusted poo poo list, and the banner advertising the sale disappearing.

Ah, so the old "gently caress y'all, got mine" approach, is it? Nice to know that people are always so considerate of others.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Mega64
May 23, 2008

I took the octopath less travelered,

And it made one-eighth the difference.




We've got our final character now, and boy, does he have a lot of catching up to do!

Unlike Eiko, who has an entire dungeon to catch up on, Amarant's not going to have a lot of time to shine. This is the final update for Disc 2, and Disc 3 is gonna shake things around a bit. Plus Amarant has a lot more abilities available to him than Eiko because the game dumps a lot of passives early-on while holding off on spells.



I keep the Cat's Claws to learn his first move. I believe it's also available on early-game armor, but he need the Brigandine because it teaches Ability Up, which Amarant desperately needs. He can also learn Return Magic from the Brigandine, which counters a spell cast on him with that same spell cast on the enemy.



You can go back to Morrison to buy stuff (like Poison Knuckles if you didn't buy/steal them earlier) and to switch party members if you really want.



Amarant's main command is Flair. It's probably most similar to Freya's commands, a sorta-random hodge-podge of various abilities, a lot of which are commands from other FF games that don't really fit with any other character. His first one is Chakra, a rather handy move that restores 20% of a person's HP and MP. Useful for mages and essentially free healing for Amarant himself since Chakra's pretty cheap MP-wise. It originates from FF5's Monk class, and FF6's Sabin (also a monk) has a similar move. It's suiting since Amarant could be considered half-Monk due to his weapon choice of claws.

The big thing is all of Amarant's Flair commands are single-target, but his Trance simply makes these commands multi-target. Thus I'm going to be bold and say Amarant's Trance is the most useful in the game because multi-target Chakra in whatever garbage random you'll get it in is much more useful than what anyone else can do with their Trance.



His other ability is Throw, the Ninja staple command that lets you throw weapons and throwing items like Pinwheels and Rising Suns. This will double the attack value of the weapon thrown, plus gets bonuses for hitting flying enemies. It's kinda dumb to throw old weapons though because half the time you'll need them for synthesis anyway, but the throwing weapons aren't bad to use.



His damage is like half of Zidane's, but Amarant is also behind on weapons and hasn't built up the necessary passives quite yet.



Anyway, after a bit of light grinding so Amarant can learn some abilities, we make our way to the Iifa Tree.

WIND SOUNDS



What happened to the Mist?
We beat the beast that breathes it. So much for the Mist Continent!
No more Mist...?





It's him! He flew from the ruins of Burmecia riding a silver dragon!









Now it no longer matters if the Iifa Tree is liberated! It means nothing to me!



Silver Dragon, let us watch the drama unfold from the trunk of Iifa. No one shall interrupt us there.

Kuja is...still hammy as ever, if not even moreso.



Nah I'm not switching poo poo. Besides, it doesn't matter.



Still gotta cross these few branches first. There's still randoms here, which are just as vulnerable to Soft/Life as before and thus aren't a bad way to grind up Amarant some more.



FADE TO SILENCE



Say, Zidane... How are we gonna get up there?
Can't we climb there?



M-Me neither.
I don't think I can, either.



What's the problem?



We gotta go face Kuja together.



Amarant's main role right now is to be a foil to Zidane's "GO TEAM" jRPG standard approach. Amarant's all about serving one's self-interests and being self-reliant. That may be why all his abilities are single-target?

The problem is this is kind of a bad time plot-wise to actually have this stuff since this is the climax of Disc 2 and there's so much more important stuff going on. Amarant's relevance to the plot, little that it is, ends up being overshadowed by what's about to happen. His self-reliance shtick ends up being irrelevant and not as interesting as everyone else's emotions and reactions. He's just...there, and it's part of why nobody ever bothers with him. He probably would've been better off taking Lani's place in Fossil Roo and joining there, though then we would've lost out on Vivi marrying Quina and Quina threatening to eat a chocobo egg, and losing either of those would be unforgivable.



You almost knocked me down!





Whatever. Like you actually have a plan.
Oh yeah, smarty-pants!? Don't forget you're the one that lost to Zidane.



A plan...huh? That's right, Amarant! You owe me one, remember? It's payback time!
Shoot.



Then we can all get on and ride it to the top.

Zidane's pretty on top of things, as usual. Comes up with a pretty solid plan that should work pretty well. Amarant has other plans.



Huh...?
(How'd I ever let this dimwit beat me?)



For all the poo poo I've said about Amarant, this is one of the best GIFs I've made yet for this game.





-----





Such is the way of the strong. And it is the providence of nature that only the strong survive.



Such a long time... Now my forces are ready to strike! Ahh... The suspense is terrible!

Him? Who is Kuja referring to, I wonder? I mean, I know, but I'm not supposed to know. Who knows?



Perfect. I'll warm up on them until the elephant-lady shows up.



Now we're even. Show me what you guys can do.





We're not changing poo poo.



Any enemy of Zidane is an enemy of mine!



Alright, finally gonna face Kuja.



My name is...







Oh, dear... The princess has such a bloodthirsty little puppet.



Begin with broth of Mist, add fermented souls, and boil... Then, pour genuine black magic into a mixing bowl and heat to-



I'm not done telling how to make soulless toys out of the dregs of souls!
Dregs of souls? You mean Mist!?
First, you don't want to listen, now you start asking questions?



Why, you- don't you feel anything!? Taking the lives of so many...
Spare me the lecture. Lives come and go all the time. What's the big deal?



She said she won't feel alive until she has everything! It breaks my heart to see such greed! The war was my fault? No, no! Your mother wanted it! All I did was give her a little push!



Mwahaha... So the curtain rises! Perfect, my canary. Let me show you the truth about your mother!





And right on cue, Alexandria's naval fleet is at the ready.





You're all that stands between me and total domination! Gehehe! But I haven't forgotten all you've done for me! In return, I will show you the ultimate power!









And Brahne is turning on the hand that feeds, it seems. Seems like a large mistake for her, but whatever.



Your mother isn't satisfied with just one continent! Her ugliness and stupidity are truly impressive.



What're you talking about!?
You're just the opening number. Time for the real show.



The Mist may be created no more, but it still lurks in caves and forests, right?
Huh!?







Then we fight two of these Mistodons.



They can use Mist to render the entire party to Sleep. And that's pretty much it.



Oh, they're also undead and thus vulnerable to Life.





And Chakra in action.



They do give good AP, though.



My money's on Kuja.



Mwahaha... But even a fool like you knows that there is only one path you can take, right?



Very well... I'll make the first move. I'll give you a clean target. You can't miss!





Amarant has a point. Let the two duke it out. Maybe they'll kill each other or weaken the victor enough that we can get the jump on them. It's not like any of the party has an attachment to one side or the other, right?



Dagger?



Uhh, Dagger? She extracted eidolons from you and started a war!
I still don't want her to die!
But she didn't care one bit whether you lived or died!





Brahne may have done horrible things to Dagger, but unlike the rest of the party, Dagger knows this other side of Brahne, the side that was a kind and loving mother, the one who raised her despite Dagger not being her actual daughter. Dagger believes her mother can still be saved, so of course she's gonna fight her hardest to save her.



Um, yeah.
Please! Tell me where!



There. I see it.







Then a fight with this guy. Dagger's gone and Vivi's in. Yeah, the game kinda misleads you for choosing your own party as after the initial Mistodon fight you're stuck with this party for the rest of the event.





Zidane, let's go. Dagger's in danger all by herself.
Yeah... Let's go after her.

gently caress THAT I'M A MAILMAN





Kupo. I don't understand... Can't we all be happy now that the Mist is gone?

If this was Disc 4, yeah, but we've still got a lot of game to go so things are probably gonna get worse?



Anyway, it's a long run down this root.



Occasionally Mistodons will chase us and catch up. Grinding on them isn't a bad idea since they give good AP and it'll help Amarant catch up.

FADE TO SILENCE



(Please help me...)





Looks like it worked. Dagger successfully gathered the eidolon's powers.



I can't save my mother with this eidolon!



No, I have it. I sense it's a great eidolon. But...but...



Leviathan!?



Leviathan, another series staple, this one dating back to FF2 when it eats your party because why not. Then it eats a party member again in FF4, then a random boss monster in FF5. Leviathan has a voracious appetite. Anyway, it's one of the first summons starting in FF3 and exists in every game since except, oddly enough, FF6 (though the GBA remake added it as a new Esper). Also it attacks using Tidal Wave, which...isn't the best move when you're trying to save the side that's on the ocean.









All remaining ammunition was spent on that last wave of monsters! The next wave will chew us up unless we pull out now!







That insolent whelp! Now I can finish him off!

FADE TO SILENCE



Draconic Seedling!



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3DBD3ktGxw







Looks like Brahne has obtained the ultimate summon.







And Kuja is loving stoked.



Meet Bahamut, King of Dragons. Generally (but not always) one of the most powerful summons in the games he's in. He's in FF1 as the character who can upgrade your party's jobs. In FF3 on he's a summon, the highest-tiered one in 3, 4, and 5 (even if technically Air Knife Syldra is better). Then he starts getting showed up in later games by more powerful gently caress-off summons but he's still badass enough to get three freaking forms in FF7 because just one Bahamut isn't enough for that game.





His special attack is Megaflare. Flare's generally the ultimate Black Magic spell (it or Meteor usually), and Bahamut does a version that annihilates all enemies (though your party usually doesn't give a poo poo if someone knows Reflect).



Suffice to say, normally you do not gently caress around with Bahamut in this series. He will loving smoke your poo poo up.



I say generally, but Kuja was looking forward to this after all. He definitely has a trick up his sleeve.





He doesn't escape completely unscathed, though. Apparently Megaflare made a tiny little cut on his forehead? Still, pretty amazing he straight-up tanked that. Guy must have a load of HP.



(If Zidane is after their power, I'd better watch out...)



Eiko, don't you think... What's wrong?
Mog... She's terrified!
How come?





-----



Hahahaha...



Power, mobility... You truly are the best! You even hurt me...a little.



I'm sure you'll enjoy the second act from your soul's hellish prison, since the stage will be your former home!



Away from...Gaia? The freaking planet? And who is this mysterious nemesis? What the gently caress is your deal?



We're not gonna find out about that stuff anytime soon, though. Instead, time for more poo poo to go down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRMH3pxr0PQ





Kuja's feeling pretty god drat smug about now. Let's find out why.



So uh...remember that eye that was involved in the destruction of Madain Sari?





It's apparently powerful enough to affect even Bahamut.





It's like watching a loving child in just how gleeful he is. He knows what's about to happen, and I'm guessing you might now as well.





...and so does Brahne.







...Yep. Bahamut's got a new master.





Yeah, this isn't even a fight.





And just like that, Bahamut's job is finished and off he goes.



As Amarant guessed, Kuja is the victor.

-----

OCEAN SOUNDS







I hate Kuja a lot. But I hate Brahne a lot, too...so much that I wanted this to happen to her.







I kind of wanted to cry, too...



Yes, Mother! I'm here! Right here...



Free...of that...terrible...greed...
Mother....



I led...Alexandria...down...the path...of ruin...









We also brought...



-----

BIRDS CHIRPING







How horrible that her life had to end this way. I still can't believe all that has happened...



Thank you, both of you...



Will both of you please help me during this, my time of need?



Thank you.



The townspeople sent it as an offering for the queen's grave. True, Queen Brahne had been acting quite erratic before her death...









The rule of Queen Brahne Raza Alexandros XVI has ended. Today marks the era of a new leader, Queen Garnet Til Alexandros XVII.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnvNBpaBZIU







Dagger's been through a lot during the course of this game. Enduring many hardships, and now including the loss of her mother.





But those hardships have also made her stronger. She's much less ignorant of the world now and has become a harder, wiser person who still has the kindness and will to lead her nation's people.





It's probably not how she envisioned stepping into her eventual role as Queen of Alexandria, but that's irrelevant. Alexandria needs a leader more than ever.





And dammit, Queen Garnet's going to lead her nation and do her best to right the many wrongs that Kuja has caused in this world.

  • Locked thread