This might actually have more to do
with the classic Star Trek episode I'm referencing than I realize.
After all, I've seen some strange theories and read some weird fan
fictions over the last twenty years. But that's beside the point.
Of course, something I can say is more
obvious is that oft-repeated observation that there are points in
RPGs, and especially Final Fantasy games, where more often than not,
the best weapons and armor will be found in treasure chests in
dungeons and cave, making the shops in towns that sell them almost
completely useless. There are a few exceptions here and there, of
course, but I'll point those out when I get to them. For now,
though, let's get into the Tower of Bab-Il.
After another fifty-three mile hike, we
see the Dwarven tanks distracting the tower's defenses so that Cecil
and crew can get in. I usually need to use a tent before I start
because the trip there has brought my MP and HP down enough for that,
and also I save, just because it's a good idea. It's funny in this
case because it's all happening in a combat zone, and yet our heroes
are completely safe in taking these actions.
But anyway, once we get into the tower,
we start finding just the kind of weapons and armor the shops in the
Dwarf Castle weren't overcharging for because they weren't selling at
all. These are mostly ice items for Cecil, though there is also a
spear for Kain. These items come in chests with monsters in them.
The entire point of even going up the
tower was to get the seven stolen crystals back from Golbez. When we
get there, we find the Fire Fiend Rubicant and some guy called Doctor
Lugae saying that the crystals have already been moved to the upper
part of the tower, which can be seen above ground. Lugae beams
Rubicant out because apparently it's safe for him to just go out
randomly on account of the fall of Eblan and its ninjas. Afterward,
Lugae gets a little nuts because he thinks he's the boss of the place
now that Rubicant is gone. For the moment, he is, but that won't
last long.
Lugae has a robot named Balnab.
Balnab's horribly broken, needing constant oiling, and at first
attacking Lugae instead of Cecil and gang. Take out Lugae and Balnab
explodes because there's nobody there to give it oil. Round two
starts up almost right away when Lugae reveals that he's a cyborg of
some sort. He'll gas the party, causing status effects that he also
heals. Kill the cyborg Lugae and he tells you about how he's got the
tower's main gun targeting the Dwarves and a gang of monsters set to
fire if they don't hear from him.
Getting down there and killing the
monsters guarding the gun doesn't quite solve the problem, so Yang
sacrifices himself to stop the gun's auto-fire sequence. And after
that loss, we've still gotta hike out of the tower.
Once we finally get to the exit, Golbez
somehow tells the party that they've lost and tries to kill them by
burning out the stairs they're on. Fortunately, though, there's a
lucky save from Cid and the Enterprise. After a chase scene with a
Red Wings airship, Cid tells the others to escape and jumps off the
Enterprise with a bomb powerful enough to seal off the entrance to
the Underground.
Now, as I've pointed out a few times
before, this game has been out for a good twenty years now, so I'm
probably not spoiling much when I say we'll be seeing Cid and Yang
again, both in the Underground. Cid will fix another airship for the
party, and we can find Yang again, if we go on the Sylph side quest
at the right time.
For now, though, we're headed back to
Baron to discuss what to do now that things have changed so
dramatically. But that's a matter for next issue. See you in the
very near future, folks.
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