It's entirely possible to beat the final boss of CT before you even get your FIRST party member! Of course, it's only possible with NG+, because otherwise he'll just stomp you silly without proper prep. Also, the "shortcut" that leads you there isn't active unless you finish the game and do a NG+.
You actually need the first party member along to reach that particular battlefield, and therefore can't fight that fight solo. And the discussion was about the "first run" and the first story-mandated run in with the boss; what you can do in the new game plus doesn't really factor into it.
It's entirely possible to beat the final boss of CT before you even get your FIRST party member! Of course, it's only possible with NG+, because otherwise he'll just stomp you silly without proper prep. Also, the "shortcut" that leads you there isn't active unless you finish the game and do a NG+.
Yes, but I'm talking about the forced story fight. You can technically choose to fight them as soon as you get access to the Doom Bucket in a non-NG+ run, but with the gear and items you have access to at that point you need to compensate with enormous amounts of levelling and with no good places to grind up available.
I've never done a solo-Crono run that I recall, but you can still get the speedrun ending if you go in as soon as you get your second party member in a NG+, which makes those fights immensely easier.
Quina specifically doesn't eat humans or human-like creatures though - if you try to have her eat Black Mages, they'll say "I not can eat that."
EDIT: It's one of the most annoying aspects of the "level 1" run (which is part of the Perfect Game Challenge), in that the Black Mages give experience that you can't dodge by eating them.
Quina still solves the issue - the fork stolen from Zagnol has "add Petrify", so if you give them the "add status" ability they'll be able to petrify the mages and keep you from gaining XP - but they won't eat them.
That's kind of Chrono Trigger's signature gimmick, though, isn't it? "Welcome to New Game+! Go through the story again, but you can fight the final boss whenever you want, and that's what determines the ending you get."
That's kind of Chrono Trigger's signature gimmick, though, isn't it? "Welcome to New Game+! Go through the story again, but you can fight the final boss whenever you want, and that's what determines the ending you get."
Yes, but I'm talking about the forced story fight. You can technically choose to fight them as soon as you get access to the Doom Bucket, but with the gear and items you have access to at that point you need to compensate with enormous amounts of levelling and with no good places to grind up available.
I've never done a solo-Crono run that I recall, but you can still get the speedrun ending if you go in as soon as you get your second party member, which makes those fights immensely easier.
No. In NG+, after Marle is sent back in time and Lucca tells you to get on the left teleporter to go after her (the inciting incident of the game), if you get on the right one you get sent to Lavos. Before getting any party members, before any fights you don't have to go out of your way to trigger. Not the Doom Bucket in the End Of Time.
No. In NG+, after Marle is sent back in time and Lucca tells you to get on the left teleporter to go after her (the inciting incident of the game), if you get on the right one you get sent to Lavos. Before getting any party members, before any fights you don't have to go out of your way to trigger. Not the Doom Bucket in the End Of Time.
I know, though I was a bit unclear. As I said, I've done the speedrun ending with Crono and Marle in a NG+ as well as the story fight that allows it in a normal run. The Doom Bucket comment, which allows you to defeat the game even earlier than the story fight even outside a NG+ run, was -- although this is unclear because of what I quoted -- an aside aimed at this:
Having said that, actually defeating the final boss during that particular fight is definitely something intended for New Game Plus, because the end credits it gives you is the Developer's Room one, which is the same as it would be in a New Game Plus if you went through the New Game Plus portal at the very beginning of the game. Thus, I consider it as about the same as the possibility of defeating the final boss the very first time the player has the possibility of accessing them on a standard New Game, which is when you have four (out of seven) party member options. This also gives non-standard ending credits (in this case, just random goofing around).
You actually need the first party member along to reach that particular battlefield, and therefore can't fight that fight solo. And the discussion was about the "first run" and the first story-mandated run in with the boss; what you can do in the new game plus doesn't really factor into it.
Further pedantry: that party member does leave the party temporarily during that time, so it's possible to do the fight solo. As mentioned above, Marle gets warped away after attempting the Telepod, but even before that she does stand to one side when Crono is asked to demonstrate the Telepod for the first time.
The game still gives the same Developer's Room ending either way, whether you have Marle with you when you fight the final boss using the New Game Plus portal, so it only really matters for bragging rights or a (trivial) challenge run.
(The usual "challenge" run is solo Crono, with the starting gear, and downgrading the weapon to the weakest in the game: the Mop. I think there's a level challenge as well, but I don't recall the specific level.)
(The usual "challenge" run is solo Crono, with the starting gear, and downgrading the weapon to the weakest in the game: the Mop. I think there's a level challenge as well, but I don't recall the specific level.)
I wonder how those deal with getting smacked with Confuse. You can't guard against it with starting gear, Crono'll do nothing but auto-attack, and I don't see you winning a DPS race in those circumstances.
Treno, Treno, is everything they say
And no place that I'd rather be
Where else can you do a half a million things
All at a quarter to three
When they play their music, ooh that modern music
They like it with a lot of style
But it's still that same old back beat rhythm
That really, really drives 'em wild
MARCUS
There's nothing rich folks love more
Than going downtown and slummin' it with the poor
They pull up in their carriages and gawk
At the students in the common
Just to watch them talk…
[Enter DAGGER behind him]
Look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now!
History is happening in Alexandria and we just happen to be
In the greatest city in the world!
[Lights out.]
Last time, we got our asses kicked by Beatrix and met Kuja.
Today, we're taking a détour.
I. Unexpected Reunion(s)
It's time to check in on Dagger again.
First, though, we backtrack to grab the Lightning Staff from this room in the chest I didn't initially notice and trigger an encounter with Stiltzkin, who sells us stuff.
The Tall Guard and the Short Guard at South Gate have an exchange that shows us that some time has passed since the end of Disc One, because they've heard about the attack on Burmecia:
Tall Guard: "There's been a lot of trouble lately." Short Guard: "Oh, you mean about Burmecia? I heard they were attacked by an army of soldiers wearing pointy hats. I wanna go on the frontline. Instead, I'm rotting away in this stinkin' place." Tall Guard: "Really? I don't like wars. Why would someone start a war…? That guy who passed through here with the huge bag… Did he look suspicious to you?" Short Guard: "No… I don't think so." Tall Guard: "But weren't you the one who thought he was suspicious?" Short Guard: "You know me! I'm always like that. I'm telling you, people who eat pickles are nice people. I envy him. Gysahl pickles are the only pickles I can't eat." Tall Guard: "...You're really confusing, you know that?" Short Guard: "I know… Why do you think I ended up here?"
Once again, the black mages are referred to as "soldiers wearing pointy hats" and not identified as black mages, despite the fact that we know people know about black magic existing in the setting. It's very odd, I wonder what's up with that.
Meanwhile in the cable car, Dagger is sleeping.
He finally gets it right!
Steiner thinks to himself about what he's heard, that Dagger believes "what she heard about Queen Brahne," but Steiner absolutely refuses to believe that his beloved queen would ever start a war. It must all be a misunderstanding. This man has truly drunk the kool-aid, huh. I wonder how Queen Brahne used to be before the "changes" that she apparently underwent; so far she's only appeared as a merciless and gleefully evil tyrant, it's hard to imagine her as, like… A good person. Were Dagger and Steiner always deluding themselves, or has she changed so much as to become unrecognizable, and Steiner is simply refusing to believe his own lying eyes?
Soon, the cable car arrives at Summit Station, where it stops and we must transfer to a different carriage; we're invited to visit the resting area while we wait.
There's a funny exchange where Dagger is confused because Steiner tells her they are now in Alexandria (meaning the kingdom) and she's confused because she thinks he means the city but she can't see the castle, and then she scolds him for thinking she's naive.
By talking to a "Cable Car Enthusiast," we can learn that the Berkmea cable cars were built 8 years ago as a symbol of the friendship between Lindblum and Alexandria, and are powered by Mist engines built in Lindblum. They work by pulling one another, so they're always doing a balancing motion where one car is going down while the other is going up, kinda like an elevator with a counterweight?
It's striking that Lindblum and Alexandria aren't just at peace, they've been actively building works commemorating and enshrining that peace, they've been conjoining their infrastructure, Alexandria is flying ships built with Lindblum technology, and now Queen Brahne is throwing all away for… Nothing? The hope of being Empress Brahne of the Mist Continent?
We'll see the rest area in a short while, but first, as we enter it, the cable car leaves and we hear a voice that Dagger recognizes saying they missed their ride, so we quickly leave to check it out, and…
It's Cinna and Marcus!
Cinna: "I missed my ride! What am I going to do now!?" Marcus: "How the hell should I know…? You were the one who wanted to watch the scenery while eating South Gate Bundt Cake." Cinna: "I'm gonna be late returning to Lindblum…" Marcus: "There's nothing we can do. I won't tell the boss." Cinna: "Thanks, buddy! Let's eat another bundt cake!" [He leaves.] Marcus: "Geez…"
Interesting that we meet Zidane's old group again while Zidane isn't in the party. Of course, as soon as we follow the two thieves into the rest area, we find that they're in an altercation with Steiner, who recognized them and is now angrily confronting them.
Steiner: "Are you here to kidnap the princess again!?" Cinna: "Who's the big tin man?" Steiner: "WHAT!? How dare you!" Marcus: "He's the captain of the Knights of Pluto." Cinna: "Oh yeah! You're one bad actor." Steiner: "Grrr…! Have you no respect?"
Losing it as Cinna's primary memory of Steiner, a man who chased after them across the entire castle and the Tantalus ship trying to get Dagger back and nearly got everyone killed by fighting them while the Bomb was growing, being "bad actor." These thieves are genuinely actual actors and they will let you know if they think your performance is shit, beautiful.
Marcus and Cinna are warmer towards the Princess, who remembers them by name, but discussion is impossible; every time we try to talk to them, they start explaining how they escaped from Evil Forest only to be interrupted by Steiner yelling "Princess! You shouldn't waste your breath on criminals!" which is obviously aggravating, and importantly, Dagger thinks so too. This is the point where she finally commands Steiner to get in line with full, scolding royal authority.
Dagger: "Steiner! That's enough!" Steiner: "Wh-Wha…!?" Dagger: "Can't I even talk to my friends?" Steiner: "Friends!? But they're…" Dagger: "Adelbert Steiner!" Steiner: "Yes, Prin-ma'am!" Cinna: "He's bein' scolded." Marcus: "How embarrassing."
She gave him the old 'mom calls you by your full name' treatment, top tier stuff.
With Steiner temporarily cowed into submission, the car arrives; Marcus and Cinna talk about how they're headed in different directions - Cinna to Lindblum, Marcus to Treno. Dagger hears this and is immediately curious and follows after them. Steiner is so distraught that he actually doesn't hear her at first, so she turns around to ask him if he's mad at her, and he immediately responds "No, ma'am!" He actually is remembering to not call her princess now! This man works entirely off negative reinforcement and people telling him to fall in line, incredible.
We say goodbye to Cinna and board the cable car - we're headed for Alexandria, of course, but the path takes us through Treno anyway so we might as well ask him what he's up to.
Turns out, it's to save his "Bro" - the only person in the world he calls "Bro," Blank. Tantalus has learned about an item called Supersoft (Soft being the item that cures normal petrification in gameplay), which can cure all petrification. Cinna is headed to Lindblum to tell the rest of Tantalus about it, while Marcus joins up with Baku in Treno to acquire the Supersoft. That's good! It's an actionable plan that interacts neatly with the gameplay-story layer.
However, Marcus has questions of his own.
Marcus: "Where's Zidane?" Dagger: [She turns her back to him.] "We separated in Lindblum." Marcus: "Got rid of him as soon as he got you to Lindblum, huh?" Dagger: [She turns back around.] "How could you say that!? It's only because Zidane kept treating me like a child! …I don't care about him." Marcus: [He turns his back to her.] "Fine. Then I don't know anything."
Stellar work here, Dagger. It's kind of funny how she has a very teenage "He's not my boyfriend, mom!!!" reaction to being asked about Zidane, except because of the context in which this happens, it immediately turns Marcus against her because he thinks she just used Zidane to get to Lindblum and then abandoned him. It's a good demonstration that Zidane isn't the only one who can fail a speech check.
Steiner is notably silent here, and if talked to, simply says he will not meddle in Dagger's affair. He must be using all his willpower to restrain himself, and I'm worried if this goes on too long, he might explode.
Dagger, of course, does actually care about the Tantalus troupe, seeing as they helped her get out of Alexandria and then they all nearly died in the forest rescuing her. Not just Zidane, but Blank as well - even if she didn't know him well, he sacrificed himself for her, and Zidane did care about him. So when we approach Marcus again, she tries to ask how she can help with rescuing Blank, but is really awkward about it because, from Marcus's perspective, she just made it clear she didn't care about them and so he has no idea what she wants. She starts to explain she feels responsible, when all of a sudden the cable car shakes.
The conductor tells everyone to stay calm and it's probably a problem with the engine, heads out to investigate… And immediately comes back aboard shouting that a "Demon with a pointy hat!" has stopped the car.
Dagger and Steiner hear this description, and immediately figure out what's going on. They rush outside, Marcus following after them.
Long time no see, Black Waltz.
Yeah, turns out he did survive. But, well.
He's not in a much better shape than he was last time we saw him. Still strong enough to force a cable car to a halt, but… Well, listen to him:
Black Waltz N°3: "Mission… retrieve… princess… alive…" Dagger: "Isn't that the one we saw on the cargo ship?" Steiner: "Monster! I'll finish you off this time!" Dagger: [She steps forward.] "Wait, Steiner!" [To the Black Waltz] "Tell me something! Why do you want to capture me?" Steiner: "Princess, it's too dangerous! Please stand back!" Black Waltz N°3: "Mission… retrieve… princess… alive…" Marcus: [Drawing his sword] "It's not use! It doesn't understand!" Dagger: "But-"
[The Black Waltz limps forward.] Black Waltz N°3: "Eliminate… all!"
His wings are broken.
This isn't much of a fight. It's really more of an execution. Or, depending on your perspective, a mercy killing. Black Waltz is still operating with his disc 1 loadout, firing Tier 1 spells with the addition of Freeze, which probably does something but it whiffed when he tried it so it didn't do anything. Furthermore, he is still bound by the directives telling him to bring the princess back alive, and so he will not attack Dagger, who is our White Mage and can keep the entire party in the battle as long as she's active. Marcus is a poor replacement for Zidane, since he lacks Skills, but we can still use him to steal a Steepled Hat and a Lightning Staff off the Black Waltz.
So we basically weather his low-damage spells with simple heals and layer damage onto him until he finally dies.
It's anticlimactic, but, well, like I said. This isn't really a fight. We're just putting down a mad dog. Or, perhaps more to the point, a sad, broken robot who, even at death's door, still can't even rebel against the programming that tells him not to harm our healer. I have little pity for Black Waltz N°3, but, well. To what extent can he be blamed?
They built him wrong.
Once the fight is over, Dagger is left to just wonder - why? Why this violence? Why pursue her? What did he want with her?
The answer is obvious, but it's difficult for her to face it.
Marcus: "Burmecia was attacked by an army of black mage soldiers…" Dagger: "...I know." Marcus: "Those mages wiped out the people of Burmecia…" Dagger: "....." Steiner: "Who would do such a thing?" Marcus: "Are you serious!? How ignorant can you be!?" Steiner: "What do you mean!?" Dagger: "Stop it, Steiner… I know who did it." Steiner: "Princess?" Dagger: [She takes a few steps forward, relieving a little more of the distance.] "We're almost in Alexandria… I must go to the castle and see my mother… She'll listen to me."
It's interesting how the game plays with the fake mystery of who did the attack on Burmecia. It was obvious long before we actually saw Queen Brahne in Burmecia, and at this point we, the players, have known for hours what Steiner can't accept. So it's not a mystery; it's entirely a character beat, one that's focused on how difficult it is for Dagger, and outright impossible for Steiner, to accept that Queen Brahne just… Committed a genocide.
It's an act of such staggering evil that Dagger can't even talk about it outright, but still, she knows. But she can't reconcile it with the mother she knew, so she is desperately, hopelessly banking on the idea that if she can get in a room with her mother, she can get an explanation, she can change her mind, she can get her to stand down.
But that idea is feeling increasingly desperate. The people of Burmecia are already dead. Changing Queen Brahne's heart won't bring them back. Her crime will remain. But it's all Dagger has to hang onto.
And that's affecting the way she acts and talks. Which gets us this fascinating interaction when they're back in the cable car:
Marcus: "So, you already heard about the attack on Burmecia." Dagger: "Of course. I'm not like Steiner." Marcus: "You've changed." Dagger: "Me? You mean the way I talk?" Marcus: "Not just that." Dagger: "Well… A lot has happened."
This scene was bugging me and I wasn't sure I could figure out why at first. On the surface, I definitely like the vibe of it - Dagger has changed. Her attitude, her confidence, the way she talks, the way she carries herself. She's able to be much more casually confident in conversation - that "Of course. I'm not like Steiner." has incredible poise to it.
I thought, "I'm not sure I buy this much change in so little time," because the game has been fairly short up to this point. But really, between waking up outside Evil Forest, traversing the Ice Cavern, fighting the Black Waltzes, landing in Lindblum, then ditching Zidane and walking through the Mists all the way to South Gate, time has passed for Dagger, and she's been through more adventures than we've actually seen.
But then I realized: That's because Marcus and Dagger have only interacted once, when Dagger appeared on stage and they had to improvise the play and then fight Steiner. They have never actually had an opportunity to talk! They got thrown into two fights and then the Bomb exploded and the ship crashed, Dagger getting knocked off-board!
It's ultimately not a big deal but at least I was able to work out why it felt off.
Dagger announces that she has been through a lot of battles and is a "seasoned pro," and Marcus senses danger and quickly realizes that she intends to latch onto him in the search for the Supersoft.
Marcus: "You're gonna come along, even if I refuse, right?" Dagger: "Of course I am! This is so exciting! I've always wanted to see the marvelous architecture of Treno. I can hardly wait!" Marcus: "(On second thought, she hasn't changed that much.)"
Absolutely bullied. You know, I don't actually know how old Marcus is; I'd assumed he is an adult because he is burlier and more mature-looking than Zidane or Blank, but given his friendly peer relationship with Zidane and Blank, the latter of whom he calls "Bro," it's entirely possible he's also a teenager and just looks Like That because he's an orc.
And with that, the cable car reaches our destination, and Marcus… Joins our party.
I wasn't sure if the game was going to keep it up after the boss battle against Black Waltz, but yeah, it looks like the devs might have thought the path ahead would be tricky to handle with just Steiner and Dagger, so Marcus joins us as a playable character for the whole bit ahead.
Part-Time Worker Mary got back to her item shop.
When we leave, we reach a fork in the road. One leads back to the Village of Dali, the other to our next destination, Treno. Set at the fork is a sign, which is honestly… Kinda sad to read now.
"No amount of hardship can tear our two countries apart." I had the time frame off, I'd thought the war between the three kingdoms had ended within the last decade, but no. The peace was already 20 years old back during the reign of Cid VIII, the previous Cid before our oglopified friend.
It's thirty years of peace, first fragile, then so strong as to be thought unbreakable, strong enough to start weaving the two countries' very infrastructure together to facilitate travel and cooperation, that one short-sighted ruler is setting fire to in a fit of stupid ambition-
…
Let's just not think about this for now.
I don't know how it took me this long to notice that the gate has a sign above reading "Dali."
We're back at Dali Gate, on the other side this time - according to readers this is where we could have seen Part-time Worker Mary for the first time if I'd waited a little longer. This time, however, we do have a Gate Pass, so we can just go on through.
From there, we can head back to Dali with Dagger as the party lead. There's not much to do there, aside from buying a bunch of Wrists for synthesis (except that's a trap because the Steepled Hat needed for the Cotton Robes were last available at Summit Station but will not be available in Treno so we missed our chance, this is really annoying), but it's a neat spot of characterization because we're getting Dagger's internal monologue and dialogue, not Zidane's.
Dagger, it's been like two weeks tops. Even in game time it hasn't been that long.
Highlights:
When we examine the "get rich quick" books on the inn shelf, which Zidane mockingly dismissed, Dagger is confused and wonders what "crazy money" even is. Our girl isn't as sheltered as she once was, but she still doesn't have much of a grasp on money, poverty, and the fact that people aspire to the sheer wealth she once had.
The kid watching the entrance to the underground tries to hit on Dagger; Dagger is unfazed, and reflects that such comments would once have made her embarrassed, but no longer; given that she's been deflecting or ignoring most of Zidane's flirtatious comments from the start, the fact that she was flustered by them tells us her poker face was pretty good to begin with.
The Old Lady only half-remembers Dagger, and laments that her farm has been destroyed as all the work moved underground, and asks Dagger what she thinks of Queen Brahne's policy changes. If we agree with her, Dagger says she'll "do her best get you back your farm," letting the mask slip that she's no ordinary traveler.
We can also visit the old man who likes coffee; if we examine the ship model, Dagger wonders whether Tantalus are always stealing wherever they perform as a theatre troupe. We sadly can't enter the Ice Cavern, so now we head back and finally go into the direction of Treno.
II. Aux Champs-Elysées, Au Soleil, Sous La Pluie, A Midi Ou A Minuit
Behold, gorgeous view.
There's another gate on the other side, we show our Gate Pass again, and then we're out on the Treno plateau, where we cross from day into sunset into night.
And there we are - Dark City Treno, the City of Nobles.
The name is a little bit of a misnomer, though. As with Lindblum, I'm going to try to keep to a broad overview of the city, but our intro dialogue sets the tone.
Steiner: "Princess, this is Treno, the City of Nobles." Dagger: "We need to find out which noble has the Supersoft." Marcus: "There aren't many nobles living here. The nights are long. It's a great place for thieves." Steiner: "People like you turned this city into a slum!" Marcus: "...Let's steal the Supersoft and get this over with." Steiner: "Steal!? How dare you! Do you think I'd let you commit a crime before my very eyes!?" Marcus: "How else would we get the Supersoft?" Steiner: "Quiet! I will not allow such disgraceful behavior!" Marcus: "I never asked you to come along. Quit complaining."
Why would a place known as the City of Nobles also be described as a "slum" that is "great for thieves?" That's because the main theme of Treno isn't nobility:
It's class divide.
When people say Treno is the "City of Nobles," what they really mean is that it's the city that has the highest concentration of high-status wealthy people, which means the gap between them and the lower classes is higher than anywhere else and pulling apart all the time. This means, in turn, that while Treno is an extremely rich city, it's also the poorest city we've visited so far.
Treno is pretty. But it's not pleasant.
While Steiner and Marcus are fighting, Dagger just… Slips away. She straight up leaves the screen while they're arguing. Marcus tells Steiner to look behind him, and Steiner realizes that she's left… But this also doubles as the good old "look behind you" distraction, so when Steiner turns back around, Marcus is gone too!
And now Steiner is alone in a city he doesn't know.
And with this, we regain control, not of Dagger, but of Steiner. So we get some more CLANK-CLANK-CLANK sound effects every time we move, delightful.
Immediately, the game offers us a choice of ATEs: "Treno Tradition" and "Ambition." I pick the first one, and…
Dagger is walking around town when she sees a thief running away, pursued by a guard. As she tells herself that she should be careful about pickpockets, a four-armed, green-skinned, red-haired man whom I'm pretty sure is Alleyway Jack from the prologue bumps into her… And steals 1000 gil from her.
Well, we're not having that. I reload and pick a different ATE.
Natalie: "Listen carefully, Mario. This city used to be called 'the City of Nobles.' It's a lie!" Mario: "The nobles pushed us around, right, Sis!?" Natalie: "That's right. They hogged all the waterfront property and forced us up into the hills." Mario: "They exploited us to make their money, right, Sis!?" Natalie: "Right. But we can't just sit here and complain, or we'll end up spending the rest of our lives in this miserable place." Mario: "Power to the people! Right, sis!?" Natalie: "That's right! Power to the people! We'll never go hungry once we become nobles! Follow me, Mario!"
[While they were talking, Marcus appeared and paused, listening to their conversation." Marcus: "...." Marcus: "What's this world coming to…?"
On the other hand watching these two children revolutionaries shouting "power to the people" is adorable. On the other hand Natalie seems to have absorbed completely the wrong lesson from her conditions - her idea of "power to the people" seems to be "we'll get to be nobles," like that guy from Tactics who just wanted to reverse the social order and put himself on top as the exploiter instead of the exploitee.
I wonder if that's what bothers Marcus, or if it's just the fact that Treno has such strong class divides with even children feeling the reality of their oppression. Tantalus are thieves, implicitly lower-class… But Baku is friends with Cid IX of Lindblum, they perform in front of kings; they're not revolutionaries. If anything, they're deeply embedded with their traditional structures of power in a way that accommodates them. Thieves with the ears of the mighty. Would they want to enact radical social change, or are they happy with society the way it is? After all, Lindblum seems fairly socially harmonious, even though the very existence of a ruling dynasty speaks to inequality.
More ATEs trigger as we advance, depending on the order in which we visit various places, I think. We can more or less divide Reno between "fancy" areas and "downtrodden" areas. The ATE where Marcus eavesdrops on the kids is followed by another in which he enters a bar that's a secret Tantalus hideout, where he meets with Baku.
Baku: "Yer late." Marcus: "A lot happened. I'm kinda tired." Baku: "No excuses. You're ready to go." Marcus: "You found it? You found the Supersoft?" Baku: "Yeah, in a noble's mansion. You'll go by boat and break in tonight." Marcus: "Leave it to me! I'm the one who'll save our bro!" Baku: "Yeah, it's just that you've got two liabilities coming along."
Kinda funny but also telling that Baku is so well-informed that he was able to pick out Marcus's tagalongs the moment they enter the city and before they split up, and immediately get that Dagger wasn't going to let go. The man must have eyes everywhere.
In another ATE, Dagger runs into a common drunk sprawled in the street and slowly backs away, then tries to approach a noble who turns out to be completely deaf and mishears everything she asks.
Also there is a place we're never ever going to enter:
This is the card game stadium. People here can take part in a card game tournament. We are not going to do that.
While we're looking for her, Dagger makes her way to Treno's auction house… Where she encounters a surprising visitor.
Kuja is attending the auction.
You know, I wonder if Kuja has like… A social life. Does he have a home? Does he attend galas or have servants? Or is he the kind of spooky bastard like Sephiroth who just manifests out of the aether when it's time to do ominous shit? There's nothing of particular note on sale at the auction today, so it would seem to indicate the former: he's just doing this for entertainment.
Eventually, Steiner runs into the four-armed man from the pickpocketing ATE, asking him if he saw "a beautiful young princess… I mean, a girl around here?" The man hasn't, but the ATE is actually our hint; Dagger is going to stay at the auction house hoping the Supersoft appears on auction until we get there.
Steiner: "Princess! Thank goodness I found you. I was worried." Dagger: "How can I find the Supersoft when I keep having to listen to your complaints?" Steiner: "Such harsh words…" Dagger: "I don't think it's here, anyway. Where's Marcus?" Steiner: "I do not know…" Dagger: "Maybe Marcus found it already. Are you coming? I'm going, with or without you." Steiner: "I- I shall follow you, princess."
God, Steiner is getting demolished today. Dagger is really fed up with his antics. I get the impression that it's the first time in her life that our girl has been rude to someone, and it's a way she's manifesting her newfound independence and her feeling of being a 'pro.'
Honestly I think it's good for Steiner to be getting some pushback.
And now we've rejoined with Dagger, so we can visit the rest of the city, and then join with Marcus. Right?
WRONG! You fools. You rubes. You absolute buffoons.
You see, by picking the "Ambition" ATE instead of the "Treno Tradition" ATE at the start, Dagger never got pickpocketed. Which you would think would be a good thing, if you were an imbecile.
Of course we are meant to allow the pickpocket ATE to happen so that we can then proceed in a precise order of events that follow in order to get a missable item. How could you not anticipate this!?
You see, by having Dagger get pickpocketed (which we can reduce the amount of with a timed button press), we can then open the "Pursuit" ATE, in which the four-armed man gloats about his successful theft and Dagger chases after him. Amazingly, the thief has this totally hypocritical comment:
Four-armed Man: "Wow, I couldn't see her well in the dark before. She's a real cutie. Good girls shouldn't be walking around alone at night. It's time for me to get ready and move on to a new city…"
Anyway, Dagger goes the wrong way, and this loops back us into the normal ATE flow. But now, when we run into the four-armed man again in that building, and ask him if he saw a girl… He says "Nah, I didn't see any cute girl with long hair…" Seeing as Steiner didn't mention the hair, he immediately catches on to the man.
Steiner: "What!? What did you say!?" Four-armed Man: "Nothing! I didn't say anything! I never said I stole any money from her…" Steiner: "!" Four-armed Man: "!" Four-armed Man: "I-I bought a Power Belt with her money. I'll give it to you!"
The man runs away, and we get the Power Belt as a reward for letting Dagger get pickpocketed. You know. An entirely reasonable sequence of events.
The Power Belt increases Steiner's Defense and Strength, and also teaches him MP Attack (which lets him spend MP to boost his normal attacks) and Counter, and it can also teach Vivi Fira, so that's neat.
We're now back to where we started, and… God, there's a bunch of other stuff to do in Treno. Look at this place:
This is Queen Stella. Given that Alexandria already has a Queen, her title is probably informal. Queen Stella is looking for "Stellazio"; a set of star-shaped coins of which we already have one, Aries. When we give it to Stella, it appears in one of these suspended cages, and she rewards us with 1,000 Gil.
But there are actually more Stella…zios? …zias? That can be found. At the entrance of Treno is a fountain: We can throw a 10 Gil coin in the water, receiving the message "you feel happier…" If we do this thirteen times, the Gemini coin appears. But there are more to find in a moment! First though, we'll check out the Treno weapon store…
…hm. Why is there a grate floor with a monster underneath?
Turns out, the owners of the store, the Knight family, keep a monster as a pet, and they like to have it fight people. Does this mean we can ask to fight it? Of course! And you know me, there is nothing I like more than colosseum battles. Let's go.
…ah.
Right. We're still lv 7.
The griffin casts Aero, dealing nearly 600 damage, far in excess of Steiner's max HP and instantly killing him. There's not much we can do about that, so we'll just… Leave.
No, I mean literally. We're leaving the city.
We can actually leave Treno at any time, at which point Marcus immediately runs back to the party and we can explore the plateau as a three-man party. In the process, we run into another friendly monster asking for Ore; we give it to them, and they tell us to give their regards to Ladybug before vanishing, leaving behind a very welcome payout of 10 AP.
Cut for image count.
Final Fantasy IX, Part 9.B: Summit Station & Dark City Treno
III. Born on a mountain, Raised in a cave, Focusin' and castin' is all he craves
By running around, we eventually find a cave in a remote place:
…Huh. Quan's Dwelling. That's the name of Vivi's grandfather, isn't it? We just found Quan's home while Vivi wasn't in the party. And since the name of the location isn't diegetic, Dagger has no idea what she just found. Funny.
This must have been a pretty miserable place to raise a human-adjacent child, though. It's literally a cave, with a hot spring that restores HP and MP. We can find the Scorpio coin there, and by moving a little further in we can find the living area, which is still… Not exactly ideal.
"Vivi grew up in a cave" is one of the funniest possible reveals the game could pull on us because it's so completely out there. But it's not the funniest. That would belong to the inscriptions on the wall.
When you were a kid, did your parents ask you to stand against a wall so they could make a tally mark to measure how you grew? My father did. And so did Quan, apparently: There's a series of marks in the wall measuring heights. This is more informative than it looks, because it tells us Vivi wasn't spawned fully-formed like the Black Mage dolls, he did grow up from a baby into a child.
There is also something else written next to these measures.
QUAN ADOPTED VIVI AS A SNACK. THEY WERE PLANNING TO EAT HIM!!!
Oh my god this poor child. Vivi absolutely cannot stop catching strays. My sweet dear baby. Good lord.
There's one last room, a promontory overlooking the ocean, which further reinforces how this place is not child-proof in the least. There's also a clock that is stopped; Dagger notes that it stopped "the week before she left Alexandria." Odd.
…
You know, how did Vivi even get to Alexandria? He's an eleven-year old who is constantly tripping over his own feet, and he made his way from Quan's Dwelling to Alexandria on his own? How did he even hear about the play in the first place? I'm not sure we'll ever have answers to these questions.
Once we've checked out the place, we run around a bit to get some levels in before heading back to Reno. Nothing much, just getting the party to lv 8-9. We load up on new gear at the weapons shop, too - they have the Mythril Sword we were unable to steal from Beatrix.
IV. Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner
So, can we take on the Griffin now?
It was very important to me that you all see that choosing to fight the beast with Steiner while Dagger is leading the party has the grate just open wide under poor Steiner's feet, dropping him in the Griffin's lair with no warning.
No.
Better armor has softened the damage somewhat, but Aero still deals more than Steiner's max HP. That means Dagger would definitely die and Marcus has no Abilities so he's out (I forgot to mention this but we can only take a single character into the fight). "Opening move automatically exceeds max HP" is the kind of thing you can't get over with proper strategizing, defeat is inevitable.
…or is it?
This is Lindblum's Synthesis Shop, where we can combine a Linen Cuirass and a Soft to make the Gold Choker accessory. As you can see, it halves wind damage - such as from Aero. That brings the fight from "one hit kill" to "Steiner can survive one hit and dies on the second." Is that enough? Not on its own. But what can do it is the right array of abilities: HP+10% and Auto-Potion, which we've recently unlocked, plus Bird Killer to increase damage to aerial opponents…
Steiner's first W of the game.
It's not easy. Auto-Potion draws from our normal Potions, which only heal 150 HP, so they can't fully compensate for the 300+ damage the bird does - especially once it reveals it also knows the higher tier of Aera. But by taking a one turn break to quaff a Hi-Potion, Steiner is able to stay in the fight and hits hard, 450 damage a hit. And with this combo, he is able to prevail.
This was Final Fantasy at its best: A seemingly insurmountable obstacle that I was able to defeat by selecting the right ability combos and making the correct moves in battle. The execution was still fairly simple, but I won by browsing the tools available to me and arranging them in the right combo. That was fun.
…
Of course I could have trivialized it by unlocking the Blood Sword.
There is one more Stellazia coin to find in Treno, hiding behind a vendor stall. With four stone coins, our reward is the Blood Sword, which is considerably stronger than the Mythril Sword and also drains HP on hit, allowing Steiner with the Blood Choker to obliterate the bird without any concern for Auto-Potions or mid-combat healing. Also it teaches Darkside.
Heavy sigh.
(There's also another coin we missed but it's back in Burmecia and I wasn't replaying the entire town just to get it.)
Our prize for beating Birdie is the Tonberry Card, which I don't care about, but that's fine - I just wanted the win for its own sake.
At the Auction House, we can find many items on sale. Some are useful accessories, but others are trophy items that are references to older Final Fantasy games, such as Une's Mirror and Doga's Artifact. To get them, we need to win the auction; the NPCs try to outbid us until we reach a threshold that's variable but always around a certain ceiling. Then, we can find rich people elsewhere in Treno who are looking for these treasures, and sell them back for a nifty profit.
V. Peacocking is a social behavior in which-
Feeling sad about Une and Doga now.
Alright. Enough of the City of Nobles' delights. It's time to actually move on with the plot.
We head to the inn, where Marcus is waiting for us. He leads Dagger to the docks, where Baku is waiting with a ship, while Steiner runs around ineffectively trying to tell Dagger to wait and reconsider.
She doesn't even bother stopping or responding to him, it's kind of hilarious.
Baku: "Princess, do you know that breakin' and enterin' is a crime?" Dagger: "I need to make sure you don't steal anything else." Marcus: "Let's go." Steiner: "Dammit! I am coming along. It is my duty to protect the princess from bad influence!" Marcus: "Do whatever you want…" Baku: "Always talkin' about yer duty. Ain't you got any thoughts of your own?" Steiner: "Don't you talk back to me! I am escorting the princess-" Baku: "I thought you might've changed after travelin' with Zidane, but… you ain't changed. Do you even know why you're here?" Steiner: "Wh-What do you mean!?" Dagger: "Let's just go, okay?"
The extent to which Dagger has changed only highlights how little Steiner himself has changed. He is a man whom change is exerted against, a victim of his fate desperate to make his world make sense again, stubbornly refusing to bend before he's made to break. And it's clear that Dagger is getting tired of this. She's left Zidane behind once - will she now leave Steiner behind?
There's an oddity in the writing, where it feels like more time has passed than actually has; the Tantalus crew talk to Dagger as if they hadn't seen each other in a long time and she had changed considerably in the meantime, but there is little of that time we've felt, and little of that change we've seen before. It feels a bit like the game is missing a connecting piece.
As the ship departs the docks, we are treated to a cutscene elsewhere - not an ATE, this time.
"Petty" and "pretty" are separated by only one letter.
Auctioneer: "How was Burmecia?" Kuja: "Not bad… Better if I didn't have to see those vermin and the ugly elephant-lady. They offend my senses." Auctioneer: "You must be tired." Kuja: "It's not over yet. The rest of the vermin must be done away with." Auctioneer: "Will you be heading to Cleyra, then?" Kuja: "Yes; I trust you will deliver them."
[The auctioneer bows.] Auctioneer: "Certainly. I shall prepare now…" Kuja: "By the way, did you see a pretty lady in the crowd today?" Auctioneer: "A pretty lady? Shall I arrange a meeting?" Kuja: "There's no need. The canary I've been after… She flew into my cage of her own free will." Auctioneer: "?" Kuja: [He spreads out his arms.] "Never would I have imagined running into you in a place like this. It must be fate. But you cannot rest yet… Fly home to your mother, my little canary."
Oh my god he's so fucking extra I love him.
So I guess that answers my question: Kuja is the owner of the auction house in Treno. A perfect position to gather both incredible wealth and a vast collection of magical artifacts from across the globe to be used in his nefarious scheme.
Kuja being the creator of the Black Mage doll army suggested he might have been some kind of mad scientist, but I don't think so; it looks like he's instead a wealthy benefactor who is sourcing magical items and technology from across the globe, as well as fabulous wealth, and then giving it to his pawns like Queen Brahne. That's interesting and surprisingly mundane for a Final Fantasy villain. There is obviously more to him than that, but I wasn't expecting Kuja to have a perfectly human servant who is in on his schemes and answers him obsequiously like some evil version of Alfred Pennyworth. Can you imagine if Sephiroth had a butler? Actually that would be amazing, please put that in the next Remake episode.
Also, in case we needed more evidence that he's an amoral sociopath, him describing his time hanging around an ongoing genocide as "not bad" tells you everything you need. He also clearly holds Queen Brahne in contempt, and it's interesting that he focuses on her ugliness and the "offense to his senses". I get the impression that Kuja is very superficial, the kind of villain who will only appreciate beautiful things and wants ugly things erased from his presence. Beautiful things… Such as Dagger, it seems. Our man's plans involve her.
That's not ideal.
VI. For Budgetary Reasons We Had To Cancel The Heist Scene
As the ship sails across Treno's waterways to its destination, the estate of some rich noble they must rob, Steiner and Dagger both have inner thoughts.
Steiner: What in the world am I doing…? I'm assisting thieves in committing a crime… No… I must be patient. Protect the princess. Escort her back to the castle. Focus on your duties… Trust the queen. She would never commit an atrocity. There must be a good reason. Steiner: No thoughts of my own? Nonsense. How can I, a lowly knight, understand the queen's thinking? I need not worry about the ramblings of a criminal. Just think about escorting the princess home. Steiner: I'll probably never see him again… He was the culprit… He pulled me and the princess into his intrigues.
Dagger: It was your fault, Zidane. If you hadn't treated me like a child… I wouldn't be here hunting after Supersoft to save one of your friends. Dagger: Why am I doing this? Because Blank saved me? Yes, he saved me. He saved my life… The least I can do is return the favor… Dagger: But I never thought about things like this before…
It's interesting that Steiner thinks of himself as a "lowly knight." As we've discussed before during Tactics, there is a kind of bias in how Japanese media thinks about Western knights, where they're portrayed as being low in social status and there's a conflation of knight/soldier. As a knight, Steiner would be a noble, although quite possibly a low-ranking, landless one. As a Captain, he would be of higher status as well. Certainly he'd still think himself as very low in comparison to his queen, but he'd still be, by rank, above the average commoner. But here he's treated more like a mix between some NCO and a beat cop.
As it turns out, the noble estate Marcus was casing is none other than the Synthesis Shop. Seems like a poor way to reward them for that Gold Choker-enabled victory, but ah well. Unfortunately, a shop means a lot of merchandise, and Marcus has no idea where the Supersoft is; as the group begins to rummage through everything to find it, they hear a noise - someone's coming down the stairs.
Marcus asks in a whisper "should I take care of him?" And it's not clear what "take care" means - was Marcus going to straight up kill that guy, or just knock him out? We never find out, because to everyone's surprise, Dagger steps out in the open, having recognized the man.
Dagger: "I've missed you, Doctor Tot." Steiner: [Also stepping out] "Doctor Tot?" Marcus: "You know him?" Steiner: "Doctor Tot is the highly respected scholar who tutored the princess!" Doctor Tot: "Ah, Master Steiner. You must be quiet, or you'll wake the shopkeeper. But, Princess, what on earth are you doing here?" Dagger: "It's a long story. We're looking for Supersoft right now." Steiner: "There is a proper reason for this! We are not here to steal, or to commit any form of crime-" Voice Above: "Somebody down here?" Everyone: "!" Doctor Tot: "Run along! I will give you the Supersoft later. Go left from Treno entrance, and continue until you find a large tower. The tower is my home. It's locked, but I shall unlock the door and await your arrival." Dagger: "Alright. Let's go back! Thank you, Doctor Tot. I'll see you later!"
[They leave.]
It's interesting that Doctor Tot clearly sees that the party is here to steal stuff, but his trust in Princess Dagger is so implicit that he immediately defaults to helping them, then covering up for their escape when the shopkeeper is drawn by the noise. That makes it, for all of Marcus's objections, a very good thing that Dagger and Steiner tagged along - otherwise the evening would likely have ended in violence.
There's a very theatrical feel to this. "The group, at night, are sneaking into a shop; suddenly they run into a character they're familiar with, and one of the protagonists turns to the audience to explain his importance" is, like. I could see this happening in a Shakespeare play.
Back at the hideout, Marcus explains the situation to Baku, and I have to transcribe the exchange even if there's no new information just for the gag:
Baku: "So, this Tootsie's gonna give us Supersoft?" Marcus: "It's Tot." Baku: "ACHOO!! Whatever. I can't believe Tantalus is at the mercy of some old man. Hmph. I guess we better keep babysittin' the princess." Marcus: "Still?"
[Steiner and Dagger enter.] Baku: "He ain't gonna give you the Supersoft unless you're with the princess." [He turns to Dagger.] "That's the deal, Princess. I'm askin' you to take Marcus to this Toot." Marcus: "...It's Tot." Dagger: "I was going to, anyway." Baku: "Well, get some rest before you go. I'm sure Ted needs some time to prepare." Marcus: "...It's Tot."
If you fuck up someone's name once, then correct yourself. But if you fuck up someone's name twice, then there's only one issue: Commit to the bit.
So, we leave the inn, do some stuff, fight the griffin, get the Blood Sword, all that, and once it seems like we've done most of everything we can, it's time to head for the tower.
The moon sure is big and red tonight.
We follow Doctor Tot up the stairs, and we find him in his home, which is… Basically the top of a wizard's tower? Also completely open to the wind and rain!? What kind of scholar would even-
Tot explains that after Alexandria, he traveled far and wide in search of a sponsor for his research. Whom he found… In Treno? Basically just outside Alexandria's doors? Seems like most of that traveling was pointless.
Doctor Tot is another of these characters Steiner treats with clear respect as someone above his station, and immediately tells him he regrets his "earlier actions." Doctor Tot is unbothered; as long as the princess as her reasons, they're not for him to ask. He motions to a chest in which the Supersoft is stored, and Marcus picks it up while the others catch up; Dagger comments on the massive (though damaged) globe that's the crown piece of the room (and eating up much of its real estate):
That's a globe of the planet, which we now learn is named Gaia. As good a name as any for a planet, I suppose. I unfortunately can't really make out much of the shape of its continents from this angle - but the fact that they have a globe is fascinating, because it would suggest a full understanding of their world's geography?
But only suggest - the first terrestrial globes in our world date from before we had a full understanding of its geography. This is the Erdapfel, the oldest surviving terrestrial globe; completed in 1492, it is, by sheer serendipity, a snapshot of the European understanding of the planet completed the year before Columbus came back with news of the Americas:
So it's entirely possible the globe Doctor Tot has in his living room was composed without a full knowledge the continents of Gaia, but if it wasn't, that has… Interesting implications regarding the Lindblum engineers' dreams of visiting the new continents with steam ships.
Dagger: "I remember your lessons." Tot: "You remember the ramblings of an old fool…"
And with this, we move to a flashback about Dagger's studies under Doctor Tot.
Tot: "Two phrases are commonly found in documents more than 500 years old… One is 'jewel.' The other is 'summoner tribe.' But 500 years ago, the phrases mysteriously vanished from history…" Tot: "The archeologist Frederick Ash theorized that 'jewel' refers to the pendant passed down to the ruler of Alexandria. But the pendant… It is much too small to be referring to the same 'jewel.' Other research suggests a relationship between 'eidolons' and magical 'stones'..." Garnet: "Doctor Tot!"
Oh my god she's adorable.
Tot tells Garnet that he's already read every book in this library, but that he thinks better when surrounded by old books. Garnet tells him she doesn't like books with the adorable bluntness of a child, before admitting that she is quite taken with a book Tot gifted her: I Wanna Be Your Canary. So that's where her theatre kid inclinations started.
God, wait, I Wanna Be Your Canary ends in like, everyone murdering each other though!
Now I'm having traumatic flashbacks to when I was, like, ten or so, and I picked up King Lear in our library, and my mom was like, oh isn't that nice! He's reading Shakespeare at such a young age! What a bright kid! And then I was traumatized for days. You know how King Lear ends!? Everyone dies! I was too young to even know that sometimes stories have "bad ends"! I was so shaken to my core by the ending that my mom remembers it to this day! Save this poor child!
Ahem.
Garnet is a little confused by the concept of a terrestrial globe; Tot has to explain to her that the globe is a planet, not her castle, and that there's a world beyond Alexandria. She asks him to point to her room on the globe, and it tells her it's too small, but he can show her where her castle and Uncle Cid's castle are located, and the flashback fades to black and back to the present.
Eight years would mean Garnet was eight at the time.
Dagger: "How long has it been? Eight years?" Tot: "Time passes quickly. But I haven't changed. I continue to collect and research these items." Dagger: "Where did you find this globe?" Tot: "It's an antique. It's broken, as you can see, but I use it as an observation deck. Ironic, isn't it? Looking up at the sky from inside a globe." Dagger: "It sure is…" Tot: "Princess, I don't mean to meddle in your affairs, but…" [He adjusts his glasses.] "I am on your side, now and forever. Please tell me if there's anything I can do." Dagger: "Doctor Tot…"
And with this, we do a brief timeskip to Dagger having explained the whole situation to Tot. And well they did: As it turns out, Doctor Tot knows of a means of reaching Alexandria urgently, though it may be dangerous: an "old transportation device" he had remodeled in case of an emergency.
Honestly given that we've already taken the time to go out of our way to do the Supersoft I don't see why we couldn't just go from Treno to Alexandria the normal way, but I guess these are the needs of the plot.
Tot: "This way, please." Steiner: "Ah! We can finally return to Alexandria!" Marcus: "I'm coming with you." Steiner: "What!? Why!?" Marcus: "I can reach Blank more easily from Alexandria." Dagger: "Yes, come with us, Marcus." Steiner: "Grrr…" Dagger: "Let's go save Blank! And restore my mother to her former self!"
Doctor Tot warns us to equip ourselves properly, as there are monsters underground, and we leave through a trap door, down into…
What the fuck is a "Gargan Roo."
Well, that's a question for our next update! I think we've covered plenty of ground already today (also I stopped playing at that part so I have no idea what's next).
That was… Interesting. I was fully not expecting Marcus to make a comeback, and especially not for him to stick it out for longer than one boss fight; but he is in fact a quasi-full playable member of this party during this whole section, who can level up and be taken to overland battles. I say "quasi" full because Marcus is missing an Ability menu; he still only has Steal and no unique Command, so he can't be customized or do anything beyond Attack/Steal/Item.
Nor was I expecting the Dagger/Steiner sequence to go on for longer than a full update. I probably should have, based on the precedent of VIII, where the game deliberately left Squall behind for a long Laguna sequence after the end of Disc 1, to make his fake-out death a proper cliffhanger. At this point, even though we've been playing for a couple hours, we still have no idea as to the fate of Zidane and his crew. Dagger and Steiner are off having their own, much more light-hearted adventures.
I did remember Black Waltz N°3 coming back for an encore, though. What I didn't remember was how anticlimactic it was - but, I think, purposefully so, for the reasons I pointed out earlier.
There was a lot of obnoxious old school JRPG nonsense in this update, but thankfully none of it was necessary for progression (though seriously, thirteen coins into the fountain!? Why thirteen!?) so FF9 is still a game that's best played with a no-spoilers guide open in another tab. But it was fun.
I think we're fast approaching the point where Steiner needs a dramatic blow to his worldview that he can't shrug off. Watching him nail himself down harder and harder to the "Queen Brahne could do no wrong" cross and deliberately, actively disregarding the troubles of his conscience, making an active effort to make himself less of a human being with agency and independent thought because it's too scary to imagine that his entire worldview is wrong.. It's painful. And the other characters have been explicitly pointing it out and all but saying "where's your character development, Steiner?" So it really feels like something big is coming our tin man's way, and I hope it's soon.
Well, consider that the prize is one of the Stellazio, of which you've collected Aries, Taurus, Gemini, and Scorpio. (Interesting selections of signs, by the way). Do you feel like the number 13 might have a connection with the Stellazio medals?
Doctor Tot is another of these characters Steiner treats with clear respect as someone above his station, and immediately tells him he regrets his "earlier actions." Doctor Tot is unbothered; as long as the princess as her reasons, they're not for him to ask. He motions to a chest in which the Supersoft is stored, and Marcus picks it up while the others catch up; Dagger comments on the massive (though damaged) globe that's the crown piece of the room (and eating up much of its real estate):
That's a globe of the planet, which we now learn is named Gaia. As good a name as any for a planet, I suppose. I unfortunately can't really make out much of the shape of its continents from this angle - but the fact that they have a globe is fascinating, because it would suggest a full understanding of their world's geography?
You know, given the suggestions that there was a time before the Mist and Tot's mention that the globe is an antique, I'm wondering if the globe is from before the Mists, where people might have had a greater understanding of continents beyond the one we're currently adventuring on. Possibly at least 500 years old, given how the game just suspiciously used this specific number as the date when all references to the very-definitely-going-to-be-plot-relevant "summoners" and "jewels" disappear.
Steiner thinks to himself about what he's heard, that Dagger believes "what she heard about Queen Brahne," but Steiner absolutely refuses to believe that his beloved queen would ever start a war. It must all be a misunderstanding. This man has truly drunk the kool-aid, huh. I wonder how Queen Brahne used to be before the "changes" that she apparently underwent; so far she's only appeared as a merciless and gleefully evil tyrant, it's hard to imagine her as, like… A good person. Were Dagger and Steiner always deluding themselves, or has she changed so much as to become unrecognizable, and Steiner is simply refusing to believe his own lying eyes?
inb4 it turns out that ff9 is homaging ff4's plot by having the brilliant explanation for why the honorable ruler is evil now just be "there's an evil sorcerer brainwashing people" and steiner is the only member of the alexandrian military command with actual moral culpability because he's too steiner to bother
The Treno sequence is fun, and I'm chuckling a bit that you did, in fact, wander up to see Quan's cave because I wondered if that would happen. The scene between Kuja and the auctioneer is a funny highlight - there's something inherently hilarious about watching someone who should be a background NPC like a gear vendor or the like suddenly develop a personality and role in the story.
Not much else for me to talk about because you touched on pretty much everything, but there is a tangent I want to go off on, here.
Once again, the black mages are referred to as "soldiers wearing pointy hats" and not identified as black mages, despite the fact that we know people know about black magic existing in the setting. It's very odd, I wonder what's up with that.
I have a theory headcanon about Treno. Consider the following tidbits we've been dropped over the course of the game thus far-
A barker in Alexandria at the beginning of the game welcomes a group of nobles from Treno.
Steiner says to Garnet "you must never experience war as I have!"
The Alexandrian and Lindblum royal families are close enough that Garnet calls the Regent of Lindblum "Uncle Cid."
Cid describes Burmecia as a close ally of Lindblum.
In Freya's flashback, Fratley describes Burmecia as being at peace while other nations are gathering strength.
Beatrix claims to have slain a hundred knights single-handedly.
Once Steiner and Garnet pass over the mountains with the cable cars, Steiner says they're back in Alexandria.
The Treno guards wear a palette-swapped version of the armor worn by the Knights of Pluto.
Treno strikes me as the kind of city that's only nominally attached to the Alexandrian crown - it's wealthy and distant from the capitol, paying Alexandria homage but mostly concerned with its own affairs. I think at some point in the past, maybe ~15 years ago, Treno tried to break away from Alexandria. Possibly the nobles got it into their head to leverage their immense wealth into paying for a mercenary army that the Alexandrians - with their professional troops - promptly curbstomped. This would dovetail nicely with the way Steiner immediately recognizes Vivi as a black mage while Burmecians and Lindblum soldiers consistently describe them as "soldiers in pointy hants" because unlike them, he would have fought mercenaries and "adventurers" not unlike that red mage duo we keep seeing. Also not for nothing, 15 years ago Steiner would have been 18, close to the ideal age for a Final Fantasy protagonist to get thrown into his first major conflict, and 15 years ago is long enough that Garnet's grandparents might have still governed Alexandria, which would explain the dichotomy between Alexandria's warring and Queen Brahne's consistent description as being peaceable and kind until lately.
There's one hitch.
When I brought this theory up in the spoiler thread, I was told that there's dialogue which was cut from the game explaining that the recent war was between Burmecia and Alexandria. This makes some amount of sense - it explains why Beatrix in particular is used as a boogeyman by Burmecian parents, it can explain why Fratley journeyed out of Burmecia out of concern for Alexandria growing stronger in recent years, and it goes some way to explaining why Brahne seems to bear some especial antipathy for the Burmecians.
On the other hand, it was cut from the game, so-
I reject your reality and substitute my own. There's mention of plenty of wars further into the past that would explain the concern of watching Alexandria turn warlike. The bit about Beatrix's name being used to silence Burmecian children didn't make the jump to English. And Brahne's racist terminology (and Kuja's, for that matter, since he's a resident of Treno) is eminently explicable by her asshole turn.
(I'm not opposed to considering cut content when discussing canon but in this case I prefer my interpretation.)
Better than the last sequence for this part of the group by far, but I think part of the issue this update has is that the timeline is a bit odd here.
Mostly because they decided to do something good for gameplay (skip making you do the same stuff all over again with a different set of characters), but bad for the story (cut to the future in a timeskip that is poorly handled).
