Yeahhh, running with one save slot and saving after one of those sequence-battles can very quickly put you in a very nasty place.
And personally I believe hubris is best achieved with a complete lack of moderation and reckless reaching towards the sun, so you know, I'm down for however large of an update you decide on.
Yeah, If I recall correctly, this is a three-fight sequence in WotL, (the second one is more narrative; it was added from the PSX version and if you lose it you really have to be trying to do so) but the bookends are very difficult if you don't know what is coming.
Write whatever amount you are comfortable with; if the first fight takes up all the time you wish to write on, Omi, that's why there's mid-encounter saves. Just... make sure to use a different slot, like we said. I don't care how much people are looking forward to rakes, that's a piece of advice to prevent you from becoming utterly disenchanted with continuing at all. (Since between emulator save states and everything, you do seem to take that precaution, but still.)
On the bright side, once you do know what is coming the fights become merely challenging, I guess?
I'd say just split it into two updates - the breakpoint in the middle seems pretty easy to find, and I do think that, if you had as much trouble as with the Wiegraf fight, then it makes sense to have a single update dedicated to analyzing why the given fight was so troublesome, and have the other update cover the less mechanically intense, more narrative portions of what went down.
Actually playing through the beats that the next update will cover didn't ultimately take up that much real world time, and as much ground as there's to cover I was hoping to have the update up yesterday or today - but a lot of things have been getting in the way. Some good - there's family at home so I have to spend a bit less time on the computer - some bad: our cat had a serious injury. I didn't want to mention it until I knew if she was going to be okay or not, and it's still not sure if she will be, but at least she's back home after a few days at the vet and a little better than she was going in, which is a huge relief. So now I hopefully should have more time clear to wrap up the update, hopefully tomorrow. Vet costs are expensive, so as always I am very grateful for everyone who's donated to my Ko-Fi or Patreon at any time, they help.
Hear ye, hear ye! 'Tis the year of our Lord 2024, and it has come to pass that Ramza Lugria has come to settle matters with his once mentor and leader, the Fell Knight Gaffgarion, for the final time.
The Story So Far: Ramza, scion of the noble House Beoulve, took up the life of a wandering mercenary without allegiance after being betrayed by his own kin. He was roused from this torpor by his chance meeting with his childhood friend Delita and Princess Ovelia, whom he now seeks to save from the daggers of assassins; but alas, he entrusted Ovelia to Cardinal Delacroix, thinking him a man of piety and honor, only to be betrayed yet again. Now Ramza hurries to save Ovelia, who is set to be executed by the cardinal's forces…
I. Golgollada Gallows
Last time, we paused just before the Golgollada Gallows, where Ovelia is set to be executed. We've recruited Agrias and Mustadio, so our former party will need to be shuffled a bit - our two new recruits have custom classes with unique and valuable skill sets, but they come to us basically completely fresh for every other job. When Agrias was with us as an AI-controlled Guest, she actually had a few secondary Ability sets that made her pretty flexible, like Black Magic and White Magic. That's gone; this Agrias now only has Knight, Archer and Chemist unlocked, and no meaningful purchases in any of those. That means going into the next encounter raw with only her basic Holy Sword Abilities and Mustadio's starting Machinist option may be… painful.
But we all have to start somewhere. So let's dive in.
No support classes, we'll need to murder everyone faster than they can kill us.
Our team is divided into two squads this time. Ramza is still a Samurai, so we're fielding Dragoon, Holy Knight, Machinist and Ninja for maximum damage, and also just kind of to test out the new classes.
A man who is transparently Gaffgarion in an executioner's hood is standing dramatically at the gallows doing a bad poor accent.
Executioner: "Got any words t' leave behin', puppet? None, then? Just as well, I s'pose." Gryphon Knight of Lionel: "Is that-? The enemy!"
[Ramza and his team enter.] Ramza: "We are come for the princess! Stand down, or take her place on the gallows!" Executioner: "Ha ha ha! And the trap is sprung!" Ramza: "Trap?"
[Gaffgarion doffs his cloak, as does the 'princess,' revealing an enemy Archer.]
Gaffgarion: "Ramza, ever the gallant fool!" Ramza: "What have you done with Lady Ovelia!?" Gaffgarion: "I've done naught with her, she's at Lionel. What of the gem?" Ramza: "Gem?" Gaffgarion: "Might we spare ourselves these tiresome feints? I speak of the cardinal's gemstone. The one who stole it travels with you, does he not? I would have it surrendered." Ramza: "If you want it, come and get it." Gaffgarion: "So the boy now thinks himself a man! Very well. Let us finish this like men!"
[Battle begins.] Gaffgarion: "It is not too late to change your mind, Ramza! Return with me to Eagrose! Your brother Dycedarg would fain forgive what's done. He said as much himself!" Ramza: "Then let him forgive this as well, for I'll play no part in his foul plots!" Gaffgarion: "Foul!? You would paint your brother's deeds as *foul*? A Beoulve must uphold the duties of his station! You of all people should know that!" Ramza: "My lord brother seeks to ignite war to further his own ends! If such a thing is not foul, ser, then pray tell what is!" Gaffgarion: "A man does not eat an omelette without breaking eggs! Blood is the price of progress! It is the ink in which history's pages are writ! Look around you, boy! Ivalice rots from within! Your brother would carve out its decay, even if it means his hands must needs be soiled!"
I like Assertive Ramza. Our boy has truly found his moral fiber - standing up to Gaffgarion with lines like "If you want it, come and get it" or "Then let him forgive this as well" is pretty rad. He's found certainty in his course of action, along with confidence.
Honestly though I'm fascinated by Fake Ovelia. It's a shame she doesn't get any line; do you think Gaffgarion went the Lionel garrison asking for a blonde female knight with a theatre background and that one Archer whose lifelong dream it had been to play on the big stage jumped at the chance? Do you think she asked to study Ovelia's body language and Gaffgarion was like "girl I literally just need you to stand in one place in a white dress for five minutes do not make this complicated"? Do you think she tried out her best ojou-sama laughter before being told Ovelia wasn't that kind of noble lady?
Ah, well.
Gaffgarion is not afraid to move on the offensive, hopping down the gallows and hitting Mustadio with Shadowblade. He's only dealing a third of his HP in damage, which is manageable, but the overall circumstances of the fight are… Poor. Here's a shot with a better angle:
Our opposition is made up of three Knights, two Archers, two Time Mages, and Gaffgarion. That's 8v5, which is pretty steep freaking odds, plus you will note that the Time Mages (only one of whom is visible in this screenshot) are on an elevated position, able to drop spells on us without us being easily able to get up to her without wasting turns on movement. Gaffgarion, of course, is the prominent threat, and he asks us a simple question: Do we deal with him first, or last?
We basically have to pick one of the two, because of Shadowblade's HP drain effect. If we just throw some damage Gaff's way as the fight goes on, we're not distributing progress, we're wasting turns because he will heal that damage in the course of attacking us, without even needing to take breaks to heal himself. So we either should focus fire on him immediately, or clear the way of all his minions first. In practice we're not doing to be doing quite either of those things simply because the way I tend to play Tactics tends to involve a lot of 'opportunistically attack whoever's in my range' rather than spending turns on Move+Wait to position myself to go after one specific dude, especially when I can get some juicy AoEs. See for instance:
Ramza hitting both Gaffgarion and one of his Knights with a Iaido move.
Ramza: "I will not stand and watch as Lady Ovelia is made to be another Tietra!" Gaffgarion: "Forget Ziekden! There was no avoiding that. You are an heir to House Beoulve, Ramza, and you have a duty as such! It is your fate to see that duty fulfilled!" Ramza: "As it was my fate to see Tietra die? No, fate had no hand in that. Tietra died because I could not be bothered to save her. I've lied to myself all this time. It was my own inaction that killed her!"
I really like how the events of Ziekden are clearly continuing to shape Ramza's characterization - he continues to carry the trauma and guilt of it, and he sees in Ovelia another Tietra, another person he might fail to save, and he can't let it stand. Ramza is heroic, but he's not just helping people in need 'because they are there,' his actions are specifically rooted in the guilt and grief of one specific events in which he (unfairly, quite frankly) feels that he failed to intervene when it was needed. And now his burden is to atone for that wrong.
A common problem I run into is that since you can't "take back" moves and you can't "preview" attack ranges from an upcoming location, you have to memorize attack ranges and do geometry to figure out ahead of time if you will be able to attack a given target from a given location - and that won't help with cover. Here, it turns out the Knight I wanted to attack is behind Ramza so I can't shoot him, the TMM and KNT on the parapet are covered by the inclination even though their squares are nominally red, so I have no choice but to attack Gaffgarion.
Dragoon captured in flight.
But of course, it turns out that I had slightly overestimated Agrias's deduction capabilities. She had not, in fact, figured out Ramza's true identity from his dialogue with Delita.
Agrias: "Ramza, you are a Beoulve?" Gaffgarion: "You didn't know? Aye, this little whelp is a son of the great House Beoulve." Ramza: "I am my father's son, but that does not make me the same as my brothers! I knew naught of the plot to kidnap the princess! I swear it!" Agrias: "Do you truly think I would doubt you now? You have more than proven yourself!"
I really appreciate that we waste absolutely zero time on a 'Agrias has a crisis of trust in Ramza because of his heritage' subplot, it would make zero sense for him to be a double agent now, any useful betrayal would have come earlier, so she just extends his trust immediately, at the start of her turn, so we can immediately follow that expression of trust by having Agrias move up and annihilate an Archer with Cleansing Strike. Perfect gameplay-narrative integration there; RIP to the Lionel Theatre Girl.
This, however, also confirms that named NPCs do get unique story dialogue in main story battle, dialogue which I don't want to miss, which means that I will, in fact, have to take them into every battle going forward. RIP my blorbos.
So Gaffgarion and one Knight are severely hurt and one Archer is down. Solid start. Unfortunately, this is when several enemy moves fire in sequence.
Namely, one Time Mage Slows Mustadio and another Immobilizes Agrias. Thankfully Agrias has ranged sword skills; if she were a pure melee character, this would effectively take her out of the fight for several turns. Even as it stands, she's now only able to attack enemies who stray in her attack range. Then the remaining Archer fires Aim +3 at Hester (which only deals 40 damage; considering that Aim +3 is in the upper range of what you can feasibly actually land in a fight, this really goes to show that Archer is, like, bad).
Then Hadrian comes down, and takes out the TMM that cast Slow - unfortunately FFT doesn't operate under D&D Concentration rules so you can't dispel a buff by taking out the unit sustaining it, so Mustadio is going to be chilling for a while not doing much.
Gaffgarion: "You truly are a fool! What is the life of one girl, when weighed against the greater good?" Ramza: "I see no *good* in using people! Only deception, and death! I will not stand by any longer as innocents fall prey to your *good*! I will not let you harm the princess!" Gaffgarion: "Then you seal your fate, you stubborn fool!"
Gaffgarion takes out Hester. Ramza eliminates another Knight. Then one of the surviving Knights reveals he actually has a secondary Geomancer skillset, using the Sinkhole terrain ability to Immobilize Agrias. If you've been keeping track, Agrias is already immobilized from a Time Magic spell, so you know, this is a lot better than if this guy had gone and shut down another one of my party members. Current tally: 5v4, we've evened out the odds.
Hadrian takes flight, ensuring the remaining Archer won't make it past the next round. Then Gaffgarion goes again; a quick look at his HP bar reveals that he's sitting on 156/200 HP, so most of the progress we've made with earlier damage has been erased; by the time he's done hitting Ramza with Shadowblade on his turn, he's back to his max HP. This is exactly what I meant by any approach that isn't "kill Gaff immediately" or "ignore Gaff until the end (except for potential status effect to neutralize him in the meantime)" results in wasted turns; no damage dealt to him mattered because he healed it all before we could focus on him.
To my surprise, Hadrian's Jump deals less damage than expected - the forecast was accounting for the extra damage from the Archer being in casting stance, but she's already fired by the time he comes down on her, so she survives. The two remaining enemy Knights gang up on Agrias, beating her up into crisis while Ramza and Gaff fence off to the side. Things are looking dicey, and I need quick extra damage; I have Hadrian move up to Hester's body and throw her a Phoenix Down.
Because (as it turns out I was wrong in an earlier update about KO mechanics) Hester's CT gauge filled up the entire time she was KO, she immediately takes her turn upon being raised, moving to backstab one of the Knights teaming up on Agrias and driving him into crisis.
Agrias: "What is to be done with Lady Ovelia?" Gaffgarion: "I will return her to Gallionne, as per my contract. What Duke Larg does with her after that is not my concern." Agrias: "Lord Dycedarg and the duke would use her as a pawn in their game of thrones! Just as the two of them now use you! Is a man like you not ashamed to be no more than a piece in their game? Have you no pride - no honor?" Gaffgarion: "Such flights of fancy are long since flown from me, my lady."
Hehehehe. She said it. She said the thing. She said "game of thrones." Hehehe.
Honestly though given how much this translation is indebted to ASoIaF it's fun that they paid direct homage to it with a cheeky reference.
I'm genuinely curious about the sources of inspirations of the Japanese writers for this game. As has been said before, it's very doubtful ASoIaF would have had any impact, the first book having only come out in English a year before the game, but they clearly have done some reading on the War of the Roses and they share certain narrative and thematic sensibilities even before the added layer of metatextual reference added by the 2007 translation.
In any case, Agrias takes her turn, finishing off the Knight to her left, and Immobilize finally wears off. Meanwhile, Gaffgarion makes an odd decision - instead of continuing to spam Shadowblade, he moves up to close range of Ramza and goes into a charging stance; it seems likely he decided to go for an Aim or something similar?
This proves a mistake. His attack triggers First Strike, canceling the hit and getting a Samurai katana attack to his face.
Ramza then immediately takes his turn, allowing him to move to the old Knight's back and deal another 63 damage hit. This brief sequence is enough to turn things around; we went through a doomed back and forth in which Gaff perpetually heals for more damage than I can deal to Ramza attacks a full HP Gaff -> Gaff attempts a physical attack and gets First Strike'd, negating his turn -> Ramza goes again, at which point Ramza has dealt 189 damage out of Gaff's 200 HP and theold man goes into crisis.
Gaffgarion: "Curse me for a fool, I'd not thought you'd grown so strong! I'd best retreat for now."
Once again the old knight decides to leave to fight another day, leaving behind only one Knight, one Archer, and one Time Mage to mop up - the balance of numbers has gone from 5v4 to 3v5. This does not last long; the fight turns into an ugly melee cluster in the corner between the gallows and the gates, where Agrias unfortunately goes down amidst a bunch of enemy bodies.
Mustadio, who has spent most of the fight painstakingly moving up the parapet while under Slow to drive off the Time Mage perched above, finally breaks the curse and plinks off the last KNT. Hester uses her superior speed to stab the last Archer, then new Ninja command, Throw, to hurl a grenade at the TMM.
With no supporting units left, the Time Mage is forced out of hiding under that big gate and into direct confrontation - and once in the open, she is in range of Mustadio's Glock.
That's the end of the Goldogalla Gallows battle.
This was one of the longest and most complex engagements in the game so far, and I hope I was able to give a feel for how it was like to fight through - making mistakes, getting hit by enemy debuffs, navigating the battlefield architecture, trying to deal with overwhelming number and a singular boss-type opponent - this was Tactics at its best, with some thoroughly engaging gameplay. It wasn't as difficult as some comments from the thread had led me to fear; this can be partially attributed to a couple of bad decisions from the AI, though I think even if Gaff hadn't made a misstap with that final charged blow he would have succumbed as soon as Hadrian was free to focus Jump on him while Hester lobbed bombs from a distance. Dragoon remains MVP by far. Plus, in a way, it's encouraging to know that the AI is like me and can gamble big and lose for it.
Now it's cutscene time. And what a cutscene it is.
II. A Straw Doll in an Empty Crib
Well.
This is quite the swerve. Last time we met Delita, he spoke of wanting to save the princess in truth, suggested he was not aligned with either Duke Larg or Duke Goldanna or Cardinal Delacroix, and now here he is, in Lionel Castle, ostensibly as one of the Cardinal's allies, talking to an imprisoned Ovelia. Has Delita just been straight up lying to us the whole time?
Delita: "You've not touched your supper. A princess cannot live on pride alone." Ovelia: "..." Delita: "Do you think to starve yourself? None would weep, you know. There are many who would be gladdened by your passing. Stop being stubborn and eat." Ovelia: "You were in league with the cardinal all along, weren't you? What do you mean to do with me? If you'd not give me over to Larg, then what is your intent?" Delita: "To put you where you truly ought to be." Ovelia: "So, you would manipulate me as well. I'll not do it, you know. I'll not bend to your whims." Delita: "You will. If you wish to survive, you have no other choice." Ovelia: "What do you mean?" Delita: "I mean-"
[He is interrupted by someone walking in; Cardinal Delacroix and the Knight who bribed those cutthroats all the way back at the start of Chapter 2 walk in.]
Knight: "So, this is Lady Ovelia…" Cardinal Delacroix: "Do your spirits find you well, Your Highness? If you would be but a tad more tame, there would be no reason to keep you in so cheerless a place as this." Knight: "These seem lavish enough quarters for a false princess." Cardinal Delacroix: "Ho ho ho… The girl does not yet know, Lord Folmarv." Knight: "Truly? How pitiable." Ovelia: "Tell me of what you speak!" Folmarv: "Very well. You are not Ovelia Atkascha." Ovelia: "What…?" Folmarv: "The true princess died years ago. You are her double." Ovelia: "That's absurd!" Folmarv: "It is neither absurd nor untrue."
[Ovelia slumps over, visibly devastated.] Folmarv: "You are *not* Ovelia. You are a straw doll placed in an empty crib by Council members who bear no love for the queen. It was their intent that you would someday succeed the throne and relieve Queen Louveria of her power. They placed you in the royal family after assassinating the queen's two eldest sons, attributing their deaths to malady. The deception was complete, and your ascent all but sealed. King Ondoria was sickly, and seemed unlike to father another son. But against all odds, another prince was born. Whether he is in truth of Ondoria's seed is highly suspect, of course. Like as not, Duke Larg found some other sire to ensure his sister's place as mother to the king. Regardless, all of the Council's work was made for naught the moment Prince Orinus drew his first breath." Ovelia: "You speak false! I'll not believe you!" Folmarv: "Believe what you like, child. It is of little enough consequence. You may be born a butcher's daughter for all it concerns us. We hold a trump card in our hands. The stock from which it was cut matters not." Ovelia: "What is it you wish of me, then? What would you have me do?" Folmarv: "Naught at all, sweet child. We only wish that you be our princess, as you always have." Ovelia: "I am a daughter of House Atkascha! I'll take no orders from you!" Folmarv: "Oh? Then what will you do? Let yourself fall into Duke Larg's hands, and you'll have a noose in place of a crown. We only wish to help you reclaim the throne that is yours by right." Ovelia: "...Who *are* you?" Folmarv: "We are no friends of Duke Larg, nor do we sit in Goltanna's camp. Think of us simply as… allies." Cardinal Delacroix: "Lord Folmarv, let us leave our princess to collect her thoughts. When she comes to see the reality of her situation, she will doubtless wish to be our ally as well." Folmarv: "Indeed, let us give her time to stew."
[They leave. As they do, Delita lingers a while, until Folmarv calls to him to follow.]
Well.
That's quite a lot.
If you're confused by the references to a "Council," that's because the word has only come up a couple of times and is never clearly defined, but it appears to be some kind of Chamber of Lords/Parliament-style organization of powerful nobles who jealously maintain their own power in the face of royal influence.
The 'secret fake princess' is a wild twist, although I'm not sure what purposes it really serves, beyond giving the Council leverage over Ovelia - they can reveal she's not a 'real princess' at any time, compelling her obedience. It also, of course, ties into the game's themes of class - Ovelia may be of common blood, yet she has never behaved in anything but the most princess-like fashion, because Argath was wrong and nothing about noble blood sets men above their common kin, only the social structures and upbringing that are afforded them by their position. Folmarv and Delacroix could of course be lying through their teeth to get leverage over Ovelia, but precisely for this reason, the way it ties into the themes of class and birth, I don't think they are.
Also… man. The lethality and parentage within the royal family was always vaguely suspect, but "the Council straight-up had Louveria's children assassinated until Ondoria III was bed-ridden and incapable of siring another child, they moved to place the King's adopted daughter on the throne but she died an infant so they had her secretly replaced, then Larg/Louveria sought someone to sire the Queen a secretly illegitimate child to beat the fake Ovelia's claim to the throne…" This is just a multiple car crash of competing plots and assassinations. It's bloody and it's ruthless. Implicitly the real Ovelia might have been assassinated by Larg/Louveria just like Louveria's own children but if that were the case you'd expect Larg to act on that knowledge and reveal her false claim; it's entirely likely she died in infancy the way many children of that period did, throwing a wrench in the Council's plans and forcing them to adjust before their opponents could find out.
No longer Louveria moved so aggressively against her political opponents. They killed her children to keep her from power. These two camps were already at each other's throats long before the outbreak of actual war.
It does seem like Delacroix and Folmarv form a faction of their own - they're not giving up Ovelia to Larg who would have her killed, but they don't seem directly aligned with Goldanna either? Perhaps they form a 'church faction' whose purpose is to replace the power of either side of the nobility with that of a newly rejuvenated religious order. The Chronicle has an entry for High Confessor Marcel Funebris, effectively the pope of the Church of Glabados:
It informs us that the Church has lost some of its former power but remains a peer to the Crown; it is entirely possible that Delacroix, Folmarv and Delita are working to sabotage Larg's "royal bloodline" faction and Goldanna's "seditious nobility" faction in order to install a queen who is a puppet of the Church and allows a renewed theocratic rule of Ivalice.
All justified, of course, as liberating the people of Ivalice from the yoke of the aristocracy, and restoring them to a better, more righteous world where all are equal under the gods.
Which means they're probably keeping all of that information from their current 'ally' Gaffgarion, who seems to be a Dycedarg loyalist. It seems that Gaffgarion is next on the betrayal chopping block once he's disposed of Ramza and comes back to Lionel Castle.
We return to the map, though our next move triggers another cutscene.
There's Wiegraf - I wondered how long it'd be till he came back. Here is on the Lenalian Plateau, where Milleuda fought her last stand. He has set her sword into a shrine or tombstone of sorts, and is making a solemn vow to her.
Wiegraf: "Milleuda… pray forgive me. I thought to deliver swift vengeance, yet here I am before you, my own blade sheathed beside me as yours lies sheathed within the earth. I have failed at much, but I shall not fail you. Your killers will know vengeance! In this, at least, I shall not be disgraced."
[A voice comes from off-screen.] Man's Voice: "You speak of a thing beyond your doing."
[Wiegraf whips around, drawing his sword.] Wiegraf: "Show yourself!"
Hm.
Knight: "Put aside your sword. I've no wish to cross blades with the leader of the Corpse Brigade, even if the Brigade itself is no more." Knight: "...My apologies. My words salt wounds still fresh, and that was not my intent. Your men died valiantly." Wiegraf: "Make your purpose plain!" Knight: "My name is Loffrey, and I come at another's behest. My purpose is a simple one: to find you. We'd hoped you might be persuaded to work with us toward our common goal." Wiegraf: "Common goal? Ha! What jest, this? Claiming the bounty on my head is no goal of mine! But that is what you seek, am I not mistaken?" Loffrey: "Pardon my presumption, but I do not think the tears upon your cheek those born of laughter. Wiegraf: "..." Loffrey: "It is not coin that we desire. It is our wish to rebuild Ivalice - to uproot her foundations, and see that she is not twice made slave to nobility. And that *is* what you seek, is it not?" Wiegraf: "You have my ears." Loffrey: "Our ideals are not so very different. A fire burns in you, as it burns in us. Your strength, your passion - your spirit! We would welcome those to our cause." Wiegraf: "You mean to use me." Loffrey: "To every coin there are two faces. Do you not consider the other? Join us, and our powers become yours to wield. Have you, alone, the strength to venge Milleuda? Have you, alone, the power to grasp the reins of Ivalice?"
[Wiegraf lowers his sword; he turns around to look down at his sister's grave, silent and thoughtful, as the camera pans up and we fade.]
Well.
This 'Loffrey' guy might dress up in light blue instead of purpose, but no prize for guessing what his allegiance is - talking about a conspiracy moving to unseat the nobles from their powers and speaking in terms of mutual benefit and using one another?
I mean…
Akihiko Yoshida tends to have a sameface problem (not helped by the fact that humans in Ivalice appear not to have noses), but I'm pretty sure that's literally just Folmarv in a hood. He's even wearing the same golden armor!
Although… Hm.
If we treat colors as a sign of allegiance, Delacroix and Folmarv are both wearing purple, which we might deem the Church's color. Loffrey's blue habit could be subterfuge, or…
I suspect that Delita might not be working directly for the Church, but rather from a separate faction, a conspiracy hidden within all factions, and that his deference to Delacroix and Folmarv is as much of a deception as anything else. Although that might be overcomplicating things arbitrarily with no basis in facts.
And so Wiegraf is tempted towards the side of the conspiracy working towards the upheaval of Ivalice's social order - for good or ill.
III. Losing to the Undertaker at Tacticsmania 2024: Hell in a Cell Edition
Our next step is Lionel Castle Gate. When we enter the node, we are shown a menu with only one entry that we can't tab out of - no choice but to go in.
And immediately things appear… off.
Me, being Really Super Clever: "Hadrian is way higher level than everyone else except Ramza so I should bench him for now so everyone can have an opportunity to catch up.
Hm.
This is far from the first time the game has split our units into two squads. But because the maximum number of units is 5, the only way to divide that number are 2 and 3, or 4 and 1. And it's always been 2 and 3, because, well… Look at it. A 4 and 1 split means one character, Ramza, for no reason in particular, is just. Completely alone.
That's not weird at all.
I really like the setup here, because it makes internal sense: it's not easy to sneak an entire unit of heavily armed dudes and gals, so instead they're posted at the back door, waiting for Ramza to sneak in alone and open the door from the inside. This is the set up of countless 'how a besieged city falls' stories, starting with the city of Troy.
There's just one problem:
Unlike at Troy, Hector is lying in wait.
Ramza: "Wait there. I'll open the gate." Familiar Voice: "Rather let it remain shut!"
Welp.
Ramza: "We're surrounded!" Gaffgarion: "It's you and me now, Ramza! Shall we be about it, then?"
[OBJECTIVE: DEFEAT ALL ENEMIES!]
Oh, baby.
I was wondering how the game would do 'boss fights', and this is one of the two answers it's going to provide us with in this sequence of events. We've fought Gaffgarion twice before, but each time he was a powerful unit on the battlefield, who could still be fought with my entire team (with his entire team backing him up). He was 'the most powerful opponent,' but not a singular gameplay entity that had to be faced alone, because he wasn't quite powerful enough for that. The Fell Knight Gaffgarion is, at the end of the day, one man, not a monster who can defeat an entire squad on his own.
But the old man is canny. And so he has devised this trap.
This is the Hell in a Cell Cage Match between Gaffgarion and Ramza. Ramza's Squad of one is effectively completely cut off from the rest of the party. There are no off-ramps to jump down to rejoin the other party. Ramza must face Gaffgarion alone.
This is simultaneously incredibly hype and just about impossible. The problem is obvious as early as Gaff's first action: The old man fires off Shadowblade, hitting Ramza for 63 damage and healing himself for 63 damage.
More on that math in a bit. Because there's a secondary problem to deal with. Squad 2, which numbers only four units, starts completely surrounded by a group of six enemy combattants. These include one Summoner, two Archers, and three Knights. Not the most threatening units in and of themselves aside from the Summoner, but… Well, you'll see.
For my opening move, Gillian reveals that she may be a politician, but she's campaigning in the Deep South and pulls out a gun. Mustadio and her take turns shooting the Summoner, almost but not quite bringing him down. Unfortunately this means I have not gained a decisive advantage for my trouble when the two Knights close in and attack my frail shootists.
The Summoner immediately flees to a corner of a map and summons Moogle to heal himself, which gives me some breathing room. Agrias moves in, blasting one of the Knights with Cleansing Strike, then Osric summons Ramuh on the neat little clump of enemies at the center of the map.
On this great success, let's cut for image count.
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Final Fantasy Tactics, Part 9.B: Golgollada Gallows, Lionel Castle Gate, & Zeirchele Falls 2New
Well, not really. While I'm doing these sick strats, both Archers focus fire on Mustadio. It looks like the AI is plenty capable of zeroing down characters when they aren't scattered over the map. Our boy goes down. Meanwhile in the Hell in a Cell…
I decide to try and be cute and use Tailwind to give Ramza extra Speed that I hope can let him outpace Gaffgarion over the next few turns. This is a dumb idea. By the time Ramza takes his first damaging move - Binding Drakness, his new Iaido ability, which creates a shockwave of energy that deals 84 damage to Gaff - he's already lost two thirds of his HP.
Gillian pulls out the Glock and finishes off the enemy Summoner. This is now a… 5v3…? Yay…
One of the Knights moves in to stab Osric, putting him into critical HP, so I have Agrias move in to the rescue with Judgment Blade.
This is when I find out something extremely funny.
Judgment Blade does not have a friendly fire setting.
The enemy Knight is down. So is Osric.
Back in the Cell, Ramza and Gaff continue their back and forth - Ramza hits with Binding Darkness again for another 84 damage, Gaffgarion hits with Shadowblade for 63 damage, 63 regen. This duel has the inevitability of mathematics.
Ramza goes down.
This is a bloodbath, and it's also over. One Knight dispatches Hester. Lady Agrias stands alone against three opponents. Credit where credit is due, Agrias stands her own for the remainder of the fight; I withdraw into a corner to blast people with Sword Skills and she takes a shocking amount of punishment, retaliating with Counter Tackle, the reaction ability she came equipped with - unfortunately Counter Tackle is like Great Value Counter; it deals unarmed damage and so is absolutely dogshit on anyone who isn't a Monk or using Brawler.
This is our final screen when Ramza's timer runs out. Ultimately, there was nothing I could have done; even if Agrias had been an absolute superbeast capable of taking on all four surviving enemies on her own, that would have left her outside the door to wait out Ramza's timer and suffer a Game Over anyway. Accordingly, once Ramza is KO, all Gaffgarion does is withdraw into a corner and wait out the count.
So. That's a fail.
…
This was a very effective first attempt in terms of setting up the terms of the problem. This is not a battle that can be won by simply trying again and fiddling a little with the math and team composition. There's a hard floor here: If I can't make Ramza win, or at least survive, his fight with Gaffgarion, then nothing else matters.
Of course, that's not the only problem, just the one that has to be fixed or victory is impossible. The other problem is: Squad #2 just got totally rinsed. So let's do some testing.
Bringing in Hadrian for some high damage allows me to snipe enemies for high damage. Unfortunately, I forget to unclump my team and they all get hit by Shiva for 50+ damage. I try to have Mustadio use Leg Shot to immobilize Knights and win the action economy, but the success chance is too low and he whiffs. This is a total disaster on Squad #2's end. How is Ramza doing?
Hm.
Okay, we've clarified the terms of the problem. Here's how it goes: With his current build, Ramza deals 56 damage with Spirit Blade, 84 damage with Binding Darkness, and some number between the two with a normal Attack. That means his highest damage option is Binding Darkness with 84 damage per turn, higher than Gaff's Shadowblade.
The problem is that Ramza can't DPS-race Gaffgarion, because Gaff heals. With -84 HP/+63 HP, Gaff comes out of every exchange with -21 HP total, while Ramza comes out of it with -63 HP. Ramza dies in three turn, Gaffgarion takes ten turns to kill. It's mathematically impossible for Samurai Ramza to win through an exchange of blows.
So we need to seek out alternate solutions. Let's just continue experimenting for now.
You might have noticed that the castle gate has a somewhat conspicuous lever texture next to it. I did too. We've never before had environmental interactions of the 'pull a lever' kind, and it's on a vertical tile instead of conspicuously sticking out of the ground, so it could be just texture. But all we lose trying is some time. So let's give Ramza the Item command, chuck Hi-Potions, and go down to that lever.
How about that.
Okay, so it's possible to use the lever to open the gate. That changes things considerably… Maybe. It's possible for Ramza to join back up with Squad #2, or for Squad #2 to pour through the gate to gang up on Gaffgarion. But the asymmetry remains; Gaffgarion can also join forces with the six assholes on the other side, and they can follow us to him. Obviously, the fact that the gate's lever exists at all means it's intended as one possible solution to a very hard battle. The question is whether it's going to be enough for me here.
The answer, for now, is… Not really.
The cost of opening the door is not small. I have Ramza chucking Hi-Potions to make it, and each one is enough to heal the damage from one Shadowblade, but is also just treading water, and opening the door costs him an action. I try to have Hadrian move in to join the fight against the old man… Whereupon I make a nasty discovery.
The Dragoon needs to be physically able to jump in order to Jump.
Which, I realize may seem obvious, but was absolutely not on my radar in any way, shape or form: having a roof obstructs Jump. In the screenshot above, "no units or tiles can be targeted from current position" because Hadrian is standing under the gate, with the wall over his head. This totally blindsides me - it's never been an issue for Jump actions in previous games, because they treated terrain as largely aesthetic.
This screenshot shows Gaffgarion having 254 total HP. For some reason I cannot explain, his HP appears to fluctuates between attempts, sometimes to a significant degree.
So this is a loss. Gaffgarion hits Ramza again and it's game over.
This could be refined. Have a different party make-up, come in through the gate, have Ramza self-heal to survive, but… This particular attempt was such a total blowout that I'm not really inclined to try. Let's shelve the Gate strategy for now.
…
Can First Strike help?
Ramza's First Strike is, within its narrow purview, one of the most grossly OP abilities we've encountered so far. If, hypothetically, Ramza where to attack once (84 damage total), Gaffgarion to attempt Shadowblade but be pre-empted by First Strike (168 damage total) and his action canceled, then Ramza to go again (256 damage), Gaffgarion would be dead in two moves, instead of literally invincible. That's in a very hypothetical scenario in which First Strike also does the maximum damage Ramza is capable of (it probably wouldn't, his attack is weaker than Binding Darkness), and more importantly, Shadowblade has never triggered First Strike before.
But maybe that's because Gaffgarion is cautious to always keep a distance between himself and Ramza when using Shadowblade. The old man is too canny to expose himself to special close range moves and fires from two or three tiles away every time. However, First Strike is based on the range of Ramza's equipped weapon.
What if we make Ramza a Chemist, who can equip guns, and leave First Strike on so he can FS in answer to ranged attacks?
If this had worked it would have been really cool. Unfortunately it doesn't. First Strike's major weakness, it turns out, is that it only triggers in response to the Attack command. Anything with a name - including monsters' named attacks like Choco Beak that replace the normal Attack command - does not. So Gaffgarion is free to Shadowblade into a much weaker overall setup and avoid any retaliation.
Okay.
Let's do something I should have done earlier and briefly take the lay of the land. What are our enemies, anyway?
Note again how Gaffgarion has 214 HP this time.
It's grim. Gaffgarion is our highest level opponent, lv 18 like Ramza. That's one thing. But the entire ambush team are lv 15-17. Hadrian, my Dragoon, is lv 18… But every other member of the Akademy Team is lv 13 to 15. And Agrias and Mustadio? Badass special classes they may have, Mustadio is lv 12 and Agrias is lv 13.
They just don't have the juice. Not only am I outnumbered, I am outleveled.
So. At this point I need to pull back and think. What are my options? I can name a few.
I've seen people mention a tactic wherein they use Ramza's Speed-raising Tailwind move (and possibly Steel, which raises his Bravery?) to jack up Ramza's stats into an ubersquire capable of outspeed Gaffgarion so badly his damage and healing can't keep up. I don't really understand how to make it work. People have done it, so clearly it can done; I just don't intuitively see how that doesn't get me dead on the third Tailwind before Super Ramza is actually online. Maybe I'm supposed to alternate buffs and heals? This seems complicated and risky.
Ramza has a solid if very basic Monk setup. Unfortunately I focused on First Strike and offensive abilities, which aren't very useful in this fight, as opposed to survivability techniques like Chakra or Lifefont (which makes you regain HP on moving). With a bit more JP, I could acquire those and field a strong Ramza against Gaffgarion… The problem is that 'a bit more JP' is 'a few hundred JP,' and the only way I know of to feed Ramza JP is to hit things and use abilities in combat, which also gains XP. There's no way to give Ramza Monk survivability abilities without also making him outlevel Gaffgarion by several levels, at which point the victory isn't due to job-set up or tactics but just plain being overpowered through grinding.
As above, but Knight/Thief: Rend Weapon and Steal Weapon would both render Gaffgarion's threat insignificant by disabling his sword skills, which require a sword to use. I do have some JP left other on both Jobs, but actually grinding the rest of the way to acquiring the Rend/Steal Weapon skill would also buff Ramza up to a high enough level he could just win conventionally.
Shuffle my ability sets. Take off JP Boost on everyone, optimize everything towards a specific path to victory… But it's not like I have hundreds of JP of flex on everyone. Osric has a bunch so I could try and buy him some new summons, but I'm not sure which ones are actually good so it seems like shooting blind. Most other characters don't really have the flex to invest into new Abilities (including Support Ability, for the most part I don't have much to replace JP Boost with other than giving Osric Arcane Strength). Other than, again, grinding JP and ending up outleveling the encounter anyway.
Have Ramza play keepaway with Gaffgarion by running around and tossing Hi-Potions at himself while Squad #2 takes out the enemy ambush team. This is probably doable; my characters are outnumbered and under-level, but the enemy job spread is dogwater, so I can probably just be Good Enough to take them all while Ramza runs around the inner gate to Yaketi Sax, then opens the door once the rest of the party is ready to join him and beat up Gaffgarion. This is probably workable, it's just very lame and boring and I don't want to do it.
Open the gate, have the two parties join up as mentioned above. I don't trust myself not to turn this into a total clusterfuck.
This is a lot of options and not a lot of good ones. I've tried tweaking Ramza's skillset many ways based on his unlocked jobs, available abilities, and available JP, and the only way I can see for him to survive Gaffgarion are to just turtle until the rest of the party can save him.
Unless…
Hm.
IV. The Redemption of Kain Highwind
The first thing is, Mustadio and Agrias are just too low level. Grinding or no grinding, they're just straight up too weak to hold their own. So let's go cull the local monster population.
If you look very closely at the third and fourth picture, you might notice something: Ramza isn't there. That's because I realized that I'd just assumed that Ramza was mandatory in random encounters the way he is in main story battles, but after testing it, that's not actually true! We can take anyone we like in those battles, which means Ramza isn't doomed to skyrocket ahead of everyone's levels the way Squall FF8 is. Since Ramza (and Hadrian) are already my highest level characters, I can focus on raising the floor with everyone else.
Those two random encounters are the only 'grinding' I end up doing. It tips Ramza over to lv 19, which is neat, but mostly having Agrias and Mustadio both up to lv 14 - and it tips Gillian over the 800 Orator JP line she needs to learn Equip Gun, so she can now be a White Mage with a Glock.
So.
Our capabilities haven't tremendously changed at this stage. But Gillian's Faith and Ramza's Bravery have permanently increased, Gillian is now able to swap back to White Mage for better magic… I think I can see a pattern begin to form.
Let's go.
Step 1: With a little extra JP, I taught Gillian Protect. 5 out of 6 members of the Ambush team, the Archers and Knights, deal pure physical damage. With our party starting in a diamond formation, I can Protect Agrias, Mustadio, and Gillian herself.
Next…
Veterans have probably seen this coming. But here is something I've been noticing in previous runs:
The Gate blocks Hadrian when he is standing underneath it. But it does not block him from passing above it. While Vertical Jump 8 is not enough to land on top of the ramparts, Vertical Jump only restricts the tile which a Dragoon can target. It is not the height of the actual jump, which is for all intents and purposes stratospheric. As long as there is no ceiling above them, they can pass arbitrary obstacle.
That means Hadrian can actually hit Gaffgarion. This whole thing about needing to find a way to make Ramza stand alone unless I open the castle gate? That was a lie. Hadrian abides by no limitations. So how come I didn't win then? Well - Ramza attacked with Spirit Blade, dealing 56 damage. Hadrian Jumped for 117 damage, leaving Gaffgarion at 80 HP. This is the closest I came to defeating him; a single Binding Darkness would have sealed it. Unfortunately, it was Gaffgarion, not Ramza, who went again first, and he immediately Shadowblade'd Ramza, bringing him back up to 143 HP… And he moved out of Jump range.
I can never tell to what extent the AI is actually smart enough to do stuff like 'understand my Dragoon's Jump range and move out of it' and to what extent the terrain and movesets are tuned in such a way that a crude AI still ends up making the correct choices by carefully tuned circumstances. Either way - Gaffgarion moves out of range of Jump. The solution would then be to withdraw Ramza closer to the gate, but I don't understand the problem in time; by the time I realize that the only way to get Hadrian close enough to Jump Gaffgarion also takes him under the gate so he can't Jump at all, I am opening the Gate and getting Shadowblade'd to death.
That run was a wash. But it taught me how to win.
Which is where a seemingly random factor takes a little of the spice out of that victory.
The combat starts with Gaff using Shadowblade, Ramza using Binding Darkness, Gillian using Protect, and then Hadrian's turn comes…
…and Hadrian's Jump selection highlights a Gaffgarion with 195 max HP. 58 points less than in a previous battle. This would be a difference of several levels in a different fight. I didn't even notice at the time; I was so focused on my order of move that I just assumed Gaff's HP stayed the same. Gaffgarion is lv 18 in every fight. I do not know why his HP fluctuates so wildly. Is it his equipment? I am pretty sure it's static. Is it 'stat growth' being handled behind the screen? Are Gaffgarion's stats being randomized every time we load the battle? That's insane.
Either way…
Gillian casts Protect. Agrias blasts a group of three enemies with Judgment Blade. And Hadrian falls, like lightning, from Heaven - the camera angle tragically obscuring the blow behind the Castle Gate. 117 damage + 86 damage from Ramza's Binding Darkness = 203 damage out of 195 HP.
Good-bye, Gaffgarion.
In a sense, it's fitting that there is no further dialogue between Ramza and Gaffgarion. Everything they had to say to one another, they said at Golgollada. Ramza's idealism, Gaffgarion's pragmatism. Agrias's honor, Gaffgarion's will to see victory at all cost. But not just that - Gaffgarion spoke of fate and duty and a greater good. Maybe they were all lies to try and get Ramza to stop standing in his way, but… I don't think so?
I think that Gaffgarion is jaded and cynical and has had the pride and honor worn out of him, but he still believes. Part of him does, at least. Only, that belief has been subsumed into the ideal of Callous Necessity. There is a better fate for this land, a greater good to come - it's just that it's Dycedarg's ruthless machinations and Larg's endless scheming that will see it through, not any knight's pride or any saved princess, and Gaffgarion will shed rivers of blood to see that vision come through. He's not just a mercenary. He actually is a Dycedarg loyalist, and one who actually tried to get Ramza to stand down and do his part until it become clear that Ramza would stand by his principles.
At which point there was nothing left to say. Only a trap, a final duel, and a fateful outcome.
There was no way Ramza could have won, short of either extradiagetic levels of grinding or prepping the perfect build with knowledge of the game's systems. But Ramza didn't need to defeat Gaffgarion in single combat. Ramza is a Squire, the leader of his men, and not the strongest among them. Victory came from seeing through the lie of this duel, and tagging in someone else. Opening the Gate was the easiest way to do it - but the Dragon's Jump served just as well. Ramza won because he has people to rely on, and Gaffgarion lost because he tried to face his foe alone, with his backup being nameless Gryphon Knights borrowed from Cardinal Delacroix. Men who likely had orders to kill him too once the fight was done, before he could request Ovelia be given to him to take to Larg.
Trust remains the major theme of this game.
…
On the other hand, what an anticlimax. Two hits, and gone.
If Gaffgarion had been running at full power - with 253 HP as he had earlier - then, hm. Hadrian's attack would have left him at 50 HP. He would have used Shadowblade on Ramza, bringing him up to 113 HP, and he would have moved out of Hadrian's range. From there… Ramza could have used Binding Darkness again to bring him down to 29 HP. But Ramza could not have done this and lured Gaff back in range of Hadrian's Jump. Could I instead have had Ramza move back up the slope towards the gate, forcing Gaffgarion to follow and putting him in Jump range again..? It's tough to call. I've retried this battle a couple of time, and there's an HP range in which Gaffgarion does get to survive Jump and throw Shadowblade, but doesn't heal enough that Ramza's next Binding Darkness won't kill him next. The upper range, in which Binding Darkness can't kill him and suddenly I'm staring down the barrel of another Ramza kill, seems like a particularly unlucky roll of a dice.
It's a truly bizarre way to handle difficulty. I don't really want to win because the game rolled bad stats for an enemy who's meant to be a specific threat level, you know?
It doesn't matter, ultimately. We won.
Protect halves physical damage on all of my party members that I need to worry about damage for - Hadrian spends so much time in the air I basically don't have to worry about him until everyone else is dead. Attempting to zero down the Summoner has the amusing effect that the Knights, perhaps realizing he's their most valuable team member, close in to give him Potions. This does bring him up to higher HP; it also takes up these Knights' turns and lets me have Gillian cast Cura on injured party members. By the time the Summoner goes again and starts charging his offensive summon…
…Agrias hits him mid-casting animation with Judgment Blade, the extra damage killing him in spite of the healing from the Potions.
From this point, Ramza opens the Castle Gate while casting Tailwind on himself on the turns it takes him to cross over. By the time he joins in, we have an ugly melee with Knights staying close to throw Potions at one another and flank opponents, which proves to be their undoing.
Binding Darkness performs significantly better when Ramza can just move into a group of enemy and just blasts them with a shockwave of shadow energy. The enemy scatters in attempts to find breathing room and heal themselves, and we pick them off at our leisure.
And this concludes the final Gaffgarion battles. A truly heroic opponent, leveraging tactics deception and trickery along with terrifying battle power. In the end, I was never able to beat him one on one. The Gallows battle was a complex and challenging setpiece, though ultimately just an advanced 'normal' fight and I beat it on the first time - Lionel Castle Gate, in contrast, forced me to reconsider my entire approach to combat, to browse obsessively through my party roster weighing each potential party member and each ability I could combine, until I arrived at an answer.
It probably wasn't the 'right' answer. To an extent I was lucky Gaffgarion 'rolled' low HP, though there's a fairly wide range where I still would have won. There are likely much better approaches; I likely significantly overestimated the difficulty of using the Gate to regroup and move in force. I'm sure veteran players will have plenty to say about it. But it worked, and that's what matters.
Now, this is where the game surprises me - I expected a cutscene resolving the Princess's fate one way or another. And this is what happens - in a fashion.
V. History's Great Hero
Delita: "Your pace has slowed. Are you weary? We'll never make Zeltennia at this rate." [NA: Zeltannia is Duke Goltanna's province.] Ovelia: "Arriving sooner will no more make me a princess than arriving later." [She takes a few steps, and pauses.] "That day you saved me at these falls seems so distant now. Your promise to cut me free from the strings of those who manipulate me - it was an empty one, wasn't it?" Delita: "Empty or no, you've no choice but to follow me. The hounds are loosed. No bolt-hole is left to you. Run, and you'll still be hunted down as the princess who stands in the way of the throne." Ovelia: "Why must you say such things!?"
[Ovelia bows her head sadly, then turns away from Delita and starts quickly walking across the bridge, seemingly to try and put distance between them; midway through she halts and gasps.] Ovelia: "Ah-!"
Northern Sky Scout: "Hmph. I'd not thought to find the lady princess here. That thrice-be-damned Gaffgarion must have failed yet again. The man is naught but boasts and swagger. Our orders are to kill on sight. The princess does not leave this place!" Delita: "Fools! If it is your wish to die here, then so be it!"
Well.
The game could easily have handled what's coming as a pure narrative cutscene. Instead, it makes the choice to hand us Delita's reins. We control him for this battle.
Delita is lv 25, leagues beyond any member of our party. He wields an Ancient Sword, and combines 'Holy Sword' abilities with Arts of War, Counter, Safeguard (which prevents his equipment from being destroyed), and Move +1. He also has all the Sword Skills which Agrias can, potentially, in the future learn already unlocked. He's a beast, and his opposition of lv 08 enemies are basically there to be trod upon and show that there is, in fact, one man who is That Guy.
This is not a fight, it's a showcase. This is what Delita has become, childhood friend turned world-historical figure in the making, whose goals remain ever mysterious. A terrifying force of divine will, with more skills than we've ever seen before.
Can't help but notice that this perfect hero of the Church, this Holy Knight aligned with a Cardinal, this peerless paragon with an astounding Bravery of 85, has 40 Faith. Possibly the lowest score I've encountered on any character.
Surely this doesn't mean anything.
I won't belabor how Delita's callous demeanor toward the princess contrasts his claims to be working for her benefit. Maybe he's a good guy who's just an asshole; maybe he has his reasons; maybe he's barely keeping up the pretense over his desire to just kick her off the waterfall. Hopefully we'll find out, eventually. For now he remains a cipher. Only one thing is certain - he's a prick.
The 'fight' against the Northern Sky Scouts is barely worth writing about as such. Unlike in the previous Zeirchele Falls battle, Ovelia successfully completes her casting of Aegis, granting herself all status buffs, then casts Aegis on Delita, making him even more invincible than he was before. Then we just obliterate the enemies one by one.
By a quirk of turn order and specific damage counts, it's Ovelia who deals the final blow.
Delita: "Was that enough to lift the gauze from your eyes? Bathe the earth in bitter tears, and it will still be all too content to drink your blood. Bemoan your fate and wait for it to claim you, or take my hand and live. The choice is yours." Ovelia: "It appears… I have no choice."
[THE BATTLE IS WON!]
So ends this showcase battle. But once again, the game does not send us back to the world map. Instead, we are prompted to save the game, before getting access to our party roster menu once - enough to change jobs, abilities, equipment and so on, if needed. Which means, of course, that yet another battle awaits ahead.
But that is a battle for another day. Because this update is already long enough, and I have spent enough words on it, and what awaits us is…
Well.
The twist is that rescuing Princess Ovelia was always a fool's errand. Gaffgarion was misled - he probably never lied to us, he was just lied to in a way that gave us false information. While Ramza and his friends are rushing through Lionel Castle, Ovelia is already gone.
Only the Cardinal awaits. A man we know well to be ready to bloody his own hands.
…
It's weird that it stings to hear these random Northern Sky Scouts mock and dismissed Gaffgarion as "naught but boasts and swagger." They didn't know. And they never will, now that he's gone. He was our worthiest adversary, the mightiest of our foes. In spite of his age, his battle prowess was greater than any opponent we'd faced before, but that was not all - his traps actually worked, he laid ambushes for us far more sophisticated than Ludovich Baert's or the Corpse Brigade. He won, time and again, until through the magic of video games I was able to reload and refine my strategy with foresight not available to him.
In another life, Gaffgarion might have remained Ramza's shady but helpful mentor, whose lessons in cold pragmatism conflicted with the boy's heroic instincts. In another life, he might have stayed on as Agrias's vitriolic ally, a slow friendship started with venomous quips. The Fell Knight and the Holy Knight, angel and devil on Ramza's shoulders, pulling him towards two incompatible and equally uncompromising ideals to find his own path.
That life was not to be. Ramza has found his own path already.
…
Here's a bit of poetry: When Gaffgarion dies, he leaves behind a crystal. By moving over it, Ramza can use it in the normal ways crystals work - either recover HP and MP, or learn an Ability.
The only Abilities in that list, though, are for the Commands Ramza can actually learn. Potion, Reequip, in another iteration of this fight Aim+1.
Ramza cannot learn the Fell Sword Command, lacking access to a Job that would know it. And so he cannot learn Shadowblade, because he would lack any ability to use it. Though we vanquish Gaffgarion, and we acquire his soul crystal engraved with his knowledge, the only lessons he can pass on to us are simple fundamentals of lesser jobs.
We cannot learn the old man's greatest technique from him. That secret he takes to his grave.
So long, old man.
Thank you for reading.
Next Time: The end of Chapter 2?
Main Story Battle Count: 20 (we are not counting the Delita Special Event.) Random Battle Count: 23
Yeah, That was the big Rake of Chapter 2, the untelegraphed 1v1 Fite Me with Gaff. It's straight up a Hard Stop against anyone who can't either outpace him and outhealing him (Monk + Chakra Spam to get you to the switch is one route I used when I was younger), or shut down his drain sword by breaking or stealing his weapon and turning him into a joke.
And you don't even get any cool unlocks from the fight, as icing on the cake, it's a reminder that "no, you're not becoming something other than a Squire in this game", and an admonition to learn to play to your strengths--the one you discovered there of course is that "You have dudes still on the battle map, just because they can't reach Ramza doesn't mean they're not there", and had a Dragoon to orbital bombard the guy.
Ramza doesn't win battles by out-muscling them, he wins battles by outsmarting them, because he's always going to be the underdog against these specially trained super knights and what comes later. This is your test in your ability to come up with a Clever Plan to overcome a decisive difference in strength, because that's going to be a theme going forward.
Kinda curious how Gaff tried to convince Ramza to back down by talking about how Dycebarg wants him back when we know that his actual reaction was basically an indifferent "whatever".
In the end, maybe the bitter old curmudgeon cared more for Ramza than his brother's ever did, in his own way.
The funniest thing about this stage is that if Ramza is on Dragoon, you can just jump down to the lever with your first move because it's not enough z-levels. Ramza goes 'Old men suck and have bad morals' and presumably does a sick backflip off the walls to land next to the lever.
The funniest thing about this stage is that if Ramza is on Dragoon, you can just jump down to the lever with your first move because it's not enough z-levels. Ramza goes 'Old men suck and have bad morals' and presumably does a sick backflip off the walls to land next to the lever.
If Ramza was a Dragoon, couldn't he just ignore the lever altogether and jump back down to his friends, help them murder everybody up front, and then pop back over the wall to smack the lever, at which point Gaffy Garion gets Ceasar'd?
This, however, also confirms that named NPCs do get unique story dialogue in main story battle, dialogue which I don't want to miss, which means that I will, in fact, have to take them into every battle going forward. RIP my blorbos.
If Ramza was a Dragoon, couldn't he just ignore the lever altogether and jump back down to his friends, help them murder everybody up front, and then pop back over the wall to smack the lever, at which point Gaffy Garion gets Ceasar'd?
The game never tells you it's possible, but when you first get to Lionel Castle you have that back and forth with the guard, who comes down to flick the switch and open the gate. Of any map in the game, this is the most likely one to let you realize that pulling levers is possible and reasonable.
Omicron said:
Can't help but notice that this perfect hero of the Church, this Holy Knight aligned with a Cardinal, this peerless paragon with an astounding Bravery of 85, has 40 Faith. Possibly the lowest score I've encountered on any character.
Meanwhile, Gaffgarion makes an odd decision - instead of continuing to spam Shadowblade, he moves up to close range of Ramza and goes into a charging stance; it seems likely he decided to go for an Aim or something similar?
This proves a mistake. His attack triggers First Strike, canceling the hit and getting a Samurai katana attack to his face.
Ramza then immediately takes his turn, allowing him to move to the old Knight's back and deal another 63 damage hit. This brief sequence is enough to turn things around; we went through a doomed back and forth in which Gaff perpetually heals for more damage than I can deal to Ramza attacks a full HP Gaff -> Gaff attempts a physical attack and gets First Strike'd, negating his turn -> Ramza goes again, at which point Ramza has dealt 189 damage out of Gaff's 200 HP and theold man goes into crisis.
Gaffgarion: "Curse me for a fool, I'd not thought you'd grown so strong! I'd best retreat for now."
This sequence of events is fucking hysterical. Gaffgarion has been beating Ramza's towheaded twink ass up and down the execution ground and pauses for one second to properly aim a killing blow, then suddenly Ramza locks in and does Midare Setsugetsukka with Iaijutsu followup and all Gaff can do is stumble backwards, bark "jesus christ" and leave the premises immediately.
The cost of opening the door is not small. I have Ramza chucking Hi-Potions to make it, and each one is enough to heal the damage from one Shadowblade, but is also just treading water, and opening the door costs him an action. I try to have Hadrian move in to join the fight against the old man… Whereupon I make a nasty discovery.
The Dragoon needs to be physically able to jump in order to Jump.
Which, I realize may seem obvious, but was absolutely not on my radar in any way, shape or form: having a roof obstructs Jump. In the screenshot above, "no units or tiles can be targeted from current position" because Hadrian is standing under the gate, with the wall over his head. This totally blindsides me - it's never been an issue for Jump actions in previous games, because they treated terrain as largely aesthetic.
What tickles me about this little snag is that I can so clearly envision it two ways
1: Gaffgarion is so experienced he knows to watch for falling Dragoons and the moment he hears the whistle of Hadrian at something approaching the sound barrier he takes a step aside under cover and then if this were an OVA or something he'd lunge back in and take out Hadrian in one big hit while he was recovering from the fumbled jump
2: Hadrian: "HOLD FAST RAMZA, THE SKIES ARE YOUR ALLY THIS DAY"
Gaffgarion: *cartoonishly long step sideways under the gatehouse*
Hadrian, dropping his spear: "well guys i tried"
The Gate blocks Hadrian when he is standing underneath it. But it does not block him from passing above it. While Vertical Jump 8 is not enough to land on top of the ramparts, Vertical Jump only restricts the tile which a Dragoon can target. It is not the height of the actual jump, which is for all intents and purposes stratospheric. As long as there is no ceiling above them, they can pass arbitrary obstacle.
That means Hadrian can actually hit Gaffgarion. This whole thing about needing to find a way to make Ramza stand alone unless I open the castle gate? That was a lie. Hadrian abides by no limitations. So how come I didn't win then? Well - Ramza attacked with Spirit Blade, dealing 56 damage. Hadrian Jumped for 117 damage, leaving Gaffgarion at 80 HP. This is the closest I came to defeating him; a single Binding Darkness would have sealed it. Unfortunately, it was Gaffgarion, not Ramza, who went again first, and he immediately Shadowblade'd Ramza, bringing him back up to 143 HP… And he moved out of Jump range.
I can never tell to what extent the AI is actually smart enough to do stuff like 'understand my Dragoon's Jump range and move out of it' and to what extent the terrain and movesets are tuned in such a way that a crude AI still ends up making the correct choices by carefully tuned circumstances. Either way - Gaffgarion moves out of range of Jump.
Oh a Dragoon pogos back to their starting square after a Jump? That wasn't fully clear from previous posts and screenshots (or maybe it was and I'm illiterate) so I always assumed Hadrian was landing in the nearest adjacent square from his targets. That significantly changes the calculus from a giga-gapcloser like you'd get in FF14 to Intercontinental Ballistic Dude with the bounciest shoes you've ever seen.
Northern Sky Scout: "Hmph. I'd not thought to find the lady princess here. That thrice-be-damned Gaffgarion must have failed yet again. The man is naught but boasts and swagger. Our orders are to kill on sight. The princess does not leave this place!" Delita: "Fools! If it is your wish to die here, then so be it!"
Well.
The game could easily have handled what's coming as a pure narrative cutscene. Instead, it makes the choice to hand us Delita's reins. We control him for this battle.
Delita is lv 25, leagues beyond any member of our party. He wields an Ancient Sword, and combines 'Holy Sword' abilities with Arts of War, Counter, Safeguard (which prevents his equipment from being destroyed), and Move +1. He also has all the Sword Skills which Agrias can, potentially, in the future learn already unlocked. He's a beast, and his opposition of lv 08 enemies are basically there to be trod upon and show that there is, in fact, one man who is That Guy.
Ovelia: "Did you take us back to the exact same waterfall crossing as the last time on purpose or-"
Delita: "All shall know how much cooler I am than Ramza this day"
Here's a bit of poetry: When Gaffgarion dies, he leaves behind a crystal. By moving over it, Ramza can use it in the normal ways crystals work - either recover HP and MP, or learn an Ability.
The only Abilities in that list, though, are for the Commands Ramza can actually learn. Potion, Reequip, in another iteration of this fight Aim+1.
Ramza cannot learn the Fell Sword Command, lacking access to a Job that would know it. And so he cannot learn Shadowblade, because he would lack any ability to use it. Though we vanquish Gaffgarion, and we acquire his soul crystal engraved with his knowledge, the only lessons he can pass on to us are simple fundamentals of lesser jobs.
We cannot learn the old man's greatest technique from him. That secret he takes to his grave.
Aww I didn't even think about it at first but then your preamble got me all excited for the ludokino of Ramza extracting Shadowblade from Gaff's crystal.
Ramza: "None of those wicked arts of the fell sword for me, I am a virtuous warrior."
Also Ramza: *assails entire squadrons of soldiers with howling vortices of darkness like Zenos spamming Concentrativity*
Also, Folmarv in the original PS1 translation was called Vormav, a name I like better since 'Folmarv' sounds kinda silly. Like the name you'd give a Miles Gloriosus character, which as you've seen he's clearly not
Huh. No wonder I read that and go, "Never seen this before. Is it an extra for WotL?"
Also, yeah, Gaffgarion is that gruff old veteran who actually secretly like this young man who his benefactor hired to watch over. Ramza's idealistic stance probably reminds him of his pre-Fell Knight youth. Shame Dycedarg never much cared for his half-brother, only as much as how far Ramza can be manipulated/capable of disrupting his plans.
That Wiegraf cutscene though, I'm sure the outfit style is what allows us to make connection that the guy is one of the Templars. Which is why Folmarv wears purple while the guy wears blue. And Delita wears golden armor, because he is literally the Hero of this story.
Oh, and in my run-through of the Gallows, I had Mustadio and Gaff duel it out instead. In a manner of speaking.
Mustadio's Arm Shot stops the enemy from attacking for two turns-or-so, and has about a 40-60% success rate, so: battle opened and Gaff got locked down.
When people get Arm Shotted, they tend to leg it away from battle until they can fight again, so:
Gaff talks good shit. Gets shot.
Runs to go hide in the corner. Mustadio follows.
Gaff gets use of his arm back. Mustadio runs away. Gaff gives chase.
Mustadio drops another Arm Shot from 8 tiles downrange. Gaff turns back around and Barber of Seville's it offscreen.
Exit, pursued by a scrappy machinist.
Repeat for about 10 turns while Ramza, Agrias, and my ninja have a big 7-on-4 brawl in the background.
Honestly though I'm fascinated by Fake Ovelia. It's a shame she doesn't get any line; do you think Gaffgarion went the Lionel garrison asking for a blonde female knight with a theatre background and that one Archer whose lifelong dream it had been to play on the big stage jumped at the chance? Do you think she asked to study Ovelia's body language and Gaffgarion was like "girl I literally just need you to stand in one place in a white dress for five minutes do not make this complicated"? Do you think she tried out her best ojou-sama laughter before being told Ovelia wasn't that kind of noble lady?
I wonder how many times they ran through the scenario while they were waiting for Ramza to show up or if they just started doing improv theatre while they were waiting.
Loffrey: "To every coin there are two faces. Do you not consider the other? Join us, and our powers become yours to wield. Have you, alone, the strength to venge Milleuda? Have you, alone, the power to grasp the reins of Ivalice?"
Which, I realize may seem obvious, but was absolutely not on my radar in any way, shape or form: having a roof obstructs Jump. In the screenshot above, "no units or tiles can be targeted from current position" because Hadrian is standing under the gate, with the wall over his head. This totally blindsides me - it's never been an issue for Jump actions in previous games, because they treated terrain as largely aesthetic.
