As if FF2 said, “Screw you; you don’t get to go to Mysidia Tower yet,” I am inside yet another dungeon, this time without Layla.
It’s as if I got teleported into the final level of Contra, or a level in Life Force, or the set of Aliens!
I take a step into what I think is water, only to be greeted with a flashing screen, much like the Ice Cave or the Volcano in FF1.
Ack! We've gone to Game Boy mode!
Just like in FF1, it appears I lose HP with each step, but I don’t have to fight monsters while in the “water”.
What the heck? There are people here?
I find out that I am in the inside of Leviathan’s stomach! Apparently, Leviathan is so big in this game that he can eat and maintain an entire village. There is a man blocking my way. I try saying some phrases, but he gives me smarmy comebacks. When I say Hiryuus, he says, “They are almost extinct. Everyone knows that.” Instead of slapping him, I show him the Crystal Rod, and he starts spilling. He is Richard, a Dragoon who is also searching for Ultima. He tells me that he will help me fight the beast that is blocking our way out of Leviathan. Maria wonders whether Richard knows the fate of the Dragoons but decides to be cruel and say nothing directly to Richard about it.
Richard looks a lot like a Dark Knight in his character portrait. Hmmm...Dark Knight...Are you the Dark Knight who's been harassing me throughout my journey?
An old man tells me that Leviathan only swallows groups of people who bear a Crystal Rod (How many Crystal Rods have they made anyway?). Before I leave, I take a look around my surroundings.
This is the pool, where kids can swim in Leviathan's stomach acid!
Stay in one of Leviathan's five beds!
Need a place to store your stuff or read a book? Check out Leviathan's glorious storage room and library!
Disappointed that I can’t sleep in one of Leviathan’s comfortable-looking beds, I move on with my new comrade.
Eww, the acid is green instead of orange now!
If a Sea Dragon is making waves in Leviathan's stomach, does that mean it is sending waves of stomach acid at them? Ouch!
Once I start seeing teeth, I realize that I am in Leviathan’s mouth. There is a worm guarding a ship, and the only way it’s going to move is if it dies. Bring it on!.
The Worm is terribly strong. If it hits critical, it almost does 1,000 damage against one party member! Things get desperate as Richard and Guy die, so while Maria tries to heal herself, Firion switches to the Blood Sword and attacks in an attempt to drain its HP. This results in 750 damage, finishing the Worm off! According to the FF Wiki, the Blood Sword does insane damage against enemies with a large amount of HP. While I’m glad I won this fight, I do not think I will plan to use the Blood Sword against bosses in the future because it feels like cheating. You can read more about the Blood Sword in the series at http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Blood_Sword.
...although it can be fun to cheat!
In such a rush to get out of there, I get into a random encounter against five enemies, but it’s a pre-emptive strike! Firion flees the battle, and I take a trip to Altea to save and replenish my items before entering Mysidia Tower.
Leviathan Treasure Haul: Spiral Helmet, Power Armor, Power Gauntlets, Diamond Shield (guarded by monsters), and Earth Sword
The Mysidian Tower
Wow! All I did was walk up to the door. We've gone Game Boy again!!
The Mysidian Tower has new music that I can rock out to while I climb its many floors. I call the first floor the “Floor of the Canes” because almost every chest has a Cane in it. I throw them away from my inventory, hoping that I don’t need them later on. The next two floors make up the “Fire Floors” because I find flame equipment in the chests.
Even in the Mysidian Tower, there are doors that lead to nothing! Will this follow me to the end of the game?
This burns so much, but at least I can skip some random encounters, 1 HP per step!
When I turn the corner, I find a former foe.
Gigas! Let's see how much my characters have grown!
Sweet justice!
Among the enemies in Mysidia Tower, I battle with Imps, the Mysidian Tower's “screw you!” to quick victories. While they are easy to kill in one or two hits, an Imp can cast Charm 16, which confuses Guy and Richard often because 16 is the maximum level for spells. When a character is confused, he will attack himself or a party member, and unlike later entries in the series, hitting a confused person will not end it. I also find Large Malboros, which can poison and paralyze a character it hits.
When I reach the next room, I find a mage guarding the staircase. As if a regular Gigas wasn’t hard enough, now I have to fight the Fire Gigas! Check it out below.
As you can see, the Fire Gigas has two main attacks: Fire 16 and Rock, a strong physical attack. Thankfully, none of his attacks can really kill me, so I take my time and finish him off. Before continuing, Firion casts Exit so I can save my game and sell off some extra treasures. So far, I haven’t had to use a single Ether thanks to Aspil!
Seriously? You should have heard about this by now!
That's 11 key items filling up my inventory! Can't I store them somewhere?
Must be the Ice Floors.
Predictably so, I call the next few floors the “Ice Floors”. Just like in FF1, I find water so cold that it burns me (turning Game Boy on me) with each step, 1 HP at a time. The only threat in this area is the Basilisk, yet another enemy that can petrify me! I hope that Maria learns a version of Heal that cures stone soon.
Then I reach a mage in blue, and I already know it’s Ice Gigas time. Firion equips the Flame Sword, and Maria equips the Flame Bow, although I wonder whether her Fire 6 will be stronger. Check it out below.
Like his fiery cousin, the Ice Gigas has a strong physical attack. However, he chooses to spread out his magic attack, giving me a chance to buff the party before my assault. Maria casts Fire 6, and the damage is so high that I stick with it instead of trying out the Flame Bow. All in all, Ice Gigas is easy, and although it is getting repetitive, I leave and save because I’d rather be safe than make it all the way to the top and get a game over.
The Purple Floor! Josef would have loved it...
Strange. Shouldn't there be an elemental Gigas here too?
I pass through the "Purple Floor" and enter a white room with several pillars and doors leading to empty rooms. In the next room, I find the mage that I was expecting to find in the purple floor. When I speak with him, he becomes the Thunder Gigas. Check it out below.
Unlike his two elemental cousins, the Thunder Gigas is not to be trifled with! I quickly realize that if I don't get a move on, he can very easily take out my party. Thankfully, just like with the Commander Gotus battle, the Thunder Gigas is not smart enough to focus on one character at a time. I manage to win with only one casualty, Guy. Instead of exiting and saving, I decide that I am going for the top. I heal and begin what I hope is the final climb.
In the next floor, I find a hallway with long corridors that branch into several doors. All of them except for one are empty, and the one that isn't empty leads to the next floor. However, at the end of the corridor, I find the Flare spell, which is guarded by an Evil Flower and Commander Gotus.
Wait, Commander Gotus? I killed him! How did he end up in a treasure chest?
Thankfully, Commander Gotus is easier than before, as he only attacks me this time. He drops a Bacchus item, which raises my attack power for one battle. Then on the next floor, I find the Black Robe, which is being guarded by a Dragon in a treasure box. Surprise boss battle!
The sudden change to the boss music freaks me out, and at first, I feel completely out of my element. However, once the Dragon misses the first time and then uses Ice 16 the subsequent rounds to underwhelming results, I realize that I have this fight in the bag. Maria uses ElderIQ, which raises her Intelligence, and casts Fire 7, which tears the Dragon to pieces. In case you are wondering why Maria does not have her bow equipped, it's because I read that while bows are good, she should not have it equipped or in the item slot when casting magic so there is less of a penalty. The jury is still out on this one, but it sounds like conventional wisdom from multiple sources.
At the top of the Tower, you pull this stunt again?
I head into the door with the stairs and find Minh waiting for me at the top.
Minh! You're a sight for sore eyes!
He tells me that he is going to focus all of his power on the door.
The doors's been...thunderstruck!
After his amazing display of power, Minh falls to the ground.
If it's a concussion, Minh really shouldn't fall aslee--oh...Thanks you sweet fool!
I found the ORBS!! Just kidding...
I step inside of the sealed chamber and find five orbs. I gain strength, speed, intelligence, soul, and the Ultima spell. Without question, Maria learns the forbidden spell, and I make my way to Altea to heal and celebrate.
Before
I set sail for Mysidia, I stop by Altea to sell off extra items and replace all
the Ethers I consumed. For good measure, I get some additional Golden Needles
to cure stone, Maiden’s Kisses to cure Toad, and Crucifixes to cure Curse.
Did you not get the memo? We won!
That's better. I have some breathing room now.
I
sail to the southwest, where I find a tower in the middle of an island surrounded by mountains.
Wow, what a location!
Unfortunately,
I can’t enter the tower, so I head back to the ship to search some more. To the
south, I find a huge, forested continent. In the middle, next to some
mountains, I find Mysidia.
Looks like a nice, quiet place.
Are you guys Red Mages, or are you Black Mages who just felt like wearing red today?
I
enter Mysidia and find the grass is very bright green, and for some reason, all
the mages outside are wearing red. They have no idea who Minh is, but they tell
me that to unseal Mysidia Tower, I need the White Mask, the Black Mask,
and the Crystal Rod. I can learn about them from ancient books found in the
city. Another mage tells me that Mysidia houses the Goddess Statue that guards
the Crystal Rod. Inside the spell shop, though, I find a wonderful sight:
Cure spells, black magic, support, oh yeah! You can find them, at the market. We're talkin' 'bout Flea Market: Mysidia! It's just like, it's just like, a mini...mall!*
It looks like Flea Market Mysidia has every spell shop so far, including a new one including Barrier,
Wall, Change, and Holy, which costs 20,000G! Firion learns Heal, Layla learns Cure, and Maria learns Change and Holy. At the
weapon shop, Maria finds the Ice bow while Guy finds the Ogre Axe, and in the
armor shop, Firion finally finds an Ice Shield that’s not guarded by a Gigas! I
also buy Giant Gauntlets and Knight Armors for the party except for Layla
until I know that she is going to stick around for a bit.
After
my shopping spree, I speak with some more mages, including one who tells me
that the Black Mask is located on a small island in the middle of the sea. In
one of the houses, I find a book that tells me that the White Mask’s destiny lies
with a maiden of solid stone, while the Black Mask’s destiny lies with the
likeness of a drone. Before leaving, I check the other key words, and I learn a
lot of neat things about the world of FF2.
Ladies and Gentlement, Mass Effect and Star Ocean fans alike, may I present to you the original Codex--the Library!
Underneath
the town, I find the Goddess Statue. I place the White Mask on it, and even though it is on the likeness of a maiden, it is strangely still in my inventory just to mess with me. I heal, save, and head towards the island in the sea. I head east from my
location and find the small island in no time.
Found it!
Doesn't seem to leave much room to camp out.
The Tropical Island Cave
On
the Tropical Island, I find a cave filled with vines and pools of water. The
chests are hard to see here because they are green and blend in with the
surroundings. Inside, I fight some of the more annoying enemies of the series.
Flan! Use magic!
In this cave, I meet two types of Flan. Mallows are weak to Bolt, while Jellies are weak to Ice. During many of my fights with Flan, they run away
before I can kill them. In fact, even normal enemies are running from me. In a
fight with three Dual Zombies and one Dual Head, one of the Dual Zombies makes
a break for it before I can even hit it! Does living on a Tropical Island make
you a wimp?
Look how powerful Guy's new Ogre Axe is! I'm so glad I continued to train him with axes while I waited for a new one.
After
going up a set of stairs, I leave the Tropical Island cave and find a group
of natives wearing peculiar masks.
I recognize you; you're the Cult of Shy Guys from Super Mario Bros. 2!
The
Shy Guys try to sell me inferior equipment, but I pass and sell them some of my
excess items. Another Shy Guy tells me that I can find a pretty black mask of
my own deep down below. A few floors down, I find an odd sight.
This door doesn't fit here. I hope it goes somewhere useful.
When
I cross the door, I find a huge room with what looks like a rhinoceros guarding
a treasure chest. It’s boss time! Check it out below:
What
an easy battle! I bet I could have come here earlier in the game based on how
simple this area is. The only troubling part is having to use up MP to kill Mallows and Jellies, but because my party is so strong coming into this area
compared to the enemies, many of them just run away.
Tropical Island
Treasure Haul: Eye drop, three X-Potions, Ether, Thread, three Valiums, two Aero books, Thread, two Blind books, Garlic, Phoenix Down, Earth Drum, Death God,
1,000G, Sleep book, and Black Mask.
Mysidia Cave
With
the Black Mask in hand, I sail back to Mysidia to figure out what to do next.
The mages don’t tell me anything useful, so I travel east and find a cave.
It's nearby, so it's probably worth checking out!
The
inside of Mysidia Cave is a maze (of course) and has many doors (of course!). Many of the
monsters are the same, including the yellow Brains from earlier and Flan
monsters. The Flan du jour is the Pudding. He can poison
me when he hits, but he's weak to Fire.
Meet the Cockatrice of Mysidia Cave. If he hits you, you'll turn to stone, and you're not going to have a good time!
One day, I'm going to look back at these empty rooms and laugh!
After
wandering around the top floor of the cave, I find a peculiar sight.
Easiest boss battle ever! All I had to do with talk to him.
I
think about the text I read in Mysidia: “The Black Mask’s destiny lies with the
likeness of a drone.” I place the Black Mask on the Doppelganger, and he
disappears without a trace.
Hey, another FF staple: the Malboro! While it doesn't have Bad Breath, it can paralyze me if he successfully hits.
Hidden wall!
Another hidden wall!
My party experiences a new status effect: Dumbfounded. In this state,
characters are unable to cast any spells, so it's Mute/Silence in later titles.
That's my favorite pre-battle message; free hits!
Yay! This is why I check all those freakin' doors!
I
find my way to the bottom of Mysidia Cave, where there are even more chests
hidden behind fake walls. The enemies suddenly get tougher, and next thing I
know, a Great Chimera turns Maria and Layla to stone! I cure Maria, but poor
Layla gets the shaft because I want to save my last Golden Needle in case Maria
turns to stone again.
Sorry, Layla! Heal 3 doesn't cure stone.
Unfortunately,
I rush through a few of the battles without any thought, and I run out of HP.
After all that work, I’m dead!
During
my second try at the cave, I make it to the second floor when I run into a pack
of six Cockatrices. I try to fight them off, but when Maria and Layla become
petrified again, I try to run away. My luck runs out, and I go two turns
without fleeing. The angry birds petrify Guy and Firion, and it’s over before
it even begins.
On my third try in the cave, I take it very
slowly. I take my time to fight the battles, making sure I’m leveling up magic
and carefully plotting my next move so I don’t screw myself over by rushing it. I know the game will try to screw me, so why rush it?
Instead, FF2 is going to have to work to mess me up again!
Three Malboros? They really don't want Guy moving!
When
I reach the fifth level down, I start to run low on MP. A couple characters
still have Ethers equipped, and I can give them to Maria if I need them to. Guy
repeatedly runs low on HP because the Malboros have chosen him to be their
whipping boy, and I put Maria in the back row so the other three can get some
HP. There’s just something about her having more HP than Firion that weirds me
out.
The awesome thing about replaying a level is that I know which chests I can skip. There are four potions in there. La de dah!
I
make my way to the northwest corner of the room and find a door. I take a deep
breath, hoping that it’s not a trap. Inside, I find three treasure chests,
including the Crystal Rod. I have never used Exit and saved as quickly as I have in leaving Mysidia Cave!
Mysidia Tower, here I come!
Mysidia Cave
Treasure Haul: Black Armor, Power Staff, Flame Spear, Ice Bow, Ogre Axe,
Phoenix Down, Silent B, Golden Needle, two Drain books, Mini book, five Potions
(skipped four), Aspil book, and Crystal Rod
Before
I sell off some of my spells, I look up what Aspil does and find out it drains
MP, much like Osmose later in the series. Maria learns it since she uses the
most magic. Many thanks to the magic list found at this link: http://www.uffsite.net/ff2/magic.php.
As I approach the Tower, several
waves barrage my ship.
What in the world?
Next thing I know, I’m in a
strange passageway, and Layla is nowhere to be found! I hope she’s OK.
