Final Fantasy II Part 13: Impending Destruction

What in the World Happened While I Was Away?

I pass Altea and notice the town is completely destroyed. I can't even enter it. I quickly realize that the game is going to hit even harder than before when I notice the random encounters occurring outside of the game's first town.

A Big Horn outside of Altea? We're in trouble!

I pass by Gatea and also notice that it's destroyed. 

Ack! A tornado!

I enter Phin, which appears to be okay, but a kid tells me otherwise.

I'd say at least your buildings are intact, but no citizens can be problematic. What's up with this Whirlwind?

Inside Phin Castle, I also find out that Poft was destroyed by the Whirlwind. Apparently, the Emperor used his magic to create it, and if I were to attempt to enter it (What is this, Twister?), my body would be torn apart!

I guess the Emperor won't get torn apart by his own Whirlwind.

Inside the Throne Room, I get a pleasant surprise.

You must be a really good swimmer!

I guess it's hard to be positive when three towns are demolished by a Whirlwind, with Phin being next.

I learn from Gordon that I can only enter the Whirlwind if I can take flight. The word "flight" sticks out like a sore thumb, so I take my ship to Dist to check on the egg I saved.

When I reach Dist, Richard tells the kid that he was a friend of his father.

Whoa! Is that a Dragoon custom? Lost your friend? Get his wife and kid!

With no new information about the Hiryuu, I reset and return to Phin to ask Hilda and Gordon about the Hiryuu. Gordon knows nothing, but Hilda says that they used to use the light of the Pendant to call the Dragoon and the Hiryuu.* 

Shiny! I told you I'd be back!

I approach the mirror and show it the Pendant. The Hiryuu flies into the castle and unites with Richard. Wondering where the Hiryuu went, I open my inventory and find it.

OK, I thought a House in FF1 was ridiculous, but this takes the cake! Someone told me that it's supposed to be a flute to call the Hiryuu, but I choose to believe it''s the real deal.

Here goes nothing, Hiryuu! He looks kind of dopey... :(

Inside the Eye of the Whirlwind, I fight many tough monsters. After some Cockatrices run for their lives, I fight a Golem who actually looks like...

Thing?! I thought you were a good guy!

The Golem/Thing is very difficult, as if FF2 decided to hold a grudge with me ever since I defeated Gigas and his three powerful cousins. It takes several rounds to defeat him, but it gives me a chance to power up my Ultima spell, which does around 100 HP damage just at level 1! However, he is a tough foe as he hits hard and puts his targets to sleep!

On the second floor, I win the Poison Axe from a fight, giving Guy a welcome power boost! Then, lucky me, I find another Poison Axe in a treasure chest. After finishing exploring one side of the Whirlwind, I exit, sell off some excess items, and save before attempting the other side.

Commander Gotus again? He is resilient!

Oh no! Could this be the next Gigas fight?

Ah ha! Weak to fire!

After several blue floors, including spots where I lose HP per step, I enter an unusual place to be inside of a Whirlwind.

A palace! The Emperor is crazy!

At the edge of a staircase, I find a treasure chest with the Wind Flue. Inside of it, the Green Dragon lies waiting to strike! Check out the carnage below.



The Green Dragon is more powerful than his Dragon brother. It can use Mist 16 on everybody or attack for heavy damage. Halfway into the fight, I experiment with my magic and find that Bolt is effective against it, so I switch tactics and let Firion and Maria rip it to pieces with Bolt 3. For my efforts, I find the Greed Cane.

At the top floor, I find the Emperor sitting in his own personal Throne Room in the Eye of the Whirlwind. Watch the action below.



Afraid of what's coming to him, the Emperor sends out Corpses to attack me. I take them out easily, and then he assaults me with two Corpses and a Golem. I defeat his minions, and the Emperor turns out to be a complete joke, even easier than Borgan! When I return to Phin, Hilda and Gordon prematurely celebrate victory when a dying Rebel soldier reveals that the Dark Knight has been my former companion Leon all along! I accidentally skip through some text, but when I read it again in my video, it says, "I completely forgot about him!" I die laughing!

Whirlwind Treaure Haul: Ripper Knife, Poison Axe, Diamond Gauntlets, Diamond Helmet, Defense Sword, Diamond Armor, and Wind Flute

The Rebels are concerned because I will be unable to enter Paramekia because of the high mountains. However, when I hear mountains, I think Hiryuu, but when I get there, I can't figure out how to use it, so I use my Chocobo to figure out where to go next.

Hmm...Airship is still there, but Poft is gone. Where is Cid?

I head back to Phin. Stumped, I check the walkthrough mentioned before and realize I am supposed to talk to Paul the Thief, the one person I missed!

You're right. Cid is normally pink!

It turns out Cid was taken down in the Whirlwind, but the Airship is completely okay. I just have to go get it so I can get into Paramekia. Weird question, though. If the Hiryuu can take me into the eye of a Whirlwind, why can't it take me to the castle? Cid asks me to take care of his life's work and then dies.

Very sensitive, Paul!

In a random battle on the way to the Airship, I fight several Sergeants and Sorcerers, and one of them drops the Haste spell! Firion learns the spell, and now I can boost how many hits I get per attack, just like in FF1!

Here we go!

Paramekia Castle. Bring it On, Dark Knight!

I land inside of the highest tower of the castle and make my way to what I hope is the Throne Room. Instead, it's a trap door.

Ouch! Well, at least I'm in.

He's not Leon, but he's definitely one of those Dark Knight punks who killed me during the Prologue!

Throughout Paramekia Castle, I find many chests containing junk items that I throw out on the spot. In another chest, I find that Bolt Spear, which leads to fight with a Shade. The Shade looks like the Emperor but is much much harder. He curses Firion and Guy, leaving Maria and Richard alone for a few rounds. For the next set of rounds, he repeatedly attempts to cast Curse 8 on the party and misses until nearly the end of the fight. Luckily, Shade is the most difficult enemy here, and despite the castle being a long and confusing area, I am finished with it.

I finally reach the Throne Room and confront the Dark Knight. Watch what unfolds.

Paramekia Treasure Haul: Diamond Armor, Buckler, Knife, Garlic, Egg Timer, Bolt Spear, Heart, Valium, Magic Cane, Greed Cane, Evil Cane, and Sun Sword

A picture of my new party member. It looks like Leon is extremely skilled in several fields, but I am going to stick him with a sword and shield, if possible.

When I re-enter the Throne Room, Layla tells me that the Emperor sold his soul to the Devil to come back to life. Hilda tells me that Paramekia Castle has become the ancient demon castle Pandemonium. I find out that the only way I can reach this castle is to visit Jade, something the sages at Mysidia should be able to fill me in on. 

Taking Care of Business

I fly to Dist to share the bad news with Elina and her son. Elina is devastated by Richard's sacrifice, and when I press on the topic of Dragoons, she tells me she and her son are going to leave Dist. Before she leaves, she tells me that I will carry on the legacy of the Dragoons by wielding the Excalibur! 

In the library at Mysidia, I read that Jade is the passageway between the world and Pandemonium. Recalling Layla's information that Jade is a strait to the east of Mysidia, I hop onto the Airship and see if something new has popped up in the area.

I love Airships! It's a bit sad that there is no Airship theme in this game though...

Deep inside of that passage, I know that I will find Pandemonium. It took a long time, but have I finally reached the Home Stretch of FF2? Will my hard work have paid off, or will this be a rude awakening? There's only one way to find out!

But we won't be going in without being truly prepared first.

Here is my party before I enter Jade Passage.

Check out the Change trick featured in the Leveling Guide I used earlier. Here is the address: http://www.gamefaqs.com/nes/563414-final-fantasy-ii/faqs/21734

Using Change means that I lose pretty much all my MP, but it's OK. I'm rich and can afford to sleep it off!

Coming next time! Final Fantasy II Finale Part 1: Exploring the Jade Passage!

Thanks for reading, and leave your comments below!

*Many thanks again to Amar Kishan's walkthrough of FF2, found at http://www.gamefaqs.com/nes/563414-final-fantasy-ii/faqs/10175. Without looking at this guide, I may have traveled all the way down to the bottom of Dist Cave to find nothing and have wasted my time!