Lunar Subterrane
- There’s a minor spoiler involved with this Tale that you’ll discover preeeeeeeetty much right at the beginning, mainly that Fusoya is not the main character of this Tale. It’s Golbez. Surprise! Golbez is a combination black magic user and fighter, and is quite powerful overall. He won’t gain health until he hits level fifty, though, so you’ll probably find that his high HP score won’t count for as much as you’d like. Though he’s an okay fighter, he’ll be using his magic for the mass majority of this chapter, and so should be shunted to the back row for the duration.
- You’ll start off in the Chamber of Sleep. Head north and you’ll find a transporter. To the right is a save point; to the left is a vendor. Use the transporter and you’ll wind up in the Lunar Subterrane. It’s a long climb through it, but there are no enemies to fight along the way. You’ll find a Hi-Potion, a Tent, an Ether, an X-Potion, and a Phoenix Down along the way.
- Once you hit B7 enemies will begin to appear, though Golbez can eliminate them easily enough with the repeated use of Bio. They’ll also only show up in a few places rather than appearing randomly. Keep climbing to find a Phoenix Down, a Cottage, a Hi-Potion, a Tent, Mythril Gloves, a Bronze Hourglass, a Unicorn Horn, a Tent, an Ether, a Hi-Potion, an X-Potion, a White Fang, a Phoenix Down, a Cottage, a Mythril Helm, and a Mythril Shield. You’ll have to wander a bit to find everything, but not too much. There’s a save point in the left-most room of B7, a healing pot on the east side of B5, a save point near the end of B4, and another healing pot on B3’s east side. When you reach the end of the trip Fusoya will join your party.
- Leave the Crystal Palace. You have a few different choices of destination at this point:
- If you head east of the Crystal Palace you’ll find a series of connected tunnels known as the Lunar Tunnel. This short side route will provide you with some easy treasure - an X-Potion, a Dry Ether, and a Blood Sword - and a bit of extra combat. The Blood Sword alone is worth the short trip.
- If you head south of the Crystal Palace you’ll find a cave beside some steps. Inside the cave you’ll find the Hummingway Abode. Here you can purchase items and receive directions. This is also where you’ll come to participate in the Challenge Dungeon when you’re finished with the Tale. You can purchase Cottages in here, and using those in conjunction with Quake to murder enemies will allow you to grind reeeeeeally quickly in this Tale. You’ll probably need the levels to survive. (Kill Fusoya if you feel confident about using other spells to kill mobs. Fusoya doesn’t last past this chapter, his stats besides HP never rise, and he caps out at forty anyway.)
- Go up the steps near the Abode and go southeast across the Moon’s plains to find the Lair of the Father. You can go here now if you want, but it’s not currently necessary, as you’ll make a trip here during the course of the Tale anyway. You could also use some levelling before you tackle its monsters.
- If you head southwest of the Lair of the Father you’ll find your next destination.
Impact Crater
- Follow the path through the first screen to the second. The path will split partway through; go west to find an X-Potion, then use the jump point to head south. There’s another screen waiting to the east.
- Wander west. There are two jump points here; the left leads to a Phoenix Down, the right to yet more choices. Go right to start to find Echo Herbs, then left to hop down to, yes, yet more jump points. The left will take you up to a Mythril Sword; the right continues the trip south. There’s a jump point nearby that will take you down to a Unicorn Horn, and if you walk right you’ll find another jump point that will lead to another screen.
- Head left to find a Hi-Potion and a jump point. The path winds east, south, and west; use the next jump point you reach to get at a Cottage, then jump back down and continue west and south. Grab the Ether to your right before taking the southern jump point down to a save point. Use it. Make sure you heal, too. You’ll need the health.
- Head west to find another screen. Go north when the path splits to hit a cut scene - and a boss battle, a proper boss battle, that’s long overdue.
Mysterious Girl
This fight is a pain. The Mysterious Girl immediately summons Asura in to help her, and the Eidolon will perform one of three services: Curaga on the Girl (white face), Shell on the girl (black face), or a physical hit to either Golbez or Fusoya (red face). All three suck, but the physical hit really hurts. (All the more reason for Golbez to be in the back row.) The Mysterious Girl herself will spend the battle casting powerful spells on your party, either Thundaga / Blizzaga on both members or Firaga / Bio on one.
Unless you’re in good shape - which is to say, right at the beginning of the fight - let Golbez focus on the offensive stuff while Fusoya heals. Cast Shell and Protect to kick off the battle, then apply Curaga liberally to survive incoming attacks. Curaja shouldn’t be necessary. Slowing the Mysterious Girl will help space out the damage-dealing from the other side, as well, so use it near the beginning of the battle. Golbez can use whatever attack spells he pleases, though the -ga level spells provide the best value. You can’t hurt Asura, so focus all attacks on the Mysterious Girl until she bites the dust.
- Run back and use a Cottage to heal at the save point once the Mysterious Girl is slain, then carry on west. There’s more travelling to go. Head north until the path bends, then take the jump point on your right. It leads to a Dry Ether. Hop back up to the higher path, then hop north and take the western path as it heads south. There will be a jump point on your left; ignore it and go south to find an X-Potion. Backtrack, use the left jump point, go south to find an Emergency Exit, then head north.
- Next screen. Head east to a split, then go south and loop clockwise to find a Dry Ether. Return to the split and go north. At the next division you’ll find an Antidote on your right, an Ether on your left, and the exit in the northwest.
- Almost done. Head west and grab the Dry Ether sitting in the open, then head back north and along the narrow paths beyond. There’s a Hi-Potion on your right. In the north you’ll be forced west; go south at the next split to find a Cottage, then head north and west. If you make a brief sidetrack before heading north again you can find a Diamond Armlet in the chest you kept seeing but couldn’t reach. To the north is the exit to another screen, and beyond that the exit from the Impact Crater.
Lair of the Father
- Your next stop, in case you hadn’t visited it before, is to the northwest of the Impact Crater. The enemies in the first area here are pretty easy, but they get a fair bit stronger later, so be cautious.
- B1. There’s a split in the path to the immediate south. To the south you’ll find an Aura Staff; to the east and through a secret wall you can find a Dry Ether, as well as the path to the next floor.
- B2. This is a straightforward path. Follow it west and north, grabbing the Ether along the way. At the end of this eastern path you’ll find an Ice Shield. Heal up if need be before crossing the thin bridge leading north, as it will force you into a boss battle.
Count Malboro
Okay, so, it’s not meant as a boss battle, but it’s one of the toughest foes you’ve fought thus far. The Count Malboro not only hits really hard, but it can inflict just about every danged status ailment in the book with Bad Breath. Very irritating, especially if it decides to target Fusoya rather than Golbez. Paralysis is also pretty irritating, though less so. Use Esuna / a Remedy to get rid of the effects of Bad Breath, Slow to stop it from taking so many damned turns, and your absolute strongest spells to wipe out its health.
- B3. There’s a thin path ahead, and though it looks clear you’ll have to face more compulsory fights, namely two more Count Malboros. Use Osmose between these fights to steal the MP needed to Flare them to death. Once you reach the end and watch a cut scene, Teleport out of here.
Lunar Subterrane
- Head back to the Crystal Palace, save outside, and wander in. Heal up if necessary, then enter the Crystal Room. Boss time!
Mysterious Girl
She’s baaaaack. You need to go another round with the Girl, only this time she brings out Leviathan to play, not Asura. This battle is much easier than the last, both because you’re probably stronger and by virtue of the Girl’s Eidolon. Leviathan will start the battle - after a round or two, anyway - with Tidal Wave, which should inflict around a thousand HP to both of your characters. He’ll then probably focus on physical attacks, or often do nothing, while the Mysterious Girl uses her usual spells. Slow the Girl, Shell / Haste your team, and blast her with black magic until she dies. Unless your health is low you can get away with Fusoya joining Golbez in demolishing the Girl. As before, don’t bother attacking Leviathan - you’ll do no damage whatsoever.
- Descend into the Lunar Subterrane after the battle. Yep, you need to walk through this whooooole dungeon again. Sigh. There are enemies now, too! Peachy. It’s not much harder than walking anywhere else in this Tale, and Quake will murder just about anything. There are a few new things you can get along the way this time, as well:
- On B1 you can walk through the right wall to reach a teleporter to B2. Here you’ll find an X-Potion. Don’t bother going any further along this route; it’s just a dead end. (In Final Fantasy IV it led to something useful…)
- On B3 you can find a Dry Ether through a secret wall in the south, a Decoy further south, and an Icebrand west of that.
- On B4 there’s an Elixir in a small cave on the west side of the upper platform.
- Near the bottom of B5 there’s a doorway to the right of the exit where you can find a Remedy.
- On the west side of B6 you can cross an invisible bridge to find a path down to the lower half of the area, where you’ll find a Luminous Robe, and, further east, a series of teleporters that will guide you to a Soma Drop and a save point. Only proceed to the save point if you need it, however, as there’s a dead end beyond.
- There are two rooms in B7 you couldn’t enter before. The first is empty; the second contains a Dry Ether and a Remedy.
Make sure you save in B7, as you’ll hit a boss fight once you reach the bottom-most room in the Subterrane. Not him again.
Zeromus’s Malice
Wowee, the boss of Final Fantasy IV makes a comeback. Zeromus is much easier this time, however, as he relies on three spells: Bio (frequently), Flare (infrequently), and Black Hole (infrequently). They’re all strong, but not strong enough to kill you. Use the Double Black Magic Band you learned before the fight began three or four times to bring Zeromus down. Alternatively, just cast Reflect on Golbez and Fusoya. All of Zeromus’s attacks will just bounce back at him and do the damage for you. The only attack that will bother you thereafter is Black Hole, as it will force you to recast Reflect. if you decide to do the damage yourself, throw in a slow for good measure - Black Hole doesn’t dispel its effects. Eventually Zeromus will cast Big Bang and end the battle. This also brings the Tale to a close… kinda, anyway.
Part Eighteen: The Lunarians' Challenge Dungeon