Zeromus EG (Day 116)

Here they are, all nine of the Lunar Summons. God that took a long time.

After a long process of hunting down and defeating all the Lunar Summons, I overcame and went on to defeat Zeromus EG. I'm not sure what the EG stands for, but it might mean, Extra Grade, like they have grade levels in Bandai Gundam model kits.
I had to beat the game two more times to unlock Edward, Cid, Yang, and the Twins' quests in the Lunar Ruins. It was not a tough feat, but a tedious one. Having to see the ending over and over again isn't that fun neither. But I was hungry for the prize, and in some ways, wanting to get it over with.

Here's my final setup for my party:

1. Kain (level 81 Dragoon)
   
1. Dragon Shield
2. Abel's Lance
3. Dragon Helm
4. Dragoon Plate
5. Dragoon Gloves
   
2. Rydia (level 75 Summoner)
   
1. Assassin Dagger
2. (empty)
3. Ribbon
4. Rainbow Robe
5. Mist Ring
   
3. Cecil (level 81 Paladin)
1. Ragnarok
2. Crystal Shield
3. Crystal Helm
4. Caesar's Plate
5. Protect Ring
4. Rosa (level 78 White Mage)
1. Perseus's Bow
2. Perseus Arrows
3. Ribbon
4. White Dress
5. Protect Ring
   
5. Edge (level 80 Ninja)
1. Sasuke's Katana
2. Mutsunokami
3. Ribbon
4. Assassin's Vest
5. Hanzo Gloves
   
6. Everyone else?
   
1. Maybe next time!

Onward to Final Fantasy V!

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• Game Time: 35 hrs and 48 mins + 50mins lost time.
  
• Days: 116
• Beastiary: 90%
• Defeated Zeromus EG.
  
• Deaths/ Gameovers : 4
  
• Chomped by Lunasaurs
• Charred by Red Dragon while trying to get Crystal Gloves
• Death by Plague while trying to get Holy Lance
• Sliced by Odin

Lunarian Ruins (Day 115)

It took awhile for me to retrieve all the sacred weapons in the Crystal Palace. Ogopogo that guards the Masamune for Edge took me up for a scare. The monster is a replica of Leviathan, but according to Wikipedia, it is of Salish myth. He does major wave damage, so you just have to cure regularly; I basically used both Rosa to do Curaja and Rydia evoking Asura to heal. I guess I was a bit under leveled still. It was not too bad though, no deaths. The next one that I had to fight was Dark Bahamut for the Ragnarok sword, which was once the Crystal Blade. He's a bit of a challenge because of his Megaflare attack, but thankfully it doesn't hit Everybody, but just a select three. I pushed back with summoning Bahamut myself and curing as much as I can. Once again, Rosa is my MVP.

After collecting all the final weapons for the fabulous five (Cecil, Kain, Rosa, Rydia, and Edge), I remembered that I had to get Odin. I was still a bit uneasy about fighting him after my defeat from him when I was at level 40 with 2500 HP. I was still under 4000 HP for the most part so I switched Edge out for Yang, just for a bit of insurance. This time I beat him without a problem. He was able to slice me once, but all of my party members survived and Kain jumped out of the way. Acquiring Odin meant the end of the summon magic quest, and I had only one thing left to do... beat the game.



Now beating the game was no biggie, I was actually kind of anxious to get to get this game over with. I wasn't sure if Big Bang will be a problem for me. The battle was usually kind of one-sided against him, you're easily having a really easy time or it will be hell. I read somewhere that the GBA version of the game is of normal difficulty, the SNES is of easy, and the PS-One is of most difficult. Since it was going to be harder than the one of SNES I decided to bring my "A" game to the battle. I had Edge throw everything including the kitchen sink at him and Kain jump as much as he can. I used Bahamut's Megaflare and almost both Cecil and Rosa to heal. It was a pretty long fight, but I got it done. I beat the game, yeah right. I didn't know there was a Lunarian Ruins section. No wonder my beastiery list was only up to 70%, there was a whole new dungeon to face.

The Lunarian Ruins are unlocked once you beat the game. For every person (including the new party members like Edward and the Twins) that you that you beat it with, a section of the Ruins is unlocked. Theoretically, you only have to beat the game twice then, but since you cannot switch Cecil out, you have to do it three times. And now I enter another section of the game that I've never played.

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• Game Time: 30 Hrs and and 2 mins + 50mins lost time.
  
• Days: 115
• Deaths : 4

The Trials of Heroes (Day 106)

After the battle with the Robot of Babel, the new GBA version of Final Fantasy IV has a new added feature, the trial of the other heroes. You're allowed to use previous characters at Mysidia, and the new dungeon, a new section at Mt. Ordeals is opened. The purpose of that area is so that you can get final weapons and armor for the other characters: Yang, Edward, Cid, and the twins. I went through it without much trouble. You'd have to have them in your party, so it's best to take them one at a time. If you're gutsy, you can get 2 or 3 at a time.




For instance, your battle for Yang's final weapon brings you to a fight with a Storm Dragon. Not too difficult at level 53, but I think you can do it in your high 50's. Always have Rosa with you, so she can heal your party up. It's probably the most important person in your team. By now she has Curaja, and everything should be easy with that at your disposal. After defeating the Storm Dragon, you'll be rewarded with the "Hand of Gods" - probably the same final weapon for Tifa in Final Fantasy VII. Cid's trial leads you to a fight with a Death Mask, and his reward is Thor's Hammer (an item from Final Fantasy I, found in Kraken's underwater dungeon). Edward's trial leads you to a fight with a Gigas worm, where you are rewarded with Apollo's Harp. I think this is genuinely a new item, unless it was created in Final Fantasy V. Porom's boss fight is with a T-Rex, and upon defeating it you will receive the Seraphim's Mace. Palom's boss fight is probably the most difficult, but nothing too bad with cautious fighting. Defeating the Master Flan will grant you Triton's Dagger.

All in all my quest is nearing the end. I still haven't defeated Odin, but it's a matter of time before I can get my HP high enough to survive one strike. Of the final weapons for my own team, I have acquired two: the Muramasa and Holy Lance (which was once the Lance of White in the SNES version). I finally got the two Ribbons from the Lunasaurs and the Crystal Plate for Cecil. More leveling to be done until I fight with the uber bosses before the end.

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• Game Time: 19 Hrs and and 23 mins + 50mins lost time.
  
• Days: 106
• Deaths : 4
  
• Chomped by Lunasaurs
• Charred by Red Dragon while trying to get Crystal Gloves
• Death by Plague while trying to get Holy Lance
• Sliced by Odin

Descent of the Dragoon (Day 92)

It's hard to say who's the hero of Final Fantasy IV because although Cecil is made to be the leader of the final party of five, Kain seems to have won the hearts of many game players. Kain, the solemn dragoon that pairs up with Cecil at the beginning of the game and is later manipulated to betray him, is shrouded in mystery. Not only does he betray him, but he does it twice! Although Cecil passes the trial of ordeals through the mountain, Kain finds himself returning to the dark side a couple of times before he joins them in the end. Nevertheless, he comes back strong every time. Not to mention his implicit affection for Rosa, which might have been used to divide him and Cecil. He steals your equipment but we still love him though. Hell, he's the one on the original logo design of Final Fantasy IV. He brought the dragoon class to North American audiences, and we won't see another one like him until well... Final Fantasy IX's Freya Crescent?

So my adventure continues as I go on to collect the elemental crystals and defeat the guardians that Golbez commissioned to protect them. After disposing of Baigan and the fake king of Baron, I enter the Tower of Zot. My party now consists of Cid, Tellah, Cecil, and Yang, an interesting team of front line fighters. Who do you find at the top floor of the tower? three girls that are under Barbaricia's command, better known as the Magus Sisters. It's odd how of all the things that resurface from Final Fantasy IV, it's these three sisters that return in Final Fantasy X. Sandy is lanky, Cindy is fat, and Mindy is short. I guess they were meant to be a joke, but they did make a nice impression on us.

After disposing of them we battle Barbaricia herself and confront Golbez. Tellah loses his life casting Meteor (Meteo in the former version), and Kain and Rosa return. They realize that there are Dark Crystals in the underworld, literally the underworld and they travel to Agart to dive into the earth. Cid leaves the party. A fight with a possessed doll brings Golbez back into the picture, but Rydia returns to save the day.

A race to the tower of Babel leaves Yang killed in an explosion, and thrusts you back to the over-world. Saving the prince of Eblan, Edge, brings you back to a party of five. From there the fight leads you to find Yang again in the Sylvan cave. A return to the Cave of Summons grants you a visit with Asura and Leviathon, King and Queen of the land of summons. Alas Kain betrays me a second time at the Sealed Cave and retrieves the last Dark Crystal for Golbez. I fly to the moon to find FuSoYa and learn about my Lunarian lineage. I return to defeat the robot from the Tower Babel, and now the "End Game" Begins.

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• Game Time: 13 Hrs and 59 mins
  
• Days: 92