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[TA]

I'm sure this item name makes a lot more sense to the Japanese. It turns Setzers Slot command into Zeninage. Maybe Heiji is the samurai who put the idea of throwing money at enemies into the Japanese cultural consciousness?

Sorta!

Gil Toss references a popular series of Japanese novels from the 1930s about a policeman in the Edo period named Zenigata Heiji, who captured criminals by throwing coins at them.

[Classic]

Who is also referenced by other Zenigatas across media?

Lupin the Third Opening Second Season

[Brentai]

Koichi Zenigata is implied to be the grandson of Heiji Zenigata in the same way that Arsène Lupin III is the grandson of Arsène Lupin.  Symmetry, you see.  I think Monkey Punch can't canonize it because somebody still owns the character in Japan though.

[TA]

Descendent of Heiji Zenigata, surely.  Not grandson.  Since the Heiji books were set in the 1600s and all.

[R^2]

A chocobo from Maranda back to the Observation Post nets me the treasures promised by Gestahl's lackey.


There's a fire sword in the oven. In addition, there's a couple Elixirs, an Angel Ring, a Reflect Ring, and Angel Wings, Hermes Sandals, an Alarm Earring that prevents enemies from sneaking up on the party, and some money.


I can't leave the continent with the airship busted up, and the folks in Tzen or Maranda don't have anything new to say, so it's back to Albrook.


I get the feeling I'm going to find your battered corpse in a back alley somewhere before too long.




Another Imperial General...? You don't mean...


Would you believe we've met? Either Leo's truly oblivious or he's being uncharacteristically dickish.


Chalk one up to "oblivious", then.

[R^2]

Only slightly less comforting than it is laughable.




You know what a free stay at the inn means, right?


Midnight cutscene!

Music: Celes's Theme

[R^2]

Leo: I hear your emotions have returned...
Terra: ...It's strange, isn't it? The Empire used me, controlled my very thoughts... and now here I am, cooperating with the same people.
Leo: Yeah. Sucker. People are people. Not everyone in the Empire is like Kefka.
Terra: So... what about you?
Leo: I knew you were half esper and being made to suffer through horrible experiments... ...Yet I did nothing. I'm no better than Kefka.
Terra: If a human and an esper can love one another... Do you think a human and I could love each other?
Leo: Of course!
Terra: But... I don't even know what it feels like to love someone.
Leo: You're still young. ...Someday you'll know. I"m sure of it.






"That other guy in there won't stop groaning and retching."


Shadow: I didn't mean to listen in.
Terra: So...
Shadow: I can't help you. Those are answers you'll have to find for yourself.


Shadow: There are people in this world who have chosen to kill their own emotions. Remember that.






Just in case you felt the game was getting too seriously dramatic, there's a short scene of Locke being seasick to provide a little comic relief. I guess the wisecracking purple octopus with the Kansai-ben was busy elsewhere.

[R^2]

Dear Japan: you are bad at foreshadowing.


Leo: I'll go with Celes. Terra, you go with Locke and Shadow. If you find any clues as to where the espers may be hiding, report back at once!












Jesus Christ, you're both in third grade.

[R^2]

Crescent Island is more of a triangle, really. Its name is not ingeniously appropriate. It's got mountains and forests and one tiny little village.

Music: Strago's Theme


You can technically come to Thamasa as soon as you get the airship -- Chimera are native to the area and Gau already has that Rage, for instance -- but the townspeople are so xenophobic of strangers that they tell you in no uncertain terms to fuck right back off.






That... doesn't sound like a very good way to run an inn.







What an odd town.

[R^2]

The woman interrupts herself like she'd just spotted Solid Snake. Terra... waves.












Hmmm.

[R^2]

Locke: So, you know about espers?
Strago: Nope, can't say I do! Don't know a thing. Not one thing!






Suddenly, a girl erupts from the doorway like it's somebody's ass.




Huh, two party members at once.

[R^2]

After blurting out her hometown's mysterious and totally not foreshadowed at all secret, Relm resumes running around poking things and getting on everyone's nerves. She must have left her attention span upstairs.


Strago: Go back to your room!
Relm: Why do I have to go to my room? You never let me have any fun!
Strago: Because I said so! Now shoo!
Relm: ...Fine.




Relm: Hmph!


Strago: My apologies.
Shadow: It's fine. He usually doesn't like other people, though...
Strago: Anyhow... I'm terribly sorry, but I really don't think I can be of any help to you folks.
Locke: I, uh... I see...
Strago: We're just your ordinary, quiet little village... You're not going to find anyone who knows about any of those esper things here, I'm afraid! Not in Thamasa!


Terra: Let's have a look around the village.


Strago: Sorry I couldn't be more helpful!
Shadow: Interceptor!


Relm comes back downstairs, doggy in tow.

[R^2]

That is indeed more reasonable. You know what a nearly-free stay at the inn means, right?


Midnight cutscene!


Terra: Something happened to Relm?
Strago: Yes! She was on fire... and then it caught the neighbor's house on fire... and... Oh, I can't even think straight anymore, but...! Please! You have to help her!

Strago, Terra, and Locke file out. Locke turns, to...


Shadow stirs in bed but doesn't move. Locke leaves, and Interceptor runs off.


He really doesn't care about anybody but that dog.


The whole town is bathed in a red hue...


...on account of its largest house being ablaze.

[R^2]

Flames BEGONE!






I know, right? What an amazing twist that no clues had been dropped about at all!

[R^2]

Strago actually says whole words, and even punctuates properly, but the text box is only onscreen for a split-second so I missed the timing by a hair.








Everyone lines up and casts a Flames BEGONE at the house.


...which collapses further.


Strago: It's no use! The fire's too strong!
Mayor: They were storing an awful lot of flame rods in there...
Strago: I'm going in!
Terra: Wait... I'll go with you.
Locke: Count me in, too. I'm not gonna let an old geezer go in there on his own!
Strago: Who are you calling a geezer!? I'm only seventy, and fit as a fiddle! "Geezer", he says...


The house collapsing further prompts everyone to shut up about how old Strago is and get about rescuing the little girl trapped inside.


Bit warm in here.

[R^2]

Strago doesn't know any white, black, or gray magic like Locke and Terra have in spades from studying with magicite. He does know two abilities in his Lore skillset, though.


Given the proliferation of fire-elemental Balloons in the house -- they're the only sort of enemy encountered here -- having an all-enemies water-elemental attack is a nice asset.

I mean, Locke and Terra both know Blizzara, and Locke's switched out the Ultima Weapon for an ice-elemental sword, but still.


This door is trapped. Each time you try to open it, four Balloons catch you in a pincer attack.


Well, that's helpful.




Flame Eater is oddly complicated for such a minor boss. He regularly uses Bomblet to spawn more Balloons into the battle -- if the battle goes on long enough, he summons a far more powerful Grenade instead. He counters attacks with Fira or Fireball, and after several rounds, casts Protect and Reflect on himself to bounce his fire attacks off of.

He counters Gravity-elemental attacks with either Gravija or Flare, but being a boss, is immune to Gravity spells. They always miss, and never prompt the counterattack.

Flame Eater isn't weak to water, so Aqua Breath isn't particularly effective against him. Blizzara works wonders, though. There are two really simple ways to beat Flame Eater.

One is to cast Rasp on him a few times; he only has 480 MP, and when he runs out, he dies. Several enemies in the game are sufficiently magical that running out of MP will kill them; Flame Eater is the first one that makes it particularly viable as an overall strategy. Zona Seeker teaches Rasp at x15, so even if you don't start the burning house dungeon with it memorized, both Terra and Locke can pick it up by the time you reach Flame Eater.




The other strategy is to break the Ice Rod you just picked up. Doing so casts a superpowered Blizzara, enough to shave off about two-thirds of Flame Eater's HP. It can oneshot him if you spec someone better than Strago is here -- Terra's leveled up with magic-boosted espers, so a couple of Earrings and a broken Ice Rod probably would have done near the damage cap.

[R^2]

The house collapses further, and the screen goes dark...

[R^2]

Terra, Locke, Strago, and Relm are knocked unconscious. Only Interceptor is left to fight off the encroaching Balloons, and his Wild Fang and Takedown counters can't hit flying opponents...


Thankfully, this is when Shadow shows up.


He charges the bunch of Balloons, and in a display of far more combat prowess than he possesses when he's in the party, destroys them all.


um

Look, okay, Smoke Bomb is a consumable item that lets you escape from battle. Presumably the cloud of opaque smoke obscures the party's flight from whatever monsters might be trying to keep them around.

But this isn't a battle. It's just a hazardous location. There's no one to fool or mislead with the smoke bomb -- and since it's a burning building, there's probably plenty of smoke around anyway. I've always thought Shadow should use a Teleport Stone instead, since it's also a consumable item available in this game, and as the name implies, is actually a magical artifact that allows instantaneous interdimensional travel!


But in defiance of all logic, throwing a nageteppo on the ground gets everyone to safety.

[R^2]

Relm: Yeah. Thanks, Grandpa...
Strago: These folks are the ones you should be thanking!
Relm: Thank you.
Strago: I guess our little secret is out now...
Locke: Everyone in this village can use magic, can't they? What is this place...?
Strago: This is... ...the village of the magi. A long, long time ago, humans used magicite to acquire magical powers... Those who gained the ability to use magic were the people known as the magi.
Locke: I didn't think there were any magi left in the world...
Strago: After the War of the Magi, the espers fled to a new world beyond the Sealed Gate. They wished to live in peace, without fear of their powers being used by others. That left only humans in this world, and the ordinary ones feared the magi's power. The horror of the war was still fresh in their minds... It soon turned into an inquisition. Magi were hunted down and executed. Oh, there were trials, of course... but they were merely for show.
Terra: Even though the only difference was that they could use magic...
Strago: The few who managed to escape took up shelter here. They were our ancestors. Our powers have weakened as our magi blood has thinned, but they remain... in some form or another.
Terra: If you're up to it... do you think you'd be willing to help us?
Strago: You said you're looking for some espers, right? Well, I do owe you one for saving Relm... I'll help you find your espers.
Relm: I wanna go, too!
Strago: I think not, young lady!
Relm: Fuddy-duddy...
Locke: But... where do we start?
Strago: Hmm... If they came this way, they may be hiding in the mountains to the west.
Locke: Why there?
Strago: Those mountains are teeming with magical energy. According to legend, they're a sacred place to the espers.
Terra: Perhaps the magic of that place drew them there after they went berserk...

At this point, Shadow leaves. He's heard his lead, and is off on his own.


There's a Memento Ring hidden in the corner. Its description says it prevents instant death attacks, but no one can equip it.


Oh, Shadow.

Locke: You're leaving?
Shadow: I'll search for the espers my own way.


Relm comes out of the house to bid Interceptor farewell.


Shadow's out of the party, Strago's in.


Most players don't like Strago much, but I've always had a weakness for blue mages, so goshdarnit I like him.


The mayor begs you not to tell anyone that people in Thamasa can use magic, and one villager drops the hint that you can break rods to unleash powerful magic. Other than this person giving a minor backstory fill-in, there's nothing else to do in Thamasa.

[R^2]

This mountain path wasn't even here before. Apparently only Strago knows where to find it.

Music: Mt. Kolts
Yes, this is the typical "mountain dungeon" theme, and it's played a couple of times already. It's just kind of terrible so why link it?


As all mountain dungeons do, this one has both outdoor and indoor areas. And occasionally Relm pops up while you explore, because she's a strong-willed precocious little shit and doesn't listen to anybody.


Halfway up the mountain are... these things!