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[R^2]

Yep! I had to run away from so many monsters to get here you guys. Most of the phantom beasts here are just happy to see Lyrai again, so I'm skipping all of those. There are a lot of them.

Phoenix: This land is ruled by Queen Asura and the King of Summons.

Remora: The King of Summons resides below.

Catoblepas: This is the Land of Summons, the home of all summoned monsters.

Carbuncle: Lyrai was the first human to ever come here.

Golem: They say you can't meet the king without defeating Queen Asura first!

Diabolos: Don't bring humans around here anymore, Lyrai.

Alexander: We just want to live in peace and quiet.

Fenrir: They say my brethren are rampaging through another world!


The weapon shop has whips and daggers -- summoner equipment -- the armor shop sells Aegis Shields and robes that any mage can wear.

[Metal Slime]

He dreams about missing his wife.

[R^2]

There's a library here, too. It'd take a lifetime to read them all, so in true RPG fashion we pull one book off of each shelf, flip to a random page, read one sentence, and put the book back.

Summon Magic
A type of magic used to call summons. Only a few still hold this power.

Land of Summons Regulation
True strength lies in righteous souls. Yet to obtain this strength, one must prove his worth.

Unnamed Book
The history of the world of humans is brief compared to that of the Land of Summons.

Unnamed Book
Only those with great physical and mental strength may enter the cave that leads to the world of humans...

Unnamed Book
It is said that there are other forms of summon magic that still lie undiscovered.

Unnamed Book
Long, long ago, a giant whale descended to Earth from the moon. Presently, it is in a deep sleep within the dragon.

Two Moons
In the ancient sky, the two moons were only one. So it is written.

Summons, Monsters, Humans
What happened in the past? What does the future hold? Life is an eternal mystery.

Titan, Shaker of Earth
Titan's power rips through the earth, creating a huge crevice in which all is swallowed.

Ifrit, Spawn of Flame
Ifrit's flame has the power to incinerate all that is near.

Ramuh, the Good Elder
Ramuh's wrath calls forth dark clouds that release bolts of lightning for condemnation.

Shiva, Queen of Ice
Those who anger Shiva will be instantly transformed into a statue of ice.

Chocobo
The first to flee from battle. Too cute for words.

Asura, Queen of Summons
The wife of the king, she guards the path that leads to him. Only those who surpass her powers may behold the king's true form.

The King of Summons
The lord of the vast ocean, he appeared one day from the northern sea. His powers are without equal in this land.

Odin, Undefeated Conqueror
His only defeat occurred when his sword was struck by a bolt of lightning. Zantetsuken is his lethal attack that annihilates all enemies with a single blow.

Sylphs, Delicate Creatures
Combining power lets them unleash their true strength.

Unnamed Book
The God of Summons created us. The God of Summons watches over us from afar, never knowing defeat. Perhaps the only way to defeat him is the reflect his own strength against him.

Heavy hint: use Reflect when you meet this guy. (Spoilers: you're going to meet this guy.) Thing is, the DS version changed the strategy so that Reflect doesn't work anymore -- but this book text didn't change. The game lies!

[R^2]

Asura: Lyrai, dear, what brings you back?
Lyrai: We need your help.
Asura: Very well, but first you must prove your worth. That is how it is done here.


Nope!


I'll grab this on my way out, though...


And head down here to this semi-secret area and grab a Yoichi Bow for Friday.


Thankfully, there's a teleport out instead of having to trudge back through the cave.

[R^2]

Well, balls. Friday learns a crucial spell after I leave the Land of Summons.

(Oh, I guess I finished Babel at 34 and she learns Float at 35, then Reflect at 36. Whatever.)


Yeah, I know your weakness!








Asura counters every incoming hit with a devestating physical attack, and spends all her turns casting white magic on herself: Protect, Cura, Curaga, or Raise.


The trick, then, is to cast Reflect on her and have her bounce all that nice white magic to your party instead of using it to undo all your hard work. Then, between Rosa's Blink spell and the Decoy items I picked up from fighting all those puppets so long ago, I make everyone immune to physical hits to null her counterattacks.


It's a long battle -- Asura has loads of HP -- but for whatever reason Reflect never wears off once you cast it on her. I think face-swapping resets the counter for how much longer the Reflect status lasts, and she changes her face every turn.


The specifics aren't important, really.


A welcome addition of a restorative move to Lyrai's arsenal, Asura will randomly flip through her many faces. If she comes out serene, she casts Curaga on the party. If she's joyful, she casts Raise on the party. And if she's wroth, she casts... Protect on the party.

[A²]

MY ARMIES ARE INFINITE.

[R^2]

The Tower of Babel is awful. The Sealed Cavern is somehow even worse.


Needlessly cryptic!




Ready for this? Every door in this damnable dungeon is a monster in disguise.


The Trap Door uses Search on its first turn, and Ninth Dimension on the person it searched for after that. Ninth Dimension totally kills you.




It then spits out a monster!


Mostly Chimera Brains, who open with Blaze, re-killing whoever it was you just raised from the Ninth Dimension move.

It's not so bad. You only have to do that four or five times to proceed through the dungeon, and a dozen or so more if you want to explore thoroughly!


Because while no small number of them lead to the next part of the dungeon, or to treasure rooms... most of them are just traps! ha ha ha!


Other encoutners aren't dangerous but are still frustrating. Evil Bats, like the other sorts of bats, attack with Vampire exclusively. It takes too damn long to get all six of them to resolve before you can start killing them.

Worse? They do it even when you get a preemptive attack on them, thanks to the game's wonky battle timing.


Stupid trap doors.

[R^2]

Hey, it's the only nontrapped door in the dungeon!


Hope you enjoyed that.




One. Last. Door.




No trap? No ambush? No one teleports in, says "Thanks for unlocking the cave", and snatches the Crystal?


Wild.

[R^2]

Lyrai: They're moving!
Mars: Removing the Crystal must have triggered it!
D.Ni: So much for a smooth exit.








The Demon Wall slowly inches toward the party, and if it gets close enough, it starts using instant-kill moves to crush your party under its unstoppable bulk. So hitting it hard and fast is important!


Wow, I don't think I've ever killed it that easily before.


The way out is a lot easier than the way in, since all the doors are already dead.


Voice: Mars... You belong to me, Mars. Bring me the Crystal.
Brent: Golbez! Mars!
Friday: Get ahold of yourself!
Mars: I'm... alright. I'm no longer under his control!

Mars then steps forward and shoves Brent downward.




Golbez gloats, Mars leaves. You didn't think we'd have a sudden burst of competence now, did you?

If you're on the SNES version and do the Warp trick I mentioned right after the Calcobrena battle, Kain will swipe the Crystal from you as soon as you enter the Sealed Cave, rather than when you leave. You can skip the whole thing, or go in and do it at your leisure since the Trap Doors are pretty good experience if you can kill them before they turn into anything else.

[R^2]

Giott: That is, unless the legend of the Lunar Whale is true...
Brent: The Lunar Whale?
Giott: A huge ship spoken of in legend. "One born of a dragon..."
Brent: The Mysidian legend!
Giott: You know of Mysidia?

Know of them? I murdered a bunch of them in the prologue!


Giott: Mysidia truly exists!?
Brent: I've met the elder of Mysidia, who prays tirelessly in a tower.
Giott: He prays, you say? Perhaps he prays for the Lunar Whale! You must hurry to Mysidia!
Friday: But the exit is sealed.
D.Ni: We can't get near the Tower of Babel, either.




Friday: Shouldn't you be in bed?
Niku: Naw, no worries.
D.Ni: Can you really do it?
Niku: Easier'n falling off a bike! Okay! Let's get to work!


Another remodeling montage, followed by Niku passing out.


Say what you will, he gets the job done.

[R^2]

Now there's free access between the underworld and overworld for the rest of the game, no more mucking around in the Tower of Babel or anything.

[R^2]

Music: The Crystals

[R^2]

Elder: That is the glorious ship... The Lunar Whale!


Elder: You are to fly to the moon. Someone awaits you there.

Weird. Creepy.


Elder: The Lunar Whale is from the moon. According to old Mysidian documents, there is a Crystal inside that controls navigation between here and the moon. You must communicate with it.
Brent: I will see what I can do.



Music: Magical Ship


Swanky!


The ship comes with a bunk room of sorts for free rest and relaxation...




A robotic fat chocobo for all your item-storage needs... (Well, I haven't mentioned fat chocobos in this LP because I don't have any item-storage needs...)


And yes, a flight crystal.

[R^2]

There are caves on the moon.


And a huge crystal palace.






It's full of Namingways!


Well, Hummingways.




One of them is a shop. So after you're done buying all the items and equipment you need to get through the game, money isn't entirely useless. 100000 gil buys you a new Elixir.

[R^2]

Oh wait, there's something I gotta do before the next plot point.


Kabbage's Wife: Why doesn't he come home...? I'm not crying! I just... have something in my eye... Here, take this. Smack that no-good on the noggin for me!


A... are you sure?


One more time.








Kabbage: Brent!?
Brent: Kabbage!
Lyrai: I'm so glad!
Kabbage: The Sylphs saved my life.
Friday: Just as you saved us by destroying the cannons.
Kabbage: I shall join you once again.
Sylph: You must rest!
Kabbage: I cannot rest while you risk your lives.
D.Ni: Just take it easy.
Kabbage: You are...
D.Ni: I'm Disposable Ninja of Eblan. Don't worry. I can cover for you.
Kabbage: Eblan. So you are a ninja. But I must...
Sylph: No! We'll fight in your place instead. She's a summoner, correct? Please call upon us at any time.


The Sylphs target one foe and drain some HP, then split the damage they do across the party as healing. They're okay midgame to take a little stress off your resident white mage, but before long they just don't have the damage output to be all that useful.

[A²]

The King still needs to give me something.

[R^2]

Music: Another Moon


Right.


The ground is too rough to land in most places, so you have to park a short distance away from the crystal palace and hoof it.


Through a cave network, not just across the overworld. Moon. Overmoon.


Black Flans are (almost) the last slimes you meet. They don't have any weaknesses so just use whatever your strongest attack is.


Hike, cave, hike, cave.


Hike.

[R^2]

Brent: The lunarians?
FuSoYa: Many, many years ago, a small planet between Mars and Jupiter was on the verge of destruction. Species of the planet escaped on a ship to the blue planet, Earth. However, the species was still evolving, and created another moon where they could sleep a long, long slumber.
D.Ni: So that's where the Lunarians come from...
FuSoYa: However, there was one who refused to sleep. Instead, he wished to raze everything on the blue planet and create a new home there.
Lyrai: How awful...
FuSoYa: I was able to seal him with my powers and force him to sleep. However, during his deep sleep, he channeled his evil to the corrupt ones on your planet. And now he uses them to gather the Crystals.
Brent: Then he must be the one behind Golbez's actions!
D.Ni: Who is "he"?
FuSoYa: His name is Zemus. He is gathering the Crystals, our energy source, to run the dimensional elevator in the Giant of Babel. With it, he'll destroy everything on your planet.
Friday: No!
FuSoYa: However, many lunarians feel we can come to an understanding with people. They are merely sleeping and waiting for people to reach their level of evolution.
Brent: What about the Lunar Whale?
FuSoYa: That was built by my younger brother, KluYa, years ago, as transportation to the blue planet. He had always dreamed of visiting unknown lands. This is how the Devil's Road and air flight technology were introduced. On the blue planet, KluYa fell in love and had many children. You... are one of his children.


FuSoYa: The voice came from the soul of KluYa, your father. I see it now... You resemble him when he was your age.
Brent: That was the voice... of my father!
FuSoYa: You have received power from KluYa to stop Zemus and his evil plan. You must do this for your planet! For all Lunarians! You must hurry to the Tower of Babel in Eblan!
D.Ni: The Tower of Babel? How will we get around its barrier?
FuSoYa: I should be able to enter. We cannot let the Giant of Babel reach the blue planet! I will join you on your journey.

[R^2]

Behind FuSoYa's throne...


Blue Lunar Crystal: The eight corresponding Earth Crystals help sustain the moon's balance.

That explains why there need to be Lunarian-crafted Crystals on Earth to begin with, I guess, but how come four of the set of sixteen are elemental-themed and the rest aren't? How come you guys can talk and the others are just ultratech-indistinguishable-from-magic rocks?

Yellow Lunar Crystal: We surround the entrance to the central core, where Zemus lies.

Silver Lunar Crystal: Zemus casts a field from within to seal the path to the core.

Orange Lunar Crystal: Zemus used Golbez to gather the Earth's Crystals and amplified their energy at the Tower of Babel.

Indigo Lunar Crystal: We, the eight Crystals of the moon, have sealed Zemus.

Golden Lunar Crystal: Even in captivity, Zemus continues to intensify the power of his will.

Robin's-Egg Crystal: The lunarians sleep deep within the core. FuSoYa has protected them for eons.

[R^2]

Back through the Lunar Paths we go.




Oh yeah, FuSoYa knows all the white and black magic in the game, and has just over double the MP Mongrel had. But his stat growth at level up is... nil. He doesn't change or improve at all.


With three mages in the party, Disposable Ninja has to take a spot in the front row, where ninja emphatically do not belong.




Our party organized, we return to Earth. It's hard to tell if that's supposed to be an accurate representation of Final Fantasy 4 Earth, or if someone just copied in an image of east Asia from our Earth. It looks about as much like eastern China and Japan as it does any part of the overworld map from the game...