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[R^2]

Final Fantasy 4 Advance Music - Prologue






















The man in bed glimmers slightly, before...


...erupting from the sheets.










It's an awkward screenshot, but as boulders fall from the mountaintop, the armored man leaps into the air and smashes them all before they hit the ground.

[R^2]

The Red Wings - Final Fantasy IV Music Extended








That's an awfully imposing helmet for a Final Fantasy protagonist.

Crewman: The captain seems kinda down.
Crewman: After what we did, who wouldn't be? Orders are orders, but killing innocent people to get the Crystals isn't right.




The black mages are summarily cut down...




The white mage is likewise slain, the elder tossed out of the way.


The captain then steps onto the dias and takes the crystal.


But pauses briefly at the door to consider what he's done.


Cecil: That's enough!
Crewman: But, Captain!
Crewman: Surely you don't condone what we've done?
Cecil: All of you, listen well. The raid on Mysidia was imperative. His Majesty and his council concluded that the Mysidians, and their broad knowledge of the Crystals, posed a serious threat to our kingdom. For Baron to prosper, we need the Crystals. As soldiers of the Royal Air Force, we must achieve this by whatever means necessary.

What a good little soldier Cecil is, no?

[TA]

Cecil: All of you, listen well. The raid on Mysidia was imperative. His Majesty and his council concluded that the Mysidians, and their broad knowledge of the Crystals, posed a serious threat to our kingdom. For Baron to prosper, we need the Crystals. As soldiers of the Royal Air Force, we must achieve this by whatever means necessary.

What a good little soldier Cecil is, no?

Must games shoehorn Iraq War criticism into every narrative, now?  I mean, come on.

[Friday]

Upon Namingway

Cecil = Brentai
Kain = Mars
Rydia = Frydia
Tellah = Mongrel
Edward = Romo
Rosa = Silver
Yang = Kabbage
Porom = MCE
Palom = Zara
Cid = Sharkey
Edge = DNi
FuSoYa = Skyrim

[R^2]

So here's the opening battle tutorial, where w--




Oh. Or we can watch the autobattle take care of all the monsters with an item we probably won't see again until the end of the game.


Cecil: Are you alright?
Crewman: We've got more hostiles!


Like before, Cecil vaporizes the monster with no effort on the player's part.


Crewman: All accounted for, sir.
Crewman: We've been encountering a surprising number of monsters lately...
Cecil: Could it be... some kind of omen?
Crewman: Captain, we are now over Baron.
Cecil: Very well. Prepare for landing.






The fleet lands at the desert castle.

[R^2]

Let's Listen: Final Fantasy IV (DS) - Kingdom Baron (Extended)
Yeah, some of the posted music is going to be from the DS version of this game, because apparently the GBA version music never got all that popular on YouTube.


Baigan has a name, so he's sort of important, but he doesn't have a portrait, so he's not that important.

Cecil: The Mysidians put up no resistance. In fact, they were completely helpless.
Baigan: Is this pity I perceive? Hmph! Come, Captain. His Majesty awaits.




This is still opening cinema, so Cecil is escorted through the castle without any player input.






The king doesn't have a portrait or a name, just a title. So he's hardly important at all.

King: Send him in.
Baigan: Yes, Your Majesty.




Cecil: Yes, Your Majesty.
Handed over the Water Crystal.
King: So this is the Crystal. What splendor... You are dismissed, Cecil.


Cecil stops before leaving.


Baigan and the king are so surprised by Cecil's outburst that they literally spin around in place.

King: Yes?
Baigan: Captain, what is it?
Cecil: Your Majesty, forgive me, but what are your intentions? My men are confused and displeased.
King: And you? Do you question my command?
Cecil: No! I only ask...
King: Silence! Dissension only leads to treason, and that I will not tolerate. I hereby relieve you of your command of the Red Wings.
Cecil: Your Majesty!

I've had bosses like that. Ask a single question, they flip out and you're in deep shit. Never had one fire me outright, but I didn't work in a monarchy.




Royal Guard: You leave tomorrow, at first light.




King: You insolent cur! How dare you barge in here! If you are so concerned about him, you may accompany him! Now, take the ring and begone!

[R^2]

Cecil and Kain are shoved out of the throne room and into the hallway.

Kain: Once we have completed the mission, the king is bound to forgive us both. We will rejoin the Red Wings in no time.
Cecil: ...
Kain: Get some rest. Leave tomorrow's preparations to me.


Kain walks off, and the player is finally given a chance to play the game. But you can follow him, since he's just hanging out in the next chamber over with a few soldiers.


Cecil: ...I'm sorry to have dragged you into this.
Kain: My actions are my own.

heh heh

Cecil: I mastered the dark sword at His Majesty's orders. But it was to protect Baron, not to plunder.
Kain: Surely, the king has his reasons.
Cecil: I envy you, Kain. I envy the path you chose.
Kain: I suppose I could have attained a higher rank, had I become a dark knight. My father, who passed away when I was still young, was a dragoon. I felt that I could keep some sort of connection with him if I became a dragoon as well.
Cecil: ...

Dude, gross. Kain's standing there talking about his dad (who is totally Ricard from Final Fantasy II you guys I swear) and you're trying to pass one silently enough that he doesn't notice.

Kain: I didn't mean to bore you with my stories. Anyway, I don't need your concern. The only thing you should be worried about is slaying creatures tomorrow. I don't want to be the only one doing his part.
Cecil: Oh, I will. I'll slay twice as many as you!
Kain: That's more like it. We should get some rest. We rise early tomorrow.

Other nameless mooks have things to say, too, of course:

Royal Guard: It's best to suppress any disloyal thoughts if you wish to survive these times.
Royal Guard: I've heard rather disturbing rumors regarding the king lately.
Dragoon: With you and our master Kain joining forces, nothing will be able to stop you.
Dragoon: Mist Valley is northwest of Baron.
Soldier: Whateer others may say, I trust the king.

[R^2]

They practice some on you, if you talk to them. They... do not work.


White Mage: Rosa became a white mage for you, Cecil, to help you in any way she could. Please don't worry her too much.
White Mage: The king is brimming with vigor these days. I find it somewhat unnatural.






Just press on the clearly-marked switch, and the door opens! Inside are a couple consumable items and some money.


The next guard down the hallway is not so generous.




The airship crew is outside in the courtyard, trying to take a break. Or maybe they have nothing to do with their boss away.

[R^2]

Rosa: Thank goodness you're alright. I was so worried. You left on such short notice.
Cecil: We're fine. I wish I could say the same for the Mysidians we slaughtered...

And then Cecil just turns and starts to walk off like it ain't no thang.


Rosa: I'll visit you later, okay?
Cecil: Very well...


Pretty cold, Cecil.

[R^2]

So I do.

Black Mage: You! You won't get away with this, you hear me!?
White Mage: I do not expect you to spare us. But please, return the Crystal to Mysidia.
Black Mage: You idiots don't know anything! The Crystal isn't just any old jewel!


Some soldiers are having a few drinks to forget in... well, this is where Rosa was healing people in the game intro, so... the infirmary?

Soldier: So much for the Red Wings' honor...
Soldier: We'll just eat and laugh and try to forget about Mysidia.




The ass-ugly airship chief waves from his balcony before disappearing down the stairs.


His next words are spoken in a normal tone from beside Cecil, rather than shouted from a balcony across the courtyard.


Ha ha! Internet humor.

Cid: Hey, what's the matter with you, kiddo?
Cecil: Well...
Cid: What!? The king demoted you? What about the Red Wings? They'll be a mess without you! What's come over the king? He's been acting peculiar. He ordered me to build an airship that he can use to slaughter people! Everyone's worried about His Majesty... Anyhoo, be careful out there! Make short work of that mission and get back safe. ...Whoa, I have to start heading home, or my daughter's going to kill me!

[R^2]

Eventually Cecil makes it back to his own bedroom. Must be exhausting talking to every single person in the entire castle.


It's so exhausting, in fact, that Cecil collapses into bed without even taking off his armor.


But he's too troubled to sleep, of course.

Cecil: ...possessed. And he'll resort to any means to get them. Nevertheless, I can't defy him. How could I cross the man who raised Kain and me like his very own? The chivalrous knight whom I've adored and admired since childhood? I will not betray him. I can't.




Hey Cecil, you know what might help you feel better? Not staring at the wall while your hot girlfriend who wears her underwear on the outside is trying to fucking talk to you. I know it's been a big day, but damn, dude.

Rosa: ...to battle this phantom beast? You're acting very strange.
Cecil: ...Nothing's wrong. Everything's fine.
Rosa: Cecil, look at me.

Cecil does not.

Cecil: ...In Mysidia, we killed innocent people to steal their Crystal. It was horrible. I suppose this is my fate as a dark knight. Soon, I won't even feel remorse for my actions.
Rosa: You and I both know that would never happen.
Cecil: Still, I can't defy the king... I'm a hopeless coward.


Rosa has quite understandably had enough of Cecil's shit.

Rosa: The Cecil I love...
Rosa: You leave for Mist early tomorrow, right?
Cecil: Yes, but don't worry. Kain's coming, too. I'll be fine. Trust me.
Rosa: Please come back to me in one piece.




Cecil: Though as a dark knight, you know we can never be together...

Sheesh, everything this guy does backfires. Try to do your job, end up murdering innocent people. Ask your boss about it, get fired. Girlfriend tries to cheer her up, mope at her until she's fed up and leaves. Sounds like... well, about like my luck between the years 2008 and 2011.

[R^2]

Final Fantasy 4 Advance Music - Prologue


The next morning, Cecil and Kain meet up in the castle corridor...


...and head out for adventure!


And so, the dark knight Cecil was stripped of his command as the captain of the Red Wings. He and the master dragoon Kain head toward the dark valley for the village of Mist.

The advent of the airship marked the realization of Baron's dreams, but also the birth of its militarism. With its Royal Air Force Red Wings, Baron soon reigned supreme. Now, as monsters multiply and stir unrest, Baron only exploits its power to collect the world's Crystals. Why?

The Crystals silently shed their light...


World map! But like Fynn before it, Baron is both a castle and a town.

[R^2]

Cid lives here. His daughter implores you to tell him to let up on his overnight work projects, since the lack of sleep leads to him arguing with people about the king's new policies of murder and oppression.


The Dark Knight was a class introduced in Final Fantasy 3, where they were... a lot like Knights from Final Fantasy 1, really. They were big and tough and could cast a little white magic, but their real strength was in their weapon equip: they used katanas instead of regular swords, and in a game infested with monsters with nasty gimmicks, katanas shut down one of the more bothersome ones. Final Fantasy 4 codified the Dark Knight as a swordsman who could sacrifice their own HP for moves with names like "Darkside" or "Souleater" to attack their enemies. The implication in-story is that Cecil, as a Dark Knight, will eventually stop feeling any emotion at all and become a semirobotic killing machine.

Cecil looks up to the king as an adoptive father, but that's a pretty lousy thing to train your son to do.


GEE WHY WOULD THEY DO THAT


As Friday pointed out, Namingway lets you rename the characters in your party. If anyone has any different suggestions than hers, I'll take votes.


Who would attack mist? It's just water vapor. A ground-level cloud. You couldn't cut it with a sword if you tried.




Uh oh. Chewed out by your girlfriend's mom, too? Cecil can't catch a break.


The dancing girl flails around to Saber Dance for a few seconds when you talk to her. In the Japanese version, she flings off that dress to reveal a skimpy leotard.


Cecil's life may have taken a downward spiral but at least he can score some free drinks at the bar.


There are a few hidden items to be found here and there in most towns.

[R^2]

Final Fantasy IV DS Music - Overworld (Main Theme)


Right, away we go.


Oh right, it's Final Fantasy. You can't go more than a few steps without getting into a fight.


There's a way to fix that, though!






Chocobos can totally cross the streams in this game. I wasn't making that up, see?


A waterfall in a video game without anything hidden behind it! Crazy!


Anyway, it's actually not that long a walk to the cave, but I played through FF4 probably a half-dozen times before I discovered that Chocobo forest near Baron, so I had to show it off.

[R^2]

Into The Darkness - Final Fantasy IV DS Music Extended




Final Fantasy 4 was the first game in the series with an active-time battle system. In previous games, all the commands for each character were entered at the beginning of each round, and characters and monsters would all try to kill each other with one move per turn. In an active time battle, characters get a turn individually, at rates based on their speed. Fast characters get more turns, while slow characters don't get to react as quickly.


Final Fantasy 3 gave Dragoons their staple jumping attack, an improvement from Ricard's "I'm sort of strong and can talk to dragons in story events" Dragoon class from Final Fantasy 2. It was, of course, used to overcome a monster's gimmick.

Anyway, Kain can Jump as a technique. It doesn't consume any MP, and removes him from the battlefield for several seconds. When he reappears, he lands on an enemy. If Kain is equipped with a sword or axe, the only benefit is that he can't be hit in the air. If he's using the Dragoon's trademark spears, jump attacks do twice as much damage as normal attacks.




As alluded to previously, Cecil's Dark Knight ability lets him fire off Darkness waves, damaging all enemies in sight but reducing his HP a little. Good thing his girlfriend is a white mage, huh?

On the SNES version dumbed down for release in America, Cecil didn't have this ability. All he could do was Fight and use Items.




It's a short cave, but at every bottleneck the two are warned to not go any further.


Kain: Who are you!?
Big Magic Voice: LEAVE NOW, OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES.
Kain: Show yourself!




BMV: SO BE IT.
Kain: The mist is gathering!

[R^2]

Final Fantasy IV DS Music - Boss Battle Theme


The Mist Dragon, being the first boss, is a bit of a tutorial on that active time battle system I mentioned before. You're given a few turns of mutual normal attacking, and then...


...the creature dissolves into a cloud of mist.




Attacking while the dragon is in mist form hits both Cecil and Kain with a counterattack.


So either use potions or wait it out for the dragon to reform before you try to wallop it again. Kain's jump attack is delayed for several seconds from the time the command is put in, so that's a further complication for the careless.


Other than that, no sweat.

[A²]

Upon Namingway

Cecil = Brentai
Kain = Mars
Rydia = Lyrai
Tellah = Mongrel
Edward = Romo
Rosa = Friday
Yang = Kabbage
Porom = MCE
Palom = Zara
Cid = Sharkey
Edge = DNi
FuSoYa = Skyrim

like hell i'm being left out of my favorite FF game.

[Rico]

I think Cid demands a beard photo contest.

[Mothra]

Upon Namingway

Cecil = Brentai
Kain = Mars
Rydia = Frydia
Tellah = Mongrel
Edward = Romo
Rosa = Silver
Yang = Kabbage
Porom = MCE
Palom = Zara
Cid = Sharkey
Edge = DNi
FuSoYa = Skyrim

Sweet

[Friday]

I was trying to think of the poster with the highest level of Brofist and it wasn't close