LogFAQs > #971696304

Okay, finally made a modicum of progress! The characters love separating and getting into trouble - we're controlling Zidane alone again in a little agricultural village with suspiciously industrial-looking trappings and a very reclusive mayor. Vivi falls down a well; little kids seem to objectify him; and Dagger is... chatting it up with a store owner.

After we collect her, I spend an embarrassingly long time trying to figure out how to save Vivi, including going to the nearby mountaintop. Ultimately I realize that we're able to open a hatch inside the windmill, so down we go. We find out that chocobos are being used as manual labor to... hatch black mages?! And ship them off to Alexandria? Huh?? Vivi is not a huge fan of this! (Later, the black mages don't pay Vivi any mind at all, which is also a bit sad.) Along the way we also discover a roomful of items, and to duck everyone we... get put into barrels. The atmosphere down here is pretty cool and creepy and sci-fi-y.

Meanwhile, Steiner, who's been working at the pub, is still obsessed with getting the princess back to Alexandria, so he hatches a scheme to get us onto an Alexandria-bound cargo ship. I love this little scene where the barrel containing the rest of the party topples on top of him. Zidane goes along with the transparent ploy - he intends to hijack the airship and send it to Lindblum. Our travels are plagued by essentially consecutive battles against the remaining two Black Waltz enemies. I try to rob 'em as best as I can though the third one dies after I've only stolen twice from him - hopefully that is okay. (The third one also involves me using a lot of potions, as Dagger is absent from this one.)

FMVs here are cool. They really are a lot more visually intricate than the regular gameplay. During this, we get lots of airship action scenes, including the Black Waltz annihilating the black mage "soldier" crew on the airship and a chase sequence through the South Gate, where Black Waltz 3 finally bites the dust.

We finally get into the Grand Castle Lindblum, which dwarfs Alexandria and contains an entire city within its walls. The party splits yet again, so we're back to controlling Zidane while Vivi chooses not to hang with us and Dagger solicits the support of the recently transfigured Regent Cid. The alleged plan is to return to Alexandria - but we'll see - next time.

A few fun things that I may not have mentioned before

- Zidane continues to be perhaps not the most interesting protagonist, but a protagonist I can get behind - he just wants to have adventures and chase girls.

- Steiner and Zidane's feud is incredibly typical, but I still find it charming. Zidane dodging Steiner from the cockpit of the airship is great, as is Steiner explaining that Zidane is to be hanged, then thinking to himself that because of Zidane's help, he'll petition to reduce it to a life sentence instead.

- Mist is responsible for monsters, but apparently also fuels airships? Interesting bit of lore.

- If Vivi's character design weren't enough to make him adorable, they gave him the cutest waddle too. Vivi moving is brilliant.

- I might have mentioned this previously, but the way the characters kind of talk over each other makes it a little harder to follow conversations, but it also adds some charm to the game - that's what happens in real life, after all.