Board 8 > SaveEstelle/LeonhartFour in Different Houses: Remastered Edition [SELF]

(+) Yeah! (+)

LeonhartFour posted...

Well, I'm not used to being a fan of a rock bottom team, I'll admit that much

you become numb to the misery, you even start to find humor in it

Like the Bills game in Week 1. When it was 16-0 I did think they'd win... and then the Bills scored and immediately not only did I acknowledge they could blow it, it wouldn't even be that unlikely for them, in my mind I instantly prepared for it! It was still two possesions!

this darnold stuff isn't even on the radar tbqh. the ability of the jets to self-destruct is far greater than any player.
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well it's just such a Jets thing for your starting QB to go out with mono of all things
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Unlocked all of Byleths supports by gift spamming. Now just need to get the last few for Edelgard and Hubert.
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As the dream sequence ends, we cut not to Squall but to the other party members. We see Zell awaken from the dream world, although he was Ward this time, not Kiros (who was Irvine, for the record, since you likely already had him junctioned with something for the boss fight, so it's a matter of convenience). Zell explains how Ward's been working in a prison since their escape from Centra and he's bored out of his mind because all he wants is to be fighting alongside Laguna.

When Rinoa hears about Ward working in a prison, she asks Zell if the room they're in now looks familiar. At first, he thinks it's a stupid question, but then he realizes that he does recognize it. Since Rinoa grew up in Galbadia, she was able to put two and two together. If Ward was from Galbadia and he was working in a prison, it makes sense that it'd be the one they're currently in, the D-District Prison, which was referenced in Timber as a place primarily for political prisoners.

Zell gets excited to understand where they are, but everyone else is understandably less enthused considering they'll probably be sentenced to death. Zell also asks the pertinent questions: Where is Irvine? And where is Squall? We'll get the answer to the first a bit later, but we finally cut to Squall locked up in an isolation cell.

The first thing Squall does is check for his wound, only to find that it's no longer there. Edea wanted him alive so she could interrogate him, as we'll soon see. He's no good to her dead, or at least not yet anyway. His cell is moved via some contraption, which knocks him to the floor. We cut back to the others, who hear his cell being moved and wonder what that noise is as a few prison guards enter the cell, led by the aptly named "Mean Guy," who says it's the sound of their friend being tortured. When Zell tries to stand up to him, he gets beat up by the guards for his trouble.

In the midst of his brutality, Mean Guy almost forgot the purpose of his visit, which was to retrieve Rinoa. She agrees to go with them as long as they stop the violence. We cut back to Squall on his knees in his cell as Seifer walks in and effortlessly tosses him back onto the bed after toying with him for a minute. Then the Moombas come in to take him away, and next thing we see is Squall chained up in the crucifix position to some sort of torture device.

By the way, the song that plays during this part, "Rivals," is really good. I feel like this is the only time it plays, which is a shame. Seifer tells Squall to tell him what SeeD is because Edea demands to know. Squall mulls the question over in his mind before being confused by the fact that Seifer should already know the answer. He replies that he's not a SeeD, so there must be something secret about it that he doesn't know about. Squall insists there's nothing, but adds in a dig that even if there was, he wouldn't tell Seifer about it.

Of course, it's a bad idea to talk smack to your torturer, so Squall gets electrocuted for his trouble. Seifer tells him that even if he won't talk, the others will. Squall responds with surprise to hear the news that his other teammates are all here, too. Just that little reaction alone indicates that he's starting to care about them more and more.
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Seifer says that he thought Squall should have the "privilege" of going first. He adds that he was hoping Squall would be there to witness his moment of triumph. This was the fulfillment of his childhood dream to become the sorceress's knight. This causes Squall to recall the conversation they had back during the SeeD exam. However, in his mind, Seifer's no hero. He's nothing more than a torturer, and with that final potshot, he faints. Seifer hates any sort of implication that he's the bad guy of this story, which shows both a total lack of self-awareness and how far gone he is. In his mind, he's living the dream. As I talked about a while back, Seifer is a law unto himself and he decides his own morality. As Squall talked about earlier, Seifer doesn't view himself as "pure evil." He thinks he's in the right, even when it comes to something as extreme as torture.

To drive that point home, Seifer declares that this is meant to be the scene where Squall swears his undying hatred for him. It's the tale of the evil mercenary versus the sorceress's knight. Seifer talks about it like a movie scene and says the fun's just starting, almost as if he's completely detached from reality and the real consequences of the choices he's made. In his mind, Squall is the evil one ("From my point of view, the SeeDs are evil!"). To him, there's no way he's wrong. For all of his talk about this being the scene where Squall swears his undying hatred, he fittingly says nothing because he doesn't hate Seifer. If anything, he pities him because Squall recognizes how far he's fallen.

We cut back to the others, and we find Selphie trying to use Cure on Zell, but it doesn't seem to work. Quistis surmises that there must be some sort of anti-magic field here. A Moomba brings in some food but trips and spills it everywhere, which prompts Mean Guy to come in and kick him in the face. At this point, you're given the option to stop him or let it go. There are four different options you're given during your time in the prison, and every time you choose the "courageous" option, it unlocks a barrier on one of the floors later on.

Then we move back to the torture room now that Squall has regained consciousness, and Seifer asks Squall what SeeD is and why they oppose the sorceress. The last part of the question strikes Squall as odd. Edea/Ultimecia is aware of it because of the role they play in her own time, but Cid hasn't revealed SeeD's true purpose to any of them. In a sense, Seifer was right that there's a "secret" side to SeeD, but not even the other SeeDs themselves realize what it is at this point.

On that note, a guard comes in and tells Seifer that the missiles targeting Balamb Garden are ready for launch. He informs Squall that Balamb Garden is to be destroyed on charges of training SeeDs to oppose the sorceress. Squall lets out an all caps WHAT!? in his mind, showing his attachment to what has essentially been his home for most of his life.

Then Seifer says that after the Garden is gone, the SeeD hunt will begin. He proclaims himself to be Edea's bloodhound who will hunt down every last one of his kind. This actually reminds me of an FFVIII fanfic I read a long time ago, and it was really well written. In it, Squall has a dream where Garden is indeed destroyed and Seifer is hunting them down. Makes me want to read it again! Once again, Seifer talks about how fun it will all be. He's basically like a little kid playing a game. He doesn't consider the fact that this means that many people will be killed.

For the record, this is the fanfiction I'm talking about if anyone is interested...!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/84335/chapters/113790
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Seifer leaves to prepare to launch the missiles, so the warden continues the interrogation in his place. Squall is still utterly baffled by the question. To him, SeeD is nothing more than the elite mercenary unit of Balamb Garden. At this point, you can smack talk the warden in order to bring on the sweet release of death, or you can lie to save your skin. Technically, the first option is the "correct" choice, but Squall's dialogue when he lies is so great and should be experienced by everyone at least once.

<<...I'll lie...I must live...>>

Squall

"......"

Warden

"What's that?"

Squall

"...Flower."

Warden

"What did you say?"

Squall

"The true...goal of SeeD...To spread...seeds all over the world..."

"Fill...the world w...with flowers."

Warden

"Yeah right...!"

Squall

"I...It's the truth."

"See...sing flowers...Takes...away people's will to fight."

Warden

"What then? SeeD wants to bring love and peace to the world...?"

"Ha haha hah! Don't make me laugh! You can't fool me!"

Squall

"W-We...steal the will to fight...Then we in...invade..."

Warden

"...What?"
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Hmm I think Im actually gonna try and grind out all of the Black Eagle supports before NG+.

My main concern about switching to hard next time is giving up unlimited extra battles, which seem fairly necessary for getting all supports...
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I focused on Byleth (just cuz), Edelgard, and Hubert because in theory you could work on the others in NG+ in a different house after recruiting them over.
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I now have all of those (well, I will once I end the current days free time and read them, anyway). I just want to clear the rest of the BE students so the next playthrough can be a little more relaxed. I guess if I do want to switch to hard to make things less of a joke I probably want a decent bit more than a third of the A ranks done.
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It's not that hard to max out every Support for your house in a playthrough on Hard. I played on Hard for all three of mine and had no issues.

But I didn't like, max out all the Blue Lion supports when I was playing Golden Deer. That might've been more challenging/tedious.
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I've gotten myself into reading that fanfiction again, and it's still pretty great! The author gets some factual details about the world of FFVIII wrong, but nothing significant that would impact my enjoyment of it.
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Finally installing Final Fantasy XV. I just have to see for myself.
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I still haven't played the Ardyn DLC. Can't bring myself to do it.

Man, that second round of DLC looked so promising, too.
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Well, the power went out at some point today while I was at work, so I lost some progress in FFVIII since I didn't have a chance to save and just put it in sleep mode.

time for the 3X speed to do its job
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We return to our imprisoned heroes as Squall has been electrocuted into unconsciousness, while Zell and company stood up to Mean Guy on behalf of a helpless moomba. Now they have to find a way to escape. Selphie, with her dark sense of humor (that may not entirely be joking), suggests that they skin the moomba and wear his hide as a disguise. Quistis says that, since they can't rely on magic, they'll need to find a way to recover their weapons. Fortunately for Zell, he don't need no stinking weapons, so he's the man for the job.

He's even a man with a plan! He tells Selphie and Quistis to lay on the floor and pretend to be unconscious as he summons Mean Guy into their cell. Zell takes the opportunity to gut punch Mean Guy and he crumples to the floor. The game doesn't hold back on the punch, so it's a nice bit of catharsis to see him get what's coming to him, especially if you're a Zell fan! Thankfully, the weapons are only one floor up, so it doesn't take us long to get them back! The moomba is having way too much fun mocking the unconscious soldiers and mimicking Zell's gestures!

We cut back to Squall, who is barely conscious but aware that someone or something keeps hitting him or tugging at him. Then he hears someone shout the name "Laguna," and that catches his attention. This is another bit of info that you have to read the Information corner to fully understand, as well as needing the context of the last Laguna dream sequence on Disc 3. In that, he rescues a moomba, and for some reason, he wants to teach them how to talk. He only succeeds in teaching them how to say his name (which is still quite the accomplishment!). Now the info corner tells you that moombas learn to recognize each other through tasting their blood, so the fact that the moombas taste Squall's blood and call him Laguna implies that, well, they have the same blood. The game never outright tells you that Squall is Laguna's son, but there are certainly enough hints dropped throughout the game for you to be able to figure it out. Anyway, since the moombas "recognize" Squall as Laguna (someone who was kind to them when few people are; they're enslaved, after all), they set him free from the torture device.

We cut back to Zell returning to the cell with their weapons, and we get an odd montage of Zell, Quistis, Selphie, and the moomba (who is still enjoying this way too much!) being enlarged to show off their recovered weapons (or just to show off their moves). Then the Mean Guy returns with two superior officers to take care of the problems the party has caused. I love when Zell, Selphie, Biggs, and Wedge all simultaneously recognize each other and scream at the top of their lungs. Meanwhile, Quistis stands there totally nonplussed.

Biggs talks, well, big, thinking they're unarmed, until he sees that they are, in fact, fully armed (and Mean Guy hightails it outta there). He's perplexed, naturally, but at this point, he's too ticked off to care and we fight them anyway. Biggs and Wedge aren't any harder now than they were back in Dollet, but you can have some fun messing with them since they're susceptible to Confuse, and they'll get mad at each other for attacking themselves. When we escape, another moomba comes down and tells the one with us about "Laguna" and they both run up the stairs, so Zell decides it might be their lucky day after all...only to realize Biggs pressed the security alarm on them.
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For the record, a few of the cells on the other floors open, and a couple of them have NPCs in them. One will sell you some items, but the other one will make an addition to your Battle Meter if you can beat him in a card game. There's also another guy who will give you an item every time you beat him at cards, and you've got a very low chance of winning a Rosetta Stone.

When we reach the top, the party finds Squall slumping against the wall as "The Oath" plays for the first time. This could ostensibly be considered Squall's theme since it plays in important scenes involving him (including one big one we'll get to at the end of Disc 2). Anyway, now he's back as the leader of the party, so now it's time to escape. Since they're at the top floor and there doesn't appear to be a way out, they think the solution is to go down. Zell asks how Squall got up here, and he points to the crane. Once again, we see a slightly disturbing side to Selphie as she suggests that if they'd just jump down the shaft where the crane comes out, they'd be outta there. Well, you'd be outta there, all right, but probably not in the way you want...!

Anyway, Zell remembers Ward moving the crane in his dream, so he is volunteered to stay put and operate while the others find a way out.
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man having to choose between Dak and Jackson every week is going to be tough if they both keep playing like this
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Cowboys look really good through two games!

Can't say the same about the Titans after today though augh
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Unless Matt Ryan goes crazy the rest of the game, my fantasy victory should be well in hand!
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Wow UVA and Cal are both ranked
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LordoftheMorons posted...

Wow UVA and Cal are both ranked

It's a rough year for college football
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Getting back to FFVIII, Squall and company ride the crane all the way down to the bottom floor and open the door, only to find...sand, lots of it (Good thing Anakin isn't around to see this). Quistis is confused, wondering if this means they're underground, but at any rate, they can't get out this way either. Suddenly, they hear gunfire coming from somewhere, and they all realize Zell might be in serious danger. They make a mad dash for him, and Squall has apparently been working on his foot speed since the SeeD exam because he swoops in to save Zell just in time from the Warden.

To say Zell is relieved would be an understatement because he clings to Squall, who eventually has to resort to bopping him on the head with the butt of his gunblade to get him to let go, which is great. When Quistis and Selphie catch up, the latter asks why Squall went off on his own, wondering if Zell is that important to him. Zell is flattered, while Squall facepalms, but Selphie isn't wrong. She's pretty perceptive when it comes to social cues and reading people's emotions. Squall is definitely starting to care more and more about his teammates.

Unfortunately, they can't bask in the Kodak moment for too long before they get pinned down by more gunfire. Then there's more gunfire from elsewhere, and Irvine shows up as the hotshot cowboy who saved the day, strutting his stuff...only for Rinoa to unceremoniously kick him down the stairs for trying to act cool. Rinoa is obviously relieved to see that Squall is okay, while Irvine tries to take credit for Rinoa's safe return. Unfortunately, Rinoa doesn't let him get away with the cool act (She's not the type to put up with other people's crap, to say the least!).

Rinoa explains that her father pulled some strings with the military to get her and only her out of the prison (and Irvine, too, I guess, who managed to evade capture altogether despite being the sniper and literally being right there when it happened). Then she crushes Irvine for going along with that plan knowing the rest of them were captured. He tries to apologize and says that's why he came back to help, only for her to add that it was only because she scratched him to death (and as a later scene will show, she's not wrong...!).

Fortunately, Irvine knows more about D-District Prison than the rest of them, but before he can properly explain, there's more gunfire. He tells Squall to head on up while he holds them off, assuring them that there's a way out up there. On the way up, we get treated to a great song with one of the best titles in the series, "Only a Plank Between One and Perdition." Once we reach the top with Squall, Irvine leads the way for the others down to where the crane is stopped so they can get back up to rendezvous with the others.

As an aside, playing Triple Triad without the Open rule when Same or Plus is activated is kind of annoying because you can't plan ahead to avoid getting hit by it and the CPU will always take advantage of it if it's there. It's really the only way to lose once you've got high level cards. Although to this day, I still really have no idea how Plus works.
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When Squall and company reach the top, we get ambushed one last time. Although this gets the boss music, it's really not any different than a regular battle. You just have a couple of annoying enemies that have an attack that can cut your HP in half, but they aren't that strong aside from that. Fortunately for Irvine and company, that diversion lasted long enough for them to contact us before we took off for the other side. After Zell activates the crane, we make for the other side, only to discover we're right in the middle of the desert. Then the prison starts transforming right before our eyes.

Perhaps Squall has high end top speed but low stamina, so he's worn out from racing to save Zell, because somehow Rinoa and Zell make it safely to the other side of the bridge while Squall is still standing there as it starts to collapse. You can actually get a game over on this sequence if you don't realize you have to keep moving Squall as he climbs across the railing during the FMV. Thankfully, the strategy guide came in handy for me as a kid again here...!

After all the hubbub, we get the calm "Breezy" music and magically we're outside the prison with fancy cars to drive at that! How did that happen? Who knows! All the girls pile into the yellow car, and Irvine is (understandably) none too pleased that it's a sausage fest in the other car. We stop at an intersection, and the others have discovered along the way that the sorceress is planning to launch missiles at Garden. Squall probably should have mentioned that at some point before they took off...! Well, Rinoa and Irvine also apparently knew about it, too, but I guess they were too busy worrying about escaping to bring it up before now.

Squall says that the only thing they can do is head straight back to Garden and warn everyone, but that's not good enough for Selphie because they're targeting both Balamb and Trabia Gardens. There's no way they can make it in time to warn both of them. She says that they have to find a way to interfere with the launch, which means going to the missile base. Squall is conflicted about the choice to split up into two parties being foisted on him since he'll feel responsible if something happens to the ones he chooses to go to the missile base (not a foreshadowing sense of dread at all...!). Once again, we see him showing genuine concern for others. He doesn't want that guilt on his conscience.

Rinoa suggests that Squall pick the teams and go back to Balamb Garden since he's the leader, and nobody objects. In his mind, Squall thinks that he never asked to be the leader. He doesn't want this level of responsibility where he has to think of the welfare and safety of others. Once he starts doing that, he starts forming attachments (although he's already doing so, even if he doesn't realize it yet). As they're finalizing the parties, the first set of missiles is launched. Irvine said he heard Trabia was being hit first, which causes Selphie's heart to sink. Even so, she's undeterred from going to stop the other missiles from being launched. Selphie's ability to keep it all together on the outside even as she's falling apart on the inside is definitely one of her more admirable qualities.
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LeonhartFour posted...

You can actually get a game over on this sequence if you don't realize you have to keep moving Squall as he climbs across the railing during the FMV.

Found this out the hard way. They should let you get a game over for standing under some debris at the dollet tower or something.

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My ideal parties for this section are Squall/Rinoa/Zell and Selphie/Irvine/Quistis. You get bonus scenes at Garden for bringing Rinoa, and you get better items during one section if you have Zell with you. Plus, it just fits better, in my opinion. That's just my take on it.

Before they take off, Squall says that this is unlike any other mission they've taken on. It's not an order or a request from anyone. In other words, they're doing this of their own volition because they want to. This is Squall taking initiative based on his personal feelings, something he doesn't ordinarily do. He asks Selphie if she has a plan, and she thinks that she can at least get inside the base if they drive the army vehicle they stole. Beyond that, she'll have to figure out the rest as she goes.

Squall and company hijack a train from an unsuspecting Galbadian soldier, who gives it his all to try to chase them down before his legs ultimately buckle from under him, but not before earning the respect and sympathy of the party. Certainly an underrated nameless NPC, this guy. Then we switch over to Selphie's leadership. You get a funny exchange if you try to enter the missile base on foot, where Selphie tries to sweet talk her way in, but the guard ain't havin' it because she's just a kid and he prefers more mature women. Proving him right, Selphie yells, "Up yours!" before taking off. Seriously, the missile base is absolutely peak Selphie in FFVIII. I don't know how anyone could even dispute that (Maybe with Trabia Garden? I dunno).

Doing things by the book, we manage to get into the missile base, and they do an impressive parking job considering this is probably their first time driving a military vehicle! They also conveniently found some spare uniforms that somehow fit them, and yet nobody asks Selphie (who's barely an inch or two above 5 feet), "Aren't you a little short to be a Galbadian soldier?" Selphie's plan is simple: If there's an open door, they go in. If there's anything they can break, they break it. And they don't leave until they've blown the place to smithereens! Again, peak Selphie. This is also part of why Disc 2 is the best part of the game.

We get the appropriately named theme, "The Spy," during this segment. I dig it, but it sadly only plays here (which makes sense). You can go up a SeeD rank for getting out of D-District Prison with all the right answers and not botching your escape, and you can go up another rank here if you manage to get all the way to the end without getting caught. You can get caught at several different junctures during this mission if you're not careful.

But that'll all have to wait until tomorrow, unfortunately!
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Starting replaying SoJ. Not even to the first testimony in 6-2 and Ive already been reminded how much Nahyuta sucks.
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Well, I also think 6-2 is Nahyuta's worst showing. I mean, he's not that great elsewhere, but not as bad as here.
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I made a poll asking for your favorite FFVII disc. I'll probably do one for FFVIII and FFIX, too.
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and this is why we haven't seen Browns/Jets on MNF since the very first MNF game
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are you not entertained
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I've been too busy trying to figure out if I should start Dak against the Dolphins or Jackson against the Chiefs
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LeonhartFour posted...

against the Dolphins

found the answer
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yeah but the Dolphins can't be this bad every week can they

can they
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i believe
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could Luke Falk or even Sam Darnold with mono do this to the Dolphins
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turn it over on 4th down at the 11

immediately allow an 89 yard td pass

classic jets
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Jets upcoming schedule

Pats
Bye
Eagles
Cowboys
Pats

get excited
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and likely with Sam Darnold for none of it
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Apparently the Jets are hopeful they'll have him back for the Eagles.

"yeah okay"

Falk has actually played well in this game, IMO, but I mean, it's the Browns so take that for what it's worth.
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We get inside the base, only to find the front door is locked. Conveniently, Irvine found an ID card in the vehicle we drove. I guess it's safe to assume this vehicle would drive back and forth between the prison and the missile base, but still!

Anyway, as I said before, there are several opportunities to get busted before you reach the end. The first is approaching a guard. You're just supposed to act casual, which means walking past him instead of running around. He'll stop you, only to compliment you for walking in a single file together with such good manners! The second involves properly relaying a message, which enables us to gain access to the circuit control room and force a blackout. The third involves what you tell the maintenance team who comes to investigate after the blackout (if you just want to skip right to the end, you can just choose to fight them and blow your cover!). The fourth involves keeping it cool and lending a hand to the soldiers when they ask for it. Next, you've got to get on the control panel and set the error ratio to max (and don't forget to save your work!). You get a game over if you mess this part up!

With that, you can finally make it to the main control room, although you'll get found out by the leading officer by the fact that they can't do a proper Galbadian army salute! Selphie's fine with being able to let loose and bust some skulls though! And with that, we can finally set the self-destruction sequence on the missile base! You can set it from anywhere to 10-40 minutes. If you set it for 10-20, you can escape out the door inside the control room, but if you pick 30-40, you actually have to go all the way back to the beginning, I suppose as punishment for being a coward!

Anyway, as Selphie and company exit, we see the missiles being launched, and then we're forced to fight some huge tank thing. The last requirement to go up a SeeD rank is to finish this part in less than 10 minutes, which isn't too hard with proper junctions. I did it in about 5 and a half minutes. But despite that, Selphie and company can't find a way out of the missile base, so they start having their "final" thoughts. Selphie wonders if Squall will organize the Garden Festival in her place before quickly realizing that ain't gonna happen. Quistis is surprised by how quietly the end came for her, thinking it would be a more dramatic event. I mean, getting caught up in an huge explosion seems pretty dramatic to me, but whatever! Irvine starts to think that Squall didn't trust him or want him around, and that's why he put him on this team. Ever the optimist, Selphie can't agree with the other two, thinking Squall chose them because he believed in them. As I said before, her ability to keep herself together in dire circumstances is one of her most admirable traits. And then there's a huge explosion, and we cut to Squall and company as they arrive at Balamb Garden, happy to see it's still safe.

Squall realizes that they may not necessarily be out of hot water yet, and the missiles could be en route. With that in mind, they decide their next course of action has to be to report to Headmaster Cid. Unfortunately, that proves to be a harder task than expected, as there's chaos everywhere. The faculty are telling the students to find Cid as well, but with the intention of capturing and killing him, so now we have to quell a mutiny! The faculty ask Squall if he sides with Cid or with Garden Master NORG, and you can lie to avoid a fight for now, but that's no fun!
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Before starting do I have to watch Kingsglaive or something?
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As you talk to the students, you find out that the faculty members set the monsters in the Training Center loose, so they're attacking anyone in sight. Several of the students will give you items for talking to them, but unfortunately, nobody seems to know where Cid is. You have to go to each of the wings of the Garden on the first floor and fend off the Garden Faculty and their monsters of choice (although I think one or two of the battles is avoidable). Fun Fact: Up to this point, every time you entered a wing of the Garden, you had to go through a long hallway first (which is where you encounter the faculty members during this part). After this sequence, you automatically skip ahead to the next area and the hallways go away forever!

As soon as we enter the Garden proper, Fujin and Raijin meet us and catch us up to speed. Once Squall informs them of the potentially incoming missiles, the two of them agree to help warn everyone. When Zell and Rinoa ask Fujin and Raijin who they side with in this dispute, they reply that they will always only side with Seifer, and that's all there is to it. Naturally, Squall wonders if they're all right with the fact that Seifer himself has sided with the sorceress.

It becomes pretty clear right away that NORG and his goons are the instigators in this riot, and it's mostly underclassmen siding with them, for whatever the reason. Nearly all the SeeDs we encounter are pro-Cid. Either way, it's kind of tough for me to believe that so many people would side with some guy none of them had ever heard of until the riot happened. Some sort of mob mentality or manipulation or something? Who knows! I'm just enjoying the ride!

In the infirmary, Dr. Kadowaki helps a "rebel" student who gets injured during the fight, saying it doesn't matter whose side they're on. When Squall tells her that there may be missiles headed this way, she opts to stay because who will take care of the injured if she leaves? I just realized this is one of the rare situations in a JRPG where the "rebels" aren't treated as the good guys for trying to overthrow the establishment! Either way, we really could have used some more background and context here.

Along the way, you can run into Nida, the other guy who passed the SeeD exam along with Squall, Zell, and Selphie. Completely forgot about him? Don't worry. Squall did, too! One of the SeeDs will say that Cid had most of the SeeDs evacuate because the "true battle of SeeD" is yet to come, hinting at their role of fighting the sorceress. Everyone tells us we should look for Xu if we want to find Cid. She basically took charge as soon as this whole uprising began. The advantage of having Zell is seen in the library, where the girl with pigtails (who obviously has crush on her) will give you a better haul than you'd get without him.
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BK_Sheikah00 posted...

Before starting do I have to watch Kingsglaive or something?

Nah, you don't have to watch it. It's mostly to provide background information on a big event that happens near the beginning of the game.
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That being said, I did enjoy it, although I feel like that's a minority opinion

well positive feelings about FFXV in general seems like a minority opinion
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After exhausting all of our options, we head back toward the entrance, only to see Xu headed for the elevator. They follow her up to the 2nd floor, and when she asks whose side they're on, Squall simply says, "Neither." He recognizes there's more urgent stuff at the moment than picking sides in this riot. When Squall tells her about the missiles, she informs them that Cid's actually been in his office the whole time. They tried to make it seem like he was in hiding to divert everyone's attention. Hiding in plain sight and all that.

When we reach Cid's office, he's already been informed about the missiles. Unfortunately, the intercom is busted, so they can't announce an order to evacuate. Cid tells them to assist Fujin, Raijin, and Xu in warning everyone to evacuate and then get out themselves. Squall wonders what's going on in his mind right now. He insists that he has a lot to report, but Cid says it can wait until later as he gives a shaky SeeD salute. However, Squall thinks that he might be dead later. Cid asks if there's some sort of problem, and for the first time in the game, he actually vocalizes his thoughts aloud, asking him what he intends to do.

Cid says he's going to stay here until the end, although he assures them he hasn't resigned himself to death. He has one last ditch plan, but he's really in no shape to be doing it himself, so Squall insists that he let them handle it instead. When Cid asks him why, he goes through a bevy of reasons in his mind: Cid might screw up, he wants to do more than just announce an evacuation, Balamb Garden is important to him, too, he wants to find out Cid's plan, and because this is his home. Ultimately, he doesn't think his "reasons" matter, and he tells Cid that his feelings have nothing to do with it. As we just saw, he's clearly lying, but at least he's starting to be more honest with himself, even if not with everyone else quite yet.

Cid laughs and says that Quistis was right that he has a hard time expressing his feelings. In his mind, Squall wonders why he should bother, and why he's being judged for his lack of expression. Then Cid tells them that this building used to be a shelter of some kind before it was remodeled into the Garden as they know it now. He tosses Squall a key to unlock access to the basement levels on the elevator. Supposedly, there's some sort of control system down there. Cid himself has never seen it and has no clue what it does, but since this used to be a shelter, maybe it'll protect them from the missiles. Squall doesn't really like such a half-cocked plan, but it's better than nothing.
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As we start this sequence, it'll occasionally cut to FMVs of the missiles making their way to Garden (As an aside, if you didn't set the error ratio to max in Selphie's section, you can actually get a game over FMV of the missiles destroying Garden). When we descend in the elevator, the power goes out, so we have to climb out through the bottom hatch. Then the power comes back down as we get near the bottom, so we make a narrow escape to avoid getting crushed by the descending elevator. Nice use of an action movie trope!

There's a part where you have to turn a rusted wheel in order to open the next area, and you have to mash a button for several seconds. If you can't get it in one try, another party member will help out and make it easier. Supposedly, it's possible to do it by yourself even without a turbo controller, but I've never been able to do it and I fancy myself a fairly solid button masher!

Eventually, we reach the precursor to MGS3's The Ladder. Squall is supposed to choose who will climb it, but no matter what you choose, he ultimately opts just to go by himself. Unfortunately, before "Eyes On Me" can start up in the background, the ladder collapses and Squall goes flying through a window. Another great action movie trope! Fortunately, we end up in the room we needed to be in all along! Squall can either confirm or deny (or ride the fence with "Kind of") that the experience scared him when you get back to the other party members.

When we get all the way to the bottom, we have to fight off a couple of Oilboyles. Thankfully, they're susceptible to sleep, so it makes the fight a breeze. FFVIII has a handful of fun songs that only last for like a minute because they're used in the context of an FMV. I like the song that plays as the missiles close in, called "Retaliation." When they reach the control center, Squall just starts pushing buttons and it eventually activates the security measure, which is...flight! Yes, someone decided making a giant flying building was a great idea! I suppose it is a decent defensive tactic to protect against something that requires a stationary target, like missiles, but still!

I like the song that plays during this part, appropriately called "Movin'." We get a really cool FMV of the Garden activating its flight system right as the missiles zoom past where it was only moments before. We decide to go take a look at how things are going around Garden, and the fact that it just took flight and we just narrowly avoided being blown up by missiles has caused everyone to regain some perspective and brings the fervor of the riot down to nothing. We can head out to the platform and get a unique FMV if Rinoa is in your party (It won't play if she's not, naturally) where she takes in the view from outside while another short song, "Blue Sky," plays, and then she looks back at smiles at Squall.

Then reality ensues when we realize we don't know how to pilot this thing and we're about to crash into the town of Balamb. Everyone looks to Squall for answers, as usual, and he decides that if button mashing worked the first time, it'll work again. Fortunately, he turns out to be right, but then we fall off the island into the sea. Doubly fortunately, Garden can float, so now we can take a breather and figure out what to do next and how to drive this crazy thing.
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Next, we get our first of one of my favorite aspects of Disc 2, which is Squall simply in his room thinking. Yes, this sounds so exciting, I know, but these are great character building moments and they're part of why I love him. It's just him alone with his thoughts, trying to figure out life. One of the big things about Final Fantasy VIII is that Squall's inner turmoil is given the same weight (if not more) than the outward conflict. Disc 2 is where all of that really starts to kick into high gear as he begins to question everything he always thought he knew or believed.

For now, he's just mulling everything over because there's nothing they can do but float in the ocean for now. He's thinking about all the things he wants to ask Cid about, but at the same time, he's probably too busy trying to reestablish order to deal with that right now. Squall says that he hates having nothing to do because it gets him thinking too much, but I love it and can't get enough of it! But yeah, this is what I meant earlier when I said Squall was content to be a mindless soldier who just follows orders and never has to think about anything. However, as time has gone by, that has become less and less possible for him, especially as he has risen in the estimation of his teammates and of Cid, because now they all look to him for leadership.

Then Squall's thoughts start hopping around from topic to topic in rapid succession. He thinks about Selphie and the others, hoping they're all right and wondering if he made the right call to let them go. He begins to wonder who the sorceress is and why she would try to destroy the Garden. He wonders if there's a day Seifer will ever come back, while also vowing to get even next time he sees him.

Eventually, he drifts off to sleep and he wakes up to see Rinoa standing above him, asking him to give her a tour of the Garden. Squall asks if this is an "order," but she says she simply wants him to show her around so she can get acquainted with the place. He relents, but you gotta start locking your door, man!

If you look at the info corner, you can find some stuff about the nature of the shelter Garden used to be before Cid took it over. The ancient people of Centra built them to be able to travel around the world. There are many ruined shelters that have been discovered, but I guess finding one that's still intact is pretty rare! Either that, or no one's been able to figure it out. Gotta just start pushing buttons, guys!
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Oh yeah, that new game by the Zero Escape dude came out today. I'm sure I'll pick it up eventually when I'm in the mood for a new VN. I might grab it sooner if it has good word of mouth on B8. I tend to trust B8 when it comes to VNs.
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The Garden tour is one of the greatest slice of life moments in the game, but it's completely optional and missable, which is a shame. The game doesn't make you go to each area, but you get extra dialogue everywhere you go. Squall actually takes the role of tour guide seriously and explains everything to Rinoa. She even laughs that he's being so serious when he makes his explanation. You can get another running gag of Zell being too late to get a hot dog in the cafeteria! Also, the parking lot area has to be next to useless now that Garden is mobile.

Squall and Rinoa have a great exchange in the training center (where you learn students call it "the monster's lair," just so you have some extra useless info!) where he asks her if she wants to give fighting the monsters a try. She replies that she can imagine him doing this as a first date and jokes that he's so romantic. As you're wandering around, Dr. Kadowaki will tell you she's looking for Cid and to have him drop by the infirmary.

If you take Rinoa to the library, she'll instantly become enamored by it and want to go looking around on her own. I remember reading that Square wanted Rinoa to be a more "down to earth" kind of girl, so they made her someone who loved to read. If she's not in your active party, this is normally where Rinoa will be hanging out. On a similar note, that's why Rinoa isn't a bombshell beauty like Tifa and Aerith were. She's very pretty, of course, but they scaled her back a bit. If you go to the backroom of the library, you'll find Ellone sitting there. Squall will remember her from the infirmary and saving her in the Training Center, but he still doesn't know who she is. She urges him to try to remember because it would be heartbreaking if she were forgotten.

Probably my favorite part of the tour is in the infirmary, where Dr. Kadowaki is stunned to see Squall walking around with a girl. She asks if this is his girlfriend, and you can deny it or play along. Both options result in great exchanges, but I prefer to play along. Rinoa asks him if he's serious, and he'll confirm that he is indeed serious, which stuns her speechless. Then he follows it up with, "I'm seriously joking," which results in a big facepalm from Rinoa before conceding that it's a pretty good joke by his standards.

When you get back to the entrance, a faculty member will tell Squall that the Garden Master wishes to see him, so we can take the elevator down to B1. Also, you can officially begin the CC Card Group sidequest if you talk to Jack in this area. It's one of the most fun sidequests in the game with a nice twist at the end. Anyway, when we get down to the bottom, we hear Cid arguing with someone (and then Zell joins us shortly thereafter, conveniently spotting us getting on the elevator and then coming down behind us).

There are a couple of good songs during this part. The one that plays when you first show up is called, "Truth." Fittingly enough, the one that plays once you start talking with NORG is called, "Heresy," and it's permeated with really bombastic organ music. We get to see a rare angry side of Cid, and Squall relays the message for him to see Dr. Kadowaki before he takes off.
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When we arrive, a giant pod opens up and we see an unusual yellow dude the likes of which we've never seen before. Even Squall is shocked by what he sees. As an aside, I wonder what NORG's speech was like in Japanese. In English, HE-SPEAKS-IN-ALL-CAPS-WITH-HYPHENS-LIKE-THIS with an occasional "Fushururu" thrown in, whatever that's supposed to represent!

NORG wastes no business in telling Squall to give his report on the sorceress assassination mission. He isn't really sure where to start, but he realizes this is going to be a sad report when he opens by stating that they failed. When Squall mentions that this was a joint operation between Balamb and Galbadia Gardens, NORG is furious, saying they were deceived by Martine. One of the faculty members explains that Garden and the sorceress are closely connected, so she will definitely try to gain control of all of them. As a result of the alliance between Deling and Edea, NORG sent an official order to Galbadia Garden to assassinate the sorceress.

NORG says that Martine used Squall and company as a scapegoat to deflect blame away from himself in the event the mission failed. Squall is surprised to hear that Balamb Garden had nothing to do with that order, but they explain that they conveniently showed up at just the right time, so Martine used them. Because the assassination failed, the sorceress retaliated as expected, so they need to do something to appease her. As such, NORG's plan is to hand over those involved in the assassination to Edea as a show of sincerity and good faith. Of course, it's only a feigned allegiance to procure their own survival and Garden's continued existence.

Squall finally can't take it anymore and asks why they aren't out there fighting the sorceress instead. The Garden faculty members say that Cid was saying the same things, which infuriates NORG further and chases them away. Because he dispatched SeeD to kill the sorceress and the mission failed, Garden was endangered. He calls it his Garden, saying that he was the one who put up all the money to establish it. He wanted to offer Cid to the sorceress as well and ordered the students to apprehend him, but most of them sided with him instead.

Squall utterly rejects the notion that Garden belongs to NORG. At that moment, he decides to drop the bombshell that Cid and Edea are married, asking if Garden belongs to "that pathetic married couple." NORG's paranoia leads him to believe that the two of them are conspiring to take Garden away from him, so now we have to fight him. For all of NORG's big talk, he's kind of a wimp, and he also tells us exactly how his pod works by saying that he can use lots of powerful magic when the orbs turn red! As such, as long as you keep them blue, NORG isn't much of a problem. Also, it's nice to finally get a new GF in Leviathan!

After the battle, NORG goes into hibernation into a giant cocoon. If you come back down here later, that cocoon will have opened up, but the game never pursues what becomes of NORG afterwards, which is too bad. I wonder if they ever intended to make a sidequest out of it but ran out of time. Anyway, Zell wonders what the heck just happened, but Squall tells them to forget about it for now. Rinoa can't believe he would say something like that, but he says there's really no point in discussing it when none of them have a clue what's going on. Squall laments that he's starting to feel like some puppet being manipulated for some major scheme. Hoo boy, you should try being in a Metal Gear Solid game...!
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