On day 22 of my Final Fantasy Marathon, I started Final Fantasy IV Pixel Remaster. Today, I’m picking up after the battle of Fabul.

Journey to Baron

Yang’s wife sees us off at the docks as we board a ship for Baron. On the ship, Yang asks what we will do when we get to Baron.

Cecil says we will need to meet with Cid, Baron’s chief airship engineer. Our journey is interrupted when Leviathan makes an appearance.

Rydia falls into the ocean and Yang jumps in after her. Edward collapses on the ship’s deck.

In a repeat of a scene from Final Fantasy III, a giant whirlpool opens and sucks down the ship. Cecil wakes, alone, on a beach.

Mysidia

When I get back to the overworld map, I see that I am near the town of Mysida. I walk to the town.

The Mysidians are understandably unhappy to see Cecil again. One even turns him into a toad.

There are no chests or items in the town. I meet with the Elder. He wants to know why I have returned.

I tell him I’m fighting a man named Golbez, who has risen to power in Baron. I also explain that my companions were lost when our ship was attacked by Leviathan.

The Elder thinks I’m being tested. He says I rely too much on my dark sword, which will darken my soul.

He says if I want to fight with purity, I must go to Mt. Ordeals. Cecil objects that he can’t waste time, because his friends are in danger.

The Elder tells him not to be impatient. He says Cecil is destined for greatness and must transform his dark sword into one of light.

If I accept the holy light, I will become a paladin. However, he warns that many have made the journey to Mt. Ordeals and none have returned.

Cecil reluctantly agrees to go. The Elder says the journey will be dangerous and assigns two young mages named Palom and Porum to accompany him.

Palom can’t believe he has to help this Baron scum. Porom scolds Palom for being rude. The pair of them join the party.

Palom is a level 10 Black Mage, and Porom is a level 10 White Mage. Before leaving for Mt. Ordeals, I restock supplies and purchase some equipment upgrades for the two mages.

Mt. Ordeals

We walk to Mt. Ordeals, which has four chests and no items. The entrance is blocked by a wall of fire.

Palom casts Blizzard to get rid of the fire, and we proceed up the mountain. Meanwhile, Golbez summons Scarmiglione, one of the four elemental lords.

He orders Scarmiglione to kill Cecil, saying his dark sword will be useless against Scarmiglione’s undead. Kain warns that Cecil may be a formidable opponent.

Golbez accuses Kain of questioning his judgment. He says Scarmiglione will not fail and Golbez and Rosa will delight in watching Cecil’s demise.

Kain begs Golbez to let him kill Cecil instead. Golbez tells him he should be grateful to be alive after his last fuckup.

Tellah’s return

Back at Mt. Ordeals, we find Tellah. Tellah wants to know if Cecil is also seeking Meteor.

Palom and Porom are excited to meet the great Sage. Palom lets slip that they are spying on Cecil.

Tellah asks where Rydia and Edward are. Cecil tells him about the attack by Leviathan and Golbez’s capture of Rosa.

Cecil says he thought Tellah would head straight to baron to confront Golbez. Tellah says his magic still lacks the power to defeat him, so he came to Mt. Ordeals seeking Meteor.

Porom warns that Meteor requires too much vitality to cast for a man Tellah’s age. Tellah says his life would be a fair price to pay to bring down Golbez.

Tellah again asks why Cecil is there and Cecil explains he is trying to become a paladin. Tellah decides the mountain must have some secret after all and he will join Cecil’s party.

Scarmiglione

As we climb the mountain, we hear strange noises. Porom thinks Palom is doing it, even though he pleads innocence.

At the top of the mountain, Tellah senses an evil presence. Scarmiglione attacks with four Skulnants. The fight is fairly easy, even though Cecil can’t do much damage to the undead.

I have Tellah and Porom cast Fire spells, use Darkness with Cecil, and have Palom heal the party. Once the undead are gone, Cecil can attack Scarmiglione.

We win the battle and walk away, but Scarmiglione announces his true strength lies in death. He attacks us from behind, now morphed into an even uglier creature.

This version of Scarmiglione is tougher than the first one, but not by much. He uses a special attack that inflicts slow and poison on us.

I use the same basic strategy as the first fight, casting Fire spells with Tellah and Porom, attacking with Cecil, and healing with Palom. Scarmiglione goes down for good this time and falls off the bridge.

Transformation time

Cecil approaches a glowing stone, and it speaks to him, calling him “son.” We enter into a chamber with a glass wall.

The voice tells Cecil it has been waiting a long time for him. It will now entrust Cecil with its strength, but only if Cecil can overcome his dark past.

Cecil receives a new sword and transforms into a purple-haired version of himself. Cecil’s Dark Knight form comes out of the glass wall and attacks.

To win the battle, Cecil must sheath his sword. By refusing to attack his dark self, he wins the fight and transforms into a Paladin.

The voice tells Cecil to use his new power to stop Golbez and then bids him farewell. Cecil says the voice seems familiar.

Tellah gets his groove back

Tellah suddenly remembers his spells and realizes the power of the mountain has broken the seal on Meteor. Palom and Porom start to confess that they have been spying on Cecil, but Tellah interrupts them.

He declares he is doom itself and is ready to face Golbez. The group agrees it is time to head for Baron.

Cecil now has the ability to cast low-level white magic spells. He can also damage the undead, now that he no longer wields the dark sword.

Return to Mysidia

I wanted to teleport off the mountain, but that spell wasn’t available to use, so I walked back down instead. We return to Mysidia.

The Elder is surprised we succeeded. Palom and Porum report that Cecil performed brilliantly and the Elder confesses he set them to spy on Cecil.

The Elder asks where Cecil got his new sword. Cecil explains it was given to him on the mountain.

The Elder tells him the sword is inscribed with an ancient Mysidian legend. The legend says, “One born of a dragon, bearing darkness and light, will rise to the heavens over the still land. The moon’s light eternal brings a promise to Earth with bounty and grace.”

Cecil asks why the light called him “son.” The Elder doesn’t know. He says the Mysidians have prayed for the coming of one who bears the sacred light for generations.

He thinks maybe those prayers were for Cecil. Tellah has had enough of the chitter chatter and wants to go after Golbez.

When the Elder realizes Tellah knows Meteor, he says the world is on the brink of great change. However, Tellah doesn’t give a shit. He just wants to avenge Anna.

The Elder warns Tellah not to fight with hatred. He also tells him he is in no condition to use Meteor.

Tellah doesn’t care. He says if he dies, at least he’ll take Golbez with him. The Elder thinks Tellah is being a stubborn mule.

However, he concedes that with Tellah’s spells and Cecil’s new power, they might be able to defeat Golbez. Cecil tells him they need to go to Baron to steal an airship.

The Elder grants my party access to the Devil’s Road. He then retires to the Tower of Worship, saying he will pray for our success.

The Elder tells Palom and Porum to return to their studies, but they want to come with us. The Elder tells them they can go. Before entering the Devil’s Road, I purchase some equipment upgrades and restock my supplies.

Return to Baron

I step onto the Devil’s Road and am transported to Baron. I find Yang hanging out with some soldiers in the Inn.

He doesn’t seem to recognize me. When I tell him who I am, he orders the soldiers to seize me.

We defeat the two Baron Guards and then Yang attacks. When we beat him, he comes back to his senses.

He tells us that he can’t remember anything after the Leviathan attack. Cecil asks where Rydia and Edward are.

Yang says Leviathan swallowed Rydia, and he doesn’t know what happened to Edward. Yang asks where we are.

Cecil explains that we are in Baron, but should move somewhere more private to talk. The Innkeeper lets us have a room for free as thanks for getting rid of the soliders.

Everyone introduces themselves to Yang. Palom scolds Yang for falling for Baron’s lies. Yang asks for forgiveness for his actions.

Cecil tells him that we need to find Cid. Yang discovers he has the Baron key in his pocket.

Cecil assumes they must have given it to him when they put him in charge of Baron’s soldiers. We use the key to open the locked weapon and armor shops.

I find a couple of hidden treasures in there and purchase some equipment upgrades. Then, we use the key to open the entrance to the Old Waterway.

Breaking into Baron Castle

There are eight chests and no items here. I find an Ancient Sword in a chest, but it doesn’t seem to be an upgrade for Cecil.

We emerge from the waterway into the moat of Baron Castle. From there, we enter a door to get into the Castle proper.

Treachery ahead

As we near the throne room, Baigan greets us. Cecil initially thinks Baigan is serving Golbez, but Baigan convinces him that he is loyal to Baron.

Cecil asks where Cid is. Baigan claims he was looking for Cid, but he and his men were attacked, leaving him the only survivor.

Baigan joins our party and we head for the throne room. However, Palom and Porom smell a rat.

Baigan tries to keep up the act, but it doesn’t work. He reveals that Golbez granted him a “wonderful power.”

Baigan transforms into a monster and attacks. Baigans arms are separate targets from his body.

If you kill the arms, he just regenerates them. He also casts reflect on himself and sometimes bounces reflect off himself and onto the party.

This means that, for the most part, you can’t directly attack him with magic. It also makes healing your own party with magic difficult, because the spells may just bounce onto Baigan.

I have Cecil and Yang attack like normal, focusing on the body. I have Tellah cast reflect on Cecil and then have him and Palom cast Bio on Cecil, so it bounces back to Baigan.

This does a ton of damage, but you can’t control where it hits, so when the arms are alive, it usually hits those first. I have Porom toss potions at whoever needs healing.

Once Baigan is defeated, I loot the castle of the remaining chests and items and then proceed to the throne room.

The king is dead

We find the King of Baron on his throne. He isn’t happy to find that Cecil has become a Paladin.

He then reveals that he isn’t the King at all. He is actually Cagnazzo, the Lord of Water. Cagnazzo attacks.

The trick to beating him is to zap him with thunder spells whenever he starts gathering water. He also has a “turtle defense” where he doesn’t take much damage.

I beat him by having Cecil and Yang attack, Tellah and Palom cast thunder spells, and Porom heal the party. After we defeat him, Cid shows up.

Tragic reunion

Cid is thrilled to find Cecil alive. He wants to know where Rosa is. Cecil tells him that Golbez took her.

We ask where Cid’s new airship is and he takes us to his hiding place. However, as we exit the throne room, we hear the voice of Cagnazzo.

He tells us we will join him in the netherworld, and then the walls start closing in. The door is locked, so Tellah warps us out with his Teleport spell.

Wait, no, I mean, Palom destroys the door with a Fire spell! No, I mean, Palom and Porum say their goodbyes to the group and then turn themselves to stone to stop the walls.

Very dramatic, but was it really necessary? Tellah attempts to heal them with an Esuna spell, but it doesn’t work because they chose to become stone.

The remaining party members express their sorrow and vow to get revenge. Cecil declares that he will get Golbez, and his little dog too.

Golbez’s plot

Meanwhile, Golbez says that Cecil’s defeat of Cagnazzo shows that his power is growing. Kain suggests having Cecil get the Earth Crystal for them by offering to exchange Rosa for it.

Golbez likes the idea and adds that he will kill Cecil when he comes to make the exchange. Kain leaves to offer Cecil their terms.

Rosa pleads with Kain. He tells her that she’ll soon find he is superior to Cecil.

The Enterprise

We arrive at Cid’s hiding place and board the Enterprise. Shortly after we take off, we see Kain approaching on one of the Redwings.

He puts out the white flag, so we allow him to board. Kain tells Cecil that if he wants Rosa back, he will bring him the Earth Crystal.

Cecil tells Kain to wake up. Kain says, “Go woke. Go broke.” Just kidding, he tells Cecil he has nothing to say and leaves.

Cecil tells Cid to set a course for Troia. I gain control of the airship.

Troia

I fly northwest to Troia. The town has four items and no chests. There isn’t much of interest here.

Cid is now a member of my party. He is a level 20 Engineer. He has a “study” special ability, which I assume works something like the Scholar’s ability in FFIII.

Troia Castle

Troia Castle has 26 chests and one item. I learn from one of the guards that a Damcyan man, claiming to be a prince, drifted into Troia.

I also learn that Troia is governed by women, and all of its soldiers are also women. After looting all the treasures, except those in the room I need permission to enter, I find Edward lying in a sickbed.

He is relieved to find Cecil still alive and wants to rejoin the party. Tellah tells him that he will only be a burden in his current condition.

Edward apologizes for getting Anna killed, but Tellah doesn’t respond. Edward asks what happened to Rydia and Yang tells him.

Edward laments that he always seems to be elsewhere when others are in need. Cid tries to cheer him up and suggests he join us on the Enterprise.

Edward questions why we haven’t rescued Rosa now that we have an airship. Cecil tells him about the deal to exchange the Earth Crystal for her.

Unfortunately, the Crystal is in the hands of the Dark Elf, which Cecil shouldn’t know yet, but I guess they just assumed I’d talk to the clerics before coming here. Edward gives Cecil the Twin Harp.

He says it is the only way he can help right now. I go talk to the clerics and learn that the Dark Elf stole the Earth Crystal.

The clerics say they will lend the crystal to us if we can reclaim it from the Dark Elf. They also tell me that the Dark Elf is weak to metallic weapons, so he put up a magnetic field that will slow us if we bring anything metal into the cave.

The Dark Elf

I can’t land the airship on the island where the cave is, so I walk north to the Chocobo Village. There are three items here, but they are all Gyhsal Greens.

Like in FFIII, these items are for calling Fat Chocobo, which isn’t necessary in this version of the game. I also find a White Chocobo who restores my party’s MP.

I grab the Black Chocobo and fly to the island. The Magnetic Cavern contains 10 chests and no items.

Before I go in, I swap all my gear to non-metallic items, except for Yang’s claws, which, for some reason, aren’t affected. I find a Fairy Claw in a chest and give it to Yang.

When I reach the Dark Elf, he says we will never be able to defeat him with our current weapons. He then decimates the party with a series of powerful spells.

Edward senses we are in danger and drags himself over to his harp. He begins to play and we hear the tune on the Twin Harp he gave us.

Edward explains that the Dark Elf can’t control the magnetic field while Edward is playing. The magnetic field dissapaits.

I equip my party with their best gear and jump back into the fight. I immediately realize that I forgot to move Cecil back to the front row.

I had put him in the back while he was using a bow. In spite of this, we take down the Dark Elf pretty easily, but then he transforms into the Dark Dragon.

Dark Dragon

The Dark Dragon is much tougher than the Dark Elf. He casts some powerful spells that hit the whole party. Eventually, only Cecil is left alive.

However, in spite of his power being reduced in the back row, he prevails and defeats the Dark Dragon. I take the Earth Crystal and Tellah teleports us out of the cavern.

Return to Troia

I fly the Black Chocobo back to the Chocobo Village and then ride a Yellow Chocobo to Troia. The clerics are thrilled to get the Earth Crystal back.

However, their joy is short-lived. We hear Kain’s voice telling us he sees we have the Earth Crystal.

He tells us to board his ship and bring the Crystal with us. He says he will take us to Rosa.

The clerics stick to their agreement to let me borrow the Crystal. They also give me permission to take the treasure from the underground storeroom.

The chests contain a number of useful items, such as Dry Ethers and Elixirs. They also hold a Silver Apple that increases the max HP of the party member who uses it by 50.

I have Cecil use it, since I know he’s not a temporary party member.

Tower of Zot

As soon as my airship lifts off, Kain’s ship approaches. Cecil demands to know where Rosa is.

Kain tells him she’s in the Tower of Zot and commands Cecil to come aboard his ship. We board Kain’s ship and he leaves us on the first floor of the Tower.

Kain tells us that Golbez wants to speak with us. Golbez tells us that Rosa is with him at the top of the tower.

He tells Cecil to bring the Crystal, and we’ll trade. He suggests we hurry, lest anything unfortunate happen to Rosa.

There are six chests and no items in the tower. We get some Flame Mail from the first chest and give it to Cecil.

A monster-in-a-box encounter with a Fiery Hound yields the Flame Sword, which also goes to Cecil. Another chest contains the Hell Claw, which goes to Yang.

The Flame Shield goes to Cecil. The Gaia Hammer is for Cid. Tellah gets the Sage’s Surplice.

The Magus Sisters

On the second-to-last floor, we encounter the Magus Sisters. They tell us they serve Barbariccia, the Lord of Wind.

The Magus Sisters’ primary gimmick is that Sandy casts reflect on Cindy and then casts other spells at Cindy that bounce onto our party, including reflect. I’m not sure what the point of this is, other than to guard against us reflecting magic back at her.

I start by attacking Cindy with physical attacks. Once she is down, I take out Sandy and Mindy, adding Tellah’s Bio spells to the mix.

We win the battle fairly easily and climb to the top of the tower. Rosa is nowhere in sight, but Golbez and Kain are there.

Golbez demands the crystal or Rosa dies. Cecil hands it over. Golbez then plays dumb, acting like he doesn’t know who Rosa is.

Tellah’s vengence

Golbez calls Tellah an ignorant dotard. Tellah rushes him, declaring vengeance will be his.

Tellah casts spell after spell while Golbez stands there and mocks him. He decides he has to cast Meteor.

The rest of the party pleads with Tellah not to destroy himself, but he casts the spell anyway. Golbez is shocked that Tellah knows the spell and appears to lose the fight.

However, he is still alive, while Tellah collapses. Golbez attempts to summon Kain, but Meteor broke his hold on him.

Golbez vows to destroy Cecil someday. Cecil tries to stop Golbez from leaving and Golbez zaps him with his magic.

However, when he goes to finish him off, he appears to suffer some sort of distress. He tells Cecil they will settle things next time they meet and leaves.

Cecil says he is alright and that Meteor must have weakened Golbez. Tellah says he failed.

He calls himself a fool for losing himself in his own hatred. He asks the remaining party members to avenge his daughter for him and then dies.

Cecil vows to avenge Tellah and Anna. I guess we haven’t learned anything about the price of vengeance.

Kain gets woke

Kain wakes up and apologizes to Cecil for what he did. Cecil says it wasn’t Kain’s fault, because he was being controlled by Golbez.

Kain says a part of him was still awake though. Cecil suddenly remembers Rosa and Kain leads him to where she is tied up.

Cecil grabs Rosa just before the guillotine drops. The pair kiss while Kain looks uncomfortable.

Rosa realizes Kain is the room. Cecil tells her it’s OK because Kain is himself again.

Kain says he wasn’t completely under Golbez’s control and asks Rosa to forgive him. He explains that he was trying to keep Rosa close at any cost.

Rosa asks Kain to fight with them. Kain says he doesn’t deserve to after everything he has done.

Cid tells them to save the corny drama, because we need to get out of the tower. Cecil tells Kain we need him now more than ever.

Rosa and Kain join the party. We try to leave the tower, but we hear another voice.

Barbariccia

The Lord of Wind, Barbariccia, calls Kain a disappointment and snotty little wretch and then attacks. Barbariccia’s gimmick is that she periodically turns into a tornado and takes reduced damage until Kain forces her to switch back with his jump attack.

I don’t have any black mages now, so I just keep attacking with everyone but Kain, who jumps, and I use Rosa to heal the party. Barbariccia has a special attack that takes one party member down to single digit HP and turns one partially to stone.

The fight wasn’t particularly difficult, but it was a bit longer than the previous boss fights. Like the others, Barbariccia is a sore loser.

She tells us the last elemental lord still remains and then collapses the tower. However, unlike Tellah, Rosa remembers that she can teleport and gets us out.

Cecil’s room

We end up in Cecil’s room in Baron. Kain tells Cecil that Golbez doesn’t have all the crystals yet.

There are four dark crystals in the underworld and Kain has the key to get in. However, he doesn’t know where the door is.

Golbez also knows where the crystals are and told Kain he can open a path to the Moon when he gets them. Cid decides we will just fly around the world on the Enterprise until we find where to use the key.

Seems like a super reasonable plan! I save outside the castle and quit at six hours and 30 minutes in.