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Ah!!! Squall!! If you're like me (poor soul) you've probably been freaking out after you saw what happened to poor Squall! Unfortunately you won't be able to find out right away...
The Monster Hunter of Winhill
Looks like you're back in dreamland. (The first time I played I thought the whole disc would be about Laguna with dreams in "Squall Land") Say hi to Kiros, who Laguna hasn't seen in awhile. Turns out Ward's now a mute working in a prison, and Julia married General Caraway after her love (Laguna!) never returned from war (which makes Julia Rinoa's mom!) Turns out Julia did become a singer, and her big hit was called "Eyes on Me". (remember the tune Julia played on the piano way back? Don't forget it!) Anyway, take Kiros through the towns, killing catcherpillars and bite bugs. Spend the 3000 Gil Laguna has and the items will be added to Squall's stash. Looks like Laguna has a thing for Raine, the woman who nursed him back to health. Also, pay attention to the name Ellone. You're going to be hearing that name a whole hell of a lot between discs 2 and 3.
Jail house Rock
When the dreamers are awake, you'll
be transported to a prison cell where you'll see Zell, Selphie, Quistis
and Rinoa. But hey, where's Squall? And, more importantly, where's Irvine?
It is important that throughout your stay at the lovely prison you answer
bravely and stand up for what is right! Don't lie and don't wimp out. Then
say good-bye to Rinoa. Where's she going?
Turns out Squall's being tortured
by Seifer about what the true meaning of SeeD is. Huh? True meaning? Squall
hasn't a clue, but Seifer's not buying it. Cue the electric currents! Just
let me die...
Send Zell on up to retrieve the
party's weapons. Give Zell and GF or 2 before heating into battle. Once
you have the weapons go back to the cell and kick the crap out of the soldiers.
Time to Find Squall!
Laguna!--wait, Laguna?
Huh? Why they callin' Squall Laguna?
Oh well. They can call him Rinoa as long as they let him out! Meet up with
your pals and head up. Let Zell operate the lift, but hey...you can't get
out! It's underground! Crap!
Looks like Zell's in trouble! Take
him right (as if you were heading down, not up.) It's Squall to the rescue!
But wait! They're shooting at them! Where's that gun slinging ladies man
when you need him! Well, timing is everything! There he is now, tumbling
down the steps! Irvine and Rinoa! Yeah! Turns out General Crank-er...Caraway
told Irvine to get Rinoa outta there, but she made him go back for everyone.
(Why wasn't Irvine arrested in the first place? He was there too! He was
the one with the gun!) Anyway, have Squall take two people, I usually take
Zell and Rinoa, and head up to the top floor. Irvine's grouped will head
down, where the mechanical arm stopped.
When Squall and his pals try to
leave, they run into trouble...
GIM52A and Elite Soldier
Difficulty Level: Medium
Who I Used: Squall, Zell and Rinoa
Times I Died: 0
Make Quezecotl your friend and summon him right away. The rule of thumb against all machines is thunder, thunder, thunder. Use Shiva too. Try and rid of the elite solider first, since he's directing the robots. Use dispel to get rid of anything he may cast on the robots.
Once this battle is done, run onto the bridge. But oh no! It's collapsing! Hold the right D-pad for your life or Squall's done for.
I Just transferred from Trabia...
Missiles? Aimed for Trabia and Balamb
Garden? Oh no! Stupid Garbage...er..Galbadia Garden. Why would the sorceress
want to use that mound of junk for her base?
Your heart stops as missiles zoom
overhead. They were hitting Trabia first. There's still time to save Balamb!
Form two parties: one for the missile base, and one for Garden. I always
send the girls to the base and the guys to Garden. Keep in mind that you
won't be seeing the missile base group a good while after they take care
of the missile base. Form your teams and head off.
The Missile Base
Ok, open the door to the base and
head inside. Walk through the whole thing and head downstairs. Talk to
the soldiers, who give you a message. Play messenger and go back to them
once again. Go and do their matinence check for them and screw up the lighting
system. When you leave tell the soldiers you were just going to get them.
You want to avoid fighting until you have to.
Go back upstairs and help the soldiers
with the missile. Access the control panel to the left and put the missile
error ratio to 100. Then go upstairs and get ready to kill some soldiers.
Knock them outta commission and stop the missiles (the right panel's the
one on the left). Then set the self destruct (20 minutes is best) and go
out the door. But wait! That stupid solider activated the missiles again!
Damn!
You won't get very far before you're
stopped by the Galbadian army's new killing machine. Unless your HP is
abnormally high, prepare to die. This is one of the toughest battles in
the game.
BGH25IF2
Difficulty Level: Extremely Hard
Who I Used: Selphie, Quistis and Rinoa
Times I Died: 2
Heal and protect. That's the key to this battle. Also, thunder, ice and fire. Have Quezecotl, Shiva and Ifrit each junctioned to a different character. Cast protect on everyone and summon the GF's. When the officers inside start talking about the beam cannon heal everyone completely and pray your protect holds. Non-protected the beam cannon will drain most of the targeted characters HP. When someone's hit by the cannon, heal them or revive them! At the same time keep on attacking the machine! You want to dispose of it as quickly as possible. Usually when I finally kill this thing I have 1 person (usually Quistis) left alive. With the machine gone the soldiers inside come out to play. Summon any GF left alive to get of them.
But it's too late. The missiles are launched and the team is locked in the base. Everyone expresses sadness that they'll soon be dead, and you'll be disturbed to watch the missile base explode around them. (Don't panic, they're not dead!)
Home Sweet--What the Heck!?!?
Ah, back at Garden. Nice, peaceful
Gard- whoa! What's all this chaos? What do you mean what side am I on?
I just got here! Where's the headmaster?! They're gonna hit us with missiles!
Who's this Garden Master? Those creepy Garden staff members have turned
against Cid!
As you walk around Garden, be sure
to tell all the Garden staff you're with the Garden Master. Tell the students
you're with the headmaster.
The Garden is in complete chaos.
There are people running around
everywhere looking for Cid. You'll have to find him first! You'll run into
Raijin and Fujin in the Garden, and they seem even more suspicious than
last time! They say they'll tell everyone to evacuate and run away. Great.
Let's create more of a panic!
Starting with the infirmary, free
each section of the Garden. The monsters from the training center have
escaped, so there will be random encounters. At each area you will encounter
a member of the Garden staff who'll sic a training center monster on you.
After doing away with the creature proceed into the area and talk to the
students. Some will give you an item. But where's Cid? (The students in
the parking lot were mean!) After freeing each are you'll see Xu running
for the elevator. Follow her up and she'll tell you Cid's in his office.
Cid's not a happy guy already,
and when he hears about the missiles he's even more unhappy. Zell and Squall
salute the headmaster (if you bring Zell...) but if you brought Irvine,
he doesn't. What's up with that? We saluted your stupid headmaster on disc
1! Salute Cid!
Anyway, turns out Garden used to
be a shelter. Cid gives you a key and sends you to the bottom floor to
see what you can do. When the elevator breaks use the panel on the floor
to climb down. Head down into the dregs of the Garden. Poke around and
turn the wheel. Continue down and have just Squall climb the ladder leading
up. The ladder will break, sending Squall though a window. Activate the
control panel and climb back down the ladder. Open the gate on the edge
and climb down. Save and flip the lever. Out pop 2 tough bosses, the Oilboyles.
Oilboyles
Difficulty Level: Very Hard
Who I Used: Zell, Irvine and Squall
Times I Died: 2
I know, I know. I go on and on about how much
I hate Ifrit, and how he's a crappy GF, but here he is your bestest, bestest
friend and you're gonna summon him like your life depends on it. Hope you're
compatible, it probably does.
Screw using Fire magic against the Oilboyles.
Break out the protect magic and use Haste on the person with Ifrit. Summon
your best Gf's and heal/revive when necessary. Don't leave anyone dead,
or soon the other characters will look that way too.
Once these guys are gone, go back
and save again, then proceed through the exit and Oilboyles were were just
blocking. Go down the ladder and screw with the control panel. Enjoy the
ride!
So wait, the Garden can fly now?!
Whoa! And just in time too, cause here come the missiles! But how do you
stop it? Oh well. We'll just go with the flow.
Bwarrgh! Bwahaha! Bwarrgh?
It seems that mysterious Garden
Master, NORG, wants to meet you. Head down to level B1. What's Cid's problem?
Looks like him and NORG don't get along too well. As soon as you meet NORG
you'll know why.
Ew! What is that thing? NORG wants
to hear your Sorceress report (finally, *someone* does!) and he's not very
happy. Turns out you were *used* by Garden to perform an operation you
were never supposed to do. NORG also tells you how he put up the money
to begin Garden, but it was Cid's idea. He also reveals kind of a milestone
tidbit of info: Cid and Edea are *married*!? What the *bleep*?! Cid wanted
his wife killed?! Oh and yes, as a another side bit of info, to please
Edea, NORG wants you, and all your friends, dead. Hahahahaha--what? Uh...no
thanks! Squall and the gang kinda piss NORG off for not wanting to die,
and he locks himself up in his NORG pod, ready to fight.
NORG
Difficulty Level: Medium
Who I Used: Squall, Irvine and Zell
Times I Died: 0
I hope you brought Zell with you. I really do.
Here's the deal with the NORG pod. There are 3 sections of it: the left
orb, the center, and the right orb. The orbs have 3 phases: blue, yellow
and red. When the orbs turn red they'll begin to cast magic on you. That's
why Zell comes in handy. Have him *physically* attack each orb, alternating
each turn. Don't let them turn red. If you didn't bring Zell (he works
best) then you'll have to use Squall (don't tell me you didn't bring him).
Have the other 2 characters summon GF's. They won't affect the orbs, but
that's not your object. Your object is to destroy the center of the pod,
which will reveal NORG. Summon Carbuncle at the beginning of the battle,
which will protect you in case one of the orbs manages to cast any magic.
Resummon Carbuncle when the reflect wears off (hey, give this GF a break.
You most likely won't ever use him again.) Remember that your cure spells
will not be effective under reflect.
When NORG himself peaks out and says hello, immediately
draw the Leviathan GF from him. Then use whatever you want to finish him
off. NORG's a wimp.
So he's scared of us now, huh? Draw
bio from the wreckage and head upstairs. Where'd Cid go now?
Looks like he's been crying in
the infirmary. He admits that he and Edea are, in fact, married. Sup with
that? There are many confusing things going on here.
All Alone.....er Ellone??
The next morning some freaky
SeeD's in white uniforms knock on your door asking to speak to the Headmaster.
Ellone's not safe here, they say, and we've come to take her. Cid's fine
with the idea, and tells you to go get her.
Huh? The girl from the dream with
Laguna in Winhill? But I don't know what she looks like! Oh, but you do.
Head for the back of the library. Does she look familiar now? Kinda like
the girl in the infirmary at the beginning or the young lady you rescued
in the training center? Yup, that's her! (I told you to pay attention!)
Oh, so *she's* the one sending you back in time! No! Stop! We don't wanna
play Laguna anymore! Whadda *mean* I'm your only hope? What is this, Star
Wars? You can't change the past! Oh well. Say good-bye to Ellone. You won't
see her for awhile.
Whoops!
Looks like the Garden's crashed
into a village called Fishermen's Horizon. Hmm. Wonder what they do here?
But the Garden's kinda stuck, and no one knows how to get it out. Luckily,
the FH mechanics will give you a hand. And you've been given the job of
speaking with the mayor.
The mayor's not happy with your
being here, and he makes no secret about it. He wants you and the Garden
out ASAP. Geez. What a crank.
But the Galbadian army is on your
tail, and they invade FH looking for Ellone. The mayor offers to go "reason"
with the soldiers. Is he mad? You can't *reason* with Galbadian troops!
Follow the mayor to the railroad station where he's getting abused by an
officer. Step in and prepare to right your favorite friend...
BGH251F2
Difficulty Level: Hard
Who I Used: Irvine, Squall and Zell
Times I Died: 0
How cheap is the army? They're *still* using this hunk of junk? But didn't it blow up at the missile base? Oh well, beat up or not, this thing still have a "working" beam cannon, and even though it kinda sags, it's still powerful. Heal anyone hit by it. Use protect on everyone and summon Quezecotl, Shiva and Ifrit, just like last time. When it's finally defeated, the machine will back into the water, but look who comes out!
Do I Know You?
It's the missile base team, alive
and well! Everyone's glad to see each other. Squall tells his party members
to take the missile base team back to Garden. When Squall's heading back
you'll run into Irvine, who wonder if the FH technicians would mind fixing
the Garden Festival stage while they're at it. Whatever, man. Squall heads
for the bridge where it looks like the FH technicians have taught your
best friend Nida (::gag::) how to pilot the Garden. Yay. It also looks
like Cid has a surprise for Squall--he's the new leader of Garden, cause
it's his destiny! Squall's not happy. He was sick of being a leader way
back at the beginning of the disc. Squall needs a nap.
Meanwhile Selphie's ready to put
on the Garden festival. She even has the perfect band in mind--her friends!
They're not too hot about the idea, but give in. Looks like Irvines' in
charge of who gets what instrument. Just give everyone whatever you want,
it really doesn't matter.
When Squall wakes up he'll come
out of his room and run into Rinoa. Squall does not want to go, but he
hasn't any choice. Irvine tells Squall something about a magazine in a
"special spot". When your reach the center of FH go right and inspect the
magazine Irvine left for you. Oh, goodness. What on Earth has Irvine left
for you? (remember what kind of magazines Rinoa said Zone was into? One
of those. Yeah. Grrreeeaaattt. Thanks, Irvine!) Squall's kinda embarrassed,
but Rinoa shrugs it off. They talk, and it's obvious Squall just wants
to get the hell outta there. ::sigh:: When will he learn?
Back to Balamb
Have Nida take the Garden back to
Balamb. Put Zell in your party (this is a *must*) and also your other strongest
party member with the highest HP. You'll need it. If you haven't gotten
Diablos yet, access the lamp now. You'll need him soon.
You have information on Ellone...yeah,
that's it...go to the docks, then to Zell's house. Go back to the docks,
the back to Zell's. (Zell finally lets you in his room. If you have Irvine
with you, the results are really funny.) Finally, go *again* to the docks.
What's this damn Captain? (A little annoying, huh?) Talk to the dog, who
will lead you to the train station. Oh, so that's the Captain! It's Rajin,
ya know. Make sure everyone's fully healed and prepared to fight. This
is the hardest battle in the game.
Raijin
Difficulty Level: Medium
Who I Used: Irvine, Squall and Zell
Times I Died: 0
This isn't the hardest part, but be cautious! The two soldiers hanging around Raijin will fall in about 2 seconds. Cast protect on everyone. Follow that up by summoning Diablos and casting bio on Raijin. You can use any other GF's you want to, except Quezecotl. Try and keep everyone healthy, cause you'll face the most difficult battle of the game immediately following.
Raijin *and* Fujin
Difficulty Level: Extremely Hard
Who I Used: Squall, Irvine and Zell
Times I Died: 500 billion
This is the hardest battle in the game. Why? Because this is the start of a new type of battle, a type of battle where the enemy no longer waits for you to attack. They're just gonna keep churning out the attacks. You'll have to do this too. Since I used Irvine, Squall and Zell in this battle, I'll use their names. Irvine was on the left of Squall, and Zell to the right of Squall. Squall had Diablos. Here's how you begin. Pull out a mega potion and use it if you're weak after the Raijin battle. Cast double on the characters without Diablos. Then cast protect on everyone, followed by haste and regen, if you have it. Have the Diablos character summon the GF. That's Squall's job the whole battle. Make sure everyone has protect on them the *WHOLE* time. Draw Pandemona GF out of Fujin and cast blind on Raijin. Don't summon Carbuncle, even if other strategy guides tell you to. It's not wise because you'll need to heal frequently. Every time your HP's get low, heal immediately. If someone dies (it will most likely happen.) bring them back right away. Remember, no Quezecotl and no wind magic on Fujin. When Raijin backs down Fujin will begin using the Sai attack, which drains a character to 1 HP (don't you wish they taught that at Garden?). When this happens, heal the character, but don't stop attacking! No matter how many times I fought these two I always get nervous. They're not easy.
Afterwards you'll speak with Fujin and Raijin who have taken sides with Seifer (Big surprise. Those two would follow Seifer anywhere.) They want to have nothing to do with Garden now. Fine.
And They Call Centra Ruins...
Selphie wants to go see Trabia Garden,
so take the Garden up to the northern continent and go into Trabia Garden,
which is nested in the mountains.
Trabia Garden is in pretty bad
shape, but there are still some people alive. Selphie tells you to go wait
on the basketball court for her. (Have fun finding it!) Once you get there
everyone begins to talk about killing the Sorceress. Rinoa really doesn't
wan to fight her. She'd rather find a different way. Irvine understands
where she's coming from, and begins to take the gang down memory lane.
Turns out they were all in an orphanage on the Centra Continent: Selphie,
Quistis, Zell, Irvine and Squall. Irvine remembers all this, but no one
else does (blame it on the GF's, of course!) As they begin to reminisce
they start remembering some stuff. Quistis, Zell, Selphie and Irvine all
remember each other. Even Seifer had been in the orphanage, picking on
Zell even then. (If you're wondering then why Zell has parents it's because
he was adopted.) You then get taken back to the orphanage in your mind,
where you see little Squall (dressed kinda like Charlie Brown) whining
for "Sis" (a.k.a Ellone) to come back. Go down to the beach and talk with
the other orphans. You'll remember all kinds of things about the orphanage.
Quistis will also *finally* admit she's in love with Squall (as if it wasn't
obvious). Irvine then asks everyone if they remember Matron, who was the
head of the orphanage. He tells them Matron's name was Edea...oh no, could
it be....she's the Sorceress! How weird is that? They're going to fight
her anyway, even if she used to take care of them. Well, they all
decide to go find the orphanage, which is on the southern half of the Centra
continent. You can go there right away, or you can go around and complete
some side quests first.
Ewwww!! Cooties!!
What the....what's Galbadia Garden
doing flying by Edea's house? Copycats! Irvine, go blow up your dumb Garden.
Why are they attacking us? Ack! Time to give orders. Don't give too many,
or Nida will scold you. (Ew, cause he's in charge now!) Moron. Oops. Anyway,
too bad that there are no machine guns on the Garden so you could shoot
Garbage---er...Galbadia Garden down.
You'll split into 2 groups: Take
Irvine and Quistis with you and send Selphie and Rinoa with Zell.
Eek! Galbadia is attacking with
motorcycles now? Where the hell did they get those?! And why don't we have
any?
Zell, why do you want Squall's
ring for? And *now* of all times? What do mean Rinoa will be happy....??
Uh-oh! Rinoa's in big trouble.
Those stupid Galbadian Garden people knocked off the side of the Quad and
Rinoa's hanging on for her life. Go to the front gate and try and get Squall
to help. He's kinda busy, being the leader and all, so tells you to deal
with it. Then Squall and the gang are called up to Quistis' classroom to
fight off some soldiers (make sure everyone is junctioned before going
in, these are no ordinary soldiers, and can cast demi.) When SeeD and the
2 junior classmen leave to go back up to the bridge and speak to the Doctor.
Looks like Squall's been elected to save Rinoa. Plus, they're going into
Galbadia Garden. The Sorceress is obviously in there. Irvine knows his
way around (and used to go there) so all Nida has to do is ram into their
Garden. Take Squall downstairs and go save the junior classman, and get
ready for some hand to hand combat.
A paratrooper will fly in, injuring
Squall. 'Look around for another option', then 'press the button for the
emergency exit.' You have 3 main options in this battle: punch, block and
kick. the punch is good, but slow, and the kick sucks. However, if you
block enough times you get a 4th option, "deathblow", which works really
well. (They don't call is deathblow for nothing.) Keep blocking until you
get deathblow. Then kick him until you win. It may take several tries.
Then you'll rescue Rinoa and she'll
ask you about your ring. (Is it normal for people to name their rings??)
Take Rinoa and go into Garden.
If Only Irvine Could Lead....
You'll meet up with your other comrades. Choose two party members and save. You'll have to wander around the Garden trying to get 3 card keys. All the hallways look the same, so it's very frustrating. If only Mr. Kinneas could lead your party, after he (unfortunately) went here! Oh well. Go right, then go into the first door on the right. Go up the steps and talk to Fujin and Raijin, ya know? Then head left and go through the first door on the right. Talk to the student to get the keycard. Go back to the first floor and return to the save point area. Go left this time and go through the first door on the left. Go through the ice rink and then the door on the right. Go through the door across the hallway and talk to the student. You now have keycard #2. Go back the way you came and head upstairs again. Go up to the very top and head through the door. Go down and jump to the ground. Go down the hallway and keep going straight. You should come to the "central hub" (hahah) of Galbadia Garden. Go down the western hall (the one on the left) and go into the door on the right. Get the last keycard and go back the way you came. Go save and then approach the thing in the middle.
Ceberus
Difficulty Level: Hard
Who I used: Zell, Irvine and Squall
Times I Died: 1
Ceberus is tough. Don't underestimate him. If your hit points are under 2000 you shouldn't even bother. Ceberus will kill you, no matter how much you try. If you don't have any "dispel" magic you can't fight Ceberus. Make sure each character has the spell. You *CANNOT* let Ceberus cast triple on himself. If Ceberus casts triple on himself drop whatever it is you're doing and whip out the dispel magic. You can use GF's against this GF, but no Quezecotl. This will just heal Ceberus. Also, heal your characters frequently. Don't forget to mug him!
Once you've acquired that GF, junction him to someone and go down the northern hall. Take the steps up (remember the reception room you went in during your first trip here? That's where you're going) and take a left. Go up the elevator.
Hey, Seifer! What's up man?!
Seifer
Difficulty Level: Easy
Who I Used: Squall, Zell and Irvine
Times I Died: 0
This battle's easy too, but you'll have to do stuff this time besides laugh at how much Seifer sucks. He still does, but his demon slice causes about 1,500 pts of damage. However, if you have protect magic you shouldn't have a problem. Cast it on everyone and use Diablos against Seifer. Mug and draw from him too. This battle's a gift. When Seifer's HP get low he'll start using hi-potions. Good luck with that, buddy.
Crap. Where'd Edea go? Go back go back down the elevator and head straight. Head down to the southern half of the room and head into the auditorium. Get ready to kick Seifer's ass--again.
Seifer *Again*
Difficulty Level: Easy
Who I Used: Squall, Zell and Irvine
Times I Died: 0
Seifer spends this battle hung over. No, he hasn't been drinking, he's still hurting from when you whooped his ass before. This battle is more a preparation for the battle with Edea, since Seifer barely does anything. Cast protect on everyone and sic Diablos on Seifer once again. Draw from him too, and cast haste on everyone. Take some time to feel sorry for Seifer. He looks so pathetic.
Edea
Difficulty Level: Medium
Who I Used: Squall, Irvine and Zell
Times I Died: 0
Carbuncle? No, no. Don't bother. Most of her magic
can't be reflected. If your HP's are low (below 2000) you may want to consider
casting shell on everyone for insurance. You might want to do that anyway,
but remember that your cure spells will not be as effective. Use Diablos
on Edea, you may want to cast Haste on the Diablos person, or everyone,
if you have a lot. Edea has a strong spell called Maelstrom, which hits
everyone pretty hard. Use GF's against her, and mug her if you get the
chance. When her HP's get low she'll start casting death spells (my first
time against her she put a death spell on Irvine and I had to bring him
back to life. Wasn't happy about that!)
Once Edea is done there's still more...
What's up with Rinoa? What she doing to Seifer? What the hell does Edea mean she's sorry? Rinoa's half dead over here! Will the confusion ever end??
Make a grab for the best disc, 3. Congrats, you're halfway done!!
Time it took me to get through the disc: 8 hours and 30 minutes