Not much to say here. We’ve got an evil god to stop, so let’s begin the finale!
I move into the area that’s just opened up. It takes me to what’s either an icy island or a tangible fluffy cloud. Looks more like the former, though. It’s labeled “Holy Land Canal.” I enter.
The final chapter gets its name – “The Light.” You know how I said before that they didn’t even need to bother with the “last resort” talk? Yeah. ‘Nuff said.
The background is very blue. It’s cloudy, and there are visible cliffs. That same music from the last battle is playing right now. I’m not sure whether it’s pretty or creepy. Lucia says that she didn’t expect the portal to be at a place like this. Theo is worried about whether we can really beat a god, but Vanessa tells him that we don’t have much choice. We need to completely destroy Zehaal’s soul this time. Lucia again says she’s ready to use Over Flash if she has to, and Alph says he’ll protect her no matter what. Claire says we have to take back our planet, so no one will ever have to be afraid of Zehaal.
Alph asks Lucia what she thinks will happen to the world after this battle. Lucia is surprised that he’s asking that question now. The group doesn’t have time to focus on the future right now – there won’t BE a future if they lose. But since Alph brought it up, she asks him what he thinks. He says that since the Church’s foundation has been shattered, its followers will be thrown into chaos. Maybe then it won’t matter what everyone is – Witch, dragon, or human. That sounds nice, right? Lucia says it does. Alph is surprised at first that Lucia agrees with him, but then he gets excited. Now they have to win in order to make that future a reality.
All of a sudden, this gets sappy. Lucia says that the reason she can fight is because of Alph. Alph is a bit flustered, saying that she’s always been strong. She saved his life, right? Lucia asks him to make a promise. He has to protect the planet, no matter what happens. He says he will. He’ll protect the planet and her as well. She thanks him, and they go off to begin the battle.
There’s no menu. It skips right to Zehaal. After a thousand years, he’s come to bring this planet to an end. Our heroes appear, and we get a whole bunch of really cheesy dialogue about how the Witches should’ve destroyed him a thousand years ago, and how he will kill them all, and how no, it’s HIM who’s doomed. Typical final battle banter.
Oh look, there’s my menu. I can return to the world map, or I can begin the battle. I move to the world map, save, and come right back. When I choose to advance the story, I’m taken right to the preparation screen. I choose my highest-level characters, being careful to have a balance between physical and magical attacks. I’ll explain in a minute why that’s so important. I end up with Alph, Leon, Cecille, Lucia, Vanessa, Mavi, Mel, and Heath. All of them are level 50 or 49 except for Mavi, who’s level 47. Time to begin. The background of the map has this weird aurora that keeps changing colors. The map is mostly square, with several different elevations. The main part is a big flat area in the middle with a magic circle design. Besides Zehaal, there are six monsters, all of which look just like Priel. Three are red (Vultures), and three are green (Abysses). There’s some cool music
playing in the background. I don’t like it nearly as much as the second game’s final battle music, but it’s still pretty cool. Then again, it might not be fair to compare, since they’re two really different songs.
Here’s the thing. Each of those six monsters has a very strong resistance to either physical or magical attacks. It’s not determined by color, either, so you have to actually look at their stats. It’s pretty frustrating, but I’ll do my best.
I begin to move my guys up one side. As usual, I prefer not to split the group. Alph gets the first hit, attacking an Abyss. It’s one that’s weak to physical attacks, so I’m good so far. Cecille buffs herself, Lucia, and Alph for magic attack. One of the Abysses tries to charm three of my guys, but it doesn’t work on any of them. Mavi tries to paralyze two Abysses, but it doesn’t work.
Leon gets the first kill on the Abyss I was attacking. Meanwhile, a Vulture takes advantage of how close my guys are to each other, using Light Wave on three of them. Doesn’t really matter. Alph begins attacking another nearby Abyss. Cecille heals the damage that my guys took, and…oh crap. Zehaal uses his flash drive on Lucia, Alph, and Mavi. Actually they all live. I’m a little surprised. It’s Mel’s turn, so she goes over and heals.
This is so much easier than I remember. Maybe my guys are higher level? I don’t really know. Mavi’s been charmed, and Lucia heals her.
OH my god. Three of my guys are now charmed. Craaaappp. I quickly begin undoing the damage. Alph and Lucia die first, though. And…oh my god, Charmed!Cecille just tried to kill everyone. She succeeded with Leon. This is going downhill SO fast. I un-charm Cecille so she can get back to reviving everyone.
OH MY GOD CRAP CRAP CRAP. They’re using Charm more often than Light Wave! I do NOT remember that happening. Lemme try this again.
Yeah, this time I’ll save at the start of the battle. I start doing the same thing I did last time, buffing my guys as they move along. Cecille dies, but Alph brings her back immediately. The fight goes pretty smoothly…at first. Then I start getting annihilated. Once again, I start over.
This time, I try splitting my guys. I’ve got a healer with each group, so I should be OK. Once again, I buff my guys as I go along. Things start to go badly on one end, so I try and bring them over to the other side. Unfortunately, I get mobbed, everyone starts dying, and I can’t get enough damage in on ANYONE.
Yeah, this is why I had so much trouble with this battle on my first playthrough. For now, I think I’ll stop, but I have NOT given up. I’ll get back to this. I know I can figure out a way to do it. Y'know, I need to remember that Vanessa can use Charm as well. Maybe I could use that to my advantage?
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