Well, I don't think any combination will make things easier on me, but lets go with ones that will make things easier later on. Rydia, Edward and Edge. We'll want those three soon enough. As in, like, two updates soon.
With the four bosses from FFII dead, we're free to progress down to B10. There are a row of doors in the middle of the floor, and the centre door leads to the Black Garb, an all right defensive boost for those that can equip it. The other doors lead nowhere, the stairs on the east are the way down.
Not much interesting on B11. The Crystal Mail can be found at the east most point, but that's about it.
B12 starts with a warp point to a Ribbon. Everyone has stronger headgear at this point, but the amount of status protection it gives can make it a good alternative. Rydia learns Tornado as we reach a warp tile.
In this area of B12 is the usual elevator and save points. We take a rest. That night, Kain looks out over the edge of the platform.
Kain: ...
Cecil walks up to him.
Kain: Cecil?
Cecil: Mm-hmm?
Kain: It has been a while since we talked like this... just you and I.
Cecil: It certainly has. I'm sorry...
Kain: About what?
Cecil: I lost control of myself... and look what it has caused.
Kain: ...
Cecil: If you hadn't come down from that mountain, I would have been lost.
Kain: Quit it.
Cecil: In fact... without you, Ceodore and Rosa would have both been beyond rescue by now.
Kain: I wasn't doing it just for you, you understand.
Cecil: Huh?
Kain: Baron is my motherland... It always has been and it always will be.
Cecil: True enough.
Kain: I have been away from it for far too long.
Cecil: But now you are back.
Kain: Yes.
Cecil: What do you think of Ceodore?
Kain: He has talent... and he's every bit as earnest as you are.
Cecil: Is he?
Kain: I suppose that stubborn streak of his comes from Rosa, though.
Cecil: Hah... Perhaps.
Kain: ...We have to stop this moon.
Cecil: I'll be counting on you, Kain.
Kain: And I will not let you down.
...For two of the main characters, that was really boring. Anyway, let's head north. Four Crystals here, and they're all orange. The first Crystal we'll tackle today is the westmost of them all.
Cecil: Is this... a Dark Crystal!?
Kain: No... this is not among the Dark Crystals we know of.
Edge: This force... It is not one to be trifled with!
Rydia: This darkness... It has a will of its own!
Edward: My heartbeat's accelerating! What is happening to me!?
???: The flood of darkness cannot be stopped... You will all die where you stand!
The Crystal shatters and out comes Cerberus. If you couldn't guess yet, this floor has the four bosses from the final dungeon of Final Fantasy III (other than the Cloud of Darkness, of course).
Alternative Music: Battle 2 from Final Fantasy III
Anyway, Cerberus gets three moves at once, mainly devastating party attacks. We're using a moon phase with Black Magic down to lower the damage he does to us. We put Slow on him to further mitigate damage and... that's about it. Rydia steals the show by being able to do 9000 damage a turn with Leviathan.
Cecil: Are there four of these Dark Crystals as well?
Of course there is.
Kain: A flood of darkness?
Rydia: A truly dark monster! It was as if he had no soul whatsoever.
Edge: We can't let ourselves die yet...!
Edward: (Where did these creatures come from? If these are resurrections, where were the originals?)
Our reward is Thor's Hammer. It is not hard to guess what this thing's element is. It can also cast Blitz, which I guess is nice.
Time for the next Crystal over.
???: Bwahaha... Die, creatures of light!
The Crystal shatters and reveals the Twinhead Dragon. See Cerberus, but with only two attacks. And also a lot more dangerous as Black Magic is up this time. His spells only single target, though. Twinhead Dragon may also counter pretty much anything with Constrict, which isn't that big a deal, especially when Rydia's rolling with the Adamant gear.
Cecil: Creatures... of light?
Kain: A twin-headed dragon...
Rydia: What a terrifying dragon! I hope Bahamut is safe.
Edge: What a fight!
Edward: We... we made it through alive...?
We get the Holy Lance for winning. It's a lance. That is Holy. And also casts Holy. I'm not sure if I can say anything else here.
Time for the next Crystal.
???: I am impressed you made it here... But it all ends now. The darkness is about to flood into your world... and the planet you live on shall be banished into oblivion!
The Crystal shatters, leading into a fight with Echidna. Echidna has Death (lol no), Tornado (annoying), some strong attack spells, and can steal MP. Without a dedicated White Mage, this isn't much but an all out brawl to me, kill it before it kills us.
Cecil: A flood of darkness?
Damn it Cecil, Kain asked that two bosses ago.
Kain: Oblivion...?
Rydia: The darkness... It will swallow up all that exists in our world!
Edge: That's up to us to decide, not you!
Edward: What is the meaning of this?
Ugh. What shitty banter. For winning, we get Perseus's Bow and the Perseus Arrows. These are both pretty high power gear. Rydia gives up the Adamant Shield to wield them, but it's a good trade off.
One last Crystal at the very east.
???: Soon, the dark flood will begin in earnest! And you... Yes, you will already be dead by the time it begins!
The Crystal shatters, and out comes Ahriman. Ahriman has two moves; multi-target Doom and single target Haste. Unlike FFIV, Haste speeds up the Doom timer. There will be a several second gap between the first death and the last, large enough to get a revive in. The only thing Ahriman is a threat to is your Phoenix Down stock.
Cecil: This can't be!
Kain: (Ahriman? That one was different from the one we've beaten before...)
Rydia: If the world is enveloped in darkness... will anything be able to exist?
Well, presumably the four things you just drowned to death with Leviathan.
Edge: Whatever. Like we're going to let you decide how things go!
Edward: (That may be a Dark Crystal, yes, but since when did those Crystals want to engineer the end of the world?)
We get the Masamune. A very strong katana and, fitting for Ahriman, casts Haste.
That's all for now. Next time, Ceodore, Kain and Rosa are coming along, so two slots open. See you then.
Stats:
Kain: Lv 61 HP:4445 MP:238 Str:78 Spd:46 Stm:67 Int:30 Spr:46 Atk:174 (12x95%) Def:83 (8x40%) M Def:19 (3x24%)
Edward: Lv 49 HP:2178 MP:206 Str:53 Spd:52 Stm:64 Int:30 Spr:34 Atk:123 (10x99%) Def:74 (6x62%) M Def:32 (3x32%)
Cecil: Lv 49 HP:3307 MP:206 Str:84 Spd:35 Stm:63 Int:31 Spr:38 Atk:153 (13x99%) Def:92 (7x50%) M Def:32 (3x33%)
Rydia: Lv 59 HP:2702 MP:626 Str:45 Spd:42 Stm:43 Int:73 Spr:71 Atk:136 (8x99%) Def:116 (5x40%) M Def:40 (5x50%)
Edge: Lv 55 HP:3648 MP:253 Str:49 Spd:52 Stm:55 Int:49 Spr:25 Atk:178 (10x99%) Def:71 (6x85%) M Def:33 (3x30%)
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