- Sword in hand, a warrior clutches stone to breast. In sword etched he his fading memories. In stone, his tempered skill. By sword attested, by stone revealed. Their tale can now be told
. SQUARE ENIX PRESENTS The 'Zodiac Brave Story.'
What do we know about King Delita Heiral, the First of his Name? A Rags to Riches story, it's known he was a peasant who emerged from the ashes of the Fifty Years' War, a massive conflict that embroiled the kingdom of Ivalice — a nation of seven provinces — in wrack and ruin. (Ordallia, the opponents, won.) His rise to power coincided with the War of the Lions, a Succession Crisis in which two Evil Chancellors competed over which of their Puppet Monarchs would take the throne, leading to the end of the Atkascha dynasty and Delita's coronation in its place. Even today, King Delita is Famed In-Story. But there seems to have been an entire other adventure going on behind the scenes, The Greatest Story Never Told... and in our Framing Device, the scholar Arazlam will shed light on the true hero of the War of the Lions: Ramza Beoulve.
A Recap of Final Fantasy Tactics.
A NOTE ON NAMES: Final Fantasy Tactics was released on PlayStation 1 in 1997. It suffered from a "Blind Idiot" Translation that left many of its players completely lost; for instance, the parallels to the Wars of the Roses — and therefore to A Game of Thrones, which by then had been published — went largely unnoticed. However, the game was re-released — and more importantly, re-translated — in 2007 for the PlayStation Portable as Final Fantasy Tactics: the War of the Lions. Joseph Reeder's translation was significantly more human-readable, despite a touch of Flowery Elizabethan English (and a bunch of terminology popularized by George R. R. Martin — for instance, the phrase "Lord Commander," which he invented for A Song of Ice and Fire.) The War of the Lions translation, which re-names and re-spells a number of things, is considered "canon," and, unless specified, will be used as the default for this document as it is elsewhere on this wiki.
We open on Orbonne Monastery, where Princess Ovelia Atkascha resides. The daughter of the late King Denamda, she has a younger brother, Prince Orinus, and under Heir Club for Men rules he is the heir-apparent... but Duke Goltanna, the Black Lion, has put forth rumors that Orinus is illegitimate (King Denamda was ever in ill health) in addition to being, at this point, about two years old. (Goltanna is partially motivated by a need to discredit Queen Louveria. She ran the kingdom behind the scenes for some time on account of her husband's sickness, and wants to take a more active role, but "God Save Us from the Queen!" is the attitude amongst most of the nobility.) Duke Larg, the White Lion, nonetheless has advocated for Prince Orinus — with Larg himself as the regent. While both dukes are Frontline Generals from the Fifty Years' War — Goltanna leads the Knights of the Southern Sky, while Larg has the Knights of the Northern Sky at his beck and call — open warfare is not advisable. Thus, Larg has ordered a hit squad to attack the monastery and kidnap Ovelia.
Orbonne Monastery will be a hard nut to crack, though. Ovelia's Praetorian Guard, Agrias Oaks, stands watch with her two subordinates, Alicia and Lavian. Additionally, Agrias has reached out for some Private Military Contractors to beef up security. Three sellswords have joined her cause: the Mauve Shirt Ladd, the Fell Knight Gaffgarion who acts as the Shadow Archetype to Agrias's Knight in Shining Armor... and a young mercenary cadet named Ramza Lugria, our Player Character. The six defenders line up outside Orbonne Monastery to resist Duke Larg's forces, and as swords cross and the music rises to a crescendo, the War of the Lions begins.
It's the game's Tutorial Level, and almost impossible to lose — in fact, you only control Ramza during this fight, with the other five controlled by the AI. This allows the player to take in the nuances of the game's battle engine. Tactics was designed by Yasumi Matsuno, who created Ogre Battle, and features a fully-rendered Sprite/Polygon Mix, with 2D characters walking around on a 3D battlefield. Yes, "walking around" — movement, orientation and maneuver is the root of Final Fantasy Tactics. All abilities have pre-determined ranges, attacking from the sides or from behind does extra damage and has higher likelihood of hitting, some attacks take a while to charge — during which time opponents could potentially move out of the way — and players are shown the predicted outcome of any move — its probability of hitting and its damage if it does — before being asked to confirm. Armor does not provide Damage Reduction in this game, but rather provides Body Armor as Hit Points and increases your opponent's Attack Failure Chance; there are also two additional stats, "Brave" and "Faith," which affect your likelihood of Counter-Attack and the effectiveness of Magic, both casting and receiving, on the character. There is Permadeath in this game: slain warriors, on your side or the enemy's, can be revived for three turns, after which time they deteriorate into either treasure chests, which can be looted by your team, or crystals whence allies can learn skills known by the (former) character. There is also a Visual Initiative Queue to let you chart the flow of battle. This is a system that gives you a lot of information, but it's open to abuse if you know what you're doing.
The forces of the Southern Sky emerge victorious, but it turns out it was all a ruse: while they were fighting out front, someone snuck in the back and kidnapped Ovelia. She resists, to no avail:
- Kidnapper: Forgive me. 'Tis your birth and faith that wrong you, not I.
Of course, some prefer what he says in the original translation, when Agrias skids out into the rain, powerless to stop him:
- PS1 Kidnapper: Tough...Don't blame us. Blame yourself or God.
Ramza, turning, recognizes the kidnapper: his childhood friend, Delita Heiral.
Chapter 1: The Meager
We are treated to a Whole Episode Flashback to one year ago, back when Everyone Went to School Together. Ramza was a cadet at a military academy for the Knights of the Northern Sky.
- Narration by Arazlam: Records of the hero Delita first appear one year before the outbreak of the War of the Lions. The loss of the Fifty Years' War saw knights returning from the front stripped of livelihood, their fealty to the Crown and nobility abandoned. Many became rogues and traitors, men donning the thief's cloak and plotting treason against the Crown. It was a time of great unrest for Ivalice - murder and theft were commonplace. Many were the young adventurer and mage who stepped forward to counter this threat. Of such, the city of Gariland, too, saw its share...
The narration which sets the stage for this chapter does a very good job of encapsulating why the War of the Lions translation is considered superior, despite its somewhat elevated language. Here's the same paragraph via the original PlayStation translation:
- PS1 Narration by "Alazlam": Delita's name appears for the first time a year before the Lion War broke out. Many soldiers who returned from the war, had no jobs, little money, and even less loyalty to the crown. Many became thieves and rebels plotting rebellion against the royal family. At that time robbery and murder were commonplace in Ivalice. Many heroes and wizards came out of there. And Gariland was no exception either.
Alongside Ramza was Delita — a commoner whom Ramza's father had basically adopted. Despite this, Ramza and Delita have been fast friends for years... though perhaps it's not surprising given that Ramza himself is not precisely legitimate, the product of an affair between his father, Ser Barbaneth Beoulve, and a peasant woman. The union also produced a younger sister, Alma, but Ramza's (trueborn) (and significantly older) half-brothers, Dycedarg and Zalbaag, have always treated them with a bit of distance. The Academy doesn't seem to have any such concerns... but then, Ser Barbaneth used to lead the Northern Sky, so they're not going to say no to him anyhow.
The Northern Sky are being mobilized for a massive operation against the "Corpse Brigade," the "rebels plotting rebellion" mentioned above. While the Fifty Years' War in the game's Back Story officially ended in a truce between Ivalice and Ordallia, it was actually an Ivalician surrender, as the nation was forced to pay massive reparations. This led to legions of soldiers and knights being dismissed without pay, undermining faith in the Blue Blood. Some of those soldiers have since started agitating that maybe they should actually get paid after all, and have organized as the "Corpse Brigade" at swordpoint. Well, they're marching, and the Northern Sky will answer; meanwhile, cadets like Ramza have the defense. At the head of a group of procedurally-generated Red Shirts, Ramza and Delita lead a successful defense. They then return home to Eagrose Castle, ancestral seat of House Beoulve and capital of Gallione, one of the Seven Kingdoms of Ivalice. (The others are: Lesallia, ruled by the royal family; Fovoham, ruled by House Barrington; Zeltennia, ruled by House Goltanna; Limberry, ruled by House Elmdore; Lionel, ruled by Cardinal Delacroix; and Mullonde, the seat of the Church of Glabados.) Ramza and his contingent will garrison the castle while the real knights are out doing business.
As they travel, Ramza and Delita come across a lone squire, Argath Thadalfus, surrounded by Corpse Brigade soldiers. Argath is a squire for Marquis Elmdore de Limberry, who was heading to Eagrose Castle but has since been taken hostage by the Corpse Brigade. In audience with Dycedarg, who is now the head of House Beoulve after Barbaneth died (of old age, in his own bed, surrounded by his children) during the Fifty Years' War, Argath begs for command of a squad of troops, with which to free his liege lord. Dycedarg declines and sends them away, and Argath reflects on his Dark and Troubled Past as a member of House Thadalfus, who became The Quisling to save his friends... and was almost instantly murdered for his trouble. His Freudian Excuse is to restore his house to its former glory... and to lord his Blue Blood over anyone he can. (He even tries to intimdate Ramza when they first meet, until discovering that he's talking to a scion of House Beoulve. Then he goes Professional Butt-Kisser.)
Ramza and Delita take a moment to check in with their younger sisters; Alma and Tietra are both attending a finishing school, and Tietra (like Delita) is facing bullying for her lowborn heritage. While they discuss, Zalbaag drops by; while Dycedarg (who is something like twice Ramza's age) treated Ramza and Delita with cold courtesy, Zalbaag is warm and supportive. In parting, he casually mentions the place where Marquis Elmdore is being held captive, suggesting that three headstrong cadets could potentially rescue him. "Guarding a castle grows dreadfully dull... Wouldn't you agree?
At the Merchant City of Dorter, Ramza, with Delita and Argath as Guest Star Party Members (the way a lot of important NPCs will be), espies Wiegraf Folles, leader of the Corpse Brigade, who is yelling at one of his subordinates: he wants to know why Elmdor is being held for ransom, since such an act is beneath Wiegraf's honor. It transpires that Wiegraf is a bit of a Soapbox Sadie, truly believing in the righteousness of the Corpse Brigade's cause and not wanting to sully it with kidnapping. Wiegraf stalks off to deal with the insubordinate follower while Ramza catches the guy he was talking to. Argath's use of the Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique on the prisoner — a commoner Corpse Brigade prisoner — raises some eyebrows on Ramza and Delita's parts, but it does allow them to locate Elmdore.
- Prisoner: You nobles are...all the same. You think every man...born outside a castle's walls...less than human. We fought for this kingdom at peril of our very lives. Yet the moment the war was ended...you turned us out into the streets. What do you think makes you so special? Birth? Blood? What difference does it make?
Without, they find Wiegraf executing the follower. He then offers to surrender Elmdore in exchange for his own freedom, and despite Argath's bloodthirsty attitude Ramza and Delita succeed at making the trade. Ramza returns to Eagrose triumphant... where Dycedarg pulls him aside and chews him out for disobeying orders. Ramza is saved by Duke Larg himself, who commends him on his actions; after Ramza leaves, Larg and Dycedarg immediately start discussing their own matters, with their conversation implying that the man who kidnapped Elmdore was either bribed or planted by the two of them.
Ramza's squad is detailed to stop a band of Corpse Brigade marauders under Milleuda Folles (sister to Wiegraf). The Folleses are lowborn, and Argath taunts her mercilessly.
- Milleuda: How can you nobles live as you do and yet hold your heads so high? We are not chattel! We are humans, no less than you! What flaw do you hold there to be in us? That we were born between a different set of walls? Do you know what it means to hunger? To sup for months on naught but broth of bean? Why must we be made to starve that you might grow fat? You call us thieves, but it is you who steal from us the right to live!
Argath: You, no less human than we? Ha! Now there's a beastly thought. You've been less than we from the moment your baseborn father fell upon your mother in whatever gutter saw you sired! You've been chattel since you came into the world drenched in common blood!
Delita: Ramza, is this woman truly our enemy?
It's a victory, but also a diversion: while Ramza is gone, a Brigade force under Gragoroth Levigne strikes Eagrose Castle, wounding Dycedarg, attempting to kidnap Alma, and successfully kidnapping Tietra. Dycedarg promises not to retaliate so long as Tietra is their prisoner, claiming he sees her as an adoptive sister... but Argath confirms that Delita is right to be concerned for Tietra's life. He doesn't think Dycedarg will quibble over spilling common blood, because Argath wouldn't either. Ramza takes Delita's side, kicking Argath out of the party and confirming Delita's radically-progressive idea that the 99% count as people too, and Delita agrees to trust him. It should be pointed out that Delita was in such a frenzy of worry that this is after he pulled a Neck Lift on Ramza, his own best friend. The two, True Companions that they are, forgive each other immediately.
- Delita: Something's been bothering me, Ramza. For some time now.
Ramza: Argath's words trouble you. Am I not right?
Delita: There are things beyond the power of our changing, Ramza, try though we might.
Ramza: Do not say that. If a thing can be endeavored, it—
Delita: Will endeavor grant me an army? I would save Tietra with these hands, if aught were in my power to do. But I cannot. 'Tis my meager lot in this life...
Ramza and Delita set out to rescue Tietra. They must fight Milleuda again — a Duel to the Death this time, as she refuses to accept that the Beoulves are not her enemy even as Ramza and Delita try their damnedest not to kill her. It's a seminal moment for both characters; both Ramza and Delita start to question their complicity in the feudal hierarchy they have heretofore benefited from: the misdeeds of the Blue Blood must be horrific indeed if they would make her prefer Heroic Suicide.
- Ramza: Why this struggle? To what purpose do you fight? Have we wronged you? Have we somehow made you to suffer? I do not understand what fuels your hatred.
Milleuda: It is enough that you can stand there before me in ignorance of the misdeeds done us. You may not see the world beyond your high walls, but that does not mean they mark its boundaries. It may well be you've done no wrong. It is your place in the world that drives my hatred on. You bear the name Beoulve, and that name is my enemy.
The mission ends in a windmill, with the dual goals of stopping Wiegraf, who is present, and rescuing Tietra. The former, Ramza and Delita accomplish, and Wiegraf — on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge for his slain sister — nonetheless promises that Tietra will be released, since a commoner girl of little consequence is not the best conduit for an "I Have Your Wife" play. Wiegraf might be the Disc-One Final Boss, but Even Evil Has Standards. Unfortunately, Gragoroth does not: he steals off with Tietra again. He holes up at Ziekden Fortress with the remains of the Corpse Brigade, wile Ramza's party links up with a larger platoon of Northern Sky knights led by Zalbaag and Argath.
The situation is tense: Gragoroth holds Tietra at knifepoint, demanding that the White Lions surrender — or else. However, Zalbaag decides that Cutting the Knot is the simplest answer: at Zalbaag's orders, Argath grabs a crossbow to Shoot the Hostage. While Zalbaag might be a Knight in Shining Armor, it's clear he doesn't have standards, nor does Argath.
- Gragoroth: Gods have mercy...
While Zalbaag leaves to chase down Wiegraf, Delita Turns Red and launches an assault on Argath's squad. Since he's allied with the Player Character, he succeeds, sending Argath to a Karmic Death... but Gragoroth has crawled inside the fort, which is packed with explosives, and lit a match. Delita rushes up to his sister's corpse as the fuse burns down. Ramza, narrating, explains that the explosion was the last time he saw Delita alive... until now.
- Ramza (narrating): I had lived my life the only way that I had known. But when the pillars of that life came crashing down, I did not stand and watch them fall.
I turned, and walked away.
Chapter 2: The Manipulative and the Subservient
Ramza relates that, having turned against the Northern Sky, he had nowhere to go. He began going by his mother's maiden name and took up service as a sellsword. Having explained How We Got Here, he, Gaffgarion, Agrias, Ladd, Lavian and Alicia and his squad of Red Shirts, which suddenly show up in your party as though they'd been there all along, decide on how to track down Delita.
Ramza may also, if the player so decides, start messing around with the Job System of the game. There are 20 classes in the game arranged in a tree; the first two, "Squire" and "Chemist" (IE the person who gives people healing potions), form the basic Combat and Support classes, and from there split into two: The first tier of physical jobs involves the Mighty Glacier Knight and the Long-Range Fighter Archer, while the first tier of Magic Jobs are the classic White Mage and Black Mage. Unlocking the next Job in the tree involves getting enough Job levels in the Job which precedes it. The Job that a character is using determines what equipment they can wear and their first set of Active Abilities. That being said, every character has a slot for a second set of Active Abilities, which can belong to any Job the character has unlocked; so if — say — Agrias (the Action Girl) has White Mage spells available, she can wield them in battle, becoming The Paladin through the magic of customization. Characters can also equip basically any passive ability they've unlocked, regardless of what class it's from; some of them alter what equipment the character can wear. While this requires a lot of Level Grinding, it allows almost unprecedented customization, like a Time Mage with a side in "Katanas Are Just Better." Finally, certain plot-critical characters — Ramza, Agrias and Gaffgarion are the main ones you'd be encountering at this point — have customized version of the "Squire" job, with a completely new set of Active Abilities and, for basically everyone except Ramza, a new name — Agrias's "Squire" class is called "Holy Knight," and Gaffgarion's is "Fell Knight." That said, you don't get much control of either of them at this time, as both are Guest Star Party Members who are operated by the AI in battle.
Ramza's party pursue Delita to Zeirchele Falls, where Delita and Ovelia are cornered by knights of the Northern Sky. While Ramza and Agrias deploy to defend the princess, Gaffgarion turns his cloak, revealing he has been a Double Agent for Dycedarg. (Of course, players who read GameFAQs will have prepared for this by stripping him of all his equipment before the battle, leaving him naked and surrounded by the people he just betrayed.) After the battle, Delita turns Ovelia over to Ramza's custody, and they escort her to Lionel Castle, where Cardinal Delacroix and the Church of Glabados, True Neutral in these times of unrest, will protect them from the Northern Sky.
On their way, they encounter Mustadio Bunansa, a "Machinist" — an archaeologist cum Gadgeteer Genius from the Clockwork City of Goug, where artifacts from St. Ajora's time reside. He's being chased by enforcers sent by the Baert Trading Company, a crime syndicate that specializes in human trafficking. Mustadio is one of those new-fangled "gun" things; as The Gunslinger, he has the longest attack range of any character — at least until Chemists start to buy and equip their own firearms, taking the "Combat Medic" trope to new heights. However, they never get Mustadio's Improbable Aiming Skills, which allow him to inflict Don't Move or Don't Act on opponents.
Mustadio also seeks help from Cardinal Delacroix. He won't admit why the Baert Company is after him, though the gangsters mentioned something about "auracite" before Ramza arrived; it's Princess Ovelia who ultimately dictates that they will aid him. Delacroix, for his part, is delighted to meet Mustadio. He knows — because he has one himself — that Mustadio is carrying the Taurus auracite, one of twelve Green Rocks that have enormous religious significance to the Church.
- Ovelia: Long ago, before the mountains had ceased their wandering and struck their roots into the earth, the Lucavi held dominion over the world. Twelve heroes there were, who came forward to challenge these Lucavi. In a long and bitter struggle, they succeeded in driving the Lucavi to the spirit world, and Ivalice again knew peace. The Twelve each bore an auracite crystal emblazoned with a house of the night sky. And so in time, they became known as the Zodiac Braves. Ever after, when discord and strife paid visit to the halls of men, they would return to save us once more. ... Saint Ajora walked with the Twelve, and together they saved Ivalice from ruin.
With Ovelia now in the hands of the church, Agrias leaves the party (though Lavian and Alicia remain if you have chosen to retain their services — you can dismiss anyone at any time, save Ramza himself), and Ramza turns his attention to helping Mustadio free his father Besrudio from the clutches of the Baert Trading Company. When they arrive at Goug, there is no evidence that the Church has actually come through, and Mustadio leaves to find more information. This ends with Mustadio getting captured too, and Ramza is forced to surrender the Taurus auracite to Ludovich in exchange for Mustadio's life. Fortunately, Mustadio had planned for this by furnishing Ramza with a fake stone; he, Mustadio and Besrudio walk away victorious, with the real auracite still in their possession. Additionally, because Ludovich engaged in a bit of Just Between You and Me, they now know that he — Ludovich, and indeed Baert as a whole — was working for Delacroix. Ramza and Mustadio resolve to return to Lionel Castle, since Ovelia's safety is no longer a guarantee.
- Ramza: The people tire of war. They tire of these endless struggles for power. They are afraid, and they seek salvation. The cardinal means to use the legend of the Zodiac Braves to bring it to them. Only once he's gathered the Stones, he'll summon the Zodiac Braves and use their power to rule.
At Lionel Castle, Gaffgarion reports to Delacroix, having been sent by Dycedarg to aid the cardinal's schemes. Ludovich protests that a mere sellsword be trusted, but Delacroix reminds him that You Have Failed Me... and is implied to have rewarded him appropriately, with the camera cutting away as Ludovich screams.
Ramza encounters Agrias fleeing from the Cardinal's soldiers. She reports that Delacroix intends to execute Ovelia. Agrias joins the party for real. She is, at this time, almost certainly one of the most powerful characters in your party, a Magic Knight with powerful ranged abilities that take 2/3rds of the average enemy's Hit Points in one attack. So fortified, Ramza's team heads to the execution site to save Ovelia. They've been Lured into a Trap by Gaffgarion, but Ramza's forces battle through — not just at the (staged) execution, but in Storming the Castle when they get to Lionel. Gaffgarion, who takes on Ramza as a Duel Boss at Lionel while four party other members are trapped outside the castle gate, is slain.
Meanwhile, Delita is with the actual Ovelia at Lionel. She rebukes him for working with Duke Larg, but he claims to have Taken A Third Option between the White and Black Lions. The two meets Folmarv Tengille, the leader of the Knights Templar of the Church of Glabados, who reveals that she's an imposter — a common girl who served as a Replacement Goldfish for the real Princess Ovelia, who died in infancy. Despite this, Folmarv proposes to help her claim her place. Meanwhile, another member of the Knights Templar, Loffrey Wodring, visits a gravestone marked "Milleuda Folles," where he finds Wiegraf weeping over his sister and cursing the feudal class structure which engendered her death. Loffrey offers him the chance to revenge himself on the nobility, and Wiegraf accepts. Finally, Delita escorts Ovelia to Zeltennia. She criticizes him for his promises to cut her free of the Manipulative Bastardry of others, and he admits it was an empty one... but also points out that she has no other choice, since everyone else still believes her to be the real Ovelia Atkascha, and therefore a pawn to be moved or an obstacle to be removed. This is reinforced when the two are ambushed by men of the Northern Sky and must Sword and Sorcerer their way out. (Delita has a kit similar to Agrias, while Ovelia is a White Mage and Barrier Maiden.)
Ramza confronts Cardinal Delacroix, who pulls out the Scorpio auracite. It transforms him into a demon — Cúchulainn, the Impure, one of the Lucavi which the Zodiac Braves are supposed to defeat. It is interesting to note that, at least as of the War of the Lions translation, all Lucavi speak in Gratuitous Iambic Pentameter (or at least an attempt at it; Cúchulainn skips the first half-foot for his second and third line):
- Cúchulainn: You take no pains to hide your wonderment.
How I shall delight to watch you die.
Each excruciation ecstasy!
Ramza begins wondering what the heck the auracites even are — especially since the one thing they don't make you is immortal. As Ramza's sword proves.
Chapter 3: The Valiant
In the background, the War of the Lions has gone from regional conflict to full-on Civil War: Goltanna has crowned Ovelia, and Larg has crowned Orinus. Marquis Elmdore is slain in battle, and Queen Louveria, widow of the late king, is imprisoned. Delita begins to climb the ranks of the Black Lions by exposing (or framing) a traitor. Three months later, Ivalice is a ruin; the casualties number in the hundreds of thousands, a drought has set in. Only one person on Goltanna's council — Famed In-Story Living Legend Cidolfas Orlandeau, the man named "Thunder God Cid" — suggests suing for peace; the others are more concerned that the drought will result in an economic depression via a lack of food for people to sell. Goltanna blithely triples the tax rate, not particularly caring about the fate of mere peasants.
Ramza makes his way to the royal city of Lestallia, which Duke Larg's troops have seized, to convince Zalbaag that someone is manipulating the war to their own ends. Zalbaag isn't particularly interested in this interpretation. Ranza also rescues Orran Durai, a scholar who serves as a Guest-Star Party Member for one level, has a Game-Breaker spell that inflicts "Stop" on every opponent. This will be important later. (The character, not the Game-Breaking spell. You never see it again, more's the pity.) Ramza also stops to catch up with Alma, who is living in the city.
As Ramza's team prepares to leave Lestallia, they are accosted by inquisitors, having been branded heretics for their role in the murdering of Cardinal Delacroix. A fight breaks out, with Alma drawn into the fray. Ramza declares his intention to visit Orbonne Monastery and retrieve the Virgo auracite there, and Alma insists on tagging along.
The Knights Templar have beat them to Orbonne, led by Wiegraf Folles and Isilud Tengille. The latter takes Alma captive to secure his escape. The former takes lethal damage... but the Aries auracite, given to him by the Knights Templar, offers him an extra life. Wiegraf accepts and is transformed into Belias, the Gigas. Ramza comes away with only one souvenir, but it's an important one: the Scriptures of Germonique, an apocryphal account written by the Biblical Bad Guy of the Church of Glabados.
As you might imagine from something written by Ivalice's equivalent of Judas Iscariot, the Scriptures of Germonique suggest completely different things than the accepted canon. Ajora's divine nature is dismissed entirely; he is described as a revolutionary attempting to overthrow the Ydoran Empire, with Germonique the spy who sold him out. Ajora was searching for the auracites, but had no known connection to the Zodiac Braves.
The Black Lions have placed Delita in charge of Ovelia's safety, and the two begin to bond: both, after all, are of common and/or inconsequential origin, and yet have found themselves thrust into the shoes of nobility. Delita promises to overthrow the entire corrupt system of Ivalice and build a new one instead — for Ovelia to rule, of course. Ovelia begins to trust him... along with a hefty side of Ship Tease.
Ramza, traveling, comes across a group of Black Lion deserters. Dirty Cowards though they may be, they are excited at the thought of apprehending the heretic Ramza Beoulve and perhaps receiving a hero's reward. Of course, they aren't the Player Character, and it ends poorly for them. Afterwards, Orran Durai rides up with the crest of the Black Lion on his cloak, thanking his mortal enemy for helping with cleanup duty.
- Ramza: Could you deliver a message to Count Orlandeau, if you should chance to meet him? There are men behind the curtain who goad the dukes for their own gain. We are all but puppets, dancing as they pull our strings. It is those men we ought be fighting.
Orran: I can deliver the message. But why to the count?
Ramza: My father once told me Count Orlandeau was the only man he could truly call friend.
Orran: I am the count's adopted son. I will tell him what you've told me.
Orran (leaving): Never think yourself without allies! You do have friends - friends who would gladly lay down their lives fighting beside you! And I count myself among them!
Ramza happens upon a Distressed Damsel, Rapha Galthena. An assassin in service to Duke Barrington, Rapha has recently fled his service, and is being pursued by others of the corps — including her brother, Marach, who insists that they owe Barrington gratitude after he took them in as orphans. Rapha, who has had a rather different experience consisting of Wife Husbandry and threats of more, prefers to throw herself on Ramza's mercy. However, Marach has the upper hand: Barrington holds Alma captive. The stage is set for another Storming the Castle sequence, this time at Riovanes Castle.
Barrington attempts to ally himself with Folmarv, Wiegraf and Isilud, who have come to visit; Barrington believes the Knights Templar to be the strongest power in Ivalice at this time. Folmarv proves this point by transforming into one of the Lucavi and slaughtering everyone in the room — including Isilud, who is astonished by what his father has become. Alma is able to escape during the commotion... but Folmarv, now restored to human form, discovers she's a MacGuffin Super-Person who will be a perfect host for his "master," and carries her off.
After fighting his way into the castle, during which Rapha and Marach run off to continue their siblingly argument, Ramza finds himself in the great hall, which is covered in slaughtered men. Within waits Wiegraf, who no longer cares about causes like justice or revenge and now merely wants to kill everyone, and is ready to challenge Ramza to one of the most challenging boss fights in the history of the medium: a Duel Boss against him. He has basically the same abilities as Agrias, and can kill Ramza in a couple of hits; it takes very precise and specific builds to survive him, typically involving abuse of the Chemist ability "Auto-Potion" which makes Ramza heal himself automatically and/or the "Tailwind" / "Yell" ability in Ramza's Squire kit which raises his Speed, allowing him to (eventually) take multiple turns. Even worse, there's Fake Difficulty involved: whenever you fight a string of battles, like the "fight your way into the castle" one followed by this one, the game allows you save in between them... and then locks you in, because you cannot abort this mission to go Level Grinding. Whatever Ramza has now is what Ramza uses to fight Wiegraf. If "whatever Ramza has now" isn't enough, you may need to start a new save file and replay the last, what, 20 hours over from scratch. In comparison, the second phase of the battle — in which Wiegraf transforms into Belias — can be an Anti-Climax Boss, particularly because whatever buffs you placed on Ramza will persist into it. (Also, your Lazy Backup arrives to even the odds.)
Finally, on the roof of the castle, Rapha corners Barrington. Barrington admits to having sexual designs on his 13-year-old "daughter" — in Marach's hearing. The latter instantly performs a Heel–Face Turn... which he proves by Taking the Bullet when Barrington tries to rid himself of Rapha once and for all. The stand-off is interrupted by Marquis Elmdore and his two Bodyguard Babes, Celia and Lettie; Elmdore blithely throws Barrington off the roof to his death. Ramza recalls that Elmdore was reported slain in battle: he must be one of the Lucavi as well. After a short but possibly frantic battle against the three (Celia and Lettie have the Assassin Job Class and have One-Hit Kill abilities that never miss; plus, Rapha has gone Roaring Rampage of Revenge and cannot be controlled by the player), Rapha contemplates her brother's corpse. The Scorpio auracite reacts, and Ramza prepares for battle... but instead, it brings Marach Back from the Dead — the first documented case of an auracite doing something besides turning people into demons. Marach speculates that the auracites are not guaranteed to cause evil ends, but rather give shape to the wielder's wishes.
The Galthena siblings join Ramza's party. Many players kick them out again immediately: their innate class uses abilities that are driven almost exclusively by the Random Number God. Rapha has some value in the game's Bonus Dungeon due to its unique mechanics and valuable hidden hitems, but that's about it.
Chapter 4: In the Name of Love
The War of the Lions is bleeding the realm dry; both Larg and Goltanna know that, if it drags on much longer, neither side will retain the might to actually rule Ivalice even if they win. Both sides mass for a final conflict at Fort Besselat. Duke Goltanna's forces are especially precarious, as many of the Knights of the Southern Sky are not here for him — they're here for their leader, Thunder God Cid. Orran suggests Orlandeau could end the war at a stroke by simply leaving Goltanna's service, but Orlandeau — a true Knight in Shining Armor — exhibits Honor Before Reason, and declines. He has heard Ramza's warning from the previous chapter, but neither he nor Orran have been able to turn up any tangible proof of the Church being The Man Behind the Man. All Cid knows is that he has an auracite... and the Church will learn that sooner or later.
Ramza heads to Zeltennia Castle to seek Orlandeau's aid. However, on the way he's opposed by yet another example of the "Antagonist Who Will Become A Party Memer" trope: Meliadoul Tengille, daughter of Folmarv, sister to Isilud and member of the Knights Templar. However, because she's not in the inner circle, she doesn't know anything about the Lucavi; all she knows is that Ramza attacked Riovanes Castle and basically everyone there died, and now it's Roaring Rampage of Revenge time. Ramza, who doesn't have a good answer to this circumstantial evidence, can't convince her of the truth.
At Zeltennia Castle, Ramza encounters Delita, who fills him in on the political machinations to come. He, Delita, is to murder Duke Goltanna and Count Orlandeau, whilst another offs Duke Larg; the resulting power vacuum will allow the Church to sweep in on the backs of auracite and the legend of the Zodiac Braves. Delita claims himself to be the Wild Card — working for the Church, but not pursuing the Church's ends of a Puppet King dancing to their tune. Ramza asks him the Armor-Piercing Question: "Do you not use Ovelia to fulfill your own ambitions?" They are interrupted by another inquisitor, who has seen Delita with Ramza and therefore knows too much, and the two friends — who, despite working towards very different ends, have been completely transparent with each other this entire time — save each other's skins one last time. They part ways as Delita, through Valmafra, a woman assigned to him by the Church to keep him on the straight and narrow path, learns that the battle at Fort Besselat draws nigh.
- Valmafra: You mean to let him go?
Delita: He acts as I expected he would.
Valmafra: Even your friends are only pieces to be played.
At Fort Besselat, Ramza runs into a Templar agent who has attempted to poison the armies of both sides. To stop further loss of life, Ramza opens a sluice gate at Fort Besselat, flooding the battlefield but prolonging the War of the Lions. However, Delita's plan goes off largely without issue: Duke Goltanna arrests Orlandeau on suspicions of betrayal, tipped off by Delita himself, resulting in Delita getting a proxy Klingon Promotion to head of the Southern Sky. Delita uses this opportunity to murder Goltanna. Meanwhile, Dycedarg murders Larg; Zalbaag, observing, is shocked to hear that Dycedarg also murdered Barbaneth, leading him to question what sort of man his brother has become. The only survivor is Orlandeau himself; he slips away and joins Ramza's party, while Delita dresses a Red Shirt in TG Cid's clothes and executes him as Goltanna's murderer to contribute a Death Faked for You.
The recruitment of Thunder God Cid spells the end of the game's difficulty curve; Orlandeau is a Game-Breaker that the game just hands you, as his power set includes Agrias's Magic Knight spells in addition to Gaffgarion's Life Drain and Mana Drain spells and Meliadoul's spells, which work by targeting and destroying a piece of equipment an opponent wears. (Yes, she's outclassed before she's even recruited.) (And yes, there used to be problems where Meliadoul would fight random monsters, who don't wear equipment, and couldn't use her swordspells on them. This was changed in the War of the Lions release so that the attack checked for and destroyed equipment as a side effect rather than as a targeting parameter.) He also comes with this game's copy of Excalibur, which is appropriately one of the strongest weapons in the game. He does have one Achilles' Heel — he's extra-prone to Standard Status Effects, which is appropriate given he's a Cool Old Guy who blows the Competence Zone out of the water — but even so, it's a toss-up between whether they debuff him first or he just murders them first.
Overhearing rumors that Alma is at Limberry Castle, Ramza moves to confront Marquis Elmdore at the heart of his power. Celia and Lettie are still Demonic Spiders with their undodgeable assassination spells; it's actually easier to fight them once you transform them into demons, especially since they can teach Ramza the "Ultima" spell this way. The PSP release has an added level where Argath gets resurrected and you have to kill him again, which you do (gladly). And you have to fight Elmdore, who is wearing the game's only copies of all the Genji equipment; if you want to steal them, you have to do it here, while dodging his attacks, dealing with Celia / Lettie / their demonic forms, and with Yackety Sax plays in the background. Finally, once you're done and actually kill him, Elmdore transforms into Zalera, the Death Seraph... revealing to Meliadoul, who had been chasing Ramza the whole time, that Ramza's improbable claims of "holy church men transforming into demons" was, nonetheless, complete truth. Meliadoul joins the party. As mentioned, she doesn't bring anything new in terms of active skills, but there is some equipment that only women can use, allowing her (and Agrias) to retain some relevance. She also informs Ramza that the Knights Templar intend to gift Dycedarg with an auracite...
Orran has been imprisoned as a presumed accessory to treason — the corpses of Duke Goltanna and "Cidolfas Orlandeau" were found. He escapes and pleads his case to Ovelia, but the two are interrupted by Delita, who begs Ovelia to trust him. She does... though after she leaves, she lingers at the door to eavesdrop. Delita, now "alone" with Orran, discusses his plans: he plans to bring down the sky, both Northern and Southern, and then bring the church to justice for their crimes.
- Delita: A commonborn squire takes the reins of a knightly order, and leads a wayward kingdom from the midst of chaos. The masses yearn for a hero. I give them what they wish.
Orran: Using aught and all to forge your legend?
Delita: Is that so wrong?
Ser Loffrey of the Knights Templar is visiting the newly-promoted Lord Commander of the Knights of the Northern Sky, Dycedarg Beoulve. Loffrey brings up the poison that was used at Fort Besselat. Apparently, those slain by it will have certain mushrooms growing out of their grave. Apparently, this was the same poison Dycedarg used in his patricide. Zalbaag, overhearing all of this, visits his father's grave and confirms that there are toadstools growing out of it.
Ramza arrives as his brothers are having it out, swords in hand. Dycedarg defends his actions by claiming he was doing what was best for House Beoulve. Ramza and Zalbaag team up to put an end to him... But the Capricorn auracite Dycedarg got from Loffrey transforms him into Adrammelech, the Wroth, who annihilates Zalbaag. Ramza puts down the demon that was once his brother, having witnessed the end of House Beoulve.
With only the endgame left, Ramza is now free to pursue Side Quests. Most of them involve recruiting new playable characters.
- Beowulf Cadmus: A Templar and former captain of the Gryphon Knights of Lionel, he is introduced in the Mining City of Gollund, which has put out a plea for someone to vanquish a powerful monster in its depths. Beowulf signs on to help... but when the monster, a Holy Dragon, is cornered, he begs Ramza to spare it, claiming it is his fiancée. Beowulf has a unique character class called Oracle Knight, which allows him to inflict upgraded versions of Standard Status Effects. He can actually be recruited as early as the beginning of Chapter 3, though he is still listed here to keep this document organized.
- Reis Duelar: the Holy Dragon in question, she joins the party at the same time Beowulf does. As a controllable dragon, she has several breath weapons, but Ramza can undertake a mission which allows Beowulf to return her to her human form. The object of affections of one Cardinal Bremondt, Reis was transformed into a dragon after Bremondt decided that the best way to win her affections was to Murder the Hypotenuse; she pulled a Taking the Bullet on the curse that was meant for Beowulf.
- Construct 8: An autonomous robot from the days of Saint Ajora Glabados. It must be activated by inserting the Aquarius auracite, which Ramza gets by recruiting Beowulf. It has a number of impressive long-range attacks... But all of them are Cast from Hit Points. Additionally, every character in FFT has a "Faith" stat which determines how well magic works on them; Construct 8, being a robot, has 0 faith, and is immune to all forms of magic — including the healing spells you would normally use to keep him topped up, making him dependent on items.
- Cloud Strife: the protagonist of Final Fantasy VII, which had been released about 6 months before, finds himself lost in Ivalice. His active skills are his Limit Breaks, but he can't use them until you go to a specific level and find his sword, the "Materia Blade," which he must then equip. Also, he starts out at Lv. 1, whereas most of your characters are probably in their 30s by now, and aside from "Finishing Touch," the Limit Breaks themselves aren't very good.
- Balthier: available only on PSP, Ffamran mied Bunansa, sky pirate and self-proclaimed Leading Man of Final Fantasy XII, finds himself flung thousands of years after his own time. Perhaps surprisingly for someone from the past, he makes his descendant Mustadio obsolete: His "Sky Pirate" class gives him the same skills and the same gun, supplemented with Video Game Stealing skills that are better than the equivalents found on the default Thief class.
- Luso Clemens: The protagonist of Final Fantasy Tactics A2 shows up on PSP. He's almost identical to Ramza, down to the ability to learn Ultima; his sole (and significant) improvement is the addition of the "Poach" passive skill (otherwise buried fairly deep in the Thief skill learn list), which allows the player to redeem monsters slain in Random Encounters for items and equipment, some of which can be gained in no other way.
- Byblos: A mysterious creature that resembles a Reaver. It is recruited in the game's Bonus Dungeon.
- The Deep Dungeon: the aforementioned Bonus Dungeon is composed of 10 levels which are in complete darkness, with only (full-color) sprites visible. However, slain enemy crystals can shed light, allowing you to navigate with greater clarity. In addition to the above character and the game's strongest Summon Magic, which is only obtainable by Power Copying — and, more importantly, surviving — the spell, it also has hidden treasures which are most easily obtained by characters with low Brave ratings. (Rapha, naturally a Dirty Coward, excels here.)
At Mullonde, Folmarv leads a military coup against the Church. He demands that the pope tell him the location of the Necrohol of Mullonde, an eldritch location needed to revive the leader of the Lucavi. The pope admits that it is under Orbonne Monastery, but that Folmarv will need the Scriptures of Germonique — currently in possession of the heretic Ramza Beoulve — to get in.
Ramza arrives as the Knights Templar begin to move out. They demand the scriptures in exchange for Alma's life. Ramza complies — much to the consternation of the player, who is utterly unsurprised when Folmarv reneges on the deal. To slow Ramza down, he resurrects Zalbaag as a zombie, who begs his brother for a Mercy Kill. So the Knights Templar get away; but the pope tells Ramza what they're up to, and the party hightails it to Orbonne.
Ramza and his party fight their way through Orbonne Monastery and into the Necrohol, where they finally corner Folmarv, frantically trying to summon his master. He reveals that they manipulated the entirety of Ivalice into fighting the War of the Lions because Folmarv's master — whoever or whatever it is — can only be summoned via blood sacrifice. Folmarv transforms into Hashmal, Bringer of Order, hoping to spill Ramza's; instead, he's forced to spill his own, ripping his own heart out in ritual sacrifice. For good or ill, it's enough: Saint Ajora is reincarnated with Alma as his host.
Alma, through some means, manages to repel the possession, leaving St. Ajora incarnated as its own creature: Ultima, the Holy Seraph, the leader of the Lucavi, who possessed Ajora Glabados thousands of years ago, and whom the church has been trying to resurrect ever since. With Alma as Guest-Star Party Member, Ramza & Co defeat the Final Boss... but Ultima still has the "Collapsing Lair" trick up its sleeve, and heroes and villains alike are consumed in the blast.
Back in our Framing Device, we return to the scholar Arazlam. He reports that Orran Durai wrote a complete documentation of these events, which were called the Durai Papers. Of course, the Church couldn't let anything come to light which reveals that they were power-hungry jerks trying to conquer Ivalice, and Orran was branded a heretic and burnt at the stake. His papers laid unnoticed for three hundred years... until Arazlam Durai, the scholar, uncovered them. The true story — that of Ramza Beouvle, the heretic who saved the world — can now be told.
Orran attended the funeral at House Beoulve; the trueborn sons are dead, and Ramza and Alma disappeared into Orbonne Monastery and never returned, so the line is extinguished. He provided an Info Dump on what has transpired since: Delita has wed Ovelia and is forging a new kingdom free of the Church's influence, a Rags to Riches tale that will go down in history. Looking up, he saw Ramza and Alma riding away on chocobos. The game is ambiguous as to whether Orran actually saw them, as opposed to merely hallucinating them. Content in Final Fantasy XIV, taking place in an Alternate Timeline of Ivalice where Ramza died, confirms that, in canon, he and Alma survived — their appearance is intended as an "And the Adventure Continues" hook — but the alternative is a popular interpretation if for no other reason than making for a better Bittersweet Ending.
And speaking of endings...
The Stinger depicts King Delita. Since it's Ovelia's birthday, he has come to the deserted chapel where she likes to spend her time, bringing flowers. He's prepared to help her face the crowds that throng around her on this festive occasion... but not for her to lunge at him, stabbing him in the chest even as he wishes her a happy birthday.
- Ovelia: How could you? You... you used them, and all the others! And someday you'll cast me aside, just as you did him!
And while the War of the Lions translation is superior in almost all respects, this is the one time the original's anvilicious phrasing is better:
- PS1 Ovelia: You use everyone like that! Now, you'll kill me just like Ramza...!
As though to prove her right, Delita yanks the knife out of his torso and buries it in Ovelia's. She crumples to the ground, the last casualty of the War of the Lions.
Delita, wounded, bleeding, his fate Left Hanging, regards the corpse of his lover, wondering when the hero who fought to save the life of one girl became the heartless murderer who would discard an innocent woman without a thought... wondering when he became what he hates.
- PS1 Delita: Ramza... What did you get? I...
