Well, it's about time for us to bring the fight to Hector, so let's go cut us a wannabe god.
We warp in exactly two screens from his location, which is to the southeast. You can tell we're getting close because the screen starts shaking as soon as we move south.
Anyway, heading east takes us to Hector, so it's Script Mode time once again.
- Ein: Hector! (Hector appears before Ein.)
- Hector: Ein... You have done well in making it this far. You truly are a Grim Angel. I admire your victory over that incompetent Ledah... Now, return to my side and actuate the Retribution. Then bear witness to the birth of a new god.
- Ein: ........................ This still isn't the worst abuse of ellipses in the game. (An image appears showing Ein brandishing Einherjar at Hector.)
- Hector: What's wrong?
- Ein: You betrayed us—Ledah and me. You used us for your own twisted ambitions... I don't think you need to recap that to him. ...and now, he's dead. Along with the Sprites you sacrificed to raise Seth... Now, you plan to destroy all of Riviera!?
- Hector: Hmph... Apparently, my plans are beyond your grasp... To begin anew, everything must be turned to dust. Do you not understand that? Besides... The destruction of Riviera was Asgard's decision. It is the will of the dead for A THOUSAND GODDAMN YEARS gods.
- Ein: Is that really their wish?
- Hector: The Retribution would have been activated, eventually. So I decided to actuate it instead. I simply facilitated the decision... Asgard never cared about the Sprites. This is Riviera's fate... It is this future the gods desire! You know what? I give up. Fine, the rotting corpses of the gods can think for themselves. Happy now? You will rue the day you turned on me! On Asgard! Die, Grim Angel!
Ein: The enemy is strong. Be careful!
Boss Battle: Hector
- HP: 11000
- Strength: 74
- Magic: 90
- Agility: 10
- Vitality: 70
- Weaknesses and resistances vary.
First, please listen to the music that plays during this fight
. It is spectacular.
Hector is rather unique as far as bosses in this game go. You see, he has the ability to change his elemental affinity. He starts out with ice attacks, and can switch to fire, lightning, and dark modes. In each form, he absorbs the element he's using and is weak to a different one: ice mode is weak to lightning, fire mode is weak to ice, and lightning mode is weak to fire. Dark mode, meanwhile, is different: he's immune to all three of those elements.
Unfortunately for him, he's still weak to the standard Break Out loop, and holy and non-elemental attacks are equally effective on all his forms. As such, it's child's play to just skip the entire gimmick and trap him in a Break Out loop (though in ice mode his Break Out freezes everyone, so that's a bit of a problem). Note that he has too many hit points to kill before he gets a few attacks off, so you'll need to plan around using multiple Over Skills.
Results:
- Time to victory: 221
- Final attack level: 3
- Score for victory: 16800
This S-rank rewards me with the Tentacle Rod, about which all the jokes have already been made. Cierra can use it to perform an attack called Gravity Nova that does a single magic hit with no elemental affinity against every enemy, with no way for them to avoid or block it.
- Hector: How have you become so strong...? Well, it's thanks to this incredibly broken experience system. By Ursula's hand...? Tch... That meddlesome wench... Where did she get that kind of power? And you, Grim Angel, defying me... How dare you! (He teleports away.)
- Ein: Hector! Stop! I won't let you escape!
You didn't really think they's let the final boss get away with only having one form, did you? Anyway, I have to pursue him through a magic circle that appeared after he ran.
First, though, since the final battle is approaching, let's take a look at everyone's final stats.
Ein
- HP: 1395
- Strength: 129
- Magic: 62
- Agility: 20
- Vitality: 64
Ein has been a physical powerhouse for the entire game, and his stats reflect that. It's a good thing he can do heavy physical damage, actually, because as you know, he has to be in every battle. His stats aren't the best, but he makes up for it with Disaresta.
Fia
- HP: 1375
- Strength: 82
- Magic: 135
- Agility: 25
- Vitality: 58
Fia started out as an effective fighter/caster hybrid. She's become somewhat less so by now, but being able to use decent magic with that Agility score is certainly a plus.
Lina
- HP: 1245
- Strength: 107
- Magic: 96
- Agility: 30
- Vitality: 58
Lina has become increasingly irrelevant as the game has gone on, which is a shame, really. She can still tear any and all flying enemies a new one with ease, though.
Serene
- HP: 1410
- Strength: 142
- Magic: 70
- Agility: 20
- Vitality: 64
As you can see, Serene matches or beats Ein in every single attribute. Her lack of Disaresta's a bit of a problem, but having the highest Strength in the game certainly makes up for it.
Cierra
- HP: 1675
- Strength: 42
- Magic: 164
- Agility: 10
- Vitality: 68
Here you can see why Cierra's the best character. That Magic score is enough to murder absolutely anything, and her HP makes up for her low Strength quite well.
Now, one last look at the items I'm carrying, and how they can help me.
- Einherjar: Even though only Ein can use it, this sword's among the best weapons in the game. It's going to be quite useful for the final battle.
- Zephyr: This is only here because I took so long to get a Gran Sabre. You can safely ignore it.
- Gran Sabre: This thing's...not that useful for the final battle, unfortunately. It did work well on Hector, though.
- Rosier: This here's the ultimate weapon. You're damn right I'm taking it in.
- Diana's Bow: This thing's as irrelevant in the final fight as Lina. Not worth it.
- Infinite Arc: I won't be needing this, but it's there.
- Southern Cross: The ultimate staff, which is totally unnecessary in the last battle.
- Silvia: There's little call for spears in the final battle, I'm afraid. If you want to use a spear, though, this is the one to use.
- Leyte Claw: This thing's served its purpose quite effectively. I'm glad to be carrying it, but it won't appear in my final battle item list.
- Book of Kylier: Another great weapon that is totally irrelevant for the last battle. It is still awesome, though.
- Tentacle Rod: Totally useless. That's all I have to say.
- Fanelia: I'm still keeping this thing's effect a secret.
- Kiku-ichimonji: I don't know, actually. It could be useful, but I only have 2 uses left on it.
- Slumber Ivy: No.
- Power Wrist: I don't intend to let the battle last long enough for this to be worth bringing.
There. Now, I enter the warp to the last area of the game. Next time, I'll finish this.
