LogFAQs > #939315274

The train game is a little bizarre, but I do get it done and of course have to kill a zombie thingy. Realizing that the real president wants to make a national TV broadcast (the first in seventeen years?!) we are then tasked with hijacking that broadcast. During this time we observe the silly huddle of Watts/Zone/Rinoa as they present the SeeD contract, which states that we're on the hook til Timber is independent. Well yeesh. Rinoa finally joins the party and replaces Zell in junctioning.

We wander around town for quite a while. Though the locals love Rinoa, the guards are out for us (and we kill a bunch in random encounters and a few in non-random encounters). We can't sleep at the inn, annoyingly, and I'm utterly confused until I realize there's another branch. There, we find Tim Mani, a comic book store, of which Squall has read several issues of their most popular mag. The editor there bores the bajesus out of Squall every time we try to talk to him. Not very nice - I was interested! Maybe I'm too old to be playing this game.

Anyway, we spend a bunch of time walking around a lady's house and looking out the back window, then through to empty train steps, getting stuck because it's unclear where you're supposed to get up and leave... and finally finding an off-ramp somewhere that takes me to a pub. I hand a card to a drunkard and off we go to the back route. Realizing that the president will likely have a guard around him, Squall presses Rinoa to make a decision... and this results in some conflict. Rinoa is distressed that we're not taking the Owls seriously, and she runs off.

As the broadcast comes on, the president informs us that he wants no peace... but that there is still unrest. So effectively, he tells us nothing with that. He also says he wants to bring into power a sorceress, who is quite obviously going to be key to the plot. At that moment, SURPRISE SEIFER AND QUISTIS. Honestly, to me it's extremely unclear what their motivation is, and what Rinoa's relationship to Seifer is, at this point. Like, what. We (Squall, Selphie, Zell) charge up and Zell spills the beans about our being SeeD, and the president laughs, pointing out that if he's harmed then Garden will be no more.

More confusion happens when the sorceress appears in the flesh and speaks somewhat seductively to Seifer and abducts him. Rinoa rejoins, and we hide out in the mom with the background alley (she once defeated many Gibaldian soldiers with strength, cooking, and seduction.) We're then bound for the East Station and the Gibaldian Garden.

I take the train and accidentally don't stop at East Station out of curiosity... which lands me at the end of the track. Fortunately, it's simple to follow the track back to East Station and the forest. During this time, I encounter a pterodactyl enemy from which I can Draw the Float ability, and that's a pause for now.

What a weird section. It felt like there were a lot of zones, but they were kind of empty and it was unclear what they added. I feel bad when I don't explore, but this time, the exploration just felt pointless. I assembled a party and got to use Rinoa for the first time, but there were no bosses to speak of, and Rinoa split during the big plot event, which the main party didn't even participate in. This isn't that atypical of early-game FF; diasporas and plans blowing up in the heroes' faces is pretty standard fare... but this feels particularly egregious because so much stuff happens and I barely did anything except walk around? I also feel like it's confusing and I'm only getting half the story for now, and it's weird that Rinoa had this storm-off and is now back and no one has really addressed anything yet.

Well, I expect things will get more interesting at the Gibaldian Garden,

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* One small characteristic I always enjoy is watching enemy soldiers when they're on their own. Star Wars doesn't have this, but (e.g.) Avatar The Last Airbender does. FFVIII enters that space, with soldiers who complain about how they're getting docked so much pay they can't even get engaged. Sigh.

* The characters' bouncing fighting animations, especially Selphie and Rinoa's, are just so goofy. Charming. But goofy.
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yet all azuarc of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness