LogFAQs > #941126862

So Disc 2 begins, and we're back in Lagunaville! And we're in the care of the bartender Raine and her daughter Ellone, both of whom are clearly fond of their dashing tenant.

As noted before, I theorized that we were in different timelines just before it pretty much was confirmed: With Kiros showing up, we find out that a year has passed in Laguna's timeline, and that Ward is now mute after that ambush. There are soldiers in Laguna's little town, though the people seem mostly concerned about a neighboring town ruled by the Sorceress. We know that Galbadia in Squall's timeline is already under Sorceress control, of course.

With Kiros's arrival, we head off to work: i.e. dealing with the monsters that have overrun this town. This is a bit of an usual sight. Sticking to my MO, I just run from every battle.

(Interlude: How do I initiate a card battle, and should I do it? And where do I get materials to refine into spells? I've been enjoying the game less than I want to, partly because there doesn't seem to be incentive to battle. But people also say the battle system is among the most fun, so what should I do to take advantage of it? I'm going to start learning Card Mod with the next segment.)

When we drop back in, Raine and Ellone are talking about how they want Laguna to stay, but how they sense wanderlust in his heart. Julia, meanwhile... has likely married General Carraway, making her a likely ancestor of Rinoa's (if not directly her mother). Love the little animation of Laguna and Kiros ducking to avoid being caught eavesdropping.

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That takes us back to our world, where Zell is the one who experienced that flashback this time. We're in a Galbadia prison after the failed assassination attempt. Zell's knowledge comes from Ward, who apparently worked this prison before. Rinoa is taken off alone (probably because she's the general's daughter), while Squall, kept separately, is getting zapped by Seifer. Unsurprisingly, the bizarre "hey let's just have a bunch of mercenaries" system of Garden and SeeD likely has further mysteries, which Seifer is asking about. We lie: "... Flower." Oh hey, TheCruelAngel's sig from like 2005.

Like in Chrono Trigger, being in prison means no weapons (and also no magic, for SUPPRESSION reasons), so our fist-fighter, Zell, gets his chance to shine. When we finally stop getting beaten up by Mean Guy (love this name), Zell recovers our weapons almost immediately. The moment we do, we're accosted by more guards... Biggs and Wedge, who are pretty upset about getting demoted after our last skrimish. We dispatch of them, and with the help of a random adorable animal that got tired of being abused by Mean Guy, we wander the floors of this interestingly-designed-but-bland-to-explore prison. (I feel like the environments have been consistently something of a weak point so far - beautiful but empty/tedious-feeling. Probably amplified by running from battles, but there doesn't seem to be a ton to discover here. No cool weapons/armor like in other RPGs.)

We break out Squall and hook him up with his gunblade and then immediately decide to send Zell off alone to operate a mechanical arm. (Great.) Zell almost immediately gets into trouble, so we backtrack a little and run into Irvine and Rinoa. A funny explanation happens; Irvine's attempt at walking down the stairs in a dramatica rescue is unceremoniously undercut when Rinoa boots him down the final steps and explains that Irvine isn't rescuing her; he's picking her up at her father's request (and with the empire's permission.) Love their little gesticulations as they explain the story and Rinoa talks over Irvine.

With that done, it's time to split the party yet again. Squall/Rinoa/Zell run into a few enemies as we're trying to get out the top, but we finally pull the switches at the same time and free Quistis/Selphie/Irvine. Once we're out, we discuss what we've learned: that in retaliation, Galbadia intends to annihilate two Gardens, including Balamb. We watch as two missiles are launched, and there's yet another party split. As Squall/Zell/Rinoa get on the train - followed by a very impressive runner who eventually faceplants - Selphie (who's the most ired that her home Garden is a target) leads the others in a car.

I'm appreciating the game's devotion to party-splitting - I appreciate the way it makes you rotate through characters faster, and the "Switch Junction" command makes switching almost seamless. Quistis, Selphie, and Zell aren't instantly likable the way Rinoa and Irvine are, so they would be tough for me to put into my party of 3 unless I were specifically trying to get reps on lots of characters. But letting them have their own missions all the time is really fun.
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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