MAGE |
FOR |
HIRE |
The next stop on our voyage is Galbadia Garden, which
doesn’t have quite the same comfortable vibe of Balamb Garden. There’s a more
militaristic and sporty feel to it, and the group notes that it’s much quieter,
so it’s no surprise when Squall comments that he likes it. One thing it does
have in its favour is that it doesn’t have a wing devoted to dangerous monsters
like Balamb, but then that might change later (spoiler!).
I’ve always felt there’s something very unnerving underneath
FFVIII’s visual style. Buildings loom
menacingly over the party, and symbols can be found everywhere. The warring
emblems of Galbadia and SeeD, along with the venomous beauty of the sorceresses
and their various chambers, are images that have burned into my subconscious. I
get that same sense of unease in other Final
Fantasy games that likely have the same art directors, whether it’s down to
Tetsuya Nomura or others.
You can have a look around the Garden, but many of the areas
are shut off, and a message over the loudspeakers will follow you wherever you
go, urging you to head up to the second floor reception room. It’s probably not
a bad idea to check out the building’s layout, given that you’ll be back here
later under rather different circumstances (there’s that spoiler again).
Once you give in and head up to the reception room, Zell instantly
complains that it’s taking too long, and Quistis arrives immediately after that
to tell them the situation. In an act of unusual benevolence, Galbadia has decided
that Garden isn’t to blame for Seifer’s bad behaviour, and has instead chosen
to execute just him. It’s fairly plain to the player that this isn’t the end of
Seifer’s story, but it’s treated seriously here, which is nice. A lot of
writers realise that a false development will be obvious to the reader so they
avoid putting too much emphasis on it, which can make characters ring false,
but that doesn’t happen this time.
As Rinoa struggles with the idea that Seifer died for her
resistance, Quistis starts to channel Squall, commenting that Rinoa must have
been ready for this, and emphasising that the Forest Owls got Seifer involved
in the first place. Unlike Squall, she does apologise on realising that she’s
done a poor job of consoling Rinoa. Zell, meanwhile, admits that while he
didn’t like Seifer, he still counted Seifer as one of them, and didn’t wish
this upon him.
Quistis goes on to say that Seifer was troubled, but quickly
adds that he “wasn’t really a bad guy”, which I suppose is something you could
argue over for hours. Seifer did care about solving some problems, but he was also
a bully who didn’t respect anyone who couldn’t fight him. Rinoa, meanwhile,
touches briefly on her brief sort-of relationship with Seifer.
In any case, all of this chatter begins to chip away at
Squall’s composure. Listening to the others, he steadily gets more bothered by
everyone talking about Seifer in the past tense. He dislikes the idea of Seifer
being reduced to just a memory (important theme here, pay attention!), and that
people can just say whatever they want once the person’s gone.
This is a particular character struggle that’s stuck with
me, even though Squall’s outburst is unintentionally amusing, especially given
that he never explains it to anyone, and nobody asks afterwards. I’d find this
exchange a bit more profound if it had been worded a little differently; its
awkward phrasing trends towards the comical, in particular when Squall
initially shows his agitation and declares that he “won’t have it!”, and
Selphie responds with “Are you MAD!?”
Bursting out the above statement, Squall charges out of the
room.
Squall’s flight is fairly short-lived; you’re not told where
to run off to, but heading downstairs and into the central hall will start a
brief scene where Raijin and Fujin, Seifer’s lackeys, have a word with Squall.
They’re apparently here to deliver a message on behalf of Headmaster Cid, which
they’ve given directly to the headmaster of Galbadia Garden.
When Squall suggests that Seifer is dead, Raijin and Fujin
don’t consider it for a moment. Raijin even bursts out laughing. Absolutely
certain that Seifer’s alive (maybe he texted them), they head off to find him.
Squall, meanwhile, is advised by loudspeaker to meet up at the Garden entrance,
and nobody talks to him about his outburst from before.
Instead, Headmaster Martine drives up to the group and
delivers their new orders. He explains that the sorceress’s role as peace
ambassador is just part of President Deling’s plan to intimidate the other
nations into accepting his rule. Additionally, the sorceress intends to use
Galbadia Garden as her base. This said, he hands Squall his new instructions,
which Squall doesn’t question, beyond the means of accomplishing them.
Here we get our sixth team member at long last. Whatever the
instructions are, they require a sniper, and Martine provides the band with
Irvine Kinneas, an irritating would-be cowboy. There are several reasons I
don’t like Irvine, but the most pressing one would be that he delivers the
awful plot twist extravaganza at the end of Disc 2.
Right now, though, he states that he’s the sort of person
who says things that get a rise out of people, but adds that if Squall doesn’t
let it bother him, they’ll get along fine. I’ve never met a person who says “I
say what I think, don’t be so sensitive” who doesn’t go into overdrive if you
even slightly criticise them or their worldview. It’s a massive red flag, and
so that instantly put Irvine on my hit list.
All the same, Irvine isn’t secretly a malevolent abuser and
I don’t need to take his snub so seriously, but I might as well justify why
you’ll almost never see him in my active party.
With that brief introduction done, Squall outlines their next
mission. They’re to assassinate the sorceress, in short, with the main goal
being to support Irvine as he attempts to snipe her. Should Irvine fail,
they’ll just go and attack her in their usual style. Irvine brushes off the
suggestion that he might miss.
At this point, Irvine tries to decide on the party, grouping
himself with Selphie and Rinoa. I decided instead to take Rinoa with me, and
Irvine was outraged at being left with Selphie and Quistis – apparently he’s
not into Selphie as much as he claims later. The game, meanwhile, decides that
now’s a good time to teach you how to switch party members and junctions. This
probably ought to have been taught earlier (re-junctioning Guardian Forces
without Switch is a bit cumbersome), but I suppose it’s better to have an explanation
than not.
The group grabs a train to Deling City, and Irvine takes the
opportunity to start flirting with Selphie and Rinoa. Selphie seems receptive
to this and becomes flustered, not that Squall realises, thinking she’s just
nervous about the coming mission. Quistis tells Irvine off, and he sulks and
tells everyone to leave him alone. Zell, irked by Irvine’s attitude, slams the
floor with his fist, and nearly derails the train.
Deling City is just as it appeared in the dream about
Laguna, and Rinoa’s familiar with it as well, though she doesn’t clarify when
Squall notices. I was a big fan of Deling City back in the day – I’d often go exploring
the world and fighting monsters for hours, and then take a break in the city to
play cards and unwind. This sort of opportunity to create your own memories and
habits wasn’t really present in FFXIII,
where you could go to Gran Pulse and fight monsters, or go to Cocoon and fight
monsters. The only real variation was riding chocobos, but I can’t say that
playing the treasure game was my favourite way to relax between grinds.
On the way to Caraway’s mansion, Squall wonders if a full
coup d’état is planned, given that Caraway is head of the Galbadian army,
though he’s quick to dismiss the notion. You’re blocked at the entrance by a
guard, who claims that General Caraway will only let them inside if they prove
themselves via a test. I would have thought that preparing for the mission
would have superseded (superSeeDed?) the need for this silly hurdle, not to
mention that Garden ought to have documentation about their SeeDs to prove
their capabilities, but it does at least give an excuse to enter another
dungeon and fight some beasties.
The test involves going to the Tomb of the Unknown King and
checking the ID left by a student who went there on a similar errand and never
returned. Apparently the student’s fate is not important to confirm. You’re
also given a map, which you can use to navigate the tomb, and can optionally
purchase a tracker for five thousand gil. This all seems like a bizarre system
for a military professional to operate, but there it is.
The tomb itself isn’t quite as confusing as it seems
initially – everything’s in a grid, but there are a few different things you
need to interact with in order to open all the chambers. And it’s worth noting
that the ID number is only a few paces inside the tomb – if you don’t care
about the optional Guardian Force, or just exploring in general, you can leave
practically instantly and get back to the plot.
This is the only fight so far that I’ve nearly lost. Being
arrogant, I entered with very little health, and it doesn’t require many Limit
Breaks to take them down, but one of the two minotaur brothers can clonk
everyone for a reasonable amount of damage. Still, I got through it anyway, so
make of that what you will.
This seems like a good place to stop – everything’s about to kick off, so let’s come back next time ready for the Disc 1 finale.