Well, once we got to the moon, we magically remembered that Yang had a wife in Fabul. Funny how that just popped into our collective consciousness. Anyway, the temptation to save Yang was a bit too strong, so we hit the warp drive, zoomed back to Earth, and headed straight to Fabul.

Once there, we searched around until we found Yang’s wife, who seemed a bit upset that Yang didn’t come back home. She gave us a Frying Pan of Love, which we promptly tucked into our packs.

We headed down to the underworld, and once again we entered the Cave of Summons. We made quick work of our enemies and soon found ourselves in the subterranean lodge where Yang was sleeping.

I’m not quite sure what happened next, but I’m guessing we whacked him over the head with the Frying Pan of Love. Whatever the process, Yang popped awake. For a second there I was excited, as I thought he was going to join our party. Alas, it was not to be, as his injuries were too serious.

The flittering fairies who were attending to Yang, however, did teach Rydia the “Shirufu” summons. Not sure what that does yet, but at least we didn’t leave the lodge empty handed.

Anyway, with that diversion out of the way and Yang finally awake, we’ll head back to the moon tomorrow.

Status: Moon-bound Again

We’re long overdue for a poll!

I’m closing in on the end of Final Fantasy IV, and it’s time to see how this game fares with readers of this blog. So fire away! What do you think of Final Fantasy IV?

It felt great to take the Falcon up through the hole in the underground ceiling and get back into the fresh air of the overworld. We didn’t spend much time there, however, as we raced off to Mysidia, boarded the moonship, and blasted off toward the heavens. Time to get this show on the road.

I do feel a bit bad about leaving Yang asleep in bed back in the underground, but I’ve got no clue what to do there. I did receive a mysterious hint about his wife being sad, but I don’t remember the guy’s wife for the love of me. It’s a big overworld, and I’m too impatient to search for her now.

This moonship is pretty neat by the way. It’s got its very own Fat Chocobo, which may come in handy if we run out of food on the journey. Also, it comes with beds for all, which we blissfully ignore by continuing to all cram into one bed.

The journey to the moon took only a couple of seconds, and was fairly uneventful. Once there, I did check to see if we could use the moonship to return to Earth, and we can. So if I ever have a flash of inspiration regarding Yang’s wife, I’m hoping I can zip back down to Earth and save the guy.

Back on the moon, though, we use the moonship to examine the satellite’s surface. The moon is small compared to the overworld, but there do appear to be several caverns to explore. Also, there is a moderately big tower on the surface as well. It appears that many of the caverns are actually part of a tortuous route to get to the large tower. One cavern appears to be separate from the rest. We start with that one.

Inside this isolated cavern, various semi-friendly creatures flutter about. Most of them make unintelligible noises when approached, but one of them offers to change our names. Another one is perhaps the town merchant, as he offers to sell us all sorts of stuff. Most interesting is a flute that allows us to call the Fat Chocobo whenever we want. Not sure if this flute would work in dungeons, but there’s one easy way to find out. We blow 20,000 gil (half our current savings) and buy the flute.

Tomorrow we’ll check out the tunnels that seem to lead to the main tower.

Status: Excited to Be Somewhere New
Lunar Eclipse Image Credit: Lapstrake

Tomorrow, we head to the Moon, and if you’re thinking our luck is changing, I’d guess you’re right. What am I talking about, you ask? Well, I’m talking about the strangest coincidence to grace this blog yet. For on the very day we’ll travel to the moon in Final Fantasy IV, North America, South America, and much of Africa and Europe will be treated to a spectacular Total Lunar Eclipse.

I’m joking, you say! Nope, I kid you not! I couldn’t make this stuff up! Supposedly, because of a lack of volcanic eruptions on the Earth, the moon will not turn black, but will instead turn a bright orange and red. How cool is that? Forecast here is for clear skies and -11 degree weather (Fahrenheit), so it should be a perfect night for shooting some photographs of a blood red moon. And what better night to take a trip to the moon, to hunt down our nemesis, Golbez?

*evil laugh*

Boo yah! The Gods finally smiled on us today, as we made our third attempt at defeating the omnipotent and deadly Malboro Gang, otherwise know as the Green Spaghetti Blobs.

Things actually got off to a precarious start, as two Malboros and two burning trees ambushed us shortly after we left our safe zone on the first floor of Final Fantasy IV’s Sylvan Cave. We were ready with our Esuna spell, however, and boy were those Malboros and trees surprised. I could just see their little digital minds panicking when Cecil cleared Rosa of her pig-midget-frog-blind-deaf status with one quick incantation! One nuclear Leviathan blast later and those Malboros butts were extinguished. Smoke that, Malboro blob!

From then on, we made quick progress to the bottom level, where those six dark chests waited. We blasted through the first three with little fanfare, and once again it was time for the dreaded Malboro Gang!

As they sprang from the chest, however, I noticed that they were a bit hesitant this time. Perhaps word of our power had gotten down to them from their pals up on the first floor? Whatever the reason, they were not the coordinated team of killers we knew from our first incursion here. Dare I say it? They looked—scared. Yes, that’s the word. Scared! They were afraid of us now! Afraid of our steely glares, glistening swords, and kick-ass nuclear spells.

Nevertheless, they launched their barrage of status changing spells, and once again they decimated our party. Cecil, Rosa, and Edge were instantly transformed into whatever a blind, deaf, pig, frog, midget should be called. Pirogget? But fear made them careless. They left Rydia—she of the Leviathan spell—untouched. She incanted her spell defiantly as the Malboros, realizing their mistake, cowered in fear. Ten seconds later a massive wall of water splattered their spaghetti intestines over the walls of the cave. The battle was over, in one round no less! We quickly transformed Cecil, Rosa, and Edge back into humans again. It was then that the scope of our victory became apparent: no member of our party had taken a single hit of damage. We were all perfectly healthy, and the Malboro Gang was no more.

And that, my friends—as that famous spoony bard would say—is revenge served ice cold.

Status: Packing for the Moon