You: That joke post yesterday was incredibly dopey and fell really flat.
Me: I ain’t got nothin’ to apologize for!
You: You already apo-
Me:
Look, the whole affair was funnier in my head when I came up with it a month ago at like 2 AM one night, alright?
ANYway:
Update #15: Helter Skelter
Click here for update 15!
YouTube Link: Cave of Wraiths
We rejoin Ringo, who has just reached the floating land of Spelvia.
Rather, she’s just arrived at the very bottom of Spelvia.
Luckily, the Spelvia dungeon is merciful enough to provide a free heal right away.
The very first thing we come across is a very familiar cat.
A cat who provides us with a very-much-overdue reunion.
: * sob * * sniffle *
: Wh-what’s wrong!? Why are you crying, Ringo?
: Forgive me, Your Highness. It’s just that… I’m so happy to see you.
All together now: Awwwwww.
: You see, I always thought I was better off alone, that I didn’t need anybody else.
: B-but now…
: Oh, I’m so glad you’re still willing to confide in me like this!
: I know I’ve been very selfish and bossy to you, and I regret it very much!
: I hope you can accept my apologies, I really do. And… I was wondering… well…
: Would you be so good as to travel with me from now on? As my companion… and friend?
: B-but of course! It would be an honor, my lady… that is to say, my friend.
This is actually one of my favorite scenes in the game; it shows that, despite the deliberately minimal faux-NES personalities, the cast really are growing as people.
Again, no crown distribution poll because I’d been feeling like we’d been having them a bit too close together recently. (Plus our current setup is already good for the rest of the Spelvia Dungeon anyway.)
We’re given another save point almost immediately after the last one due to the change in party members.
This is a fairly brief dungeon, almost certainly due to coming immediately after the tower.
This pheonix down is all there really is to see on this first floor, for instance.
On the next floor, there are two other staircases.
The exit to the southeast leads to a floor with this axe waiting at its northwest corner.
Meanwhile, the north stairs bring us to progress.
This floor is perfectly symmetrical.
The hallways on each side lead to another floor…
…with a mimic.
(Which provides us with extra Mythril, but that’s neither here nor there.)
…and corresponding treasure.
Two mimics, two pieces of light-elemental gear.
With that out of the way, the hall to the south…
YouTube Link: Spelvia
YouTube Link: Spelvia (night)
…brings us, at long last, to Spelvia proper.
Our party members are more concerned with the events of their previous exchange, of course.
Oh, just tell her you love her already.
The town is pretty sparsely populated, the only other human here being this palette swap of the asshole who attacked Urbeth Witch of the Sky.
That… doesn’t bode well, considering why we’re here.
Recall how the Invidians implied that a “mother dragon” was basically the only friend Rolan actually had.
While human presence is definitely lacking, there’s plenty of non-humans here.
…which gives us the opportunity to show off Ringo’s animal form; the transform staff turns her into a rabbit.
I’m sure that won’t be important in any way.
With nothing much left to see outside, it’s time to check out the most prominent feature of Spelvia, its enormous palace.
The first room inside contains a multitude of shops staffed by what appear to be wind-up robots.
They’ll need to be interacted with in animal form.
Talking to them while transformed just leads to business as usual.
However, changing to a human (and changing our gear setup while we’re at it)…
…and talking to one of the 'bots…
…leads to a fight.
They aren’t particularly hard fights; these can be found as random encounters in the dungeons below.
Still, it’s best to keep in mind that you can’t do any shopping as a human here.
Up past the shops…
Is this hallway filled with goats and golems.
Not a good sign for Horne’s curse.
Still, no choice for us but to go see the big man himself.
Something you’ll also remember from Invidia is that they’re much more long-lived than humans.
That’s… ominous.
We finally meet Rolan in his big ol’ throne room.
: That’s right. My name is Rolan… Rolan the Play Hero…
Well, it’s just one town’s curse, I dunno if I’d call that “big”…
: Oh, yes you have. You want me to help save Horne, don’t you?
Alright, I guess calling it a “big favor” is more honest:
: I know about Horne.
(Both options continue the same way from here.)
: I never see you humans until you need help, then you come crying to me with your sob stories. Boo-hoo for you, I don’t care!
Well, shit.
C’mon man, be a pal.
: He thinks he can do everything on his own and refuses everybody’s help.
Well, I don’t know if I’d say that was Ringo’s problem in particular; pretty much the entire party was like that for awhile.
Rolan is kind of a dark mirror for the party in that way; where the main characters are at the point where they’re finally starting to get their shit together, Rolan has apparently been at a low point for centuries now.
Well, there’s only one other (apparent) human here in Spelvia, maybe she’ll have some idea.
: His soul has been swallowed by darkness and sealed tight away.
: If you wish to make his heart free again, then you must enter this, the Fountain of Hope.
Well, okay.
We step into the fountain and there’s a flash…
…and, suddenly, we’re deposited right inside Rolan’s brain.
Appropriately, there he is right here in front of us.
I mean, we have nothing else to go on.
: I am all that is left of Rolan’s goodness, a mere shadow of what once was a kind young man. Alone, I am powerless.
: Yes, powerless… But with your courage and dedication, who knows? Perhaps united we can drive back the darkness.
So we’re very literally confronting Rolan’s inner demons. Well, we’ve already got an enormous demon body count under our belts, what’s a few more?
The last bit of Rolan’s good side, incidentally, is our fourth and last guest party member.
He’s also freely able to walk outside the fountain with the rest of the group.
: I am the last piece of goodness left in Rolan’s soul, but alone, I am powerless to change him.
I mean, you’re asking that of the dude whose soul it is you’re exploring, and he seems perfectly okay with the whole setup…
Worth noting is that the golems are willing to talk to Rolan without the need for the transformation staff.
Also, the “other” Rolan we spoke to earlier is now nowhere to be found.
(For the record Rolan can also be transformed with the staff and he turns into this dog.)
Rolan, like all guest characters, comes with a crown that we do not yet have access to ourselves.
In this case, it’s the Hero crown, which is based around the usage of swords.
(Unusually for a Final Fantasy game, this is the first character we have that actually specializes in them, considering we’re nearing the halfway point of the game.)
This gives Rolan the Reckless ability, which reduces Rolan’s defense when he uses it…
…but allows him to hit extra hard in exchange.
Granted, it helps that the sword he comes with is light-elemental and there’s plenty of monsters that are weak to light coming up.
With that out of the way, time’s coming up for Rolan to finally face his darkness.
: Looks like you’re back to your old self. That’s good.
: Ringo, I’m really sorry I left you in Guera without saying anything.
: I don’t care about saving the world, but I care about you, Rolan!
: Long ago, Rolan was the hero who received our gift of light.
demons rule the earth 
: I travel the whole world, searching for answers to its many mysteries.
: The demon has gone to the volcano in the north. He intends to make it erupt and bury Arbor under the ash and lava.
: Yet I must accept responsibility. The demon has to be returned to its prison without delay!
Mentions of mental health issues
: Arbaroc! You can do no more!
: Torte!
: Okay, now I’m mad!
: I must thank you all. I doubt that I would have been able to defeat him on my own.
: I’m embarrassed to admit that my own entry isn’t ready yet. It still lacks a certain “je ne sais quoi”…
: I’m sorry, do I know you? How do you come to know my name?
: Stay away, my friends! He’s too dangerous!
: Listen, you can keep my vase, I don’t care about that. But please free Lilibelle first!
: Do as I say, now. Squish the fairy!
: In one of the boxes ye’ll find a Rusty Compass. It fits the pedestal in Liberte’s Art Museum.
