Let's Play: Final Fantasy VIII - Part Eighty Three

 Part Eighty Two

 Masterpost

 Day Thirty Five: Boss Amble

 Beating Tiamat was pretty easy. The way I had Irvine and Zog set up meant that whenever she used her overly dramatic attack (seriously, it's telegraphed by being spelled out), she actually ended up healing them for me.

 Unfortunately, Nina got knocked out, but it wasn't any great loss.

 Apart from having to go all the way back to the entrance of the castle.

 The seals don't work once you leave.

 Speaking of the entrance of the castle, check out how amazingly observant I am by looking at this picture of the foyer.

I joked in the last part, but this place really does remind me
of Beast's castle.

 How did I miss that?

 Okay, I know how I missed that, I went to the left instead of up the stairs, but I'm still somehow amazed that I didn't see this thing.

 Look at it, it's so...

 Garish.

 It's also really easy.

 I hit it a bunch and it revealed a stage two, even though it went down so fast that it was barely worth mentioning.

I do like the design of the second stage more though.

 It's a real shame it wasn't more difficult, though that's probably a. on purpose since it's the first boss in the castle and b. not true for everyone since I spent so long grinding everyone up to level one hundred.

 Through the door the flamboyant sphinx was guarding is a chandelier. Thankfully not a crystal chandelier because it falls to the floor once you step on it.

 Which you actually need to do, because otherwise you can't get into the wine cellar to defeat the boss down there.

 The crashing chandelier breaks open a trapdoor, but not anything else in the room.

Before he crouches, Irvine flips his coat out of the way.
Awww.

 I personally find this odd.

 The boss in the wine cellar seems totally unphased considering a chandelier and three teenagers crashed into the ground about its head.

Too drunk to care, one assumes.

 It's one of those bosses that tells you how to defeat it.

 No, it doesn't telegraph how to defeat it, it actually tells you.

How helpful!

 I didn't even use elemental attacks on it. I couldn't, my magic and GFs were still sealed.

 Not that it made any difference, I just smacked it to death with very little difficulty.

 The next boss was harder.

 To get to this one you need to have one party stand in the green circle in the room with the trapdoor depressing a lever which somehow prevents the chandelier from falling, allowing the other party to use it to get to the door on the other side.

 Through that is a balcony, and this bastard.

This always looks silly.

 It was definitely the toughest boss I've faced in this castle.

 It counters hits with a powerful magic attack and it takes very little damage.

 However, with healing magic and Shell, I persevered and managed to defeat it. Go me.

 I did some more exploring, but while doing this I realised that I really should get around to optimising everyone's junctions because having two workable teams was going to make getting around the castle much easier than having to swap junctions or make sure I have the right party in the right place all the time.

 I... kind of regret my decision.

 See how I manage next time, in part Eighty Four.