Entry 3: Graduation ceremony
We begin this session back in the town of Balamb. I had already visited the town earlier with Quistis, so I only had a brief run around this time. Balamb is Zell's hometown, so we did make a point to call in and visit his mum. We also checked the shop to see if there were any supplies we could stock up on, and briefly confirmed that a rental car was a bit too much for our current budget!
On the way back to Balamb Garden, I decided to take on some random encounters to top up some of the magic I had been spending recently, especially Cure and Thunder. However, I soon got a shock of the Jurassic kind when our party was ambushed by a fearsome T-Rexaur! This was a pretty tough battle, but fortunately I was pretty well junctioned up. A Scan revealed that the beast was weak against Ice magic, so my attack rotation was Double Blizzard with Squall, Shiva with Selphie, and physical attacks with Zell. Squall was able to keep up healing using Double Cure, and we just about walked out of the forest with our lives!
After the battle, I spent some time topping up my magic reserves in random battles, before finally returning to Balamb Garden. We were greeted in the main lobby by Cid, Quistis, and Instructor Xu. We learned that repairing the Comm Tower seems to have been the primary objective of the Galbadian army, and that they have agreed to withdraw from Dollet as long as the tower remains operational. We also learn that wireless communication is all but extinct in this world, due to a mysterious worldwide radio interference that started spontaneously 17 years ago. As a result, it is a mystery why Galbadia would want the tower reinstated. Mysteries upon mysteries!
Seifer laments that we were unable to disable the tower before receiving the order to withdraw. In response, Instructor Xu delivers some punishing criticism of Seifer, telling him that he will never be a SeeD and that he is a joke. We see Seifer's shoulders drop under this assault, and I admit that I did feel sorry for him here. Sure, his actions as captain did not justify a pass, but it's not clear that he is receiving much guidance aside from regular test failures and non-constructive criticism. Moments before, Xu herself had a similar lamentation, that Garden would have made a lot more money had the Galbadian army put up more of a fight!
Before long, Squall, Zell, Selphie, and some random dude are summoned by the Garden Faculty to be formally promoted to SeeD. We passed the exam! I take a quick look at my results breakdown to find that I am rank 7. I'm not 100% sure what that means, but I decide to take it. Throughout the graduation ceremony, the Headmaster seems to be heavily directed by the mysterious Garden Faculty. Who is really in charge around here?
After the ceremony, we quickly change into our official SeeD uniforms, before participating in the graduation ceremony and dance-off. While lurking off to the side, Squall makes eye contact with a girl we recognise from the intro cinematic. She approaches Squall for a dance, which we reluctantly accepts. It is pretty clear this girl has her own agenda, but we do get to see how quickly Squall picks up new skills, as his dancing improves dramatically throughout the cutscene.
After the dancing we are approached by Quistis, who asks us to meet her in the secret area in the Training Center. She seems to have a lot on her mind, so we accept. When we arrive at the Training Center, we fight our way through some Grats to reach the secret area.
It is after midnight, and Quistis announces that she is no longer a SeeD Instructor. We also discover that she became a full SeeD member at only 15 years old, which is honestly terrifying. Quistis is obviously having a hard time coming to terms with failing as an Instructor, and Squall is unsupportive and frankly selfish. It is clear that like Seifer, Squall has some pretty significant social problems, but then again he is essentially a child soldier.
On the way back through the training area, we encounter the woman we saw in the medical center at the very start of the adventure. She is under attack from a large flying monster, so we jump in to help her out. The beast is a Granaldo and is supported in battle by 3 Raldos, which it throws at us one by one. We are able to draw Protect magic from the Raldos, and with this in place, the Granaldo is not able to seriously threaten us with damage. I take my time drawing plenty of Blind and Shell magic from the beast, before dispatching it with Quezacotl and Shiva.
It is clear that the woman we rescued recognises, and is even familiar with, Squall and Quistis. Before we can talk properly, she is escorted from the Training Center by some mysterious men. Squall and Quistis don't recognise the woman at all, so we have either a Truman Show situation, or a group memory loss situation.
Overwhelmed by the excitement of the day, we decide to turn in for the night. We wake up the following morning to Selphie, helpfully roaring at us from the other room to announce our first SeeD mission: we are going to Timber! I am supposed to head to the front gate to meet up with the others, but I decide to take a quick detour to the classroom to sit some written tests and improve my SeeD rank.
I improve my rank to 13, which should mean a higher regular income. I think it is a neat system how we are paid a salary in this game, rather than finding cash on random monsters. I also learn some genuinely surprising facts while taking these tests: First, I had no idea that Final Fantasy 8 had level scaling! It seems like junctioning is the key to overpowering enemies, rather than over-levelling them. Second, I learned you can Scan party members! I need to try to remember to do this - perhaps I will discover why Squall was being such a jerk to Quistis. I decided to end this session here. Next time, we are heading off to Timber!
Enemies Encountered
T-Rexaur
Grat
Granaldo
Raldo
