Final Fantasy Tactics, Part 7 - Boco Haram

Today on Final Fantasy Tactics... a special guest star arrives: The Yellow Rooster himself, Cloud Strife, sans nose. Bawk.

Originally posted April 2016, now remastered for 2025

After the defeat of Velius, the relatively short Chapter 3 comes to an end. The game's basically done at this point because nothing else is going to get near Riovanes in difficulty.

"IN THE NAAAAAME! OF LOOOOVE!" says Bono. Not to be confused with Boco, who has killed significantly more people.

The twins join at this point. Rafa uses "Heaven magic" while Malak uses "Hell magic". More on that in a moment. They also sport Elon Musk and Son Gokuu poles.

Let's check in on the party and see how the troops are doing.

::techno music plays::

Since we're running out of room due to the OUT OF CONTROL chocobo orgy, it's time to boot these freaks out.

CLEAR THE BARRACKS! TAG 'EM AND BAG 'EM, BOYS!

Finally, we're down to the leader. The source of all the trouble. Notorious Boco himself.

We could let him stay, but if we did, before long the problem would be right back where it was.

"Sicker than 'yo average! Boco been smooth since days of underoos!"

Now we're gonna build a wall to keep out any more chocobos!

 "You bitches haven't seen the last of Boco! Brrrrap Brrrrap!"

I half-expect this dude to show up at the recruiting center posing as a Squire, wearing a hat and a fake mustache. You ain't getting back in, Boco!

Vormav (well, Folmarv now) has long since left Riovane to the vultures. At this point Ramza recognizes him as the #1 threat that he is. Even with Wiegraf out of the picture, the battle isn't over yet.

The spell-sets of Rafa and Malak. I don't really use either of them because their spells are bizarrely random. They have the same area of effect as your typical black magic spells, and fire off multiple times in that area once cast. Might be a couple times, might be a lot of times, it's random.

You'd think this would make them better than regular black magic, but that isn't the case. Against groups of enemies, you'll probably get the same number of hits overall most of the time, yet against single enemies it's possible that every shot of these spells will whiff and strike nothing. Also sometimes they'll just fire once.

Combine all this with the slow speed of these guys, and it just isn't worth using Rafa or Malak. I really wish it was because their spells are interesting. Also I always headcanon'd that Rafa and Ramza would get married when it was all said and done, provided they survived. They seemed like a good fit.

The next battle transpires on some cliffs, as Ramza and Luso hold the front line. Time to show off the ultimate summon magic...

...Bahamut. While he takes some time to summon, he dishes out mega-damage. The only other summon on his level is Cyclops (which is slightly faster and slightly weaker).

I still think Bahamut was intended to be a boss battle in this game before you get him as a summon. That didn't pan out during development obviously, and the closest thing we have is learning Zodiark through being hit by it.

The final main story character you get is Meliadoul, and she's yet another magic-knight. Pretty good one too, better than Agrias* and second only to Orlandu. Unfortunately, first we must DO BATTLE.

* - Agrias has better moves, though in my experience Meliadoul is faster and does more damage. Now in the newest version of the game, her attacks work on all monsters (despite having no gear to break) which catapults her even further ahead. She's pretty much at Orlandu's level in that game, if you were to give them both haste items.

Here she demonstrates one of her devastating attacks. They not only do damage, they also break equipment. This makes her a PITA to fight with, yet particularly effective once you have her. The only real downside to her is that Orlandu also has her break attacks (plus everything else). I think Orlandu should have been relegated to Holy Sword and Dark Sword attacks, which still would have been more variety than any other magic knight. Leave the Divine Sword attacks to Meliadoul.

Of course, at this point the battles are essentially broken. After the enemies all get to go first and take out a couple of my characters, I simply teleport Ramza behind the enemy leader and unleash hell with dual-wield. Often, the battle is over right then and there.

Quick shot of Delita brooding at a window. Tietra wasn't the only one that died at Fort Ziekden, so did this guy.

At this point Delita teaches Ovelia how to play the grass flute. It's a tender moment, followed immediately by the 'Nam-like sounds of gunfire in...

...the swamp of the chocobos. My God.

Boco has returned for vengeance, now with his paramilitary group Boco Haram.

This is one of the hardest fights in the game, and gets harder the higher level you are. Try doing this at level 70+ and they'll utterly annihilate you with ranged special attacks that your characters have zero defense against because they don't count as spells or magic.

::screams are heard as Luso gets Choco Meteored::

This fight ENDED my first playthrough of the PSP version (yes, I've had two playthroughs of this game end abruptly...the first one at Riovanes, and the PSP version at this very battle). I had to play through the game a second time to get back to this point.

Boco Haram unleashes mortar fire on my characters as screams ring through the swamp. My summoner is already dead without even having a chance to move, as usual.

The horror! THE HORROR!

Quick, Ladd! Do a Shockwave! Luso is bleeding out!

::Ramza is blasted out of his shoes::

Boco: "BRRRAP! BRRRRAP!"

Oh you son of a...

A few Monk strikes later, Boco Haram...is defeated.

Barely.

This day will be spoken of in the history books. It will be touted as Ramza's Delita's greatest victory en route to saving the world.

Speaking of...Ramza and Delita now meet in a church, Highlander style.

They're going to battle the tide of evil in their own ways, yet together-ish.

That bastardly Zalmour is after our hero again. Ramza can't even pray in peace without somebody calling the heretic-police on him.

Ramza and Delita argue over whether or not to fight back. Oh, and now that we're in Chapter 4, Ramza is sporting skin-tight butt-pants. He's probably also wearing Ugg Boots and a North Face jacket, now that he has metamorphosised into a female college student.

Oracles pop up here on the enemy side. They're essentially Green Mages. Their spells revolve around inflicting status effects, which can be very dangerous when used properly. I don't really bother with them much on my side, though. Prefer to just do damage and get the battle over with.

The battle rages on for a few minutes until I decide to dish out Ramza's teleporting double-fisting. So much for the Confessor.

Ramza and Delita shake hands while Delita's new cohort looks on. She's mysterious and doesn't really get explained too well. I think she's wearing thigh-high boots though, so... nice, Delita. Nice.

They argue a lot. GET A ROOM, YOU TWO. Ovelia can join in, but it's more likely she'd be weeping in the corner while these two have a passionate angry roll in the hay.

In the desert, our heroes are confronted by the newest member of the New World Order: Balk. This guy likes guns and poison, as a student of forgotten-age technologies.

I one-shot him too. Moving on. ...he'll get his revenge later.

Meanwhile, Goltana gives his full confidence to Delita, who continues to rise up the ranks House of Cards style. "You, and you alone...and that mysterious blonde who keeps hovering around and is in the room with us right now."

Next, we finally go to Bethla Garrison (now Fort Besselat), the impenetrable fortress mentioned earlier in the game. This is the one part where you can choose what battle you want to fight, making the other a missable battle altogether.

The choices aren't much to write home about. Ramza can either take on the north wall or the south wall. Both fights are full of jobbers, and I sent Ramza in alone to wipe them out. A solo character run of this game isn't too difficult to pull off given Ramza's ability to power up quickly with Shout.

Cutscene time, as Duke Larg gets stabbed to death by Dycedarg while Zalbaag looks on confused. Man, Ramza's brothers are real disappointments. Dycedarg is House of Cards-ing his way up the ladder while Zalbaag refuses to take a stand on anything.

The Zalbaag of the other army (in terms of raw power), Orlandu, is targeted for termination. Ramza gets to him first, and we get our next party member.

Alas, his time-stopping son still won't join the party. As far as I know, he never does. Kinda wonder if he has any other abilities besides the big galaxy AOE.

Orlandu is a Sword Saint, which means he has access to ALL of the holy sword type abilities. That means he has Agrias' power, Meliadoul's power, and Gaffgarion's power... plus one move that no one else even gets, Duskblade (completely wipes out an enemy's MP). Combine this with the auto-haste from his Excalibur and the big attack boost from his Bracer, and he's a complete wrecking machine.

Elsewhere, trusted advisor Delita assassinates Goltana out of nowhere. As he stabs his liege, he leans in and whispers in Goltana's ear: "hold me closer, tiny dancer"

Ramza opens the floodgates of Bethla Garrison, flooding the nearby valley and murdering thousands of soldiers on both sides. It's the only way to stop the fighting, but will Ramza be able to sleep at night or look in the mirror?

Wait a minute... this woman looks familiar. Is that Aerith? She isn't giving any sign of being a fish out of water, so maybe she's just a doppleganger.

Talking to various tavernmasters about recent events leads to the Island of Nelveska being unlocked on the world map. It's one of the few secret areas in the game.

A rampaging sentinel lurks on the island, an advanced relic from an age long passed.

I could go there now, but it isn't time yet. Gotta do some backtracking to get this sidequest done the right way.

Walking all the way back across the map to Goug Machine City (and getting attacked every other step) leads to this cutscene where Mustadio and his father have unearthed a strange machine.

This quest chain gets us a few new characters; all of them are easily-missable, and none are as good as Orlandu. This quest chain would have been perfect in Chapter 3, where Beowulf would have been a major get.

Beowulf here, besides being a palette-swap of Wiegraf's first outfit, is essentially a Green Knight. He has magic sword abilities that inflict status ailments on enemies, much like the Oracle. He's quite decent, but his speed is low. His main problem is that you have so many good characters at this point that he ends up being your sixth man more often than not.

Trying to take on Orlandu in his first battle: Humiliation.

Or to put it another way: Orlandu wins lol

Our next character to recruit is Beowulf's girlfriend...a purple dragon. Look, dude, I'm not into man-on-dragon here.

Regardless, having a dragon on our side is good. She's slow, but she has powerful attacks.

Uh...

...okay then.

We finally get rid of the Choco-party and now we have to deal with listening to these two at night.

Back at Goug Machine City, Sam Beckett leaps into that robot we found and it comes to life.

This is Construct 8 (Worker 8 in the PSX version) and he talks like the Tetujin in The 7th Saga.

Construct 8 is another slow, lumbering character. Like Reis, he has strong attacks, but he's so slow that his usefulness is limited. He has poor movement range, so he's very reliant on his ranged laser attack. He also has no faith, and...

You gotta have FAITH-AH FAITH-AH FAITH!

He/it starts with all of his abilities. Three out of these four are heavy melee attacks, while Dispose is a long-range energy bomb that does significant damage and is very useful for finishing off bosses.

Back to the tavern to listen to more endless gossip. This tavern is like working at a Home Depot.

NOW it's time to go to that secret island. This place is home to Construct 7, the rampaging, berserk predecessor to our new robot pal. He immediately unleashes ANNIHILATION MODE.

This involves opening fire on our dragon with his chest-cannons. Between Construct 7 and the two hydras, this fight isn't easy. Hydras are basically full-on cheaters, with their OP breath attacks that can fire multiple times.

After winning here, Reis transforms into a beautiful woman. Oh, I get it now. You're alright after all, Beowulf.

Back at Goug yet again (all this walking back and forth across the world map is incredibly tedious, given the high encounter rate). A dimensional portal that Mustadio and his dad dug up has brought us a visitor, and it's... Cloud Strife, of Final Fantasy VII fame.

Cloud is too cool for school, and doesn't even look at our heroes. I wonder if this is Cloud from after Final Fantasy VII or before. He's such a jerk here that it seems like it's his pre-FFVII self.

"Just tell me where to shoot" he says while making gun-fingers at something. Cool your jets, Vasquez.

Cloud runs off by himself, because every inter-dimensional traveler / time traveler / fish out of water needs to do that right away. It's a rule. He immediately runs into the girl who looks like Aerith. Well, this'll be interesting. He'll think he knows her, but she won't know him, and...

..........

...wait, what? Her name is actually Aerith? Is it the same Aerith? Why doesn't she know who Cloud is?

A bunch of hooligans accost her. Rum-dutchess? Well I never!

After an attempted rape (yes, that happened) Cloud reappears to unleash Bray Wyatt's most fearsome quote.

After that quick brawl, he joins the party. Aerith...just sorta poofs. I have no idea if that was supposed to be the real Aerith or what, because none of that made sense. A thoroughly pointless cameo. Why couldn't she also be a party member?

Cloud himself was a much-hyped character in this game, but he's actually terrible*. He starts out at LEVEL ONE, unlike nearly every other character, so you need to grind and grind and grind if you want to get him up to where he's on par with your existing crew. He also doesn't even start with a weapon.

* - In the new remake, he's much better, starting with a weapon and some very good abilities out of the gate. Still has the issue of his special attacks taking a while to cast and frequently missing as a result, though. Oh, and he starts out at a similar level to your other characters, not level one. What were they THINKING with starting him at level one to begin with?

His abilities are all limit breaks from FFVII, aside from Cherry Blossom which is new...and curiously above the all-powerful Omnislash. That's...very strange, adding a new limit and putting it above his iconic ultimate skill.

While it's really cool to have FFVII limit breaks in this game, they all have charge times. Meaning that, like Archers, Cloud needs for his target to not move for a while or he'll attack an empty space. This means his later, slower limit breaks are essentially useless since you'd need for your target to be afflicted with Stop if you want to have time for them to land.

He can't even use any of these abilities until you find the Materia Blade for him.

Where is the Materia Blade, you ask? On top of a volcano. This is Bervenia Volcano, an area on the world map that is never used for a story fight. This is a very fun map, and a good place to fight random battles if you want to enjoy the menacing scenery.

Ramza climbs the mountain and retrieves Cloud's damn sword for him with Move-Find Item. Should have been the Buster Sword. If it had an auto-haste effect on it it'd fix a lot of his shortcomings, but it doesn't, and he's still terrible.

Cloud is now complete. I guess. I wonder if this guy is any good if you really take the time to build him up. As far as I can tell, he isn't, which is pretty disappointing. I've read that making him a Time Mage first and learning abilities of theirs like Haste, Stop, and Half Charge Time makes Cloud vastly more useful since those abilities cover up his weaknesses. Still, in a world where we have holy knights like Orlandu and Meliadoul wrecking everything with no charge time and without needing to buff themselves or stun enemies to get their attacks off, leveling Cloud just seems pointless at this point. Too bad we didn't get him in, say, early Chapter 2 when he would have been decent (and had more time to grow).

Here's a video of all of his limit breaks in action, since I'm not taking the time to build him up or get any use out of them. Cherry Blossom looks really cool, as it turns out, while the majority of the rest are underwhelming. Especially Omnislash, which doesn't look like an Omnislash.

Now that this side-quest is over, time to move on with the game. On the next episode of Final Fantasy Tactics: I recruit another very special cameo character, and this one...is significantly better than Cloud.

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