1. The Lunar Subterrane (FF4)

*(originally posted June 29, 2023)

A collection of simple thoughts on last levels, final dungeons, and endgame zones.
Spoilers ahead for Final Fantasy IV.
Table of Contents

Context: Sealed deep within the moon, the true villain of the story has been using his vast psychic powers to control the more visible antagonists. He wishes to wipe out Blue Planet's population so that the sealed Lunarians may colonize it, and the party must sally forth to defeat him.

I'm sure there are more iconic and formative final dungeons in a holistic sense, but the Lunar Subterrane is among the first that come to mind for me personally. It's also a colossal slog, with 8-12 floors depending on how you're counting (some consider the Lunar Core tileset to all be a single floor, apparently).

The triumphant Red Wings theme plays during the first 8 floors, giving the dungeon a real sense of climactic finality. The Lunar Core segment plays the same music as the previous dungeon, the Giant of Babil, which is closer to the kind of ominous/mysterious theme you might expect from a last level.

The purpose of a dungeon like this seems to be to drag you up to a level where you can safely combat the final boss whether you like it or not. There's a free heal point just outside and the game's strongest weapons and armor are scattered throughout, most of it behind difficult monster chests or bespoke mini-bosses. Nothing left to do but go for it, seeing as FFIV largely lacks the kind of endgame sidequests JRPGs have since become known for.

However, in an excellent display of the kind of arcane, schoolyard-rumor stuff games used to have, one otherwise unnotable room contains a 1/64 chance enemy encounter which itself has a 1/64 chance to drop the Pink Tail. You can trade the Pink Tail for the Adamant Armor - the definitely best armor in the game, by far - if you're willing to leave the dungeon and fly back to that one cave with the tail collector. Have fun hiking allllll the way back down afterwards.

The Lunar Subterrane unfortunately contains no narrative setpieces other than, well, the final boss. The Nintendo DS remake manages to squeeze a bit more mileage out of the characters via its party thought bubble feature, which is appreciated. Other versions have extensive post-game content including an upgraded superboss.