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Final Fantasy VI Walkthrough

Written by  Djibriel
Contributor

1.34: Robotic Arms Want to Give You a Hug

Formations
5/16
1
3
5/16
4
5/16
1
3
1/16
4

Enemies: Onion Knight, Sergeant, Chaser, Crane (Left), Crane (Right)

Well, officially, the mission was a success. You penetrated the Imperial Magitek Research Facility. You didn't exactly rescue the eight Espers you managed to find, but you did take their Magicite remains as per their request, which is just as good, really. Nobody on your side died. Cid is just a scientist, but his promise to try to persuade the Emperor is a glimmer of hope. Yet, the loss of Celes weighs heavily, and you're not out of Vector yet.

Preparation: Equip the KnifeKazekiri on Cyan if you haven't already. You can once again go for a simply what's-best set-up, as neither impossibly high Defense nor insane flurries of physical attacks are present now. Summoning EsperBismarck will be very useful in the next boss battle (don't worry; it'll take a while before there's another boss fight after it), so you might want to equip it. The SwordFlametongue and SwordThunder Blade should not stay equipped (go with SwordIcebrand instead), and any ClawBurning Fist should be swapped with ClawVenom Claws.

Your infiltration didn't go unnoticed, however, and the Imperial forces are now attempting to chase you down. The aptly named Chaser robot is one of them. Chaser robots rain death from above, so it's your task to, you know, kinda geyser death from below.

Back to Chaser robots. They're the last of Cid's protective metal golems you'll meet. Chaser robots can shoot Magitek Lasers and weaken opponents by use of ODischord (which halves their level, as I explained with Satellite, their palette swap). It can also attack with a Plasma attack, which is actually very powerful. Plasma is single-target, luckily, so if one of your characters dies you can simply revive him. If you encounter them alone, their death will cause three Trappers to appear (unless you kill him with Gau's Mu Snare), and if you meet him with three Onion Knights already present, take him out first, as he will just continue to call more if you take them all down.

Save at the Save Point if you want to. You can stroll into the Magitek Factory again here, but one of the pipes collapsed, so you can't go very far. The fact that even this part is shaking hints at the fact the entire building is going down; this was more than you could've hoped for. Simply run down the rails and you'll meet up with Setzer. The Empire was becoming paranoid, and the hustle and bustle in Vector alarmed him. He notices the lack of Celes, but understands the need to escape. The four of you rush out of Vector, freedom nigh. But not nigh enough. Kefka plays a last card in a final attempt to stop you from escaping. Cranes. I don't know about the countries you guys live in, but here in the Netherlands, cranes are not an uncommon sight if there's building going on, which there tends to be from time to time. They tend not to attack us, though. These two attack in pairs, can use Magic, and can significantly screw you up if you're not careful. You have one character you couldn't equip beforehand: Setzer. Setzer comes with GamblerCards, a ShieldMythril Shield, and a ArmorMythril Vest only... So, that's pretty terrible. Fun fact: Setzer's not wearing a helmet in the GBA version because in the SNES and PSX releases of the game, he was wearing a HelmetBandana, a piece of headgear he can't equip. He. Just. Can't.

There are two Cranes, and they're not completely the same.
Crane (Right)
Crane (Right)
Bestiary #297
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
24
2300
447
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
14
4
0
125
120
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleepstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
fire
lightningwater
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
  

Crane (Left)
Crane (Left)
Bestiary #296
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
23
1800
447
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
14
4
0
145
120
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: ToolsNoiseblaster
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimppetrifydeathberserkconfusionsleepstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
lightning
water
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
 
Strategy
 
Crane (Right) is fire-based. It will attack physically and use the OFire and OFira spell. When hit by a Fire-elemental attack of any kind, it will charge, going through "THERMAL REACTION LEVEL: 1" to "THERMAL REACTION LEVEL: 2" and finally to "THERMAL REACTION LEVEL: 3 UNLEASHING THERMAL ENERGY" at which point it will, indeed, release all that thermal energy (target the entire party with a OFiraga spell). When alone, the right crane will boost its defenses with Magitek Barrier, which grants both Protect and Reflect, protecting it from Magic spells. After one minute of fighting, the message "The crane shakes the deck!" will appear and the Crane (Right) will perform a Magnitude 8 attack. Finally, every third time it has been damaged, it will perform a OThundara spell on the other Crane (Left), charging it. It has a rare ToolsDebilitator steal that you might want; it's another Tool for Edgar.

The Crane (Left) is pretty much the same, only lightning-based. From "ELECTRIFICATION LEVEL: 1" it will pass through "ELECTRIFICATION LEVEL: 2" and "ELECTRIFICATION LEVEL: 3 Electrical energy unleashed!" performing a multi-target Gigavolt attack. All other features are the same, only it will cast a OFira spell on the other crane every third time it has been damaged.

If you brought Gau and he knows how to perform the Anguiform Rage, you're in luck, as the OAqua Breath attack is incredibly powerful in this battle, up to the point where an RelicEarring-boosted OAqua Breath will probably kill one Crane in one hit. Do not let him enter a Rage that performs either OFire or Lightning based attacks, and don't let him enter a Rage with a special attack that is Reflectable. Locke can do little here but try to Steal the ToolsDebilitator from the Crane (Right). Focus on one Crane at the time where possible. ToolsDrill / ToolsChainsaw and Aura Cannon are songs often sung right now, and Cyan can enjoy his KnifeKazekiri. Setzer is easily the weakest link at this point, lacking in proper equipment. Just try to nail a diamond or Chocobo on your first spin; that will make for the most consistent damage output. Expand Full Strategy
  

The Cranes are not as hard as Number 128 was, and you're bound to gain the upper hand if you don't make any mistakes. Now, it's time to fly to Zozo. Let's see what Terra has been doing in the meantime; with Celes gone, we need Terra to fill the role of ex-Imperial magic woman.

Caves of Narshe: Final Fantasy VI
Version 6
©1997–2025 Josh Alvies (Rangers51)

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