That is, the parts of it that aren't totally ridiculous

Heh, yeah, that's one of the sillier excuses for a quest I've seen. Then again, I'm not sure it's that much sillier than in other video games I've played... you make a good point about this being one of the first FF games, from which the cliches are derived. Is it still a cliche if it came first? Maybe not.

I always wondered JUST how surprised they were when the Bomb Ring BLEW UP.

Hee! I don't know, Cecil looked pretty surprised. Then again, I'm not convinced Cecil is the sharpest stick in the drawer, either.