Crystals! Swords! Job Classes! THIS IS FINAL FANTASY I!

After the cutscene, the party proceeds north.



Their second encounter pits them against the Rank II version of goblins, Goblin Guards (Grey/Great Imps in the original). Goblin Guards are a bit tougher then Goblins, but not by much. To a normal party, they give out ~4 EXP and 36 gil, which is more EXP and gil then goblins.

Also linked in the picture is the GBA version of "Battle". The miniboss music (i.e. the boss music for pathetic bosses, like Garland and the next two ones) should be linked in the picture that shows the party initially encountering Garland.



They proceed north, even though Lola keeps on saying Pravoka is to the east.

In case you didn't/want to know, the white landmark is a port. For, y'know, ships. To land on.

Due to the law of the conservation of detail, we must be getting a ship.

Fact: no later games use ports for ships. You just simply dock on a place where you can. The only other Final Fantasy games that use ships are II, III, and, for a short time, V. IV and VI have ships, but they aren't controllable.

Anyway, back to our party:

where they have suddenly run into hostile cobras in the forests of the north. Yeah, I don't know, either. Cobras [Rank I] are considerably more deadly then any kind of goblin (bar the final rank, exclusive to I believe the PSP version), as they can poison. As all of you probably played Pokemon at one point, I shouldn't need to tell you what it does. I do, however, need to tell you one limitation of poison: outside of battle, it can only reduce the afflicted person to one HP. Inside, however, it's fair game. Poison is cured with an antidote (duh), or the White Mage's spell Poisona [An Nox, Null Poison]. Pre-GBA, it was preferred to use an antidote, due to the magic system. GBA and on, the Antidote was subjected to the Antidote Effect.

Anyway, on Cobras: they give ~30 EXP to a party of four, and drop 100 gil. Why cobras have any gil is a mystery to me.

61 EXP is enough to promote our party (even Lola) to their next level. Biggs, sadly, struck out, as I believe he only got 3 HP. Proof of my shitty memory.


A while after, they encounter a pack of wolves [rank I] and warg wolves (?) [rank II]. Why this is happening, I don't know.

Anyway, wolves-genus monsters are more threatening then goblin-genus monsters (bar, again, goblin's final rank), but lack compared to snake-genus monsters (a poison-type weak physical attack is always deadlier then a powerful, non-elemental physical attack, due to the, y'know, poison). Warg wolves *may* be resistant to fire-element attacks. I dunno.

Anyway, this group as a whole gives 58 EXP (thus proving their non-threatyness to Cobras) and 56 gil (again, don't ask me). According to the bestiary, wolves give 24 EXP a pop and 6 gil, while warg wolves give 93 EXP per wolf and 22 gil. Mind you, this is what they would give to a solo hero like Lief.


Anyway, our party arrives at a cave!

Biggs: All right, guys, a cave! Who knows what mysteries are inside, waiting to be explored?


Biggs: ...this is not what I expected.

Orko: I'm pretty sure no one did, dude.

Miki: Actually, I used to come here for community service before the bridge broke.

Everyone else: ...


Broom: TCELES NOTTUB B. Swish-swish-aroo!

Biggs: Agh, talking broom!

Orko: What the hell is it saying?

Unknowingly, the broom placed a blessing on the party, allowing a White Mage to chant the spell TCELES NOTTUB B (commonly called Sight [dubbed Vas Wis [Great Knowledge] to keep up with the other magickal terms] when Tceles Nottub B was too long) to view the world.

In laymen terms: we can press B+Select to call up a map of the world.

Anyway, as any good adventurer would, Biggs leads the party through the door, where:



Biggs: Huh?

Biggs moves forward to investigate...



Miki: Matoya? What's the problem?

Matoya (lady who looks suspiciously like Lola): Me crystal eye has been stolen! I can't see anything without me crystal eye!

Miki: Don't worry, ma'am. We'll get it back for you.

Biggs: But we don't know where it is!

Miki: Well, we might find it while we're going around, trying to resolve this crystal business that Orko dragged us into.

Orko: Hey!

Matoya: Ah, thank ye, lass.

Bigg's thief senses tingle, revealing three treasure chests in the corner of the room:


Biggs: Score!

Miki: Biggs, we can't do that! It's stealing!

Biggs: There's an antidote and two potions. The antidote is vital, the two potions are just bonuses.

Miki: But -

Biggs: Tough we're stealing them.

Miki:

Potions are basically Super Potions from Pokemon: restoring 50 HP. They obviously don't restore just 20 because that would be stupid.

Anyway, after healing up Biggs, we now go to the destination we need to go to in order to actually get the Crystal Eye and move on with the plot, Pravoka.


Right there, see?

Lola also gets poisoned, and as I already used the one from Matoya...dun dun dun

On the way -to- Pravoka (no we're not stopping by Cornelia to get an antidote because I dunno), we run into this guy:

As the little box tells you, this is Crazy Horse [rank I in horse genus]. He's the bane of those marching up to the Chaos Shrine, more powerful then wolves or goblins. Not a great guy to run into when your Red Mage (who, oddly enough, is currently squishier then Orko) is poisoned and near death.

Thankfully, Orko can get him to sleep while everyone else flails on him. As it was before said Crazy Horse moved, only the one point from poison damage was lost.

We gain 15 EXP and gil from him.

Next battle (versus five wolves), we get a level up. Everybody gets a critical level up (helping Lola's squishiness).



This happens the very next step. As it was a pre-emptive strike, I took the chance and ran like a little girl.

Running always works in pre-emptive strikes. Otherwise, I believe the chances of running away for each member have something to do with Luck. I believe they all run individually, and if one of their "run checks" succeeds, then the battle is escaped.

Then I ran into the same formation in the desert (...some how). I also ran then. 47 EXP and gil isn't worth it.

Then I ran into the formation in the forest. Attempting to appease the game, I tried to kill it. I won. Easily, in fact. I guess the fears were unfounded, then.



Anyway, we finally arrived at Pravoka!



First we get an antidote to cure Lola's poison.



Then we rest at the inn to restore our HP and MP.

[img]

Then we get Blizzard [In Bet Frio, Invoke Small Ice] for Orko and a shweet Scimitar for Biggs. Later to come: more magicks for Orko, magicks for Lola and Miki (the later may be quiet small, you'll see why later), and a sword upgrade for Lola. And armor.

Despite what you might think, In Bet Frio is a step up damage-wise from In Bet Flam [Fire] and In Bet Lor [Thunder]. It's a Level 2-spell. The specifics about spell levels I'll tell you about...later.



Ignoring the cries of help from the townspeople (and the cries of protest from Miki), Biggs goes up at meets the pirates.

Biggs: Awesome, pirates! Can I join your crew?

Bikke (pirate guy): Only the strongest can join the pirate crew of Bikke. Do ye have what it takes, landlubber?

Biggs: Yush.

Bikke: Okay then, lad. Test yer strength against me pirate crew!

Biggs: Oh, can my friends join too?

Bikke: They must defeat the pirates too!


Despite all the hype I just gave them, the Pirates are comparable to goblins. Heck, in the original NES version at least, goblins have more HP!

A nice strategy is to cast Sleep, then pick everybody off. I know I just said they're weak, but they have numbers on their side. Sleep helps even it out, as it hits everybody.

Also of note: Biggs can hit thrice with the Scimitar. Weapons have a chance to hit more then once, obviously increasing the damage. I think that accuracy determines how many times you *can* hit, while evasion determines how many times you'll *be* hit.


Anyway, with the rusty dagger, Orko finishes off the last pirate. I'm not kidding, that pirate was defeated. Also Orko did non-magical 22 damage. With his base knife.

Anyway, we get, like, 90 EXP from this battle and 360 gil.

We also get a leather shield as a drop! + On one hand, no one can equip it (only Warriors, the Warrior upgrade, and the Thief upgrade can equip them). On the other hand, it's like free gil! Sort of! Ish!

Anyway:

Bikke: Yer in!

Biggs:

Bikke: In fact, you did so well, I'm giving ye my ship!

All (even Miki):

Bikke: Good luck, lads.



Orko: Wait, where the fuck did that ship come from?

Well, that wraps it up for today. Next time: gil grinding, equipment getting, and spell obtaining!

And maybe Elfland. Maybe.

Fun fact: The regular encounter music was playing in the Pirate battle.

Also, for those wondering about the Ultima emulation:

Spoiler:

As you should remember, last time we left off, we got a ship.

This helps big-time with gaining gil, but we won't use it. Yet.


First, we pick up a Broadsword for Lola. Thieves can't equip Broadswords, possibly because they're large and not swift. Accuracy-wise, they're both the same, but the Broadsword has more attack.


We then stop by the armor shop to get some more armor that isn't armor.


Inside we find leather shields, gloves, and armor, and chain mail. I must've forgotten that at Cornelia. (Although in hindsight, that's somewhat good, as we had no gil left after we got everything.) We get the chain mail for Lola, and leather gloves for everybody but Lynn, as she has a Cap that I obtained offscreen. (It's in the Temple of Fiends. Protip: only go straight if you want to skip out on treasure.)

We also sell our old stuff and the leather shield we got from the pirates (which didn't really help much).



And so we enter the boat.

There are exactly four genuses (genusi? genee?) of monsters on the ocean. One extends from the "genus" that we already met, two are exclusive to the ocean (technically), and the other one's second rank is somewhere in a non-ocean dungeon, I believe.


Hey, didn't we meet these guys before?

Yep, this is Rank II of the pirate genus: the Buccaneer. Many an adventurer loves encountering these guys. Why? Each buccaneer drops 120 gil apiece. These three buckos? They're worth 360 total. If you can't see why they're loved, you must be blind.

Buccaneers (and, to a lesser extent, the rest of the sea encounters) are actually the most justifiable in the game. They're pirates, trying to take the party's loot.

Biggs: Loot?

Shhh. Anyway, preemptive strikes are when the party realizes that they need to take initiative and can, because the buccaneer's are gonna come after them anyway.

I still don't know how they flee, though. I always imagined there was a switch they pulled that dumped the monsters back into the ocean.

Anyway

Meet the Sahagins. Unlike every other monster on the ocean, sahagins have reappeared at least once, in Final Fantasy IV. As well as being a regular genus of monsters, there's also a sahagin "boss" (you can't lose, as it's all scripted). Anyway, these guys, along with all monsters on the ocean (except maybe the buccaneers) are weak to lightning. So Orko rules and Lola drools, in this case.

Their rewards are less interesting then buccaneers, only giving ~7 EXP each for a party of four (although they always appear in large groups so) and 30 gil each (but, as their encountered in large groups, this still tends to be semi-large).

Also, because of this fight, the team levelled up! Except Lola, but she'll be soon.

Spoiler:

Behold, the...well, guess. And no looking at the little box, either.

Sharks usually come in either ones or twos. At least, that's the most I've ever witnessed. I guess you could call them the Crazy Pony of the sea. I mean, this guy was defeated in a one-two punch from Biggs and Lola, who does he think he is, travelling alone?

...although he is a shark, who usually travel alone.

Anyway, killing a shark nets a party of four 66 EXP and 66 gil. 267 EXP is a lot for a monster that can be defeated in two turns, although they do hit hard. Lola also gains a level, with 3 more HP, 14 more MP, and getting a boost of intelligence.

Ygro, are you sure Black Mages are the squishiest members of the team?


Anyway, this is the final genus of monster here in the Aldean Sea: eyes. This specific member is the Bigeyes. They're annoying, only ever using their enemy skill, Glare, which paralyzes an enemy. Unlike poison, knowing about it in Pokemon won't help you here. Instead of reducing speed and making you be unable to act sometimes, you're just unable to act. It wears off eventually, but it's still annoying.

Thankfully, they suck. I think they have 10 HP or less. Sadly, they're also worthless: in a one-on-one situation, they only give 42 EXP. To a party of four, that's ~10 EXP each. They also give out 10 gil apiece. They are the most annoying thing to encounter when gil grinding.

They do get merits for giving 42 EXP, however.

Anyway, one last thing before I exchange gil and get done for the day: it's a minigame. Final Fantasy's only minigame. It's also the only minigame in the series until VII, maybe VI. You have to hold A down and hit B a lot, and eventually...



This shows up. When you start it...


You start this. You should be familiar with this by now, if not by the title 15 Piece. If you solve the puzzle, you get gil and *maybe* an item. I dunno, I'm not trying.

Anyway, we exchange our gil for magicks and items. The end results are this:

For Lola:

Spoiler:

For Miki:

Spoiler:

I actually had only enough for this much I'll probably get more later, either after this next bit or when I come back here to get magic for Biggs.

Anyway, next time, we'll - wait, what are we doing next time?

Our team is ready to set sail! One problem, however...

Orko: What do you mean, you don't know where we're supposed to go?! Aren't we supposed to go to the crystal?

Biggs: I didn't hear any of the townspeople talk about any crystal lore!

Lola: When would you have heard about crystal lore?

Biggs: I have my ways.



While the boys fight on what to do, Miki consults her goddess and/or her White Mage map.

Boys:

Miki: Guys!

Boys: What?

Miki: We're heading to Elfland.

Biggs: Why?

Miki: Because there's trouble there. I can sense it.

Orko: Bullcrap!



Orko: See? If it's this calm, there isn't any -



Orko: - okay, if this is an encounter here I can see trouble happening.

Meet what I believe is the third-most troubling enemy group in this area: an ogre and three gigas worms! (The second is the same, but with another ogre, and the first is the same as the second but with one of the ogres upgraded to Rank II.) Many players rejoice when encountering this, however, as victory means gaining a sizeable amount of EXP and gil. It is, however, a pretty tough fight, with the ogre being a hard hitter and sturdy and the gigas worms being at least sturdy. The good thing about Biggs being the front-liner is that he has a good amount of evade, so he can dodge attacks easier.

Anyway, winning a battle against this formation nets a party of four 96 EXP (the most so far, I believe, as a note) and 240 gil. The gil isn't really much compared to three buccaneers (360), but still pretty decent (and needed, as it costs 100 (!) gil to stay at Elfland's inn. Jerks.).

Anyway, as the magicks are too expensive (for now), we go to the weapon shop:

...
I sell an Echo Herb I got earlier (cures Silence, which seals off access to the arcane/holy power of the goddess, wears off after battle and isn't a big deal as I don't believe I ever got it during my original run through of the game) for the Sabre. However, then I realize that getting it would not be worth it, as it gives +5 ACC as opposed to +10 ACC. I don't know if the difference is enough to remove Biggs' third hit, but a long time with RPGs, Luma, and boobs have taught me that bigger is better. (Unless you're a nine-year-old girl and it involves boobs. In that case, bigger is o_Oer.)

Yeah, I'd get a bigger ATK number with the Sabre, but still. The Accuracy loss may negate it.

I dunno.

Let's move on and talk with some of the lovely people in this town:



Elf: Also you look like -

Biggs: LA LA LA I AM NOT AN ELF

Orko: I'd be more concerned about the prince needing help then keeping any secret identity that you have.

Biggs: No, it's not.

To Castle Elfheim!



Biggs: So he's sleeping. So what? Prince Tosas is a heavy sleeper.

Miki: How do you know his name and that he's a heavy sleeper?

Biggs: Um

Healer: Actually, it's much worse then that. He has been cursed by Astos, king of the dark elves, to sleep for many eons. By the time he'd wake up, his kingdom would be in ruins.

Biggs: Well. Fuck.

Healer: In addition, the crown has also been stolen. A few months before the prince was cursed, we were about to give the crown to a king, who was planning to rebuild the kingdom of the dark elves to be less sinister. However, on the day before the crown was passed off, it was stolen!

Miki: This seems to be a pretty noble purpose. Who would have stolen it?

Healer: We suspect it to be some number of ancient, formerly wise, elves. They kept on saying that the new king was not to be trusted.

Orko: Don't worry, we'll get it back. Do you know where they took it to?

Healer: My guess is that they took it to the Marsh Cave, then took it their own lives so their souls may forever guard the Crown.

Orko: Why?

Healer: They seemed to be bent on keeping the crown out of the new king's grasp. ...hm? Is your elf-like friend okay?

Biggs: Fffffffffffffffffffffffff-

Lola: I'd say no.

Biggs: fffffffffffffffffffffffffff

Lola: Also to clear out of the general area.

Biggs: fffffffffffffffffffffffff

Healer: Let's make haste, then! Somebody grab the prince!

Miki: I got him!

Biggs: fffffffffffffffffffffffffff

UCK!






Lola: Okay, we're good.


Anyway, so yeah. Next time, we'll go down into the Marsh Cave, the bane of many a player. Before then, however, I will grind so that Orko, Lola, and Miki can get some Level 3 spells. At least one for each (3000 gil).

So yeah, see ya later.

EDIT: Level ups from a group of four Sahagin.

Spoiler:

EDIT2: Another level up from some Buccaneers.

Spoiler: