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

Last time, we kicked the lich's pelvis. Now we're getting a canoe and having canoe adventures. In the ice cavern.


The lich was kind enough to have a teleporter out of here. Or maybe it's the crystal. Wait, no, the teleport thing was there before the crystal was relit. Unless the teleporter led to hell before we cleaned the crystal.


Bleagh, I'm thinking about this too much.


Man, I had a thing I was going to ramble on about here, but I totally forgot what it was.


Don't you just hate it when that happens?


And don't say "well Lief you'd be denying us of a valuable experience talking about stuff". I'm putting on Silver Armlets, what do you want me to say? "Biggs' defense has increased for the first time since the beginning of the game." "Miki is now even more of a tank and could probably take Biggs' place on the front lines." "Orko still has the durability of wet tissue paper."


No. That simply will not do.

In other news, this is Biggs' first defense upgrade since the beginning of the game (I think), Miki is probably able to be a tank, and Orko still has durability rivaling that of wet tissue paper.


Our next destination is here. This means slogging through a lot of sea battles.

Interesting note, Final Fantasy's boat can only dock on ports. This is presumably to make sure you don't completely throw yourself in the face of danger, but it seems silly compared to Dragon Quest's and even the later Final Fantasy games' ships that can dock anywhere. I mean, yeah, realism, but it kind of makes your boat a bit pathetic compared to other video game boats.

That, or the Dragon Quest/later FF boats are Uberboats.


Anyway, the trip here was mostly uneventful. The trip to the actual city, though, bodes to be a bit more interesting.


For starters, these chucklefucks still show up.


These guys have an Add: Poison effect.

I think.


The town, of course, is in the middle of a crescent-shaped lake, furthering the theory that the map designer at Squaresoft had a fetish for long, winding paths. The town's called Crescent Lake, wouldn't you know.



Okay, so they're not that awesome, but it's still a nice defensive bonus for Lola and Biggs. Don't ask me how two extra points of defense is worth 2000 gold, though.

Seriously, that's all Bucklers give. 2 Defense. It's the only shield equippable by the Red Mage and Thief classes, and it gives two defense. Not even any evade!


At the weapon shop, the only thing remotely interesting to us (the Mythril Sword) is out of reach because of a lack of funds. Of course, I have no idea of how much more attack it has then the Coral Sword (only Lola can equip it in our party), so it may become a moot point if we end up fighting a lot of sea monsters.

Anyway, off to somewhere that you might not know about if you lack a guide:

: Hey. I'm Biggs. The guy with the pimp hat is Lola, the guy lacking a face is Orko, and the chick with a rack is Miki.
: ... *hits Biggs with a hammer*
: I see...a cycle of wrath...a dim light, guided by destiny...In which our future is entwined.
: ...is that it?
: Is what it?
: Is that all you're going to tell us? Some vaguely worded cryptic shit that no one has any fucking idea to decipher? Sages in JRPGs typically have important information.
: ...
: ...
: ...what? Oh. ...

So, evidently, Lukhan is not the sage we want to talk to for a canoe, despite the unique sprite. He is, however, the guy who prophesised the coming of our ragtag group of misfits.



So, it should be...


...nope.



: But this has drawn the notice of the Fiend of Fire, who was not to have awoken for another two hundred years.
: ...wait, so we're two hundred years ahead of schedule?
: Eh?
: I mean, if we were supposed to kill all of the Fiends, then the Fiend of Fire should've woken up when we're supposed to come. I mean, c'mon, you're a sage, you should know this stuff.
: ...take this canoe and get out.


: 

The canoe is the key to reaching the rest of the world.


To use it, just walk into the light colored water, and Biggs or whoever has the bag will automatically pull it out and everyone will get in. You can also get out of a boat on a river if you have a canoe. This is likely intentional, seeing as how you get your airship using this technique. It's also how you get to the Tower of Trials early.


I...think this is where the Ice Cavern is located. It could also be one of the four new bonus dungeons. Let's find out!

Thankfully, the canoe will protect us from any random encount

Oh. Yeah, unlike, again, every other game in the series, you still get random encounters while on the canoe. Which is weird, considering that II and III are the Nintendo Hard ones...

Crocodiles have 184 HP and are weak to lightning and resist fire. Piranhas have 92 HP and have all of 0 defense. They, too, are weak to lightning/resist fire. Ochus have 208 HP and have the same elemental set as every other enemy here, and can inflict Poison with their attacks.

Yoshitaka Amano (who drew most of the stuff for the early games and has a fetish for feminine men and white hair) also did this piece of artwork with one of the Warriors of Light - the thief, maybe? - trying to spear the inside of its mouth. The weirdest part about this isn't the fact that an unknown Warrior of Light is trying to kill it while he's in his mouth; it's that he's using a spear. There are no spears in Final Fantasy I.


The funds from the battle go to curb Lola's sword addiction. +4 attack is pretty decent. The damage formula is Weapon Attack + Strength/2. Lola has 16 strength, so before defense is applied (I have no idea how it's applied, as the Wiki doesn't have any info on it), he's dealing 40 damage a hit.

I give Biggs the Coral Sword and sell the Wyrmkiller. Before you say "Lief what about when you face dragons" the only dragon bosses can be cheesed thoroughly (one is undead, and one can be instant-deathed).

Also it sells for a cool 4000 gil. Granted, no one can get equipment here, so it's kind of a waste, but that's a level 5 spell. If I wasn't lazy as fuck, I could go back to Melmond and snag another spell.

Now we're going to go to another port slightly to the north so we have to canoe less.


Or we can just do this. ...what? It's responsible boating.

Also, random fact: you can use a Tent on a Canoe.


Hydras have 212 HP and 12 Defense. Oddly enough, they aren't weak to thunder, nor do they resist fire.


The early Final Fantasy games, annoyingly enough, seem to have a semi-random turn order. This means you can't min-max your White Mage's speed to be sky-high so she can heal at the start of the turn, because she can still be last. The agility stat seems to be purely for evasiveness, like in Fire Emblem.


So, funny story about Garland. He can drop a Longsword, a sword that has 20 Attack.


It'll be the strongest sword you have until you hit Elfheim, which then has a Mythril Sword for sale.


Of course, that's still a cool 4000 gil (I think), so if you have, say, a Warrior and a Red Mage or are running an all-Warrior party for whatever reason, it will help your wallet. That is, of course, if you can get it to drop off of Garland.

This, incidentally, is the Whisperwind Cove, the optional bonus dungeon. It holds some pretty awesome swag, including the strongest weapon for the Red Mage('s upgrade), but is sealed off by the

so we can't access it. Pretty sure all of the enemies will steamroll us anyway.

And who's that guy?


: what 

(He's a Lufenian, who speak a language that no one else knows for some reason. This is something we actually have to do for plot, specifically to get to the Fiend that unlocks this place.)

The Ice Cavern is right around the corner, thankfully enough.


And we get...four low-level monsters and a minor threat. 


So, let's roll.


B1 is pretty boring.


I see you driving 'round town with the girl I love
and I'm like,
"FUCK YOU!"
Ooo,ooo,oooo



actually Lola can one command kill 'em and Orko's Thundara one shots 'em so


still fucking painful





B2 is, again, throughly uninteresting. It is literally a square.


Dark Wizards have 105 HP and a wide array of Black Magic - Firaga, Thundaga, Scourge, Death, Slowra, etc.. Scourge is a poison-elemental spell, but rather then poison (you can't poison enemies), it inflicts instant death. Yeah. Dunno why Dark Wizards have two instant death spells, though.


B3 reveals I may have been stretching the truth a bit when I was talking about B2 being a square.


Rather, it's basically floor one.


holy fucking shit


One thing I also dislike about a game with rounds is that you can't change your command mid-way through if you find out it would be total overkill. For example, Orko is blowing 30 MP on a group of greatly-weakened monsters. It's not like this is Final Fantasy X or anything.


But we got this. Um.


It gives 14 Attack. Pretty good, right? Except it has no accuracy bonus and can only be equipped by classes that have better attacking options. It's only 160 gil (200 in the NES version), though, but I mean.


Eventually, though, instead of more stairs we get a door.


In the door we find a shit fuck


Mindflayers! While they won't drain your levels, they will paralyze your party with their patented Mind Blast technique. And their attacks have a chance to inflict instant death! 

However, they aren't really strong (doing a whole three damage to Orko). And for how much I hyped this thing up, Lola swung through its entire 112 HP in one shot. I repeat: Lola did that.

They do offer up some good-ish rewards though: a total of 822 EXP and 999 gil.


That diamond-y thing is our target. Unfortunately, it's surrounded by cracked tiles, so we have to find another way to get into it. The treasure chests, though? Free for the taking (right now).


This is the only one worth anything, though. The other has clothes in it. As in, what we started wearing.


The Flame Sword is fire-elemental. The Icebrand, on the other hand, is in Mount Gulg, where the Fire Fiend is fought. I'd argue but you're giving me an MP-free way to hit weaknesses.


Going into the cracks drops us into the majority of B3.


Where we wander into a spiked tile and have to face the legions of the dead.


Miki and Lola make quick work of it.


This ice spikes deal 1 damage per step on them. It's basically like terrain in MMOs that give you poison as long as you're on them and remove it as soon as you step off. Or poison marsh in Dragon Quest.


Hell, it basically is poison marsh in Dragon Quest. Only not on the world map. And you can't ever guard against it.


All of the chests in this room are gil. Hell, with this party, all of the chests on this floor are basically gil (no one can equip it). I went for this due to less ice spikes.

Also! Between the last two chests on the right is a spiked tile, carrying an encounter with dragons. Guess this is his hoard, then? You should not be Bilbo and deftly open the chests from the other side.


What is this.

The Remorazz, aka the Great Pede, has 320 HP, resists all elements but Thunder, and that's it.


I guess the change in my pocket wasn't enough
I'm like,
"FUCK YOU!
And fuck her too."


actually I fought this battle which resulted in Orko Blizzaraing all of them










I said,
"If I was richer, I'd still be with ya"
Ha, now ain't that some shit?
(Ain't that some shit?)
well okay they're just piscodemons but I mean




And although there's pain in my chest
I still wish you the best
With a...
"FUCK YOU!"
Ooo,ooo,ooo

...what? C'mon, those are cockatrices! The guys who can Stone on attack! Four of them! I can say fuck you.


It's a pretty straightforward path to the stairs up.

Which lead us to the world map.

Guess what I did?

Went up the stairs leading to the world map.

Well, fuck.

Then I couldn't run away from a group of piscodemons and game over.

Turns out the last time I saved was at the beginning of the river.

...

We start off this update with seeing a new enemy: the Neochu. It's the strongest monster that pops up in rivers, packing an entire 344 HP. It has no elemental weaknesses or resistances (besides Dia, being not undead). It can also inflict poison with its physical attacks.


I took this screenshot to continue my reciting of "Fuck You", but when I was looking back to remember where I left off, I realized that I fucked up one of the screenshots. Welp. If you wanted to see what a group of three piscodemons looked like here, well here you go.


Before you ask: there is also a Fire Gigas. Which, except for HP, is stronger then the Ice Gigas (the Ice Gigas has 336 HP). Frost Wolves are the last Wolf enemy, and have all of 92 HP and 0 Defense. And 25 Attack, but I don't mention attack because I have no idea how it would be useful to you guys besides a rough understanding of how hard they hit.

Ice Wolves also have Icestorm, which is a poor man's Blizzara. They often appear in packs, which might make it dangerous. If, y'know, Fira didn't exist.


Or the random turn order is a dick. Of course, this can be patched up with Heal.


And here's Mind Blast, roughly. It missed most of the time. In fact, at the moment of this typing, Miki and Orko have never been successfully Mind Blasted.

It's also a first day for everything, as one of the Mindflayers procs the Instant Death-Touch on Biggs. Fuck.


So, in order to get to our prize, we have to go down the hole.


This leads to our prize.

Of course, it's not that easy. We have to fight a boss!



This is what he looked like the in the original Japanese version, resembling the Beholder of Dungeons and Dragons, as Final Fantasy was basically Dungeons and Dragons in video game form and the Japanese hadn't invented copyright protection yet. It was changed to its current form and name because while the Japanese didn't have copyright protection, Americans sure as hell did.


Aaaaaaaaaaaand with a physical attack from Biggs and Lola, he's gone.
: Well that was rather anti-climatic.
: Yeah. I'd expected more. It didn't even get off a physical attack!
: Alas, 'tis your fate if you have but 162 HP. As in, less HP then the motherfucking Vampire.
: Well, he would have attacked us with various magic and instant death spells...
: But when was the last time any of those worked?
: ...

: ...oh yeah.

This fight is somewhat, but not a lot, harder in a solo thief challenge. The only thing in your way after you became super leveled for the lich is the instant death spells and the goddamn random turn order.

The Evil Eye also gives great rewards - a total of 3225 EXP and 3225 gil. You could theoretically grind him, given that he's but a fixed encounter, but there's still the problem of instant death spells and you not being promoted yet.


Hell yeah!

Now let's get the fuck out of here. That's what the stairs I mistakenly headed out on are for.

Also, fun fact: you can hit the Evil Eye with Dia. ...I think.


The last thing our boat will be doing for us until we beat the Water Fiend is dropping us off here.


: Hot damn, it is steaming here!
:  

: Is it time, Brother Orko?
: It is time, Brother Biggs.


: Where did we go?


: I have no idea.




: 



That wraps up the update for today, to make up for the longness of the previous one. Next time: the Tower of Trials and job promotions!

Unless you really want me to kill Marilith, but I'd prefer to get the job promotions so Biggs can start gaining MP and Lola can get Life and Miki can finally get Warp.

http://www.vizzed.com/vizzedboard/retro/user_screenshots/208387/GBA--Final%20Fantasy%20I%20%20II%20%20Dawn%20of%20Souls_Jan13%2019_18_45.png" alt="" />
This is the last time you'll be seeing this specific screen. Also: this (and the menu, but who looks at the location?) is the only way you'll figure out the desert's name. A neat little touch, I think.


So last time, we got an airship. Unlike the canoe, there are no encounters whatsoever on the airship.


Our destination is right around here, I believe.


I think it's cool that the tower appears to be standing up. Just sayin'.

Of course, the airship can only land on plains, because Squaresoft wants you to share in its long paths fetish, so I end up parking the airship like a few miles away so I don't have to get the boat.


And run into a dinosaur!    
Allosauruses have 480 HP and 65 Attack and 10 defense. They give shittons of EXP (3387) and drop Strength Tonics, which raise Strength for one battle. Yay?


: What the hell is that thing?
Weretigers have 160 HP and 30 Attack. Saberteeth have 40 more HP but 4 less Attack.


Wyrms have 212 HP, 30 Attack, and are hit by effective damage from the Wyrmslayer (obviously).


...what are desert barettas doing in the forest
what are barettas even

Obviously resilient to physical attacks, magic is the way to go. Ignore what the Final Fantasy Wiki says.


Sphinxes, according to the Wiki, do not appear here.

...

And we're at the Tower Citadel of Trials!


The Crown (remember that?) is needed to enter. This is despite the fact that to get here, you need the canoe, which you need to beat the lich for. To beat the lich, you need a special staff. To get the staff, you need to pass Titan using a Star Ruby. To get the Star Ruby, you need to beat the Vampire. To beat the Vampire, you need to get to Melmond. To get to Melmond, you need Nitro Powder. To get Nitro Powder, you need a Mystic Key. To get the Mystic Key, you need to beat Astos and get the crown.

You might say it's to prevent cheating, but if you cheated your way here, you can just pass through the guy.


: Hey sweet, a throne!
: Biggs, be care -




: -ful.





: What I want to know is, how did we get teleported with you?

: I'unno, pity?





So, the gimmick here is that there's teleporters here. Each one teleports you to a different part of the floor. Think Silph Co. in Pokémon, just limited to one floor.


I think.




It starts out simple enough.


Also, offscreen, I bought Firaga and Dried Apricots - er, that is to say, Curaga - for Lola, and Diaga for Miki, even though we're past the major undead enemy.




Of course, as things are wont to do, it becomes more complicated. Choosing a wrong teleport just warps you back to the beginning.




It's not too difficult, though.




Especially when this is an enemy encounter.




I mean, Lola's new Meteor spell is ripping through them. I've never been so proud of him.




These guys, though, are trouble. They resist all elements, and have 176 HP. The trick, though, is that they have but 7 Defense.


Our reward?




...couldn't we buy these?


...wait, no.




No. No we could not.


This is Biggs casting Thuindara, in case you somehow couldn't tell. "You're a liar, Lief!" you might say. "Biggs can't cast Thundara! He's too lame for it!"



And that's where you're wrong, my friend. ...sort of. See, those gauntlets we picked up? In other versions, they're called the Zeus Gauntlets (or at least [Gauntlet]Zeus in the NES version). When used as an item, they cast Thundara at no MP cost and at no expense to the item. This is the first of such items we'll find.


Of course, Biggs' intelligence sucks, so he won't be doing much damage with it. They can also be equipped on the hands for Warriors, Knights, and Ninjas.




Hey, stairs! I hope they don't lead to the world map!




Crisis averted.




The Nightmare is like the Crazy Horse, just with a punny name.




...this casts Heal.


Regular Heal.


As it, restores around 30 HP Heal.


Only in battle.


...




Other opened chest: Steel Gloves. Closed chest: Ruby Armlet.


The Ice Brand has 6 attack and 10 accuracy over the Mythril Sword, while the Ruby Armlet is better then Mythril Armor. I give the 'Brand to Lola (he's the only one who can equip it) and the Armlet to Biggs, because he's going to get hit the most.




The chest on my right was gil, while the chest on my left was empty when I got there. Weird. The other chest is more gil.




: Biggs. Why are you holding a rat tail above your head.
: 'Cuz I can.

: ...



Well that was short.




So I guess we need to have a boss that a White Mage can solo.


...




: That was easy.





: Biggs, throw that...thing away.

: No! It's important!

: How the heaven do you know?

: I have my ways. 



: It pays off here.
: Where are we.

: Let me see your map.





: Right here.

: ...





: But your bravery is clear to me.


: Unbelievable.
: Let it be so... I shall honor you with titles befitting of your power!


Alright, go search 'fire emblem promotion' and play that.


Because you see,


we're getting promoted.


Used a Master Seal, you might say. Or reached the theoretical Level 21, if you played Path of Radiance or Radiant Dawn.




As far as I know, promotion doesn't actually give a bonus to stats. However, it enables using (more) magic, as well as new equipment; you can see this in Biggs' equipment set-up.


Lola just gets more pimpin', though. Well, and Raise, but.


Miki had made a bet earlier with Orko that if an extremely mundane object had been useful to the team in any way, she would put her hair down. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.


...I just noticed Orko has 40 less HP then MP. What kind of drugs have you been taking, son?

Anyway, I picked up the new spells for Biggs, Lola, and Miki. I'll show what I got next update, because laaaaaaaazy. See ya!

Oh, and! Now that we have an airship and promoted, we can theoretically face any of the remaining three fiends now. Out of Marilith, the Fiend of Fire, Kraken, the Fiend of Water, or Tiamat, the Fiend of Wind, who should I (go on the road to) facing next? They're listed in the order the game expects you to face them, and we have to dive into ( ) Kraken's dungeon in order to go to Tiamat's, but I mean, anything's fair game. Vote! Or just let jokool say who I should kill, whatever.

: Om nom nom, deli - ow my teeth are in incredible pain.


: So how did that feel, Mr. "I'm-on-the-front-lines-so-I-must-have-10-more-HP"?
: Shut up. Where are we going to next?
: We, uh, actually don't know.
: ...what.
: Yeah, me and Lola were discussing it while you were passed out from the pain.
: ...I hate all of you. Let me take the wheel.
: Where do you plan on taking us?
: I'unno, I'll fly around until I see something interesting.


: Like that weird patch of desert. To the fields!



: Hm, a desert shop. What will they sell? Awesome weapons? Exotic magic?
: Plot items?
: Silly Lola, they don't sell plot items at shops!


: آه، مرحبا بكم في متجري! ماذا يمكنني أن أفعل لك؟
: وأود أن عرض التركيبات الخاصة بك.
: You know Arabian?
: Doesn't everybody?
: ...no.


: حاليا لدينا هذا عينة نادرة، خرافية! أنها تحيي لك عندما تموت! يمكن أن يكون لك فقط لمدة أربعين ألف الذهب!
: أربعين ألف الذهب؟! هذا هو قطع الطريق!
: هذا هو الثمن للاحياء. أو مؤامرة، كل ما كنت تستخدم من أجله.
: التذمر، التذمر ... بخير! وسوف نفعل ذلك، ولكن فقط بسبب مؤامرة! ولكن ...، أولا، نحن بحاجة لبيع لكم بعض البنود.


: So, uh, what were you talking about?
: Well, you were right. He was selling a plot-critical item.
: Yeah!
: For forty thousand gil.
: Dammit.
: So we're just going to go around, beat stuff up, maybe find a stash of items somewhere.
: Cool.


Hellhounds continue the trend of "being pathetic in the eyes of Lola and Biggs". They have only 192 HP and can only attack or cast Blaze, which is poor man's Fira.


: Hm, I think I know where to go.
: Where?
: Up this river!
: ...why?
: Well why else would there be a river here?
: To bring water to the ocean?
: This doesn't lead into the ocean.
: What.


: I'm right again!
: ...this is a waterfall.
: Not just a waterfall...


: ...a waterfall cave!
: ...this is ridiculous.
: Pika, pi? (I know, right?)
: ...what the fuck.

The Waterfall Cavern is one of the simpler dungeons, being only one floor. It's also a maze, though. Unlike other video game mazes (I think), there aren't any treasures in otherwise-dead ends. This is good, because you won't be praying that you didn't miss any treasure and get yourself in an even bigger knot.


The enemies are also fairly simple, what with being capable of being taken down in a single hit.


Or falling to Dia.


Or being able to be felled by Blizzard. You heard me, Pyrolisks fall to Blizzard.


: Aha! Swag!


The Wizard's Staff casts Confuse when used. Weirdly enough, I think Confuse is player-exclusive in this game, whereas Poison is enemy-exclusive. ...they got the better end of the deal.


: Whoa. Awesome.

The Ribbon is quite possibly the best helmet in the game. While, stat-wise, it's the exact same as a Leather Hat, it bestows upon the wearer the ability to resist all elemental damage and instant death effects. In later games, this would change into immunity to all statuses, but statuses aren't a huge thing in FFI. Plus, most of the final boss's attacks are elemental. Reducing them is nice.

The thing is, though, there's only three of them. Okay, that's not technically true in this version - there's a fourth in Hellfire's Chasm, the bonus dungeon unlocked when we kicked Marilith's ass (wait, do snake-women have asses?) - but because of how bonus dungeon chests work, it's entirely possible you won't find it. Someone will go without one - probably your Knight, because there's an armor that gives him the same effect. But we don't have a Knight, do we?


The final non-gil/key item here is this: the Defender. It's a pretty cool weapon.


For starters, it can cast Blink when used as an item. It's also by far the Red Mage's best weapon (at least in the original version), besides the Masamune, the best weapon for all classes. Now, normally, the Sun Blade would be better - it has a bit more attack and kills undeads better. However, there's a huge glitch in the game that started in the original and persists to this day (possibly because it was so game-changing and wasn't needed for class balance - the other game changing bug made the Red Mage as effective as the White and Black Mages, and got fixed in this version) was the Critical Rate bug.

See, the critical rate is what's divided by 201* to determine how often you get a critical hit. If the game performed like it should, the Defender and the Sun Blade would only have a Critical Rate of 5, or a 2.4% chance to get a critical hit. So the Sun Blade would be superior, right? But the game doesn't work correctly. Rather then put in the correct Critical Rate, the game instead puts the weapon's index number - 24 for the Sun Blade and 32 for the Defender. So uh yeah.

*Okay, so what really happens is that a number is chosen between 0 and 200, and if the number is < the Critical Rate, the hit is critical. I have no idea whether this accurately represents the chances for a critical hit, but I think it does.

Random, semi-related fact: your hit rate increases when you're in the front two slots of the party. Reason #3 that it's a bad idea to put Miki in the front slot rather then Biggs.


Enough wo - wait, there's going to be more words. Let's just listen to guy and get what we came here for (besides, y'know, the gil and the Defender and the Ribbon).
: ...take this CUBE...
...TIAmat...flying fortress...
...please...


: ...what the fuck is he talking about.
: No idea. Just take the weird cube and let's roll.


The Ice Gigas is to the Fire Gigas as the Fire Gigas is to the Hill Gigas, except this time even its Attack is lower then the previous version. They just don't make good Gigases any more...


Ah, the peaceful town of Onrac! Neck-deep in the woods, far away from any other civilization, and right next to the source of the stagnating water, it truly is the picture of a utopia!

 
...no, not like that.


: Well...actually yes they are.


(about the stuff in the Sunken Shrine)
: Surely that will never come in handy.


: على الأقل العربية هي لغة حقيقية!




: Amazing! A dragon is living in a human settlement!

(No, I have no idea what he says if you don't class change. Not class changing is for enixes, anyway.)




Okay, so here's where we access the Sunken Shrine, domain of the Kraken. We need the Bottled Faerie for this. Thus we need 40,000 gil.


Thankfully, the Wizard's Staff sells for a good amount. We don't need no Confuse anyway.

...y'know, I think I didn't have any problems with this on my regular Final Fantasy game. I was using Warrior/Monk/White Mage/Black Mage, and the Knight having less magic then the Ninja and especially the Monk is probably what kept costs down.

I also sell Lola's old Ice Brand and Leather Cap (Ribbons!).


I took this screenshot to show off the Defender.

...man, I should've given it to Biggs. It coordinates with his outfit better.


...I've encountered these less then their upgraded counterparts. Weird.

Wyverns have 212 HP, and give 1173 EXP and 50 gil upon defeat.


So, through this leveling, Lola got his last spell level. I swear, if Miki and Orko gain Spell Level 8 while doing this...


Wyrms have 290 HP, and give 1218 EXP and 502 gil when killed.



These are river monsters.

They should not be here.


...goddamn it.


Continuing with weaker versions of enemies that I haven't seen before now, Baretta! The weaker version of the Desert Baretta, despite appearing later unless you don't upgrade classes or don't get into any random encounters here. They have 256 HP, and give 1428 EXP and 300 gil when slain. Which is more then the Desert Baretta. 299 more.

I hate Desert Barettas.


Manticores are surprisingly rare enemies. I say surprisingly because they have a consistency roughly on par with...well, everything except Baretta monsters, at 164 HP and 8 Defense. They have a special ability known as Poison Darts which poisons the party, but as you can see, it only hit Biggs.

...of course, after I type that up, I start encountering Manticores out of the wazoo. Manticores drop 650 gil and give 1317 EXP upon defeat.


So I managed to get all of the money needed!


These were the levels I started at. Granted, some of the EXP was because of run-ins with EXP-rich, Gil-dry Desert Barettas, but still. 13 levels (14 for Biggs) in order to get enough gil for the damn faerie. Which it would be impossible to continue the plot without, remember - getting to the Sunken Shrine requires Oxyale, which you need the Bottled Faerie for, and getting to the Sky Fortress requires something in the Sunken Shrine.

Thank God for the Wizard Rod, because otherwise I'd be here for even longer.

It also just occurred to me I could've done one of the new dungeons to get some gil. Eh, I'll do it when I'm trying to get money for the level 6/7/8 spells.


: وهنا المال للجنية - كل أربعين ألف قطعة نقدية.
: ممتازة. كما تعلمون، فإنه سيكون من العار إذا كان أي شيء يحدث لك الآن بعد أن كنت حصلت خرافية الخاص بك ...
: نذل!
: آه، أنا طفل، أنا طفل. على المضي قدما، واتخاذ خرافية الخاص بك. و لا تنسى لحفظ اللعبة!
: هاه؟
: بائع نكتة قديمة.

Okay, how many of you have spotted my mistake?


Yep, I ground to 400,000 gil - 360,000 more then I needed. Boy, do I feel like an ass now.
: بينما كنت هنا، لعل كنت ترغب في بلدي السلع الأخرى؟
: Speak English!

After you purchase the Faerie's Bottle, the salesman instead offers a variety of tonics/drinks which increase a stat for one battle. The most worthless is the Faerie Tonic, mainly because it only can take effect in battle and you can just drink an ether then.


...fuck.

Okay, here's the deal. That right there is an awesome spell called Sabre. It enhances attack by 16 and accuracy by 10 on the target, meaning you hit harder and more often. The catch? It only works on the caster. As in, the not-made-for-combat Black Wizard. It would've been awesome if Lola could learn it.

Blind is shit, too, being Blind.


White Mag - wait, White Mages can use these level 7 White Magic spells. Black Mages can't use Blind. This is racism and I will not stand for it!

Too bad I can't hack.

Also Red Mages, nor Red Wizards can cast any of the Black Magic spells here. Racism

Anyway, Healaga is Curaga-All (meaning she finally can cast Curaga levels of healing) while NulDeath...um. NulDeath would be useful if there wasn't already a gauntlet thing that provided that same effect. There is, though, and it's a lighter version of the other comparable ultimate gauntlet and weighs less. C'est la vie. (There are new gauntlets that surpass the null-death ring in defense, although it's not enough to make NulDeath worth the spell slot.)


Next is this mountain village!


: مهلا!
: Well there's 40,000 gil down the drain.


: Listen! Get back here!
: Yeah, that works ever.


: Gaaaaaah.



: ...you did what?! Why you little...I oughta...



: Oof!
: Ouch!
: I'd hate to be that guy.
: Man, I didn't know I had that much blood.
: I didn't know some of these body parts existed!
: I didn't know you could rotate - wait, no, that's clearly irregular.
: Did she just - ?
: She did.
: We should, uh, probably leave now.


: No, we just brought you here.
: And paid the 40,000 gil for the bottle.




A'ight! Now we can continue with the story!

...next update! First, we gonna pick up some swag.


Stop is the only non-instant death spell here.


Holy is the White Wizard's ultimate (read: only) attack. NulAll would be useful...except it only affects one party member, meaning to fully affect the party you'd still need four rounds. ...then I realized one party member lacks a Ribbon; that's all you'd need.

No one has ever found a use for Dispel. Ever. It didn't even work in the original version!


The Protect Ring is why NulDeath is a joke. The Ruby Armlet provides a well-needed boost in defense for Orko and Miki.


The Cat Claws are pretty bad, what-with being the Black Wizard's best weapon. I might get them 
just 'cause, but I gotta check something out first...


: مرحبا يا سيدي جيد. هل لي أن أسألك حيث متجر السحر (ق) هي؟
: Lief, for the last time, no one else speaks Ara -
: لو استخدمت مكتب الصحة بالمديرية؟
: Damn!
: What.


: تحيات، يا سيدي! قد أستطيع تذوق التركيبات الخاصة بك؟
: Oh come on, the guy outside didn't understand, why should this o -


: - oh come on.
: Gotta be multilingual for all of the customers!
: Two people speak it!


So, Flare. Flare is, without a doubt, the best spell in the game, bar none. Well, okay, it might tie with Holy, but Black Wizards have more Intelligence, so Flare ends up dealing more damage. Funnily enough, apparently Flare actually relies on Intelligence for damage, even in the original...so for the one spell where it wouldn't make a difference (well, beyond, y'know, getting stronger depending on levels), the Intelligence Bug doesn't take hold. C'est la vie.

As for the White Mage?


Not quite as impressive, but it'll still help if anyone dies.


Ah, Holy. Simple, yet...okay, it's not really effective (Lola and Biggs typically deal more damage then that) but Miki's not on damage duty anyway.


Flare, meanwhile, kicks ass.

So, that's it for this update. Next time: the Sunken Shrine!

Also:

Biggs has max accuracy. No matter what game he'd be in, he can't miss. Well, okay, he can miss on chaining hits, but he will always score at least one hit. ...that's confusing.