Board 8 > Ahem... there's SAND on my boots! [Playthrough Topic] [Kefka]

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TRE Public Account posted...
You could always just not level up at all until you get all the best Espers then level up your characters one at a time. >_>

Cyan's SwdTech may not be that good normally, but you can abuse a glitch with it to let you win almost any battle.

I forgot about that glitch! Very entertaining to watch it happen.

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My Japanese alter-ego.
Hey all this is Bartz btw.

The Opera Scene

Here it is, arguably the game's most famous scene. Based on how many times I've heard it mentioned over the years, I've gotta throw it up with Aeris and the Assault on Bevelle as hallmarks of this awesome series. Unlike those two scenes, however, this one seems born of comedy.

The plan is this: have Celes take Maria's place in the opera. When Setzer makes his expected entrance to steal her, he'll actually be stealing a badass magic-infused general. With Celes on the airship, she'll sneak the rest of the party aboard, and we'll get Setzer to join us and grant use of his airship for the Vector assault. Unbeknownst to any of them, everyone's favorite UNCLE ULTY overhears their plans and makes his own plan to crash the party and ruin everything. What the hell is he even doing in an opera house? Doesn't he, like, need water? Why is there Charlie Chaplin music playing while he's guffawing about his nefarious schemes? WHY IS HE BRIGHT PURPLE. Is he an early contender for one of my favorite villains of all time? Yes. Yes he is. And Kefka ain't.

And that's the setup. It's a blond beauty switcheroo, coupled with everyone else waiting for Setzer, sprinkled with a little Ultros chaos. It's straight out of a 90s sitcom (hence my "born of comedy" impression), but it's cute and built up really well, so let's roll with it.

Naturally, Celes freaks when first learning what's asked of her ("I'm a general, not some opera floozy!"), but agrees for the good of the mission. She is left to get dressed and memorize her lines while the men watch from the audience. Before Celes's entrance, Locke sneaks out to see her. Catching a glimpse of the new star in her wardrobe, he is unable to hide his blush. A beautiful warrior if there ever was one. While Locke looks on and stands guard, I have Celes read her lines so that I may memorize them as well. The key to the opera scene is choosing the correct lines and basically not ****ing things up. It's showtime!

Celes steps on stage, and that's where the mood begins to shift. What was being built up as total slapstick craziness suddenly evolves into something touching and beautiful. Celes sings as if her life depended on it. She sings with all the emotion and feeling that 16 bits will allow her, and she captivates audience and player alike. This part of the game, which was originally about everyone, is now all about her. She takes it and owns it. Here's the scene that makes her a central player, I reckon. By going so far out of her comfort zone and still giving such an effort for her friends, she establishes herself as one of the game's main characters (I've heard people argue that she's the main character).

After she finishes the act to a rousing ovation, I find myself in control of Locke, who discovers Ultros's plans and makes haste to tell the others. The three dudes haul ass to the scaffolds above the stage, where Ultros is waiting to, get this, drop a four ton anvil on Celes's head. Seriously, EL EM EFF AY OH. We rush him and save the day, but everyone falls onto the stage below, shocking the audience and the Impresario. The Impresario, clearly a master promoter, decides to go with it and make the ensuing boss fight a part of the show. It's Locke and the Figabros versus Uncle Ulty! For Celes's affection!

Not a tough fight here, though with Ultros running things, it's certainly an entertaining one. He utters his nonsensical musings, somehow manages to swim and dive through the opera house floorboards (WHAT), and turns Sabin into an imp before we finally chase him off. Please come back. =(

Oh, I'm sure you guys have all noted this, but I realized that Ultros owns what may be the original Troll Face. So good.

Anyway, the day is saved, the audience is happy, but we're not even done. Not to be outdone, Setzer finally arrives and whisks Celes away.

End Opera Scene. The best. Hope that did it some justice.

Not my favorite scene in the game in the least but still enjoyable.

Good write-up though!

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"Setsuna, you have to change. To make up for me... who didn't change." ~SCP~
http://img.imgcake.com/Jeffzeropngus.png

WHY IS HE BRIGHT PURPLE. Is he an early contender for one of my favorite villains of all time? Yes. Yes he is. And Kefka ain't.

Ulty > Kefka
Glad you're seeing the truth.

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MvC3: Haggar/Ammy/Wesker
http://img.imgcake.com/1294368287999pngyz.png

I think Kefka is more "beloved" for his actions than his actual character. He never really gets much depth.

But still, if he's not completely memorable to you by the end of the game, I'll be surprised. I can completely understand him not being your favorite villain, but he will definitely leave his mark.

--
Thank you, Eddie Guerrero.
http://img.imgcake.com/Icon/Punkjpguh.jpg

Yeah, Kefka's actions > character for sure. They aren't quite enough to elevate him to favorite villain in the series but they nudge him into the top five.

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"Setsuna, you have to change. To make up for me... who didn't change." ~SCP~
http://img.imgcake.com/Jeffzeropngus.png

Setzer, dashing playboy that he is, makes off with his wife-to-be. He leaves her in a room alone, at which point "Maria" throws down a rope for the blokes. All four are now aboard the airship. Setzer returns and flips out at the sight of three other men... and the fact that his Maria is actually a different person.

His doubts and confusions are short lived, however, as he decrees that Celes is even more stunning than Maria and that he now demands to marry her. Locke is enraged at this proposal, but Celes makes the notorious gambler a deal. Coin flip. If Celes wins, Setzer uses the airship to help them into Vector. If Setzer wins, it's time for a wedding.

Celes wins.

Setzer honors his word and we take the airship across the overworld to Albrook, a town walking distance away from Vector. There's nothing here but an economy for more deadly weapons, so I take advantage and make the short trek to Vector. In Vector too, there is little besides the entrance to the Magitek Factory, which is my real goal. An old man confesses to being a Returners sympathizer and distracts the Imperial guards so that we may enter the factory unnoticed.

Once inside, I take advantage of the Wii's autosave feature and call it a night, still in desperate search of a real save point. Have I missed some, or did the designers really expect everyone to go this long without dying? If I die before I reach one, I may put a hex on this whole damn thing. >_>

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Yoblazer: http://oi52.tinypic.com/ad21i1.jpg
Watch and you'll see... someday I'll be... part of your world!

I honestly don't remember save points ever being problematic in FFVI. Wasn't there one in the opera house?

Plus you know you can save on the world map, obviously, right? >______>

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"Setsuna, you have to change. To make up for me... who didn't change." ~SCP~
http://img.imgcake.com/Jeffzeropngus.png

uh....


... you can save in the overworld... you know that, right? >______>


also why no mention on the double-sided coin that belonged to edgar, and sabin finding out that it's the same coin Edgar tossed in the Figaro Castle cutscene!

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http://gamercards.exophase.com/54552.png

lol jeff, saying pretty much the same thing, even with the face >___>

^5

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From: Jeff Zero | #258
Plus you know you can save on the world map, obviously, right? >______>

Dammit. Alright, I left the factory to save. Now I can experiment with Espers, I guess.

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Yoblazer: http://i43.tinypic.com/25z1non.jpg
Watch and you'll see... someday I'll be... part of your world!

From: GuessMyUserName | #259
also why no mention on the double-sided coin that belonged to edgar, and sabin finding out that it's the same coin Edgar tossed in the Figaro Castle cutscene!

A lot to recall, I guess.

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Yoblazer: http://oi52.tinypic.com/ad21i1.jpg
Watch and you'll see... someday I'll be... part of your world!

I was always curious as to how *Celes* knew about that double headed coin

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We are thought, and reality, and concept, and the unimaginable

lmao

^5 GMUN

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"Setsuna, you have to change. To make up for me... who didn't change." ~SCP~
http://img.imgcake.com/Jeffzeropngus.png

First Experimentation with Espers

I search for overworld fights. I choose Magic with Celes. I press up to reach the Esper menu. For some reason, Ramuh is the only option I see despite the fact that I collected four Espers earlier. I summon him. For a hefty (at this stage of the game) 25 MP fee, he shows up, does 350 damage on everyone, and leaves.

WHAT A GYP. SABIN COULDA DONE THAT FOR FREE.

I think I got "2 Magic Points" after the victory. Is this the Esper's way of leveling up?

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Yoblazer: http://i33.tinypic.com/ml36gl_th.gif
Watch and you'll see... someday I'll be... part of your world!

You need to equip Espers on people so that they learn magic with those MP.

--
Thank you, Eddie Guerrero.
http://img.imgcake.com/Icon/Punkjpguh.jpg

Is this generally considered "worth it"?

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Yoblazer: http://8board.webs.com/ariel.jpg
Watch and you'll see... someday I'll be... part of your world!

You ain't getting magic any other way (except Terra and Celes, who learn stuff naturally), so 'yes'

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We are thought, and reality, and concept, and the unimaginable

Magic points are used for learning the spells of the equipped Esper. Like JaKyL said, you need to actually go into "Magic" in the menu and equip Espers on everyone. You'll also notice that most Espers offer a particular stat boost at character level up.

Esper damage is typically calculated by the character's Magic stat. Celes is a good mage but she's obviously not that good yet. But generally speaking using most Espers (especially early on) to dish damage to the enemy isn't always too impressive.

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"Setsuna, you have to change. To make up for me... who didn't change." ~SCP~
http://img.imgcake.com/Jeffzeropngus.png

Considering all the stat bonuses various Espers give at level-up, definitely.

Also you will absolutely need everyone to be able to use magic later in the game (assuming you're the completionist type).

--
Thank you, Eddie Guerrero.
http://img.imgcake.com/Icon/Punkjpguh.jpg

From: JaKyL25 | #266
You need to equip Espers on people so that they learn magic with those MP.

Well, would you rather only a couple of characters can cast anything and you beat the game with somewhat uninspired stats or everyone can cast whatever you deem fit and your party has the chance to be a good number of points higher in various stats?

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"Setsuna, you have to change. To make up for me... who didn't change." ~SCP~
http://img.imgcake.com/Jeffzeropngus.png

And hey, those Espers sacrificed their lives so they could help you!

Don't disrespect their memory! >_>

--
Thank you, Eddie Guerrero.
http://img.imgcake.com/Icon/Punkjpguh.jpg

Haha, seriously.

Ramuh: "So I was all like, 'I'll give you my power' and they were like, 'wait!' and I was real suave and hip and I was all, 'don't worry about it, you need my power' and then they never even f***ing summoned me"

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"Setsuna, you have to change. To make up for me... who didn't change." ~SCP~
http://img.imgcake.com/Jeffzeropngus.png

From: JaKyL25 | #272
Don't disrespect their memory! >_>

Deckard Cain, etc.

Alright, I guess I can only equip one Esper on each party member. I have four Espers and four peeps, so it's a perfect match. Everyone gets one. Since there's a free Inn at Vector, I'll use these Espers in some overworld fights and see what happens.

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Yoblazer: http://i43.tinypic.com/25z1non.jpg
Watch and you'll see... someday I'll be... part of your world!

Go ahead and try them out, but actually summoning them really isn't necessary.

I'm pretty sure I've gone through a playthrough without ever doing it.

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Thank you, Eddie Guerrero.
http://img.imgcake.com/Icon/Punkjpguh.jpg

I know I have. All the same though he may as well witness them since he's like the only person on b8 who hasn't!

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"Setsuna, you have to change. To make up for me... who didn't change." ~SCP~
http://img.imgcake.com/Jeffzeropngus.png

As I said earlier, abusing Phantom can be useful, once you get him. And Maduin is good for dealing one-shot lumps of damage (especially to stuff that absorbs elements, like that boss a couple of bosses after finding him)

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We are thought, and reality, and concept, and the unimaginable

Aha, so Siren is the one who got her bum covered up.

REGGIEEEEEEEEEEE

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Yoblazer: http://i33.tinypic.com/ml36gl_th.gif
Watch and you'll see... someday I'll be... part of your world!

XFD

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"Setsuna, you have to change. To make up for me... who didn't change." ~SCP~
http://img.imgcake.com/Jeffzeropngus.png

Oh, I get the Magic Points and Level Up boosts just for having the Esper equipped? Good to know.

The Espers don't level up themselves, right? Equipping them just allows me to learn their spells and get a stat boost when I level up?

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Yoblazer: http://oi52.tinypic.com/ad21i1.jpg
Watch and you'll see... someday I'll be... part of your world!

Correct.

Think of it as a primitive form of Materia.

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Thank you, Eddie Guerrero.
http://img.imgcake.com/Icon/Punkjpguh.jpg

At least as far as how you learn spells, I mean.

In this game you get to keep spells you've learned when you unequip the Esper.

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Thank you, Eddie Guerrero.
http://img.imgcake.com/Icon/Punkjpguh.jpg

From: JaKyL25 | #281
Correct.

Think of it as a primitive form of Materia.

*thousands of perpetually angry Final Fantasy VI diehards come bursting through your door with intent to maim at the first sight of the word 'primitive' in relation to anything FFVII has to offer*

Thankfully, I am not one of them.

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"Setsuna, you have to change. To make up for me... who didn't change." ~SCP~
http://img.imgcake.com/Jeffzeropngus.png

Hey I love both games and prefer VI, but I'm not about to sit here and say that VI's magic learning system is anything close to complex.

It's quite easy to have every character learn every spell. The hard part is finding all the Espers!

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Thank you, Eddie Guerrero.
http://img.imgcake.com/Icon/Punkjpguh.jpg

Yeah, the character with the Esper equipped memorizes spells at a rate of MP x whatever the number is (it's on your little Esper screen where you equip the things), and after it's memorized, it's memorized and you don't need the Esper anymore

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We are thought, and reality, and concept, and the unimaginable

Yep, I agree with you on all counts.

Well, except that I prefer VII. But they're both great.

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"Setsuna, you have to change. To make up for me... who didn't change." ~SCP~
http://img.imgcake.com/Jeffzeropngus.png

espers are a bland magic system that takes FF6's unique characters/skills and renders them useless. no thanks.

6:10:50 yessir

Celes's main character status has nothing to do with the opera scene. you'll see. I'm actually pretty excited to see how you take to it.

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add the c and back away
iphonesience

I'm sure Celes has big things coming up, but you don't think the Opera Scene began to endear her to fans? It seemed tailor made for that.

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Yoblazer: http://i43.tinypic.com/25z1non.jpg
Watch and you'll see... someday I'll be... part of your world!

I never took to it so I dunno. I'm pretty far from the fandom in terms of tastes and opinions, I think.

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add the c and back away
iphonesience

We definitely need to have a "main character" discussion when this is all over.

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Thank you, Eddie Guerrero.
http://img.imgcake.com/Icon/Punkjpguh.jpg

And what does tranny think of FFVI in general? Favorite characters?

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"Setsuna, you have to change. To make up for me... who didn't change." ~SCP~
http://img.imgcake.com/Jeffzeropngus.png

From: JaKyL25 | #290
We definitely need to have a "main character" discussion when this is all over.

Oh man... headdesk.

But okay.

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"Setsuna, you have to change. To make up for me... who didn't change." ~SCP~
http://img.imgcake.com/Jeffzeropngus.png

each of the Espers have a different growth rate for the magic so keep a close eye on those.

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Vote for this guy in every contest: Sess

HAHAHAHA I'M LEARNING SO MUCH ****

OP OP OP POPOPOPPOPOPOOOPPP

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Yoblazer: http://8board.webs.com/ariel.jpg
Watch and you'll see... someday I'll be... part of your world!

I think we broke him.

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"Setsuna, you have to change. To make up for me... who didn't change." ~SCP~
http://img.imgcake.com/Jeffzeropngus.png

Utility Espers are pretty sweet. I always used Golem in a boss fight.

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Okay, I rolled a 14. What's that mean? Hsu
That you're a cheater. This is a 12-sided die. Chan

Wut, I don't think I even have Golem on my roster, unless it's a WoR esper.

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Vote for this guy in every contest: Sess

It is. I think you buy it from the Auction House

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We are thought, and reality, and concept, and the unimaginable

Golem and Zona Seeker.

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"Setsuna, you have to change. To make up for me... who didn't change." ~SCP~
http://img.imgcake.com/Jeffzeropngus.png

You can buy both of them during WoB though.

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"Setsuna, you have to change. To make up for me... who didn't change." ~SCP~
http://img.imgcake.com/Jeffzeropngus.png