Asch has several awesome fonic artes... all of which do 1 damage to most enemies because of his crappy fonic stat. Yay.
Ugh boss that summons waves of the most annoying enemy ever. What a pain. There goes my entire 20000 Gald's worth of supplies.
Then back to fake Luke we go, as he finally decides to stop being an ass. I get a nice hair-cutting cutscene to mark the occasion, making it official that this is the FFIX to Symphonia's FFX. The whole Outer World/Sephiroth tree thing very much invokes Terra and the Iifa Tree, and of course we have BaticuLindblum as well. But I guess when you've played as many JRPGs as I have it's hard not to make comparisons.
In any case I definitely enjoy Luke's development and his interactions with Tear. Seems that they're setting Natalia up to be paired with Asch instead, which works great except for the fact that Asch is a type of character with a very low life expectancy. Not going to make predictions on his fate though.
Lots of good info from the NPCs here... I sure am glad I always talk to everyone twice. I wonder what the "Planet Storm" is... Sounds important.
Hm, Hod and Akzeriuth getting destroyed was foretold yet nobody was warned. Of course, in JRPGs a religion with no dark evil secrets is like a castle without an evil chancellor lurking in the shadows. Whether the Order of Lorelei and its masters will end up being villains... I'll just have to wait and see. It would be funny to have Ion as an antagonist.
^Well, a lot of people only want their game characters to be powerful and badass. They're the type of people who hate Tidus because he's "whiny". I'm not like that. I enjoy well-written and believable characters.
After rendezvousing with Guy and Jade I set out to Daath to rescue some party members, and thus begins act 2 of the game, with new battle and overworld music. The latter is definitely an improvement, but not sure about the battle theme yet.
Before reaching Daath I'm treated to another spectacular vista of the city from above. These extra-polished scenes are really enhanced by the 3D, I completely reject all statements that the 3D isn't good in this game.
Whee, I finally have some money to spare to buy a decent selection of items! So far pretty much everything I earned went into Life Bottles and Orange Gels.
The library in the cathedral is really informative. Some great world-building in this game, it's very rare to see an RPG completely deviate from Planet Earth like this. A year is 765 days on Auldrant, meaning that in retrospect, Luke was kidnapped over 14 years ago, not 7. Unless they messed up, that is.
We find Natalia and Ion in the Oracle Knight complex, completely unguarded. The door wasn't even locked. But I guess they didn't expect anyone to trick their way this far in. Time to GTFO.
From: Takfloyd_mkII__ | #105 The library in the cathedral is really informative. Some great world-building in this game, it's very rare to see an RPG completely deviate from Planet Earth like this. A year is 765 days on Auldrant, meaning that in retrospect, Luke was kidnapped over 14 years ago, not 7. Unless they messed up, that is.
Going by a later sequence in the game, a day is much shorter than our 24-hour days here, so it might even out or something.
From: Takfloyd_mkII__ | #105 ^Well, a lot of people only want their game characters to be powerful and badass. They're the type of people who hate Tidus because he's "whiny". I'm not like that. I enjoy well-written and believable characters.
You insult my intellect young sir! Of course I knew all about that. It's not like Nintendo invented the name Mario either, but no other video game character is ever going to be called Mario except as a shout-out. I'd say the name Sephiroth has been similarly monopolized, and Namco knows that and still used it.
By the way, I just decided that I'm probably far enough in the game to... look at the game cover. Yes I care that much about spoilers. Pretty crappy illustration to be quite honest, it's obvious that the artist hasn't drawn these characters in a while. Also Asch is on the cover, justifying my eccentricity. I also skimmed through the manual and it says Luke is 17, so he obviously wasn't kidnapped 14 Earth years ago. Also Anise is only 3 years younger than Tear, wtf.
It was an evening like any other at the Keterburg casino. Little did they know this would be the fated day when Luke "Rain Man" fon Fabre would hit the poker tables like the fist of an angry sponge god whose spongy fists sponge money like water.
I used to play poker. It appears my addiction still burns strong, yes.
Can't say I mind them, I generally just scan enemies and escape anyway. Don't fight unless I am stuck on a boss or need money.
Done in Keterburg for now, off to Grand Chokmah via ridiculous detour that kind of breaks the story/gameplay separation illusion. I mean it's pretty freaking silly that they have to dock by a broken bridge half a continent from their destination.
Going all Snake Eater down this s***. I bet this part gets a lot of hate because people always hate stealth segments. FYI I thought it was fun.
Then another run-in with the loser squad, who proceed to fail at everything like they always do. Seriously, I expect quirkiness when it comes to villain teams like this, but it's hard to accept that this gang of kids and morons are supposed to be high-ranking military officers. Asch and Legretta are the only ones with any kind of competence.
Hm, seems Guy harbors some dark desires. Related to the death of his family, I'd wager.
Grand Chokmah is... not what I imagined. I pictured a militarized industrial capital, but I guess I should have expected it to contrast with Baticul. It looks like a cool place to live. There's also another library, with more fun backstory to study. Looks like Guy and Anise will be staying here while the rest go to St. Binah. The party setup sure changes a lot lately.
The other joined after all, with Guy explaining his past. So he became Luke's caretaker to get an opportunity to kill the Fabres? Didn't expect that. He probably had a change of heart after growing fond of the people at the manor.
In St. Binah I got my ass kicked by Dist's new toy, so I went on a long trek around the world instead. Spiritual voyage to strengthen body and soul, or something stupid like that.
I was blocked from crossing the border at Kaitzur, but I don't think the game anticipated me going back for the Tartarus, because I could freely enter Baticul that way. I also went to Sheridan, got some sequence-breaking gear from the world-map-in-a-world-map maze there and learned about what's probably going to be my airship.
Next to Sheridan I also got some weird seeds or something from a search point, but they don't show up in my inventory! Did I mess up by coming here early?
Returning to St. Binah and defeating the Kaiser Dist triggered a series of very stupid series of events that show again why gameplay should never be a factor in pacing of JRPG plots.
"Oh crap there's a 5 meter gap between us and the endangered citizens... WE MUST GO HALFWAY AROUND THE WORLD AND FIND AN AIRSHIP! IT IS THE ONLY WAY!"
And then, another boss... this one on a time limit. I'd maxed out on Apple, Lemon, Orange and Melange gels and Life Bottles before this thanks to my awesome poker skills, but now it's all gone again.
At least we're treated to another neat FMV as St. Binah falls. I love the matte-painted look of these cinematics, it works really well with the 3D anime style of the game.
I sure hope the town is restored though. Those super-cheap shops have been essential to my success so far, don't know what I'll do without them. Play more poker, I guess.
Back in Yulia City I get some more intel on how the world works, thanks to Teodoro and a book in Van's study. In all likelyhood, the entire Outer Lands will eventually drop, so that the heroes will have to deal with the miasma permanently.
I wonder if I have all the skits so far. Every time something happens I go sleep somewhere to see if a new one shows up, and it usually does. I try not to miss any but chances are I have. Also I didn't do any cooking as Asch until after Guy left the party, might have missed one there. Oh well it's not like it's all that important.
Now it's off to check on the first Sephiroth tree Ion was taken to.
Miraculously, breaking the Yulian seal on the tree was not a trick set up by Van. Mission complete, now back to the surface to prepare for the next drop.
...and suddenly, epic battle! Now this is some cool animation. Shame the same cannot be said for the in-game cutscenes. I guess the war started while we were gone, as a result of St. Binah falling.
Now I have to chose between sending Luke to Engeve or Kaitzur. Which should I choose? Help me out here.
Yeah, it was pretty silly having them go get the airship right in the middle of the Saint Binah sinking. Totally killed the flow. At least the anime fixed that
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"Don't freeze up girl, you're looking quite a sight." - Adam Ant. "Baby, can you dig your man? He's a righteous man." - Larry Underwood
Abyss has an anime? I remember watching the first half of the Symphonia anime and thinking it was a big mess. They just rushed from battle to battle and pretty much skipped all the plot in between. How does Abyss's anime stack up?
I'm only about halfway through. So far, it's pretty faithful to the game. Only notable deletions are:
SPOILERS:
-Arrietta battle at the river -After Saint Binah is lowered to the Qliphoth, it automatically goes to the scene where Natalie finds out she's a fake. Then they go to Baticul. This cuts out Engave and Chesedonia being lowered.
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"Don't freeze up girl, you're looking quite a sight." - Adam Ant. "Baby, can you dig your man? He's a righteous man." - Larry Underwood
Huh, I just restarted watching the anime 20 minutes ago. I enjoy it personally. It does a better job early on making Luke seem a little less like a jerk.
But... Luke being a complete jerkass at the beginning is an important part of why he's a great character!
Anyway I picked Luke and Guy for Natalia's mission because Luke has leverage as a tertiary successor and stuff, which he actually made a point of.
But then both him and Guy got a lot of dialogue and I realized I have to do this several times to see the various possibilities. That turned out to be a smart choice, as there's some very interesting varieties to be found. Having Guy on the Engeve team caused a scene that revealed some more of the cause of his phobia, for instance, and having Tear and Ion on the same team caused the Oracle Knights to start killing eachother!
Also, I realized you get rewards depending on how many battles you get into, but I also didn't want to miss out on the chance to scan the Kimlascan and Malkuth forces. I hope none of the rewards were completely unique.
Also, I realized you get rewards depending on how many battles you get into, but I also didn't want to miss out on the chance to scan the Kimlascan and Malkuth forces. I hope none of the rewards were completely unique.
You can get into one battle on both sides to scan each enemy and still get the best rewards, thankfully.
From: Takfloyd_mkII__ | #112 Going all Snake Eater down this s***. I bet this part gets a lot of hate because people always hate stealth segments. FYI I thought it was fun.
Ironically, failing enough makes them conclude that'd you'd rather fight your way through, and let you do so. Which makes it easier to get treasure.
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There's always hope for better things in life. But you can't let anything, friend, lover, God himself, be your hope. You have to be your own hope.
Back in the Zao Ruins I find the ugliest zombie dragon in recent memory, and it has over 1000 defense. Meaning I can barely scratch it. The good part? I'm stuck in the desert with nowhere to grind, and the war inflation means items and equipment are impossible to get at a reasonable price.
Am I really going to have to kill several hundred weak enemies to get past this? Sigh...
Nah the difficulty is just right. I may complain a lot but I enjoy the challenge. Usually, there's a solution to roadblocks like this somewhere if you just think outside the box.
In this case, I realized grinding for hours wasn't gonna cut it and opted for a more unorthodox solution: I took the Dark Wings' words to heart and found a way to make an unscrupulous killing off the unsteady war-inflated economic situation!
Turns out the ridiculous sale prices also come with ridiculous import prices! Basic items go for thousands of Gald. So I exploited the fact that the trade merchant shop isn't money-inflated to make a ton of items to sell for huge profits. I also lucked out and got an extremely powerful sword for just a couple of Great Fish Bones. At the same time however all the equipment shops in town became sold out one by one, what the heck is up with that? Can't compete with my rising mercantile empire?
Now returning to the ruins with bags full of gels and swords.
Yeah the dragon in the Zao ruins can be a game-stopper on harder difficulties just because there's nowhere to level up. If you were playing the PS2 version, there's a few tricks you could have used. Luke and Guy have a combo they can do to infinitely stunlock him, but you'd need two players. I think Guy can even infinitely stunlock certain bosses by himself with the right setup and moves (Severing Wind?). Or, you could exploit the World Map's awful loading times and remove the disc during gameplay, causing it to not load. Then you could just walk to say...Ketersburg, and grind there.
But as it is you might just want to go back down to Normal. <_<
Because of the war economy, most of the stores are sold out. That sucks because IIRC there's this crazy strong sword you can buy in Chesedonia, except it's ridiculously expensive and only available 1) the first time you visit and 2) much, much later in the game. Really the only way to get it is to get money and import it with NG+.
-- You have no time to ponder such questions, as Link has just grabbed a Smash Ball. http://backloggery.com/herodeltiempo/sig.gif
Continents safely lowered. Yep, looks like the whole Outer Lands are coming down soon. But at least now I can finally fly around the map freely! Or so it appeared... but the game has put convenient roadblocks all over the place to control my progress. Mist, blizzards, thunderstorms, extremely insistent fireworks... who let this girl fly the plane anyway!
Now I'm going around doing quests and such. Helped form a truce between the armies in the Qliphoth, found a secret(at least at this point) Mieu ability in Tataroo Valley and got some really broken gear using it, found some more seeds and stuff... I'm gonna try beating the second Sword Dancer as well before I head to Daath.
Plot moves quickly now. First I learned that Luke may be exempt from the Score on account of being an Isofon replica. Then Mohs showed up and everyone got sent to Baticul where Natalia and Luke were to be executed. Asch saves everyone's asses again, but it seems Kimlasca is an enemy for now. Sure are a lot of opposing factions around here, hard to say who is loyal to who. Even the characters themselves don't know whose side they're on!
Guess this Zolomy thing in the marsh is an optional boss I may or may not come back to kill later.
And in Belkend we meet... Van, Legretta and Asch. You can almost smell the tension in the air. Vayne I mean Van wants to destroy Lorelei and, as old Cidolfus put it, "bring the reins of history back into the hands of man". Oh and he also wants to kill everyone and replace them with clones. Not all that well-intentioned then.
Our counter-plan is to solidify the miasma-mud in the Qliphoth. I recruit some scientists and accidentally get dangerous with the Dark Wings. Some more shenanigans and I'm back in Daath. How come I can just stroll into the enemy fortress for the third time without any resistance? Oh, it's because they always catch me on the way out instead. This time it's just the useless little girl, luckily. And woo, Guy's phobia was because he was covered in dead girls once. That... makes no sense but whatever. At least the female party members won't have to fear having their corpses violated if they die wait what?
Now commencing Operation Core Doctor. Because this is serious business and serious business requires codenames.
I feel like I'm going in circles here. While the scientists are busy turning the Tartarus into the Virgil from The Core, someone had the great idea to stroll back into Baticul AGAIN. Surely THIS time they won't try to kill us! At least I've totally mastered the art of casually walking into enemy strongholds by now.
From: Takfloyd_mkII__ | #143 Guess this Zolomy thing in the marsh is an optional boss I may or may not come back to kill later.
It's actually perfectly fightable at that point, though it has more HP than anything else you'll fight for a while. But fighting it your first time through is pointless; 0 exp, 0 gald, no drops. Coming right back in after you leave the marsh works great, though. It's not that hard, just long.
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There's always hope for better things in life. But you can't let anything, friend, lover, God himself, be your hope. You have to be your own hope.
^I'm on Hard, remember. I tried fighting it for a bit. It kills everyone in one hit at this point.
Successfully pacified Kimlasca. Man what at pathetic weak-willed king, can't believe Natalia wants to return to him after he tried to have her killed just for not being his biological daughter. Also tried my hands at the coliseum and promptly wasted 12000 Gald. Oh and I got the maid outfit for Tear that I have anticipated since she went all kawaii uguu over it earlier in the game. About time too, after I got screwed out of a waitress outfit at Keterburg!
And now after speaking with Peony we're going to... casually stroll into Daath. Ok this is getting ridiculous. If Mohs had any brains he'd post snipers at the city entrance, chances are they wouldn't have to wait long; This is pretty much the daily trip to the grocery store by now.
So we stroll into Daath and... do some really anticlimatic stuff. Love how the party totally ignores Dist's attempts to set himself up as a good villain.
Before transporting the leaders to Yulia City I start a sidequest to obtain the Planetary Fonic Arte. It leads to some hilarious scenes with Jade and Peony. Now I sort of want a spin-off story about Jade, Peony and Dist at school in Keterburg.
This guy in Yulia City has been pestering me for 5 maces for a while now, but I can't buy maces anywhere at this point. How annoying.
Guy makes a scene at the treaty conference to get some answers about Hod, and it's revealed that Van was forced by Malkuth to use a hyperresonance which caused it to fall, like Luke at Akzeriuth. Doesn't make his goals more sympathetic really.
The "emotional scene" music is getting so old now, they use it for like everything except for scenes about Luke getting his s*** together, which is always accompanied by a more emotional theme... which will probably also get old soon if his little epiphanies stay as frequent as they are now.
Reminds me of the old FF games where every time someone/something died the characters would look down and some sad tune would play... which by the end of the game would feel more like a running gag than anything emotional.
Looks like we're getting back to business with the Journey to the Center of the Auldrant. They're going to use the Albiore as an escape pod? So... if the mission fails, all the world leaders are stuck? I guess they can use the Yulia Road though.
By the way guys, do alert me if I'm about to miss any sidequests. Haven't seen the Sword Dancer in a while now, so if I'm getting close to a cutoff point for the next fight with him, shout out!
This guy in Yulia City has been pestering me for 5 maces for a while now, but I can't buy maces anywhere at this point. How annoying.
Unless they changed it, I think the time limit for that runs out before you can buy Maces again. I'm not sure if there are alternate ways to get Maces before this happens.
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SuperNiceDog was not so nice to my bracket. Congrats to SuperNiceDog for winning the Rivalry Rumble Guru Contest!
Did you fight Sword Dancer 2? Also, the "sad music" manages to fit one very VERY sad scene later in the game that I won't mention.
Are you stupid? Do you think I want to know that there's a sad scene coming up when I obviously don't want spoilers here? I swear, there's always some idiot who can't keep his mouth shut in topics like this. If you're going to talk about anything in the plot that I haven't gotten to, use spoiler tags.
Unless they changed it, I think the time limit for that runs out before you can buy Maces again. I'm not sure if there are alternate ways to get Maces before this happens.
Yeah I expected as much. Should have bought them as soon as the quest appeared, but I was short on money and didn't expect St. Binah AND Kaitzur to become unavailable shortly after.