KBM's Epic Final Fantasy Playthrough Topic

FINAL FANTASY I

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Wow, that is a gorgeous 3D opening cutscene that I'm almost positive was not in the NES version. Very intriguing and mysterious, though. I actually like it as an addition. Landscapes promise to be varied, which is always a good thing. AND ZOMG DRAGON...parried with a sword. Odd.

All right, so the added cutscene tells me absolutely nothing. Except that there's going to be some heavy emphasis on crystals. But that's so much the better because that means they're not elaborating too much.

Ah, now we're getting to the real story! Something about bad stuff happening to the world, and four warriors appearing. With pretty good music that I assume is remastered. And I see they're hammering home this whole crystal concept.

For the record, I am choosing NORMAL mode. I almost always choose whatever is a step above easy, and seeing as there is only one other choice...yeah. Considering they added an EASY difficulty setting, I would assume that means the "original difficulty level" is going to be fairly challenging.

Goody.

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All right, so it's prompting me to choose four different types of hero. Warrior, Thief, White Mage, and Black Mage are the standard choices. Warrior, Thief, and Black Mage sound and look adequate, but I want to put one of the others in place of the White Mage. Let's go with a Monk for variety's sake. Unarmed fighting sounds awesome.

Now, names. I'll be fairly arbitrary about this. We shall be setting off with a Warrior named Kael, a Thief named Orin, a Monk named Mheran, and a Black Mage named Zordan (I've always liked mages with the first letter Z).

All right, first quest! I need to rescue the King's daughter, Sarah. sounds simple enough. Though I must say, considering that this game is using names like "Sarah", I feel really self-conscious about picking such fantastical-sounding names now. Oh well, here's hoping nobody notices. This is why I like default names. >_>

And she has apparently been abducted by Garland, an ex-knight. He has chosen to take up residence in the aptly-named Temple of Chaos. Nice name. Why would they even...never mind. My reward: a bridge! Well...I guess it's a *unique* reward if nothing else. There's also somebody named Lukin who foretold our coming. OK, that's a little more like it as far as names go. Little more like Mheran and Zordan than like bloody SARAH.

FIRST STANDOUT MUSIC ALERT! I enter the town of Cornelia (the City Where Dreams are Woven, apparently), just southeast of the castle on the overhead map...this is gorgeous! I could just sit here in the town and listen to this music all day...I'm impressed that music this good exists in the first game. I guess I shouldn't because this series' soundtrack is legendary, but it is quite standout already.

I listen to the old people in the Inn's lectures...I already feel like I made a mistake. I would've assumed Monks would have healing magic...is the only one with white magic the white mage? ...Oh well! No turning back! I will do without a white mage!

While in town, I buy one potion, and weapons for my heroes: a HAMMER for Kael, a RAPIER for Orin, a NUNCHAKU for Mheran, and a STAFF for Zordan. Seems like pretty good and fitting opening choices to me. I also buy one chain mail, two leather armors, and one shirt (apparently mages can't wear armor. Too bad). Can't buy any white magic, so I go buy a Bolt Lv1 spell...and I'm now basically out of gil! I'm starting to realize I've probably already made several mistakes, but it's my first time and I'm playing completely blind, so obviously there are going to be mistakes.

Now that my business in Cornelia seems to be done, it looks like I'm off to the Temple of Chaos!

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Yeah, this music is awesome. Kickass overworld exploration theme. Makes me feel like I'm four REALLY ****ING EPIC heroes.

First random encounter! I won't write about all of these, but yeah, it's the first one, so it's special Kael loses two HP, but other than that I was able to easily beat the four Goblins. Generally I'll probably only write about random encounters if I get something good or if I encounter a new enemy. And by the way, I'm just going to say that all the music in this game so far kicks all kinds of ass. The victory theme is very victorious.

Ah, I see where the bridge north used to be. Onward to the, ah, northwest, not crossing the bridge (which is evidently where I want to eventually go once the bridge is complete). And now we add wolves to our previously goblin-filled bestiary. Goblins and wolves. Nice. Gaining plenty of gil and EXP along the way, which is always good. Goblins seem to be slightly easier to kill than wolves.

Well that wasn't a very long trek. I've found the Tower of Chaos, and there's really nothing else in the entire world that's not across that bridge. Makes you wonder how the people that LIVE in Cornelia feel about not being able to go anywhere else. But I it's The City Where Dreams Are Woven (TM), so I don't feel too bad for them. They're probably completely happy being isolated from the rest of the world. Except the Tower of Chaos.

First thing I encounter in the Tower of Chaos: a ghoul. That almost kills Kael, as well as paralyzing him and doing two-three hits a turn. And is much harder to kill than the creatures in the overworld. Dammit. But KAEL GAINED A LEVEL! +25 HP as well as a ton of other stats simply going "up". In fact, everybody gains a level! Yay! ...They don't recover ANY HP, however, including what they gained. WTF.

Aaaand Zordan is the first one to die. Heading back to town to heal everybody up. Good thing it's close. >_>

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Several random encounters, a near-death experience for Kael, and a rest at the town INN later, I'm ready to go for another go-around. Oh, after buying several potions, I might add, since I actually now have gil to spare. This should be a little easier now since the level-up nearly doubled everybody's HP.

Oh **** now running into Goblin Guards...who are still similarly easy-to-kill. Not much change except they deal out a tiny bit more damage. 'Tis but a scratch, however, and I trek on unperturbed. Back to the Temple (sorry, I guess I've been getting the name wrong) of Chaos!

...Wow, the princess and Garland were right behind the front door. I figured they'd be off to the side or something. I feel stupid now. >_> The Garland boss battle is, as is to be expected, pretty easy, and I end up finishing him off when I try out Zordan's Bolt1 spell (which, for the time, actually is a pretty cool-looking effect). Hopefully this means we'll get a bridge as a reward! ...and a ton of money from his body.

Our heroes automatically return Sarah to Castle Cornelia, and the King thanks us and requests that we "rekindle the light of the Crystals". First quest completed! Hooray!

As I attempt to leave, Sarah gives me a Lute that has been passed down to princesses for generations. All of us are men, but apparently that doesn't matter anymore. Traditions shall be lazily thrust aside in this game! Tradition? Pshaw! I scoff at ye, Tevye! She says nothing about it, however, except that she trusts we will put it to good use, and that Garland would've done something terrible with it. Hopefully when I need to use it I remember that I have it.

And the King's advisor continues to refuse to say anything more than "Bless the Crystals!". All right then. You do that. One-dimensional King's lackey FTW!

Wow. That bridge was built insanely fast. Wandering around outside the town gets everybody up to Level 3. I go back to town and rest/save before I cross the bridge. Now crossing. W00t. I have also now discovered that regular Goblins have exactly 8 HP. Little weaklings. Can't grind on just those for long, I imagine. Hordes of Goblin Guards, however, are a little more challenging than that but garner more EXP. Seems pretty standard. Obviously.

So yeah. Across the bridge we go! ...With Zordan lagging behind in experience. Oh well.

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And so their journey began.

As warriors of light, the four youths faced a staggering mission and a stormy destiny.

The four crystals they carried remained a mystery to them...In ages past, those crystals had radiated a dazzling light.

The time for heroes is at hand. Darkness must be banished so the light of peace can illuminate the world once more.

FINAL FANTASY

K, so I assume we're out of the quasi-tutorial section now. Huzzah! And now it's time to explore the world. Starting off to the east, I find a pack of Wolves (with one particularly nasty "Warg Wolf"...yeah, that's not copying Lord of the Rings at all!). Also among the creatures I find is another particularly nasty-looking creature, a purple thingy with a big mouth called a Gigas Worm that made me need to use a potion on Orin.

After travelling fairly far to the east, I run into the city of Pravoca! This city seems to have been sacked by pirates from the Aldean Sea...assuming this is going to be my next quest! Pirates are unequivocably awesome, so I'm perfectly fine with this arrangement.

I try to talk to a pirate and get absolutely MOBBED by nine other pirates. Whoops. Fortunately I rested up at the Inn right before trying to talk to this guy. Let's see how my party of Level 3 heroes does...and the answer is exceedingly well! These guys don't seem to be able to evade nearly as well as Wolves do, and though Mheran gets fairly banged up, everybody else is completely OK, and I get a ton of gil for my troubles.

...and a ship. Wow. OK. The townspeople are now thanking me for dealing with THEM, i.e. "those rogues". More than happy to oblige, my dear Pravocans. Going into the armor shop, I buy gloves for everybody and a shield for my lovely warrior. I consider buying the 800 gil plate mail, but Kael's been doing perfectly well with the much cheaper chain mail so far, and besides, that would clear out my supply of money. Don't want to do that just yet. I'll get some more Potions instead... and a Tent, just in case. Always good to have a tent with one. I also upgrade Orin's weapon to a Scimitar...and now I'm basically out of gil. Now to figure out what to do next...

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Holy...I wasn't expecting random encounters at sea. ESPECIALLY not with things that ooky-looking. First sea encounter: 5 Sahagins that look like that Creature From the Deep, and two extremely freaky looking eyeball creatures called Gogglers. That fricking paralyze my heroes. In this first decisively heated battle of the seas, Orin falls in action...but everybody else gets 78 EXP. Poor Orin. I go back to town, and use most of the money to revive Orin and heal everybody back up, making a mental note to kill the Gogglers first.

Now, a Shark, oddly, is decidedly easier, and Kael and Mheran both gain a level (being the two that haven't yet died). And in another battle, a paralyzed Mheran almost falls but is saved by a couple of well-timed potions, and Zordan and Orin gain their fourth level. I'm getting a little better at this.

And further travels, and further grinding, nothing much interesting to write about. Mheran eventually died but was revived. After quite a bit of searching, I come across Matoya's Cave. In it, I find some goodies in chests, and a person (presumably Matoya) who can't see anything without the Crystal Eye. Um...I'll be sure to keep an eye out for that. Ha.

More new enemies: ogres, cobras, and crazy horses also run around trying to kill me. Brilliant! Fortunately there are hordes of neither yet, so we're good. Also one minor note: Kael is proving ridiculously resilient with that armor. Too bad nobody else can wear any.

As a side note: it's very off-putting to be interrupted by these random encounters when the sailing music is so hilariously cheerful.

Elfheim!

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Now that I'm in Elfheim, I take the opportunity to upgrade everybody's equipment--especially weaponry. Kael is now using a Crosier (as much as I loved the hammer), Orin a Saber, Mheran an Iron Nunchaku, and Zordan a Dagger. I also get everybody Leather Caps, except for Kael, who gets a Hammer. ...and I run out of gil again. Jeez, things are expensive in this game. Still waiting on a chance to buy another spell. >_>

Wuh-oh. Looks like Elfheim is plagued by a curse cast by a guy named Astos, and the prince is in some sort of sleep of living death. .......Five years ago. And people are still talking about nothing but that. And there doesn't look like there's anything I can do. I tried playing the Lute but that didn't work. What? It seemed like a good idea. There's also a door that's "locked with the Mystic Key". Trying to open the door myself tells me as much, but there's also an extremely smart little elf right here who will tell me the same exact thing if I ask him.

However, there's one interesting thing. There's an elf off to the west outside the castle who tells me that a witch named Matoya will make any kind of potion for me. ...These people are completely helpless, aren't they? Put two and two together, for Chrissakes. Do I have to do this all myself?

I guess if I didn't there wouldn't be a game so I should be thankful. Also add Ghasts and Lizards to the ongoing bestiary. Nothing too notable about either of them, really, except that Ghasts seem to be weaker versions of Ghouls in that they hit twice and paralyze when they do so. I also ran into four tarantulas and made use of my Antidote...and then promptly ran back to the village and bought a few more. Poison is nasty!

And so, after grinding everybody up to Level 6 (so far everybody's roughly in the same place, though Kael is pretty ahead and Orin is pretty behind), I decide to depart and find where and what it is I need to do. Also worthy of note: I've developed a strategy in which Zordan and Orin trade off designated healing duties--I'm far more willing to expend their turns, and especially Orin's turn, to heal and antidote-ize other people, than the likes of Kael or Mheran, who are ahead both EXP-wise and in terms of overall power dealt out to the enemies.

And so, with everybody at Level 6, AND with a new spell (Fire 2) under Zordan's belt, I depart for...uh...wherever!

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So as soon as I find another port, Zordan dies... and so does Mheran shortly thereafter...and so does Orin. So I go back and heal them at Pravoca (which I just barely manage to get back to in time). Oh well, I have some more gil, so...I think I'll check back at the stores here and see if they've got any spells cheaper than Elfheim's overpriced stock does that I could buy.

In fact, the stock of spells in Pravoca is MUCH cheaper, and I end up buying Ice 1, Steel, and Fog for Zordan, greatly increasing his worth as a member of my party. >_> After a few battles, I ascertain that Fog especially is a VERY nice, useful spell for battling groups of things: a good example being those hordes of Sahagin I keep coming across.

So I go back to this new area, and after a lot of wandering around/grinding/not finding anything, I go back and heal myself at the nearby Inn. The nice part is that I've discovered the first town, Cornelia, is actually fairly close, and they're the cheapest of them all. But the grinding has been good so far, and the monsters are getting tougher, if only because they're appearing in packs more often. While I'm there, I also buy Zordan a couple of new Level 1 spells because they're cheap and can be used more frequently. Sleep 1 and Focus 1 have both now been added to his arsenal.

Going back to the new area, I now head southwest, which is the one direction I haven't found the time to travel yet. LO AND BEHOLD: I have come across Mt. Duergar, where the Dwarves live...I believe one of the Elves told me about this place. After a bit of talking around, one of them mentions the Crystal Eye. Hmm...I wonder! Apparently Astos is also the culprit behind this one. Go figure. A lot of other potential plot/sidequest stuff is mentioned, and I find chests containing about 1000 gil. Cool.

I also find another door locked with The Mystic Key. How I KNOW it's locked with that particular key is anybody's guess. And apparently there's a canal that I need to make once I find the Nitro Powder, whatever that is. Lots of stuff going on in Mt. Duergar, it would seem. But...nothing I can do anything about.

...I'm beginning to think I might have missed something.

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After quickly arriving at the end of the continent, now I KNOW I missed something. I double back and search around Elfheim for anything I might have missed, grinding all the way (so maybe it's good I missed something; inadvertantly got more grinding time in!). Mheran and Zordan are KO'ed on the way due to my inadequate number of antidotes and a nasty fight with some Tarantulas, so I stop at Cornelia again once I finally make my way back to my ship and heal everybody up there for cheap, stocking up on antidotes, potions, and other such necessities.

I also find out on my way back that Fire 2 is an area effect spell and is therefore devastatingly effective crowd control in these early levels. Zordan keeps going up and up on my "least expendable heroes" list, now right under Kael, who's number one by virtue solely of the fact that he's a Warrior.

I stop at Elfheim, heal up because I can, and buy Zordan a Bind spell that paralyzes one foe. I figure this will be useful in tight spots. I also examine the graves, and find an odd bit of writing on the one on the left: "May Link rest in peace." ....An attempt at humor? Not bad, not bad.

Let me take a moment to say that I actually really like this magic system: where you can cast a certain number of spells from each tier each day before you have to rest. That's unlike most RPGs I've played but it's also a very inventive way of handling magical energy, and it actually makes a hell of a lot of logical sense. I very much like that system. Also allows you to conserve the spells in a simpler strategic fashion.

So after quite a bit of exploring and grinding, I find a hole in the ground near the southern tip of this particular area surrounding Elfheim. I walk into it...and I am now in the Marsh Cave, all of my characters now at Level 7.

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Zombies, ghouls, and skeletons, and other such undead beasties. NGAAAAAAH. Will the paralyzation never end?!?! After a couple fairly easy battles with fairly easy creatures, I descend a flight of stairs and all hell breaks loose. Mheran quickly bites the dust, and as my party all becomes very quickly paralyzed, Orin also quickly goes down in flames. Zordan saves the rest of them with a well-timed super-powerful blased of the area effect Fire spell, but I now have a new agenda. First order of business: retreating to Elfheim.

Unfortunately this is also a problem because I am suddenly completely lost, having been interrupted by a fifteen-minute phone call. Fortunately, I find my way out just in time, and several potions later Kael makes it through the long trek back to Elfheim with just 20 HP to spare. And resurrection here is ****ing expensive, but I really have no choice. >_>

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Lots of grinding. I figure I want to be a little bit higher of a level before I try that again. So I grind everybody in my party up to Level 9 and then I take a second shot at the Marsh Cave, which is proving to be more of a hurdle than I previously thought. Now that he's at Level 9, Kael is often doing TWO hits per turn, which proves to be immensely helpful against the increasing level of baddies I'm encountering.

Seeing as there was so much grinding, I was also able to get tons of gil to spend. So I spent it. Zordan now has an even better arsenal of spells, now newly including Focus 2, and also Muddle and Haste from the fourth level of spellcasting.

OK, so when this gets particularly bad is when the Green Slimes and the Ghouls pop up, because of the poison and paralyzation effects, respectively. As long as I try and steer clear of encounters with those via fleeing, I figure I should be in the clear, because most of the rest of the encounters are painfully easy at this stage. Makes me KIND OF regret the hour and a half I spent grinding, but I had to do all that grinding sometime, so it wasn't a total waste; I got a lot done. And I will hand it to the game, it didn't exactly get boring.

In the chests I'm finding lots of gold...and a broadsword! Kael's attack ability goes even further up! Huzzah! But after going about as far as I can go in this particular area of B2, I've found that there's some really nice loot but nothing more. So I go back up to B1 and take the other direction from the entrance.

Now we're getting somewhere. After wandering around confused for a little bit longer, and facing a Bloodbones and his army of Skeletons and Crawlers, getting more lost, running from a Gray Ooze, and getting more lost, I finally find the stairs down to B3. And the first thing I find is...STEEL PLATE ARMOR! Could this possibly make Kael more epic in his invulnerability? Yes it bloody well can!

To the south I find yet another door locked with the fricking Mystic Key. This is really getting kind of annoying by this point, but what can you do? I'm still a bit confused as to how our heroes can just magically tell that things were locked by something called a Mystic Key, but whatever. That particularlity is not that important, I'm sure.

...

While I'm down there, Zordan falls to a Gargoyle that did like 75 HP of damage on a critical hit. ****. Unless I find a Phoenix Down (which I'm beginning to highly doubt exists in this game), I guess I'm just going to have to do without magic for whatever boss this area may have. That's a shame, too. I was saving it.

Speaking of bosses, three Piscodemons kill me. As in, all of us. I have officially renamed this dungeon "Hell".

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Yes, I have, and at the moment he's still got four points better attack rating with the Iron Nunchaku. I don't expect that to last for long, though.

After reloading, fortunately to a point *after* my intense grind-grind-grind to level 9 session, I have learned one invaluable truth: just 20 potions simply will not do. Not in the Marsh Cave! Oh, no, no, no. So I go to the Elfheim goods shop and stock the **** out of potions, and add in a couple antidotes for good measure. NOW I'm a little more ready. After all, I WAS able to get to the Piscodemons. And looking on the bright side, I won't get lost this time.

Also among the treasure I find this time when I'm taking a more direct route is a Copper Armlet, with which I replace Mheran's Leather Armor. Figure that'll probably come in handy against those damnable Piscodemons, and I prefer Mheran staying alive to Orin the Semi-Useless Thief.

And...here we are at the Piscodemons again. I use all the potions I can without wasting any by using them half-strength, so I've got everybody at about 95% health...and I attack. And *this* time, owing much thanks to Kael's frequent double-hitting, Zordan's awesome area-effect Fire spell, and in large part due to the fact that I had potions at all so I could fill myself up before the battle, I WIN! And from the chest I get...a crown. ...OK. Is that supposed to wake the Prince up? Feeling his crown on his head? I guess we'll find out.

...After we get out of this fricking dungeon, that is. At least the first dungeon was nice and let us out immediately after we'd finished...but the door was right there anyway! With this one we have to walk aaaaall the way out again. Grr. At least I have seven potions left with which to accomplish this feat. Just in case.

I'm also starting to become much more liberal with Zordan's spellcasting as I find out more and more that if you don't use any of the spells, it doesn't matter that he has them there anyway. No need to conserve them ALL for bosses, especially the lower level ones that won't do well against bosses anyway. So yeah, I'm starting to use spells more in regular battles. It's fun, and it really doesn't cost me anything, because I go to Inns and rest often enough anyway. This is the first time I've ever run out of a level, and that's because I spammed Fire 2 against the Piscodemons. Which worked wonders. Muddle is a really fun spell too, as are lots of the others. It's just very fun to cast black magic spells.

So I come back to the Prince and I use the Crown...... *bzzt* OK, guess that's not what you're supposed to do. I used it with the Prince, the steward, and the bed. I guess now I'm going to have to wander around aimlessly some more. >_>;

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After using all the extra gil I found in that dungeon to buy Kael a really nice Mithril Sword from the Elfheim blacksmith, I start to wander off again, this time to the only area I can think of around here that I haven't explored: the northwest, and after a brief ship-sweep around the perimeter, it looks like I'm gonna have to walk.

Shortly after I start exploring, Kael hits Level 10. Woo! I'm going to have to agree completely with one thing that I've heard said in several places: Warriors are ridiculously overpowered in this game. Warrior/Warrior/Warrior/Red Mage probably would be the best combo in the game, not gonna lie.

Bingo. After wandering northwest for awhile, I run into a castle. Looks promising. I enter: it is the Western Keep. Looks like another "dungeon" type thing. Makes me a little wary, if only because I don't have quite as many potions as I did for the Marsh Cave...but what the heck. I'm here now. And have I mentioned that the music in this game is startlingly awesome for a game so old? Creeeeeeepy music means bad things happen here.

However, after wandering around a bit, there don't seem to be random encounters. Guess I have to find something amidst the wreckage and constant dead ends. Ah! There's a room! ...and I should've figured it's locked by the Mystic Key!

And in Room #2, we have the self-proclaimed "Great King of Dark Elves", Astos! En garde! You shall never consign me to the underworld, Astos! ...Eugh. You're ugly, Astos. ...........You also have a spell called "Reaper" that kills Kael instantly. **** you, Astos.

However, by utilizing Zordan's paralyzing spell, I am able to eventually kill him! This marks the first time Kael has not gotten experience in a battle I've won. Everybody else catches up a little bit! In fact, everybody else got up to Level 10. AND I obtained the Crystal Eye! I know what I'll do--I'll return that to...uh... *scrolls up* Matoya! That's her name! And then she'll make a potion for the Prince, and then he'll open that door for me and give me the Nitro Powder that the dwarves said was hidden in the castle, and then I'll be able to make a canal! At least, that's my guess. It'll probably turn out something like that, anyway. >_>

(On another note, I'm glad I started this today. This is the day I legitimately do not have one thing better to do, so it's the perfect day to make huge leaps of progress like this to garner interest early.  All of my friends from back home that I usually chat with online are off at a mutual friend's movies-and-games party, and since I'm going to a school that's mostly a commuter school, and it's Friday night, most of the people here have gone home.  So yeah, perfect day to start this!)

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Holy crap, Mheran is excellent now. I can't thank you enough for pointing out the whole double-hitting thing when he's unarmed. That's awesome. Now he's getting TONS of hits in and sometimes doing even more damage than Kael. What makes it even better is casting Zordan's Haste spell on him. Yeeeeah. Nice.

So though Zordan is also KO'ed on the way back to Elfheim, overall there is no problem getting back, due to Zheran's newfound epicness, and I'm personally very happy that I now have three out of four characters in my party that are becoming something legitimately fantastic. Still can't figure out what makes the Thief special in any way; he's just your average run-of-the-mill fighter type, it seems. Sad.

So yeah, off to find Matoya's Cave again. Wherever that was. All I remember is that it was north of Cornelia, past the mountains. So I'll go there. And it turns out that was enough to remember, as it's quite easy to find if you just...go north of Cornelia past the mountains on the ship. >_>

I give her the Crystal Eye and she gives me the Jolt Tunic. I bet I put that on the Prince and it "jolts" him back to life, am I right?

...Oh. I read that wrong. It's the Jolt TONIC. >_< My bad. And right after he said he was giving me a potion, too...I feel stupid. In fact, I almost want to delete everything I said about it. I won't, but I kinda want to.

And sure enough, the Prince is promptly awakened. Wahahaha! I have been granted the Mystic Key! FINALLY. I open the storage room to find...a Mythril Hammer, Bronze Gloves, and some money. Awesome. That's all great. Unfortunately nobody can use any of these things but Kael. Which makes the Mythril Hammer something valuable I can sell, at least, and the Gloves ARE an improvement.

But...I didn't find the Nitro Powder like I expected.

However, the Dwarves said that the Nitro Powder was in a castle, so I'm guessing I should go up to the stronghold I found Astos in and open that other door. And while I'm at it, I can go down to the Marsh Cave and unlock those doors...even though I don't really want to because of all those encounters. But whatever it is is probably really worth it...so I might as well. I'll do that afterwards, though. >_> Prolong the inevitable, so to speak.

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And after a short break, I decided to come back to this. I'm actually quite enjoying myself; for being the first game in the series, it's a lot more fun so far than I would've thought it was going to be. Couldn't stay away from it for long when I had nothing else to do!

So anyway, it's back to the stronghold we go, fighting baddies on the way (always - it's what we do!). And from the stronghold I get a Falchion, Steel Gloves...and a whole ****ton of ass-whupping caused by the rampaging mummies and wraiths that pop up inside that room every other step. Not even Kael makes it out alive, actually. Wasn't expecting to have to face baddies here.

All right, take two. That was incredible. I couldn't even flee. But now I'm going to give them a bit of what for. If you catch my meaning. Because now I'm ready for this horrific display. I'm ready. And, unsurprisingly, they GET a bit of what for. ...Except from Orin, who is KO'ed in the process. But hey, he's the Thief. Who really cares. And on top of the items listed above, I get the Power Staff out of the third chest. Huzzah!

So now that my party's equipment has been newly-optimized (Orin sporting a brand new Falchion, Kael a set of nice Steel Gloves, and Zordan a shiny new Power Staff), I set off. It doesn't take me long to realize that I forgot to give a potion to Mheran when he too is KO'ed. Oh well. Back to Elfheim I go! And then to the Marsh Cave...where I bet the Nitro Powder is hidden after all. Unfortunately.

While in town, I buy Zordan a Copper Armlet, as well as one more neat spell: Ice 2. Definitely gonna be using that one. I love Ice spells, and the fact that this game makes them more powerful than the others is awesome, because that's the way it should be. Now it's off to the Marsh Cave for me.

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Not much happens, really, until I finally get to the chamber I've been searching for this entire time in B3 of the Marsh Cave...at least, I assume it's the right chamber, because when I walked in front of the chest, three Piscodemons attacked. Sound familiar? This time I am ever-so-slightly less prepared, as evidenced by the fact that Zordan and Mheran are both KO'ed. Oh well. Kael leveled up to level 11, at least, and that's a good thing.

And inside the chest is...... money. MONEY? I'm looking for the ****ing Nitro Powder. Seriously, people. Working my ass off for this stuff here, the least you could do is point me in the right direction. My last guess would be Cornelia Castle, but I honestly don't remember any locked doors there, and I've seen locked doors everywhere. I guess it's worth a shot, though...

Orin dies on my way out of the Cave, and Kael gets poisoned. He's the only one left...and I've run out of antidotes. Well ****. This will be interesting. Aaaand I get screwed over by paralysis as some ghoulies beat the crap out of Kael and paralyze him over and over again. Brilliant. Well, at least I'm back at Elfheim now and I know I don't actually have to go BACK to the Marsh Cave. Probably. Unless there's a door I missed. Which there probably is. But here's hoping that it's in Cornelia Castle. In fact, it CAN'T be in the Marsh Cave, because it's SUPPOSED to be in a castle of some sort. Caves don't count. I feel dumb. >_> All this leads to GAME OVER SCREEN #3.

---

And of course, it's in Cornelia Castle. Why didn't I realize that before. Along with a ton of other stuff, none of which is useful or worth equpping at this point. Rather it is junk which will be sold (potentially for a pretty penny) to the nearest merchant. And long story short, a canal has been built. And it's two in the morning, so I'm going to bed. >_> It's been a productive day.

We built a canal.

---

And so, after looting the room in the Dwarven stronghold, I went back to Cornelia and went to the Inn and saved. I didn't mention any of that because I was really tired and just wanted to go home. But I DO have some nice loot now. Let me see if I can replace anybody's equipment with it...indeed I can! Orin is now wielding the Wyrmkiller, and Kael now has equipped a Steel Plate and Steel Gloves. Awesome.

Now, before I continue on across the newly created canal, I've received a tip from my new good friend Astral to go check out the Temple of Chaos now that I have that key (and yes, I did open some doors at Elfheim, I believe I mentioned that in passing), defeating a few Goblins and Wolves on the way (which are now pathetically easy). Having high-level evasion works wonders on these low-level creatures, I can see...they can now barely hit me at all.

Werebane (which no one can equip), a Gold Needle (which I've never had use for), a Potion, and a Tent are among the goodies I find. However, what I *don't* find is what Astral was referring to. Oh well. I'm content with the Wyrmkiller right now, because that's an awesome name.

Oh, wait, there's another room over there, and another over there. The extra loot I find in these rooms: a Leather Cap (sell) and THE RUNE BLADE. Being effective against magic-users sounds good to me, even though it is one decreased attack rating. Magic users are much more difficult to fight than wyrmy foes anyway, so it's more than a fair exchange.

Back to Cornelia to rest up and sell junk, and across the canal. Kael is now Level 11.

---

Right after I cross the canal, I run into a village called Melmond. It seems to be in a shambles, and rumor has it it came to be this way via a "blasted vampire". Let me guess what my next quest is.

I get a couple of Level 5 spells for Zordan (Poison and Fire 3) since I have quite a bit of money left in my coffers. Once outside the shop I discover a useful bit of information: at the southern tip of this land, there's an old wise man named Sadda. I'll assume he's important. I also get a Silver Armlet for Mheran, and give his Copper one to Orin. And that puts me almost out of money, which is fine.

Doing a cursory sweep around the perimeter of this newly-accessible island, I find that there are a ton of new caves for the searching...but no ports except the one right next to town. Well, isn't that just nice. Walking it is. I also get lost while sweeping around the perimeter of what I THOUGHT was an island, but is actually the other side of the entire continent I've been on the entire time... so I have to backtrack quite a ways. Oh well. Experience.

Zordan falls while I'm backtracking, so I revive him at Cornelia before going any further. I also get him a Silver Armlet from the store in Melmond so that will stop happening, because he seems to be much weaker in armor than everybody else. However, before he was KO'ed he too ascended to Level 11.

All right. Time to proceed from Melmond on foot.

---

And it didn't take long for Orin and Mheran to catch up to the others. Level 11 all around. It also does not take long for me to find The Titan's Cave. NO ONE PASS HERE.

Oh dear.

I leave there, and start to travel southward. I'm GUESSING that when I can get past the Titan, I'll be able to use the mountain pass, but I have to do what's on this side of the mountains first. Lots of new enemies getting added to the bestiary, too... but they are no match for us! We are the WARRIORS OF LIGHT! ...or whatever they're called.

Eventually we come across the Terra Cavern. Wait...Terra? Isn't that the name of a character from FFVI? >_> I'm pretty sure it is. Anyway, down in this cavern, I find that the level of the enemies has vastly improved, immediately running into a party of four Ogre Chieftans.

Oh dear. x2

After a few random encounters, I realize I'm running out of potions fast, so I retreat to Melmond and buy some after healing everybody up. Not that I was getting owned too badly, actually--I'm doing fairly well down here. I think I'm well leveled for this part. I just need a lot more potions. My bad for not stocking up.

However, once I get there I also realize there's no way to revive my fallen heroes. So I make my way back in the direction of Cornelia...and in the process EVERYBODY gets fricking paralyzed and I lose my entire party due to not being able to get one single action in. I must say, the paralysis in this game is pretty effing ridiculous.


 * rages*

---

All right. I've got the rage out of my system. Watched Barton Fink in the meantime. Which, by the way, was stellar in every way. Definitely warrants a rewatch, but considering giving it a rare 10/10 in my movie journal. Yeah, it's that good.

However, this is not my movie journal. This is my Final Fantasy journal (I like to write...I have a lot of journals). And once I'm stocked up on potions and I get everybody up to Level 11 (took like two battles to accomplish that) I head town to the Terra Cavern again. This time more prepared for the **** that goes down there.

OK, there must be something important to the west, because LAST time there were encounters, like, every step with Hill Gigas and Lizards, and there are this time too. Fortunately I'm coming much more well-prepared and am able to take them down, though not without some resistance. Still, there's gotta be something important down this left fork, because these encounters are NOT random.

And I'm not exaggerating when I say "EVERY step". For quite a ways. Finally, I can't stand it any more. I am unsure if this is supposed to be happening this way or if my copy of the game is glitching or something. I look it up online...and it's basically just a hallway for experience. That's nice, but I've gotten a ton of experience from it already, so I think I'll turn around and take the long, arduous journey back to the starting staircase.

---

After finally getting out of that ridiculous hallway, I find I have to go back and buy more potions. I used over 40. I'm a LITTLE irritated, but at least I got some damn good experience and a ton of money, and I escaped alive. The irritation comes from the fact that the hallway actually doesn't lead anywhere, but yeah. The experience helps me not punch a hole through the screen in frustration.

So after buying a bunch more potions, and noticing that everybody is all of a sudden Level 12 (I JUST got everybody up to Level 11, so this is rather startling information), I go back to Terra Cave...NOT going down the left fork this time. I go downstairs... and straight into a maze.

Let's put the record straight on mazes: they suck. Especially in 2D games with random encounters. Then you run into EIGHT GARGOYLES and your face goes "O_O". Though I will say this: having 90 potions with you when entering a dungeon is really nice. You can be excessive when healing. :P

Lots of loot in the maze...but it's still a maze and mazes are stupid. Eventually I find B3...and discover that this too is a maze. Isn't that just swell. Oh well, at least I'm making progress. Also, these Gnomas can really pack a punch.

Finally, after looting the place pretty thoroughly, I run into a talking blue bat. All living creatures were born to die, it begins portentously. The seal cannot be lifted, and so the earth shall rot. Eek. I do believe this bat is going to try and kill me. Well, this strange shapeshifter guy. BOSS TIME! And what do you know - it's the VAMPIRE that terrorized the city of Melmond.

However, Zordan's new Level 5 spell (that he can finally use), Fire 3, finishes him off nearly instantly, doing 234 damage after the others have worn him down just a tad. Apparently he was weak to fire, as the spell's supposed to cap at 200. Cool. That was easy. And out of the chest I get THE STAR RUBY! I wonder if that will make the Titan move so I can go through the mountains.

I try to go further, but there's an EVIL STONE blocking the way, so I can't. Back up to the surface now!

---

After making my way out and stocking back up on potions (not to mention discovering the fact that they cap at 99), I make my way back to the Titan's Cave and see if my loot from Terra Cave will make the Titan move so I can pass through the mountains.

Indeed it does! I give the Titan the Star Ruby, and...he eats it. That's a bit disappointing. I'm sure I could've sold that thing for a ton of money. Eating it is hardly profitable. Oh well, time to wander through another dungeon. Inside a door I find nothing immediately usable...except a Mythril Helm! Nice! Kael getting more and more equipped while the rest of them just kinda sit there because they can't equip anything further that's useful. >_> Warriors really do kick other types' asses, don't they?

Huzzah! We have passed through the mountains! That was really unexpectedly easy! But...where to go from here? There's not nearly as much space as I expected to be able to explore...however, there IS the Sage's Cave, and that's gotta be good. In fact, I'm guessing this is where the aforementioned Sadda lives. On a side note, I also prefer the name Sarda, assuming that's what it was changed from and you're not just screwing with me. Why they would make such a minor change to a name that's less good is beyond me.

And there he is. He tells me that the vampire I fought was "a mere servant of the real culprit blocking the flow of the Earth Crystal's power". Well, I should hope so. If he was the big boss, then I'm Steve Buscemi. Hint: I'm not Steve Buscemi. I'm not quite as funny-looking. But yeah, I kinda figured that out, Mr. Sadda. He was way too damn easy.

Then I get the Earth Rod, presumably with which to get past the EVIL STONE BLOCK. *sigh* back down into Terra Cavern then. This cavern is huge and uninviting.

---

When I go back down into the cave, I experience a random encounter with four ****ing Piscodemons. Zordan dies. This is right before I get to the EVIL STONE BLOCK, too. This really isn't fair. You guys are supposed to be BOSSES, not random encounters. Orin also dies on the way up, as whenever someone is KO'ed, I tend to not want to waste potions since I'm retreating anyway. All I need to do is keep Kael in good condition and I'm good to go, I figure, but I'll keep Mheran alive too just in case Kael gets paralyzed or something. I really wish Phoenix Downs existed. >________>

And the second time I go down there Zordan is hit by like five attacks in a row from Gargoyles and killed AGAIN.


 * rages*

---

Still slightly raged, but not quite enough to deter me from playing for long, I enter Terra Cave AGAIN. I'm not sure if I've already mentioned this, but everybody in my party is Level 13 at this point. I'm feeling pretty good about the idea that I've just been having rotten luck, and should be able to make it through with 80 potions and 31 antidotes under my belt. I know that's a trifle excessive, but better safe than sorry, and I've had problems with poison before.

By the time I get down to the EVIL STONE BLOCK everybody in my party has long since advanced to Level 14 (one thing I'll say for this cave: it's great for power leveling). I've already used quite a few potions and antidotes, but overall, there's nothing down here I can't handle. I also, for the first time, had to use one of my Gold Needles after a Cockatrice (of all things that could potentially turn people to stone) turned Kael to stone.

When I use the Earth Rod (formerly known as "Rod"), a staircase appears. Of course, I would be an idiot not to go further down. In B4, I am delighted to note that random encounters seem to have been replaced in lieu of slightly more difficult battles in front of chests and such things. I am also startled to find Ogre Mages running around. Eek. Good thing Orin has that sword, which does make things easier against magic users. Oh, and two Sphinxes. Nasty.

So there's a lot of gil in the chests, and even though the loot isn't all that great, it'll get me even more gil, so that's always good. ...And I take it back, there are random encounters. Just not as many and I got lucky when I descended the stairs. >_>


 * . In a battle against five Cockatrices, EVERY SINGLE MEMBER OF MY ****ING PARTY IS TURNED TO STONE. HOURS OF PROGRESS LOST.  GOOD NIGHT.

---

All right, game. 99 potions. 32 antidotes. 25 golden needles. THAT ENOUGH FOR YOU?

Raging aside, I go back to the Cavern, and start making my way down. Again. Again again again, actually, if you want to be precise, though I see no reason to be. Wait a minute...

WTF? A cobra fled? I've fought tons of enemies that are way lower level than me, and I've NEVER seen something flee. That's...... just very odd. I've not seen that happen before but I've never seen anything flee.

Anyway, going down...and down...and more down...and gaining levels...everybody's Level 14...ah, here's the EVIL STONE TABLET or whatever it is I've been calling it; I'm too lazy to scroll up and double-check. Besides, does it really matter?

So here we are in B4 again, where we got stoned last time. Tee hee @ double-entendres caused by terrible spell-naming. And after making triply sure that everybody is at full health, or at least as close to full health as they can be without wasting the full potential of a potion, I head out. More confident now than the last few times I tried this. >_>

And what do you know: the first thing that happens in a battle down here is Kael turning to stone. Fortunately, I don't have to worry about wasting Gold Needles for quite some time. I have, after all, 25 of them. Somehow I miss the room with the treasure chests this time, but nothing in there was all that important, and besides, maybe I'll be able to hit that room again on the way out or something. Besides, I end up finding another room with similar loot in my random wanderings.

Yet another battle occurs where Kael turns to stone. So getting so many Gold Needles might not turn out to be a waste! I had two to begin with, and I've already used two, and I still haven't found the way down. So yeah, I finally am not seeing that as a fluke that I would've needed more only that one time. Hooray.

More gratuitous searching and grinding occurs, until finally I find...another set of stairs. Leading to B5. How many levels does this goddamn cave have?! My guess is honestly only these five, but that might just be wishful thinking... >_______>;

Happily enough, though, I find what I'm looking for fairly quickly after descending to B5. A little bit of aimless wandering is involved, yes, but not as much as normal. Normal for this dungeon, that is. Which is not normal. It's far more difficult than normal. But yeah, I've found it:

THE BOSS ROOM.

---

My first thought: hey, there's a Crystal! Finally one of those shows up! Second thought: Please dear GOD let me win this battle please please please I do NOT want to have to go through all that horse**** again. And I'm kinda running a little low on potions. This cave is nasty.

AWAY WITH YOU HUMANS!

...Holy ****ing **** that is a large lich. I'm using my Level 5 Fire 3 spell posthaste. ...and it's still alive even after pounding from everybody else and that. Luckily, I has one more Level 5 spell available to me today! Still...236 damage usually kills people, even bosses.

Fortunately, the next Fire 3 spell, on top of maybe more than just a little bit of pounding away by my heroes, does the trick. An earthquake occurs and the unnamed Lich dissolves into thin air. I get 550 EXP, 3000 gil, and a lit Earth Crystal for my troubles.

...That would've been REALLY difficult without black magic.

Now to heal everybody up to a reasonable level (like I said, I'm running low on potions, and the Lich DID do a significant amount of damage with his Ice 2 spell he managed to fit in there), and it's time to take the long journey back up to the surface. Expect me to flee from most large groups of enemies, just because of lack of potions.

Even though there seem to be much fewer random encounters now. Makes sense. HUZZAH!!!

---

I only *did* ever end up using two Gold Needles. 25 was intense overkill. Oh well. Better safe than sorry. And now I've got enough to last me a long time.

...

..........

.................................

PARALYSIS BREAKS THIS GAME.

BREAKS IT.

I HAD NO MORE ****ING POTIONS LEFT, YOU MISERABLE ****ING PIECES OF ****. GIVE ME A ****ING BREAK.

Tears of frustration. I'm done with this for tonight. So long, everyone.

---

I must say, I'm getting more accustomed to this dungeon. More accustomed to the enemies, to the effects that they do, and to the route I have to take. But most importantly... I've grown accustomed to her face.

Sorry. >_>

So anyway, as I defeat the Lich I feel like a complete idiot as I step into the portal right behind where I killed him in order to teleport safely up to the surface. But I must say it feels damn good to finally be done with that Terra Cavern now. DAMN good, even though I'd been getting so used to it that navigating it really wasn't a problem anymore. And still I rack up the experience while I'm down there. Maybe not QUITE as much as before, but I still end up with my entire party easily at Level 14 by the time I'm done with the Lich.

After a quick rest at the Inn and SAVING, I assess my options and decide to go back and visit the old wise man, Sadda. If anybody knows what I'm supposed to do next, he will. He's the one that sent me on my mission to kill the Lich in the first place, so it's a logical step. And when I get to the Sage's Cave, Sadda gives me a very valuable piece of advice:

Bless the Crystals!

frghmlnk

---

After deducing that there's really very little else to do on the land mass that I'm on, I decide to sail around for a little bit and scout out the perimeter of what I haven't been able to reach before. I'm also a LITTLE concerned that in my menu the Earth Crystal is the SECOND Crystal that needed to be lit, and I haven't lit whatever the first one is. Please tell me that's nothing to worry about? :D

After sailing FAR to the south, I eventually do run into land, which surprises me a tiny bit. But I figure they'll probably lock us in with land just because of the limitations of the time not allowing for an unlimited area of water. >_>

But yeah, I see a bunch of islands with little holes on them. Now that doesn't really make sense. How the hell am I supposed to get on these islands with holes in them? They don't have anywhere to dock the ship! Unless I go between them underwater...but what kind of purpose would that serve? Yay, I'm at this island! Which only has the hole I came out of! Hmm. Odd. Well, I'll probably find out soon enough.

I also eventually come across a town with a long stretch of thick woods to the south, but again, there doesn't seem to be any way to dock there. Argh. Lots of walking, I assume. If I even remember it's there by the time it becomes important.

I go around the entire continent, grinding cluelessly as I go, and there doesn't seem to be a port anywhere to be found. Nowhere to dock on an entire damn continent. These people must really want to be left alone. Why would you settle on a continent and then make it impossible for ships to dock on the entire continent?! I guess they don't get much in the way of imports... >_>

So after wandering blind through more of these little islands with holes in them (NO REALLY, WHAT PURPOSE DO THESE SERVE) I finally find another continental-type area with a castle somewhere on it. And I find more continents. I sweep their perimeters. NONE of them have ports.

I'm lost.

---

And now I'm COMPLETELY disoriented as I realize that that's the Temple of Chaos right there that I just approached from the north. Oh well. At least I have my bearings and can just try to get around this continent to the south. Grinding as I go. Actually doesn't take too long to do that. And there's the Sage's Cave. Now I know i just proved the world is round. Cool.

And finally I find a new port, far to the east of Elfheim on the same continent. Brilliant! I begin my trek west and eventually run into something new (finally): a city! ...But not before Orin is killed right on the outskirts by some PARTICULARLY nasty looking creatures calling themselves "Centipedes".

The city of Crescent Lake we're at. And it's surrounded almost completely by City Walls, which is a little new, but more importantly, the traversable section of the continent I'm on has ended. Yeah, it's completely surrounded by mountains. I'd say this city should be pretty safe, but NO. It's surrounded by Trolls and Ugly Mutant Centipedes. I don't know how they got there. Don't ask me.

First thing I do is find the resident reviver (and they actually have one, thank God) and resurrect Orin. Second thing I do, for obvious reasons, is rest at the Inn. And now to find out what to do in this town. Maybe I need to jump into a hole or something and go through a bunch of underwater passageways so I can get to those barren islands.

The first thing I do apart from all the necessary restorative stuff aforementioned is buy Kael a Mythril Shield and Mythril Gloves. I also grab him a Mythril Axe. Now everything he's using is Mythril except for his Steel Plate armor, but I had Mythril Armor at one point and he couldn't use it so I sold it. I also have enough gil to buy Zordan two Level 6 spells--I choose Bolt 3 and Reaper.

Now, there seems to be nobody actually LIVING in this town except for two people: a guy that's sleeping on the north wall, and a lady complaining about her husband who always sleeps on the north wall. I have an idea: let's play the lute to wake him up! No? Aww. So yeah...after very thorough search, I don't think there's anything else to do here. Might as well wander around outside and see what I can find.

---

Mheran is killed almost instantly in my wanderings by a group of four Centipedes. These guys are really tough... >_> I get through them though, and make a mental note to maybe try and avoid another group of four of these things until A) I level up a little more or B) I have some reason to feel really really confident. Got a hell of a lot of experience though.

Orin and Zordan die on the way back, but not until both Kael and Zordan advance to Level 15. Getting tons of experience from every battle, so this will probably be my grinding grounds in the near future when the going gets a bit too tough. I assume it will. I've been going a little too long without having to stop and just grind.

Aaaand eventually I figure out that there's nothing outside the city. In fact, I find a hidden path to the east of the magic shops where a lot of old fogeys are dancing in place. Awesome, a dance scene! SLIIIIIDE TO THE LEFT! SLIIIIIIIIDE TO THE RIGHT! TAKE IT BACK NOW Y'ALL

Sorry, I'll stop that.

They are apparently the twelve sages. Let me guess which one is important. Could it be the ONE THAT LOOKS DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHERS? The one that's wearing a FUNNY BLUE HAT? Hmm, I wonder. Ah! Apparently he's Lukin. I can't quite remember where I've heard that name before... *scrolls up* Ah! He was mentioned at the very beginning as the one who foretold the coming of the Light Warriors. Well isn't that just special. Here's the guy that said I was going to exist. Yay.

...Oddly, the one to his right is the one we want to talk to. And oh crap we awakened the Fire Fiend by defeating the Earth Fiend. Whatever shall we do? We'll use this CANOE to defeat him!!!!! Yeah!!!!!

Well, actually I'll assume that the canoe can be used for getting onto land without a dock. Now I need to go to Mount Gulg (XD what kind of a name is that) and stop the Fire Fiend! With a CANOE!

---

After taking a break, I use my CANOE. And immediately get attacked by a Neochu, which singlehandedly takes down Zordan in one turn, and ALMOST kills Orin and Mheran as well as poisoning Mheran. Let's...be on the CANOE for as little as possible. On the bright side the EXP brought everybody who wasn't already at Level 15 up to Level 15.

However, it looks like we're going to have to take the canoe through this mountain-enclosed river passageway for at least a little bit. To do that, I'm going to want to--you guessed it--get my potion stock back up to 99! And why not buy a couple cottages while I'm at it. I have enough money for four, but I'll leave it at two for now, since I've been getting on fairly well without them anyway, but will want them when entering/exiting whatever the next dungeon may be. Oh yeah. Mt. Gulg. I still think that name's hilarious.

I take the left fork on a whim, and immediately run into a Neochu. However, this time it doesn't quite get the chance to kill anybody before I get the chance to kill it. Sure is a nasty little devil though. EXP whore, for sure, but a nasty nonetheless. Then two White Crocs kill Kael, Orin, AND Mheran, and I decide to turn back. Not quite in time, though, because Zordan dies shortly thereafter.

Grinding time it is, then.

---

Favorite moment while grinding: beating a group of five different really nasty-looking sea creatures (an Ochu, a Hydra, a Pirahna, and two Crocodiles) and getting 1337 experience for it. Also, during this grinding session, Mheran keeps dying, resulting in him being two levels behind Kael at times. First major leveling discrepancy. Oh well.

And once I feel like I've done enough grinding, I set off to the west, once more trying my luck against the foul river beasties. This time my lot isn't quite as bad as far as the difficulty AND the frequency of the beasties is concerned, so I'm able to get by much easier (still using potions for the more nasty encounters, but I restocked up right before I left).

Aaaaaand I end up going around in a circle. I went to the west, I docked, and I went around on the land, crossed another river, and ended up right back where I started. Have I mentioned that my navigation skills are totally crap? (I really ought to teach that **** how to read a map! Lalalala lala, lalalala, lala, lalala looking for my leopard...)

However, it is fairly fortuitous that I did end up in the same place, because I'm running out of Antidotes fast now that poisonous creatures are more frequent. Anacondas and Scorpions are probably the two most common land creatures at this point (at least, that I'm running into), so it's always good to get stocked up. I grab a ton of antidotes and NOW I'm on my way, this time taking a slightly different route, going more northish this time as opposed to around in a circle.

I find myself wondering where the hell I'm keeping all this stuff I've been hauling around in my inventory. I mean, let's forget for a second all the equipment and hundreds of potions/antidotes I'm carrying around...I'm also carrying with me a canoe and several cottages. Tell me, where are the cottages?

And, totally by accident, I run into what would appear to be a volcano. Time to use one of these heavy-ass cottages and save!

---

I would mention here how crazy it is that the game is actually letting us walk across molten lava, but I won't, because I think it's probably painfully obvious to all of us. I mean, really? *sigh* OK, game, I'll try to buy it. I can't realistically bring myself to buy this, but I'll try.

Another thing that's SLIGHTLY insane is how well Ice damage works against Fire-element creatures. Oh, Mt. Gulg, you provide laugh after laugh. From your name to walking on lava to Ice damaging fire. >_>

So when I descend to B2, I, instead of waltzing across the lava, go through an enormous maze that leads to a ton of chests with really nice loot and good amounts of money (12 chests in the last room alone!). Almost all Mythril loot. Very nice. That's gonna sell for a lot of gil, to be sure.

Down to B3. Lots of lava to cross here. Apparently crossing the lava in the least harmful possible way is this dungeon's version of "puzzles". I can dig it, even though the whole lava-crossing concept still kills me.

Down to B4. Holy hell that's a lot of lava. Good thing I stocked up on the potions before I came. And...back up to B3? OK... I don't want to look TOO far and wide because it causes damage to my party so I'll just assume this is part of the huge lava-maze I have to follow. Hopefully I find a way that leads back down...and I do quickly enough, luckily picking the exact right direction to the southwest. >_>

Down to B5. Meeting a lot of new fire-themed baddies in this dungeon, I just don't feel like transcribing all their names. Most of you who are reading will probably know what they are already anyway, so no need to reiterate. Pyro-this, Fire-that, you get the picture. Most of which are some form of some creature I've already run into in the past. By this point, everybody is Level 18, except for Kael, who is Level 19. Levelling is happening quick and often in this dungeon, which is always a good thing... especially when it's not too much of a hindrance on HP. Which, in this case, it's not. The lava's doing more damage to me, honestly.

Perhaps it's because I'm getting better at this or perhaps it's because I was out grinding beforehand and got some good EXP in, but this doesn't seem as hard as some previous dungeons (*cough cough TERRA CAVERN*) have seemed to be. I'd like to think it's probably because I'm just getting better at this. And coming far more prepared.

Speaking of preparation, I use ALL of my remaining potions (and still am not QUITE full up...uh oh) right before I enter the Boss Room.

BOSS TIME!

---

Who Disturbs Marilith's Slumber?

We do!

Who controls the British crown? Who keeps the metric system down?

We do! We do!

A strange looking creature with four swords, a serpent's tail, and boobs tells me that the power of fire is hers alone, and that those who dare to disturb her shall burn. Let's hope it doesn't come to that. As in, let's REALLY hope. Because I'm out of potions. AND I don't want to start all the way up at the top again and have to go through all of this, though as I've said, this isn't as hellish as Terra Cavern.

Oh. My. God. INTENSE BATTLE FOR THE WIN. Just BARELY do I scrape by with a victory. Once I find out that Zordan's destructive magic doesn't work as well as I'd hoped, I start casting supporting spells like crazy...including Steel on both Mheran and Kael halfway through the battle. And it WORKS WONDERS. I'm sure if I'd cast that on everybody long before I did the battle wouldn't've been as close.

And I'm talking close. As in, Mheran and Zordan died, Kael was blinded and had 40 HP left, and Orin (the one who wasn't doing any damage anyway) was left with 135 HP. That was a close yet epic battle. It would be more awesome if I could show you, but alas, my general broad description will have to do.

So our heroes (hey wait, aren't Zordan and Mheran passed out?) use their powers to relight the Fire Crystal, and our task is complete. I actually USE the warp out, and then I SAVE with a cottage, which is especially important, just in case two people with no healing capabilities won't be enough to get us out the first time.

---

Let's see...impressions of the game so far...

I actually really like it. There are elements of it that are irritating, yes, and I've probably harped on them more than is actually fair. The PS version, having watched some gameplay on YouTube from the earlier parts of the NES version of the game, is definitely a graphical improvement, but I also appreciate that it really keeps the gameplay the same for the most part.

But yeah, the game itself? It's a bit disappointing (even though I was expecting this) that the main characters have NO personality whatsoever; I was hyped up when I started this whole project for all of the the typical "Final Fantasy story arc closely involving the main characters" things, obviously. This game is more of a "Hey, you're the four personality-less Light Warriors, go do this!", rinse, and repeat type of game.

However, for what it is, it does it pretty well, and I can definitely see why this game was so hugely popular for its time. And when I say hugely, I mean HUGELY. Revolutionary, even. Everything is very cool; my only main beef is with lack of characterization of anyone, player character or not. Every character is extremely generic. But really, given the game's age, that's not much of a complaint. It's actually quite a fun game, and I'm enjoying it a lot (which I suppose should be obvious, given the fact that I've only been playing for three days and I've gotten through Mt. Gulg).

---

As I predicted, I died trying to get back to Crescent Lake the first time with just two people. Plus the fact that the Cottage doesn't actually heal you up all the way and I only noticed that after it was already too late. No matter, this time I shall also use a Tent on top of the Cottage I used, to further increase my HP! Still not full, but it's better, and it serves me well to get back to the town easily enough. Now, off to speak with the Sages!

And, predictably enough, they're not telling me anything. I should've learned that from returning to Sadda after I defeated the Earth Fiend. Oh well. Off to find whichever one is next, the Wind Fiend or the Water Fiend. I would've expected that Lukin would have SOME bearing on this game, being as he's the all-important Sage that foretold our coming. But no. He's the least helpful of all of them. Just, "Hey, I'm Lukin."

For lack of anything better to do, I start exploring a little more on the canoe, half to grind, half to hope I run into something important. Quickly, however, I find that the canal system that leads to Mt. Gulg leads ONLY there, with a long string of dead ends on all of the other routes. Except the one that ends up on the other side of the village. Looks like I'm gonna want to go across the ocean.

...I can't go across the ocean in a canoe. Well that's just special. But I do eventually find a way to get around the perimeter of the island I'm on, and I make my way around to try and find a land bridge to a different continental area. Yeah, that sounds like a smart thing to do right now.

---

On a side note, I have taken to listening to my iPod while grinding. The overworld music and the battle music are getting on my ****ing nerves. In a major way. I'd much prefer to listen to my Broadway musicals. >_>; It's a shame too, because there's some great music in this...it just gets really really repetitive after awhile.

So after going all the way west to the other side of the mountain range, instead of turning south and heading back around to the city like I did last time, I'll keep going west! Now, I can't go into the ocean, which is a bit of a handicap, so at the end of the stream, I get onto the shore. Obviously.

Wandering, wandering, and fighting strangely weak enemies... and I end up right where I started. I assume this means I have to go back to some old area of the game where I was previously unable to access something. I seem to remember some rivers around the dwarf mountain area, so I'll check there first.

Gonna stop for now, probably for the night. If I do any more tonight, it'll just be random wanderings and grinding, so I probably won't write anything anyway.

---

Surprise Update Time!

Having discovered the secret river that GH clued me in on, I now start exploring some more. I actually didn't know that port was there, so it took me a little while, but I found it now, and have begun exploring.

...These enemies are pathetic. Goblins and Wolves! Can't even do any damage to me because I kill them too quickly. What's with the sudden lowered difficulty? This isn't even good for grinding purposes...it's just a nuisance! Ah, there we go. I find the river and all of a sudden things get much more difficult...and I start actually getting more than a tiny dent in my experience every battle. Yay!

And after a little while of searching, here we are at the Ice Cavern. I would think that this would be a bad place, but happy music is playing so I'm assuming that this is in fact a good place to be. This is again a "yay" moment!

Well...there are very infrequent random encounters. But the music is still happy. Oh, look there's a crystal-shaped thing over there and the floor just fell in what the hell? ......OK. And Orin is KO'ed and I'm lost in this dungeon. Brilliant. But there's happy music.

Aaand this particular escapade is an epic fail and I don't feel like trying again right now. But now at least I know where I'm going and will be able to start anew tomorrow with some fresh direction in my mind. So this little impromptu session was not a failure. Which is good.

---

Back to the Ice Cavern. By the time I get back there, my heroes have increased in level: Kael to Level 20 and the others to Level 19. This is because I had to turn around THREE TIMES to revive Zordan, who seems to enjoy losing ALL 254 HP in ONE ENEMY ROUND. The enemy needs to stop striking first on the river and then proceeding to ignore everybody else's existence.

However, when I actually get to the Ice Cavern again, I save with a cottage, so I won't have to go through that entire ordeal again. The nice part is that when I DO get there, I've only had like two random encounters the entire way there this time around so I didn't have to use any of my potions on the way.

So I start wandering around the Ice Cavern and nothing interesting happens for quite awhile. That is because, compared to Terra Cavern and Mt. Gulg, it seems to be quite an uninteresting dungeon, as much as I normally love ice-themed stuff. I mean, yeah, it's pretty and all, but...there aren't any new enemy types to discuss, there isn't any real gimmick to it except for the pretty ice graphics, and...yeah. I'm a bit disappointed, to be honest. Not even any annoying ice block pushing a la Ocarina of Time.

HOWEVER, this time when I get to the room with the cracks in the floor I notice them. And I figure: hey, there's no way to get to that crystal thing. I bet I have to go up above this and fall onto it or something. Sounds simple enough. I suppose you could call that a gimmick if you really wanted to, so I give points for that.

......Mental note to self: RUN FROM LARGE GROUPS OF DARK WIZARDS. Three Fire 3 spells in a row IS NOT GOOD.

---

I was indeed forgetting all the little hits for one damage Kael gets...though to be fair I still think I've been getting really unlucky with Zordan. But yeah. Starting through the Ice Cavern again. This isn't too bad, honestly. Probably mostly because the Cavern itself is kind of bland. I'm sorry, I'm sure I'm probably once again managing to diss on what's supposed to be the "best part" of something, but yeah. Terra and Gulg were both at least memorable in some way. This really doesn't have anything new to offer except little cracks in the floor.

This time when I enter the dungeon I don't go down the staircase right away; I go south a little bit to see if there are any cracks to fall through to get to that crystal-looking thing in the middle of the room on B2. Alas, there is not...but there are also other sections of B1. "Hint hint," the game says to me.

When I go down there again, though, before I plunge through the cracks in the floor in the treasure room (because I'm pretty sure I have to get down there to go to the right section of B1 anyway), I get the Flame Sword, which is apparently even better Attack-wise than the Mythril Axe. Sweet.

Unfortunately, Zordan has been dying a trillion times, and if it's not him it's Orin (and there was one time a Mindflayer hit Kael for what it SAID was "1 damage" but was actually a complete KO), and it's getting really annoying and I might eventually just say "screw it" and forgo them in order to complete this dungeon because I've been stuck on it for awhile. Not like I put TOO much time in yesterday but this dungeon is getting more and more on my nerves.

Kael is L20; everybody else is L19. Do I need to grind some more?

137.30.252.52

HOLY CRAP

OK, I guess there IS an ice-themed creature. Its name is the White Dragon. It causes Icestorms that nearly kill everyone. And Orin has been killed by a cheap OHKO'ing Mindflayer. I don't care. I'm going to press on. It's only my Thief, after all.

Also Hi-Potions would be nice. I don't like surviving Icestorms only to have to use almost 70 of my Potions right afterwards. But whatever. Rank that right up there with Phoenix Downs, interesting storylines/characters, airships, and furries as "Things That Have Yet To Become Convention/Mainstays in Final Fantasy Games".

And never mind about pressing on. I forgot about how passing that chest to get what was in the other chest would make me have to pass the first chest again. And there's still a White Dragon there to cast his goddamn Icestorm and ravage my party. Have I mentioned that I ****ing hate this dungeon?

More details to come.

---

You know, it's come to the point where I've realized something.

Abusing spellcasters helps. I sure as hell have enough magic power to abuse a little bit of magic at this point in the game. Don't have any idea why I haven't been doing this before. A simple Fire 2 spell can typically KO over half of a party of 9 on a favorable dice roll. Will have to do this more often; it really helps with some of the more irritating encounters.

I've also identified why this dungeon is so irritating...and merely identifying it solves my problems ever so slightly. The standard enemies all have some kind of status change possibility inherent in their mechanics. The mummies put you to sleep. The wraiths paralyze you. The birds turn you to stone. The Mindflayers OH****ingKO you. And then there are the non-standard enemies, which are powerful spellcasters with area effect spells.

Translation: I need to watch my ass in this dungeon. Big-time.

All right, so in the lower levels as I get a little further (than I ever have before! yay!) I realize that there are in fact themed enemies here other than the White Dragon, as I run into a Winter Wolf and an Ice Gigas. OK. I forgive that aspect of the dungeon. It's still a ridiculous dungeon though. Still, I'm doing fairly well. I get the Flame Sword and Ice Armor and equip Kael with both, with plenty of Potions to spare. This is all good. I keep exploring.

After finding a room with six chests containing tens of thousands of gil in them, I head into a NEW AREA via staircase, and finally feel like I'm legitimately getting somewhere.

Then three Dark Wizards "Attack First", each cast Fire 3 and effectively eliminate my entire party except for Kael, who's greatly damaged. WHAT THE **** AM I SUPPOSED TO DO TO DEFEND AGAINST THAT.

---

Ah, yes! That time was a charm! Orin may have been KOed on the way, but that doesn't matter one bit. For I have...the Levistone! Now I just need to get the hell out of dodge, I assume. Unless I do end up in a boss room. Which would be OK because this time I actually somehow have around 30 Potions saved up by the time I get the Levistone. I also find a very nice Ice Shield for Kael, so now he's fully equipped with three things from this dungeon. Again, very nice.

And it doesn't take too long for me to find the Alternate Exit for this dungeon. W00t, home free! And SAVED WITH A SLEEPING BAG, *****es! According to the memory card files that took only 20 minutes of gameplay. According to me it took days. Take whichever definition you prefer. I prefer days. Makes me feel more self-righteous in my irritation and yet competent at the same time.

Hooray. Finally trodding civilized ground again. Back in Crescent Lake, I heal up, revive, stock up on potions, all the busy work you need to do when you go to a city. Feels good to be doing this kind of busy work again. I also realize that I have 165,000 gil. "Lol"

However, that is a bit odd. All I got was a little stone thingy, and I can't help but asking myself what the hell it does. It's obviously important...since the dungeon didn't have any Crystal to light or anything like that this would seem to be self-evident. But damned if I know what that thing is FOR.

No sense worrying about that now, though, because right now my next order of business is to find this hidden dungeon you've all been (so subtly) hinting at! Pretty sure I'll find it too, with that "boats can go straight to canoe" hint. It's probably on the west side of the island. *sweeps perimeter*

---

Also, I must say, Kael is getting more and more hilariously overpowered. At L21 he now has 525 HP, and Ice Armor and an Ice Shield, as well as a Flame Sword and other Mythril equipment. This renders him, at least at this point in the game, virtually unkillable. Hell, he was virtually unkillable in the Ice Cave, save by those cheapass Mindflayers.

In the end I end up getting completely lost, as per usual. I end up staying at the Inn at Elfheim, of all places, to save my progress, and quit for the time being.

Two days later. I'm back, I look over the topic, and it would seem I need to talk to one prophetic "elf" in order to figure out what to do. That is actually really damn convenient, seeing as where I am. I have a feeling the elf is gonna be in the palace, so I head there first. Not finding anything there, I find an NPC in Elfheim proper that has this prophetic statement for me:

''From the sands below the crescent rises something. Use the Levistone to free it from its cage!''

Well, OK then. I seem to remember this weird suspiciously-barren sandy area in the middle of the general Crescent Lake area. Sounds promising. So, off I go!

---

Lykion Desert. I use the Levistone. The ground cracks open. And up comes......an AIRSHIP! ...I honestly am fairly surprised that those existed in the first Final Fantasy game. *Pleasantly* surprised, however, because airships are awesome. And after flying around for awhile, I find a suspiciously-tucked in area of desertous expanse, with a tower in the middle. OK. *docks by tower*

Oh what? You can't park in the desert? I have to walk through this entire huge Sahara-esque expanse? >_> After docking in the grass and using a Tent to save my game (because frankly I was just really lucky in finding this area, and I have several Tents to spare), I save in the "Y Desert". What that Y could possibly stand for, well, I have no idea, because that's all the save file says. Oh well. Onward through the Y Desert!

Entire new bestiary! Barely do I make it five feet before an Allosaurus and a Wyvern make their way to me. A few more steps than that and I am assaulted by two Desert Barettas. ...Whcih dispose of Mheran fairly quickly, catching me off-guard. Crossing this is going to be an interesting experience. I can't remember the last time an area had an entire new bestiary of creatures. Or, at least, this seems to.

Eventually, though, when I get to the tower, I legitimately cannot do anything. .... Am I, like, getting way ahead of myself here? It *looks* like it has a door in the front...

---

After abandoning that idea, I find another stronghold that would appear to be a valid option that I haven't seen before. But again, I can't park anywhere near the bloody thing. Typical. So I start a long trek towards it, through forests, deserts, and off light-green terrain that I mysteriously cannot land in. This particular area happens to be...

The Citadel of Trials. That title has the words "optional dungeon" written all over it. Plus, there's a ship-to-river area right next to the dungeon. This is almost guaranteed to be what you guys keep going on about, right? Of course right.

The Dwarf at the entrance mentions the Crown I need to test my courage. So that's what that thing was for. I've been wondering that ever since I killed those Piscodemons that were guarding it. Not sure what the Crown itself actually has to do with anything, but this further solidifies my belief that this is the optional dungeon y'all were talking about, because if the Crown is what you need, we've had it for a long time, and I would assume it's possible to get here without the crown.

I sit upon the throne and am immediately teleported to Citadel of Trials 2F. Let the games begin!

---

Hooray teleporter mazes. Sabrina and Team Rocket both made me just looove these. And there are sporadic random encounters, just to make it more annoying and to make me forget which routes to take and which NOT to take. Brilliant!

I'll spare you the details of the maze, for your sake as well as mine. Suffice it to say that I eventually get up to 3F without too much difficulty (although the reason this took a day to update is because my entire party died last time, due to me not knowing to flee when faced against eight Horned Devils or Winged Devils or whatever those little flying ****ers are).

Not too far into 3F, the Ice Brand and the Ruby Armlet find their way onto Kael's and Mheran's "equipped" lists, respectively, and Zordan is able to upgrade to Mheran's old Silver Armlet. Large equipment upgrades in dungeons are the best.

...That's the huge prize for completing the Citadel of Trials? A Rat's Tail?

Another question: That was it? That is all the Citadel of Trials is? A way to get some equipment upgrades (that are, admittedly, quite nice) and...a Rat's Tail (capitals included)? Uh..... OK. I won't argue. After defeating two Dragon Zombies, I'm home free. Complete with Ice Brand, Ruby Armlet, and...Rat's Tail. Hooray?

---

By the time I get back to the airship, everybody is L21 except for Orin, who is L20 (the levels got evened out a LITTLE bit by Kael getting stoned a couple times by Medusas during the Citadel of Trials).

I decide to head to that long string of islands with holes in them. As long as I'm wandering completely blind I might as well go there first. When I find them I start with one that has a forest surrounding it on a rather larger island than many of the others. I find myself in Dragon's Cave B1.

Apparently this is not a dungeon. I meet a friendly Dragon, who tells me only the truly brave can return with proof of their courage. He won't tell me anything else. I look in my inventory to see if there's anything I can give him, but nothing looks promising. However, I think I can probably go into one of the other caves and give a dragon the Rat's Tail, no?

My feeling is affirmed when I talk to some other dragons, who tell me that King Bahamut will bestow something on those who have the necessary *courage*. I'm also heartened when one particularly helpful dragon tells me that in order to prove my courage, I should enter the Citadel of Trials and retrieve a token from within.

Finally, in the last of the holes I go into (got a ton of gil from the other ones, though, I'm now far over 200,000), I find myself in the presence of the formidable King Bahamut. He takes the Rat's Tail from me (yay!) and...uh...everybody now looks different. What? What?

...Whoa. Class upgrades for the win. I've now got a Knight, a Master, a Ninja, and a Black Wizard. Not that I actually know what that does for me, but that's pretty spectacular nonetheless. And...AWESOME. Orin can now equip all the stuff that Kael discarded. Finally I have a use for some of that Mythril stuff. And the Flame Sword, which is also relatively badass and I didn't want to get rid of.

Now, my GUESS is that I should go back to the guy who told me to show him my courage now that I have these upgraded classes, and he'll give me something nice. *goes back* ...No? Is that just a stock reply, "Only the brave return with true evidence of their courage"? I guess so. Because I did return with evidence. And he's not doing anything for me. Oh well. Back to aimlessness...but with a newly revamped party! :D

---

Suddenly I come across a heretofore unseen mountain town by the name of Gaia, while I'm trying to get to this seemingly-un-get-to-able place in the middle of a forest. Apparently also known as Hawkeye, they talk about that seemingly-un-get-to-able town (that they call Hawkeye), in which the language is total gibberish and such. Oh well. Doesn't matter because I can't get there.

Awesomely enough, I'm able to teach Zordan Ice3 and Break while I'm here, the latter of which can only be learned by a Black Wizard. I'm starting to see some of the benefits, now--that's major benefits for Zordan and Orin already (even though I have no idea what it did for the other two, other than making them even more powerful than they already were).

I also get a Ruby Armlet for Zordan...and notice that they're also selling Protect Rings which protect against instant death. However, I don't want to replace my amazing armor with these rings, which only offer me 8 armor. I mean, it shows it as being an improvement for everybody though...I'm confused. Not gonna waste my money at this time though.

I'm also able to buy Cat Claws for Zordan. Massive, massive improvement, that. More than doubles his attack rating from the Power Staff. Consider me very happy with this town already...although there's gotta be someone around here who can give me a hint on how to get to Hawkwing...right?

Also, I learn Stop for Zordan. It's a Level 8 spell and I don't think he can use it just yet, but might as well get it now. I don't have enough money to buy any more after that, but Stop seems like something I've been wanting. I like to paralyze enemies so that I can just bash away at them. It's fun!

---

Ah, there was no trick to it at all, actually. On my way to Hawkwing. There was just this one tiny bit of grass that it's almost impossible to actually aim for because the airship moves so damn fast. But I eventually got there...time to make the long, long journey south with my revamped party. And strangely unrevamped enemies. It doesn't take long to get where I want to go.

Apparently they call it Lufenia here. And all they say is a question: Lu pa gamhi dho? I'm assuming the answer is no. And hell, there don't even seem to be any enterable buildings of any kind. Upon returning to Gaia, I receive a hint from the guy outside the church: he sold a faerie to a travelling caravan. I'm almost positive this is the faerie that belongs in that spring to the north. So I guess I know what this town is for. Will have to keep an eye out for a caravan.

I find another continent with a lone town in the middle of the forest to the west, and begin the long, long trek NORTH to this particular town. I assume I have to find the "scholar in the Lufenian language" that one particular Gaian citizen was talking about. It makes sense that I would probably find him here, being yet another new place, and I'm running out of new places to find. Again, the enemies are not revamped, so I make it there with ease.

Now in Onlak, but with much less gil than I had when I went on my spending binge in Gaia, I explore. Through talking to townspeople I hear about such fascinating subjects as Oxyale, an undersea shrine, mermaids, Underhill's caravan camp (on the north edge of the western desert), something bright falling to the earth, and a Rosetta Stone (HMM WONDER WHAT THAT DOES). Then I find a girl with a submarine. But she tells me I'm not to use it unless I have some source of oxygen.

The pieces are falling into place. I'll be back when I get the fairy from the north edge of the western desert, bring it back to Gaia, and get the Oxyale.

---

And I find it easily enough, but I don't have enough money. Let the grinding for gil commence.

---

Well that course of action was startlingly predictable. And it has led me to Sunken Shrine 3F! From what the people in the towns have been telling me, this is the location of the third crystal I need to reactivate. ...And might I add, yay for really good music. I don't know if this music has been used in any other dungeons - it probably has because it sounds vaguely familiar...but this dungeon music I REALLY like. Especially here. Here it has that sort of "underwater" feel that a sunken shrine should have. Very good atmosphere in this dungeon. Without having taken one step I already love it.

However I am instantly lost, as I find one staircase going up, and one staircase going down. Goddamnit. Oh well. The enemies in this dungeon so far are not posing any difficulty whatsoever, so I'll take my time and aimlessly explore. That's usually the best way to take on these big, sprawling dungeons with multiple levels, right? Of course right.

...Holy ****. Kael has Diamond Armor. Armor made of ****ing DIAMONDS? That is beyond cool. That is *beyond* cool. Orin gets the Ice Armor, and...looks like that's basically all for 4F. Time to descend, then. And after what seems to be a quite thorough search of 4F, I go back down and go back to the village, restocking up on everything now that I have more monies.

I also can't get over how ****ing cool these sprites look for the prestige classes. These sprites redefine badassery in 2D games.

And surprisingly, thanks mostly in part to how awesome said new prestige classes are, I make it to what would appear to be the boss room without too much trouble on my first try. I say it would appear to be the boss room, but I'm really quite positive it is because it has an enormous crystal in it. And an orb.

An orb that turns into A KRAKEN!!!

---

Unhappily, I have to do without bonuses in spellcasting from Zordan, because one of the first hits the Kraken gets in is on Zordan which OHKOs him due to a combination of bad die rolls and high-damage-to-low-defense ratios. Seeing as it has so many tentacles, it's got an appropriately high number of hits per attack. A difficult boss, but after pounding on it with Kael, Orin, and Mheran, I eventually end up beating it - after which everyone in my party is Level 25. Woo!

And now, with three of four Crystals lit, I go back to town, stock back up on stuff, and try to figure out my next course of action. I'm informed in town that something fell from the sky by the waterfall to the north, so that would seem to probably be a good place to start looking.

So, I start driving my canoe up north, seeing as there's a convenient river right there next to the town I'm exiting (Onlak). Haha, I get it. Onlak. On lake. >_< Please start coming up with better names.

So I canoe up north, and lo and behold, there's a waterfall. So...what do I do, swim into it...ah, there we go. As I enter the waterfall, I come into (surprise surprise) Waterfall Cavern. There's no floor number so I assume I don't have to deal with many staircases, and that's always a good thing to avoid. I do like how the game's actually starting to give me directions; indications on where to go. Or maybe it's just that I'm getting better at asking around and talking to the right people.

Grr dead ends. Again with the friendly music like in the Ice Cavern that is indicative of no enemies HALF the time. I don't understand using this music for both friendly caves like Matoya's place and the Dragon Caves, but then using the same music for the Ice Cavern and the Waterfall Cavern. I guess it's just the all-purpose "cave music". It doesn't make sense for places with random encounters, though. At all.

---

As the random encounters continue to be insanely easy, I begin to lament over how enormous the Waterfall Cavern is, and how devoid of treasure. I guess I've been fairly spoiled when it comes to treasure. But I haven't been spoiled when it comes to getting hopelessly lost. I've just been taking a break from it. Here it is again. The lost-ness, I mean.

After awhile, though, I find a room with six chests of treasure, and a golem. The golem gives me the Warp Cube, and tells me to go defeat some guy named Tiamat with it. He then buzzes and says "Giga". Hmm. I'm really not quite sure where to go now.

---

Oh my. Thank you so incredibly much for hinting to go back to the Sunken Shrine, Asper. Of all the places I would've thought to look, that probably would've been the last place. I figured the upstairs was just for the Diamond Armor, but...I was wrong! There's a *fifth* floor that I didn't find on my first go-around (even though I could've sworn I was being thorough). I thank you kindly. Ooh, mermaids!

With the Rosetta Stone (and a whole ton of kickass equipment) in hand, the next logical step is to head back down to Lufenia, so that is what I do. Man, getting places is really easy with these classes. I'm not sure if it's just the stage of the game I'm at or if the class upgrades really did as much as I think they did -- but I think they did a hell of a lot. I'm "over the hump" finally, it would seem...plus, I feel like I'm quite a ways into the game now; I would hazard a guess and say 75% of the way through. (Also, to address what many of you have been saying, I'm positive the Master gets more hits in, if nothing else. He's consistently doing more damage than Kael, who is equipped with the Defender... and that's saying something.)

... >_<

Off to find the goddamn scholar. If the business of finding that guy whose dialogue had changed in Elfheim is any indication, he's wandering around in some town, and his dialogue has changed.

---

Well then. I was right. Woo!

After talking to the scholar in Melmond, I now RETURN to Lufenia. They say the third time's a charm. Whatever's in Lufenia better be damn important. >_> On the plus side though, all this grinding has gotten everybody up to Level 26 (or in Kael's case, Level 27). Levelling is always good, and I've been doing it in a non-sitting-there-and-pointlessly-grinding type of way. Huzzah!

And after talking to everybody in Lufenia and getting some key plot points regarding legend, flying castles, a Tower of Mirage (I assume that's what I tried to get into before), wind, Tiamat, and warriors of days gone by, I receive a Bell. Which I shall now use to get into the Tower of Mirage. Could it be that the fourth and final Crystal dungeon shows itself so quickly after the third one? Could it be that when I surmised I was 75% of the way through that I was actually much further through the game? I suppose we shall see fairly shortly!

I also accidentally find a hidden shop off to the far right that teaches Flare. I buy it. After all, I have 327,000 gil. What's sixty thousand of that actually gonna do? And it's a kickass spell. Before I head off to the Tower of Mirage, I also decide to fill up Zordan's spellbook, and teach him a couple new spells in Gaia just to round everything off. He's still missing a slot in his Level 7, but he has all the one's from Gaia, and I don't want to have to go all the way back to Onlak to get another one.

And now I have entered the Tower of Mirage. First floor.

---

So yeah, everything seems fairly straightforward. Nothing too difficult; I fight a ton of random encounters, I run into some friendly (and not-so-friendly) robots, and I climb up to higher floors. As I go, I find myself at a loss as to what I could possibly write. So I end up writing this paragraph, and continuing my journey up to the top of the Tower of Mirage. I finally get to the third floor, and go into the room (as the entire third floor is basically a hallway surrounding one room). I step onto the central platform, and use the Warp Cube.

Well, actually, I jumped the gun in writing that, because I actually just warped there without pretense. Now in the Flying Fortress, I find myself wondering if it won't be just a tiny bit more interesting than the very straightforward Tower of Mirage was. Well, the music's actually different than anything previous to this area, so that's something. Shortly after, I've got a play to catch, so I'll be back later.

It is now later. I manage to guess correctly which way I'll eventually want to go, so I'm able to explore in the other directions first and pick up some nice loot. And again after checking all the outcroppings and looting everything on the second floor I go up to the third floor. Via cool teleporter thingy. ...But not until after I get the ADAMANTITE! I remember some Dwarf talking about this....I guess this isn't the last dungeon after all. Silly me for assuming it was.

I look through a "window" of sorts...and see the power of the four Crystals joining together in the center, at the Temple of Chaos. Interesting. Guess I'm going to be going back there after all. Started there, probably going to end there. This is a very intriguing concept. Problematically, though, I'm running out of healing potions. And I have no clue where the boss is, and I've gone through six complete floors of dungeon. Ffff... >_>

I run into a chamber that has some panels on the floor. "Logging in Tiamat; processing data". Hmm...sounds like I'm going to be facing a robot. Probably somewhere on this floor. ...Or not. Fortunately, however, it doesn't take me long (thanks largely in part to my good luck with fleeing) to get up to the fifth floor of the dungeon. Down the hall...it's Tiamat. I use basically all my healing potions that I have left, and then...we fight.

---

Contrary to what I'd expected, Tiamat is actually a six-headed dragon. Aw ****. First thing I do is attack him physically with everybody except for Zordan, who I have cast his new spell Flare for the first time. Which does 320 damage. ****. YES. Flare is so high-level that I can only cast it twice...but it does a hell of a lot of damage.

Just barely enough, as it turns out. Kael and Mheran survive, though with only 187 and 25 HP, respectively. That was so close to being a disaster. In fact, if it had taken just a couple rounds longer, it would've. That was actually a tough, close battle. Which I would've in all probability lost had I not had the time to use Flare twice before I died. Wow. My heart is pounding after that one. Nervous much? But NOW...now it's time to go back to Mt. Duergar and get the Adamantite sidequest finally finished, and then on to the Tower of Chaos, which I can only assume is the final dungeon for congruity's sake.

And Mheran gives me a heart attack by being insta-killed by three Dark Flans before I can make it to the teleporter. Never fear, however: Kael is able to flee and make it out alive, and I save with a Cottage before going further, solo with Kael for a short while. And after reviving everybody, stocking fully up on potions (and getting more antidotes for the first time in FOREVER), selling equipment, and then going back to Mt. Duergar, I deliver the Adamantite I found. The smith then forges me a sword. EXCALIBUR. Holy mother of God. 69 ATK as opposed to Defender's 54 (and I thought that the Defender was a fantastic sword! Orin's now wielding it).

Well then. Off to the Tower of Chaos. Which I will be tackling tomorrow, more likely than not, because I'm off to bed. I feel today has been marvelously productive. AND I got to see an absolutely stunning play. It was called The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. See it if you can. It was amazing.

---

It occurs to me that before the final dungeon occurs, I might want to fill everybody's spellbook, not just Zordan. So I travel around and fill up Kael and Orin's spellbooks. I'm particularly excited when I find out that Kael can learn some white magic as a Knight. Many of the spells I would've wanted are too high-level, unfortunately (like Life), but I've still finally got some good supporting casters. Better late than never! Here are my spellbooks after a while of travelling and buying:

Kael: (LV29)

L1: Blink, Cure 1, Shld 1 L2: Lamp, Silence, Invis 1 L3: Cure 2, NulFire

Mheran: (LV28)

Lol

Orin: (LV28)

L1: Fire 1, Sleep 1, Focus 1 L2: Slow 1, Steel, Fog L3: Bolt 2, Fire 2, Focus 2 L4: Sleep 2, Muddle, Haste

Zordan: (LV28)

L1: Bolt 1, Sleep 1, Focus 1 L2: Ice 1, Fog, Steel L3: Fire 2, Bind, Focus 2 L4: Haste, Muddle, Ice 2 L5: Poison, Fire 3, Slow 2 L6: Bolt 3, Reaper, Stun L7: Ice 3, Break, Saber L8: Stop, Flare, Doom

Now, with that all out of the way, it's time to go back to the Temple of Chaos. Or is it the Tower of Chaos? I keep using the two names interchangeably. >_>

---

Once inside the TEMPLE of Chaos, I go into the central room, and find that the bats have regained their power of speech...and are in fact that five legendary warriors of the sky people. They claim that I must use the power of the Crystals to travel 2000 years into the past and stop the person from the past who is draining all the energy from the here and now.

...OK.

Not sure how to respond to that one.

So I'm now in the Temple of Chaos 2000 years ago. Where someone is draining the power of the Crystals from 2000 years in the future. This concept hurts my head a little bit trying to logic it out. But the temple now has epic music, so all is forgiven.

...And Zordan is dead. Take two.

So I'm now in the Temple of Chaos 2000 years ago. Where someone is draining the power of the Crystals from 2000 years in the future. This concept hurts my head a little bit trying to logic it out. But the temple now has epic music, so all is forgiven.

When I find my way up to the next floor, I find a big empty room. Brilliant. I then take the staircase on the *other* side of the first floor. That hazards me a bit more success. I do believe, however, that getting 15000 gil for defeating three Green Dragons is highly unnecessary at this point. Piling on the gil means nothing, really, it would seem. Up to the third floor.

And wow. Three Dark Wizards (or whatever they're called) can still produce a Game Over when all three of them cast Fire 3 spells in succession. I'm impressed.

Take three.

---

Take three I got decently far.

Take four was abysmal; I didn't get nearly as far as I got even on takes one, two, and three due to taking a wrong turn.

Take five I got the furthest yet, though I learned that three Green Dragons + Toxin = insta-death for Zordan. I decided to go on even despite my party members dropping like flies, just to scout out the area and potentially discover which way to go. Didn't actually accomplish that.

On take six I determine that it is both impossible to RUN from Green Dragons and impossible to fight them effectively without using extremely high level Black Magic. I also ragequit.

---

On my seventh take at the dungeon, once I get to the third floor, I'm using healing potions like mad. All I want to do is survive just long enough to find where the hell I'm supposed to go in this fershlugginer dungeon. So I act "wastefully" as far as my potions are concerned, so that I can recover after battles with Green Dragons. For so little ground covered, it doesn't take me long to have under half of what I came in with--in fact, this happens basically right after I set foot on the third floor.

And this is when I know where I'm going. Egad.

SOMEHOW, miraculously, though, I make it to the central room on the third floor. I don't know how this happened. Maybe I was just meant to be wasteful concerning potions. Because that really isn't all that much ground covered to get there. Wow. OK. After fully healing everybody I have 29 potions left. I suppose that's not too bad...but...SO LITTLE GROUND COVERED!

There's a stone tablet. It occurs to me to play the Lute. And it turns out I wasn't in the place I wanted to make it to at all. FML. Oh well, at least the enemies are SLIGHTLY easier here for whatever reason. I'm still pissed. Still, I knew that was probably too easy. And now after running out of potions I'm right back where I started.

---

This time around, I realize something critical: after I play the Lute, I'm seemingly still on the third floor - or at least, something with the same layout as the third floor. I've just changed something. And this time I have more like 50 Potions than 29. *And* I know where I'm going...at least, for a little while. And I was actually on the second floor, but I was in an area where that thought actually worked anyway. Go figure.

And once I'm back down on the first floor right in front of the stairs DOWN (?!), everybody dies. Which means that it's time for Take Nine. Oh well. Slow and steady wins the race, and if I keep taking these smallish steps to figuring out where I'm supposed to be going, I'll eventually get there. As long as I go a little forward each time and never backwards.

Grr...am I ever going to actually be able to do this?

---

FINAL FANTASY II