Even in a game without a big story, I will still manage to divide it up into acts. BECAUSE I DO THAT DAMN IT!
The Warriors of Light- Part 1: Knock 'em DownLet's start off by going over some game stuff.
The item menu. We've got nothing.
The Magic menu lets us use our spells and also get rid of excess spells. Each character can only have three spells per Spell Level and can only learn spells of a certain Spell Level once they have reached certain levels. Sadly, there is no documentation for the Spell Level thresholds, so we're just going to have to play it by ear. And pray a little. Praying might help.
Equipment is somewhat obvious. We've got a Weapon slot, a Shield slot, a Helmet slot, an Armor slot, and a Glove or Arm slot. Weapons are weapons, Shields have a chance to nullify physical attacks, and the other three mainly provide defense boosts although they can provide other stat boosts. Weapons can sometimes do that as well, like how Staves can increase Intellect.
And here's the stat screen. You can see your HP, MP, XP, XP to the next level, your Magic Level, your equipment, and your stats. Strength determines attack power; Agility determines turn order, accuracy, and I think also Evasion; Intellect determines spell power; Stamina determines HP growth and I think also defense; and Luck determines running chances and I think magic defense. Below that is your Attack and number of hits, the latter of which you could not see in the original version of the game but you can see in Mod of Balance. Hit Rate is accuracy, and every 16 points you have in it you gain another hit. Defense and Evasion are obvious. Resist is your magic defense, which again you could not see in the original version of the game, only in Mod of Balance.
Some straightforward settings. You can also check out the Bestiary here, which you might want to in Mod of Balance. You see, all enemies now have a potential to drop something. I've had enemies in my test run drop stat boosting items that I thought you couldn't get until late-game, so pay attention.
Anyways, we need to go shopping.
Here, have a shop theme.In Mod of Balance, some of the spells have been replaced or otherwise altered. Pain, for example, did not exist in the original version of the game. Instead you had Fog, which was a multi-target Blind. Pain is instead a multi-target Dark damage dealing spell. We won't get it yet, though. A simple Fire spell will do for the early grinding phase.
After doing shopping, it's time for grinding! If we go to the Chaos Shrine now, we're goners. We need some levels and some more Gil to buy more equipment first.
Here be the battle screen,
with the classic Final Fantasy I battle theme. Remember how in Genius of Sappheiros and Devil of Decline we inputted our commands and then they occurred in an order depending on everyone's speed? Well, the same happens here. You can attack, use magic, use items, equip stuff, or flee the battle. You can also defend yourself, iirc.
These guys, by the way, are really simple. The Skeletons are a bit tougher than the Goblins, but it's nothing a good Fire spell can't take care of.
Unlike most Final Fantasy games, this one shows you how many hits you're doing in combat. Each hit is a multiplier to a base amount of damage, so if you can do more hits, you can do a lot more damage.
Wolves are a bit stronger, but still easy enough.
Unarmed attackers actually start out with two hits rather than one, even without having a Hit Rate over 16.
Goblin Guards are a bit stronger than Goblins, and they can cast Protect, which makes killing them slightly more challenging. Only slightly, though.
Crazy Horses are one of the tougher enemies you can meet around Cornelia, but as long as you're not level one or he doesn't hit one of your mages, you're fine.
Also, there's the broken bridge, just to let you know.
Enemy groups can be very large compared to later games in the series. Trust me.
There's Protect being used, but, well, it doesn't really matter.
Black Widows are also fairly dangerous, and I think they can Poison you with their physicals, but I'm not entirely sure.
Hanging onto life with 1 HP like a champ, Al.
Oh, by the way on the GBA version you can look at the World Map by pressing B and Select together. It's really handy considering it even gives you a list of all of the places you've been.
It even lets you zoom it! Where the cursor is is where the Chaos Shrine is, by the way. It's not too far of a walk from Cornelia, but the random encounter rate in this game is pretty high, so be careful.
Huh? This cave didn't show up on the world map...
Earthgift Shrine? Huh?
Okay...
Dwarves in this game have a stereotypical Scottish accent, obviously.
Also, does that mean we can't enter?
I guess not. Well, anyways, this is the first of the four Soul of Chaos dungeons, as they're known. Basically, you can't access them until later, but they're all bonus dungeons anyways so it doesn't matter quite yet.
And here is the Chaos Shrine.
My god, this remix of the Chaos Shrine theme... it's just so good.Beautiful music aside, we've got this place to explore. Technically Garland is a straight shot up the middle, but there's some treasure we can get on the left half of the dungeon.
Zombies here are one of a type of enemy that can inflict Stun, which is basically Paralysis. In other words, this type of enemy is super dangerous. Don't let them live long!
Let's try out Pain!
Could be better, honestly...
Things are starting to definitely get tricky around here...
Gigas Worms can hit your party super hard right now. Be very careful around them.
Well, let's go in, shall we?
Garland! At last we meet.
Uh, it doesn't just work like that.
You're looking straight at us! You have no reason to ask "who's there."
Some guy in a really big suit of armor?
Well, technically Ikari's going to be setting your ass on fire, but other than that, I think so.
It's like "You Spoony Bard," except less funny in my opinion.
Unlike the original version for the NES, this version of the game has boss music.
Here be the first boss theme. I swear I read somewhere that someone translated the name of the song as "Inside a Boss Battle," instead of "Mid-Boss Battle" like it should be. Then again, the kanji for "inside" and "middle" is the same last time I checked...
Anyways, Garland here only uses physical attacks. Applying Protect can help cushion the blows. Don't worry TOO much about getting a character killed off, because Garland is really simple to beat.
And that does it.
Hey there, Sarah. Are you okay?
You could give us money so that we can actually buy the ridiculously expensive stuff in the game.
Yeah, we kind of knew that.
Well, I think we did a little more than "defeat" him...
Sure, why not?
Your soldiers must be really incompetent if they couldn't beat Garland. He was a cakewalk.
As if having the crystals didn't already tip you off.
Ah?
Right, right...
We're still vague here...
Okay, so we need to hurry. That's something.
Well, that's a good start!
Dude, there's more than just monsters causing problems here...
Again, why you couldn't have done it earlier I have no clue.
Kaythanksbye.
Okay...
Maybe he likes playing it?
Uh... thanks?
There's no way this little old thing is going to be of any use.
But anyways.
Yay, happy music!Also, I guess by building the bridge you are helping us save the world. Let's give the laymen a hand!
It'll let us actually go somewhere rather than staying on a conveniently secluded patch of land with no access to almost the rest of the outside world, thus requiring an early game quest. RPG progression, man.
Yup, we're here to save the world. I guess. Still not exactly sure where to look for the other crystals, though.
Let's cross!
Of course, the Prologue plays here. Everyone here should know the Prologue, right? If you don't know both the Prelude and the Prologue you are not a Final Fantasy fan in my book. ^^;
I missed a line, but it was basically something like "Thus they began their journey" or something like that.
And why wouldn't you feel overwhelmed? Everyone is basically relying on you to save the world and if you fail then the world will end. Simple as that.
And yet having them is qualification for being the Warriors of Light. You can be dense, destructive, crazy, or bastardly, but as long as you have the crystals you're officially a bonafide Warrior of Light. That was kind of a reference, by the way.
I really wish whatever forces of nature decide this sort of thing actually made better decisions instead of giving power to the ragtag bunch of misfits you see in every RPG.
Right. As you saw on the main menu, they're dim and grey, not lit up with their colors.
Right. Let's try not to be bad at this.
Yay, menu logo.
But that's it for today. Next time we'll head on out to begin our search for the first Crystal.
Summary:
Treasures: Leather Cap (Serela), Chain Mail (Al), Tent
Drops: Leather Armor (Serela), Knife, Leather Gloves x2 (Ikari), Broadsword (Al)
Bought Items: Staff (Ikari), Leather Gloves x3 (Al, Meguka, Serela), Leather Cap x2 (Al, Meguka), Leather Shield (Al), Potion x3, Antidote x2, Sleeping Bag
Learned Spells/Skills: Fire (Ikari), Cure (Serela), Protect (Serela), Pain (Ikari)
TPKs: 0 this update, 0 overall
Oh there will be TPKs. Trust me.
