Warriors of Light: Let's Play Final Fantasy I: Mod of Balance v3.3!

[Ghaleon]

welp, so I did some research and found out that you CAN play this mod on your psp using gpsp... which I'm doing! Thanks a ton, I've been dying to replay ff1 the way it was meant to be for ages!

[Hanzo K.]

Overall, the mod's great, I only have one small issue with the Paladin's sprite seeming...I dunno, lighter than the rest? Even Paladin!Cecil's sprite wasn't that bright.
That said, I have to wonder what's better, Axe? Or Scimitar? Seein' as I'm using v3.3, which means Garland drops a Scimitar, not a Broadsword.(Also, it dropping ain't a sure thing in my case.)

[Validon98]

Oh wait, there was an update?
...Shit. Let me update my game and see the new changes, then!

[Hanzo K.]

So far, there's not much. Bahamut's quest gives +50 HP(I think?), Garland can drop a Scimitar, and unlike your version, the classes look messed-up back in the party select menu at the start.
Also works more on FFII's systems, and so on. Nothing much more than 3.2's updates really.


EDIT: I haven't gone much further than you have LP-wise, so I dunno.

[Validon98]

I already knew about the 50 HP ting. And I know the classes looked messed up, they did in my version too.
I ha 3.0 rev 2, so 3.2 is new to me as well. Apparently status effects are more dangerous now. I have to be more careful from here on out. Also, my saves thankfully transfer over to the new version. So just let me change the title topic to reflect the update!

[AnonymousPondScum]

Warmech facts:

-Warmech does not know the taste of defeat---only the taste of tears.
-Warmech will not give you 30 seconds to comply, but he will give you 30 seconds to pray to the god of your choice and write out your will.
-Warmech brought LIBERTY PRIME from Fallout 3 with him for take-your-kid-to-work day.
-Warmech thinks Gundams are cute toys.
-Warmech is annoyed he is not in Battletech but understands why---if there was a Warmech figurine nobody would need any other mechs.
-Warmech shakes Imperator Titans from Warhammer 40,000 down for their lunch money.

[Validon98]

Note that the gameplay in this update is from v3.0. The game will be v3.3 from the update after this one on.

The Warriors of Light- Part 2: Epic Fetch

So, now that we can explore the area north of Cornelia, let's go look for some clues as to how to find the first Crystal.



Alright, it looks like there's a cave and a town of some sort. Let's go to the town first, because Cornelia has a distinct lack of pubs to get information from.



Yikes, Ogres. They can hit pretty hard and won't hesitate to kill off your mages. In return, killing them will net you a lot of Gil, so go for them when you can.



The journey wasn't TOO bad, to be honest. The random encounter rate is pretty high, though.



Here we are at Pravoka! Let's see if we can't find a good pub around here.



Wait, what?



Oh, uh... and you want us to help? Look, pirates aren't my thing, okay? I'm just going to take a stroll and look for the pub.
...
...
...
...Fine, I'll do it.



...Really game? Really? I'm surprised that got past the censors.



There's only three of you, how bad could it be?



That's a bit unsettling.



WHOA HOLY CRAP WHERE'D YOU ALL COME FROM?
Nevertheless, they go down super easily with Pain and some physicals.



You try to kill us and then you think a simple apology is simply going to make everything better? YOU GOT IN THE WAY OF MY BARHOPPING DAMN IT!!!



I don't care, I'm not going to forgive you.



...Fiiiiiiine, I will. But only because you gave us a ship!
Anyways, now we have a ship. I'll go over it more in a bit. First of all, after this I did some grinding in that area that's sort of south from Pravoke but on the other side of the bay that's there. It actually has a good chance of spawning Ogres, so it's not a bad place to grind.



Did I mention Warg Wolves last time? Whatever the case, they're simply more powerful Wolves.



Werewolves, on the other hand, are much harder, can regenerate, and can inflict Poison on you with their physical attacks.



Ghasts are more powerful versions of Zombies which can cast basic elemental magic and can paralyze you with it's physicals, so watch out.



The Ogre Chief is the green one, and it's essentially a stronger Ogre.



Meanwhile back in Pravoka, we find out elves exist in this game. It's a JRPG. Big whoop.



And they're in trouble too. Not my problem!



I guess so. Of course, why you didn't do anything about it yourself I don't know, because they weren't that strong, honestly.



Grinding again pits us against Crawlers, which can also paralyze you with its attacks. It also drops Speed Pluses, which boosts a character's Agility by one permanently when used on one.



Lizards aren't very exciting, though I think they are weak to Ice spells.



Anyways, let's go sailing now! We've got a sailing theme and everything for it!
In terms of how sailing works, you CAN run into enemies and you can only dock at a port, represented by the white buildings on the shore.
Also, if you hold A and press B a whole bunch while on the ship...



You can play this game! Basically, it's a 15 puzzle. Just try to get the numbers in the correct order.



Like so. You can get items based off of how fast you do it, but I honestly don't care enough to get them.



Sahagins here are weak to Thunder and are otherwise unworthy of mention.



Let's go explore over here!



It seems to be a cave. That much is obvious.



And have some cheerful music.
Let's see what's ahead!



Okay...



And that's how you're supposed to find out about the World Map thing.



Huh?



But... you have your eyes in your sprite...



Maybe you should stop moving?



Oh, it's a magic orb or something like that. Right.



Maybe you just misplaced it? Anyways, that's all you can do here for now except pick up some treasure.



Next stop: Another yellow dot.



And that dot is Mount Duergar.



Lali-ho!



So your blacksmith's name is... Smyth. How creative.



We kind of know that already.



Astos, huh? Well, I guess if we find him we'll be able to help Matoya.



Haha, yeah, but there's no WAY we'll find that stuff ever! Hahahah, hahahaha... *sighs*



In the west, huh? Sounds dangerous.



Uh... I don't think a little armlet is as great as a full suit...



Haha, if I even find one...



Oh yeah, there's a banging noise in the background. I guess he's mining.



Nitro powder, huh? What's that? By the way, the castle he's talking about is Cornelia.



Ah?



A canal huh? Well, if you haven't figured it out yet, everyone, the Aldean Sea, which is where Cornelia and Pravoka are near, is cut off from the rest of the world, means we can only sail around this area until this canal's made.



Nitro powder? We know where we can get that! Although, that other guy said that the place got sealed up. So we can't do anything with that. Yet.



Next stop: Another town.



Or Elfheim. That works too.



No. Go away.



He is true to his word. Later on he'll say something, but only when you get into a certain point in the plot.



Well, of course Mythril weapons are powerful!



What even happened to him?



Oh, really?



Well, abandoned castles are always a good place to look for treasure, so we'll be heading there at some point.



Oh, so he's taking a nap? Give him a few hours, you'll be fine.



Oh, Astos? You mean the one who stole Matoya's crystal eye? That guy gets around.



Well, we could splash some cold water on him.



Okay, so maybe we can't just splash some cold water on him.



I haven't heard of any of that stuff, but if we find some we might as well give it you. It's not like we have anything better to do except saving the world.



Time for our last stop of the update!



Looks like a ruined castle.



It is a ruined castle! It has a darker version of the castle theme playing. Well, we might as well look around?



Yikes, we have random encounters around here too. They're all undead, so if you have Dia, then let it lose! If it weren't for the fact that this place is far from town, it'd be a good leveling spot.



Shadows are new. They can use some elemental spells which are relatively powerful, so be careful of that.



Whoa, there's someone actually here in this old place?



Seriously, that Astos guy is nuts. So, this place used to be all happy and now you've been cursed with the inability to move from your throne?



Why don't you do it? Also, how is a crown supposed to help you do that?



Do it yourself! We're already trying to figure out a couple of fetch quests. No more, please!
...Fine. Yeah, yeah, we have to look for the Crown.



Just one last enemy: Tarantula. It can inflict Poison, so be careful.
Other than that, yeah. Next time we're going to the Marsh Cave and finding that crown, but not before trying out everyone's favorite grinding spot.

Summary:

Enemies and Drops: Ogre (Hammer), Buccaneer (Saber), Pirate (Rapier), Warg Wolf (Leather Cap), Werewolf (Antidote), Ghast (Chain Mail), Ogre Chief (Axe), Crawler (Speed Plus), Lizard (Elven Balm), Sahagin (Potion), Shadow (Mind Balm), Tarantula (Antidote)

Treasures: Gold Needle (from the Ship game), Phoenix Down, Antidote, Elven Balm, Iron Armor (Al), 800 Gil

Drops: Leather Gloves, Knife x2, Leather Armor, Mind Balm, Potion, Spider Silk

Bought Items: Falchion (Serela), Helm (Al), Antidote, Bronze Gloves (Al), Leather Shield (Serela), Iron Shield (Al)

Learned Spells/Skills: Fira (deals moderate Fire damage to all enemies, Ikari), Cura (heals a moderate amount of HP to one person, Serela)

TPKs: 0 this update, 0 overall.

...I should probably add the descriptions of last update's spells to here.

Fire (deals a small amount of Fire damage to a single target), Cure (heals a small amount of HP to one person, Serela), Protect (raises Defense of one ally, Serela), Pain (deals Dark damage to all enemies, Ikari)

Yeah, sorry I forgot that last time. ^^;

@Al: The time is not now for such things. Leave them for when judgment day is at hand.

[AnonymousPondScum]

No TPKs?

YOU'RE NOT TRYING HARD ENOUGH TO GET US KILLED, VAL. GET WITH THE PROGRAM.

Also, Warmech will begrudgingly bide his time properly until the stars are aligned and his ascension is nigh.

[Hanzo K.]

Oh, you missed a couple notable enemies in the sea, the Sahagin Chief and the Shark. As well as the Bigeyes.
Sahagin Chief drops Red Curtain, a consumable item that can cast Nulblaze. I don't need it in my run, but there ya go.
Sharks on the other hand, drop the Wyrmkiller sword. Bigeyes drop the ever-handy Mind Balm, so if you're too cheap to buy them, you could get Clarity for everyone who can cast it, and farm these guys for it. I'm not gonna, since I'm fine funds-wise on my run.
Also, as Val likely already knows, the useful Healara and Clarity spells can be obtained in Elfheim, and any Masters/Monks/Ninjas looking to pad out their spell roster can get the Pummel, Chakra, Meditate, and Qi Strike spells here too, so that's pretty nice!

Also, there's a certain point around Pravoka that everyone knows, and Val mentioned. the Powerleveling Peninsula. Enemies there consist of the following.
Minotaur Zombies, which drop Viking Axes, a great weapon for Knights and Paladins.
As well as Allosaurus which drop Power Plus, that boosts a character's Strength by one, but at this point in the game it's incredibly unwise to farm from them, as they have over two-thousaaand hp! /HcBaillyImpression
Other enemies include Trolls, which regenerate like the Minotaur Zombies, and drop a Mythril Sword. You could go for it, just be sure to pack plenty of Fire magic or something, they're weak to it. They generally team up with the aforementioned zombies.
As well as Hill Gigas, which are relatively easy to kill, and drop the Giant's Tonic, a temporary in-battle HPMax booster! It also sells for 750 Gil, so if you really wanted, I guess you could farm them for cash and such.
Another notable monster is the Winter Wolf, which comes in groups of 5 or more, and can drop the handy Ice Shield! You gotta be careful though, they have a tendency to go first, and spam Icestorm, which will wreck even a prepared team that's around Lv16, like mine.

The Mummy enemies in the Abandoned Castle can drop a Crosier, which is a free alternative to buying them for 770 Gil in Elfheim.

[Validon98]

Well, thanks for talking about stuff I was going to mostly cover next update anyway. :V
It's okay, though. Honestly, other people jumping in and giving information is helpful. Plus you put on an impression of one of my favorite LPers, so I'll praise you on that. ^^;

[Hanzo K.]

Hey, he's one of my favorites too after all. (Another being Raocow.)
Plus, you're probably not that far behind me right now.

[Validon98]

Hey, he's one of my favorites too after all. (Another being Raocow.)

Have all of the yes. All of it. ^^;

Plus, you're probably not that far behind me right now.

Currently I'm at level 12 all around and I'm about to do the Marsh Cave. Afterwards I'll probably do some grinding before going for the next dungeon.

[Hanzo K.]

Yeah, once you've got that cleared, you oughta be just about ready for Powerleveling. If you find yourself short on cash, you can grind off Pirates and Buccaneers, since they give decent cash (240-300 something depending on the number of Buccaneers that appear.), and the latter drop Sabers, which I can tell you have nearly no use for, so you can sell them for 200 Gil each. That's how I prepared for Powerleveling.

[Reddyne]

Oh good! You did get some mileage out of the spot S/SW of Pravoka. It's a spot I've used for Marsh Cave prep since the original.

[notverycreative]

I'm playing this, too! And, uh...is my hitrate supposed to suck this much? Granted, I'm not that far at all (just hit Elfheim), but geez battles take longer than they should due to everyone having a serious case of can't-hit-shit-itis.

[Validon98]

Haha, I know what you mean. I think Evade got tweaked and now you hit a lot less than in the original Dawn of Souls.
Also, I've got two updates screenshotted. I'm about to post one, and then I'll post the other after I write it up.

[Validon98]

I'm realizing now that I travel so much all over the world map at this point that a lot of stuff that I do will seem disjointed. Oh well, I guess. Nothing I can really do about it considering I screenshot essentially only the highlights.

The Warriors of Light- Part 3: Yo Ass Is Toast

So, we've got a Marsh Cave to go to and some other stuff to figure out. First, however, I want to show you guys something.



Okay I guess a Lesser Tiger counts as "something." It's a bit strong, but all it uses are physical attacks so it's not that annoying on its own.



Bigeyes here, however, are another story. They can cast Sleep on your whole party, making killing them first a priorty.



Wraiths are another enemy here at the Western Keep. They can cast spells. But they're also weak to Fire. Do the math.



Okay, this is what I wanted to show you. Let's head there.



You see the tile I'm standing on as well as the three other tiles next to it? This is the so-called Peninsula of Power. This area actually extends into an area of the world map with encounters that are much higher level than the things we've been encountering up to now. There is a simple strategy to grinding ere successfully. First of all, stock up on Tents. You'll need a lot of them. Second of all, save close to here. Then go into a battle. Certain battles you won't be able to handle at first, so run from then if you can. If you die, just reload the save. If you win the battle, use a Tent if needed, save again, and then rinse and repeat until you're out of Tents. Thankfully, Pravoka (the only place which sells Tents at this point) is only a short walk away and by the time you're done with a few battles from this place, you'll be at least a level or two higher and much, MUCH richer. Seriously, gil drops like it was going out of style over here.



This is one of the basic encounters and the one you'll probably grind off of the most: The Hill Gigas encounter. Hill Gigases are tough physically, but it's easy to soften them up with lots of physical attacks combined with some magical damage. This is not the easiest encounter here, but it certainly isn't the hardest.



These guys... ugh. The Minotaur Zombies are the strongest enemies here by far. They are weak to Fire and can be hit wit Dia, but they are just so powerful, and considering giant-type enemies can inflict Sleep with their normal attacks in v3.3 of the Mod of Balance... oh boy.



Maybe Dia will kill them?



Shit.



Yeah...



Winter Wolves are probably the easiest encounter here as long as they don't ambush you (ambushed means the enemy gets their turn first, which is the opposite of a preemptive strike). They can use Icestorm, which deals about 50 or so damage to your party. If enough of them are able to deal it off, consider yourself TPKed.



Really, again? I actually tried to run that time...



I think in the original version of the game this said "Here lies Erdrick," so yeah, Dragon Quest reference then, Legend of Zelda reference now. I'm wondering if I should do a Dragon Quest LP. Not the original game, mind you. Probably like IV or V. After I actually, you know, beat those games myself.



Anyways, it's now time to head to the Marsh Cave!



This is less of a cave and more of a sinkhole.



Okay it is a cave (also for some reason I save-stated right as I took the screenshot). It has Dungeon for a theme. Kind of creepy.



Green Slimes are heavily resistant to physical attacks, but even just Pain is enough to bring them down. Be wary of Poison.



Scorpions can inflict Poison too, but on their own they're easy.



Gargoyles I think can either inflict Paralysis or Darkness. Not sure which. Their attacks are kind of strong for this place, but oh well.



Gray Oozes are not as resistant as the Green Slimes, but I think they can inflict something. Also someone managed to get Silence on Al. Not sure who it was.



Okay, there's the crown. However, if you step into the next panel, you'll instantly be taken into a fight. These kind of squares are all over the game, and they force an encounter every time you step on them. This could be good for grinding... or it could be a dangerous trap. They often appear near treasure chests, often in front of them.



This is the fight for that space. The Piscodemons can be killed rather easily, but they are stronger than most enemies here, so be careful.



We've got the crown, we'll save the town, and Mr... King. Sorry, it's hard to adopt that song to the situation when we're not talking about a miserly anthropomorphic crab.



As we're sailing back, a Shark jumps on deck. Thankfully by now Ikari has learned not only to set things on fire, but to also subject them to electric torture.



Wyverns here are another Peninsula of Power enemy. They have powerful attacks, even more so than the Hill Gigases, but they still don't hold a candle to the Minotaur Zombies in pure power.



Trolls are another enemy. They are physically powerful and can regen (the Minotaur Zombies can do that too) but compared to the Minotaur Zombies they aren't as bad powerwise.



You are not making this easy...



And here's the last of the enemies that I missed in the sea (I told you I was covering it Hanzo ^^;) the Sahagin Chieves. Essentially they're stronger versions of Sahagins. Essentially that means that it's electric torture time.



For some reason I took this picture while I was casting Fira. It's because I forgot the Bloodbones was a new enemy before actually fighting. Oh well. It's just a stronger skeleton.
So now that we're back here at the Western Keep, let's give the crown to the king. Maybe he'll reward us?



That's not exactly comforting.



Trap? What trap?



Great job, you've revealed yourself. Now we can kill you.



Whoa that's bright.




There's only one flaw in your plan: We haven't GIVEN the crown to you yet. You have to go through us first!



Oh no you don't!



Astos is... how should I put this? He's definitely tough and he'll use stuff like Pain and the -ra tier of elemental spells on you, but that's really it. As long as the party isn't too low on health, you'll win.



Granted, Serela ALMOST died, but, well, it's not like I can do a run of this without taking damage.



Alright, now we can give the Crystal Eye back to Matoya!



Hey hey hey, slow down, I'll give it to you!



A potion, huh?



Okay, if you insist...



Jolt tonic, huh? Wait a minute, jolt... as in energy? Maybe this can wake up the Prince of the Elves?



Hurray for you, Matoya!



Well screw you too!



Oh come on, they're not that ugly, right? Right? *looks to you guys for confirmation*



Well, it's not like we have any other use for it.




Did it work?



Hurray, it worked!



Wouldn't that actually mean you're more likely to be dreaming if you're seeing a group out of legends?



Man, that prophecy is everywhere.



Alright! We can now open up any magically sealed doors. They have some treasure behind them, though for the most part I don't feel like backtracking to all of the places with stuff in them. You can if you want, though.



Yay!



Right! We need that nitro powder!



And here it is!



Yup, nitro powder. You don't want to know what we had to go through to get this stuff for you.



Right!



Well, this is a big favor to us too. It'll let us actually get out of the Aldean Sea.



...I've never heard the word "bluiter" before, even with this kind of accent.



Um, we're watching you blow up the rock?



Oh, right right!



Whoa, the ground's shaking!



There's that one strip of land...



Oh wow, an actually detailed cutscene.



Whoa!



That nitro powder sure is some powerful stuff.



Me neither! But what DOES lie beyond the canal? Where do we go next to find the first Crystal? Next time we'll continue our search for it.

Summary

Enemies: Lesser Tiger (Hi-Potion), Bigeyes (Mind Balm), Wraith (Venom Dagger), Hill Gigas (Giant's Tonic), Minotaur Zombie (Viking Axe), Winter Wolf (Ice Shield), Green Slime (Protect Drink), Scorpion (Antidote), Gargoyle (Great Helm), Gray Ooze (Strength Tonic), Piscodemon (Mythril Knife), Shark (Wyrmkiller), Wyvern (White Fang), Troll (Mythril Sword), Sahagin Chief (Red Curtain), Bloodbones (Falchion), Astos (Magical Robe)

Treasures: Broadsword, 680 gil, Phoenix Down, Bard's Tunic (Meguka), Iron Nunchaku, Longsword (Al), Mythril Knife, Iron Shield, Iron Armor, Tent, Great Helm (Al), Wyrmkiller, Ether, Hi-Potion, Mythril Mail (Al), 575 gil, Cottage

Drops: Leather Armor x4, Hammer x2, Antidote x7, Leather Cap x5, Spider's Silk, Mind Balm, Chain Mail x2, Leather Gloves x2, Potion x3, Protect Drink x2, Leather Shield x2, Magical Robe, Rapier

Bought Items: Antidote x20, Tent x13, Mind Balm x29, Steel Gloves (Al)

Learned Spells/Skills: Warp (teleports you to the previous floor, Serela), Thundara (moderate Thunder damage to all enemies, Ikari), NulBlaze (halves all Fire damage done to the party, Serela), NulShock (halves all Thunder damage done to the party, Serela), Dia (minor damage to all undead or evil beings, Serela), Dia (Al), Cure (Al), Protect (Al), Poisona (heals Poison, Serela), Pummel (a powerful magic attack, Meguka), Temper (boosts Attack of one ally, Ikari)

TPKs: 3 this update, 3 overall
Al, you wondered where the TPKs went, didn't you? Ahahahaha...

[Validon98]

Going through this, I've been somewhat anticipatory for Final Fantasy II. Not in a "this is going to suck, I don't want to do this" way. More like a "I wanna try again, I'm ready" feeling. One thing at a time, though. One thing at a time.

The Warriors of Light- Part 4: You Can Hear the Planet Cry

So, now we have access to the rest of the World Map!
...Actually, no we don't. The northern half of the world is missing ports of any kind, so there's no way we can land anywhere.



What's this whirlpool? We saw it earlier...



The Lifespring Grotto, huh?



H-Hey, we're not going to hurt you! Unless someone decides to be trigger happy...



Sure, why not?



Right, right...



That's actually kind of sweet.



However, another one of these statues blocks the way, which means that, yes, this is another Soul of Chaos dungeon.



Back at the PoP, we've got an Allosaurus. It's REALLY tough physically, having more HP than pretty much everything else we've fought, plus it has a strong physical attack. Be absolutely careful.



I missed this guy from earlier here.



Wow, that's dangerous.



I don't know, it sounds risky.



Well, Melmond is right here, so let's see what's up.



Whoa. The earth is really rotten.



You don't have a church here? That's really bad. Without a church, the only way to resurrect people is through Phoenix Downs or the Life spell. We do get the Life spell here, but Serela isn't at Spell Level 5 yet, so... I can't use it.



I don't know. Maybe if we kill the vampire?



Oh, this is because of the Earth Crystal, huh? Well, we need to find the Earth Crystal anyways, so this is actually pretty convinent for us.



Well, it looks like you've come to the right place, but the right place isn't looking too hot...



I'll have to keep an eye out for him, then.



Do you know where the Crystals all are?



Well, we are from... wait, we don't know where we're from. Never mind.



Oh? What's in there?



And it's all because of the dimming of the Earth Crystal... hmm.



Ah, the vampire's there, huh?



The power of Earth... so that must mean the Earth Crystal is there! We better take him down so that we can restore the Earth Crystal!



No problem! Besides looking for a drink (sadly we still haven't found one), we're looking for those Crystals even if we're totally not... actually, at this point, we are qualified to be heroes, aren't we?



I'm sure that's just a rumor.



Ah?



That's probably why there are no ports in the north at all...



What's this cave here?



The Giant's Cave, huh?



Well excuuuuuuuuuuse me, giant!



New enemy here, being the Hyenadon. It's not really a threat.



The Devil's Tail and thus the Cavern of Earth is right here.



Right where I'm standing.



And we have another theme, which is... Gulgur Volcano... We haven't even heard of that place yet.



And here's a normal Minotaur. It's still powerful, but not as powerful as the Zombie variety.



Anacondas are just more powerful Cobras, Poison and all.



We have to resurrect someone for the first time because this dungeon is kind of unforgiving.



If I have to...




And there we go! Al's back!



It's amazing how this encounter alone has caused all of my TPKs.



The Earth Elemental here is another one of those forced encounters. It might get a turn in, but it won't deal too much damage to you.



Cockatrices, on the other hand, are the worst things you could possibly run across. They can inflict Stone on you... which you can't heal at this point unless you buy Remedies from Elfland. And those are 600 gil apiece. Safe to say that these guys are really annoying and Serela got stoned for the entire rest of the dungeon with no way to heal it.



Mummies here we could have encountered back at the Western Keep. They... just hit you. Really. That's it.



Including you.



What seal?



Well, you're not exactly Remilia either.



Um, I've already killed PLENTY of undead by now. You're small fry.



Despite not having Serela capable of casting Dia, our usage of the new Holy Water item (which replaces the Golden Needle in this version of Mod of Balance) lets us use Diara on him. That plus some good old Firagas means that he goes down pretty easily.



And we get... this. I think someone says somewhere that giants like this kind of thing, but I must have forgotten to screencap it.



Nothing we can do to progress further... strange.



Wights are new. They are basically just stronger Ghasts.



Uh... yeah?



Well, it's not that useful otherwi- WAIT COULDN'T I SELL IT OR SOMETHING FOR A HUGE AMOUNT OF GIL!?
...I probably can't. Oh well...



Here you go...



Actually there are lots of things tastier than rubies. Pasta, for example. Or chocolate.



Here's that other cave mentioned earlier...



Looks like a... pleasant place.



Isn't it supposed to be Sarda or was that just an earlier translation? Anyways, yeah?



There's something else down there? But what could it be?



Understood! Although, if you knew to do this then why haven't you done it?



This'll let us further into the dungeon, don't you worry.



Now, before we do that, I'm going to do an extremely minor amount of sequence breaking and visit that town over there. We're not really supposed to visit it until after the Cavern of the Earth, but it couldn't hurt a bit to take a peek, could it? So yeah, next time, we'll do that, finish up business in the Cavern of the Earth, and technically end what I consider to be the first story arc of the game. We're at least a quarter to a third of the way through the game by now (based on number of dungeons, this is the third out of eleven or so).

Summary:

Enemies: Allosaurus (Power Plus), Hyenadon (Power Plus), Minotaur (Great Axe), Anaconda (Luck Plus), Earth Elemental (Knight's Armor), Cockatrice (Cockatrice Claw), Mummy (Crosier), Wight (Iron Armor)

Treasures: 575 gil, Leather Shield, 5000 gil, Sleeping Bag, Coral Sword, 330 gil, 3400 gil, 1020 gil, Holy Water, Great Axe, 620 gil, 450 gil, Mythril Helm (Al)

Drops: Leather Gloves x2, Potion x3, Spider's Silk, Antidote x7, Robe, Giant's Tonic x2, Chain Mail, White Fang, Axe, Tent, Mythril Knife, Red Curtain, Hi-Potion

Bought Items: Tent x25, Mythril Sword (Al), Remedy x5

Learned Spells/Skills: Temper (Serela), Healara (heals all party members a little bit, Serela), Clarity (cures Darkness, Stun, and Silence, Serela), Firaga (a very powerful Fire spell that hits all enemies, Ikari). Haste (doubles the number of hits an ally has, practically doubling damage, Ikari)

TPKs: 1 this update, 4 overall

[Validon98]

So, uh, I screenshotted the next update. And then I lost my notes for it because my laptop crashed. So guess who won't be posting a perfect summary for the next update? I am! I will only cover magic and what enemies can drop what. That's it. Anything else? Nope. Not treasures, not purchased items. Nothing else. Sorry, but this sort of thing happens. ^^;

[Third Eye Lem]

Sorry to hear about the crash. If you need a bit of insurance, use Editpad, it comes with an autosave feature (and essentially replaces Notepad).

And at last, a TPK streak begins! Do those minotaurs have any special attacks, or do they just like punching you in the face?

[Validon98]

The Minotaur Zombies punch you repeatedly in the face for huge amounts of damage, and in v3.3 their attacks have the added possibility of inflicting Sleep, like other giant-like enemies. So in addition to losing tons of HP, your damage dealers will probably also won't be able to do anything for another round. I've been able to actually kill the formation now, seeing as my party is now all around level 20, but at that point... yikes.
I'll try to get the act 1 finale up as soon as I can (yes, as I've said, I consider finishing things up with the Earth Crystal the end of the first act of the game).

[Validon98]

The Warriors of Light- Finale: Go Deeper

As I said last time, we're heading to that town that's across the ocean from Melmond.



Here we are. The enemies around here are a step up from other places, but it's all stuff we've seen already for the most part.



Welcome to Crescent Lake! It's a town on a lake in the shape of a crescent. Yeah, real creative, guys.



In this town you can find... these guys. Who're you?



Okay, so you're a traveling band of seers. And that matters because...?



We know that already, though. We think there's a chance of lighting up the Earth Crystal, though.



Whoa whoa whoa, Four Fiends of Chaos? So, these guys are the ones making the Crystals dark, huh?



Indeed.



Okay, so we just need to find these altars. We already know that the Earth Crystal is in the Cavern of Earth, we just need to find it.



Understood. We can do that.



That's it? No special requirements or esoteric rituals to be carried out? Well, okay...



What do you mean by "past and present?"



So they didn't all come at once, huh? That's strange...



Okay, so the Wind and Water Crystals must be in the north, seeing as the Fiends all are with their Crystals.



That's why we need to stop him.



We've got NulBlaze. It shouldn't be too much of a problem.



Ah? Why?



You mean there's something you're not telling us? Well, excuse me, but I'd rather know NOW.



I know, I know.



Well, you guys know a lot about this thing, so why can't you do it? If you're all sages or something, shouldn't you have incredible magical power or something?



I'm going to interpret this as "power should be used for good, not evil." Or something like that. Not sure.



Yeah... I'm curious as to why they showed up in a staggered manner like that.



All are going to disappear and the world will die if we don't do something.



So YOU'RE the one who made that prophecy saying that we are the destined warriors to save the world. Um... this is kind of awkward.



A cycle of wrath? A dim light guided by destiny?



So everything is connected to this "cycle of wrath" and this "light," isn't it? Well, we won't find out exactly what he is talking about until near the end of the game, so I guess we can ignore it. Let's head out for the Cavern of Earth and stop the Fiend of Earth, then!



Oh yeah, new enemy. Ankhegs can stun you, I think, which of course is bad. Thankfully I have a good amount of Mind Balms and Clarify!



Using the rod removes that seal that was there. Now we can go even further in!



These guys hit somewhat hard, inflict Darkness, and can be encountered by one of those encounter tiles. Sphinxes aren't that bad, though.



The Earth Medusa is pitiful. We can kill it in one round. I think maybe she can inflict Stone, but, well, I don't know.



The Earth Crystal! We've found it!



The Warriors of Light. Who're you?



Whoa that's big.



The Fiend of Earth!



Well we are disturbing you now! We won't let you continue to rot the earth anymore!



And we have a new boss theme, Boss Battle A.
As for the Lich, he does count as undead, although there's a really simple way to take him out: cast Haste and Temper on your best physical damage dealer (in this case Hinacle/Meguka) and let loose. Lich will use some powerful magic, but other than that he isn't much of a threat compared to the almighty power of a Master.



That took, what, three rounds, at most? Pathetic. Truly pathetic.



Well, can we light this up again?



Yay, it's lit again!



Hey, the statue at the Earthgift Shrine was of Lich!



You can't see it, but there was some shaking and such.



Whoa, it disappeared! Now we have access to the Earthgift Shrine!



There's also a handy teleporter that will warp us out of here for free!



And now we have the Earth Crystal lit! One down, three to go!



It's still not looking too great, but I assume in a few years it'll be back to normal.



No problem, just doing our job.



It is, but how could you tell when your town is still in ruins?



Yes, yes we have. We know it's not over, though.



Really? Uh-oh...



Mount Gulg, huh? We'll be there as soon as we can!



The canoe opens up a few new opportunities for exploration. It lets us walk over rivers and lakes now. It'll even let us dock our ship at a river, meaning we can actually head to the north if we wanted to because there's at least one river we have access to up there!



Oh yeah, there's that system of rivers and such. So it's somewhere along there, huh?



That's not good.



Right, we can do that!



And this is how the canoe works. Just walk right into this light blue water to use it.
Now, from this point on, we have a few ways we can go about completing the rest of the game. We can head immediately for Mount Gulg and fight the Fiend of Fire and go through the game in the order the developers intended us to. However, there's another quest that we have access to that will, if we complete it, let us explore the world map at our leisure and complete the second act of the game in any order we want. This opening up of the world map in this way is why I have decided that this point in the game is the end of the first act and the beginning of the new act.
So, next time, we'll skip over going to Mount Gulg to instead head for a much more dangerous dungeon in order to open up the game's world and do pretty much whatever we want.

Shortened Summary:

Enemies: Sphinx (Holy Helm), Ankheg (Power Plus), Earth Medusa (Bard's Tunic), Lich (Dry Ether)

Learned Spells/Skills: Comet (high-damage dealing single-target magic spell, Ikari), Life (brings someone back to life with 1 HP, Serela), Curaga (heals a large amount of HP to one ally, Serela), Haste (Serela)

TPKs: 0 this update, 4 overall
I'm just going to say this in advance: This. Is. Going. To. Suck. It's my own choice that I'm skipping Mount Gulg for now, but I just know that I'm aching for a bunch of TPKs at this point.

EDIT: Umm...



...Wow. Maybe I should grind off of Sphinxes and grab as many Holy Helms as I can? I mean, I already have one for Al, this was just an excess one. And I know where I can find them. Just wow.

SECOND EDIT: Haha, no. I'm not going to grind off of them if I keep getting blinded and silenced by them (they move FAST).

[Third Eye Lem]

Oh goody, the Ice Cavern! I can't wait to see how FUN things are, there!

[AnonymousPondScum]

KHORNE IS PLEASED WITH THIS BLOODSHED.

[Hinacle]

(in this case Hinacle/Meguka) and let loose. Lich will use some powerful magic, but other than that he isn't much of a threat compared to the almighty power of a Master.

I'm useful :'D

From this point on, I have no clue that happens in FF1, I never got past the Earth Crystal usually because I lost interest. Looking forward to the rest of this.

[Reddyne]

I am absolutely befuddled as to what to do next. To me, beating Lich has always meant that it was time to start pursuing the class change sidequest. With that taken care of at the start, it completely throws me off.

EDIT: Also oh man, cockatrices. Back in the day, those were deadly. First time I got TPK'ed in the original came at the hand of a squad of them after defeating the vampire and trudging back without the AoE magic points necessary to thin their ranks. Alas, FRED's (fighter), BOB's (fighter), GUS' (red mage) and DUDE's (

Spoiler:

white mage

) adventures ended far too early.

[Ghaleon]

So im about to kill lich myself soon but i have to say, while i enjoy this mod to make the game more faithful to the original, some things still seem easymode remakeish.

One thing that comes to mind are the "piscodemon"s... They are a complete joke in the fba version (remake included), on the NES i recall them (namely when taking the crown) to be HARD. Also, the hill gigas also seem to have taken a big hit from the nerfbat. I remember the hall of giants being an extremely challening and rewarding location. But they really arent much different than a minitaur pretty much here.

One thing that i dont recall even the original doing though... Earth elementals, they have a full party stone now! Its rarely used but still, yikes. I also recall the coral sword being a massive upgrade in the original, but now its actually a downgrade over mystic key equipment, hurr?

Im enjoying it and i intend to finish but im worried that itll still be way (very way max)  easier than the original for the final dungeon.

[Reddyne]

I remember the hall of giants being an extremely challening and rewarding location. But they really arent much different than a minitaur pretty much here.

The hall was fantastic for grinding and, yeah, I think the general nerf put them around the same level as the minotaurs. In the remake, they were both noticeably easier than in the original, where giants hit like a truck and minotaurs - though weaker - were still a threat.

One thing that i dont recall even the original doing though... Earth elementals, they have a full party stone now! Its rarely used but still, yikes. I also recall the coral sword being a massive upgrade in the original, but now its actually a downgrade over mystic key equipment, hurr?

Earth elementals in the remake were too easy to be a threat, so I can't remember. :V I don't think the coral sword was actually that big of a deal, though it's been ages. The remake put it around the same level as a lot of the mystic key goodies though.

[Validon98]

A Fiendish Plot- Part 1: Hell Frozen Over

So I said I was going to skip Mount Gulg for now and instead go to another dungeon. This I will do.



The dungeon is here if you want to know where it is. But how would you know where to find it?



See, the guy told you he would reveal the future when the time is ready!



You just told us that the levistone was there. What else could there be?



Now, in order to get to the dungeon, we need to go through a twisty maze of mountains. Here is where the entrance is on the world map.



And here is what it looks like on screen. You can land at the port to the north or you could land the ship directly at the mouth of the river.



Hydras. Weak to Thunder. Not impressive otherwise.



A similar idea with the Piranhas and Red Piranhas. Not really too much in the way of interesting enemies in this game.



Huh, what's this?



Sounds like a nice little cove.



Umm... I don't follow.



So this is sealed by a Fiend too, huh? Well, again, it's a Soul of Chaos dungeon. Moving on for now.



Oh boy, here we are.



Welcome to the Cavern of Ice, also known as one of the most annoying dungeons in the game.



We start right off the bat with White Crocs. They have a LOT of physical attack power and even resist Fire, but Thunder and I think Blizzard can take them down easily. Of course, I don't have any Blizzard spells because I skipped them.



We can now encounter Vampires as regular enemies, and they're just as powerful as the boss version. On top of that are the Specters, who just cast basic spells as usual, although they hurt a little more now.



And there's probably the most dangerous enemy here: the Mindflayers. They can use Mind Blast to inflict Stun on everyone as well as inflict instant death through their normal attacks. We got ambushed, so Hinacle kind of got unlucky there. Good thing I have Life by now.



There's the levistone, but we can't get to it from here. We have to fall down one of the cracks to another floor and then find the path back up to find a crack that puts us by the levistone.



This guy is another auto-encounter and he's super easy.



And here is the bottom floor. Where there are damage tiles. Joyous.



Remorazzes I believe can inflict Stun or Poison with their physicals. Not sure which. Either way, take them out quickly.



Ice Gigases are essentially more powerful versions of Hill Gigases. But they're weak to Fire.



Here is another enemy you can encounter while trying to find some treasure. They have a powerful attack that hits all party members for huge damage, so if you're going up against them, don't be dumb like me and not be healed up fully beforehand.



Note to self: DON'T BE DUMB.



Meanwhile I try to grind. So we encounter Ochus, which can Poison you when hit, and Crocodiles, which are weaker versions of the Ice Crocs.



Back inside is also the King Mummy, which is essentially a more powerful Mummy. Not too exciting.



While grinding I also decide to head to the one place in the north I have access to. Weretigers show up here, and they can poison you but otherwise aren't too dangerous.



This is where I am, by the way. There is something here, though...



Citadel of Trials? Looks like some old ruins to me.



Uh, yeah. We picked it up from some old cave back south and it's kind of been sitting there.



Yeah, the Marsh Cave wasn't easy... also who the hell are you?



Okay... that doesn't answer my question.



Whatever you say, old man.
This is an optional quest that we WILL do, just not now. I have my reasons for holding off and it includes wanting to just wait until I'm a little better leveled. So after Mount Gulg, essentially.



Sabertooths hurt. A lot. That's all they do.



Meanwhile back in the Cavern of Ice, this is the hole we need to jump into in order to reach the levistone.



And here we are.



Of course, stepping in front of the levistone makes us face off against these jerks. They've got some powerful spells and such, but taking them down isn't very difficult.



Now we have the levistone. Serela, warp us outta here!



The sand sea below the crescent, huh. Hmm... where could that be?



Well, there's a desert here, and it's below Crescent Lake, so there?



Looks sandy to me.



Let's see if the levistone does anything.



You can't tell, but there's some sort of rumbling. What the hell?



Whoa, that's a big hole!



Is that what I think it is...?



It is! An airship!



Now we have an airship, so now we can travel anywhere in the world, and I do mean ANYWHERE. The airship even has its own theme. Not the best airship theme of the series, but it'll do.



Let's explore a bit before ending this update, eh?



Yes, this is the town of Gaia. It's got some pretty high level stuff.



We're going to have to check that out later. Not now, because you can't land the airship directly near it like you can with Gaia.



Those brooms love to say that, huh?



Set it on fire and teach it a lesson.



We flew.



Yes. We can.



We can show you our airship. It's parked right outside.



To the west, huh? There's a town on the northwestern continent, so maybe it went there?



I'm sure it's not important.



Wait, you caught a fairy? They're mischievous, sure, but you could leave them alone...



WHAT!? HOW DARE YOU!? We're going to have to find that caravan and free that fairy before someone else can take it!



Can't understand a word... oh, like that guy in Whisperwind Cove? Maybe we'll be able to figure out the language somehow?



Oh yeah, the Citadel of Trials. We'll go back there at some point.



No kidding, that pirate kidnapped her and sold her to a caravan. Of course, we have no idea where it is.



What I just said. Did you even listen to me?
Also, that's pretty much it for this update. Next time we'll quickly check out the town on the northwestern continent quickly before heading to Mount Gulg.

Summary:

Enemies: Hydra (Kotetsu), Piranha (Hi-Potion), Red Piranha (X-Potion), White Croc (Minerva's Robe), Specter (Stamina Plus), Mindflayer (Soma Drop), Dark Wizard (Black Robe), Remorazz (Stamina Plus), Ice Gigas (?), White Dragon (?), Ochu (Silver Apple), Crocodile (Coral Sword), King Mummy (Great Sword), Weretiger (Tiger Mask), Sabertooth (Tiger Mask), Evil Eye (Mind Plus)

Treasures: Sage's Surplice (Serela), Flame Sword (Al), Ether, Sleeping Bag, Ice Shield (Al), 9500 gil

Drops: Potion x3, Chain Mail x2, Hammer, Mind Balm, Rapier x3, Croiser, Mythril Knife x2, Saber x2, Tiger Mask (Meguka), Luck Plus, Mythril Knife, Falchion x2, Vampire Fang

Bought Items: Remedy x15, Wizard's Hat (Ikari), Protect Clock x2 (Serela, Ikari), Knight's Armor (Al), Phoenix Down x3, Mind Balm x30, Tent x5, Ether x12

Learned Spells/Skills: Thundaga (Major Thunder damage to all enemies, Ikari)

TPKs: 1 this update, 5 overall
A quick note about the Ice Gigas and White Dragon drops: I died before I could read their bestiary entry and I didn't fight them again, so they're not in there right now. Thus no drop info for them. Sorry.

[Reddyne]

If I remember right, in the original, Tiger Masks were Black Belt equips that significantly boosted defense, attack, and maybe another stat. If that hasn't changed, that's a great find.