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[Rico]

It took me a second to realize Thad hadn't cast Andrea Romano as Gau.

Also, damn it R2, now I'm halfway through FFV after having played through FFIX. I'm not made of free time!

As another aside, I've never liked the "Bomb Ring" item. Original Japanese or not, makes no sense for the characters to be so surprised that the Bomb Ring has something to do with, y'know, BOMBS. Come on, localization team.

[R^2]

While Final Fantasies 2 and 3 gave options for having characters in the back row, Final Fantasy 4 demands it once your party is large enough. Of the five character slots, the first, third, and fifth are on the front row. The second and fourth are in the back. If there are more squishy wizards than fighters in the party, you can invert that so that 1-3-5 is the back row and 2-4 are the front.

Being in the back row halves outgoing and incoming melee damage, unless the attack is with a long-range weapon like a bow or whip.

Rydia is a summoner, of course. As with so many job developments, the class got their start in Final Fantasy 3. Early in the game, the Evoker class could call illusions of phantom beasts; each one had a party-benefiting white effect and an enemy-wrecking black effect. Later, the Summoner job, more similar to what was used up until Final Fantasy 10, was unlocked. In this case the phantom beast would simply blast all enemies with a single powerful move. Rydia is more like the Summoner than the Evoker -- there are a couple of party-benefiting summons I'll pick up later, but mostly she spends MP to make things die.

While development of summon magic is event-based, Rydia picks up a few basic white magic spells and several black magic spells as she levels.

[R^2]

It was the unobtrusive "Package" on the SNES and the baffling "Carnelian Signet" in the DS release. Tom Slattery, who translated the DS version, stated outright that the name "Bomb Ring" gave away the surprise.

It reappears as an accessory in Dissidia, where its item description says that it once caused a terrible tragedy.

[A²]

Maybe Cecil & Kain thought it was meant to teach someone in the village how to summon bomb. I mean, you can actually get that drop.

[Beat Bandit]

I thought the king had a fine piece down in Mist and he got her a bomb-ass ring.

[Brentai]

WHHHYYYYYYYY!!!?!?!!??!!?!?!?!?!!?!!!?!!!

Oh don't you start.

[Thad]

It took me a second to realize Thad hadn't cast Andrea Romano as Gau.

Wonder if they're related.

It was the unobtrusive "Package" on the SNES and the baffling "Carnelian Signet" in the DS release. Tom Slattery, who translated the DS version, stated outright that the name "Bomb Ring" gave away the surprise.

My recollection from the fan translation is that that version suggested Cecil and Kain knew they were taking a bomb somewhere but didn't expect it to suddenly activate as soon as they stepped into Mist and start wiping out civilians.

Still, yeah, calling it something different makes for a better reveal.

[Mothra]

:0

M-MOM?!

[Classic]

Speaking of name pronunciations, the DS version had Cecil's name with the traditional British-English sound: "SESS-il". For Americans used to parsing "SEE-sil"

Of course, if wikis are to be believed, this was what the original kana have the name being pronounced as. Or rather, "SESS-eel".

[R^2]

And Kain is "Ka-in", but the introduction of "Abel's Lance" as his best weapon puts a nail in that one.

Cecil and Kain knew they were taking a bomb somewhere

Maybe, but they didn't have to. It could have just been a ring forged to resemble one of those fiery balloon-monsters, and they didn't even realize it was magical. It could have resembled one of the emblems/souls/items/whatever summoners use to summon monsters. Like Lyrai said, those random-drop sometimes.

At .4% rate, so don't expect to see any in this LP, but still.

[Brentai]

It really feels like the crux of the moment ought to be Cecil and Kain simply not believing this shit, so the less their suspicions should have been engaged, the better.  Even "nondescript package" feels a little suspect.  They should just change the item name to "Delicious Cake For Everyone".

[R^2]

Welp, time to do that thing I do when I'm in a new town.

Professional Signpost: This is Kaipo, the desert oasis of Damcyan.

Bartender: Well, hello! We rarely have visitors these days, what with all the monsters running around.

Traveling Scholar: I'm a traveling scholar. I want to go to Fabul, which lies east of Damcyan, to do a little research. But some old man in the Water Cavern won't let me through!

Drunk: I wanna go to the Antlion Cave east of Damcyan because of the fat loot inside! Too bad only the royals are allowed there...

Boy: The Water Cavern is to the northeast. But it's dangerous. There have been sightings of eight water serpents.

Woman: Anna fell deeply in love with someone. But she left Kaipo because Sage Tellah didn't approve.

Man: I heard some damsel from Baron passed out on the outskirts of town. She was taken to someone's house to rest.

Lady: If you are going to travel with that little girl, I recommend moving her to the back row.

Expositor: The castle up north is Damcyan Castle, which rules over this entire desert. I hear that the prince of Damcyan has a delicate beauty as well as an exquisite voice.


This dancer jumps into the water and sticks one leg up out of it as she swims around. It's a synchronized swimming routine, except she's the only one there.


Woman: The poor thing's been afflicted with desert fever. She just keeps muttering the name "Cecil" over and over.

...uh oh.




Rosa: ... Cecil... Cecil, be careful!

Well, that's no good. You ran off and your girlfriend caught her death of cold -- desert cold, the hot kind of cold -- following you. Cecil just can't catch a break.


As we know, the Antlion Cave is near Damcyan, which is across the Water Cavern. So now we have a goal!

[R^2]

Being new to the whole summoning business, Rydia only has one spell: summon a giant chicken to kick the crap out of one enemy.




Rydia quickly learns new spells as she gains levels, though.




Being a small child and a magic-user, Rydia's physical attacks leave much to be desired. Her MP-conserving utility is in using her rod as an item each turn, which fires tiny missiles at a creature for about 30 damage. That's not much, but it beats burning MP in every fight or fruitlessly swinging the rod at a monster instead.


She can save her MP for bigger, meaner monsters that way.


After Rydia gets a few levels, learns her basic spells, and has a few more HP and MP under her belt, we head up to the...

[R^2]

As we were warned, some old coot is blocking the path.


Cecil: What's wrong?
Old Man: I must get to Damcyan to reclaim my daughter. She was deceived by a wicked bard! We must hurry, for I sense an ill omen!
Cecil: You must be Sage Tellah!
Tellah: Indeed I am. ...That girl! She is a summoner! Perfect! She can help, too. A giant monster lurks in the lake ahead. That devil even withstands magic. I think we can defeat it together, and then I can finally be on my way!
Cecil: We're hurrying to Damcyan as well.
Tellah: Then let us make haste!






Sages are from, yes, the much-expanded job system in Final Fantasy 3. They're super-mages, capable of casting both white and black magic of any kind. Unlike red mages, they're terrible at physical combat, but with all those spells at their disposal, who cares?








Tellah's special skill is "Recall". The plot will go into it later, but being the ripe old age of sixty has senility take its toll -- Tellah has forgotten most of the powerful magic he knew in his prime. Recall has him concentrate for a while, then randomly casts one of Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, Toad, Break, Bio, Tornado, or Death for no MP... or fail entirely, wasting his time. The DS version gave him no failure chance and a better spell pool, including -aga level black magic.






While I'm showing off abilities, this is Rydia's Chocobo summon. Or it would be if the damned bird didn't run and hide behind the name of its own attack.

[R^2]

The Old Waterway is full of waterfalls. One of them pays off.


It is also much larger than the Mist Cave, spanning multiple levels.




Later levels include zombies, which demand magic be cast on them. Cecil's dark sword is almost entirely ineffective against undead monsters.


Eventually I get sick of blowing MP on the damned things and just run away.

[R^2]

Introducing: the Save Point. The first one in the series, since previous games only allowed saving at an inn or the world map. Oh yeah, that lengthy slog through Jade and Pandaemonium in Final Fantasy 2? Had to be done in one sitting, and if you die, start over. Final Fantasy 3's final dungeon was no better.


Cecil: A summoner from the village of Mist.
Tellah: She holds great potential. With proper training, she'll be able to master many spells. Look at her. What a cute face. She reminds me of Anna at that age...
Cecil: Who is Anna?
Tellah: My daughter. She eloped with a bard to Damcyan because... I didn't consent to their union. What business have you in Damcyan?
Cecil: A friend of mine suffers from desert fever.
Tellah: Ah. So you came for the Sand Ruby. It won't be easy to obtain.
Cecil: Tell me more about this monster we must face.
Tellah: A vicious creature with eight huge tentacles. We must kill it and reach Damcyan... ...before it is too late.
Cecil: Too late for what?
Tellah: I don't know. I only pray my instincts are wrong...


Before long I find an Ice Rod, which casts Blizzard at no MP cost rather than firing puny magic missiles. This being a dank, damp, cold waterway, Blizzard isn't the best spell for the area, but it's better than pew pew pew from a normal rod.


It's moderately effective against the Red Mousse slimes that show up shortly thereafter, although their weakness is fire.


Shortly thereafter, Cecil gets a weapon upgrade. But between the zombies and the flans, who cares?


There's a brief intermission where you cross over to the other side of the waterway on the world map. Tellah reminds you that you can use a Tent and save the game if you need to.

[R^2]

You know what's fun? Leaping headfirst down a waterfall.


Everyone's fine, of course.


Some new monsters here can Toad your party, but they often drop Maiden's Kisses to cure their own status problems.


Cecil's armor upgrade is in this leg of the dungeon, but oddly, there's no shield for the set.

[R^2]

Way to let it surround you, guys.


Thankfully, pincer attacks hadn't been added to the series yet. This is Octomammoth, the first real boss.


That said, there's no particular strategy to fighting him since he doesn't have any nasty tricks. Hit him and heal when he hits you back. He's weak to lightning, as are most monsters who flop around in knee-deep water.


He loses tentacles to indicate his HP levels. By the time Tellah says you're doing a good job, the fight's almost over.


I'm not gonna say Tellah could have done it himself, but Octomammoth isn't that hard.

[R^2]

Th... the Red Wings...




...bomb the crap out of Damcyan.


Thoroughly.

[Rico]

Huh. I've played the game a half-dozen times or so and don't think I ever found that room behind the waterfall. Reading LPs is educational, guys.