Topic: Enough expository banter! Now Let's Play Final Fantasy V Advance! (Read 23657 times)

R^2 · « **Reply #160 on:** August 29, 2013, 01:50:47 PM »

Before we leave, though, there's another night to be spent at Tycoon castle.

Character development and all that.

Lenna: Faris... Sarisa. Do you remember Father?
Faris: ... It must've been fifteen years...

Tycoon: Sarisa! After all that talk about flying on Hiryu... Now you don't
want to?

Tycoon: I'll be back as soon as I can. Be good while I'm gone.

Working in a preschool I can attest that this is 100% absolutely what little kids are like.

It's a short cutscene.

R^2 · « **Reply #161 on:** August 29, 2013, 01:53:34 PM »

And with that... I think I've got everything the first world has to offer. I thoroughly looted Karnak castle before it blew up, I got every Blue spell I can, and I picked up two Flame Rings because that's all I could afford. I'm not going to 100% the Bestiary by fighting every monster, partly because why would I do that and partly because I've already missed it -- I killed Magissa before she called Forza, so I'll never have his entry.

So... on to Galuf's world!

R^2 · « **Reply #162 on:** August 31, 2013, 05:02:18 AM »

Bartz: There's not much power left from the meteorites.
Faris: No turning back now!
Bartz: A one-way trip, huh? You guys sure about this? We probably won't be able to come back home...
Lenna: That doesn't matter... this is more important.
Faris: Aye. We're in this 'til the bitter end.
Bartz: All right then... let's go!
Lenna: I suppose this is goodbye to our world... Farewell, Chancellor...

Faris: Buck up, mateys. I know you can handle the looting and pillaging without me.

Bartz: Be good while I'm gone, Boko! Don't get into too much trouble!

R^2 · « **Reply #163 on:** August 31, 2013, 05:04:29 AM »

"...what a shithole."

We're stuck on this tiny island.

The enemies drop tents.

What could this mean?

If only I had some hint for what I was supposed to do next!

I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO

R^2 · « **Reply #164 on:** August 31, 2013, 05:08:17 AM »

Faris: ... Lenna... There's something I've been wondering about... It was way back when we were on North Mountain... Why'd you risk your life just to save that drake?
Lenna: Sister... Do you remember Mother?
Faris: Eh? ...Mmm, a little...
Lenna: Whenever I see Hiryu, I'm reminded of her...
Faris: How do you mean?

With the campfire out, Lenna and Faris are abducted by some sort of monster.

Another appears for Bartz! What kind of monster is this!?

...seems legit.

Bartz fends off the Abductor, and it leaves behind a treasure chest in addition to the post-battle Ether he got as a reward.

!!!

R^2 · « **Reply #165 on:** August 31, 2013, 05:42:28 AM »

Exdeath: Fortuitous timing... Prepare the giant mirror!
Monster: Yes, my lord!
Exdeath: Perhaps I should thank you... You are about to become quite useful to me!

The monster returns, placing a mirror in front of the party's cell.

R^2 · « **Reply #166 on:** August 31, 2013, 05:44:55 AM »

"Well, we all know he's a powerful warlock. It's probably just an illusion. All ranks, forward!"

...or not.

Exdeath: Watch them. See that they don't try anything.

Exdeath does not have time for your shit, Bartz.

R^2 · « **Reply #167 on:** August 31, 2013, 05:47:33 AM »

The wind drake drops Galuf off rather than waiting for him to return.

And the first thing Galuf does upon entering is retrieve all of the party's stuff, justifying how it was never really removed from inventory in the first place.

There are monsters in a different cell, but I'm not sure why. They don't do anything.

R^2 · « **Reply #168 on:** August 31, 2013, 05:51:21 AM »

This being a one-on-one fight in what is still mostly a story sequence, Gilgamesh doesn't put up much resistance.

It helps that Galuf is a well-equpped ninja, I suppose.

Gilgamesh: Um. Well, then! That's enough of a beating for today! Don't step out of line again!

Faris: Thanks, old man.
Bartz: Sorry for messing up your plans... We just wanted--
Galuf: Whatever! I'll verbally berate you later, after we've blown this pop stand!

While Galuf just walked by, Bartz and party Metal Gear their way past the monsters. Galuf was a ninja at the time, so they probably didn't see him anyway.

Escaping the castle is just a matter of a few random encounters and finding the door.

R^2 · « **Reply #169 on:** August 31, 2013, 06:00:12 AM »

The woods outside Exdeath's castle are home to Treants, who are somewhat willing to help the party learn Death Claw.

Music: Battle on the Big Bridge -- this is the version from Final Fantasy 12, whynot?

Galuf wasn't lying.

R^2 · « **Reply #170 on:** August 31, 2013, 06:05:48 AM »

...so you intentionally let us escape the castle, ran straight here, and waited to ambush us as we went through the tower in the middle of the Big Bridge?

It's a bridge, idiot. It's literally a straight path.

First thing I do straight away is Mug the guy. He's clearly holding a naginata, but we steal a trident. What is he, some kinda weapons collector, carrying around a bunch of useless sidearms or somethin'?

The fight still isn't difficult. Gilgamesh doesn't have much in the way of nasty attacks, until...

From here on out, Gilgamesh's speed and defenses are raised thanks to all those buff spells he cast, and he uses Jump instead of regular attacks.

You know, I have an acupuncture technique that gets right through Protect or Shell.

R^2 · « **Reply #171 on:** August 31, 2013, 06:09:02 AM »

Well, back to business. There's more of the same, so I don't need to screenshot every fight, right?

The party is shoved across the bridge...

...then blown away completely.

R^2 · « **Reply #172 on:** August 31, 2013, 06:18:49 AM »

Galuf: Yeah... This has gotta be Gloceana...the back of beyond! Crawling with monsters, too. Figures we'd be thrown someplace like this...
Bartz: Galuf... Sorry about all this. I mean, we came to help you, but you ended up helping us...
Galuf: As usual! I meant it, yanno, you really didn't have to come... Meddlesome bums, the lot of you.

Verbally berated, the rest of the party hops off the hillock they landed on.

Galuf: It's good to see you again.

As Galuf warned, we're at the ass-end of nowhere in particular. There's only one or two landmarks on this entire continent, and neither of them are nearby.

And it is, yes, crawling with monsters.

Getting to the town is no small trip, only to find it's a dirty backwater.

R^2 · « **Reply #173 on:** August 31, 2013, 06:49:31 AM »

Only this is a Final Fantasy game, so the upgrades you get in a run-down middle-of-nowhere village are still better than the shopping you can do in any thriving metropolis at the beginning of the game.

After appearing for the first time in Final Fantasy 3 taking a little break in 4, Moogles have been in most games since -- if only as background elements or minigames in the more recent STORYTELLING IS SERIOUS BUSINESS entries.

Okay, so maybe this little village isn't so bad.

R^2 · « **Reply #174 on:** August 31, 2013, 08:54:07 AM »

That... that's not how inns work.

Galuf: Ahh... now that's the stuff! Finally, a chance to try the famed Regole brew! Kinda burns a path down your throat!

I'm not a whiskey connoisseur, but I'm almost certain "It tastes like burning!" is not generally a selling point for the finer stuff.

Bartz: Couldn't sleep...
Galuf: Mmm. Come on, pull up a chair.
Bartz: Galuf...I'm sorry. If we hadn't butted in, you'd have been able to get into Exdeath's castle...
Galuf: Nah, even if we had gotten in, the barrier would've destroyed us... I hadn't the slightest inkling it'd been finished. In fact, it's only thanks to you that we weren't all crushed!
Bartz: Galuf...
Galuf: Bartz... You knew that once you came here, you could never return. So why'd you do it?
Bartz: ...No particular reason.
Galuf: Bartz...
Bartz: Hey, don't worry about it.

R^2 · « **Reply #175 on:** August 31, 2013, 08:57:12 AM »

Bartz does a hopping, spinning dance while Mambo de Chocobo plays.

If you're really hurting for money, you can do this as many times as you like.

Tamer: It helps you catch monsters, slick as a whistle!

Everyone else in the pub is just talking about how good the booze is. There's a piano in the back room.

R^2 · « **Reply #176 on:** August 31, 2013, 09:12:19 AM »

South of Regole is Kuza castle, which a couple people in Regole tell you to stay the hell away from.

On the top floor is a Sealed Room. Despite the name, the door isn't so much as locked.

Galuf: Jumping Jehoshaphat! These must be... the twelve sealed weapons! They really do exist -- I thought they were only legend!
Bartz: So these were used in battle a thousand years ago?
Lenna: They've all turned to stone...
Bartz: Guess you can't expect much more from stuff that's a millennium old.

Um. Now I'll grant that, say, a real-life eleventh-century sword that's pulled out of an excavation site somewhere is going to look pretty rough and not have much of an edge, but to say that a set of iron weapons has turned to stone because they're so old is a bit silly. Why the translation team didn't just say "They're in magical fields, deal with it" is unclear.

Anyway, there are twelve weapon classes, and so each kind of weapon gets one example in this room. There's good ol' Excalibur, the Masamune katana, a ninjato, a staff, a rod, a whip... even a ~~harp~~ lyre. Presumably these were the weapons used by the same heroes whose essences got stored in the crystals. Otherwise, why would there be a legendary bell?

The reason you're supposed to stay away from the castle is the Shield Dragons inside. They're fond of a move called Knock Silly, which damages and confuses two targets.

But if you take control of them, the Shield Dragons will burn themselves to death without any further difficulty. They're worth fairly good experience and 5 ABP each.

R^2 · « **Reply #177 on:** August 31, 2013, 09:22:47 AM »

Hey, what's that little critter?

It fell down a hole. Looks like it's a critter tripper.

Galuf explains that it was a moogle, and nobody sees them that often beause they're timid. Lenna, kindhearted person she is, volunteers the party to follow the creature and help it.

The cavern under the forest has an underground river with some swift-flowing currents. It's pretty linear, but...

Full of monsters. A Moogle Eater? What do you do, fry them up into critter tripper fritters?

Incidentally, Critter Tripper Fritter!? isn't the music for this dungeon, but it is the moogle's theme.

Pff, please.

R^2 · « **Reply #178 on:** August 31, 2013, 09:29:38 AM »

Lenna befriends the creature, who shows us the way out of the cave. Hint: it's that big door right behind him. We're at the end.

The moogle points out that the desert areas of the world map here are dangerous and shouldn't be entered. Stick with the forest paths...

...to get to the larger forest at the end.

Pff, what's the worst that could happen, we get attacked by giant sandworms or something?

Like the Jackanapes, Dhorme Chimerae, Skull Eater, Prototype, and Shield Dragon before it, the Sandcrawler is stronger than you're supposed to be able to handle.

And like the Skull Eater, Prototype, and Shield Dragon, there's an easily-exploited gimmick to kill it.

R^2 · « **Reply #179 on:** August 31, 2013, 09:37:31 AM »

All the moogles scramble away when you enter.

The moogles play hide-and-seek like King Tycoon did back in Gohn, but there's one you can approach in the top-left.

It tries to run away, too, before it's tiny two-volt brain reminds the thing it's seen you before.

Aw, how nice. The treasure boxes have some consumable items, some money, and a Dancing Dagger. Equipping the Dancing Dagger essentially changes the attack command to !Dance, because it never just whacks an enemy. Instead, the game will choose from Tempting Tango, Jitterbug Duet, Mystery Waltz, or Sword Dance, with the usual effects.

Putting on the moogle costume disguises all four people who are each five times a moogle's size as one of the little guys.

...which charms the moogle in the next tree over into unlocking his treasure chest and handing over his precious Elven Mantle. Guess he's got a thing for giant ladies. Or dudes. I don't even know how to tell the difference, with moogles.

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Author Topic: Enough expository banter! Now Let's Play Final Fantasy V Advance! (Read 23657 times)