Installment III
Day 6 Leveling up is the order of the day. So far I’ve noticed that during the boss battles I’ve felt like I’ve gone through a lot of healing items as the Cure spell is fairly weak, not to mention Cura is pretty insanely priced (MP wise) for the level you are at. Other reasons that I have chosen the Lhusu Mines as a leveling up location; there is an pretty easily accessible save crystal right outside the mine entrance so that you do not have to waste items healing yourself, you have an extra character in your party making battles move quicker and the skeletons drop (and can have stolen) bone fragments which can be sold for a decent amount of coin. This makes the spot ideal for leveling up and money gathering. Briefly discussed in early log entries is the ability-gathering grid or “license system” as it’s called. The license board is basically a giant checkerboard like grid that each character uses to gather abilities. Each space represents an ability (spell, technique, quicken attack, Esper, etc) or personal, armor and weapon level up (ie the ability to equip different armors or weapons or MP & HP increases). After defeating an enemy you will generally receive 1 LP or “License Point”, these can be used to purchase different a space on the license board that corresponds with an ability listed above. After purchasing any abilty all abilities adjacent to it become available to purchase. Unfortunately though just purchasing an ability on the license board is not enough. The license boards basically give you the ability to equip said ability, in order to actually use it you must purchase the spells, armor, weapons and techniques at an appropriate store. While this may seem odd it’s a definite throwback to the original Final Fantasy as in it you had to purchase spells for your party to use as well. One a positive note purchase say a cure spell, will allow everyone whom has the ability from the license grid to use it. After leveling up, you are confronted with a brief mini-game of sorts in order to get an audience at the palace. Surprising no one you’re again captured and this time it’s time to escape a ship. This, my friends, is a great place to call it a night, till next time. Day 7 Escape time! Well after some plot revelations I’m making my way out of an Imperial Air Ship but first you must free a party member that has been separated from you. The ship is very Xenosaga-esque in look for anyone whom has ever played the game. The enemies consist mainly of soldiers and alarm traps, (tripping an alarm will alert every soldier on that particular floor) though there are some doglike creatures. The soldiers attack with basic magic and sword slashes. While they aren’t overly difficult, they do a great job of whittling away your HP and using up some of your MP. Make sure after clearing an area you do a little walking around in order to refill your MP before progressing. After some basic switch flipping puzzles you make your way to an empty room. Yes, you guessed it; it’s a boss battle. Basic Boss Battle etiquette is applied. Hopefully by now you have a character that uses green magic, use him/her to cast protect on the party members, as this battle is primarily physical. While you are casting protect the other party members should be picking off the henchmen. Watching your health by having someone dedicated to healing and having your heavy hitters attack the boss will lead to an eventual, hard fought victory. Plot development aside. You’re off on your next quest, which is to secure support from various rebel factions. In order to do this you’ll have to obtain the Dawn Shard from the Tomb of Raithwall. The next part of the game consists of your party making your way West through the Ogre Yensa and Nham Yensa Sandsea to the tomb. As one would guess from the names both are desert like areas, the only odd twist is that you’ll be making your way across them not on foot through the sand but instead on foot over connecting Oil-Drill like platforms. The first enemies you will run into are these little knee-high tomato headed enemies. While the name of the enemy may escape me, the fact that the items they drop are worth almost 400 Gil does not. Not being particularly difficult to defeat makes these little buggers ripe for using your steal ability to get a little extra coin. Unfortunately there aren’t enough of these little guys, as you’ll soon see that your primary adversaries on your trip across the deserts are the yensa (imagine that). Coming in a few varieties, hand-to-hand fighter, archer, and swordsmen these guys provide little challenge as you make your way towards the tomb. Half way through the desert you’ll come across a save crystal and an item shop, which will come as a relief since both deserts are quite massive and harder enemies are closing in. And with that I believe it’s time to call it a night.
Jeremy Mravlja Gamer's Perspective Want to talk about it? Click here to discuss in the Gamers’ Perspective Forums. |
