Day #33 Recap (FF III)

Current Game: Final Fantasy III
Current Play Time - 8:44
Total Play Time: 69:14
Total Game Overs:5... (sigh... again)

Where I Currently Am: Amur
Bosses Killed Today: Hein, Kraken

Current Setup:

Luneth - Lv 24
Current Job: Dark Knight Lv 5
Other Jobs: Knight 24, Warrior Lv 36, Freelancer: Lv 16
Str: 21 Agi: 17 Vit: 21 Int: 17 Mnd: 17
Atk: 105 Def: 39 MgD: 21
Equipment: Blood Sword, Royal Sword, Ice Helm, Flame Mail, Gauntlets
Spells:
Lv 1: Poisona, Cure, Fire
Lv 2: Thunder

Arc - Lv 24
Current Job: Dragoon Lv 5
Other Jobs: Black Mage Lv 60, Freelancer: Lv 10
Str: 20 Agi: 20 Vit: 17 Int: 17 Mnd: 17
Atk: 90 Def: 34 MgD: 18
Equipment: Thunder Spear, Thunder Spear, Ice Helm, Flame Mail, Mythril Gloves
Spells:
Lv 1: Blizzard, Fire
Lv 2: Blind, Thunder
Lv 3: Fira, Blizzara, Thundara
Lv 4: Blizzaga

Refia - Lv 24
Current Job: Red Mage Lv 62
Other Jobs: Freelancer: Lv 9
Str: 17 Agi: 23 Vit: 19 Int: 20 Mnd: 20
Atk: 70 Def: 33 MgD: 21
Equipment: Main Gauche, Main Gauche, Ice Helm, Flame Mail, Mythril Bracers
Spells:
Lv 1: Poisona, Cure, Sight
Lv 2: Aero, Mini, Toad
Lv 3: Cura, Teleport, Blindna
Lv 4: Libra

Ingus - Lv 24
Current Job: Viking Lv 3
Other Jobs: Scholar Lv 36, Thief Lv 46, Freelancer: Lv 12
Str: 24 Agi: 15 Vit: 20 Int: 15 Mnd: 17
Atk: 98 Def: 42 MgD: 16
Equipment: Battleaxe, Viking Axe, Viking Helm, Ice Armor, Mythril Gloves
Spells:
Lv 1: Fire, Blizzard, Cure
Lv 2: Thunder

Current Gil - 12.2k

Status + Notes

Another bit of lost play time today. When you get to the new world, the first area has monsters that are pretty resistant to magic. So of course, I didn't change everyone's class at the time and I got back attacked and wiped out pretty quickly by a salamander look-alike who fire breathed me a few times, ouch. Whoops, so now I'm paying for being a bit underlevelled. Going to have to take some time to grind up the physical classes... luckily I had the gold to buy the equipment. Onward, we go.

Day #32 Recap (FF III)

Current Game: Final Fantasy III
Current Play Time - 6:37
Total Play Time: 67:07
Total Game Overs: 4... (sigh)

Where I Currently Am: Hein Castle
Bosses Killed Today: Medusa, Gutsco, Salamander

Current Setup:

Luneth - Lv 19
Current Job: Knight Lv 8
Other Jobs: Warrior Lv 36 Freelancer: Lv 16
Str: 19 Agi: 13 Vit: 19 Int: 13 Mnd: 14
Atk: 60 Def: 38 MgD: 14
Equipment: Freezing Blade, Tyrfing, Ice Helm, Knight Armor, Mythril Gloves
Spells:
Lv 1: Poisona, Cure, Fire
Lv 2: Thunder

Arc - Lv 19
Current Job: Black Mage Lv 43
Other Jobs: Freelancer: Lv 10
Str: 14 Agi: 16 Vit: 16 Int: 22 Mnd: 19
Atk: 40 Def: 16 MgD: 27
Equipment: Fire Staff, Ice Staff, Leather Cap, Mage Robe, Mythril Bracers
Spells:
Lv 1: Blizzard, Fire
Lv 2: Blind, Thunder
Lv 3: Fira, Blizzara, Thundara

Refia - Lv 19
Current Job: Red Mage Lv 42
Other Jobs: Freelancer: Lv 9
Str: 14 Agi: 14 Vit: 14 Int: 16 Mnd: 17
Atk: 55 Def: 33 MgD: 21
Equipment: Salamand Sword, Serpent Sword, Ice Helm, Flame Mail, Mythril Bracers
Spells:
Lv 1: Poisona, Cure, Sight
Lv 2: Aero, Mini, Toad
Lv 3: Cura, Teleport, Blindna

Ingus - Lv 19
Current Job: Scholar Lv 7
Other Jobs: Thief Lv 46, Freelancer: Lv 12
Str: 16 Agi: 16 Vit: 12 Int: 26 Mnd: 19
Atk: 37 Def: 17 MgD: 7
Equipment: Book of Ice, Book of Light, Scholar Hat, Scholar Robe, Bronze Bracers
Spells:
Lv 1: Fire, Blizzard
Lv 2: Thunder

Current Gil - 24.8k

Status + Notes

Lot of play time today... bout an hour more than is shown there... yeah, bad game over. Let me explain a couple things. My method of play is as follows. Get into battle, input commands, hit select to speed through the slow battle... Well, I got up to Hein, without collecting Scholar Gear... oops... and didn't hit select quickly enough so I auto-battled the first turn... oops. Boss battles in FF III are annoying for the fact that they all get at least two attacks per turn. So, you can RNGd to death if he does some big attacks. And you have to make sure you heal each round to make up for the large amount of damage he can do at once, even if you're at full life. Still not an excuse, I should have beaten him, got him real low with items... but couldn't recover from my stupidity.

Also, sorry for forgetting to put spells in my earlier updates, I'll back fill them as much as I can.

Day #31 Recap (FF III)

Current Game: Final Fantasy III
Current Play Time - 3:50
Total Play Time: 64:20
Total Game Overs: 3

Where I Currently Am: Tokkul Village
Bosses Killed Today: Giant Rat

Current Setup:

Luneth - Lv 13
Current Job: Warrior Lv 17
Other Jobs: Freelancer: Lv 16
Str: 12 Agi: 12 Vit: 12 Int: 11 Mnd: 11
Atk: 58 Def: 27 MgD: 15
Equipment: Viking Axe, Serpent Sword, Mythril Helm, Mythril Armor, Mythril Gloves
Spells:
Lv 1: Poisona, Cure, Fire
Lv 2: Thunder

Arc - Lv 13
Current Job: Black Mage Lv 19
Other Jobs: Freelancer: Lv 10
Str: 12 Agi: 12 Vit: 12 Int: 15 Mnd: 12
Atk: 24 Def: 6 MgD: 6
Equipment: Mythril Rod, Mythril Rod, Leather Cap, Leather Armor, Mythril Bracers
Spells:
Lv 1: Blizzard, Fire
Lv 2: Blind, Thunder
Lv 3: Fira, Blizzara, Thundara

Refia - Lv 13
Current Job: Red Mage Lv 18
Other Jobs: Freelancer: Lv 9
Str: 12 Agi: 12 Vit: 12 Int: 13 Mnd: 13
Atk: 42 Def: 16 MgD: 10
Equipment: Mythril Sword, Serpent Sword, Mythril Helm, Mythril Armor, Mythril Bracers
Spells:
Lv 1: Poisona, Cure, Sight
Lv 2: Aero, Mini, Toad
Lv 3: Cura, Teleport, Blindna

Ingus - Lv 13
Current Job: Thief Lv 20
Other Jobs: Freelancer: Lv 12
Str: 12 Agi: 16 Vit: 12 Int: 11 Mnd: 10
Atk: 37 Def: 17 MgD: 7
Equipment: Mythril Knife, Spark Dagger, Mythril Helm, Mythril Armor, Mythril Gloves
Spells:
Lv 1: Fire, Blizzard
Lv 2: Thunder

Current Gil - 3,890

Status + Notes

So, since the job system was new in this game, as well as some innovative use of the mini spell to access certain areas. They force everyone to become magic using classes at some point. Actually, not bad. Considering magic has been marginal at best in the first couple games... well pretty useful in the 2nd game, and only useful for buffs in the first game... but anyway. The dungeons are still so short, it really doesn't matter. Ah well.

And still the load times are really killing me and making it hard for me to put in as much time as I'd like to. Can't wait to get back to the old engine...

Day #30 Recap (FF III)

Current Game: Final Fantasy III
Current Play Time - 2:20
Total Play Time: 62:50
Total Game Overs: 3

Where I Currently Am: Kazus
Bosses Killed Today: Djinn

Current Setup:

Luneth - Lv 11
Current Job: Warrior Lv 11
Other Jobs: Freelancer: Lv 16
Str: 11 Agi: 11 Vit: 11 Int: 10 Mnd: 10
Atk: 27 Def: 17 MgD: 7
Equipment: Mythril Sword, Longsword, Mythril Helm, Mythril Armor, Mythril Gloves
Spells:
Lv 1: Poisona, Cure, Fire

Arc - Lv 11
Current Job: Black Mage Lv 11
Other Jobs: Freelancer: Lv 10
Str: 11 Agi: 11 Vit: 11 Int: 14 Mnd: 11
Atk: 24 Def: 6 MgD: 6
Equipment: Mythril Rod, Mythril Rod, Leather Cap, Leather Armor, Mythril Bracers
Spells:
Lv 1: Blizzard, Fire
Lv 2: Blind, Thunder

Refia - Lv 11
Current Job: Red Mage Lv 11
Other Jobs: Freelancer: Lv 9
Str: 11 Agi: 11 Vit: 11 Int: 12 Mnd: 12
Atk: 32 Def: 16 MgD: 10
Equipment: Mythril Sword, Wightslayer, Mythril Helm, Mythril Armor, Mythril Bracers
Spells:
Lv 1: Poisona, Cure

Ingus - Lv 11
Current Job: Thief Lv 13
Other Jobs: Freelancer: Lv 12
Str: 11 Agi: 12 Vit: 11 Int: 10 Mnd: 9
Atk: 22 Def: 17 MgD: 7
Equipment: Mythril Knife, Knife, Mythril Helm, Mythril Armor, Mythril Gloves

Current Gil - 472

Status + Notes

Ugh, the amount of grinding you need to do at the start of this game... The problem is there is such a jump in difficulty in the monsters in each subsequent area, so you almost require a necessary character level and gear level. I've at least discovered the PSP speeds up the game in auto fight, so doing the job level grinding will be slightly more bearable. But, man, the load times on this game... yikes. Hoping to get a little more into the game today, see if my opinion of it changes for the better at all.

Day #29 Recap (FF III)

Current Game: Final Fantasy III
Current Play Time - 1:01
Total Play Time: 61:31
Total Game Overs: 3

Where I Currently Am: Castle Sasune
Bosses Killed Today (FF II: SoR): Lucifer, Beezelbub Soul, Yamatano Orochi, Steel Giant, Light Emperor
Bosses Killed Today (FF III): Land Turtle

Current Setup:

Luneth - Lv 8
Freelancer: Lv 13
Str: 9 Agi: 9 Vit: 9 Int: 9 Mnd: 9
Atk: 22 Def: 5 MgD: 3
Equipment: Longsword, Bronze Knuckles, Leather Cap, Leather Armor, Bronze Bracers

Arc - Lv 8
Freelancer: Lv 8
Str: 9 Agi: 9 Vit: 9 Int: 9 Mnd: 9
Atk: 20 Def: 5 MgD: 3
Equipment: Longsword, Longsword, Leather Cap, Leather Armor, Bronze Bracers

Refia - Lv 8
Freelancer: Lv 7
Str: 9 Agi: 9 Vit: 9 Int: 9 Mnd: 9
Atk: 20 Def: 5 MgD: 3
Equipment: Longsword, Longsword, Leather Cap, Leather Armor, Bronze Bracers

Ingus - Lv 8
Freelancer: Lv 9
Str: 9 Agi: 9 Vit: 9 Int: 9 Mnd: 9
Atk: 25 Def: 5 MgD: 3
Equipment: Longsword, Wightslayer, Leather Cap, Leather Armor, Bronze Bracers

Current Gil - 1,398

Status + Notes

Well, so much for that outside chance of beating SoR. Wa a lot closer to the end that I thought. And by that I mean I was a lot closer to being able to get to the end. Fun little run, I like the equipment farming. Don't know if it really added that much to the story, however, I guess it does suggest that the Light Warrior/Dark Warrior thing actually starts in FF II, not FF III. Just something to think about I suppose.

So, on to FF III. And, ugh, this is going to take some getting used to. So much slower moving around and inputting commands. Yeah, the 3D is nice, but the hardware doesn't seem to agree. Ah well, looking forward to the Defend grinding... not. Yes, this game too has a crazy grinding system. Job levels are gained based on the number of rounds you use said job. So, you spend every battle defending for 10-12 rounds so you're assured of a job level every fight... lots of fun.

FF II - Review

So, not my favorite game. But lets go through some of the mechanics. Levelling, this lies somewhere between annoying and abusive in this game. Yes, the best way to level your characters is to beat each other up. Or cast sap, or whatever else... Stand there in a fight for 5 minutes holding down the button with cursor on repeat so you can level your spell... yuck. And then there's weapon levels, which level very slowly if you're beating each other up, and not at all if you're just attacking enemies. There's Ultima, which apparently can be the most powerful spell in the game, but is near worthless unless you're going out of your way to make it good, and even at that, Flare and Holy are certainly powerful enough. I mean, just yuck. Plus, levelling stats is easy enough, but I never see a huge bump in damage or defense when getting the skills... even when they get boosted to 99 from the equipment.

Defense is something I'm devoting an entire section to in this... If you don't have enough attack to get over an enemy's defense, you are not going to damage it. Period. Doesn't matter what the weapon level is, or anything like that. And there's a period near the beginning of the game, where you're not getting a lot of weapon upgrades, and the npc defense is climbing and climbing. I will say, this at least makes magic useful, especially compared to FF I. Because Magic damage doesn't seem to suffer the same drawbacks. You just need to spend a lot of times levelling your MP and magic level. Most attack spells are fairly useless below level 6. And again, Berserk + Aura + Haste on bosses, or you're just not going to get any damage.

Now for the extra stuff. Let's start with Arcane Lab/Sanctuary. This was interesting, and got more interesting as the game went on. Yes, to get everything you have to run through it 10 times... but at least each run had its own compositions of rooms you had to do. And some, for the time in the game where you unlock them could be very challenging. Sorcerers with low magic defense was quite frightening. The weapons you get from it, are probably way too powerful, but they at least make the beginning of Soul of Rebirth bearable. Also, the little sidestory at the end with Deumion was very good. Just wish he had a Bestiary entry...

As far as Soul of Rebirth goes. Its a cool little challenge, however, if you were not preparing for it from the beginning of the main game, it can be nearly impossible. The first time I played the game on GBA, and loaded up Soul of Rebirth, I got destroyed because I had not spent enough time levelling up Minwu, and the monsters you face at the very beginning of the Unknown Cave, are really a tad too hard. I like the way the difficulty ramps up though, and with the skill you acquired going through the main game, its nice to fight some really difficult monsters with relatively low stats. And also, since you're fighting such tough monsters, you level up amazingly fast, the drop rates on the good equipment is very high, and by the time you're able to do the random encounters in the Unknown Palace without too much difficulty, you should be able to take down the Light Emperor. Really, it took me 3 1/2 hours to go from wimpy to fairly amazing. So, a nice little challenge, just would've changed the monster difficulty in the first couple floors of Unknown cave.

The story is certainly a high point in this. I don't really know about the password system, it seems like something they gave up on at some point as its usefulness comes and goes, but its a great little story of rebellion. No orbs or crystals though, shame. Again, the Arcane Lab story is a nice little addition(even has a small tie in with FF IX, wow). The graphics, eh. Yes, obviously a huge upgrade from the Famicom days. But, really, I think they could've done a bit more. Just a couple of cutscenes, and they're really not memorable, with the exception of the load cutscene. The remixed music is really amazing. I've always liked the Rebel theme, and I think as a whole the music from this game is underrated.

Still though, the bad mechanics really detracts from everything that could've been good about this game. What is it about the second game in series that have to go so far completely off track? Anyway, two down, twenty-five to go. Let's finish the famicom trilogy, shall we?

FF II : SoR Completion Stats

Current Game: Final Fantasy II - Soul of Rebirth
Current Play Time - 3:24
Total Play Time: 60:30
Total Game Overs: 3

Final Setup:

Minwu -
HP: 2938 MP: 426
Str: 21 Spr: 99 Int: 99 Sta:c52 Agi: 52 Mag: 99
Staff: Lv 8 Shield: Lv 8
Cure: Lv 12, Life: Lv 8, Basuna: Lv 6, Esuna: Lv 5, Barrier: Lv 8, Blink: Lv 6, Protect: Lv 6, Shell: Lv 7,
Wall: Lv 6, Dispel: Lv 4, Silence: Lv 5, Sap: Lv 4, Blizzard: Lv 7, Swap: Lv 3, Flare: Lv 10, Teleport: Lv 1
Equipment: Stardust Rod, Golden Shield, Ribbon, Black Robe, Protect Ring

Scott -
HP:1734 MP:130
Str: 99 Spr: 33 Int: 99 Sta:42 Agi: 41 Mag: 31
Fist: Lv 2, Knife: Lv 2, Sword: Lv 8, Staff: Lv 2, Axe: Lv 2, Spear: Lv 2, Bow: Lv 9, Shield: Lv 8
Fire: Lv 4, Thunder: Lv 4, Blizzard: Lv 4, Cure: Lv 8, Life: Lv 1, Blink: Lv 3
Equipment: Wild Rose, Mythril Shield, Ribbon, Dragon Armor, Protect Ring

Josef -
HP: 2503 Mp: 25
Str: 99 Spr: 11 Int: 11 Sta: 99 Agi: 52 Mag: 11
Fist: Lv 2, Knife: Lv 9, Shield: Lv 9
Aura: Lv 3, Cure: Lv 2, Protect: Lv 2
Equipment: Cat Claws, Ice Shield, Ribbon, Power Sash, Bracers

Ricard -
HP: 5170 MP: 34
Str: 99 Spr: 28 Int: 16 Sta: 54 Agi: 99 Mag: 9
Sword: Lv 8, Spear: Lv 11, Shield: Lv 10
Shell: Lv 4
Equipment: Wyvern Lance, Aegis Shield, Ribbon, Genji Armor, Protect Ring

Current Gil - 638k