Ok, I've gotten through Chapter 3 now!
Chapter 2
Flint said:
Discussion: What did you think of the character reveal in this chapter, and did you see it coming? One of my feelings about this game is that the way its story is told isn't very nuanced; as The Engineer wrote above, things are played pretty straight. Do you agree, based on what you've seen so far? The boss on North Mountain is probably the toughest you've faced up to this point - did you have any difficulties?
Given that this isn't my first time playing the game, I totally saw the character reveal coming. Even during my first time, I had my suspicions, mostly based on Force's hints while he was gushing about the game to me
I feel that the story itself is pretty straight-forward, but I have to say that I really liked that about the game the first time that I played, and it's not any different this time around. My very first RPG experience EVER was FFVII when I was 22, and even though Force lives and breathes that game, I was pretty in the dark about the story. I knew some of the major spoilers, although I didn't know when and where they would happen, but even that didn't help me follow the story. I was completely confused. Copies? Reunion? Nope. FFV's story, however, seems to be a great introduction to the world of RPGs, and the writing/translation is really quite lovely (I've only played the GBA version). I audibly giggle at times. Now, I'll admit that some of the elements may seem to be a bit contrived, but honesty, I think that makes it really approachable. Going back to FFVII, I've now played through it at least 3 times, and it's only because of lengthy discussions with Force and through this forum that I actually feel like I know what is going on. FFV, on the other hand, makes it hard to NOT understand what is going on. Sometimes, I just need to play a game that doesn't make me think too much
As for the boss on the mountain (Magissa) - I found Force's discovery to be quite useful, although Lenna and Faris were both dead at the end of my first battle with them (more on that later). Still, I learned Aero for my Blue Mage, so cool....
(And by later I mean now)
So I was playing through this chapter, and made it through to the end in little time. "Oh," I said to myself, "this chapter was pretty short, and it's pretty early on in the evening. Maybe I'll just keep going and see if I can get through Chapter 3."
So I kept going. I went to Tycoon, found a bunch of secret treasure throughout the castle, and then made my way to Walz. Bought some gear/spells at the shops, then went through to raid Walz Castle. Found a lot of good shite, was warned about how running into the Jackanapes would be the worst thing in the world, and then went about exploring the Castle, raided a bunch of stuff, and then....ran into the Jackanapes. I forgot they were located in the basement. So I died. And then I realized that I hadn't saved since BEFORE I fought Magissa. So. I fought her again. This time, only Faris died, but I didn't learn Aero. Ugh. I was really upset about that. I can't believe I hadn't saved since them. Consider my lesson learned. So I then went through and did everything I had JUST DONE over again.
Anyway.
Chapter 3
Flint said:
Discussion: This is quite a short chapter - I'd make it longer, but I don't want to break up the next part of the game, which can be a bit tricky. There are some optional things to do in this chapter, however, which I'll hint at: you can visit a castle you saw earlier in the game, and you can unlock a hidden summon. Did you do either of these things? If it's your first time, did you find them yourself or did you follow a guide? What did you do about Lone Wolf, and why? How did your battle with Garula go? What do you think of your new jobs? Did you do any shopping in Karnak?
Well, interestingly enough, I had already gone back to the castle, prior to going to Walz. I haven't unlocked the hidden summon, because I'm pretty sure it involves going through the area with the Jackanapes, and I'm not quite sure I care to do that at this moment. Maybe tomorrow, once I'm done licking my wounds.
I didn't let Lone Wolf out, mostly because I forgot about who he was. Whoops.
My battle with Garula went pretty poorly. I wish I had bought Slow when I had the chance, although I'm honestly not sure whether he's weak to hit or not. At any rate, Faris was dead at the end of the battle.
I haven't used any of the new jobs yet, but I'm sure I will be utilizing them soon enough. I've already bought some Time Mage abilities
I did do shopping in Karnak. In fact, before entering the town, I ran through the adjacent forest and killed those packs of wolves until Lenna ran out of MP, because they drop a pretty nice chunk of change every time you defeat them.
Current Jobs:
Bartz - Knight (I haven't changed him yet, not sure when I will...)
Lenna - Black Mage (I changed her to BLM after I hit WHM level 2)
Galuf - Blue Mage (I keep hoping I'll learn more Blue Mage abilities, but other than almost getting Aero, I haven't.)
Faris - Thief (I haven't decided what I'd like to change her to yet.)
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) could make for some interesting battles. Reina's turn almost always comes before Galuf and Bartz, and I like to have the others attack first and see what I should do afterwards [attack a different enemy, get front row enemies out of the way, consider a multi-attack etc.], or even just have her gauge full and ready for when I need her, so this will make for some more challenging battles.
This should not be the end! These things---proper friendships between people and non-humans---get to me real quick.
