A Tale of Two Scripts: Let's play FF3 US & FF6 RPGOne!

14 people
We pick up another few soldiers next to the roof entrance to the left wing of the Palace. The first time I played this part, I failed because I had trouble differentiating the doors from the walls and got lost =(


And then he fights us, having as little luck as the previous dude to sic a team of Commandos on us.
“Hm. Not bad!”



*fruitless fighting*
“Some people fight harder after they’re cast down!”
21 people
This room is the nastiest part of this whole task. The soldiers in the main dorm mill around, potentially confusing the player. The door to the can in the back is easily missed if you’re hurrying through the room because of the timer and it's covered up by dialog boxes half the time you’re in here anyway. After seeing it, you then potentially have to shove your way past randomly milling soldiers to get there and back. This one room contains a quarter of the Imperial garrison, balanced by taking over a full minute to get through if you have bad luck with the wandering soldiers.

This guy has a decent right hook and counters Fight with Magitek Laser and Magic with Missile, both of which deal decent damage, but his real threat is in wasting your time. Your best bet is to hit him with your best defense-ignoring attacks or your strongest Thunder-element attacks and hope you kill him in only one or two attacks so the animations don’t eat up too many seconds. AuraBolt did the job in one smooth hit this time, but I had Edgar ready with the Chainsaw just in case.


And that’s game. There are two dozen soldiers to talk in the Castle, and we did it with 17 seconds left on the clock – not to beat a dead horse, but if we hadn’t had Sprint Shoes on, had detoured to taunt a certain crazy clown currently in the clink, or dicked around in any of the four battles we probably wouldn’t have pulled this off. Of course, the fruits of this exercise won’t be known for a bit, but for now we can bask in the glory of individually convincing twenty-four different members of a conquering army to see the wisdom of peace in less than four minutes.



GESTAHL: Well then... To our hometowns!
Like most banquets, this one is an opportunity to reap untold riches but also fraught with dire political peril. The best result comes from generally never taking an extreme stance and being on your best behavior.

Obviously we can’t just let Kefka run around free, but that doesn’t mean we have to be hasty and kill the omnicidal jerk.
GESTAHL: Hmmm... Well, let’s let him stew in his cell for a while. Then we’ll decide what to do.



Doma’s a tragedy that won’t be solved with words.
GESTAHL: I’m so terribly sorry! Kefka’s being severely punished, and we’re cleaning up the poison.


In this case we have to take an extreme stance. No suspicions, no distancing ourselves from her or playing down the things she did for us; we have to wholeheartedly embrace Celes. But who’d want to do otherwise, with that leotard/cape combo? Awwww yeah.
GESTAHL: Kefka was lying. General Celes realized the war was stupid before anyone else. That’s why she joined the returners. Any other questions for me?


Let’s start with the latest Imperial wackiness.
GESTAHL: Some of my men refuse to embrace peace. I felt they’d understand if they actually met you face to face. With your permission, I’d like to talk about the Espers...
Not so fast, Slick.


He tries to change the subject again after that, but nothing doing.


If you want to maximize your loot from this scene, it’s important to ask each of these questions one time. You lose points in the final tally if you leave one unasked and a lot of points if ask you one twice. (It always shows you the same three questions to choose from, by the way; the one question is missing in that screenshot because of a quirk of timing taking it, not on purpose.)


“They’re acting spiteful. Unless they’re stopped, they’ll rip the world asunder!”


Well, when they start killing the innocent and oppressed all over the world in revenge for what one country’s rulers did to them, they need to be stopped. Even in video games there’s a limit to the appropriate amount of vengeance!


“I asked myself why I had started it in the first place. By the way... About those questions you asked me... which did you ask first?”
GESTAHL: Right. Anyway, more than anything I want peace. That’s my true dream. I want you to understand that!

He’s getting a little melodramatic with that “true dream” stuff, you ask me.

“Won’t you fight with us for a couple of minutes?”
It would be rude to deny our host’s offer of a little rest. While we’re stretching our legs, Gestahl’s troopers invite us to engage in some light calisthenics with them, for exercise and to amuse the other... two people in the room. (It really is an invitation too; you can turn it down, but you miss out on points because of your cowardice.)


Another timed event, but between Fire Dance and Tools we’d have to make an effort to actually fail this part. We show the Sp Forces why all the Empire’s invasions would have failed if only there were four or five thousand Sabins in the world, then take our seats again.


Skip the apologies and tearjerking speeches. Either you’re done fighting or not, that’s all most people will care about.


GESTAHL [gets up and stands by his chair]: After they devastated my Empire, the Espers headed northward, toward Crescent Island. They must be found...! We must tell them we’re no longer their enemy. After all that I have put them through, it is up to me to set things right. That is why... I need to borrow Terra’s power. Only Terra can bridge the gap between Esper and human.


Will you accompany me?”
Well, it’s for the good of the world....
GESTAHL: I’ll have my finest warrior accompany us! General Leo!


Sabin: Didn’t I see you at Doma? ...I’m SURE I did... So that was General Leo...
LEO [walking around the table and bowing his head to the Returners]: I’ll be waiting for you in Albrook.
GESTAHL [retaking his seat]: We must find the Espers and come to terms with them! You are our last hope!
[Fade out. When the lights come on again, the entire party is alone in the banquet hall.]


Terra: Locke... Thank you...
Locke: The rest of you wait here. I smell a rat... You mean like your suspicions about that rat Celes, Locke?
Edgar: Agreed... It’s hard to trust the Emperor just like that...
Cyan: We’ll stay here and investigate.
Locke: Please do. Leave no stone unturned!
Edgar: Right. And you be careful!
[Fade out as the party splits up to fulfill their duties. As Locke and Terra leave the banquet hall...]


“Imperial troops have withdrawn from South Figaro. In addition, our troops have also pulled out of Doma. We hereby give you the right to take any weapons you desire from the Imperial base to the east, near the sealed gate. And this is from the Emperor himself...”
Received “Tintinabar.”
“Your behavior at the banquet was impeccable. Please take this as well!”
Received “Charm Bangle.”


I love the way he awkwardly trails off then just walks away. The rewards he listed off are in order of how hard they are to get – the liberation of South Figaro is guaranteed, but the Charm Bangle, a relic that halves the encounter rate, requires an almost perfect score (there is a little leeway, but it’s almost easier to just get a perfect score than an imperfect one that still nets you the Bangle).

“... ...there and Crescent Island... We’ll penetrate the Imperial base. You deal with the Espers!”
With the banquet over, Locke and Terra have all the time in the world to wander around, talk to the other Returners, loot the Imperial Castle, etc. There are some expendables in the Castle, but the important treasures (relatively speaking) are the Gale Hairpin and Back Guard, relics that increase the party’s preemptive attack rate and prevent back/pincer attacks, respectively. Minor bonuses, really, but useful if you’ve got an empty spot in your equipment (which you shouldn’t).


KEFKA [jumps down from the toilet and waggles his finger]: I don’t believe this! [He laughs for a moment, then returns to his spot against the far wall.] What a bore.


Gestahl’s just hanging out on the roof of the castle, watching Vector continue to burn.


Sabin: Can we really trust the Empire?! I have an awful feeling about this...
ARVIS: Makes sense. Can’t just forget about Espers...
BANON: Could Gestahl have meant such a thing? Team up with the Empire to track down an Esper...
I want to berate these guys for not making any efforts to put out the fire, but considering we walked right past all these burning buildings to attend a banquet I don’t think we can really claim the moral high ground here.


That’s everyone currently in Vector. If you want to see Setzer, you’ll have to hoof it all the way back to the grounded Blackjack.


[SETZER ducks into the machines under the walkway and reemerges on the other side in a way that’s really hard to screenshot.]
CID: I’ll help. No machine can stump me!
Setzer: Don’t touch anything! [He ducks back under the walkway and comes up in his original place.]
CID: Go kill time in the casino! I can speed this crate up!


CID [walks out]: But I could really make this thing hum...!


Setzer: Actually, when I was young there was something I was mad about...
Terra: ...huh?
Setzer: In my youth I dreamed of having the world’s fastest airship.
Terra: You mean... ...
Setzer: At that time there was a young girl who piloted the Falcon, the fastest vessel ever made. Sometimes we were the worst of rivals... but other times we were the best of friends. We always egged each other on to go faster and higher. When she disappeared along with her ship... I felt like I lost my spirit.


Setzer: Repairs aren’t finished yet. You’d better take the boat from Albrook.

And that’s it for the story this week. Next week we’ll head to Albrook and from there to Crescent Island. Oh, but first, one quick stop. Remember the list of concessions we got from Gestahl after the banquet?


Click the image to see our total haul from that place and I’ll see you cats in seven days.

...

I am going to use 'Phepppp!' in my RPG for the April RPG Contest somewhere.

(Also props for pointing out the early mention of Daryll, so many people miss that scene)

Part XVII - Diplomacy for Dummies

Last time things went horribly, horribly right and the Eidolons busted out of their world to rampage. Now we're stuck on the far edge of the Imperial continent with a busted airship and need to get to Vector so we can laugh it up at how badly the Eidolons trashed Vector.



♪♪ Tina ♪♪

Fortunately there's a Chocobo stable a few steps west of here.



♪♪ Techno de Chocobo ♪♪

I won't blame you if you don't check that particular music link... Anyway, the ride to the capital is (naturally) uneventful.



Huh. Well it looks the same as ever from here.



♪♪ Ghastra's Empire ♪♪

Ah, I'm pretty sure it wasn't quite this... on-fire-and-in-ruins before.



What indeed?

(The rest of this update will be in the inappropriate and horribly garish Chocobo frame, because it's gotta show up sooner or later, right? I apologize in advance and promise it will never appear again.)

Returner "What the hell...?"



It can't be..."
Jun "We arrived in the Empire, and found it in this sad state of affairs."

Yeah, so basically the Narche and Returner forces came a-chargin' up the path, only to find that the Eidolons beat them to the punch. The Returners suck, man!



Huh. You try to treat with the guy and he sends an armored giga-robot at you, but drop a magi-nuclear bomb on his ass and suddenly he's "waiting for you". Diplomacy by force does work, it seems!



I just bet he does.



"Peace at last..."

I think the guards are a bit spooked and jumping to conclusions here...



Sure you have.



Yeah right, Cid. You believe that bull?

*The party fans out of Tina*
"Cid!!"
*Cid steps down*
Cid "The Eidolons came to recover their imprisoned friends. When they discovered that they were all dead, they turned on the town, and destroyed it... I'll never forget the screams of terror... Nor the enraged cries of the Eidolons."
*The Redguard step down*
Imperial Soldier "We, too, have lost our will to fight. The war is over."
*Ghastra looks up*
Ghastra "The power of the Eidolons... It seems that I was being far too shortsighted... If the Eidolons are not reckoned with, the world will be ruined. The Empire's strength is infantile in comparison to theirs. Somehow, we must persuade the Eidolons to halt their attacks."
*Cid walks behind the nearby guard and faces left*
Cid "Humans should never have seached for such unimaginable power......"
*Ghastra makes for the rear exit*
Ghastra "But let us worry about that later. For this night, let us enjoy a well-prepared feast."
*Ghastra exits stage rear*
*Cid steps over to face the party*
Cid "There are still some soldiers who don't feel peace is the way to go. Please, talk to as many of the soldiers in this castle as you can before the feast begins. This is all we ask."
*Cid exits stage rear too*
Imperial Soldier "Please talk to as many soldiers as possible. The feast will begin in 4 minutes."



And a timer starts! Better huff it fast!

Foyer Area
"Finally, the war is over..."
"The Eidolons that came out of the Sealed Gate confronted the Empire... Now the Empire is truly defeated......"
"Now we've lost the will to fight..."

4/24 rank Petty Consoler



Front Gates
*Battle with Mega Armor, which goes down in 1 Thundara*
"Wow, you really are powerful..."
"I've killed far too many people... I'll never be able to return to a peaceful life..."
"If only you had died......"

7/24 rank Amatuer Empathist



Soldiers' Dormitory
Rumor has it that he's in there because the Emperor himself heard about how Kefka used poison during the coup at Doma castle."
"The Emperor is offering a peace agreement with foreign countries, and the Returners."
"Perhaps the Eidolons attacked us to free their imprisoned friends...?"
"Damed Returners!"
*Weak fight*
"Hmm. Your strength... I'm impressed!"
"Everything will be cleared up at the feast tonight..."
"The Majick Research Institute has been decommissioned."

13/24 rank Budding Diplomat



Bathroom
*Weak fight*
"Sometimes, those who have no power simply fight harder!"

14/24 rank Sweet Talker



Hallway

15/24 rank Manipulator



Rooftop
"Leave me alone!"
"The war ended before we had a chance to use this machine..."
"Kefka was put in prison."
"The war was so long... I have no family to return to now..."

20/24 rank Master Debater



Control Room
*Weak fight*
"You're strong. Maybe you really can stop the Eidolons' rampage..."

21/24 rank Peace Talker



Royal Bedroom
"...... We'll survive......"

23/24 rank Discussion Deva



Royal Bathroom

24/24 rank Lord of TekkenLanguage

Success! And thanks to my swift-footed method, I nabbed a bunch of chests while doing it too!



We even have time to check in on the insane clown!

Grah!"
*Kefka hops off the toilet and walks to the center of the room, wagging his finger*
Kefka "I don't BELIEVE THIS!"
*Kefka awesome-laughs 3 times, walks between the sink and toilet, then blinks*
Kefka "This is so boring."
*Tina steps down and blinks too*



This should be entertaining. Let's exercise those newly honed diplomatic skills, shall we?

♪♪ The Returners ♪♪

Diplomacy 101, lesson 1: Always be polite and follow instructions that don't put you in danger or lessen your position with your host!



Diplomacy 101, lesson 2: Never turn away overt signs of support to your cause!



First of all, a toast. What shall we toast to...?"
"To the Empire..."
"To the Returners..."
>"To old times..."

Diplomacy 101, lesson 3: Always take the neutral middle ground whnever possible to avoid causing an international incident!



*They raise their glasses*
Ghastra "Oh, by the way, about Kefka... After hearing about him pouring poison into Doma's river, I had him placed in prison, but what should we do with him now...?"
>"Just leave him in jail..."
"He should be sentenced to death immediately..."
"He should be set free..."

Diplomacy 101, lesson 4: Never make life-altering decisions about war criminals over dinner; it spoils appetites!



*Ghastra lowers his head*
Ghastra "I must apologize for the incident in Doma. None of us thought that Kefka would go as far as using poison."
"Yes, but we can't change the past..."
>"That was inexcusable of him!"
"Apologize again!"

Diplomacy 101, lesson 5: Only get confrontational with your host if it's about a war criminal! You're on the same page about them!



rid of all poison used for ill in this world."
*Ghastra looks up*
Ghastra "Oh, by the way... In regard to General Celes..."
"Was she really an Imperial spy?"
>"Celes is our friend!"
"We believe in Celes, no matter what side she takes."

Diplomacy 201, lesson 1: When confronted about your allies who were originally sided with your enemies, always take the stance that you trust them! Neutrality hurts you in this case!



Celes was the first who noticed that the war was becoming so violent, and decided to join the Returners to make a point. Now then. Are there any questions you want to ask me......?"
>#1"Why did you start the war?"
>#2"Why do you seek peace now?"
>#3"Why did you have us talk to your soldiers?"

Diplomacy 201, lesson 2: When prompted to ask questions, ask as many diplomatically correct inquiries as you can! Be piercing about it, but accepting of the answers!



Ghastra "Well, then... If I may, I would like to discuss the Eidolons..."
>"Wait, I'd like to hear some more answers."
"Right."

Diplomacy 201, lesson 3: Don't let your host change the subject when they've opened discussion! Ask all of those piercing questions!

(Asking about peace...)



>"Wait, I'd like to hear some more answers."
"Let's discuss the Phantom Beasts, then."

Remember lesson 3!

(Asking about the soldiers...)



I felt that, if they met you directly, they might come to a better understanding of why it is necessary."
"Wait, I'd like to hear some more answers."
>"Let's discuss the Phantom Beasts, then."

Diplomacy 201, lesson 4: Never repeat yourself when questioning! It makes you look inattentive and/or untrusting of the answers you were given!



Their power is too great. If they are not stopped, the entire world could be laid to waste..."
>"Yes, I agree, their power is too great..."
"But you're tyhe one who brought the Eidolons' power into this world!"

Diplomacy 201, lesson 5: When given the chance to point out logical fallacies in your host's arguments, resist the temptation! They'll resent you for it and be less willing to discuss matters openly!



Thinking back now, I cannot understand why I wanted such misplaced power... But then, I cannot undo what I have done, so I must make amends now... By the way... Of those three questions you asked me, which did you ask me first?"
>"Why did you start the war?"
"Why do you seek peace now?"
"Why did you have us talk to your soldiers?"

Diplomacy 301, lesson 1: Keep sharp! You may be quizzed by your host to find out if you've been paying attention, so don't forget what you've asked and when you asked it!



*Cid gets up*
Cid "You look a bit fatigued... Perhaps a short break is in order?"
>"Let's take a break."
"Let's continue talking."

Diplomacy 301, lesson 2: Never turn down an invitation to take a break! Tired brains work less efficiently!

Diplomacy 301, lesson 3: Talk with your host's agents while you take your break if you can! More viewpoints never hurt when negotiations are underway!



Can yo uspare 2 minutes to fight us?"
>Yes
No
*Weak fight with 3 Bouncers*
"As we suspected..."

Diplomacy 301, lesson 4: Don't be afraid to use a little force if you're asked to perform a demonstration of strength!



Diplomacy 301, lesson 5: Discussions should be continued from across the table, not from behind your host! Fortunately, most hosts are kind enough to look the other way if you commit this faux pas!



Diplomacy 401, lesson 1: Don't forget your duties! Come back after your break in a timely fashion and don't insult your host by taking your seat without resuming talks!



"That you want peace..."
>"That the war is over..."
"That you're sorry..."

Diplomacy 401, lesson 2: When given a difficult question about what you want your host to say to you, be sure to ask for them to reaffirm that conflict has ceased! This nicely encompasses matters of whether peace is being sought AND whether the person in question is sorry by proxy!



*Ghastra gets up*
Ghastra "After the Eidolons razed my Empire, they flew off north towards Triangle Island. If we don't catch up with them, they might start causing trouble again. I want to apologize to those poor Eidolons for what I've done to them and their kin... However, the Empire is responsible for much of the Eidolons' suffering, and thus, we need somebody else to talk to them for us... That's where you come in... We need to borrow Tina's power."
*The guards face the party too*
"The gap between humans and Eidolons... Only Tina can bridge it now..."
*Ghastra steps down to the table*
Ghastra "Well then, we shall make immediate preparations to go to Triangle Island on the Armor transport docked in Alburg... Will you accompany us?
>Yes
No

Diplomacy 401, lesson 3: Never turn down a request for action that does not conflict with your interests! This is your ultimate goal, cooperation with your former enemy!



Wait, that guy from the Imperial base at Doma?



Huh, it is him! Cool.

*Leo walks around to the other side of the table*
Leo "Well then, I will be waiting for you all in Alburg."
*Leo walks off*
Ghastra "Find the Eidolons, and reconcile with them for us all. I'm counting on you all... Please."

And banquet over.

*Tina faces Lock*
Tina "Lock... Thank you."
*Lock steps down and he and Tina face Edgar*
Lock "The rest of you should remain here in the Empire. Something seems fishy here..."
*Edgar nods*
Edgar "Indeed... It's difficult to trust what the Emperor said so easily..."
*Cayene steps forward*
Cayenne "We shall remain here and monitor the Empire's actions, sirs."
*Lock faces down and nods*
Lock "Please do so. Keep a keen eye on them!!"
*Setzer and Matias close in on Lock, who faces Edgar*
Edgar "Of course. You be careful, too."

Diplomacy 401, lesson 4: Even if discussions went well, don't let up on surveillance of your former enemy! Even the most convincing plea for cooperation can hide a dastardly plot!



♪♪ Ghastra's Empire ♪♪

"Imperial troops stationed in South Figaro are being withdrawn."
"As well, Imperial troops stationed in Doma are also being withdrawn."
"The arsenal in the lookout post near the Sealed Gate to the east of here has been unlocked. You may take any goods you wish from there."
"And this is from the Emperor himself..."
Received "Cat's Bell"!
"Your behavior at the feast was impeccable. I was instructed to give you this, as well."
Received "Repelling Bracelet"!
"Well then..."

Diplomacy 401, lesson 5: Being a good diplomat pays off! Be sure to be graceful when accepting rewards for your good diplomacy! Congratulations on completing Diplomacy for Dummies!



They're scheduled to send out a ship to Triangle Island from there, loaded with Majick Armor. We'll keep a close eye on the Empire. So please, seek out the Eidolons."
(In the prison area)
Cayene "No matter what has happened... I cannot forgive Kefka, sirs..."

In Town
Bannan "To think that Ghastra said that...... Work hand-in-hand with the Empire to search for the Eidolons... Hmm..." {Come to think of it, why wasn't Bannan at the feast? He IS the leader of the Returners, after all!}
Jun "It makes sense. Certainly we can't just forget about the Eidolons."
Matias "I wonder if things will be okay if we trust the Empire... I have a bad feeling that things are going to go awry..."
Returner Soldier "The war... Is it really over...?"
Narche Gaurd "We didn't do a thing, the Empire brought their downfall upon themselves."

In the Pub
Mog "Kupo!"
Gau "Smell of alcohol... How fathers smell......?" {Don't even want to know where you got that idea, Gau.}

Well, that covers the entire party, except... Where's Setzer?



♪♪ Setzer ♪♪

Ah, repairing the airship. That... actually makes sense. And Cid's trying to help, too!

Setzer "The engine was damaged by the shock of the emergency landing, and it's still under repair. It's going to take some time to finish fixing it..."
*Setzer moves about*
Cid "I can help. I'm a master mechanic."
Setzer "I can figure it out myself."
*Setzer moves about some more*
Cid "You could make this thing so much faster if you got rid of that gambling casino, you know."
*Setzer is shocked!*
Setzer "...... Shut the hell up!! Go on, get out of here!"
*Cid leaves, Tina stepping aside for him*
Cid "But it really would speed this thing up..."
*Setzer resumes work; Tina steps out of the party and crouches down on the walkway nearby*
Tina "I really like this ship."
Setzer "I remember when I was your age, before I was a gambler, and I was devoted to something other than this ship..."
Tina "...Huh?"
*Setzer looks right and down*
Setzer "I dreamed of making the fastest ship in the world,a nd flying all over the sky in it... I pursued that dream relentlessly."
*Tina stands up and Setzer looks up*
Tina "And it's different now?"
Setzer "That dream was all that drove me on back then. There was another airship in the world at that time, the fastest ever, the Falcon. Its pilot and I... We used to be the best of friends and the most intense rivals ever. Back then, we'd fly the skies together, without a care in the world... But then, one day, the Falcon and its pilot disappeared, and my happy days of youth were over."



Aww, poor Porco RossoSetzer, lost his buddy. Anyway, we'll continue next time with a trip to Alburg and the mysterious Triangle Island next time! (And yes, I raided the Sealed Gate treasure trove too.)

OH MY GOD, I've never witnessed the scene for returning to the grounded airship after the banquette. My world is torn asunder.

Say, does Genji refer to anything in particular?
Gau is my favorite character by far.
Slam Shuffle is great.
There aren't enough clues there to exclude all the times! They all say "on the hour" or ":30" for minutes, and one of the seconds clues is redundant with the other. Unless you missed some clues...
second basement what !? Don't recall that Running Shoes basement...
*raises hand*

I think that Zozo potion would be missed more because nobody'd care.
Translation Gripes Time!
Sorry, but Ant(i)dot(e)/Remedy/Scan/Osmose/1234 make more sense for English than Poisona/Esuna/Libra/Asper/_RaGaJa(/Arise). White was worse than Holy, but acceptable. Won't defend Pearl or Green Cherry though-completely neuters the "get the berserker drunk" sense. Reraise does make more sense than Life3. ...these would be acceptable and understandable, but still inferior, since it makes me think of AFIR and ALIT etc.

if neither of you shows this I will beam disappointed. (Could you pretty please display it?)

...I feel stupid, I don't think I abuse Runic like I should against Efreeti/Shiva, back when.

Efreet is a bad name. It is the plural form of Efreeti, just like Djinn/Djinni.

FF6 mechanics trivia time!

I'd swear this is wrong, that you could press skipturn(...defaults to x?) while on SWDtech gauge and it switches to someone else; that you could abuse WAIT-style?

You neglected to mention Dadaluma's counter-steal if you use the Steal command on him.

There's a guide dedicated to these monsters, and if you hadn't read it, you'd THINK it's the normal random encounter stuff. But apparently no, it's just controlled by what the HELL programmers stuff that you would never guess.
Dusk RequiUm in US ver. They goofed.
This is another what the HELL programmers thing. Well, some the best one is in fact just plain blocked on boss battles, yes, but this non-skill component is what's crazy- the four best results (matched 7, bar, dragon, or airship) actually have the game cheat if a certain counter isn't set up beforehand properly, so that the last reel CANNOT be stopped to match it.

It never starts the battle able to be used for one of these. It is easily manipulated to one of those positions though!
I guess it's more convenient than Zozo.
The pickup text for three of those lies. The Remedy is a Soft, the 2000GP is 293GP, the Water Edge (as the player items are known) is labeled Water Skean.

Yes it does.

There are enough clues to muddle it out, though it takes a bit of trial and error. I seem to recall that the info is all in the script.

It hardly matters which makes more sense to any of us personally. Square-Enix has made their translation decision, and now spell names like Poisona, Esuna, Fira, etc. are the standard.

Here's what happens: after the screen scrolls down... Shadow is gone!

Dancho "Your friend took off. He said that he'd fall asleep in another five minutes..."

Bit of an anticlimax, but it is fitting.

Feel free to blame Square on that one too.

Nope. The gauge resets every time you exit its menu, and you can only exit its menu by either hitting A or B.

I'll let Lucas take the blame for that since my focus is on the story side.

Significantly.

Oh it gets better. Those item names are coded into the script, and there's a few others, too, that you don't see!

Received "Superball"!
There's something else here...
Received "Raijin"!
Received "Cicadia"!
Received "Katon"!
Received "Suiton"!
Received "Dark Matter"!

Don't you just love dummied-out text?

And then you go through the entire Vector sequence a man down.

Yep. Which is the best reason not to go (re-)invest in Shadow's help after completing Zozo. If you thought Number 128 was a bitch with 3 characters, just imagine doing it with 2!

Well, I'll freely admit I apparently missed that little tidbit when I was looking at my cheat sheets of Things I Didn't See Myself Because I Killed The Boss Too Quickly, but I did use Capture on Dadaluma. Twice, in fact! It seems he can counter Steal but not Capture, just another reason you really ought to have the Thief Glove on Locke at all times.

...And what, exactly, does a yellow cherry have to do with getting a berserker drunk?

On an unrelated note, Sky, why did you translate "shin'eitai" (bodyguard/elite guard) as "Bouncer"?

Because I was not very good at translation when I started the project, and marginally okay by the time I was done with it. It's hardly my only mistake, either.

Hey guys - I'm loving the LPs. That said, I've got a couple of things to chime in with (since you're going all FF3/6-super-ultimate-compendium style here):

The Zozo clock *does* come down to trial-and-error, but it's only between two possibilities. First off, the hours are definitely 6, as evidenced by the line of people telling you what hour it is. The seconds are where the two possibilities are: someone tells you that they're divisible by 20 (so 20 and 40 are out), then someone else says that their seconds are 30 - so that leaves 10 and 50, the only choices. This is because in an inn (I think) in the back of Zozo, there's someone that says that the minute hand is missing on the clock, and it's not pointed at the right time, anyway. Going over to the clock shows one hand pointing at 2, so that means the minutes are definitely 10.

So, the time choices are 6:10:10 or 6:10:50 based on that info.

Secondly, neither of you mentioned that Cyan has a little aside if you bring him to the banquet. I'm quoting from memory, but here goes...

Leo: "You! You're Cyan, liege to the King of Doma! Please forgive me for not being there to stop Kefka!"
Cyan: "...that wasn't your fault."

A small thing, true, but I always thought that it was a nice touch for him to apologize for that.

Once again, great LPs, dudes!

(Edit: On taking Shadow to the opera)
After he leaves, can you intentionally fail the opera sequence, head back to Narshe, and get a full team again? (For that matter, can you stick him in your Narshe pool after hiring him?)

Yes to question 1, no to question 2. If you really want to, you can take different people to the Opera each time you fail, even. But Shadow's always for-hire at that point, no matter what you do. If you return to Narche with Shadow, he'll bugger off with an unhelpful "My duty to you ends here. You don't need my help any more..." (Or was it "I have no reason to go along with you any more."? One of those two.).

You can exploit this if you're especially demented and get yourself an empty party via a certain method involving a party of Shadow and Gau, the Veldt, and a long river ride. Here's how it works:

1. Recruit Shadow with only Gau in the party.
2. Go through Figaro Cave, Mt. Colts, the Lete River, the Phantom Forest, and Barren Falls without Shadow leaving.
3. Make Gau jump on the Veldt.
4. Return to Narche via the Serpent Trench, Nikea's ship to South Figaro, and South Figaro Cave.

Shadow leaves the party, which is empty without him, and you're controlling dead air! You can get into a fight and get an insta-annihilated message, or if you're bored you can find your way back to Jun's house and build a replacement party.

I know...it's just one of the ones that bugged me a bit more, for some reason. Sorry if I offended you.

Not at all. It's safe to assume that any and all mistakes I made were because I was inexperienced and had relatively poor resources at my disposal.

Ooops, got Green Cherry(cures Imp) and [Revivify]Holy Water(cures Zombie) mixed up. Not sure how I did that, but apparently I've been thinking it for some long time. Now the Green Cherry thing makes even less sense to me.
*tests on Game Pak* hmm, you're right. Drat. Looks like there is no renaming the Sword Techs either. Where did that feature come in? Patch only?

That feature is only found in the Japanese version. I believe it was removed even from FF6A's non-Japanese releases as well. We had to go to a LOT of trouble to get the rename feature to work right, I remember, because Sword Skills only use Kanji. Chris spent almost as much time on getting that menu to work as he did on getting all of the other menus to work right, so you can imagine why the feature was consistently removed for non-Japanese releases of the game.

Shame about the SwdTechs. Customization is always a big plus for me in any game, so it's disappointing to not be able to do that. I'd probably play Sky Render's translation just for that, if he were to fix Sefsa's name. Gefga. Zefza. Yeah.

I've thought about doing an Alexander O. Smith-style rewrite of the whole translation before, making it far more polished and stylish. But the amount of work that'd take (not to mention the retrans work necessary for all of the many points where I messed up) wouldn't make it worth it.

I say something encouraging, but given my romhacking experience is limited to Lunar Magic and FFHackster and such, I'd just end up sounding like an ignorant asshole.

A lot of the work is already done for me, actually. Chris coded some wonderful algorithms to apply the ASM changes so they'd work no matter what changes I made (within reason). I was mostly referring to the massive amount of work involved in properly localizing the entire game (which is actually a lot more work than simply translating it takes, assuming you're trying to stay true to the original work).