Blame yourself or God! Let's Play Final Fantasy Tactics!

Yeah, I haven't really commented much either, just because I felt the greatness of this thread was self-evident. Final Fantasy Tactics is one of those games I've put hundreds, and hundreds of hours into over the years, and in those hundreds of hours I've noticed all sorts of fantastic little details and nuances. In this thread you've managed to draw out all those details so they can be observed and appreciated by everyone, not just those of us who have obsessed over the game for most of our adult lives.

this thread is one of the best on the board. we're not commenting because you're awe-ing us into silence.

Sorry for making everyone worry! I just get a little lonely when it's just me and a few others discussing the game. But I've got an idea that I hope people on this board will participate in!

I was planning on revisiting all the classes in the future to further discuss strategies and job setups. Such discussion wouldn't happen until around Chapter 3 (I've still got seven classes left to talk about) but I was wondering if anyone would be interested in Guest-starring in this LP to talk about why they think (class) is great, and discuss their favorite moves, moments, etc?

I wouldn't be looking for 'experts' or anything. I think one of the wonderful things about FFT is how certain people have a completely different experience. I think it could spur some pretty neat discussion.

Anyway, it'd still be a ways away, but if anyone is interested, start thinking about it. We'll see if I've got enough support once Chapter 3 hits.

- Eddie

I think that's a really good idea. I don't know if I'd have much to contribute myself, but from the handful of other boards on Talking Time that have discussed FFT, it's pretty clear everyone plays the game in their own style and has different preferences concerning jobs and abilities.

Your request also gave me an idea. Since you mentioned in an earlier post that you haven't played the PSP port of FFT, would you be open to the idea of somebody else making a post or two detailing the new classes that were added in that version?

I tell ya, I'm loving this LP. Sorry I haven't commented before.
It might be kind of cool to take a picture of the battlefield before the battle really starts and then take suggestions about basic strategy with a write-up of how it worked. Maybe not for every battle, but a little bit of interactivity would be awesome.

That does sound interesting, but I can't say with certainty that I'd have anything to contribute... so I guess you could put me down as a 'maybe'.

Welcome back! Do you hate fighting enemy Wizards? Well then you're going to really hate fighting enemy Summoners!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Bariaus Hill

(Scene: Ramza and Agrais are joined by the Goug engineer
Mustadio. Together they seek the help of Cardinal Draclau,
Agrais for the sake of Princess Ovelia, and Mustadio for the
sake of his father, a prisoner of the criminal syndicate,
Bart Company. The group pursues our heroes as they
travel...)





Rudvich Mercenary: We don't want to fight! Hand
Mustadio over and there won't be any trouble. OK?

Agrias: Why don't you leave quietly!





* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

This map presents the first Summoners you'll run into, backed with a handful of Knights and Archers. The latter foes are
nothing you haven't dealt with before, and unlike some maps, the Archers won't be getting much of a bonus due to the
terrain; they'll start at roughly the same height as you do.

The challenge from this map is all in dealing with the Summoners. Both of them start on opposite sides of the map inside
the valleys that accent the giant hill in the middle. While Mustadio will be able to shoot the one on the left, your own
units will be busy dealing with the Knights and Archers. It's easy to miss one of the Summoners moving in and dropping
a summon spell (remembering that damage based summon spells don't hit allied units!) and then you're in a mess of
trouble.

Spreading out your units is therefore, highly recommended. More than that, the computer AI, while certainly willing to
target multiple units, is content to target a summon that will only hit a single unit. The enemy Summoners won't have
the MP to cast a summon like Shiva or Ramuh more than twice; therefore baiting them to use a summon on a single unit
is a pretty good plan. Just make sure that you have a Phoenix Down or Raise spell to perk your fallen unit up, because
their spells are going to cream you.




The Summoner on the left is the most dangerous one. She'll start with both a Wizard Robe (+2 MA), a random elemental
rod (Fire, Lightning, or Ice) and a pair of Battle Boots. This gives her both the longest range and the highest damage,
especially if her Rod matches the element of whatever summon she chooses to use. You can sometimes get lucky and
one or more of these Summoners will spawn with a pathetic Faith score (~50), but an average Faith (~60) is all the
need to take large chunks of HP off your characters.

Mustadio will usually bait a summon here, which is fine. Sometimes he'll show off his "Engineering" skill by sniping this
Summoner in the leg (giving her the 'Don't Move' status effect) but I've found most times he'll be simply trying to shoot
these Summoners. He obviously doesn't like his skill set as much as I do.

One of the Knights will also spawn with a Wizard Robe. This isn't the earliest you can get them, but this guy is certainly
the least threatening unit you'll find wearing one. He'll usually have Basic Skill as a secondary skill set, meaning the +2
MA he gets is compeltely worthless. If you've got a Thief with Steal Armor however, it's not a bad idea to pilfer this
Robe, but they'll be purchasable in the near future so don't strain yourself. The Shields that most of the enemies use
makes magic the best choice for dealing with them. It's very easy to catch three of the Archers and Knights in a
Summon spell of your own.




Items with the "strengthen" property are not particularly common. The Fire/Ice/Lightning Rods are the earliest source,
and one of the best to use for Wizards and Summoners, even moving towards the late game. Strengthened magic of
the appropriate magical type increases the caster's effective MA by 25%. This does mean that status effect magic
doesn't get much of a boost from being "strengthened" (see the discussion on Shell and Status Effects for details if
you've forgotten why), but there are very few status effect magic with a matching element, so it won't come up often
anyway.

Jessica here is equipped with an Ice Rod, thus her Shiva summons will see their damage increased. The increase in
damage isn't spectacular, but it's still significant enough to forgo using other elemental spells barring matching an
elemental weakness. In the case of monsters, it's still more important to hit them with elements they're weak against.
Needless to say, I'm under the assumption that after the Araguay Woods fight that Goblins scare their children with
stories about Jessica.



Agrais and Mustadio are killed pretty early in the battle, which I'm fine with, but your typical 'Holy Knight' Agrais will do
just fine against everything but the Summoners. Her base class has a HUGE evade percentage (25%!) which coupled
with a Shield and Heavy Armor will make her an excellent tank to take/avoid blows. Her other skills have to be taught to
her, but it's unlikely you'll get the 500 JP she needs to learn Crush Punch. You might remember that was one of the
skills that Wiegraf occasionally wrecked us with. The skill is her bread and butter (kind of like Gafgarion's "Night Sword")
so learn it for some reason you can drag out the battles with her running around Stasis Sword'ing everything.

Musatadio isn't going to contribute much unless he's really going at it with Leg Aim, so don't bother reviving him if he
falls (he's now following proper guest etiquette). Keep an eye on his JP; for 300 he can grab Arm Aim, which is
Mustadio's best ability. He won't likely see that much JP for at least another battle tho. He falls here, but Agrais (still a
White Mage) takes it upon herself to revive him.

Junk recites a lovely lullaby to put a Knight to sleep. The Mediator's Talk skill isn't as reliable as an Oracle's Yin Yang
Magic since it's success rate is hard to raise (only a higher MA score or a good Zodiac Compatibility can raise its
success rate), but can come in handy every once in a while. I didn't mention it last time but story battles are a poor
time to use Mediators, particularly when you're saddled with guest characters. Giving a character a +4 Faith isn't going
to swing a battle. and their damage output is negligible.

On the other hand, Junk has almost grabbed all the skills in the Talk Skill set. I'm still flip-flopping on the idea of
teaching him Equip Gun. He's becoming a Geomancer next, and Geomancers already have a pretty good range on their
attacks. On the other hand, Junk is more likely to use his Talk skill if he isn't close enough to swing at an enemy with
his sword. Decisions, decisions. Coincidentally, the Geomancer is just the next class we'll be looking at!

Geomancer

If you had to describe the Geomancer in Dungeons and Dragons terms, they're the "jack of all trades, master of none"
that D&D Bards are often labeled with (FFT Bards are simply the master of none). [/nerd] The Geomancer's biggest
strength is that it lacks a real weakness. It can handle itself either in the front lines or by sniping the enemy with its
Elemental skill from a distance. They have both a decent PA and MA score, can use a sword and shield naturally, and
their class skill can sometimes outright remove an enemy from battle.

Their Elemental skill is like the Squire's Throw Stone. Weak, but an instant (and free) attack. Many classes have prob-
lems attacking at range, so giving them Elemental skill is a quick and easy way to shore up a long-range deficiency. It's
not as good as say, the Monk's 'Punch Art' or Ninja's "Throw" commands, but it's a cheaper (JP or Gil wise), and
occasionally absolutely shines.

Their ability to equip swords is handy for some of the special classes you get later that require a sword to use their
'special' skill set. Avoid axes; their weapon power is high, but like hammers, the damage they deal is fairly random. Stick
with consistency. Geomancers are also one of the few classes that can use shields as well, so their evasion tends to
be pretty top notch.

I also want to mention that I'm in love with the female Geomancer character design, and absolutely hate the male
Geomancer character design. So polarizing, this class sometimes.



Prerequisite: Lv. 3 Monk
Weapons: Sword, Axe, Shield
Helmet: Hat
Armor: Clothes, Robe

Move: 4
Jump: 3
Physical Evasion Rate: 10%

Skills to get: Pitfall, Water Ball, Hell Ivy, Carve Model

Class Skill: Elemental
Pitfall: Elemental that damages with a warp in space-time. Ground type: Natural Surface, Wasteland, Road [Add: Don't
Move].
Range: 5, Effect: 2,0. CTR: Now. JP Cost: 150
(Elemental skills are a pretty basic ranged attack. They have a slightly longer range than most magic, but they'll only
hit adjacent units that are on the same level as the target panel.)

Water Ball: Elemental that damages with the mysterious power of water. Ground type: Waterway, River, Lake, Sea,
Waterfall [Water Elemental; Add: Frog.].
Range: 5, Effect: 2,0. CTR: Now. JP Cost: 150
(Not all Elemental skills are very useful! You're better off sticking with ones you'll find outdoors, as all random battles
will happen outside.]

Hell Ivy: Elemental that damages with the mysterious power of plants. Ground type: Grassland, Thicket, Water plant,
Ivy [Add: Stop].
Range: 5, Effect: 2,0. CTR: Now. JP Cost: 150
(Therefore, some of these skills will rarely be used, if it all. How often will you find yourself standing on lava?)

Carve Model: Elemental that damages with the mysterious power of stones. Ground type: Gravel, Stone floor, Stone
wall, Mud wall, Tombstone [Add: Petrify].
Range: 5, Effect: 2,0. CTR: Now. JP Cost: 150
[The majority of status effects Geomancy skills cause are terrific. The bad/sub par ones tend to be in skills you'll
rarely use, which is a plus.)

Local Quake: Elemental that damages with the mysterious power of rocks. Ground type: Rocky cliff, Lava rocks [Earth
Elemental; Add: Confusion].
Range: 5, Effect: 2,0. CTR: Now. JP Cost: 150
(Elemental skills are cheap tho, and the 'worst' ones are at the bottom, so going top to bottom is fine.)

Kamaitachi: Elemental that damages with atmospheric power. Ground type: Book, Tree, Brick, Bridge, Furniture, Iron
plate, Moss, Coffin [Wind Elemental; Add: Don't Act].
Range: 5, Effect: 2,0. CTR: Now. JP Cost: 150
(The status effect that each produces will take effect about 20-25% of the time. Having an item that strengthens a
particular element that matches the Elemental skill with increase the damage slightly. There are very few useful items
that do this, but the accessory 108 Gems strengths all elements, which is nice boost for Geomancers.)

Demon Fire: Elemental that damages with mysterious powers within the place. Ground type: Wooden floor, Rug, Box,
Stairs, Deck [Fire Elemental; Add: Sleep].
Range: 5, Effect: 2,0. CTR: Now. JP Cost: 150
(Which elemental skill you'll use depends on which tile your unit is standing on. Since your range is huge, look for tiles
that produce more beneficial status effects.)

Quicksand: Elemental that damages with the mysterious power of water. Ground type: Swamp, Marsh, Poisoned marsh
[Water Elemental; Add: Death Sentence].
Range: 5, Effect: 2,0. CTR: Now. JP Cost: 150
(Damage for Elemental skills is based on both PA and MA, so nearly any class will be able to use Elemental skills well.
Higher MA is more important than PA, but the damage will never be spectacular. For example, if your units MA and PA
were both 10, you'd only be looking at 60 damage before Zodiac Compatibility!)



Sand Storm: Elemental that damages with the mysterious power of dust. Ground type: Sand area, Stalactite, Salt
[Wind Elemental; Add: Darkness].
Range: 5, Effect: 2,0. CTR: Now. JP Cost: 150
(The equation is [(PA + 2) / 2] * MA, if you're into that math sort of thing.)

Blizzard: Elemental that damages with the mysterious power of snow. Ground type: Snow, Ice [Ice Elemental; Add:
Silence].
Range: 5, Effect: 2,0. CTR: Now. JP Cost: 150
(You can see we're really getting into the dregs of skills here. How often do you fight on snowy or icy terrain? The
answer is: Fort Zeakden. I can't even remember another fight that's fought on icy terrain, although there must be
another. Maybe? My mind is thinking about a battle where you see an ability called "Galaxy Stop." First one to point
another one out gets a no-prize.]

Gusty Wind: Elemental that damages with the mysterious power of wind. Ground type: Roof, Sky, Chimney [Wind
Elemental; Add: Slow].
Range: 5, Effect: 2,0. CTR: Now. JP Cost: 150
(Roofs and chimneys are usually inaccessible except in story battles, with a high Jump value.)

Lava Ball: Elemental that damages with atmospheric power. Ground type: Lava, Machine [Fire Elemental; Add: Dead].
Range: 5, Effect: 2,0. CTR: Now. JP Cost: 150
(On the bright side, 150 JP is cheap, so you might as well grab all of these abilities if you plan on using Geomancy.)

Reaction Ability:
Counter Flood: Counter with geomancy (Trigger: Physical attack, geomancy).
JP Cost: 300
(So few attacks trigger Counter Flood, and damningly, the area of effect is the same as a regular elemental attack.
This means that if you're on the same level as the enemy attacking, you'll get hit by the Elemental attack too! Note:
This counter will take effect regardless of what Elemental skills you know.)

Support Ability:
Attack UP: Can cause great damage with physical attack.
JP Cost: 400
(Increases your 'physical' attack stats by ~33%, even if the stat is based on MA, PA, Speed, or a combination. A very
solid skill, although perhaps outshone by more versatile Support skills.)

Move Abilities:
Any Ground: Walk easily over waterlands like rivers.
JP Cost: 220
(Only decent on maps with water, you're usually better off something else.)

Move on Lava: Move and stop over rocks.
JP Cost: 150
(An extremely worthless skill. You run into Mediators more than you run into lava.)



Take a bow Junk, take a bow. I had him follow the other summoner, and baited out the last Summon spell her MP would
allow. That's the one good thing about having a character who's kind of terrible at actual combat: you don't really mind
when someone melts his face off occasionally.

Can you catch the mistake in the second screenshot? There was absolutely no reason not to spare the Sleep-inflicted
Knight from Jessica's Shiva spell. The one 'danger' would be waking him up, but he had already taken one Summoning
induced shot in the arm, leaving his hit points low enough to not survive a second round.

I would never accuse this game of being 'hard' (this game is as difficult as you wish it to be), but this game asks for
confirmation before doing nearly anything at all for a reason. You've got all the time in the word to make your move, so
relax and choose the best one.




With the enemy force whittled down to only a Summoner with no meaningful MP, the battle has more or less been won.
We take the time to scoop up some crystals and treasure chests. If you're ambitious, you can keep Mustadio alive and
shootin' until he gets that 300 JP he needs for his awesome Arm Aim ability. Otherwise it's business as usual, trying to
prevent our Guest(s) from denying us our loot.

We're going to have a supplementary update before the next chapter. We'll to be seeing a few major changes to the ol'
team. We'll ask look at the new bar rumours, and start a compilation of Bar Job "Proposition" rewards. As always, if
thereis some in particular you'd like explained/reviewed/seen, let me know!

We've got a long cutscene to end this update with, followed by a slight teaser.

ATTENTION SPINESHARK: I believe your LP needs updatin'?

See you next time!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Bonus Money: 7,400 Gil
War Trophies: 1,000 Gil, Holy Water

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Office of Igros Castle

(Scene: Dycedarg slouches in his seat. It appears he's fully
recovered from the assassination attempt that occurred
some time ago. Gafgarion, the Dark Knight, stands at the
opposite end of the table.)







(Dycedarg walks to the cabinet to his left.)







Dycedarg: I left him alone because I thought he'd learn
how harsh the real world is.

Gafgarion: But what if the Cardinal gets in our way? With
the church supporting him, even the Prince couldn't do
anything easily.

Dycedarg: I've already prepared for that.



Dycedarg: If that's how you feel, then you'd best watch
your tongue.



Gafgarion: Remember I'm not stubborn like your little
brother.



Gafgarion: When I was chasing her in Dorter, someone
attacked me. What was that about?







Dycedarg: Anyhow, as long as Ovelia is with Agrais,
there'll be many chances to get her...







* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

to be continued...

A couple of the optional something-or-other mine battles take place on snowy terrain. Where's my no-prize?

i'm the exact opposite--i love the male geo and hate the stupid shirt-no pants shit the girl geo has.

I love Geomancers in general! I always stick my Ninjas, Monks, and White Mages with that skill, as "being one with nature" seems to fit them well. Not even the male Geomancer's hourglass figure nor child-bearing hips dissuade me.

Lava-related skills are worthless, though, unless you're trying to grind on Mt. Bervenia for some reason (no, the Materia Blade doesn't even count as "some reason." Neither does its owner.) And if I wanted to move freely over water, I'd just go with the Samurai's movement skill instead.

Geomancers are awesome. They're like Knights, but good.

There is a more effective plan:

With a gun or maybe a bow, you can greatly reduce the other Summoner's effectiveness. Armor Break, Speed Break (since Summoners are already slow), and Mind Break could also be effective. Two characters with guns and Break skills could totally eliminate her MP. Or possibly just kill her outright, but that's too simple for my taste.

Alternately, you can be me, and they'll both have over 75 Faith.

Colliery Underground, I believe.

Right here.

- Eddie

It's just kind of sad that they are forced to share a single geomancer's costume between them. I guess times are tough for 'mancers.

I can't read this without imagining Daravon or whatever his name is pointing to his crotch.

That alone makes this the best LP ever.

I love geomancers. My last playthrough on the PSP I made it a point to get one with crazy psysical and magic attack (even giving her the rouge over Agrias when they weren't both in the party). Geomancy for massive damage is great, and if they get close just one quick cut with a sword and they're down.

The first time I used Lava Ball it insta-killed two Ultima Demons. Parts of that airship count as machinery.

Male Geo has no pants either.

And, I just noticed, half-boots, and half-gloves, to go with his less-than-half-a-shirt. Somehow he still looks cool though.

What have I done? D: Shouldn't be too horrible s'long as you've got GUTS. Riovanes is still a long ways away.

Time to see what we've been up to after beating that rascally Bart Company on Barius Hill!



Gah! I forgot about a SINGLE chocobo in my party and run off to do a bunch of Bar Propositions and LOOK WHAT
HAPPENS. Five new mouths to feed! Goddamnit Boco. To the glue factory will the lot of you!



I like the cut of your gib! You'll make a fine meal tonight!

Seriously, I'm ditching these goddamn chickens unless anyone gives me a compelling reason to.

Bar Rumour!





Bar Treasure! Look at the post after this for what it is! I'm going to start collecting our Treasure and Exploration
discovery pages into their own pages. You'll be able to see what this one is at the post "following" the end of this
supplementary update, but future discovery/items will appear in the article so you don't need to flip back and forth.

The Treasure/Discovery pages will sometimes have extra comments because I like chewing your bandwidth slowly.

It seems like the impending war has really gotten to Ramza; he's decided that for now he'd rather sing sweet, sexy
songs for the ladies rather than man up and exercise his noble right to be an asshole with a sword. Of course, since
this is FFT, his songs will be neither sweet nor sexy (FFT Bards are very utilitarian).

Notice his PA! Bards (and to a lesser extend, Dancers) are extremely poor long-term character choices. I'm alright using
one for now; better to get the grinding out of the way. We'll be looking at the Bard class more closely in the near future.

I'm also noticing now that I've still yet to give Ramza a Reaction Ability (let along a DECENT one). I might give
him the Bard one, for giggles.



If you're going to pick a song to sing, reach for the stars!

Cheer Song will boost our Speed. I might stick to my glee to one unit at a time tho and continue raising Brave Values
with his Squire's "Cheer Up" skill. Dunno.



Junk! What happened to you!? Gone is the nerd. Junk has replaced the nerd with the HE-MAN. With his new "Tarzan
take me" look, Junk has grabbed every Talk Skill... er... skill... so he's moved his oratory talents to a new line of work:
Geomancy.

He's gained quite a bit by moving; his PA and MA have both increased (from 5 and 3 respectively), he's now using a
decent weapon AND a shield, and he even gained another point of Move.



Jean is still looking sharp as a Dragoon. I believe I failed to mention that he's using Gafgarion's plundered Power Wrist
for that little extra "oomph." He's also wearing quite a bit of bling (check out all that gold!).



We invest in the first 'necessary' Lancer skill, "Jump 8." Jean doesn't have any Vertical Jump skills, so he'll have trouble
in a lot of maps, but Vertical Jump8 will come quickly enough.



Sullivan is still plugging away at his Wizardry. He's a mere seven Knight JP from being able to learn Weapon Guard, so I
should really get him that. Maybe I'll turn him into a Knight and send him out on a Bar proposition for it.

An Ice Rod is probably a better choice for a weapon, but Jessica is using my only one and I'm too cheap to buy a
second. I will be buying him a Wizard's Robe as soon as I can for that delicious +2 MA.



The MP cost of Flare is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too high to really use right now. I grabbed Bolt 4 for giggles too; it's
too expensive as well, but I like getting the higher cost skills first, and we don't have any need to get the level 3 spells
yet.

But it's cool.



Tabatha continues to work on her Chemistry homework. Despite looking like an extra on "Little House on the Prairie", our
own Doctor Quinn, Medicine Woman continues to steal the hearts of most every man she encounters (w/ Steal Heart).
She knows what ails you baby.

There are still a number of Item skills to learn; she can become a Ninja anytime now, but we're still several battles
away from getting Ninja Swords (aside: I love that they're called Ninja Swords) so peasant charmer she'll remain.



Who's the bravest of them all? Sissie is.



Combined with Chakra, Wave Fist, and Earth Slash, Sissie has more or less learned all the important Punch Art skills.
The rest are mere decoration, but we'll grab them before throwing her into more rogue like endeavors.



Jessica's current limiting factor continues to be her MP. As I'm not going too far out of my way to gain levels, that will
remain a problem for sometime. We're now about two levels shy of what the enemy (in story battles) will be, but we're
still doing well enough that I don't feel the need to grind to something higher.

We could simply use new equipment to expand her MP, but Wizard Robes are the only cloth armor that gives +2 MA, a
factor that is much more valuable than more MP. Triangle Hats give +1 MA as well, but they have an 'upgrade' later
in the game.



With Golem, Jessica has learned all the good cheap Summon spells. It feels a bit boring to keep her in this class to
master all those 'other' summon spells that she won't use, but I guess otherwise I'd be making her a calculator and
eeeeeeeeeaaaaah. What do you guys think?

That's it for now folks. Join me next time where we have a special in-season update! It's sure to HAUNT YOU for
updates to come!

Because there are ghosts!

(I kill them.)

See you next time!

Bar Proposition Treasure 1

It's called "Yggdrasil Mistletoe" in the remake. Anyone know any relationship with this item and previous Squaresoft
games? The closest connection I could find was that there was a Seiken Densetsu 3 weapon called a Yggdrasil Branch.

Anyone have anything better?



Made famous in the very first Final Fantasy as the item that turned your motley crew of light warriors into MEN. Also
featured in Final Fantasy IV as the item needed to get your very own Excalibur to item duplicate for throwing fun.

Later Square games featured Rat Tails, but they don't count!



Also known as a Scarab Charm. Connection to Final Fantasy? No idea!



Also known as a Hanya Mask, or possibly Black Mask, which has appeared here and there in Final Fantasy games.



There were a few treasures you could get in the Japanese version that allowed you to play a small minigame, and this
was one of them. I think this was only in the War of the Lion remake, but my research is inconclusive.



One of a handful of references to Final Fantasy 7. Materia is of course the source of magic and grinding in that game.
This particular one was used by a pretty boy with long hair to summon a giant meteor that almost killed the earth. That
is, if I remember how that game went correctly, it's been a while.



Aeonus pointed out in this thread that the four figures on this set represent "Genbu, Seiryu, Suzaku, and Byakko, of the
Chinese constellations." Yeah, I quote verbatim sometimes!



I don't think this is referencing any particular Final Fantasy game; it appears as an equippable item in the FFTA games.



This is called "Goliath's Bread" in the remake, but the description is still about how adult's can't get enough of this stuff!



There isn't much meaning behind this treasure as far as I can tell, but in my heart it's a reference to the Stray Cats in
FF6, and their Cat Scratch glory.



Blue Materia is from FF7 like all the other materia treasure you find in this game. You use it to make your other materia
more powerful.



Remember this boss from Final Fantasy 4? It's the first boss you fight in the underworld.



This is called "Zanmato" in the remake, and has appeared in numerous games afterwords as a powerful katana. In FFT
history however, it's only appeared in FF6 as the most powerful katana Cyan can equip.



Lylis is possibly more accurately translated as "Lilith," who has a pretty extensive history outside of FFT.



Benstat was a dude! I don't know if he appeared in any other FFT games. It was stolen huh? Well, finder's keepers!
We're technically criminals at this point anyway.

Bonus update involving a random battle where you use nothing but monsters.

And they all die.

Their wrangler, Sissie, is the only survivor.

Common origin with the original Norse myth of the World Tree (called Yggdrasil). Norse mythology also puts some emphasis on mistletoe. The story as I recall it is that Odin loved his son Balder, but noticed he was a total pantywaist, so he went around to every person, animal, and plant in the universe and made them swear never to harm a hair on the lad's sweet little head. When he got to mistletoe, though, mistletoe was sick and bedridden, so his wife swore on his behalf. This is what we call a non-binding oath. I forget whether it was Loki's idea for mistletoe to be indisposed, but what did happen eventually is that Loki killed Balder with a spear made of mistletoe, since any other weapon would refuse to harm him.

Been a while since I read up on the mythology, but as I recall Loki was a total dick about it too, tricking a blind dude into spearing Balder with the mistletoe.

"What? No, it's not mistletoe. You're blind, how would you know what's on the end of the spear? Now come on, throw it at Balder, it'll be funny" and so on (I may be paraphrasing a bit).

Be that as it may, I reject the current mythology and replace it with your version.

I dunno if it's any sort of reference to the FF games, though. The closest I can think of is that Exdeath, evil tree that he was, disguised himself as a splinter or a twig in order to get the drop on the gullible heroes.

I also had that experience. Not something you'd bother with normally, but that more than justified my 150JP.

Um... Choco Esuna is the only way to cure Stop status? Choco Meteor makes Riovanes less frustrating? Mounted units are cool? Eh, that's all I've got. Chocobos are among the better monsters to use in battle, but that's not saying much.

On the other hand, are you going to capture the Uribo that randomly appears in Zigolis? It's your best bet for getting a Wildbow before you're out of space. I hate these 16-character limits. 'ThricebornPhoenix' is 17.

I've... never, ever used mounted units. How do they earn JP and Exp? What abilities do they have access to? I can't quite see the Monk cavalry using Earth Slash followed by a flurry of Choco Balls...

As far as monsters, I didn't like them... but then a Mediator got a Behemoth into my ranks, and I've loved the little beast since. OK, no, that's a lie --I took him into battle twice, fully intending to Poach him, and both times he saved my bacon from surprisingly powerful enemies. I've since learned to stop worrying and love my Behemoth, Dwyvaer

Incidentally...



A near-perfect dramatic reenactment of actual events! Except that my Mediator was male.