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

As I recall, it's basically just the human unit with the movement (Move, Jump, and ability) of the mount. Black Chocobos are best for this since they have Fly. Your Move +/Jump +, and possibly other, movement skills are irrelevant. The mount is effectively removed from battle until the human dismounts. ... That's why I said 'cool' instead of 'useful'.

Behemoths get some of the best hidden abilities. Also, they're 'stepping stone' monsters, which is very useful sometimes. I don't think I've used them very often, though.

It's important that everyone tries riding a black chocobo once just for the fun of it. Too bad it's not worth using up a character slot for. Come to think of it, there should have been an ability that let you ride enemy chocobos, breaking them like a wild horse.

Keep 2 blacks and 'break' the first fight at the end of the chapter with them and archers! I felt so clever when I first tried that and the game let me.

I think I got that fight covered without using Chocobos.

I think there is only one fair way to confront this monster problem: Use a bunch of them in one of the story battles.

Now, clearly Ramza needs to be in a battle, that's a given. But the other four slots can be our monstrous friends. It'll be like that "Where the Wild Things" movie thing, except you're substituting Spike Jonze for uh, me, and totally not about childhood at all.

We haven't met all the monsters yet, but I'm going to go over them all next update (since the next battle is pretty light). We'll run voting until Chapter Three (potentially longer depending on the degree of response). Everyone will list their top three monsters in descending order. Your first choice will get three points, second two, third one, and I'll tally them all up and the top four monsters will be gathered.

I'll then let Talking Time choose which version of the monster we'll use, and name them all after we get our top 4.

Sound good?

I think there will be several passionate responses, but how about we keep them until after the next update. I want to give even people unfamiliar with the game/monsters a chance to decide for themselves which ones they'd like to see before you hooligans taint them.

If anyone has any suggestions to make this idea better, let me know!

- Eddie

Marlboro
one of those three headed dragon things
Behemoth

Behemoth! (Any variety is fine, so if someone's more specific, give the vote to that.)
The piggy enemies that you can poach for cash and prizes.
Dryads

Last year I started up a game that I was going to play through with Mediator Ramza and 4 monsters.

I had just unlocked Mediator when it occured to me that it was the worst idea I'd ever had.

I say get:
a ZOIDBERG (Mindflayer-type)
an EYE (Ahriman-type)
and a Behemoth.

Piggy
Hydra
Blue Dragon

ZOIDBERG
WorkerMECH
COCATORIS

...what else don't you want to meet in an FF1 random battle?

You mean Morbol, right?

Also, I vote for four Goblins. Just how good are you at this game?

EDIT: Also also, give Ramza that ability that lets monsters do more stuff.

Red chocobo, please. Those things are wrecking balls (or at least a bit of a glass cannon).

Maybe use larger text next time? Darn hooligans!

It's heartwarming to see how excited people here can get about this game, though.

I'll second that also also.

Can't.... restrain.... self....

I really want to see a Chocobo throwing meteors at something.

Beyond that, Morbol, Behemoth, and Hydra are good, maybe?

Poach takes your passive slot, same as the monster boosting ability, huh? Because I'd love to see you reduce most of the opponents to crystals, then poach your whole team...

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

Lionel Castle Gate

Agrias: I came from Orbonne to save the son of God, St.
Ajora. Open the gate!

Knight: Saving St. Ajora is the will of the high priest.


Agrias is actually a chick. Yeah I made that mistake too

Knight: Open the gate!







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

Lionel Castle

Draclau: Moreover, I'll send a man to the High Priest in
Murond.



Draclau: Don't worry, Agrias. I'm with you. You must be
strong to make the Princess feel at ease.



Draclau: St. Ajora is with us. There's no need to worry.



Draclau: I'll send troops to Goug, to destroy Bart
Company.

(Mustadio bows.)

Mustadio: Thank you.

Draclau: Have you ever heard of the 'Zodiac Brave Story'?

Agrias: You mean that fairy tale, we used to hear in
church?







Ovelia: After a desperate battle, they sent Lucavi to
Hades, and the land was peaceful.



Ovelia: Ever since then, whenever humans are attacked,
the Braves come to save us.



Ovelia: He also said St. Ajora and the Braves saved Ivalice
from chaos.

Draclau: We call the crystals, 'Holy Stones'. This very
stone is the legendary secret stone, the "Zodiac Stone"



Draclau: They say its 'Divine Power' surpasses Lucavi's. I
feel a strange power, but it looks just like an ordinary
crystal to me.



Draclau: You saw the same stone underground Goug?

Mustadio: Many broken machine parts are buried there.





Mustadio: But Rudvich wants to use its power to make
weapons. My father told me never to give the stones to
him. So they abducted him.

(Mustadio lowers his head.)

Draclau: Don't worry, Mustadio.



Ramza: I'll go to Goug with you.

Mustadio: Thank you, Ramza.









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

Welcome back! Sorry for the large cutscene, but this game is finally starting to give Ramza some direction!

Before heading out to our next destination, you might want to take a trip back to Zaland Fort City. The last cutscene
with Draclau triggers new items to appear in stores. There are two items in particular you might want to grab.



I mentioned Wizard Robes last battle; well, now you can actually purchase them. As you can see, nearly all the classes
that like a high MA can use this baby. MA +2 is just THAT good. The only magic using classes that you should consider
dressing in different clothing are the ones that heavily use status effects, which would be Time Mages and Oracles.



Green Berets give a nice +1 speed bonus, which has a small, but powerful effect on battles. Since Speed values are
roughly equal between your units and the enemy, +1 speed will ensure your units often go first. Nearly every unit
can wear them, heavy armour (and monks) units aside. Casters who like a good MA will probably still prefer Triangle Hats
however, as the +1 MA they give is likely going to be more beneficial.

There's several other new items you can get as well. You won't be seeing that much new equipment in stores for
another six or so battles, so you might as well run out and shop now!

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

Zigolis Swamp

(Scene: The Hadouken Knights have been waylay-ed on
their way to Goug by a fearsome group of monsters. With
Ovelia and Agrais now under Count Draclau's protection,
these unnatural foes present a roadblock between Ramza
and the mystery behind these 'Zodiac Stones'...)





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

This is a filler battle, like Sweegy and Aruguay Woods before it, facing our crew against monsters. I don't hold a lot of
respect for monsters because:

a) they don't drop crystals that teach me skills
b) they're not generally very versatile.

Still, they're featured in most of the random battles you'll get into, so learning about them isn't that bad idea. I'm going
to be cheating a bit with this post; this battle is pretty easy, particularly with Mustadio in your party. He naturally
knows his 'Seal Evil' Engineer ability, which has a very high chance of turning an undead target to stone. Well, all but
one of the monsters on the field is undead, so with a small amount of AI cooperation, he can potentially fight nearly the
entire battle himself.



There's a lot of monsters to talk about, in preparation for for the "Hadouken Monster Division" that has recently begun
to take root given the spirited conversation of the role of monsters in this LP. To recap:

I'll be tallying user votes to create a special team of four monsters to use in a story battle. I've got one battle in
particular which I think will be pretty epic to have a foursome of monsters in, so if you want to participate, leave a
post with something resembling the following:

1) Three monster types, ranked from 1 to 3.

That's it! Posts that simply list three monsters without a rank will assume the first named monster if that users number
one choice, the second named monster will be number two, etc. Any monsters mentioned after the third will be ignored.
I won't be tallying votes until Chapter 3 begins; you may change your mind before then by simply editing your
post.

Once we're into chapter 3, we'll decide which tiers of monster to use, and YOU, Talking Time, will name them. I know
one of you is going to suggest "Pants" or some trouser alternative. You might as well get it out of your system.

I encourage people to use any method they see fit to convince others why (monster) is the correct choice!



To help those unfamiliar with the various monsters you can fight/recruit in the game, I'll be giving some brief descrip-
tions of them throughout this post (we'll be skipping a new class intro because of this) accompanied by screenshots
of the (very brief) battle playing out.

I do want to mention two things about this map however before we get into the Monster discussion. First, Mustadio
mentions about the rain having a miserable effect on the battle. This is true; rain doubles the cost of movement
through certain terrain. The map however, doesn't have any tiles that I notice that actually get a movement penalty
due to the rain. You can walk along the land and skip between the small islands on the map just fine.

The other quirk of this map is that any unit that ends its turn in the swamp water will get poisoned. Poison isn't a very
big deal in this game, but it's amusing. A unit standing in the swamp can be cured of the poison as normal, but they'll
be re-poisoned if they end their turn in the swamp again. There's more than enough room to maneuver to avoid ending
your turn in it, but you may want to occasionally suck it up so you can reach an enemy.

Regardless, this battle is pretty simple. The various undead aren't a huge threat, and the Flotiball is a joke of a
monster. Just don't dally; left alone, the KO'd undead have a habit of rising from the grave for another go at it.



Monsters

Monsters (with a few exceptions) must be recruited via a Mediator. Once recruited, they will proceed to lay eggs in
your inventory every so often. When these eggs hatch, they have a chance of being the next "tier" of monster.

Each monster has three Tiers. For example, Chocobos can either be Tier 1 (Chocobo), Tier 2 (Black Chocobo) or Tier 3
(Red Chocobo). Monsters often vary quite differently between tiers, with varying stats and abilities (albeit with the
same basic characteristics). Thus, while in general Tier "3" monsters are the best, sometimes the other tiers offer
something more or different.

FFT has a unit limit of 16. This means that while your monsters are laying eggs, they're potentially denying you the
ability to recruit new members, including special characters. Sadly, Bob Barker does not exist in Ivalice, thus no one has
heard about the wonders of spaying or neutering your monsters. You'll have to clear out eggs every once in a while,
particularly before any story battle.

A unit with the Squire "Monster Skill" ability that is next to a monster (at no more of an elevation difference of three)
opens up another ability for the monster. These are typically abilities found on the next 'tier' of monster, but sometimes
they're completely unique attacks. Of course, considering what you COULD be using in a character's Support Ability
(Two Swords, Short Charge, etc.) this is kind of a novelty. Our Ramza (who must participate in all story battles) will be
using this skill of course when the 'throw down' begins.

Chocobos
(Chocobo, Black Chocobo, Red Chocobo)

The ever familiar mountable chickens of the Final Fantasy universe, Chocobos exhibit the widest variety between
species. Yellow Chocobos have a decent area of effect heal, Black ones can fly, and Red ones have a powerful
long range "Choco Meteor" attack. Chocobos are unique amongst monsters in this game in that human charact-
ers can ride them. While riding a Chocobo, the rider gets the Chocobo's effective movement, but the Chocobo
also gives up their individual attacks. This makes 'combining' a unit and a Chocobo rather weak. Chocobo's float
on water.

Strengths: Excellent Movement, above average values for most stats.
Use: Black Chocobo (Movement, Best PA for Choco Attack and Choco Ball) or Red Chocobo (Choco Meteor and
with Monster Skill, Choco Cure)



Goblins
(Goblin, Black Goblin, Gobbledeguck)

These monsters are kind of like Monks, except terrible. I can't really think of any redeeming quality about them
except they're great to fight against because they're so terrible (and are weak to Ice magic).

Strengths: East to self-poach
Weaknesses: Not apt in any particular area. Weak to Ice.
Use: Gobbledeguck (Best PA)



Bombs
(Bomb, Grenade, Explosive)

Bombs are pretty cool, if you like monsters that blow themselves up for big numbers. Bombs aren't very mobile
however. They do have a bunch of resistances (absorb fire, half ice, negate earth) and only take extra damage
from Water attacks, which aren't common. More advanced versions get a few more fire based attacks. Note:
their Self Destruct ability is non-elemental!

Strengths: Excellent resistances
Weaknesses: Low movement.
Use: Explosive (Best HP and MA; Spark attack gives amount of self-healing)



Coeurls
(Red Panther, Cuar, Vampire)

These monsters are more of a physical attacker, like Goblins, except their attacks are a bit more reliable. The
highest level Panther (a Vampire) uses "Blaster", a pretty familiar instant death attack that is in numerous Final
Fantasies. Panthers innately have the Ignore Height ability (see: Lancer), but cannot enter water. They are
weak against Earth magic... but there is very little of that in this game.

Strengths: Excellent mobility.
Use: Vampire (Best all around) or Cuar (Best MA for using Monster Skill to get Blaster)





Zoidbergs
(Pisco Demon, Squidlarkin, Mindflare)

Taking their cue from mind flayers of D&D lore, sadly these guys don't have awesome psionic powers and/or
brain sucking ability. They're rather terrible monsters, but the Mindflare (tier 3) versions can use an ability called
Level Blast while next to a Monster Skill'ed human. This ability reduces the targets level by one, which has its
uses...

Strengths: Appearances on Futurama.
Weaknesses: Weak. Especially to Lightning magic.
Use: Mindflare (Mindblast, with Monster Skill, Level Blast) or Squidlarkin (best MA for using Mindblast w/ Monster
Skill)



Skeletons
(Skeleton, Bone Snatch, Living Bone)

The dead rise! Skeletons (and other undead) are annoying monsters to fight, not because they're hard, but
because occasionally they'll revive instead of crystallizing. This makes them generally the last monsters you
should target. They all do have a decent ranged attack tho, but otherwise aren't that impressive. Remember:
Holy and Fire magic hurts them bad, while Dark magic (as little as their is) patches them up.

Strengths: Nice close and ranged attacks.
Weaknesses: Undead.
Use: Living Bone (Best all around)



Ghouls
(Ghoul, Gust, Revnant)

Like Skeletons, these monsters are undead, thus are healed by Dark magic, and take damage from Healing
effects like Cure and Potions. Ghosts have a ranged attack, and each variety has a different back-up attack,
either inflicting Sleep, Oil (target takes extra fire damage) or Drain. Ghosts cannot enter water, but have the
Teleport ability innately. Their vulnerability to Holy magic is a given, but they're also weak against Fire magic.

Strengths: Teleport, range attack
Weaknesses: Undead. Poor move distance.
Use: Revnant (Best all around)



Ahrimans
(Flotiball, Ahriman, Plague)

The later version of these monsters can attacks that causes status effects or Brave reductions, but their
success rates are low. Their best attack, "Look of Devil", has only about a 50% chance of working, and while it
may cause something useful like Don't Act or Petrify, it might also just end up hitting a caster with Blind or a
physical-type unit with Silence instead. They fly, cannot enter water, and are weak to ice.

Strengths: Can fly. Sometimes nice status effects
Weaknesses: Low HP
Use: Plague (Best all around)





Cockatrices
(Juravis, Steel Hawk, Cocatoris)

"Flying bastards" as I like to call them, Cockatrices are pretty good monsters, with the ability to fly and above
average PA. Never take one lightly! The later version can sometimes petrify opponents, with a roughly 40-45%
success rate. Earth magic works best against them, but there is precious little of that.

Strengths: For a combination of strength and mobility, Cockatrices are hard to beat!
Use: Cocatoris (best all around)



Uribos
(Uribo, Porky, Wildbow)

These creatures are something akin to moogles. They're not particularly impressive creatures, although the tier 3
Wildbow usually has a pretty good PA. They can do a few quirky things, such as putting enemies to sleep or
charming them. The most amusing use is to put a Wildbow next to a Monster Skill user. They get an ability called
"Please Eat" that gives the target a level... while instantly crystallizing the Wildbow (this isn't very useful).
Wildbows cannot be found in the wild, they can only be bred.

Strengths: the Trading Post can give you some unique items for these fellas. Well, they're fast too I guess.
Weakness: Skinning knives.
Use: Poach.



Dryads
(Woodman, Trent, Taiju)

Tree things, they're like Ghosts in that all their attacks are MA based. They're the 'Priests' of monsters, except
their various abilities aren't based off Faith, and as a result are somewhat unreliable.

Strengths: High HP, one of the few monsters that can heal others.
Weaknesses: Fire, poor movement.
Use: Woodman (best MA) or Taiju (best HP)

Minotaurs
(Minotaur, Minitaurus, Sacred)

These guys are scarier than they look. They do have the expected amounts of strength and HP, but they're lacking
much in the area of ranged attacks, which really hurts with their poor movement. They're weak to Water magic, which
fits in with the whole 'unable to move in water' motif, I guess.

Strengths: Well... great counter attacks? High HP and PA blah blah.
Weaknesses: Mooooving.
Use: Sacred (Nice ability to raise own PA, along with generally being better than the other Minotaurs)






Marlboros
(Morbol, Ochu, Great Morbol)

These guys are actually kind of neat. Their not particularly great in the PA department, and their Speed is the worst
amongst monsters, but the Ochu has a Don't Move ability with a 100% success rate, while the Great Morbol has the
always cool Bad Brea-- Bracelet? Bad Bracelet? Oh you kooky translators. The Great Morbol can also use an ability
called Moldball Virus next to Monster Skill user. It has a very low (we're talking < 10%) chance of turning its target...
into a Morbol! It of course, don't work on special characters

Strengths: Quirky.
Weaknesses: Well, everything about these guys is kind of weak, Bad Bracelet aside. Also: Ice magic.
Use: Great Morbol (Bad Bracelet is still good even if the name is stupid)



Behemoths
(Behemoth, King Behemoth, Dark Behemoth)

Naturally, Behemoths have two attacks: a basic gore ("Stab Up") and another melee attack that has about a 1 in 4
chance of instantly killing their target. With someone with Monster Skill, each variety of Behemoth gets a cool unique
attack (although these attacks are hardly impressive). They cannot enter water. They are pretty beefy monsters, so
expect lots of HP and a high PA. The tier 3 Dark Behemoths have an incredible PA multipier, ensuring their hits will be
beefy. Also cool is that Behemoths are one of the few monsters that your units can use... as a stepping stone!

Strengths: HP and PA will be high, and their Speed is actually pretty good too.
Weaknesses: Poor movement.
Use: Dark Behemoth (ridiculous PA)



Dragons
(Dragon, Blue Dragon, Red Dragon)

I think Dragons seem cooler than they actually are. They're like weaker Behemoths with some elemental attacks. This
makes them better against multiple targets, but generally kind of poorer overall. Monster Skill gives tier 1 Dragons a
random (but generally powerful) physical attack called Tail Swipe, while it gives Blue and Red dragons a different
Breath... er, Bracelet, attack. Like Behemoths, they can be used as stepping stones. Despite what you may think, Blue
Dragons aren't weak to fire, and Red Dragons are not weak to Ice. They're not weak to anything actually, except brute
force I suppose.

Strengths: Reliable workhorses, with high HP, and powerful attacks.
Weaknesses: all the weaknesses of Behemoths, without their overwhelming strength.
Use: Blue Dragon (best MA, and Ice is the best element)



Hydras
(Hyudra, Hydra, Tiamat)

Now these guys are cool. Ignore the tier 1 (Hyudra) and 2 (Hydra) versions; while they're not bad, the tier 3 Tiamats
blow them (and most other monsters) out of the water. For starters, they can fly, have a fantastic Speed multiplier, PA
(rivaled only by the Dark Behemoth), and some fantastic attacks. Their one big glaring weakness if Ice magic, and to a
lesser (much lesser) degree, Wind magic. Stepping stone-able as well.

Strengths: Awesome.
Weaknesses: HP isn't bad, but not their strong point. Ice
Use: Tiamat. There is no other.



That's all of them! So we enter the next update with the story in progress, take the time to strip Mustadio of his
weapon and armour, we'll be losing him briefly. We're going to give his weapon to Tabatha for 'safe keeping.'

Remember to vote for what monster you'd like to see this LP use! Tune in next time for what will surely be a civil
conversation with Bart Company in Goug.

Remember to vote for your choice of monsters! AND RANK THEM DARN YOU!

See you next time!

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




Mustadio: Yeah, I'm OK.

Bonus Money: 7,900 Gil

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

To be continued...

Never got far into Monster Hunting, but you should have a...

Mega-zoidberg
Marlboro
Cocatoris

This is going to be nothing short of awesome.

Red Chocobo
Tiamat
Wildbow

1. Minotaur
2. Behemoth
c) Bomb

Tiamat / Dark Behemoth / Great Morbol. Brute force is so much fun.

I've been depressingly negligent in following this LP the past while, so 'scuse me while I catch up on the last few pages.

Go go gadget anal-retentiveness:

It is not actually spelled 'marlboro'; those are the cigarettes. It is actually 'malboro', with only one r (according to the recent translations, anyway...). Sorry about being the spelling nazi, but it was driving me nuts.


Anyway:

a: Tiamat
2: Explosive
zed: Woodman

except in tactics, where it IS a marlboro/morbol.

Really? I thought it was just straight-up 'morbol'... I guess it shows that I've only played this through the one time.

marlboro in the psp remake

1. Cocatoris
2. Tiamat
3. Cocatoris

1) Great Morbol
2) Living Bone
3) Dark Behemoth