Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy I was a lot of fun. I really struggled which of the old NES Final Fantasy games to play next. FF2 added Cid and Chocobos – two elements that appeared in every Final Fantasy game afterwards. FF3, though, adds the jobs system, and I really wanted to try that. Excited to try out the new and wonderful jobs, I started up FF3 and, after the short intro, chose the jobs for my crew: Red Mage, Monk, White Mage and Black Mage. Yup, the same jobs as in FF1. But then things got a little more interesting… ...

What brought the four Warriors of Light together? From where did they get the crystals of the four primal forces? Who were their families? Where’d they go to school? What foods did they like? Hell if I know. All I know is that they’re pretty good at killing fiends and running away. Mostly the running away. But we managed to finish the game and save the world, somehow. It’s been so many days since I blogged about my Final Fantasy 1 playthrough that I’ve lost track of where I was last time. ...

I don’t play every MMO that comes out – not by a longshot. But, I follow a lot of gamers, streamers, and game developers, and between me and them, I see a lot of discussion about the new MMOs that come down the pike. Crowfall was released a couple of weeks ago. Suddenly, everyone was talking about it. And then, suddenly everyone was not. What did it all mean? I asked Google Trends to help me analyze searches for a dozen or so MMOs to help understand what all was going on with MMOs today. ...

Having made our way to the town of Melmond, we were shocked to find a ruin. A vampire was draining all of their Earthpower? The High Lord’s Council is nowhere to be seen? Even Thomas Covenant has gone missing? Well, I guess maybe a few Warriors of Light could get the job done… As is often the case, even with the hints the townscritters give, I’m never quite sure where to go. I spent awhile sailing around the area, looking for a sage at a southern tip or anywhere to dock before I eventually had the bright idea to just walk down to the area, from Melmond. ...

I was just going to play Final Fantasy XIV long enough to get a picture with a dwarf to illustrate how Final Fantasy themes crop up again and again… and I did that… but then I started working on the main story quest again… and… well, maybe later. Right now, we have to deal with a certain evil critter named Astos. A witch walks into a bar. One of her eyes is shut tight, and a trickle of blood leaks from it. The other is red with rage. A broomstick follows her closely, trying to help, but she snarls at it until it puts itself into a corner. “What happened???” asks the barmaid. “Astos happened,” spits the witch. “He took my crystal eye, and now I cannot see!” The barmaid quickly mixes up a strong drink; fumes pour from the mug. The witch drinks it in one gulp and falls silent. ...

We defeated Garland and rescued Princess Sarah! Yay! A grateful king embarked on an impromptu “Infrastructure Week”, and built us a bridge because that was exactly the reward we were looking for. Sure, he could have given us gold or weapons, but instead the Cupertino Corps of Engineers lali-ho’d their way north and built a bridge. Not like he didn’t have loot to give. There were some vaults sealed with mystic keys below. We saved the king’s daughter, but we weren’t important enough for the good stuff. Garland, undefeated, now defeated by us, sure. The King of Constantine couldn’t get rid of us fast enough. ...

Welcome to Blaugust 2nd and the first day of our Final Fantasy 1 playthrough! Garland is the first boss the Warriors of Light meet in Final Fantasy 1. Once a hero, he has kidnapped Princess Sarah and taken her to the Chaos Shrine, there to do evil things. What happened to make him this way? Our Final Fantasy playthrough starts with our party meeting this fallen angel… (The featured image is Garland as he appears in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, a mobile game with its own story that nonetheless pulls in visions of heroes and villains from other Final Fantasy games.) ...

It’s the first of Blaugust! The week where a lot of game bloggers come together and… blog… to show the world just how much fun typing can be :-) So, for this month, I’ll be playing the first Final Fantasy game. I never had a NES, so I never played it when it first came out. My first Final Fantasy game was Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, which wasn’t even really a Final Fantasy game. ...

Sorry, I just spent the last half hour looking for exactly the best song I remembered from Martin Mull which was… perfect for this writing prompt. And that took me down a rabbit hole with Martin jamming with Glen Campbell (awesome!), and then I got to watching more YouTube and now it’s forty minutes until work and I have a blog post to write. I get distracted easily, and today’s prompt, from Nogamara of Battle Stance, is all about that: ...

Epic battle in my kitchen There’s one game series that stands above all the others, to me. It’s the game series that continually redefines itself in each new game and is always willing to take risks and try new things. Final Fantasy III/VI for the Super Nintendo blew me away. I’m not sure if it was the first Final Fantasy I played – the chronological list I found suggests that Final Fantasy Mystic Quest would have been the first. But it was the first that really redefined for me how great stories and great characters could combine with great gameplay to make something truly obsessive. ...