Jrpg

In the third console release of the Octopath Traveler series, you become the hero who can rebuild your town.

Pixelated Milk’s new game in development, SacriFire, dropped their open playtest this weekend. This is the first time that even the game’s Kickstarter backers have been able to play the game, and… this game isn’t what I expected. That’s not a bad thing, at all. It’s because in this golden age of JRPGs, I was playing the Final Fantasies, the Breaths of Fire, the turn-based choose-your-attack-from-a-menu kind of JRPGs. And I really, really liked them. ...

24.8 hours to finish Final Fantasy III. I spent so much time preparing so much for the World of Darkness… and those preparations worked out really well. Here’s how we defeated the Cloud of Darkness and their feckless minion, Xande. Last time I played, I leveled all my warriors up to level 50 by running around the first floor in the Ancient Maze. The Invincible, parked just outside the entrance, was a perfect place to return to for resting, so I could use full power in all encounters without any regard for safety. ...

I only had time for a short session last night. Time to grasp Real Power in the dungeon of Eureka, and then, just for fun, see what’s at the top of the Crystal Tower… Time to step back and see what I’m going to need to do before I can finish the game. Like most Final Fantasy games – most RPGs of all types, really – there’s a point where you can just forge on to the end of the game, or just dally around working on other goals so much so that the end game isn’t really a challenge. I’m there with Final Fantasy III now. ...

Just one crystal to restore – the Earth crystal. We’ve already restored three of them. How hard could the last one be? Harder than all the rest, combined. You see, it was shattered into a million pieces… and we have to find them all. With our trusty airship, the Enterprise, chained in the harbor “for our own protection”, we were forced to stay in the village we found ourselves in against our will. Seems our crazy stories about the world being drowned beneath the sea and everyone being stone statues caused more than a little concern. BUT IT’S TRUE! we shouted, and then they tried to keep us away from sharp things. ...

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. ...

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.) ...