Phoenix, I summon thee... (Day 149)

So the second world came and went. When Galuf is plunged in without you guys, you realize that the only way to defeat ExDeath is to plunge in with him. The story of the previous four lightwarriors is revealed, and we find out that Galuf is one of them from before. We find out that Ex-Death's castle is shielded by a barrier that prevents the good guys from getting in. To break the barrier I had to climb up the barrier tower and defeat the boss that guarded it. Of course it was Atmos, his first appearance in Final Fantasy. A giant mirror that sucks your party members in. Not only does that character die, but he can't be used anymore during the battle; pretty gruesome.

After that battle the worlds collide and you find yourself returning to your world, only that remnants of the other world exist. The worlds have collided, but whats more intriguing is that it was altogether one from long ago, but the split was done to prevent Ex-Death from reviving. The story continues as you go back to Lenna's castle. Faris is greeted to be as the princess. After a brief departure from the gathering, Bartz finds himself with a conversation with Krile. They

After the worlds unite and I have retrieved Lenna, there's a bit of free time for the foursome to roam around. With airship in hand, I finished the piano quests and became a piano master. Playing that last song to the bard in Crescent gave me the Hero's song. I visited the Phantom town and purchased some remaining level 7 magics: Arise, Hastega, and Doom.

From there I fought Bahamut. Not an easy fight, but I managed to cheat him by using Hastega and healing faster than he can do Maelstrom. I was defeated, once again. Making it the fifth death in this game. After defeating him on my second run I had to show Odin's who's boss. After acquiring these two old souls, a new quest appeared, the phoenix tower. The quest was to treck up 28 floors to find Hiryu. The dragon jumps, burns, and is reborn as the Phoenix summon. One of the most useful summons of Final Fantasy 7, I guess it first appears here. That's enough talk for now.

Next update will talk about some of the humor of Final Fantasy V, and there is plenty.

---

• Game Time: 21 Hrs 10 mins (+30 mins lost time)
  
• Days: 149
  
• 6 Gameover
• Charred by Lasers from the "Soul Cannon"
• Killed by Gil turtle
• Killed by Gil turtle's quake
• Killed by Possessed Crystals
• Killed by Possessed Crystals again!
• Nuked by Bahamut's Mega-flare
  

Some geography lessons...

I did this in my spare time. I hope people will give it a shot, it's kinda fun, and you can play it at work without worrying about the site being blocked by your IT department :) Now back to Final Fantasy.

Class is in Session (Day 125)

In many ways, Final Fantasy V is the root of many of the magic and technique aspects in all of the Final Fantasies. Here we have a game that decided to throw in every interns' ideas and see where it goes. I'm talking about the job classes, all twenty of them. In Final Fantasy I, we have 5 classes (10 if you include the 5 promoted classes after visiting Bahamut), but now we have enough to confuse the average player. A lot of these are marginal, like Chemist, Dancer, Berserker, or Geomancer; but a lot of them have also been inducted into the Final Fantasy lore, like Ninja, Knight, Dragoon, and the Mages. Now even before starting the game, one has to think, what combination of classes should I use?

The game begins with Bartz (who I named Stabz) setting out on an adventure with his newly acquired mates: Lenna is a princess from a wealthy kingdom, Faris is the captain of a pirate ship, and Galuf is an jolly old geezer with amnesia. I have to say that I REALLY LIKE this game. It's a shame that they did not introduce this to America until years after its release. The translation is quite funny, and although I know it's heavily obscured, I think it totally works. It's like the comic relief of all the other Final Fantasies; almost making fun of itself. I mean, they have their eyes pop out like cartoons.

The quests are the same, as you are designated as the light warriors to recover the power of the crystals. The new aspect is that every crystal you save grants you new jobs, ok, not totally new, as it was used in Final Fantasy III. Another new idea is to put "meteor", one of the key spells in Final Fantasy, into the plot of the game. These meteorites are like space-shuttles that go between worlds. It was the vehicle that Galuf came in. Having seeing these meteorites arrive, the villagers deem you as monsters, and a lot more explaining and fighting occur.

Similar to Final Fantasy IV, some summon spells have to be acquired through battle. You have to be battle-tested, as the summon says. The first one is Shiva, then Ifrit, then Ramuh, and Titan. I guess they are the four elemental summons anyways. It's going to be a long ways before Bahamut, but never too late to prepare.

One of the hardest aspects of the game is getting blue magic. These are magic and techniques used by monsters that you can learn. The problem with this is finding out who has them, and how to get them to use the spells on you. I remember I got them all once, but I'm not sure if I have the patience for them again. But since it's the first and last appearance for a Blue Mage, I will give it my best. It'd also help for a 100% completion.

One last thing, Cid returns, and he comes back with his grandson; who's appropriately named Mid. They're both engineering geniuses and they help you greatly in the plot. Cid seems to get older every time eh? Recall in Final Fantasy 2 he was a grog-loving air-ship pilot in his 30's, and in Final Fantasy IV he's a bearded engineer working for the Baron kingdom. Now he's a very old man working on a fire-powered ship in Karnak. Will he reappear? Hell YES! But Mid? well, he will only have his moment in Final Fantasy V.

That's it for now. I've gotten as far as the second world, but constantly in fear of losing opportunities for blue magic. It's driving me nuts. It's the hardest Final Fantasy game that I've never played.

---

• Game Time: 10 Hrs 14 mins (+5 mins lost time)
  
• Days: 125
• 1 Gameover
• Charred by Lasers from the "Soul Cannon"
  

Final Fantasy V (Day 122)

Happy New Year! and boy is it going to be a big year. Presidential elections, an extra day in February, and a lot more Final Fantasy to go through. I got a copy of Final Fantasy 12: Revenant Wings, but I will play it after Final Fantasy 12.

So Final Fantasy V, the logo is a dragon; not unusual for Final Fantasy. This is arguably the hardest Final Fantasy to complete 100% in. With over 30 classes to level up, and 8 sorts of magic, it would take 100 hours to get everything. I remember playing through it twice, both in Japanese, the snes versions. The first time in 60 hours, but I barely scratched the surface on getting things. The second time took about 100 hours and I still missed some items and spells. And so I will try once more, this time for the first time, in English.

The story is different from FF4 in that the hero is a loner, that adventures with a Chocobo. He doesn't have a kingdom to defend or friends to aid. He meets his friends along the way. But similar to the previous Final Fantasies, he is a descendant of a previous acknowledged warrior.

You get acquainted with the other three characters within 30 minutes of the game, and that's it, they're there for the rest of the game. For every Crystal you save, you get 5 or 6 new classes, and so it goes on.
f the game that I've never played.

---

• Game Time: 8 Hrs and 51 mins
  
• Days: 122