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AdmiralViscen
Nov 2, 2011

I was loving that stylish world map until I saw it says Lindbulm

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Chaeden
Sep 10, 2012

AdmiralViscen posted:

I was loving that stylish world map until I saw it says Lindbulm

Realism. Someone misspelled the city name on the sign and no one can be bothered to fix it. Honestly probably a mistake but given that one of the people that maintains the area LITERALLY just gives everything a rundown with a rag and doesn't do actual work....

Kanfy
Jan 9, 2012

Just gotta keep walking down that road.
Wonder if that map was in Japanese or English in the original version. If it was in English, maybe Lindblum was meant to be Lindbulm all along since リンドブルム or "Rindoburumu" can to my knowledge be translated either way.

Or maybe it was in Japanese and whoever was given the task of changing that map's graphic to have English instead of Japanese just went for the other translation and nobody noticed afterwards. It definitely isn't an accidental spelling error since it's there twice; "Lindbulm" and "Aerbs Lindbulm Station".

KataraniSword
Apr 22, 2008

but at least I don't have
a MLP or MSPA avatar.
I am my own man.

Orange Fluffy Sheep posted:

I didn't even notice.

Next you're gonna tell me every song but the chocobo ones has that same melody.

Pachelbel's CanonMelodies of Life is everywhere, mannn. :tinfoil:

Manic_Misanthrope
Jul 1, 2010


Sum Mors posted:

Not only does she say that they aren't selling, but (I'm pretty sure he showed this off) if you visit before Zidane and co. leave Lindblum she mentions that they've all been bought out!

Oh Square you crafty foreshadowers you.

Polsy
Mar 23, 2007

Kanfy posted:

Wonder if that map was in Japanese or English in the original version. If it was in English, maybe Lindblum was meant to be Lindbulm all along since リンドブルム or "Rindoburumu" can to my knowledge be translated either way.

The map's identical in the Japanese game so yeah, you could probably argue that, though Lindblum is more pronounceable.

Simply Simon
Nov 6, 2010

📡scanning🛰️ for good game 🎮design🦔🦔🦔
Lindblum is also a German word ("gentle flower", poetic) and Lindbulm is not.

morallyobjected
Nov 3, 2012
Maybe it's a really old map before the name of the region was changed to reflect a slightly different translation. My hometown's region was originally spelled with a "zur", after the family who settled it, but it's spelled with a "zer" now, presumably because it looks better/for no real reason at all. the realistic world building :v:

Southhouse-
Oct 15, 2012
Just wanted to chime in and say that this is a fantastic LP so far. FFIX is my personal favourite RPG and I'm glad to see it getting the love it deserves in this thread.

Nice job on the level 1 game so far as well OFS. I've tried the challenge twice myself without using guides. So far the furthest I've gotten is the last area of disc 3 (veteran players probably know which place I'm talking about). I'm stoked to see what solutions you can come up with.

Glazius
Jul 22, 2007

Hail all those who are able,
any mouse can,
any mouse will,
but the Guard prevail.

Clapping Larry
Did Steiner just use a phrase from a play as a codeword? I wonder if that was his idea or Garnet's?

Either way, what a neat little interlude.

Mega64
May 23, 2008

I took the octopath less travelered,

And it made one-eighth the difference.
Dagger's the big play buff, so I'd reason she was the one to come up with it. Though it does sound pretty awesome coming from Steiner.

Hoping to get out an update this weekend sometime. Estimating two more updates to end Disc 1.

Bufuman
Jun 15, 2013

Sleep in the briefing room.
At your own peril.
Remember that the line Steiner used was one of Zidane's lines in the opening play. Given Steiner's obvious dislike of Zidane and Garnet's status as Main Love Interest, It's almost certain that the line was her idea.

EzEight
Jan 21, 2014
The FF Wiki has a guide on Tetra Master apparently all the numbers represent a Hexadecimal range for various stats.
http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Tetra_Master_%28Minigame%29

Scrolling down on the page there was even an official physical version of the card came.

Bufuman
Jun 15, 2013

Sleep in the briefing room.
At your own peril.

EzEight posted:

The FF Wiki has a guide on Tetra Master apparently all the numbers represent a Hexadecimal range for various stats.
http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Tetra_Master_%28Minigame%29

Scrolling down on the page there was even an official physical version of the card came.

I find it hilarious that even if one attains the highest collector's rank, the proper title won't be displayed due to a glitch. Chances are good that the devs didn't notice it, but I like to imagine that they did and didn't bother to correct it because they knew no one would put up with that bullshit long enough to get that rank anyway.

Interesting that the example showed a perfect example of how RNG bullshit occurs too. Tetra Master is seriously just the worst.

Plavski
Feb 1, 2006

I could be a revolutionary
Just wanted to throw in my couple of cents and say I'm adoring this LP. Keep it up!

Mega64
May 23, 2008

I took the octopath less travelered,

And it made one-eighth the difference.


EITHER WATER NOISES OR , I DELETED THE VIDEO THIS SECTION IS FROM SO I DON'T REMEMBER WHICH, IT DOESN'T MATTER BECAUSE THIS SCENE IS SHORT ANYWAY BUT CONSIDER THIS THE "CHOOSE YOUR OWN SOUNDTRACK" PART OF THE LET'S PLAY, HELL SCREW THIS LET'S JUST DO GILGAMESH'S THEME INSTEAD







Please...protect Bur...me...



I will protect Burmecia. You have my word.



Yeah, that's it for that scene. Yet another rat soldier dies in front of us, feel free to keep track of rat people we watch die if you get a kick from that sorta thing, I've already made too many death counters for these Let's Plays.





We're in a new area of the overworld. There's not too much to do, but there is stuff.



For instance, there's these horrible abominations to scar us for life with their mere presence.



Also they attack and stuff. They can actually inflict blind, which is annoying to deal with, and Blizzara, which hurts.





Hey, Freya achieved Trance for the first time!



At first, it seems like nothing's changed for Freya. If you look closely, you'll see Jump is multi-target now.



You see, Tranced Freya doesn't come down from her Jump until her Trance is over. Instead, she'll repeatedly throw down spears from the air, hitting all enemies. The damage formula for these spears seem to be a bit weaker since for the Trance Jumps it changes part of the Jump formula from adding Freya's Strength to roughly a random number from 0 to Freya's Strength (not exactly this but pretty close). The damage is also then split between enemies. It's not the most exciting Trance, but it's not Cook-tier bad either.



And here's a better shot of Freya in Trance form. Like the other designs, it looks pretty badass.



After this battle, I remember I have an Ice Staff I worked hard to steal from Gizamaluke. Vivi's been down in the gutter offense-wise for the last dungeon, so I'm hoping this will help him pick up the slack.



Anyway, here's a loving gate.

WIND NOISES



There must have been a huge battle on the other side of that gate...





...Quina does whatever s/he feels like doing. I must learn from his ways.
I don't think it's intentional, Freya.



Zidane, this flower taste good!
See what I mean?
But stilll...





The whole point of this area is to get a Hi-Potion and Tent while watching Freya contemplate following the ways of the Qu. That's reward enough for me.



Anyway, this is a Lizard Man. This is the true form of every politician apparently.



It actually uses those hatchets, too.



And it likes Protect.



OK Vivi this drat stick better be worth the effort I put into-





HOLY loving poo poo

So, uh, Lizard Man has an ice weakness, sure. There's one other thing, the Magus Hat we got two updates ago. You see, that little beauty boosts ice damage. And the -ra spells are roughly twice as strong as their tier-1 counterparts (spell power of 29 compared to 14). So that power combined with Vivi's magic and multiplying damage by 150% twice, and Vivi's breaking quad-digits before we even finish Disc 1.

Only downside is Blizzara costs 12MP and Vivi only has enough for ~6 castings but I've got a ton of Ethers so no biggie.



Anyway, here's a sand tornado.



This is a Nymph.



It likes to burn things with Fira.



It also likes to kiss with its feet for some reason. Silence sucks because it lasts after battle and prevents casting of magic.



Naturally, Quina wants to eat this thing to learn the meh Night spell. Night puts everyone to sleep, including your own party. Of course, if you have everyone equipped with Insomniac, this suddenly becomes a good bit more useful. Up to you if the support stones and the 14MP cost is worth it.





Finally, there's Chocobo tracks here that we can use to summon Choco. This is useful because...



There's a Chocograph we can access here.



This treasure is a bit different, though.





This chest isn't full of tattered old robes or worn-out shoes.





No, the chest is full of acid trip.



This is Chocobo's Dream World, which is a place that exists.





And this is Fat Chocobo, a series staple that has a bigger, larger, fatter role than the holding extra items role it had in FF3 and FF4.



Choco... You seek a quiet life with other chocobos. ...Am I right?
Kweeeh!
Wanderer... We await your return...



Like FF7's Chocobos, Choco has different forms that can access different terrains. Now Chocobo can tread shallow water like most other ordinary chocobos in earlier games, and thus now has access to any Chocographs requiring this. These Chocographs will say they require the "Reef" ability.

You can only get to the lagoon through a beach.









Despite all that, there's nothing else to do out here. There's no more Chocographs on this part of the map. We could backtrack to Lindblum but I'll do that next update since there's something else later that requires backtracking.



Alright. It's finally time to tackle Burmecia, the last area in Disc 1.





What are you doing? Get over here.



I've been away for so long. Not a night went by when I didn't dream about home.



I am no longer the selfish child I was five years ago.



I'll do what I can to help!
I help, too!
Me, too!







This is not the time.

This is Burmecia, the realm of the rat people.



It has seen better days.



Also we now have Cancer.



Oh, Cancer's the next Stellazzio. Alright, then.

Nothing else to this screen, so moving on...





Black mages!





Two more Type A's. Vivi out-mages the poo poo outta them.



Yes! Very scary, it is, when the general gets mad!



Oh yeah I go inside and get punked.



Most FF games have chests trapped with enemies, but this game is one of the few where the chest is the enemy. Meet the Mimic.



Every Mimic summons a Magic Vice, which is actually nice since, if you want my advice, you can steal an Ether once or twice (or even thrice) from them for no price, and Quina will gladly eat them with rice since they teach Magic Hammer, which reduces MP by a roll-of-the-dice random amount up to the enemy's total MP mice lice Brice.

I grab a few Ethers but since Vices have such low HP and can run away at whim I wasn't able to grab Magic Hammer. Oh well.



As for the Mimic itself, it shares similar interests to Quina.









...As Zidane learns the hard way.



But he gets vomited up and takes decent damage, no biggie.



Oh yeah Blizzara wrecks everything Vivi OP please don't nerf.





Walk, don't run to get these boots I already have two pairs of.



OK now run. Running on the walkway causes it to fall down and lets us make more progress. You see, we go right to advance progress to go to the left so we can make progress back in the right because that's how it always works in real life.



Meanwhile we deal with these attractive fuckers.



Gradual Petrify gives a ten second countdown until petrification, being a lot more helpful than previous games, though it's also faster-acting.

It ends up being a non-issue because two or three people are already immune but hey.



They're also fragile enough that even a mere Blizzard spell one-shots them.





This is a callback to FF6 where you jump between buildings to advance because Zozo was laid out in a manner that made no logistical sense. At least this place has the excuse of being pretty trashed.



Get the bell...by the bed, and...go to the palace... Protect the king, please...



I'm still shaking from each rat person that dies in front of me. Probably because I turned it into a drinking game but still.



At least he died with nothing embarrassing under his bed. That's always the first priority when your home gets caught up in war and your friends and comrades start getting mowed down by giant blobs of robes and pointy hats.



HEY GUESS WHAT MORE BELL LOCKS.



This one is special because it's an even more blatant callback to FF2. "Minu" in this case is the character Minwu, the first temporary member to join your party in that game and one of the better ones due to the boatload of awesome magic spells he came with. He ended up giving up his life so the party could get a terrible spell they'd never use, then he went to purgatory heaven hell to help kill a guy the party already killed twice. So yeah, Minwu knows a thing or two about mortality.



Back to the right side so we can enter this door.





Burmecia's royal palace is beyond these steps. It must be in ruins, just like everything else. I can't bear to see it like that...
I understand, but we can't go back now. We have to find out who's behind this.



Look, Vivi's scared, too. But we have to face reality.
Come on, Freya. It'll be okay...



Do you really know what you're doing? The answer you seek may forever change your life for the worse.



Y-Yeah... But... But I have to...I have to find out who I am...



Vivi...

This is a powerful moment that's easy to miss. Both Freya and Vivi are scared as hell about what's to come, but Vivi's already been through a lot of tough poo poo and knows he'll have to weather a lot more to get what he wants, while Freya's still struggling with her issues about essentially abandoning her home. Vivi's already grown a lot since he got swept up in everything and had his very existence called into question. Freya's supposed to be the much more mature one, but she hasn't had the time to take in the massive weight of what's surrounding her that Vivi has.



Also Quina's still here.





Are you in league with the black mages!?
No!
You're lying! There's a black mage right behind you!



Lies!





It's good to see you, Dan.
drat, I haven't seen you in years! Where've you been!?



We've gotta get out of here fast. There are black mages swarming all over this place.





Where is the king?
I don't know. I didn't see him in the palace.



Freya, forget about the king and get out of here! We're no match for those black mages!





Freya's scared, but she's also possibly the only hope her kingdom has. There's no turning back now (until I turn back to get treasure later anyway).



This place has another cutscene so enjoy.





No! I can't do that! Remember that promise we made each other in front of Master Gizamaluke?
How could I forget... But my only wish now is for you and our child to survive. Please bear a healthy child, darling. Raise him to be strong.
Oh, Kal!



I'm sure Regent Cid will protect you.
But my husband... He was hurt by those black mages. He can't move. How can we possibly escape to Lindblum!?



Whew, that was close!
Geez... Thanks.
Thank you.



Yeah, we survived, somehow. Can you give me a hand?
Sure.



Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. Take care.

We see a rat man about to die but instead we save his life and force his rear end to live. How's that for a twist?



There's more treasure but nothing too exciting so let's move on.



Going straight railroads you to the end part of this disc so make sure you explore the left and right buildings first. I start with the left.





This spear...



It's pretty light and easy to use.



Good timing, too, as I just learned Dragon Killer from the Javelin. The Mythril Spear teaches Reis's Wind, which gives the entire party Regen. It's a pretty handy ability to have.

And of course, Reis is a reference to the character from Final Fantasy Tactics that was transformed into a dragon until she got turned back into a human from side-questing. She could still bracelet breathe fire as a human though so that was pretty cool.



Jesus Christ dude



I know... But...



Vivi...



We'll end the update exploring this right area.



The Lightning Staff teaches Thundara and Poison, both handy spells to have. It'd also be the source of our first -ra spell if we didn't grab the Ice Staff earlier.



Hey, buddy. Do you wanna buy something?

We also get to buy stuff from Stiltzkin for the first time.



You want to do this because if you miss buying from him, you don't get the good reward at the end of this chain. Plus he generally gives a really great one-time deal on items to begin with.

Thanks. This'll keep me going for another week or so.

If we talk to him again...

I can't stand all this rain.

Let's talk to the other moogle.





Stiltzkin is my hero! I'll give you this in exchange for delivery!



Another Kupo Nut. We can backtrack to Gizamaluke Grotto to give the Kupo Nut to the moogle that's nuts for Kupo Nuts, kupo.



Also another letter.





This moogle also sells items and gear but the only new item Atla sells is the Barbut, a helmet that teaches Alert and Dragon Killer. Freya can't learn the former and has already learned the latter, but the defense and Spirit boost doesn't hurt.

Next time, we'll backtrack a bit to pick up a few more items and then finish off Disc 1 with one hell of a finale.

Alxprit
Feb 7, 2015

<click> <click> What is it with this dancing?! Bouncing around like fools... I would have thought my own kind at least would understand the seriousness of our Adventurer's Guild!

Reis herself, I believe, is a reference to Rieze/Lise from Seiken Densetsu 3, who was an Amazon that used a spear and lived in a wind-based mountain kingdom. So basically the dragoon of that game.

Blueberry Pancakes
Aug 18, 2012

Jack in!! MegaMan, Execute!


Wow, I don't think I've ever seen this enemy before, though I could be wrong. I know there are a few I haven't, though, like Jabberwock.



Concept art of Freya's Trance.



:stare:

McDragon
Sep 11, 2007

The Chocobo stuff in this game is just great. And if we're sharing concept art, I found this picture a while back of a "chocobo copter" that was apparently going to be in this game.


Also it's funny that it takes ages for Vivi to get more weapons, and then it just starts throwing them at you. But then on a less funny side you end up having to juggle them until you learn all the spells.

TravelLog
Jul 22, 2013

He's a mean one, Mr. Roy.
>Not immediately doing more Chocobo things...

You monster.

Fister Roboto
Feb 21, 2008

Blizzara is actualy almost 4 times as powerful as Blizzard against most enemies. Remember that most enemies have 10 magic defense, so it's more like 19 vs. 4 power rather than 29 vs. 14. It's an enormous upgrade.

The Gentlemieu
Jan 1, 2013
Soiled Meat
I've been playing Crystal Chronicles lately and it's strange seeing how the enemy designs are ripped straight from this game.

Bad Seafood
Dec 10, 2010


If you must blink, do it now.
Freya and Vivi's little scene on the steps is also neat because Freya's in a bit of a dark place at the moment and it would be easy to lash out at Vivi even knowing he had nothing to do with it, but Freya chooses to remain calm and doesn't blame Vivi at all.

Subtle character moments like that are always nice.

Blueberry Pancakes
Aug 18, 2012

Jack in!! MegaMan, Execute!
Freya's a pretty cool character all-in-all. I mean, she's taking this whole "My entire race is being slaughtered" thing fairly calmly even though any other person would undoubtedly be panicking all over the place.

Kanfy
Jan 9, 2012

Just gotta keep walking down that road.
"Received Cancer", classic.

Also I was gonna say that living in the "Realm of Eternal Rain" sounds pretty unpleasant, but it looks like the place is called "Blue Royal Capital" or something along those lines in the original so maybe they got a break every once in a while at least. :v:

Fister Roboto
Feb 21, 2008

It can't be any worse than Seattle.

Rarity
Oct 21, 2010

~*4 LIFE*~
Man, Burmecia is just bleak. In a game that always nails atmosphere, Burmecia does a great job of showing desolation and despair through the design and the haunting music. It all really helps emphasise Freya's emotional struggle.

Also the first time I played, Freya triggered her first Trance during the first battle in the area and I was like 'woahhhh' and it took me a bunch of playthroughs it wasn't an automatic Trance spot cause it really should have been.

Plavski
Feb 1, 2006

I could be a revolutionary
I always felt Burmecia needed more guttering. Stagnant water-ho!

RareAcumen
Dec 28, 2012




Plavski posted:

I always felt Burmecia needed more guttering. Stagnant water-ho!

Yeah since it's a place well known for its constant rain I was wondering how that'd inspire people to adjust in response to that. How the architecture would differ and such.

Probably not gonna get a good look at all that now when it's being invaded though, sadly.

Mr Muggy
Mar 30, 2010

I'm just gonna do this for about two minutes, okay?

I had a crappy tv when I first played this and didn't notice if it even had eyes. I just thought it was a monster with just a mouth. It was even scarier as a kid.

KataraniSword
Apr 22, 2008

but at least I don't have
a MLP or MSPA avatar.
I am my own man.

RareAcumen posted:

Yeah since it's a place well known for its constant rain I was wondering how that'd inspire people to adjust in response to that. How the architecture would differ and such.

Probably not gonna get a good look at all that now when it's being invaded though, sadly.

There is one thing that can be noted: Burmecia is built into the side of a mountain, so it's already got a natural means of keeping water flowing away from the town itself. It's probably intentional both in an architectural way and in a narrative way: to get deeper into the city, the party is literally climbing upwards to Disc 1's climax.

Mr Muggy posted:

I had a crappy tv when I first played this and didn't notice if it even had eyes. I just thought it was a monster with just a mouth. It was even scarier as a kid.

Everyone had a crappy TV when they first played this. All of FF9's textures got super-downgraded on actual PSX hardware, so all these detailed textures you're seeing in the LP only got noticed around through the magic of emulation. Normally it's all blurry and muddy as hell.

KataraniSword fucked around with this message at 17:30 on Oct 15, 2015

zakharov
Nov 30, 2002

:kimchi: Tater Love :kimchi:
Ironically, playing the PS version on a modern TV makes the game much harder, since chocobo tracks become essentially invisible in the pixelated world map.

morallyobjected
Nov 3, 2012

zakharov posted:

Ironically, playing the PS version on a modern TV makes the game much harder, since chocobo tracks become essentially invisible in the pixelated world map.

if you don't know where they are by heart, then I don't know what to tell you

Winklebottom
Dec 19, 2007

I always wondered who the hell would build a city in a place with eternal rain. Gives it a hell of an atmosphere though.

Bonus cute fanart:

Petiso
Apr 30, 2012



Mr Muggy posted:

I had a crappy tv when I first played this and didn't notice if it even had eyes. I just thought it was a monster with just a mouth. It was even scarier as a kid.

KataraniSword posted:

Everyone had a crappy TV when they first played this. All of FF9's textures got super-downgraded on actual PSX hardware, so all these detailed textures you're seeing in the LP only got noticed around through the magic of emulation. Normally it's all blurry and muddy as hell.

OFS is actually playing without emulator gimmicks so you can easily tell the differences:



VS

Orange Fluffy Sheep
Jul 26, 2008

Bad EXP received

Petiso posted:

OFS is actually playing without emulator gimmicks

I tried one of those ridiculously nice filters but for some reason OBS would not recognize it. It looked the other way and produced black screens.

Glazius
Jul 22, 2007

Hail all those who are able,
any mouse can,
any mouse will,
but the Guard prevail.

Clapping Larry
Man, it is odd to see Stiltzkin here, of all places. A city under invasion is no place for a casual traveler to stop.

Unless he's trying to cover wars, you know?

Rabbi Raccoon
Mar 31, 2009

I stabbed you dude!
The party is stalking Stiltzkin. No really, this is the only time he shows up after the party. Maybe Stiltzkin is the real power on Gaia but he can't directly interfere so he leads a ragtag group of friends across the planet and has them take care of everything. It wouldn't be the first time.

Or maybe there's a secret post-credit scene where Stiltzkin files a restraining order against the party. Really, with this game it could go either way. A whole new sidequest was discovered like a year or so ago and this game has the kind of humor where it might actually do that.

SorataYuy
Jul 17, 2014

That... didn't even make sense.
^ That would actually be pretty drat funny. Now I'm kind hoping a little bit for a chance to see something like that. :allears:

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BioEnchanted
Aug 9, 2011

He plays for the dreamers that forgot how to dream, and the lovers that forgot how to love.
I like the Lizard enemies because they use the exact same design as the Lizards from Final Fantasy 1. Pretty cool, yet subtle, callback.

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