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[Let's Play] Final Fantasy 'II' - What DOES Spoony Mean? (Ch10 - 5/17/10)
Posts
That's the power of the cutscene. It can giveth and taketh away whenever it likes.
PS: Please remember to use spoiler boxes for future game events, El.
PPS: You can talk openly about other games like FF7 though. I don't care.
Let's Play Final Fantasy 'II' (Ch10 - 5/17/10)
Let's Play Gunman Chronicles "It's high-noon in Deep Space".
Here's how it went (in my opinion). Japan were producing Final Fantasy games quicker then they were translated. One explanation could be that the console-RPG genre wasn't exactly tried and true here in the States yet. By the time it was seen that actual money could be made off of this and Nintendo decided to port the first game over, Square had three in the bag already and were probably in the middle of making #4 for the new Super Famicom.
So Nintendo (and/or Square) had a dilemma. They could port FF2 and FF3 over, but they could end up not making as big a hit as the first game did, especially with FF2's love it or hate it 'leveling' system. FF4 on the other hand was a much more noticeable step up from the first game and was for a new system they wanted to sell. Slapping the proper title on it though would probably make players ask one too many questions. So they retitled it as FF-'II' and went on with that. FF6 would get the same treatment, getting labeled as FF-'III'.
Things finally got cleared up when by the time FF7 was pushed out the door (taking up a development span of three years), Square and Nintendo were no longer bosom-buddies, letting Square (and Sony) drop the naming blame on Nintendo and leave the game with the proper numbering.
Let's Play Final Fantasy 'II' (Ch10 - 5/17/10)
I see, thanks for clearing that up.
Let's Play Gunman Chronicles "It's high-noon in Deep Space".
Ah, crap, yeah. I totally forgot. This being an LP and all, spoilers for relevant story. Sorry.
I went ahead and spoiled the FF7 part too, for the one person interested in this thread who's never played FF7 and doesn't know what happens.
Oh no, its waaaaaaaay simpler.
You do not mix story with gameplay....
YOU DO NEVER MIX STORY WITH GAMEPLAY
Because that usually results in really bad fourth wall breaking or plotholes.
Best examples therefore are the end of cd 1 of FFVIII and the following sentence which spawned hunderds of fan theories and just messes the story up.
Or that certain bit at the end of Metal Gear Solid 2. Though I still think Kojima had to be possesed by several mixed substances (Pun totally intended) when he wrote that ending.
Well at least these are the ones i remember most fondly.
Final Fantasy 'II' - Chapter 7: One-Harp Angel
Cecil: Damn, they really improved their aim while I've been gone.
...a trip to Damcyan Castle to score a cure for a feverish Rosa ran into some snags in the form of all the monsters inhabiting an underground route, including an oversized and overly-suggestive octopus. The delays meant that Cecil, Rydia and their new friend Tellah made it out just in time to see the castle get bombed to pieces by the airships of Baron's Red Wings.
The inside of the castle's looking just as hot as the outside. Well, hotter considering the fire-effects here and there.
Chatting with one of the fallen guards reveals why Baron came. Not why they decided to forcibly redecorate the castle with a ton of TNT though.
On the next to last floor, we find only one chest left unopened (giving us an extra Tent) and even more bodies.
(He's-A-Goner) Soldier: P-please, if you can..
Cecil: Hold on, I'll drag you up an-
Tellah: Anna's not here! This way!
Cecil: Hey, wait, stop pulling! What about this guy?!
Soldier: No, don't go!
Rydia: Cecil, is that man gonna be ok?
Cecil: He will be, don't worry. Tellah..
Tellah: Anna's here, I can sense her! Sh-
Oh dear, it looks like Anna's a victim of both Baron and 70's/80's fashion trends. I'm not sure how this can get worse.
Poncie: Oh God, oh God! My parents are dead! My people are dead! ANNA'S DEAD! How am I gonna explain this to...to...
Ohhh, that's how.
Tellah: Come over here, you bastard! I'm going to ruin you with my anger!
Bard: Eeep!
Cecil: Tellah, wait! Rydia, cover your ears and eyes like we practiced. Ear-muff, ear-muff!
We're taken to the battle screen with Tellah coming out swinging right away.
Rydia: Cecil, what's happening? I can still hear a lotta shouting.
Cecil: I know. It's Tellah, he's upset.
Cecil: 'Spoony'??
Rydia: What? I can't hear you!
Cecil: Eh. I think you can remove your hands and open your eyes, Rydia.
Rydia: What?! Huh?!
Rydia: Oh, that's better. Hey, who said that?
Cecil: I think Anna did. She's not dead!
Everyone gathers around Anna, the camera's focus on Cecil leaving things a bit off-center now.
Tellah: Are you all right?
Anna: Father, Edward is the Prince of Damcyan. He was disguised as a Bard when he came to see me in Kaipo. Forgive me, Father, for running away. But, I love Edward. We thought of asking for your consent. But when we were about to leave...
Cecil: But why?
Edward: He took our Crystal of Fire. And Anna shielded me from the arrows.
As Edward feels bad about his girlfriend having acted as his meatshield, I have to once again question Baron's attack plan here. It's true that the most likely course of action they took was that they raided the place, stole the Fire Crystal and then bombed the castle. It just seems like that last move was pretty much unnecessary seeing the death they brought to Damcyan to get to the Crystal in the first place.
To sum up, the after-theft bombing makes Baron, it's king and this new guy Golbez royal d***s.
Not heard or texted: various death-rattles and gurgles coming from Anna.
Sorry, the Beetlejuice spell wasn't implemented in the game.
I know his daughter was dying and all, but come on, Tellah. Pay attention.
Cecil: Hmph. He better be keeping his hands off of my peanuts.
Tellah: Stop crying! Your tears won't bring back Anna. Wait for me Golbez! I'm coming to avenge my daughter!
Cecil cuts off Tellah, knowing that if the old Sage couldn't beat the game's requisite tentacle-monster by himself, he's not going to do any better against a guy who has his own airship fleet.
Tellah's not taking any sass from any young whippersnappers however and bops Cecil by magic. Has to be what with his lack of Staff-connects on Edward earlier.
Cecil: Well fine! You can kill the next plot device from a hentai story yourself!
Oh for Pete's sake, is he still going on over her?
Cecil: All this death around her. If I knew what would have happened, I would have never brought Rydia here. Perhaps it's not all bad though. She knows more or less how the Prince feels. If anyone can help him through his grief, it could be her.
Cecil: ..then again..
Rydia: You are a man! You are a grown-up! You are not the only one who has lost loved ones.
Cecil: Rydia...
Cecil: Oh, to hell with that!
Cecil tries his own version of tough love via a metal-covered smack upside the head.
Cecil: You're not the only one who is sad, Edward. Besides, Anna won't be happy if you do that. We really need your help. Please come with us.
Edward: My help...?
Cecil: I am Cecil. I'm looking for the SandRuby to help my friend who is ill in Kaipo. And I need your help!
Edward: I...? Help you...?
Cecil: Yes. You.
Wait wait wait. The SandRuby is...it's Antlion-afterbirth? Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww... >.<
Edward: The cave is in the east, but we must go across shallows to get there. There is the Hovercraft in Damcyan we can use. We can also go to Kaipo through the shallows!
Sorry, there's no Prince class. Princess yes, but no Prince.
So now we've got Edward (Gilbert in Japan) Chris von Muir on the team. Before FF7 would personify the term 'Bishōnen' with it's villain, Edward set the standard for the series. To see if we got the better side of the trade or if someone has to get his throat punched by the monkey bars during recess will have to wait until we get Edward into battle.
First, we gotta leave Damcyan Castle.
Ok, we're not really leaving yet.
Going back up to the last floor allows us to visit that 'pot of recovery' that was mentioned by the now-poofed-out guard. The old folks by it mention once again how you can use the Hovercraft to get back to Kaipo if you button-mashed through the last of the scene above. They also mention that a path through a mountain called Mt. Hobs is blocked off by ice.
The right pot does what the left didn't and restores MP. This makes the ruined castle a nice free place to rest up.
Walking around the right side of the castle allows us access to a treasure-room untouched by Baron's forces.
Some of the loot involves more secret passages through walls.
While the rest is just a walk down to a lower level.
Right, we're finally out. And we've got our first ride for the game, Damcyan's Hovercraft.
This sweet FF4/'II'-only ride will keep us safe from monsters while we're using it on the world-map.
It's specialty as mentioned before involves going through shallow water, as indicated by all these rocks in the ocean. Heading northeast through them and then southeast a bit leads us to the entrance of dungeon #3.
The Antlion's Den/Cave/Hill is a three-floor location, with each floor being nice and roomy.
Probably my only complaint about the place is that the save-point is in a room on the first floor, blocked off by wall. We'll have to use an alternate stairway on the second floor to get to it.
Well, let's get to our first fight and see how well Edward does. The new enemy in the back is called a Basilisk. Not much to speak of really.
These are our options when Edward's up to bat.
Edward's Sing ability allows him to use music to drop one of a few random status effects on a targeted enemy. Here, 'Lullaby...' means nap-time. It doesn't always work however, even on those vulnerable to it.
It's said that Edward's currently-equipped Harp plays a role in what kind of song pops up mostly. As you can see, he's sporting the Dreamer (Dream) Harp.
His regular attack with his harp tends to look like this. Mind you, with the attack-power seen in the previous screenshot, he's not going to be one-shot killing much at all other then these Imps.
But attacking with the Dreamer directly WILL put enemies to sleep. Sometimes.
In another fight with the same enemy group, Edward puts Hide into action. This lets him duck out of the fight until his turn comes around again, letting you use Show to bring him back. Hide also automatically kicks in when Edward's HP falls too low after one too many slaps to the face.
So, how does Edward fare as a party member? Well, saying he's the worst party-character in the game wouldn't be TOO much of a stretch. However, he's not complete suck. And the II-Translation did take a bat to his battle-menu too, taking away an ability called 'Heal'. That would have allowed him to use a bottle of Cure1 on everyone, spitting the HP-gain depending on how many are in the party.
Let's go back to the enemy roll-call for now. Here we have the Cream (Yellow Jelly). Once more the color marks it's weakness, with Lit-1 zapping them to dust.
With the Basilisk this time is a Turtle (Adamantoise) who drops nicely after a blast from Rydia's Ice Rod and a Weeper (Leshy).
The Weeper gives us a chance to see another of Edward's Sings, Song Of Silence, come into play.
A room on the second floor nets us the Charm (Lamia) harp, an upgrade for Edward that doubles his attack-power and randomly hits enemies with the Confuse status, making them hit themselves or their friends. And yes, I know this means the chapter's title doesn't quite fit now that Edward has two harps. Shut up.
The other notable part of the second floor is a secret passage that leads from one end to the other. No goodies to be found sadly.
As mentioned before, we can get to the save-point through an alternate stairway through the second floor. The room also has some treats to those who can hack, freeze and strum their way to it.
With our progress saved, it's time for business on the third floor, a circular chamber with stairs leading down to the middle.
The Antlion confirms Prince Mapquest's assessment by popping part of itself up from the ground. What body part that's supposed to be, I reaaaaalllllly don't wanna know.
Cecil: Yeah, no problem there. My personal need to hold a SandRuby dipped after you told me what it really is.
Predictably, the Antlion's not very willing to have anyone go grabby-grabby by it's privates. Only Edward's decision to take up dance rather then fencing saves his life.
Rydia: We're not gonna...?
Cecil: No no, we're killing it. Not what Edward tried to do.
Rydia: Oh good!
Say hey to our third boss, the Antlion. Thanks to it misinterpreting Edward's acts as sexual harassment, this momma with a face no child could love brings out the nasty whenever it takes a hit.
Said nasty being a move called Counter, which gives someone some serious piercings with giant spikes. Worse, the Antlion doesn't really care who hit it originally as the Counter attack picks one of our three heroes at random.
...what? What did you think I meant when I said 'bring out the nasty'? Hmph. Perverts. The whole lot of you.
The one sure-fire way to attack and avoid any Counter-hits is with Rydia's Chocobo, which doesn't set off the boss' tramatized feelings like Cecil's sword or Edward's notes do. The Chocobo is pretty damaging too with it knocking off around 200 HP from the Antlion's 1100 max-HP. With the Antlion's regular attack much less powerful then Counter, the suggested course is girl-on-girl action while the guys Parry and watch.
...you're thinking dirty thoughts again, aren't you.
With the Antlion put down, we can recover Rosa's cure from the carcass.
Cecil: Tame creatures are getting aggressive day by day. It must be a portent of some kind...
Rydia: Let's go cure Rosa!
Cecil: Oh, yes.
And with that, we wrap up another chapter.
Next tim-
Rydia: I wanna use one of my new spells!
Huh? W-wait a second!
Erf, ok, ok. For those wondering what happened, Warp is a Black-magic spell that lets you instantly zap back to the floor's entrance. It's a great way to exit a dungeon as long as you didn't use alternate entrances like I did to get to the save-point on the first floor. Otherwise it brings you there rather then the floor's proper exit.
On my now long walk up to the surface, I ran across an enemy we'll see more of past Mt. Hobs, Imp Cap(ains) (Domovoi). I wouldn't make much mention about it or the Imps we fought but...
Rydia: Hey, what did they drop? Oooo, gimme, gimme, gimmie!
Cecil: What? This orb?
Rydia: Yay! I wanted this since Gary showed it to me! Jerk wouldn't trade!
Ok, when I said Chocobo was Rydia's only monster for now in the last chapter, that was kind of a fib. But only because scoring this item is really super-duper rare. See, there's three or four monsters in the game that drop these orbs. You can use them while Rydia in the party, letting her learn how to bring out the monster that dropped the orb for an attack.
While not officially said, I like to think that these rare summoned monsters are the inspiration for Blue Magic, a FF-staple that first appears in FF5 and that lets you use special attacks from monsters after they're used on you first.
At any rate, we're out of the Antlion's place. Time to end this abuse of bandwidth.
Next time: A new spell, a new friend, and a new way to sound out a karate chop.
Let's Play Final Fantasy 'II' (Ch10 - 5/17/10)
Final Fantasy 'II' - Chapter 8: Five Sneezes Of Death
So we vrooom/whoosh/Hovercraft-appropriate-noise past Damcyan and groove south along the west coast to get to Kaipo...
...and beeline right back to the house Rosa's in.
Checking on Rosa's prone form brings up a mini inventory-window, letting us pick out the SandRuby to use it on her.
Edward and Rydia take positions around the bed as the cure's used. Best not to think exactly HOW.
Sprite-change. It works!
Cecil: ...you're awake. Thank God! I was going nuts trying to figure out how you got here!
Rosa: I heard that you were lost since the earthquake at Mist. But I couldn't believe it.
Cecil: I mean, you're here and safe but...he hasn't touched my stash, has he?
Rosa: The King invited him to the Red Wings. The King is not the same as he used to be. It seems he is nothing more then Golbez's puppet to collect all the crystals. The Crystal of Water from Mysidia is already in his hands. But other crystals...
Cecil: That's great, but what about my airship-peanuts? Tell me my 'nuts are safe from evil hands!
Rosa's exposition gives us a final list of which Crystal comes from where, even though we knew about Mysidia's and Damcyan's already. The Air Crystal was also hinted at if you bothered to talk to the NPC(s) who've bothered to mention Fabul directly or about it's blocked-off route via Mt. Hobs.
Edward pipes in at this point to give a sad verbal-checkmark on Baron's shopping list.
Cecil: He is Edward, the Prince of Damcyan. And this girl, Rydia of Mist.
Rydia: You okay?
Rosa: Yes. Thank you. Damcyan has already been attacked.
Cecil: Don't make me have to get another SandRuby. Seriously, don't. I'm going to have nightmares for a month thanks to seeing where we got the first one.
Edward: But we must get over Mt. Hobs to go to Fabul. The trail is blocked by thick ice.
Nice, Rosa. Way to bring up her lack of proper schooling.
See? Karma.
Rosa: What? What does that mean? Why are you so quiet?
Cecil: Uhhh...errr...
Cecil: Yeah, yeah...
Edward: If I were in the same position with Anna, I'd bring her along right away.
Cecil: Pffft. It's easy to say that seeing she's DEAD and all.
Edward: Sniff...sniffle...
Rosa: Cecil!
Cecil: Oh crap, did I say that out loud?
Alright, we got a four person party now. Things are shaping up!
There's some business to attend to first before we get to anything with our now-bigger group though.
Said business involving Edward by himself while everyone else is snoozing away.
Relax, folks. Despite how attached he is to his dead girlfriend, we won't be seeing anything silly like him drowning himself. Too bad for any of you Edward-haters.
Rather, Edward breaks out his harp for some soul-soothing. The song being played happens to be considered as his theme... ...AKA Melody Of Lute.
If you want to hear it played on actual instruments, you can check out the box below.
Dos
Tres
(Generic) Monster (Sprite): Forget about that ho. I'm the real deal.
Edward: What? Oh no, not you! I told you already that I've got a girlfriend! And a restraining order!!
Monster: Heh, she's not here anymore though. No girl, no order. Now come on, let me show you what you've been missing.
Edward: You can't do this to me! I'm a Prince-in-grieving! Help! Date-rape, date-rape!
Yep, it's a solo fight between Edward and a Waterhag. Not a difficult fight really.
Edward's not quite alone either as a certain someone flickers in.
Waterhag: What?! You're supposed to be dead, b$%^#!
Anna: Make that ugly face of her's uglier then her momma's!
As you can see, Edward can actually belt out some decent hits in this fight, making him look pretty good in the process.
Yeah, I could make a Gurren Lagann joke here, but I'll take the high road for now. If anyone wants to send in artwork of Anna dressed EXACTLY like Kamina though, I won't stop you.
This thwarted cry comes from the Waterhag herself, dropped before she can properly pounce on poor Edward. The end of the fight comes with a hefty chunk of experience, often leveling up Edward since he doesn't have to split it with anyone else.
With the fight over, Anna pops back briefly for one last tender moment with her bishifriend.
Edward: Anna!
Anna: Edward, dear...I must go now.
Edward: Anna! Don't go! Don't leave me alone!
Anna: Edward...... Do not let Golbez have all the crystals. You loved me. Now, give your love to all of your people.
Edward: But there's only those two old people left at the castle.
Anna: Oh...um...well fix the castle, get some new servants and love them or something like that. Look, I have to go. They only gave me a few minutes to come back and I need to go talk to my dad before they're all gone. So Iloveyoudon'tkillyourselfbye!
We end the scene with a still conflicted Edward trying to decipher Anna's clearly defined answer.
The next morning, we back in control of the whole party. These two NPCs change what they say now that Rosa's no longer taking up their only bed. As for the old guy's comments, I assume it's more of a 'hope to see you again' comment rather then a 'free resting spot here' notice. I never really swung by Kaipo again after this in previous runs in the game.
As befitting her greater emphasis on being a White Mage, Rosa's not one for being a heavy-duty fighter. We can improve her attack power though by swapping out her original bow for a Crossbow we picked up in Damcyan's basement. We also pass by Kaipo's weapon shop to pick up enough Iron Arrows to max out her 99-arrow limit.
The White (Holy) Arrows by the way are the first elemental arrows you can find. A bit more powerful then Iron and works well against anything weak to 'White', like undead enemies. I'd rather save them for later though since we can't buy any replacements yet.
The game automatically places Rosa in the first available slot in the party-roster, requiring thus a little reworking with Form and Change.
This is what you ought to have formation-wise before hitting the next area. Note that Rydia's max-MP already exceeds Tellah's and Rosa's getting close as well.
Go east, young player. We cruise back to Damcyan on the Hovercraft and go north past the Antlion Cave to Mt. Hobs' western entrance. Take a good look at the Hovercraft as we won't be using or seeing it again for quite a while.
Welcome to Mt. Hobs. This outdoor dungeon's pretty straight-forward, only offering one side-area off the mostly linear path.
Before we can properly enter though, we'll need to get rid of the previously mentioned ice-roadblock.
Rosa: Hmmm. Yep, they're cold alright. I'm back to 100% health.
Cecil: Turn around, turn around, turnaroundturnaroundturnaround...
Ooops. Looks like Rosa's gonna need a Badge or two more before Rydia will obey.
Cecil: Hate fire? What..?
Cecil: Ohhh right...that.
Cecil: A fire set off by flying Bombs. Not that I know anything about them.
Rydia: B-but didn't you say they came out of your Pa-
Cecil: No I didn't! I don't know those Bombs. Not even Gary!
Cecil: ...not my smoothest recovery, huh.
Rosa: No, it's not.
Rosa: If we can't get through here to Fabul, more people will be in danger......
Edward: Please...
Cecil:......
Rydia:......
I can only assume this nameless ellipses belongs to us. If we emphasize our silence loud enough and believe in her, Rydia will cast Fire. It's a little known deviation of the Peter Pan Healing Treatment.
Rydia lets her inner pyromaniac cut loose, utilizing a type of control sadly not available for fights.
And the game makes sure you know that Rydia's learned a new spell for those who decided to go get a snack during the ice-melting.
Cecil: I really hope this doesn't come back to bite me in the butt later. No flaming teeth please.
Back in control, it's time to move on up to the east-side. Apartments or pie might not be there.
Right off the bat, we get to deal with Bombs, a classic FF enemy that made it's first appearance in FF2 and are usually vulnerable to Ice spells.
You can also see Rosa's battle-menu. Aim lets her get a better, more powerful hit with her arrows at the cost of a few extra seconds between the command's confirmation and her actually doing it.
Mind you, the damage isn't a lot at first but it'll improve as she gets her hands on better Bows and Arrows. And if you were thinking about it, the answer's yes, she did lose a little something thanks to the II-Translation. In her case, it's the Pray command, which would let her cast basically a free Cure1. I suppose it was felt by Nintendo or Square that if impressionable kids saw Pray in action, they'd start jumping off of roofs or stabbing themselves, asking God to heal their injuries right after.
And speaking of kids, it's time for Rydia to use her new summon!
There she goes!
Stabbin' time! This oughta be..
...no good? Bleah. Talk about getting what you cast for.
Not far up the path, we're offered a choice of two areas to explore.
Taking the left entrance leads to the side-area I mentioned, sporting chests to loot and points to save. It's a good place to level up if you got a Tent or two to spare.
One of the enemies you can score those oh-so-needed experience points is the Bomb's bro, the GreyBomb. This family throwdown isn't much to worry about...
...unless they decide to use their 'Screw you!' attack, Explode (Exploder), killing themselves off to inflict some third-degree burns on the party like poor Edward here. No need for him to do any eyebrow-plucking in the near future.
You can also run across a flock of Cocktric (Cockatrice). They're unique in that their weakness isn't spell-related.
Rather it's Rosa's arrows. An Aim-based hit tends to deal a much more serious blow to this enemy then spells or slashes.
They also don't take very well to getting hit with their own Beak attack, seen here thanks to Edward charming the last Cocktric with his regular attack. Beak causes an instant version of Break (Petrify), a FF-status which turns someone into stone. Instant death in this case.
While heading back to Hobs' entrance-floor and over to the main path, we run across Spirits and Skeletons. While both are counted as undead, they can take some actual damage from Cecil's Dark Sword, unlike Zombies. In the case of the Spirits, it's actually needed as they've got proper magic defense against most spells.
Yep, it's all downhill from here.
Ok, not downhill yet. Don't lynch me!
Edward: He must be a Karate Fighter of Fabul!
Rydia: Cecil, is he sick? That's the loudest sneeze I ever heard!
Cecil: No...no no. I think that was a battle cry.
Cecil: Mind you, that's the weirdest battle cry I've ever heard in a fight.
Edward: Hmmm. Fabul IS responsible for taking care of the Air Crystal. Perhaps it's a tribute to that.
Rosa: Er, Cecil?
Cecil: Wait a second, Rosa. Edward, how could a sneeze be a tribute to a magical crystal?
Edward: Well a sneeze can expel air at a speed of 95 to 650 miles per hour.
Cecil: Really? Wow, I did not know that!
Rosa: Cecil, Edward, I think..
Edward: Damcyan Castle has a good medical trivia section in it's library. It HAD, anyway..
Cecil: Heh, I bet Cid would love to hear about that. The air-speed I mean. Not the burning down of your library.
Rydia: EDWARD! CECIL!!
Cecil: Ah! What is it, Rydia?
Rosa: Look!
Cecil: Huh? Oh!
Cecil: You need to tell us about these things sooner, Rydia.
Rosa: ...staying in that bed in Kaipo's starting to look better and better.
Rydia: Yeah.
Hey-hey-hey! It's Mt. Hobs' boss, MomBomb. She looks like a plain old Bomb but she's got a mother of a HP-count compared to them.
Our glowing new friend here is Yang. As you can see by his fight-menu and from what you saw him do before, he's got a Kick attack that spreads some physical damage to a whole party of monsters. No need to use it right now since there's just one boss. Regular attacks with healing done by Rosa (and Rydia if needed) will work.
After dropping a serious chunk of HP-change out from MomBomb though, she turns this darker shade of red...
...before she blows up into this shape.
Speaking of inflating too far, it's time to heal up everyone that's hurt bad when you see this. This means she's about to go boom in around a minute.
Just.
Like.
So.
Popping like the nitro-filled balloon that she is, she leaves us with a mixed group of Bombs and GreyBombs. Won't be the last time we see something like this in a boss fight by the way.
NOW is the time to break out Kick. It takes a while for Yang to actually do it mind you. Longer then Rosa's Aim I believe.
With the Bomb baddies beaten, Yang gives everyone a bow and a proper introduction, proving Edward's guess about his job correct.
Yang: We were training when they attacked us.
Cecil: We're on our way to Fabul.
I love it how Rosa's determined to establish what's just a theory on her part as solid fact.
Edward: No doubt. Damcyan was already attacked and had the crystal taken away.
Cecil: Fabul is next!
Cecil: It has to be. Rosa's the only one who's mentioned Toroia at all so far!
Yang: But...! We are now helpless. I am the only survivor of our main forces. Those in the castle have just started on their training!
Ok, it's a good plan of sorts. Except all we've heard so far is that Golbez's running the Red Wings if not Baron itself. For all we know, it was just a bad concentration of monsters that got Yang's friends. And speaking of them, how big and experienced an army did Fabul have if all of the veterans got up and killed like this?
Cecil: I mean, we'll probably have time to get there. Time to buy new stuff and rest. Maybe chat with everyone in the castle and kill a few monsters outside for extra gold, but after all of that the hammer's surely coming down! We gotta help!
Edward: I am the Prince of Damcyan.
Cecil: Rosa and I were in Baron.
Is Rydia quiet due to bad memories or hearing incomplete sentences? You decide!
Yang: You have your own reasons, I see. Would you help me then?
Cecil: Of course!
Yang: Fabul is to the east over the mountain. Let us go!
Yes, a complete party at last!
Yang Fang Leiden (try to say that three times fast) is a Karate Fighter, AKA a Monk. Monks in Final Fantasy are known as bare-fisted fighters who tend to crack skulls better then most of the other physical-attack classes but tend to be pretty vulnerable due to their tendency to wear light armor.
The II-Translation also got to Yang by taking away Power (Focus) and Gird (Brace). Power would have let Yang stew for a bit before hitting the enemy with a blow twice his normal strength while Gird would make him spend a turn taking attacks with a higher damage-reduction that he wouldn't have using Parry.
Before moving a step towards Hobs' eastern exit, we check on Yang's equipment. He did pretty well against MomBomb and the other enemies considering that's how he's dressed at the time. Claws are a regular weapon for FF-Monks though Yang's only using one for some bizarre reason. If he had one on each hand, he'd be able to hit an enemy twice in one go. He gets a Cap and a RubyRing from my packrat-inventory which should be fine until we get to Fabul.
From the Summit's northern door/tunnel, it's a straight run south Hobs' east-side and back onto the world-map. No pie indeed.
The journey to Fabul is a long (without the Hovercraft) walk through a forested strip of land, forcing the party to fight Imp Caps and Needlers (Gatlinghogs). Needlers work much like Swordrats, tossing needles for their attacks.
The party reaches Fabul soon enough. And it's looking unbombed. Which means this is as good a place as any to pause for now.
Next time: The defense of Fabul causes a blast from the past in more ways then one.
Let's Play Final Fantasy 'II' (Ch10 - 5/17/10)
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
I'm pretty sure I've got it somewhere for my DS.
Let's Play Final Fantasy 'II' (Ch10 - 5/17/10)
Final Fantasy 'II' - Chapter 9: Frantic Fighting At Fabul
Last time, Rydia and Edward were introduced to Cecil's girlfriend, Rosa, after she was cured of her fever. Edward was introduced to a stalker-monster. Rydia was introduced to the Fire1-spell at Mt Hobs. The party was introduced to Yang, Fabul's top Monk. Yang introduced his feet to a bunch of monsters. And now the party plan to introduce themselves to Fabul before Goblez does.
Right away, the guards express how happy they are to see Yang return. Curiously, these guys up front don't question why Yang didn't come back with the army of men he left with.
Fabul is pretty much castle and town mixed together, thus explaining why there's an inn and weapon-shop in the main hall.
Anyway, we're in no real rush to talk to the king, so let's see if we can pick up some new kip.
Yesss, sweet new Black (Demon) gear for Cecil. Note that it's not a complete set purchase-wise. Hopefully the missing shield and sword should be around somewhere. I buy what's being offered as well as enough Claws so that Yang has two of each. Now he can lay down some proper smack on enemies. For now, I keep his FireClaw on and fit his open mitt with an IceClaw for some nice synergy.
The left side of the main hall houses not just the inn but Fabul's item shop as well. No real need to use either facility here unless you're running low on healing supplies or health in general.
The guards at the entrance of the inner hall notice Fabul's deficiency of bald sneezing men. No chance of swapping them for those eagle-eyed soldiers at the front gate though.
Yang: Men!
Guard: Sir Yang!
Yang: Keep on watch! I must inform His Majesty about an upcoming invasion!
Guard: But sir, your wife wanted us to let her know when you had arrived. She...she had her pan with her, sir.
Yang: The frying pan...outside of the kitchen. My God. Thank you for letting me know!
Cecil: Er, Yang, why do we have to visit your wife first? Baron's coming for the Crystal!
Yang: Let me put it to you like this: I wouldn't be in charge of Fabul's forces, much less be part of the party if my wife didn't perfer cooking.
Before averting some domestic violence, there's a couple of floors in the left tower to look at first. The first floor is a storeroom with some free items.
Next is the castle's hospital, complete with a White Mage and Namingway. Sleepy, sleepy bunny.
Yang: Here we are. Let me do the talking.
Yang's Wife: Thanks!
Yang: Now dear, we may have some action happening at the castle.
Yang's Wife: Oh? Trouble, is it? I'll help out then! Where did I leave that spatula?
Yang NO! I mean, no no, it's nothing major. Just keep an eye on the ward below in case anyone needs some help.
Yang's Wife: Oh, alright.
Right, time to check out the right tower before going right to the King.
Something tells me he won't be much help when the Red Wings come on by.
The second floor holds the castle's bar. Good to know the local drunk feels secure.
The bar also has the local dancer. Sure this'll be..
Dancer: Keep your eyes on me, sugar.
Cecil: AHHH! My brain...contaminated!
(Possibly Inebriated) Kid: Hey!
Poor Cecil's subjected to 20-30 seconds of our special dancer shaking 'her' groove thing all over the bar..
...before stuffing 'herself' back into a dress instantly. And yes......they have this in the DS version of the game.
The last floor of the tower is where the King hangs his crown up after a busy day. Seems to be an interesting choice of floor-planning with the bar sandwiched between the king's place and the army's barracks. Is this a subtle hint towards Drunken Master fighting or just Fabul being a group of alcoholics?
Well, enough of the tour. Time to visit the King!
King Of Fabul: Why were you so late getting back? Your wife was out with her pan asking about you, you know.
Yang: I know, sire..
King Of Fabul: I mean, that woman's scary enough when her hands are empty.
Yang: Yes, Your Majesty, but..
King Of Fabul: I had to go hide in the Crystal Room when she came nearby!
Yang: The one called Golbez is behind this attempt.
King Of Fabul: Truly!?
Yang: These people here came to let us know.
King Of Fabul: Who...are these people? I thought your wife was coming in and my glasses broke when I ran and now I can't see too well. Is...is that a midget wearing a green hat?
Rydia: Hey!
King Of Fabul: But you're a Dark Knight of Baron. Can I really trust you?
Yang: King! They are trustworthy! They came to my defence when I was attacked.
Cecil: Not a moment is to be lost!
Rosa: There is no time!
Fabul's King still hesitates for a second, prompting Edward to contribute with one of the biggest weapons one can have in a game within this setting: his royal clout, presented here in it's entirety.
Nice touch by the II-Translation here, making Anna sound more like a lifelong pal rather then the dead fiancee Edward sheds a tear or two over now and then.
Still, it works as the King's ready to let the party help. Now you actually do have a choice here depending on how ready you are.
Saying 'No' gives you this slight bit of guilt and has the party automatically leave the room. A maddening action if you're like me and know about the secret treasure in here. Reentering is worse as you gotta go through the WHOLE cutscene again, making it look like the King's got a case of Alzheimer's or something.
Saying 'Yes' prompts Yang to speak up instead of the King.
King Of Fabul: Very well! I leave the matter in your hands!
Yang: Thank you, Your Majesty!
King Of Fabul: Wait, wait a second!
Yang: King!
King Of Fabul: When you say 'all outstanding combatants', do you mean those two over there as well?
Yang: What? Rosa and Rydia? Of course they can fight!
Cecil: Rosa is a master of both the bow and White Magic and Rydia's a Caller from Mist.
Rydia: I made new mountains!
King Of Fabul: ...
And with that personal fear of the King's soothed, Cecil's off to war once more.
Which in turn prompts a moment repeated probably more then once at Baron.
Rydia: Don't worry! I'll take care of Rosa!
Rosa: Cecil...
Cecil: Don't worry. I've faced worse odds and won. Like the time I led 10 men against a horde of Imps two years ago.
Rosa: ...but..you lost that fight, don't you remember?
Cecil: Oh..uh..I did?
Rosa: ...
Rydia:...
Cecil: ..."Hey Cecil, come on!" Huh? Oh, coming! Yang's calling! Gotta go! Love you!
Rydia: We're gonna need to make a lot of band-aids, huh..
Rosa: Yes, I think so.
Edward: ...damn, I can't bear this waiting.
Yang: They'll be here. Cecil, you know how Baron works, right?
Cecil: As the Red Wings' commander, sure.
Yang: How do you think they'll come at us then?
Cecil: By land most likely, perhaps by surprise. They can't afford to risk damaging the crystal via a bombing run.
Cecil: Told you!
Hooded (Monster?) Sprite #1: Good evening, we're selling cookies door-to-door an-
Hooded (Monster?) Sprite #2: Oh crap, I think that's Cecil over there! That whiny loser squealed on us!
Cecil: Hey!!
Hooded (Monster?) Sprite #1 Son of a...way to go Stenson, you blabbermouth! Ok, plan B; kill them all!
With boss-music blaring, we kick off a gauntlet of fights, starting with this non-monster squad of Baron's soldiers. The same ones we fought over in Kaipo with the same tactics as before.
Cecil: Well, that was easy. We didn't even have to get your rookies involved, Yang.
Yang: I don't know. I doubt they'll give up now.
Cecil: As long as we can keep the front gate guarded like this, we'll be fine. It's not like the Red Wings' airships can be...
Cecil: Used?
Yang: Everyone down!
Cecil: Holy cheeze-n-crackers!!
Edward: Ahhhh, flashbacks! I'm having flashbacks! ANNA! DADDY! MOMMY!!
Scroll up and down the three screenshots above for 15 seconds or so, throwing in a few more explosions happening in the forest to represent misses by the Red Wing bombers and you'll get the extent of Baron's plan to shoo the fleas away. The bombs naturally don't get any closer to Cecil and friends then they did with the first screenshot.
Not that they plan to stay outside and wait for the Red Wings to adjust their targeting sights.
Left-Behind Monk: Oh man, that ringing in my ears is finally dying down. You guys ok?
Left-Behind Monk: Guys?
Left-Behind Monk: Wh...you d***s! Wait for me!!
Everyone reforms the ranks inside the main hall. I'm guessing the Right Tower's entrance got double the security.
Cecil: It's not like they're tossing monsters at us.
Hooded (Monster?) Sprite #3: Did someone ask for monsters?
Edward: Oh no, not you again!
Waterhag: My name is Denise. You killed my sister. Prepare to die. B****.
Sadly, while the second round went fine for the party, the rookie Monks didn't fair as well as their topless attire left them vulnerable to the third wave and their Baron-taught 'Nipple-Gripple Supremeo' attack.
Cecil: I knew it! I told you guys: put on shirts!
Edward: Abandon main hall! Princes and bards first!
Yang: Hang tight, men! We will return!
Left Guard: Shouldn't we have blocked the passage?
Right Guard: Yeah, I'll get on that as soon as I get this Weeper off of me!
Weeper(?): Heh heh heh, noogie-time!
Edward: Incoming!
To make everything nice and even, we get another group of regular Baron jarheads to fight again.
These guys can hit pretty hard mind you, as seen by poor Yang's half-beaten posture. A precious bottle of Cure2 (Hi-Potion) was needed to restore him back to full health.
The party swats down the soldiers but more spring up almost immediately. Edward applies his years of royal teachings to evaluate the situation.
To perhaps predictable conclusions.
Yang: Dammit!
Cecil: Fall back, Yang, fall back!
Yang: Li, Xiong, follow us!
Li:On our way, sir!
Hooded (Monster?) Sprite #4: Oh, I don't think so!
Cecil: Where is the crystal?
Yang: Upstairs!
Xiong: That's all I needed to hear!
Yang: Dammit, Xiong, lock that door! Don't make me assign you to being my wife's punching-bag for her civilian self-defense classes for two weeks!
Xiong: Heh, I'd be shaking in my booties...
Xiong (NOT!): ..if I was your little flunkie!
(The Real) Xiong (From Outside): Ahhh! No more Purple-Nurples! No more!!
Our faker turns out to be a Gargoyle, an enemy that could be found outside of Fabul as well as in other FF games. He'd go down easily to Rosa's arrows but swords, songs and metal-clad knuckles do just fine against him too.
Cecil: Good work. Now quick, someone lock..!
Cecil: Crap!
Waterhag: Thou hast slain my sisters. Prepare thyself for a reckoning, Edward!
Edward: Stay away, stay away!
Hooded (Monster?) Sprite #6: Excuse me, do you have any Grey Poupon?
Hooded (Monster?) Sprite #7: Wow, you had to use that joke? Really?
Edward: Running time!
Edward: Ah! Harp...not supposed...to go there!
Hooded (Monster?) Sprite #6: Ha, what a wimp! Beat you to the first hit!
Hooded (Monster?) Sprite #7: No fair, you leaping gimp!
Yang: Dammit!
Cecil: Hold on!
Weirdly, the fight between two of those hooded guys equals one group of three. I haven't been able to figure out how that works out and I suggest you guys don't try either.
Edward: Thanks, guys. I think I found where the King's glasses fell...owie.
Cecil: We'll fix you up later. Yang, lead the way.
Cecil: Here we are. End of the line.
Yang: Yes. We retreat no further. They'll take this Crystal over our dead bodies!
Edward: R-right.
Edward: Wait. Did someone lock the door?
Cecil: ...ooops.
Yang: Dammit! Prepare yourselves!
Cecil: What...wait a second, guys. I think that's..
Cecil: Of course! You and me, against the world once more!
Cecil: Wait. What?
Next time: Hey everybody, don't get lost! Come back now, cause here comes the boss, here comes the boss!
Like I mentioned a couple of days ago, I also have a bit of a bonus included with this chapter at no extra cost to you.
Final Fantasy 'II' - iBard 1: The Red Wings
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEKDF_WbMlg
The original Legend Of Zelda's opening music is also quite iconic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajYFOBWOBKs
Ok, ok, so their 'opening music' is pretty much the same thing you'll hear for most of the game. Let's try some more modern examples.
Stay a while, and list...wait, wrong game.
Old music. Using old music never changes.
I hate that guy.
Now that you get the idea, let's get to the piece I'm talking about for this highlight: The Red Wings.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbQyqX9iu_M
Counting as both the anthem of Baron's military elite and Cecil's theme, the song has decent portions of "Don't mess with me!" and "Oh crap!" mixed in. Sadly I can't quite remember how many times the song actually plays through the game at the moment but if anyone remembers, you're more then free to jot down the number in a reply, tossing in the exact story-moments in a spoiler box if you know them too.
It can be said that Square has lots of love for this song or at least love to get money from people who love it as they've bothered giving it the orchestra treatment like some of their other top numbers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTypCr0ODVQ&fmt=18
And while it hasn't been made part of the Piano Collections CDs, it doesn't stop fans from using their skills with that instrument to belt out their own version.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rffqp4V-vQM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZj6zw9jWMg
As well as...er...
...on other instruments...
Does this count as playing it by ear?
You can barely notice the edits...barely..
Before you go plugging your ears now, some fan-work on the song is pretty sweet. The guys over at OverClocked Remix actually did a whole '3-CD' album based on the game's music. The Red Wings? At the top of the list.
Needs about 1:12 to get to the meat of the song.
Luckily I was able to find a video on Youtube that wasn't a song-long ad for the album. Anyway, that's about it. I'm sure you guys can find a couple more takes on the song. If you want me to do this sort of bonus again, let me know.
Weird thing though, they've never bothered actually making a cover of The Red Wings as part of their musical selection. Oh well, at least they have a nice logo.
Let's Play Final Fantasy 'II' (Ch10 - 5/17/10)
Final Fantasy 'II' - Chapter 10: Frantic Fighting At Fabul 2: Electric [strike]Jedi Lightning[/strike] Boogaloo
Ohhhhh yeah.
KNIIIIIGHT-FIGHT!
Despite the shift to the battle-window, this is pretty much a scripted fight. Cecil stands about all confused, trying to talk sense into Kain.
Kain in turn keeps hopping on top of Cecil's helmet to cave it in. He must have pretty good aim to dodge all the hard pointy-bits. That or tougher boots.
Kain: .........HA!
Doesn't look like Kain's up for listening what with those heavy ellipses he silently broke out there.
It's not long before Cecil's barely hanging on by a thread. Now while this fight's pretty much a cutscene, yes it's possible to fight back. You can't knock out Kain though and I really don't think Cecil is the sort to fight back against a friend needlessly. Of course when you play the game, you can try raising his sword against his friend if you wish.
...heartless b******s...
Cecil: K-Kain, wait! I don't know why you're doing this but...but whatever's wrong, we can fix it together! After all these years, that's what friends do! And we're great friends, right?
Kain: ...
Kain: Hmmm.
Kain: No.
Well, that's pretty embarrassing.
Cecil: You're under Golbez's...
Kain: I'll put you out of your misery.
Yang: You can't!
I'll give Yang credit here for trying to fight Kain. I have to take some of it back though seeing as Kain's proven already that he already has no problem dropping someone wearing ARMOR.
Oh good, backup's finally arrived.
Just not the backup everyone expected. Or probably wanted in Cecil's case.
Kain: Rosa!
Rosa: Kain, why you!
Kain: Don't look at me!
Kain: Hold on, this is what I've been waiting for. I'm the one on top now. Ok, gotta do this just like I practiced.
Kain: Hello there, Rosa. Leg time, no cookie.
Rosa: ...huh?
Edward: What did he say?
Rydia: I don't get it.
Kain: No! Wait! Dammit!!
Uh-oh...
The evil villain.
Yes folks, ten chapters in and we get to meet Golbez. I think the timing of his appearance is pretty decent as far as FF-villains go. Compared to the other two SNES-FF games, FF5's villain doesn't make his appearance until right around the 1/3rd mark of the game's story while FF6's shows up prior to leaving the second town. He certainly keeps a consistent look too by the time the three games end unlike them. Plus he rocks a much more threatening armor then Cecil as the new Red Wings commander. Maybe it's the cape..
It and his armor's horns do attract a lot of attention when he's fitted into the logo used for the DS-version of the game.
Golbez: and take my greeting!
Edward: Cecil!
Yang: No!
What is it about about Yang right now wanting to jump out in front of violent men in armor? And he's even somehow got Edward doing it too! Maybe heroism is a fatal disease like some have said.
They end up getting a nasty treatment for it in the end as Golbez lights them up with his own version of Lit. I believe it's called "Fo' shizzle you sizzle!"
Rosa: Yang!
Rydia: Edward!
Edward: On the harp again! Pain, she will never leave me...
Golbez: That's enough. Take the crystal, Kain.
Kain: Yes, Master!
Sweet Bahamut, it IS contagious!
Golbez: Is this girl important so important to you? Very well! I shall see you again. I'm taking her as a token of this promise. Come, Kain!
Golbez pulls the same move Cecil did with Rydia earlier in the game, shoving Rosa in the same invisible knapsack before leaving. Mind you, Rydia had the excuse of being unconscious when it happened to her so I don't know why Rosa's not doing anything to stop it.
I guess she's simply not as strong and kidnap-proof as later heroines in the FF-series...
Golbez: Yesss. Hero down, his sweetheart taken and the Crystal's mine. Better then I practiced. Time for the final part on the list: triumphant but silent power-exit!
Kain doesn't bother keeping his voice down to whispering/muttering/small text for his last jab at Cecil before leaving.
Those of the party who are still conscious give their own two cents after Golbez and Kain are gone. Both pennies aren't as strong or bold as the kidnappers'.
So after everything that's happened, Rydia's the only one left standing. One can only imagine what she's thinking at this moment.
Rydia: Oh no, everyone's hurt and that bad guy took Rosa. I gotta do something! He's so scary though...if Cecil can't do anything, maybe the only one who could stop him is...her...
Rydia: No...maybe I oughta heal everyone first. That's what she would do.
A quick burst of yellow flashes brings the fallen friends up to their feet. But topped-off HP isn't enough for Cecil.
Rydia: You Okay?
Edward: Thanks, Rydia. But Rosa was taken.
Yang: And the crystal.
Cecil: Rosa...
Rydia finds herself having to give another pep-talk to the adults after Edward and Yang accept Cecil's invites to the mope-party.
Rydia: Come on! Rosa is all right. And we can take back the crystal, too!
Cecil: Thank you...
Full control is finally (and perhaps thankfully) given back to the player since the moment we accepted the King's request to help defend Fabul. And speaking about the King...
...he's a bit banged up but otherwise fine. The rest of the castle seems to be ok too.
More or less. Hmmm, what to do, what to do...
Ehhh, I du-
But maybe I could do some quick leveling and...
Fine, I get the freaking hint! I'll go to the inn. JEEZ! I swear, if someone says the word 'rest' one more time..
AHHHHHH!
Cecil: AHHHHHH! Shut UP!
I know, right?!
Cecil: Damn wide-hipped, robe-wearing old fart.
Ahem. Anyway, now that we're at where the game wants us to be, it's time for an important team-meeting. With three of the four Crystals and Rosa in Golbez's pocket, it's not looking good for the heroes.
Good question. Seeing as Baron has the 'death from above' advantage, it seems almost impossible to get near it's turf without being spotted. But if anyone can figure out a way around them, it's their former commander. I'm sure he'll think of a plan.
Cecil: Let's make it on the sea!
...ummmm...yeah, that's a plan alright.
Next time: Haven't I seen you in Scotland or Spira before?
Let's Play Final Fantasy 'II' (Ch10 - 5/17/10)
lol, Final Fantasy II, The Rock Opera.
I can almost hear Styx in the wailing guitars.
Rydia!!! <3<3<3
I didn't wanna give my thread a(nother) self-post bump but my low self-esteem forces me to argue with your opinion even though it makes me very happy to hear it.
Let's Play Final Fantasy 'II' (Ch10 - 5/17/10)
Limed for great truthitude.
I really look forward to all of your updates, even if I don't post something every time. FF2 is one of my all-time favorites, and you are definitely doing it justice.
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
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I'm not sure I'd call what happens next the 'next scene' or the jumping the shark moment of the game.
And yes, I do plan to show what pieces of the NP-art I've been able to find. FF-Wiki's been pretty sweet there as well as in general when it comes to helping me sound more knowledgeable in the LP.
Let's Play Final Fantasy 'II' (Ch10 - 5/17/10)
It's a truly endearing (and interesting) relationship that becomes tragically downplayed as the stakes get higher and higher (until it's literally out of this world).
I think about a version of FFIV that focuses on redemption and sacrifice and I sit awestruck at how awesome that would be.
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I was thinking the same thing. In fact, I was also thinking of adding it to the OP once we get to a certain point in the game. Not exactly fanart as it looks pretty official but I'll take what I can get and credit you for it, Prof.
Let's Play Final Fantasy 'II' (Ch10 - 5/17/10)
A site that's far from worksafe (although supposedly there's a worksafe equivalent).
Oh, and the text says "Don't cry". So damn cute.
I really wish the Japanese fans (who, let's face it, draw way better then we do minus a few standouts from deviantart) would put such alternate concepts like the one I mentioned into their doujins, instead of porn and....more porn. And then more porn after that.
The only semi non-hentai FF project I've seen is this FFXI running comic featuring adaptions of the creators' original characters.
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Would that be Fred Perry's Level Up?
Let's Play Final Fantasy 'II' (Ch10 - 5/17/10)
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