The (new and improved!) RPG Journal!

[Spec Highwind]

I beat Ultima Weapon in FFII: Soul of Rebirth... I found Wyvern's Lance... and I powered Up my characters so I can go deep inside Pandaemonia dead version

[Zeromus_X]

Try and get all the 'Ultimate' Weapons for each character, even though it is tough. (Joseph has the Bracer, Scott has the Red Rose, etc.). You have to fight a 'Dead' version of each Pandaemonium Boss, but it's worth it. (Although, if you beat Ultima Weapon, you have the patience to do anything probably. )

[Zeromus_X]

Okay, we finally got past the three Wise Men at the entrance. That was pretty irritating. So I just put Claude in the S Rank Duel Arena, and used Sword Bomber to snipe at the enemies tougher than him. And...we got Mirror Slice! It kicks utter ass! I still won't use it on tough enemies up close, they have status effects often...

I think we'll be okay for the final dungeon...I hope.

[Zeromus_X]

And, no as it turns out.

"SPICULE!! iT's SO HOT oH HO HOHO!" 0_o;

Me: "SHUT UUUUUP!!"

Unfortunately, there is no attack called 'shut up'. Only my team, dying by constant spiculing, mind/blood sucking, and being turned to stone...so...

The one solution to every RPG: Level up! (Well, except FFVIII, but that was an exception.) I'm going to beat up those things that give 40,000 Exp. (With being split between four people, that is.)

What the hell is a 'spicule' anyway? And are the final bosses so frustrating? And this is just the normal mode...><;

[ShadowHeart]

Originally Posted by Zeromus_X

And...we got Mirror Slice! It kicks utter ass!

Yeah it's great.. until you get to higher difficulties and/or Cave of Trials where enemies will tend to block one the first few hits and thus causing the whole attack to fail. You'll understand what I mean if you see it being blocked mid-execution. Very annoying. Works absolutely great in Eartj mode and for the normal game

And you're far from the first to have troubles with Spicule lol. I had huge problems with that on my first time through as well. Took many tries before I beat them, after scrounching up as much fire resistance as I could possible get my hands on with the limited item creation knowledge I had then

The next (and 2nd to last) boss after Vesper and Decus is a lot easier IMO. Indalecio is not to be laughed at, even with his limiter on and on Earth mode. I'm not sure I should spoil you, but he has some very hard hitting spells. I was continuously wiped out by his Earthquake spell (hitting the entire party for 9999 damage and I had nothing with Earth resistance, basically) on my first game. And that's far from the worst thing he can do. You have been warned

[Zeromus_X]

Yeah, I only use it when I know I can wipe out the enemy.

Claude: Mirror- *tink*

Claude: Mirror Sli- *tink*

Claude: *sigh*

*normal attack*

Meh. I still have Sword Bomber or Head Splitter on the other button, so I can 'snipe' at the enemies. It helped out in the battle arena.

Heh, this was funny. I'm trying to get through the survival match, but on match 30 (or 29, around there), I get swallowed by the blue worm thing that can swallow your characters. (As I found out....several times.) So, I try again. Get swallowed. Try again. Get swallowed. Try again. Infamous 'battle ends and freezes game' glitch occurs. So then I'm like "okay...I'm going to....do something else now...."

"SPICULE!!"

"SHUT UP AND DIE!"

0_o;

And yeah, Indy/Gabriel/final boss is pretty difficult. I don't want to know how tough he is 'unlimited'. xD Cyril was a cakewalk compared to those two.

SO3 is for wimps.

I...don't want to know how hard the other difficulty levels are.

[ShadowHeart]

My favourite KM with Claude is actually Ripper Blast. It may not seem like the best thing ever when you first get it.. but if you build up the proficiency to max it out, it'll be ridicolously effective. IMHO the most effective KM he has in the end. There are 2 versions of it, a long range version that shoots rocks up from the ground in multiple directions sort of forming a half-circle in the direction Claude is facing (if you understand what I mean), and a short range that just shoots up rocks in a straight line from Claude. The long range version at maximum proficiency is amazing. It will fill nearly the whole screen with rocks (well it'll feel like it) hitting all or almost all enemies multiple times (unless they are way too far away, like on the other side of the battlefield).

I like to start battles with the long range version at the one point on the battlefield where I'll hit as many enemies as possible and then move into melee combat with regular attacks and/or close range KMs. Or I'll just keep smashing the screen with the long range version until it's wiped clean. You may have to move back a bit between executions though, unless the rocks push the enemies back.

Another good thing with it is that the multi-hits of the rocks tend to strike enemies all at once or at least extremely rapidly, often causing them to peep (see stars, unable to move for a short bit, stunned :P). A stunlocked enemy is a prime target for continuous Ripper Blasting, short range or long range doesn't matter

It may cost a fair bit of MP, especially when you've just got it, but if you're anything like me it'll be very much worth the effort of building it up.. besides, as you power up you'll start recovering more and more MP after each battle (especially if wearing Bunny Shoes), eliminating most or all of the MP problem.

I could go on about my love for that KM, but I'll stop rambling about it now

Those eating worm monsters are damn annoying, yes. The only thing you can do to defend yourself is raise your defense. If you reach the point where your defense is so high that they'll do 0 damage to you with a normal attack, it will also be impossible for them to swallow you. The point where the blue worm monster you speak of will be unable to damage/eat you is somewhere between 800 and 900 defense. I know I figured this out at one point a long time ago, but I can't remember it now. I think it's in the lower half of the 800-900 range. On Earth mode of course. I'm not sure it's even possible to get high enough defense on Galaxy/Universe mode.. you just have to keep your distance then. Long range Rippler Blast or Dragon Howl should work nicely for that, do not even think about using close-range attacks. And Sword Bomber doesn't work well for that despite being ranged because it's not long enough range or quick enough, the blue worm is too fast. For example.

[Zeromus_X]

Oh! I see. That's good then. Actually, I did get past the worm. (Just....hit it two times. ><; ), but the 50th match (Phoenix, which is some bonus boss. Not good.) killed me. I've thought of doing 'Bloody Armour Chisato with the Weird Slayer', but I don't know if that would be effective or not. (Or rather cheap. :P)

I've heard good things about Ripper Blast, but I never used it because I only got to use it at short range. xD I guess I'll try powering it up then.

Another thing....do you use Chisato? Because I do, and she only uses her first KM, Twister, which is pretty awesome. But I don't know if that'll be okay, or she should use another KM. Most of her other ones have pretty long preparation time (Like....Preparation), so I just only give her Twister.

Meh. Maybe RB will be good for killing things I shouldn't be fighting yet. Though I could just level up with those Funny Thieves.

[ShadowHeart]

The 50th survial battle is a random monster that can appear on the last floor of the Cave of Trials, not a boss. Wonderful for leveling up, because it gives huge amounts of exp. Try using Dragon Howl on it repeatedly. Repeated Dragon Howl with not a split second of wait between executions = you'll most likely win. May take a long time but you will. Try it at least The only time I use Dragon Howl is basically against those huge metallic birds.

I have to run, I'll post more later

[Zeromus_X]

Oh, so the last match isn't fixed. Well, I guess that's good...and it was 'giant mechanical bird' type monster.

And...I took your advice. It really does look like it takes up the whole field. xD I guess I'll just...use that. It seems alot better than Sword Bomber.

Of course, Claude's at level 130 something now, so...I guess it'll be easier. :P As long as Gabriel Celeste isn't the 50th match. :/

I've replaced Celine with Ashton...because Ashton is funny, and mages are starting to suck. Big time. I'm tired of watching 20-minute lightshows that do crappy amounts of damage. So...yeah.

Thanks for all your advice so far. xD

[ShadowHeart]

You misunderstood me.. the 50th match is always Hell Servant (I think that's what that huge metallic bird is called), but the Hell Servant is just a random enemy on the last floor of the Cave of Trials (and amazing to level up against down there, along with the other monsters down there, only problem is the lack of a save point hehe :P). Sorry for the confusion

Yeah, mages do start to suck towards end game when speaking of damage. They are still useful for something though.. which is interruption. A spell that damages all enemies has a chance of interrupting any and all enemies.. especially mages that are in the midst of casting a spell. Imagine purposely interrupting a silly mage with REALLY powerful spells by continuously casting something silly like Starlight! Very fast spell (to cast and to execute) and hits all enemies. Damage sucks, but in that case you won't care about that anyway. Not sure how that works against Indalecio though. You can interrupt Iselia Queen by using spells, but she has been programmed to randomly retaliate against that in a somewhat nasty and irritating way. Can't remember if Indalecio has something like that though.

As for Chisato. I've used her numerous times, she can be amazing Her only problem would be a lack of high defense, and perhaps really strong attack power, but her KMs more than makes up for that I think. I tend to try to use different combinations of characters every time I play (which is starting to get difficult by now.. finished the game nearly 10 times already..), and I like many of the characters in their own ways. The only one I really don't like is Noel, but I still use him to collect voice samples (more voice samples = locks up higher difficulty modes, plus it's fun trying to complete the image on the voice collection screen )

[Zeromus_X]

Oh! Heh, now I understand.

Yeah, that's one thing Celine has helped with alot from time to time. (Who is now replaced by Ashton...also with funny voice samples. xD) Of course, I do get tired of watching 20-minute light shows 4 times every battle. :/ (Case in point: Eden.) Of course, I could put Rena to work with 'Light Cross' (short animation, so no hassle.)

Still, I completed the CoT with some ease. Unfortunately, it was just KMing the bosses until they died, which wasn't too challenging...hopefully the higher difficulties are better than that.

About the Voice Collection...what image is made out? I can make out the word 'Filia' (which bears signifigance, plot-wise. xD), but that's all I can make out. (I got most of the bottom and top filled in, the middle is still a grid however. I've also read it's actually impossible to fill it in entirely (like, Leon can't cast a certain spell, or yell out 'Dias!' when Dias dies, etc.) Weird programmers.

Of course, I'm sure you've unlocked everything, haven't you SH? (10+times = alot of voices), what are all the things that are unlockable? Is it just the higher difficulties and the sound test?

[ShadowHeart]

It's a picture of Filia.

Originally Posted by Zeromus_X

Of course, I'm sure you've unlocked everything, haven't you SH? (10+times = alot of voices), what are all the things that are unlockable? Is it just the higher difficulties and the sound test?

Yeah. Can't remember the exact % of voice samples you need to unlock stuff, but it's Galaxy first, then Universe, then sound thingie. I've actually never got to sound test (I lost my saves at one point, so I don't have all 10 games still).

The CoT is not too difficult, no, I guess (if you know what you're doing and isn't underleveled).. save for the floor with Funny Thieves Lv99, if you get back attacked by a large group of them you're basically done for, and I think it's the 11th or 12th floor that has rooms that hurt your HP or MP, the enemies there, mostly the robot dog things that hurts your HP (there is another kind that only damage your MP), have been a pain a few times.

If you're going to try Galaxy or Universe mode.. the first boss (Alen Tax) will be extremely difficult if you play Rena's scenario, because Claude wont have any time to level up and can basically be killed by the boss in 2-3 hits or so. Frustrating, but not impossible

[Fire Lord]

well i'm about to battle a friend as soon as i get 150gil

[Phoenix Flame]

Wow...can't believe no one's posted here in - uh...forever!

Anyway I just beat Mt. Gulg in FF1. I am just amazed at the quality of this game! Although it is very similar to the DQ series at that time, I think it surpasses them in most aspects! I'm playing on normal mode...those minimal spell casts really make you conserve MP and SPEND $$$ on Potions. If you don't have a White Mage, you can't use Life! There are no phoenix downs!!! WOW!