owlmoose: (Default)
KJ ([personal profile] owlmoose) wrote2008-08-17 02:00 pm
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FFIV: random thoughts

Just got back into the Tower of Babil.


Is there any other Final Fantasy game that kills off this many player characters during the course of gameplay? Palom and Porom, Tellah, Yang, Cid... it's a bloodbath, by FF standards. Now I'm fully expecting Edward to bite it sooner or later, or perhaps Edge.

Speaking of whom, is he supposed to come off as a punk kid? (Also, when exploring the caves that get you back into the Tower, can he pull off some ninja move to get the chests that I can see, but that aren't on the main path? Because if so, I have no idea how to make that work.) He also seems to have a bit of Tellah's revenge motive driving him, which is a little irritating since the game has already made the "revenge = bad" point with Tellah's story arc. Still, the fact that individual characters even have story arcs is something that pleases me. I like being able to go into the save menu and see everyone's thoughts; sometimes that's very telling.

So far, so good, as far as gameplay goes; the boss battle in the Tower gave me a little trouble, mostly because I kept fighting the Reverse status rather than rolling with it, but once I decided to play along it started going much better. Then I spent way too much time trying to find a way to continue forward in the Tower. Fortunate that there are a couple of save/tent points in there. I guess we get the rest of it now. Have I already mentioned that I like how the game rewards you for completing area maps? It's nice to get a bonus for seeking out every nook and cranny, especially in dungeons that don't have many treasure chests.
lassarina: (Default)

[personal profile] lassarina 2008-08-17 11:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Edge doesn't do ninjutsu to get you to the chests in the cave, there are hidden passageways. Usually the entrance is visible as a tiny curve outward from the normal wall, almost like the very tip of a finger pointing out to how you where. And yes, he is definitely supposed to be a punk kid.

The save menu thoughts are possibly my favourite thing about this entire game. Kain in the underworld? "It's hot as a forge down here; will Rosa be okay?" and then Cecil's all "we need to find shelter," once again highlighting the difference between them - Cecil's a team leader and Kain is Rosa's Lancelot.

Um, digression.

The every-map bonuses continue; if you explore every corner of EVERY map in the entire game (including final dungeon), you eventually get an augment, Treasure Hunter, that makes rare drops a little less rare. (It also carries over into subsequent playthroughs.)

[identity profile] owlmoose.livejournal.com 2008-08-19 03:27 am (UTC)(link)
Ah, okay. Like in that other cavern where you walk through the water a lot. I've gotten beyond that point in the game now, but maybe I'll be able to get back later.

I noticed that disconnect between Kain and Cecil in the Underworld, too, and in other places as well. Rosa may be Cecil's girl, but Kain certainly does seem to have unfinished business with her...

Thanks!
lassarina: (Cecil Kain Rosa)

[personal profile] lassarina 2008-08-19 02:21 pm (UTC)(link)
The only places in the game you cannot return to are the Towers of Zot and Babil and the Giant of Babil; everywhere else is fair game. So yeah, you'll be able to go back later (a lot of places, you have to go back to because Augments appear there; for example, one will appear where you met Edge, later.)

[identity profile] owlmoose.livejournal.com 2008-08-19 03:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Hmm I missed a corner of the Tower of Babil (turned the wrong way and went into the airship before I had finished exploring the floor). No 100% this time through. I hope that doesn't screw me out of anything *too* major.
lassarina: (Default)

[personal profile] lassarina 2008-08-19 03:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Only the Treasure Hunter augment, which is basically only useful if you want to beat your head against the wall to get the really really rare drops.