Final Fantasy 3 Part 2 – Gnomes and Vikings

Last time, we fell down a hole, killed a giant turtle, made some friends and now are about to attempt a rescue mission of a princess from a Djinn.
Let’s hop right into it.

Final Fantasy 3 Part 1 -Chosen by the Crystal

Welcome back! Today, we begin our journey through Final Fantasy 3!

I will be using the iOs version. Yes, I know that I despised the FF2 version, but the FF3 version is actually decent. I think the main thing that separates it from FF2 is the control scheme. In FF3 for the iOs, movement is controlled with a “stick” instead of just a d-pad. This really helps a lot with movement, and it doesn’t feel as finicky as FF2 does. If FF2 had this control scheme, I think it would be tolerable.

But then again, FF2 doesn’t feature 8-directional movement like FF3 does.

So, Final Fantasy 3. The original FF3, the Japanese version, not the FF3 for the SNES, that is an entirely different game. I won’t get into it, if you do some research on it, you can find out about the whole thing with the early FF releases. Most FF fans will know what I am talking about, however. This version of FF3 however, is the DS remake, ported over to mobile. I am not a huge fan of mobile gaming, but I think they did a good job on this one.

Final Fantasy 2 Part 6 – Finale

Last time, we had traveled up the Mysidian tower, found Mindu, who used his life to unseal the barrier between us and the Ultima Scroll. Then the emperor unleashed a deadly cyclone, killing hundreds. Summoning a Wind Drake with the Pendant, we took to the skies and entered the cyclone to kill the emperor and end the cyclone.

In doing so, Leon, who was revealed to be the Dark Knight, had ascended to the throne as the new emperor. Cid lent us his Airship as his last dying wish, we used it to enter the castle that Leon was in. As we came face to face, the dead emperor came into being, escaping hell and was bent on destroying the world. Gareth sacrificed himself so we could escape on the last Wind Drake. Leon, seeing no other alternative, decided to help us in hopefully defeating the emperor for good this time.

Final Fantasy 2 Part 5 – Old Friends and Sacrifices

Last time we managed to find both Masks needed so that we could get the Crystal Rod, which would allow us entry into the Mysidian Tower. But before we could get close to the tower, a monstrous beast, known as the Leviathan, swallowed our ship whole. Losing Leila in the process, the group stumbled upon one of the last dragoons, Gareth, in the belly of the Leviathan. Joining us in our search for the Ultima Scroll, we managed to escape, and finally entered the tower using the Crystal Rod.

We now continue our climb up the perilous tower in hopes of finding the Ultima Scroll.

Final Fantasy 2 Part 4 – The Leviathan and the Tower

Last time on Final Fantasy 2, we thwarted an attempted robbery, but managed to convince Leila, the lady-pirate to join the rebellion. Then we traveled to Deist and spoke with one of the last Wind Drakes, who died from being poisoned by the empire, but not before bestowing upon us a Dragon Egg, which we put in the Sacred Spring so it could hatch. After defeating an impostor of Princess Hilda, we rescued the real Princess Hilda with help from Gordon. At the end, we also liberated Fynn from control of the empire, and found out from Hilda and Gordon that Mindu has went missing somewhere near Mysidia while looking for the Ultima Scroll.

Also, Hilda told us about two masks that we would need to enter the Mysidia tower. She gave us the magical incantation to open a secret door in the castle which supposedly holds one of the masks, but she doesn’t know where the door itself is.
If you recall last time, Gordon told us that perhaps Pavel would know how to enter the secret door in Castle Fynn, so we can procure the White Mask, one half of the key needed to get the Ultima Scroll.

Final Fantasy 2 Part 3 – Trickery and Drakes

Last time, we managed to retrieve the Goddess’ Bell, but at the cost of Josef’s life. We then met up with Gordon who helped us find the Sunfire, which we used to rescue Princess Hilda and destroy the empire’s Dreadnought. Now, we go to Deist to find the Dragoons and the Wind Drakes, at the behest of the king as his final words before he perished.
I would like to mention at this point, my memory on what to do and where to go gets pretty fuzzy. I know a few things later on down the road, but I don’t remember any specific details, so let’s hope I don’t get hopelessly lost.

First, we check up on Hilda, who is being really creepy. I am sure nothing bad has happened to her! Nope, nothing at all!

Final Fantasy 2 Part 2 – Success at a cost

When we last left off, we were about to enter the Snow Cavern with Josef in search of the Sunfire, which we were told could be used to destroy the Dreadnought.

Final Fantasy 2 Part 1 – Rebels without a home

Final Fantasy 2 is one of those odd games in the series. It seems like the fan base for this game is pretty divided. Some love it, some hate it. It does a lot of things that are very different from the first Final Fantasy, and is even different from others in the series.
This game uses a non-standard leveling system where there are no levels. Instead, the characters get stronger with certain things by actually doing those things repeatedly. For instance, attack with a sword, and you get better with a sword, cast a spell a bunch of times, the spell gets stronger.

While it does feel odd and sometimes a bit grindy to “level up,” I think it is a pretty neat mechanic. Also, unlike FF1, there are no set classes this time around. Instead, you are given control of Firion, Maria, Gus (or Guy), plus many others to craft as you so please. Want one person to be a healing monk who beats things with their fists, but can heal allies? How about a dual-wielding knife user who uses black magic? Or any combination, really. I enjoy this customization. Given enough time, you can create all sorts of characters.

Final Fantasy Part 2 – Continuing the journey

When we last left off, our intrepid heroes slayed many a monster, beat a few bosses, got some loot, and even scored a class upgrade. You know, the norm for stalwart adventurers.
The next fiend is Kraken, the fiend of water, except one problem; he is under the sea and the heroes can’t breath underwater! Yet. Thankfully, a helpful NPC says she has a submarine that can travel to the lair of the Kraken, but she runs out of air before she reaches it.

Final Fantasy Part 1 – And so their journey began

Final Fantasy. The original. The humble beginnings of a franchise that would still be going today.

Let me start by saying that the original FF will always hold a place in my heart. After playing through it, I came to realize some of the annoyances with the game, now that I am older and I would like to think, somewhat wiser. However, there is a charm to the game, perhaps just nostalgia, but it is one of those games that can stick with you.
There used to be a time where I was essentially a living walkthrough for the game. I knew exactly where to go, what to do, what to buy… Everything. Picking the game back up after a quite an extended absence from the game, some things eluded me, but most I remembered, almost like riding a bike.
I will be playing the Final Fantasy Origins version, since it is the one I am most familiar with. I have played every FF1 game, except for the PSP version. I want to warn you, this game holds a special place in my heart. While I will gladly admit it is far from perfect, I really enjoy it, so expect some bias here and there. Or everywhere, in fact. But on to the game…