![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xyzzysqrlLAST TIME ON FINAL FANTASY 12:
Vaan unlocked an achievement.
I was going to go a-hunting, and so I head off and find the people to talk to for that. One poor moogle admits that his pet tortoise escaped into the mines, grew all big and aggressive off magicite, and is now terrorizing people, kupo! So I should probably take care of that for him. The other guy is all "We dug too deep!" and I'm like "oh god balrogs are not in my contract" but it's a basilisk called "The Nidhogg" instead, so I can PROBABLY handle this. They're both in the mines, so down I trek.
The Nidhogg is... larger than I expected. It is a giant flying blue minidragon. In spite of this, and in spite of the way it keeps trying to stab my party to death with its tail, we manage to take that down pretty briskly. I make the executive decision to jog back outside and save before pressing onward, and it's a good thing too, because on the way out I find a strange flying fish called the "Aerieel".
It's not always MY puns that're the terrible ones, folks.
Anyway, this appears in its own section of the Bestiary called "Rare Game", where it is marked as five-star Rare and "Number 41 of 80". Now, when something is marked as part of a collectable set in RPGs like this, I get curious. It is usually worth at least a cursory look for the rest of the set. I'll have to look into that later on.
Balthier continues to live up to his "Leading Man" status, as he casually shrugs off anything that isn't a boss, magical, or a magical boss. He is completely invincible, and while this will not LAST, it is feeling really good for now.
Speaking of NOT being invincible, I finally get down and give Rocktoise the giant tortoise a poke. My official opinion is that at current time this shit will not fly. Perhaps later when I come back someone will have attached wings to it, but at the moment it is landbound with no departure impending. There's no way I'm going to beat that damn thing.
Unless I like... had Basch mark Balthier as the Decoy target... and Vaan sniped... and then ... well, if Basch is down, Fran can spam heals... and magic lightning, lots of that please Fran... more sniping, Vaan... keep slashing, Bal... okay, let's get Basch up again so he can re-designate the tank...
Somehow, I DO in fact take down the Rocktoise. ... It costs a buttload of potions and two Phoenix Downs, but holy crap. That looked impossible. It was HARD. And I WON.
I am VERY PLEASED.
The quest-moogle also asks me if I'll go find his diary, kupo, which he left on the second floor of one of the shops. I trot off and do that. The game asks me if I want to read the diary. I have uncomfortable Paper Mario flashbacks. ("YOOOOOOU LOOOOOOOKED." *GAME OVER, murdered by privacy-loving ghost*) I elect to leave the poor moogle's diary unread. In return he gives me a Jade Collar, which... yeah okay, off with the harness, on with the collar.
What? Someone ELSE will wear the harness. Used battle harness. ... ew. Okay let's... keep moving along. It's time to go see Ondore. Let's see if the party BELIEVES HIS LIES.
Ondore is amused to see Basch. It wasn't so long ago he declared Basch dead, yet here he is. (At this point I feel like Basch should have an eyepatch. "I heard you were dead!" "I get that a lot.") Of course, if Basch hadn't been declared dead by Ondore, he would be no good as blackmail material. There is some back and forth banter about Amalia and how important she must be to the Resistance if Basch is here, and then Vaan butts in. "Can we see Larsa for a minute? He's got my friend." NOPE. Larsa has already left the city.
We then see a cutscene of many many imperial ships floating above Bhujerba, airdropping powersuits and smaller ships.
Uh... I am not politically very EPT, but I think this may be a bad sign.
Basch and Ondore look at each other for a bit, then Basch deliberately draws his sword. Ondore summons his guards. ... Balthier seems pretty surprised this is going down, but anyway everyone is captured and taken to the Imperials.
Now... I THINK how this plan works was supposed to be: Ondore can't directly stand against the imperials, but he CAN get Basch onto their ship as a prisoner, where he can do recon and look for Amalia. Dude's already escaped from one jail. I just don't think the other party members were actually TOLD this was the plan.
Meanwhile, over in Rabanastre, Vayne is musing on how best to eliminate Ondore, who he is pretty sure is the one funding the resistance. We also get a name for Basch's Evil Judge Twin Brother: Gabranth. Vayne -evils- for a while and then obliquely orders Gabranth to "Take care of things". On the way out, Gabranth passes Doctor Cid. (There's always a Cid.) He is cheerfully talking to himself about "Putting the reins of History back in the hands of man"... and when I say talking to himself, I mean he is having an ANIMATED CONVERSATION with himself. Maybe he's been licking the nethicite.
On the Imperial Dreadnought 'Leviathan', our party is in chains and being marched around. They are taken straight to Judge Ghis, who is voiced by Mark Wing-Davey, whom some of you may know as Galactic President Zaphod Beeblebrox. This isn't relevant, it's just awesome. Anyway, Amalia is ALSO there! She instantly introduces Basch to her backhand. "You're supposed to be DEAD." she snarls. "How DARE you."
The Judge smirks a lot and introduces Amalia as Princess Ashelia B'Nargin Dalmasca. Which means I can A: Finally stop using her fake name and start calling her Ashe, and B: Means I can point out her middle name. Really, B'Nargin?! She's a B'Nargin Basement Princess?
I'll never do that again.
Anyway, the Judge is all "She must endorse Vayne, but only if she's -really- a Princess, and if she doesn't endorse him I'm pretty sure she's an imposter, y'dig?" and Basch is like "I know where the Dusk Stone is. It marks her as being of true royal blood." and Ashe is like "Wait you killed my father, WHY would you help me?" and Basch is all "DUTY." and Vaan is like "Uh, could you please not get us all executed please?"
Ashe turns and GLARES at Vaan, and Vaan starts to feel something funny happen. In his pants. ... In his pocket. Wait, that stone he stole from the palace is GLOWING. Judge Ghis just starts laughing himself sick. He can't believe how lucky he is! Vaan brought the stone straight to him! Ashe is all "NO DON'T GIVE IT TO HIM" and Vaan checks the party for opinions. Balthier's opinion is *shrug*, Fran's is *nod*, and Basch abstains. Vaan hands over the rock to the judge after asking him to promise: No executions. The Judge promises nothing. He has them taken away, Ashe quartered seperately.
Man, when is she gonna join the party?
On the way to their quarters, Basch and Balthier argue a bit about Fate and the princess and duty and honor. Eventually this pisses the guards off, and one tries to spear-bash Balthier, who judo-throws him into another guard. Fran takes this chance to roundhouse-kick a third guard in the back of the head, and a fourth guard is taken out by... Guard #5, who pulls off his helmet to reveal the scruffy man who was with the princess way back during the attack on the castle. His name is Vossler, he and Basch served together, and after two years they are finally ready to start getting things done around here. Step 1: Free the princess.
Vossler joins as a guest and the party starts kicking imperial butt and dodging laser alarm beams on the way out of the airship. Oh yeah. There are a LOT of those laser alarm beams, but for the most part we ghost through, stabbing things and raising no alarms. We even stop and clear out the cargo hold, because hey, why not? At least some of the party ARE pirates.
Down in the brig, we rescue Ashe, who finally joins the party proper and finally gets her Hunter class. I instantly make her some kind of high-HP dagger-carting murder machine. This feels weird and wrong and yet so very right at the same time. Outside the princess's cell, alarms are blaring, so I slow down for a bit and wait as the Empire sends a parade of mooks into the meat-grinder. No matter what party composition I slap together and field, the group hardly slows down for more than a couple minutes.
This ... this sensation I'm feeling... I think it's called pride. *sniff*
On the way out, we cross paths with... Larsa and Penelo! Big hug between Vaan and Penelo. Aw. Larsa, meanwhile, asks Vossler if he will come with him. "We must reach the dock before these escaped prisoners do." he says, gesturing the opposite direction from the airship dock.
"Why would you help us escape?" Basch wonders.
"Lady Ashe ought not to exist." Larsa observes. "You were dead two years ago. Your sudden appearance is a thread, laid bare and from on your actions will tug at that thread. I would like to see what unravels. For the good of Dalmasca. For the good of the Empire."
This seems to persuade Ashe, who nods and releases Vossler for the moment. Larsa apologizes to Vaan for the "Lamont" ruse, passes Penelo the hunk of manufactured nethicite, and makes a graceful exit. Nice kid. Pity his brother's kind of a jerk. But hey, I get Penelo back!
I promptly set her to basically auto-buff the entire party into nigh-invulnerablity. Yessss. MORE POWER. POWER OVERWHELMING.
Good thing too, because Judge Ghis is sitting casually in the airship launch room, waiting for us. He's let down, but understanding. Still, with the stone that he took from the party, he can "prove" any random woman is "really" Princess Ashe in disguise. "The Empire requiiiiires yoooou NOOOO MOOOOORE-AAHHH" he shouts, flinging a huge magical bolt at Ashe, along with a wad of ham the size of my apartment block.
The magical bolt takes a turn in mid-air and vanishes. Cut to Penelo holding the nethicite, which absorbs magic. Ashe gets pissed off and rushes Ghis down, and so we have a boss fight a'going. With everyone buffed up like crazy on defensive spells, though, all Judge Ghis can do is wave his sword around and summon soldiers. Penelo uses Dark magic to obliterate them, while Ashe and Fran bounce the Judge back and forth between dagger and spear until he tips over. Vossler bursts in to tell the party he's got an Atomos ready. Balthier promptly mocks it for not being much of an ship.
"Hardly fit for a leading man." he sniffs.
"Ooh, can I fly it then?" Vaan asks.
"Are you mad?" Fran counter-asks, and that's that.
Okay, yeah. An Atomos is a cargo container with hover-jets. NOT much of a ship. Fran smoothly pilots it out and that is that. Bye, Leviathan!
Back on Bhujerba, Balthier gets his hanky back from Penelo, the party debates whether they can trust Ondore, Ashe debates whether can trust Basch, and Vossler explains that she should trust him as if he were Vossler. This convinces her neatly.
With the full party in hand, I save and stop for the moment. No idea what comes next, but I do need a break.
Vaan unlocked an achievement.
I was going to go a-hunting, and so I head off and find the people to talk to for that. One poor moogle admits that his pet tortoise escaped into the mines, grew all big and aggressive off magicite, and is now terrorizing people, kupo! So I should probably take care of that for him. The other guy is all "We dug too deep!" and I'm like "oh god balrogs are not in my contract" but it's a basilisk called "The Nidhogg" instead, so I can PROBABLY handle this. They're both in the mines, so down I trek.
The Nidhogg is... larger than I expected. It is a giant flying blue minidragon. In spite of this, and in spite of the way it keeps trying to stab my party to death with its tail, we manage to take that down pretty briskly. I make the executive decision to jog back outside and save before pressing onward, and it's a good thing too, because on the way out I find a strange flying fish called the "Aerieel".
It's not always MY puns that're the terrible ones, folks.
Anyway, this appears in its own section of the Bestiary called "Rare Game", where it is marked as five-star Rare and "Number 41 of 80". Now, when something is marked as part of a collectable set in RPGs like this, I get curious. It is usually worth at least a cursory look for the rest of the set. I'll have to look into that later on.
Balthier continues to live up to his "Leading Man" status, as he casually shrugs off anything that isn't a boss, magical, or a magical boss. He is completely invincible, and while this will not LAST, it is feeling really good for now.
Speaking of NOT being invincible, I finally get down and give Rocktoise the giant tortoise a poke. My official opinion is that at current time this shit will not fly. Perhaps later when I come back someone will have attached wings to it, but at the moment it is landbound with no departure impending. There's no way I'm going to beat that damn thing.
Unless I like... had Basch mark Balthier as the Decoy target... and Vaan sniped... and then ... well, if Basch is down, Fran can spam heals... and magic lightning, lots of that please Fran... more sniping, Vaan... keep slashing, Bal... okay, let's get Basch up again so he can re-designate the tank...
Somehow, I DO in fact take down the Rocktoise. ... It costs a buttload of potions and two Phoenix Downs, but holy crap. That looked impossible. It was HARD. And I WON.
I am VERY PLEASED.
The quest-moogle also asks me if I'll go find his diary, kupo, which he left on the second floor of one of the shops. I trot off and do that. The game asks me if I want to read the diary. I have uncomfortable Paper Mario flashbacks. ("YOOOOOOU LOOOOOOOKED." *GAME OVER, murdered by privacy-loving ghost*) I elect to leave the poor moogle's diary unread. In return he gives me a Jade Collar, which... yeah okay, off with the harness, on with the collar.
What? Someone ELSE will wear the harness. Used battle harness. ... ew. Okay let's... keep moving along. It's time to go see Ondore. Let's see if the party BELIEVES HIS LIES.
Ondore is amused to see Basch. It wasn't so long ago he declared Basch dead, yet here he is. (At this point I feel like Basch should have an eyepatch. "I heard you were dead!" "I get that a lot.") Of course, if Basch hadn't been declared dead by Ondore, he would be no good as blackmail material. There is some back and forth banter about Amalia and how important she must be to the Resistance if Basch is here, and then Vaan butts in. "Can we see Larsa for a minute? He's got my friend." NOPE. Larsa has already left the city.
We then see a cutscene of many many imperial ships floating above Bhujerba, airdropping powersuits and smaller ships.
Uh... I am not politically very EPT, but I think this may be a bad sign.
Basch and Ondore look at each other for a bit, then Basch deliberately draws his sword. Ondore summons his guards. ... Balthier seems pretty surprised this is going down, but anyway everyone is captured and taken to the Imperials.
Now... I THINK how this plan works was supposed to be: Ondore can't directly stand against the imperials, but he CAN get Basch onto their ship as a prisoner, where he can do recon and look for Amalia. Dude's already escaped from one jail. I just don't think the other party members were actually TOLD this was the plan.
Meanwhile, over in Rabanastre, Vayne is musing on how best to eliminate Ondore, who he is pretty sure is the one funding the resistance. We also get a name for Basch's Evil Judge Twin Brother: Gabranth. Vayne -evils- for a while and then obliquely orders Gabranth to "Take care of things". On the way out, Gabranth passes Doctor Cid. (There's always a Cid.) He is cheerfully talking to himself about "Putting the reins of History back in the hands of man"... and when I say talking to himself, I mean he is having an ANIMATED CONVERSATION with himself. Maybe he's been licking the nethicite.
On the Imperial Dreadnought 'Leviathan', our party is in chains and being marched around. They are taken straight to Judge Ghis, who is voiced by Mark Wing-Davey, whom some of you may know as Galactic President Zaphod Beeblebrox. This isn't relevant, it's just awesome. Anyway, Amalia is ALSO there! She instantly introduces Basch to her backhand. "You're supposed to be DEAD." she snarls. "How DARE you."
The Judge smirks a lot and introduces Amalia as Princess Ashelia B'Nargin Dalmasca. Which means I can A: Finally stop using her fake name and start calling her Ashe, and B: Means I can point out her middle name. Really, B'Nargin?! She's a B'Nargin Basement Princess?
I'll never do that again.
Anyway, the Judge is all "She must endorse Vayne, but only if she's -really- a Princess, and if she doesn't endorse him I'm pretty sure she's an imposter, y'dig?" and Basch is like "I know where the Dusk Stone is. It marks her as being of true royal blood." and Ashe is like "Wait you killed my father, WHY would you help me?" and Basch is all "DUTY." and Vaan is like "Uh, could you please not get us all executed please?"
Ashe turns and GLARES at Vaan, and Vaan starts to feel something funny happen. In his pants. ... In his pocket. Wait, that stone he stole from the palace is GLOWING. Judge Ghis just starts laughing himself sick. He can't believe how lucky he is! Vaan brought the stone straight to him! Ashe is all "NO DON'T GIVE IT TO HIM" and Vaan checks the party for opinions. Balthier's opinion is *shrug*, Fran's is *nod*, and Basch abstains. Vaan hands over the rock to the judge after asking him to promise: No executions. The Judge promises nothing. He has them taken away, Ashe quartered seperately.
Man, when is she gonna join the party?
On the way to their quarters, Basch and Balthier argue a bit about Fate and the princess and duty and honor. Eventually this pisses the guards off, and one tries to spear-bash Balthier, who judo-throws him into another guard. Fran takes this chance to roundhouse-kick a third guard in the back of the head, and a fourth guard is taken out by... Guard #5, who pulls off his helmet to reveal the scruffy man who was with the princess way back during the attack on the castle. His name is Vossler, he and Basch served together, and after two years they are finally ready to start getting things done around here. Step 1: Free the princess.
Vossler joins as a guest and the party starts kicking imperial butt and dodging laser alarm beams on the way out of the airship. Oh yeah. There are a LOT of those laser alarm beams, but for the most part we ghost through, stabbing things and raising no alarms. We even stop and clear out the cargo hold, because hey, why not? At least some of the party ARE pirates.
Down in the brig, we rescue Ashe, who finally joins the party proper and finally gets her Hunter class. I instantly make her some kind of high-HP dagger-carting murder machine. This feels weird and wrong and yet so very right at the same time. Outside the princess's cell, alarms are blaring, so I slow down for a bit and wait as the Empire sends a parade of mooks into the meat-grinder. No matter what party composition I slap together and field, the group hardly slows down for more than a couple minutes.
This ... this sensation I'm feeling... I think it's called pride. *sniff*
On the way out, we cross paths with... Larsa and Penelo! Big hug between Vaan and Penelo. Aw. Larsa, meanwhile, asks Vossler if he will come with him. "We must reach the dock before these escaped prisoners do." he says, gesturing the opposite direction from the airship dock.
"Why would you help us escape?" Basch wonders.
"Lady Ashe ought not to exist." Larsa observes. "You were dead two years ago. Your sudden appearance is a thread, laid bare and from on your actions will tug at that thread. I would like to see what unravels. For the good of Dalmasca. For the good of the Empire."
This seems to persuade Ashe, who nods and releases Vossler for the moment. Larsa apologizes to Vaan for the "Lamont" ruse, passes Penelo the hunk of manufactured nethicite, and makes a graceful exit. Nice kid. Pity his brother's kind of a jerk. But hey, I get Penelo back!
I promptly set her to basically auto-buff the entire party into nigh-invulnerablity. Yessss. MORE POWER. POWER OVERWHELMING.
Good thing too, because Judge Ghis is sitting casually in the airship launch room, waiting for us. He's let down, but understanding. Still, with the stone that he took from the party, he can "prove" any random woman is "really" Princess Ashe in disguise. "The Empire requiiiiires yoooou NOOOO MOOOOORE-AAHHH" he shouts, flinging a huge magical bolt at Ashe, along with a wad of ham the size of my apartment block.
The magical bolt takes a turn in mid-air and vanishes. Cut to Penelo holding the nethicite, which absorbs magic. Ashe gets pissed off and rushes Ghis down, and so we have a boss fight a'going. With everyone buffed up like crazy on defensive spells, though, all Judge Ghis can do is wave his sword around and summon soldiers. Penelo uses Dark magic to obliterate them, while Ashe and Fran bounce the Judge back and forth between dagger and spear until he tips over. Vossler bursts in to tell the party he's got an Atomos ready. Balthier promptly mocks it for not being much of an ship.
"Hardly fit for a leading man." he sniffs.
"Ooh, can I fly it then?" Vaan asks.
"Are you mad?" Fran counter-asks, and that's that.
Okay, yeah. An Atomos is a cargo container with hover-jets. NOT much of a ship. Fran smoothly pilots it out and that is that. Bye, Leviathan!
Back on Bhujerba, Balthier gets his hanky back from Penelo, the party debates whether they can trust Ondore, Ashe debates whether can trust Basch, and Vossler explains that she should trust him as if he were Vossler. This convinces her neatly.
With the full party in hand, I save and stop for the moment. No idea what comes next, but I do need a break.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-11-30 01:23 am (UTC)I should suggest being careful with being curious about the Bestiary, though--that way goes Completionism insanity. Some of the stories in there are facinating...but to unlock most of them, you have to kill X of a various monster, and you only get a piece at a time.
no subject
Date: 2012-11-30 09:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-11-30 09:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-01 04:18 am (UTC)