Game #60: Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (SNES) - I'll Take a Double Scoop of Nostalgia (Finished)

Game 60

Title: Final Fantasy Mystic Quest
Released: October 1992 (September 1993 JPN)
Platform: SNES
Developer: Square
Publisher: Square
Genre: RPG
Exploration - Top-down
Combat - Turn based
Series - Final Fantasy

This game is often spurned by Final Fantasy fans for being too simple, childish. In fact, that does seem the direction intended by the developers. The thought process was that RPGs weren't as popular in the US because they were too complicated. A strange notion as I see it, since most western RPGs popular at the time were much more complicated than anything a console had seen. The game was ultimately a failure in its goal to bring RPGs to the mainstream, but what was created was a fun-loving easy adventure through a familiar story of four elemental fiends hoarding the power of four corresponding crystals.

And it's short, very short for a Final Fantasy game

The game opens with the hero (named by the player) entering the Hill of Destiny after his village was swallowed by an earthquake. An old man on a cloud instructs him to run and jump over a gap (that's right there is a jump button). He then goes over the story: four fiends, four crystals, you're the knight of prophecy, here fight this monster.

It's possible to game over here, but the game allows you to resume from the beginning of any battle

We're then automatically put in the Level Forest, which is looking decidedly dead. The old man instructs us to save the earth crystal before running off. We then need to talk to another old man, and help him push a boulder that's blocking the path to Foresta. Before heading off, he tells us to seek out Kaeli, and show her a withered branch so she will help us heal the forest.

*Plop*

Kaeli comes with an axe that unlocks the rest of the forest area. I picked up the Cure spell in town before tackling the boss. Aside from the jump button not normally seen in RPGs, the hero is able to use his currently equipped weapon. The sword is used to reach high switches, the axe can chop down trees, there's a bomb that breaks open passages, and claw that enables him to climb certain walls (and a later upgrade that allows him to cross certain gaps). Kaeli chops down a glowing tree, and out pops a Minotaur that poisons her. She helps finish the fight, but collapses afterwards, giving us the axe.

The world map has set destinations, and flashing arrows once you've opened the path to the next location

Scattered around the world are battlefield areas that have ten fights to clear. Each rewarded me in some way (experience, gold, or an item) once I'd cleared all ten. To the north was the Sand Temple where the elixir to cure Kaeli was held. Tristam, a treasure hunter, had already collected it though. He offered to sell it for the exorbitant amount of 9,000gp. We struck a deal; I'd help him with his next score in the Bone Dungeon, and he'd give it me. In the process, he also sold me some bombs to open up passages inside.

I avoided a well known bug where the party member elemental and special defenses aren't updated unless you restart

Defeating the Flamerus Rex at the end of the dungeon provided Tristam with the Dragon Claw he desired, and restored the Earth Crystal. I made a short trip to give Kaeli the elixir before continuing my journey on to Aquaria through the Focus Tower. Tristam left the party in search of more treasure. On the way, the old man on the floating cloud suggested I find someone named Phoebe and Captain Mac. Phoebe was in the Libra Temple where she recruited me to free her grandpa Spencer from the frozen water in town.

Using the claw Phoebe gave me to climb walls

There are no random battles in this game. Enemies in dungeons are normally visible, but block choke points that force you to fight most of them. Bosses are also visible. I obtained a Libra Crest, which allowed me to teleport to the Life Temple where I got a drop of Wakewater that restored the heart of the town. This didn't unfreeze the whole town, but it thawed the pass to the Ice Pyramid where I could restore the Water Crystal. To get there, I had to traverse the frozen Falls Basin, which was full of block pushing platform leaping puzzles.

I remember being stumped here when I first played for quite some time, not realizing that the sword could reach this switch

The Ice Pyramid culminated in a battle with an Ice Golem that was rather easy with two fire spells. Phoebe was so excited to see her grandpa that she left me to find my way back. Aquaria was finally unfrozen, and the path under Phoebe's house led me to Spencer, one of Captain Mac's friends. Spencer told me that Captain Mac was stranded on a rock ledge after a lake dried up. While Spencer continued to dig a hole to the captain, he gave me a key to investigate some earthquakes in Fireburg.

Guess I'm helping you save your dad

In Fireburg, I found myself teaming up with Reuben to save his dad. This involved finding Tristam to give us a key to open a lock of a cowardly explosives expert that gave us the mega grenade, a throw-able bomb. I took this to the Mine across from the giant boulder, and through a maze of one-way treadmills and trolley buckets I made it to the summit where I threw a grenade to move the boulder. This opened the way to the Volcano where I could investigate the earthquakes. With a near unlimited supply of seeds, I used my most powerful magic in every battle from this point to the end.

I'm pretty sure I missed the life spell somewhere, it's the one empty slot I had at the end of the game

The defeat of the Dualhead Hydra freed the Fire Crystal. After I freed each crystal, a coin was found nearby that opens another area of the Focus Tower. The next area led to a bridge where Reuben fell. He was fine, but on a cliff I couldn't reach. Tristam was there to pick up the slack. Party members don't share in the experience, and thus don't level while in the party. The only time their level increases is when they rejoin at a later time. On the other side of the bridge was a giant tree blocking the way. Seemed I needed to find Kaeli to speak with the tree, and ask it to move.

Wow, Kaeli, where have you been grinding?

I returned to Aquaria, where Spencer and Tristam joined up to find some treasure. The tunnel was slow going, and Phoebe thought she'd help by blowing it up. That collapsed the tunnel, and now I had to drag Kaeli, who was recently bed ridden, all the way to Windia. The giant tree wanted us to clear out the monsters inside of it before he would move. The boss was a chimera named Gidrah. Defeating it dispersed all the other monsters. In Windia, Otto wouldn't assist us until we saved his daughter, Norma.

You mean I killed all those monsters for nothing

At Mount Gale nearby, I confronted the monster Dullahan. He caused the strong winds that broke apart the rainbow bridge that led to Pazuzu's Tower. I found Norma right away, and sent her back home. Pazuzu was holed up in an elevator, and escaped whenever I came near. The key to getting him to stick around was to seal off the shaft on every even floor. The tower itself was more long than tough, but that may have to do with unleashing full spell power at every chance. Defeating Pazuzu unlocked the elevator, which I rode to the top to free the crystal and collect the coin.

CAPTAIN MAC, CAN YOU HEAR ME?

Back in Windia, we discussed the Captain Mac's situation with Otto. Reuben showed up, and told us of a stairway to the top of Focus Tower. Just then Otto had a brilliant idea. We could drain the lake water from Spencer's cave all the way into the dry lake. With the cave-in, the only way to reach it was to increase the power of the Rainbow Road with a Thunder Rock. Reuben joined to help fetch the rock from his father. Filling the lake only moved the ship down to the nearby cave. Getting to that cave required me to find the Mobius Crest inside Spencer's cave, and the tile within Windia that traveled there. I rescued Captain Mac, and met back up with Phoebe in Windia where we learned something startling.

Alright, let's go get Chaos... I mean Dark King

Focus tower was a push through four floors of a boss rush against powered up versions of the four fiends. The room before Dark King refilled my seeds, heals, cures, and arrows. Honestly, the restorative items are thrown at the party so fiercely that I wasn't in fear of running out. They're also so weak that they're useless in the final battle, except seeds, but I only needed 2 at most.

I'm not really sure this boss needed four forms

With Dark King vanquished, peace returned to the world. The old man floating on the cloud revealed himself as crystal of light, guiding me throughout the adventure with cryptic messages (I didn't bother to mention many of them, but they weren't exactly helpful). The hero revisited all his companions, and said his goodbyes. Instead of settling down, he sailed off into the sunset in search of another adventure.

Elapsed Time: 8h50m (Final Time: 8h50m)

Honestly, he just had to get away

Combatant - There's good progression, but the simplicity of the game is evident. Monsters are a strange mix of fantasy stylized animals and creatures. Most of the game devolves into simply casting the best spells. Each monster is weak to at least one spell or weapon. The final bosses of the game have some lockdown status effects (paralyze, stone, confusion) that make them a bit RNG, but manageable eventually.
Rating: 5

Who decided the white background was a good idea?

Admirer - At least you get to name the hero. The default name is Benjamin according to the manual. There's no other customization, but you can choose to skip spells or items if you know about them ahead of time. The different weapons usable on the dungeon maps is an interesting mechanic, but they don't reflect the changing equipment (except the dragon claw).
Rating: 3

The character animation for the hero was funny as well

Puzzler - The puzzles are really light, but there are some things to figure out aside from the strategy of combat. Weapons take on a new aspect as they're used for navigating the game world in addition to slaying monsters. There aren't any side quests to speak of, and only a single solution to reach the conclusion.
Rating: 4

I suppose it's these two I have to thank for these elements

Instigator - The story isn't a stretch for the franchise, but they wanted to keep it simple for their audience. In that I think they succeeded. There aren't any detailed descriptions or lore to find, but it's a fun journey (or maybe that's my nostalgia talking). NPCs are rarely directly helpful, and more often have inane comments on the current situation.
Rating: 3

The translation was actually a big step up from Final Fantasy II, although that may have to do with it being geared for an English audience

Collector - The economy is completely broken. I never had to save up or choose my purchases with care. There are a large number of items and equipment to collect, and it's easy enough to find everything (although I still missed the life spell). The most powerful armor is automatically equipped, and only the latest weapons are usable. There are also more than enough space for consumables that storage isn't an issue.
Rating: 6

I think there are more people in the Special Thanks than the total number that worked on the game

Explorer - The music is wonderful. The graphics, especially battle backgrounds, are simple. The world itself is set on rails, and there's no chance to explore or really miss a particular area. It's no grand world to wander around, but that wasn't really the aim.
Rating: 5

It just keeps going

Final Rating: 26 [43%]

Definitely a bit of nostalgia coloring my opinion, but I don't really care to revisit the numbers. It's a simple, light, easy game that you could get through in a weekend. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in finding out what RPGs are all about (or mostly about). It's a good first impression. I enjoyed the trip down memory lane enough that I didn't hate the game afterwards, but I don't think I'd revisit it again any time soon.

Finally reached the end

Next up we have Legend of the Ghost Lion (often shortened to just Ghost Lion). An NES RPG that's a little different from other RPGs. There are no experience points in this one. Levels are instead gained by collecting a certain item. This one just barely tipped the scale in its favor. I actually hadn't heard of it before starting down the list, so I'm curious to see what it has in store for me. Hopefully it takes longer than a week as I still haven't fixed the TurboDuo.

Maybe they expected to continue the adventure

Game #45: Final Fantasy II (SNES) - Slipping Into Familiar Shoes

Game 45

Title: Final Fantasy II (IV JPN)
Released: November 1991 (July 1991 JPN)
Platform: SNES
Developer: Square
Publisher: Square Soft
Genre: RPG
Exploration - Top-down
Combat - Active Time Battle
Series - Final Fantasy

This intro is so good, but I never got that they were flying away from Mysidia

First of all, I'm amazed by the release schedule for this game: only a five month gap between regions. Granted the translation isn't great, but the amount of text to translate is a great task. Someone also decided it'd be less confusing to renumber the game since the actual II and III never made it to the US. For quick reference, simply multiply by 2 to get the actual number for the SNES Final Fantasy games.

The intro sequence sets the stage for Cecil, commander of the Red Wings, and his internal strife over the recent command to steal crystals away from helpless individuals. The kingdom of Baron created airships, and now the king was using them to eliminate any threats to his total control.

I'm sure he has his reasons; he's a complicated guy

Cecil didn't blink while carrying out the act, but he had plenty of time to think about it on the ride back to Baron. The crew shared in his doubts, but discussion was cut short when monsters suddenly attacked the flying ships. Still the intro, I watched as Cecil took out two groups of monsters using magic items that were removed from the game in this version. There are actually a number changes in the conversion, including the removal of a lot of items. As an example, status effects used to have an item associated to cure it (antidote for poison, soft for stone, etc.), but those all got replaced by the remedy item, which was renamed to Heal. Many of these changes made the game easier, but they weren't all that way. Cecil lost his Darkness ability, which deals damage to all enemies.

One time use combat background

Back in Baron, Cecil faithfully delivered the crystal, but he couldn't keep silent over his reservations towards stealing from helpless people. The king stripped him of his command, but decided there was a way to make up for his insolence. All Cecil had to do was deliver a package to the village of Mist, home to a people known as Callers. They had the power to summon monsters to battle. Kain, longtime friend of Cecil, came to his defense, but he only managed to get assigned to the same task. In the middle of a short dialog where Cecil apologized for getting Kain mixed up in his troubles, the game suddenly broke the fourth wall and started talking about controls (e.g. use the Control Pad and A-Button). It appeared as though Kain was saying those things.

*Plop*

Even the residents of the castle spoke in hushed tones about how the king had changed. It was the king who ordered Cecil to master the dark sword, but strangely Cecil thought it was for a good cause. On my way to Cecil's room, Rosa welcomed him back, but had no time to talk. Cid, master engineer, creator of the red wing airships, stopped me to ask how the ships were handling. When he heard what happened, he assured me he never intended them to be used as weapons. Still loyal to Baron, Cecil rested for the night hoping this task would reassure his king of that. In the middle of the night Rosa came calling. After hearing Cecil's tale, she berated him for being mopey. In the morning, Cecil met up with Kain, and headed to the city of Baron to gather more information.

Upon leaving the castle, the final scene of the introduction plays out

The story telling is beyond anything we've seen so far. Even with the reduced script lost in translation, there really isn't anything else to compare it to. Obviously this was possible by the increased space available, but even compared to other 16-bit titles I feel the story has more depth than any of the Phantasy Stars. Many of the guards commented on the state of the king, the Red Wing crew voiced uneasiness with the events that took place, and nearly everyone in town feared the Dark Knight of Baron (except for one kid that thought he was kind of cool). The music is outstanding, the locations large enough not to get lost, but not too small either. The pacing is well spaced, and one of the defining features is the number of unique boss-like fights that occur in nearly every dungeon.

These training rooms were added in the US version, and may also be the first in-game tutorial in an RPG

Most training rooms have a character called Namingway that allows the player to rename anyone in the current party. I chose not to rename them right away, but as the game went on I felt I should probably make use of him. While this is the only appearance of this character in the series, another makes its first appearance and becomes an iconic figure: the chocobo. Although first presented in Final Fantasy Adventure, this is the first in the main series (that made it to the US). Yellow chocobos can cross rivers with ease, and they easily dodge enemy encounters. White chocobos refill magic points, and black ones can even fly if you can catch them. Catching them involves chasing them down and talking to them, a reverse on the annoying NPC always in the way. Speaking of NPCs, when trying to move through them they'll move faster and usually out of the way unless they're cornered.

A big chocobo is hidden until it smells a carrot; it'll store items, but hardly necessary

Well, let's get into the thick of it. I remember this being a challenging game, so it may take a while to get through... no wait, I breezed by the Mist Cave where I fought a Mist Dragon controlled by a caller. In the village of Mist the package I was carrying sprang open. Fire creatures poured out, burning the village in their wake. Rydia, a small child, was the only caller to survive; however, when she learned that I was the one that killed the dragon, and her mother in the process (some kind of psychic link that never comes into play for Rydia), she summoned a titan that sealed off the valley. Cecil woke to find Kain missing, and Rydia unconscious. A vast desert lay before Cecil, and an oasis in the middle supplied the town of Kaipo with water. In the middle of the night, while resting at the inn, guards from Baron showed up to finish the job I started. I'm not sure how they got through the sealed pass (let alone how they knew one caller survived), but taking them out proved to Rydia that the man whole killed her mother wasn't all bad. Mistakes were made.

How did Rosa get here from Baron?

Rumor around town was that a young woman had wondered in with a terrible fever. Turned out it was Rosa, and the only cure lay in an Antlion cave accessible only by Damcyan royalty. The passage through the only cave north was blocked by an old man that forced himself on my party. Tellah, the sage, told us how a wicked bard tricked his daughter, Anna, into running away with him to Damcyan. We might as well travel together. At the end of the watery passage was a giant octopus called Octomamm (no relation to Octodad). Another troublesome part from my memory was a cake walk. Just beyond the cave entrance was Damcyan, and steps away from walking in I was treated to a scene of the red wings bombarding the castle, completely destroying it. Inside, Anna was dead, and Tellah raged hard at the bard that stole her away.

and thus a meme is born

Well, Anna was mostly dead. Her last breath(s) stopped the fight between Tellah and Edward, the prince of Damcyan who only pretended to be a bard. She described the attack: someone named Golbez commanded the red wings, and stole the fire crystal. Tellah headed off to find Golbez, leaving the party. While Cecil was eager to figure out who was Golbez, Roas still lay ill. Edward bemoaned the loss of Anna. Rydia had to knock some sense into him, telling him he wasn't the only one to have lost a loved one, but he had a chance to save someone else by retrieving the Sand Ruby. He agreed, and provided a hovercraft that allowed the party to cross over shallow areas of the water.

Once again, Antlion easier than I remember

The Antlion Cave was easy, and the Antlion itself much easier than I remember. Mainly, I recall his counter move dealing more damage. He strikes back any normal attacks, but it wasn't a problem. Edward remarked before the fight that Antlion was tame, but times were changing. Monsters were becoming commonplace, and tame animals were turning wild. Sand Ruby retrieved, the party rushed back to Rosa. Once revived she joined the party, and explained the events that took place after Cecil had left. The king of Baron gave control of the Red Wings to Golbez, a mysterious man who seemed to control the king rather than the other way around. His intent was to collect all the crystals, obviously for some nefarious purpose.

Strangely, the only time a character joins without a job title

That night, while the party rested, Edward ventured out near the oasis to reflect on his lost love. From out of the watery depths a water hag appeared. A vision of Anna appeared, spurred him on, and he easily trounced the hag. Before disappearing, the ghostly vision told Edward to believe in himself, fight, and to prevent Golbez from obtaining the crystals. The next castle with a crystal was Fabul, across Mt. Hobs; however, the path was blocked by ice. To pass through, Rydia needed to overcome her fear of fire. As a caller, she has a natural talent for black magic as well as summons. Although, even though she'd called a titan to cause an earthquake, she can only manage a lowly chocobo at the moment (and an imp summon, which I found after a fight with imps). After some coaxing, and reassurances (mostly pleading), Rydia overcame her fear, and melted the ice.

Attack animations have a variety that make each character unique

At the top of the mountain we met a karate master from Fabul. Yang was ambushed by monsters, and while he took most out without problem the party jumped in to assist with the MomBomb. It exploded into six smaller bombs, but we wrapped up the fight cleanly after that. Yang explained that he was out on a training exercise when these monsters appeared. He was the only survivor. We explained the danger to the crystal of air at the castle, and the party surmised that the monsters here weren't meant as a distraction to weaken the castle. Cecil explained all their motivations for stopping Baron, and Golbez, from obtaining all the crystals even though he was a dark knight. Yang agreed to their assistance, and the party was now full at five members.

I ended the first night outside Fabul

In this short time the game has provided much more enjoyment than many titles I've already played through. Even so, the ease with which I've progressed makes the experience feel a bit shallow. I played through this game many times in my youth, grinded for hours to gain early levels, and find rare item drops without really knowing which enemy they might come from. The grinding I did while young felt necessary, but coming back to it years later I wonder why I felt that way at all. Obviously difficulty is subjective. With as much experience as I have now, I know what works and what doesn't. It's nice to experience something I loved so much, but it's not the same experience it once was. I think that's why when I look at the list I'm more eager to get to the games I've never played before.

Elapsed Time: 2h38m (Total Time: 2h38m)

Game #43: Final Fantasy Legend II (Game Boy) - Father Found

Game 43

Title: Final Fantasy Legend II
Released: November 1991 (December 1990 JPN)
Platform: Game Boy
Developer: Square
Publisher: Square
Genre: RPG
Exploration - Top-down
Combat - Turn based
Series - SaGa

An intro!

I've been looking forward to this game for a while. The first in the series was my only Game Boy game growing up, and while I knew more were being released, I didn't travel nearly enough. Also, the SNES released the same year. So, I dropped Game Boy altogether and never looked back, until recently. I've actually been exploring the Game Boy library as a side project, and plan to play through them all. I'm keeping the RPGs set aside in chronological order, so each game experience on this blog will be as fresh as possible.

Straight to character selection

Right away, I could tell that this title had more polish, leveraging on the previous game I'm sure. We have humans, mutants, and monsters (still rather pathetic) returning as selectable characters, and the addition of the robot class. I chose to first start with a human female. Humans now increase stats the same way mutants did in the first, although slightly faster. Increases seem based on actions taken in combat: stat based weapons increase the corresponding stat, spells increase mana, and HP seems to increase on its own. Monsters continue to live off meat, and often fall to a weaker state before rising back to the level of the party. Robots are a new breed that don't evolve with battle. Instead, they get stat boosts based on equipment. Armor greatly increases their defense, and weapons will either increase strength or agility. The key weakness to their design is their mana stat, which doesn't increase. Mana doubles as magic attack and defense.

Almost done with the boring stuff

The scrolling intro described Magi, a great power left behind by ancient gods. After character creation the scene above shows the main character's father stealing away into the night, but first he left a piece of Magi behind. An undetermined number of years later he still has not returned, so Celd decides to set off in search of him. She said her goodbyes to her mom and teacher, Mr. S. The latter gave her a bit more story about Magi: 77 pieces exist that form the statue of Isis, an ancient god. Each Magi has a special use, and the one I received is called Prism.

That's convenient

Mr. S told me to assemble an additional three members from the rest of the students. I chose one of each class: female mutant, robot, and a slime. My party fully assembled, I left my hometown. Mr. S stopped the party on the way out. He joined through the first cave, which was rather uneventful. There was a boss-type monster waiting at the exit, but he went down in a single use of fire by Mr. S. Additionally, Having a mutant with Flame at this level seems too good. The mutants are the only class with inherent magic abilities. They have four slots for abilities, learned and lost randomly. Unlike the first, only the last slot is replaced each time in order to allow the character to permanently keep up to three skills.

*Plop*

The first town, aptly named First Town, was obsessed with someone named Ki at the Shrine of Isis to the west. In the tavern I learned of Ashura: a power hungry demigod looking for Magi. Ashura's base was to the north near the Pillar of the Sky, which connects this world with others. The tavern also had a music box where it's possible to listen to all the tracks in the game. A standard inn provided healing services at one gold piece per hit point. Staying also restored charges for mutant abilities, and weapons on robots. Weapons normally have a max durability, and degrade by 1 with each use without any way to repair them; however, when equipped on a robot they lose half their durability, but uses get restored at an inn. Immediately I thought, "infinite charges on weapons," but the weapon is reduced by half a second time when unequipped from a robot, so the net gain isn't much. I bought some armor, especially for my robot, and moved on to the shrine.

Artist rendering of Till-bot at this point

Ki, a cleric with the power to heal (is this rare?) directed me to a big rock to the south where Magi might reside. While I found some, most of the chests were empty. The Magi recovered appeared to be stat boosting, so I equipped them to each member. In the Magi menu there are options to equip or use the Magi, but only the Prism did anything useful. I ended up chasing the culprits out the back, but they escaped, killing some guards on the way out.

Strangely no sugar coating here

When the party broke the news to Ki she joined us to assail Ashura's base. A second town on the way provided a respite before I steamrolled through the base. Seriously, the early game is a bit of a joke. After beating another easy boss-type monster waiting for the party, the base started to collapse. As we rushed out I picked up three more Magi, some elemental ones that I figured enhanced my affinity with those spells. Escaping put us directly in front of the Pillar of the Sky. Ki stayed behind in her world while I pressed on to Ashura's desert world.

Each world is locked until enough Magi are gathered

Ashura's world began with a Desert Town overrun with scamps, thieves, and vagabonds. The party was waylaid inside the town multiple times. Through some bribery I learned where Ashura was holed up. I upgraded my armor, and tried to follow the directions given by the barkeep. Seven steps south of a cactus and seven east were much harder to follow in the sand storms because the ground continuously moved the party. Clumsily we made our way south. There was a town outside Ashura's tower, but it wasn't of much consequence. The tower climb was fairly easy, and I found a masked man named Mask that joined my party. Now, up to this point I was feeling very confident about getting through this game without much trouble. Then I came to Ashura. Being the first monster to cast mass damage spells my party members fell quickly. Before Mask could get a cure off on himself, he also fell. Till-bot was the final member standing, and delivered the final blow at just 40 HP.

Never to be seen again... wait, was that Celd's father?

Ashura gloated that minions were micronized, and would invade Ki's body to extract the Magi residing inside her. She wasn't doing too well when I arrived, completely catatonic. I was directed to the world of giants for a solution. The giants world was once ruled by giants, but no longer. Rumor had it they found a way to reduce their size. Asking around town revealed that a shopkeeper was getting giant armor. I confronted him about his source by sneaking into his shop from the side. He directed me to Johnny at the tavern, who revealed I needed to find a different colored block to enter the giant's town.

Oh yeah, I also found my dad

Even though my original goal was to find my father, he wouldn't come home without recovering all the Magi. He warned about others like Ashura, seeking them only for power, and they had to be stopped. Thus concludes night one.

It's a rather enjoyable game. I'm sorry for the slow posts, and the rather short one here. I've already completed the game, and well into The Bard's Tale, so hopefully I can catch up to my current game soon without slowing down how often I play. In any case, I wanted to get something out this week instead of delaying once again. I'll have the follow-up post(s) soon.



Elapsed Time: 2h32m (Total Time: 2h32m)

Game #39: Final Fantasy Adventure (Game Boy) - Mana Mana (Finished)

Game 39

Title: Final Fantasy Adventure
Released: November 1991 (June 1991 JPN)
Platform: Game Boy
Developer: Square
Publisher: Square Soft
Genre: Action-RPG
Exploration - Top-down
Combat - Action
Series - Mana (Seiken Densetsu)

Thankfully a short game

I've been looking forward to seeing what games I missed on the Game Boy specifically. We had the handheld in the house, but we never had any games beyond Final Fantasy Legend (not even Tetris). I suppose we didn't travel enough to get more, and we had the major Nintendo consoles to keep us busy. Still, I feel like I missed something special with this game. I don't have the nostalgia built in for this title. While playing through it I could see a fun game, and it had its moments, the repetitive dungeons soured the experience. I remember enjoying Secret of Mana, so I'm glad the series had its start, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it evolves going forward. Maybe it's the Game Boy as a platform that limited the scope of this action game.

The story in a nutshell

The game begins with the naming of a boy and girl. The boy takes the lead, while the girl takes her place as sidekick and eventually kidnappee. Not much is known about where he came from, only what he does currently.

*Plop*

The current empire is known as Glaive. The hero, who I named Zeni, met up with his fellow fighters in their cells after their respective fights. Every day they battled for the amusement of the dark lord, who cared not when they die. Willy, a fellow fighter, succumbed to his wounds during the introductory sequence. He suggested I seek out the Gemma Knights to defend the power of Mana against the Dark Lord. Not sure how he knew so much, but he pointed me towards a man named Bogard near the falls. On the directive of another captive fighter, I charged the monster entrance in the arena to find the exit.

Wait a minute! I was risking my life fighting some tiger monster for your amusement and you weren't even watching?!

As I escaped I overheard Dark Lord and Julius, his commander, discussing the matter of the Mana Tree on top of the waterfall, and a girl that was the key to reaching it. I was spotted, and in my haste to escape I ran my back up against the falls. The Dark Lord blasted me into the falls, and I came too near the town of Topple. In town I learned nothing. Seriously, only more talk of a mysterious girl, the mana tree, and an old man that lived near the falls. I actually found old man Bogard before I found the girl, but he wouldn't speak to me at all.

Without the girl his dialog stops at "Go away!"

The girl was hiding out a couple screens below the path I walked around the river. There I discovered her guardian, Hasim, was mortally wounded. The girl, who I named Gani, was on her way to Wendel, but first needed to consult with Bogard. Since we were both headed to the same place, and honoring Hasim's dying request, I escorted her to Bogard. The old man noticed the Pendant of Mana, which was passed to Gani from her mother. He recognized it from many years ago when the Vandole empire attempted to use the power of Mana to take over the world. It was Gani's mother that helped foil their plans. Bogard provided a mattock to break rocks on the path to Wendel. There I was to seek out Cibba, but the road was treacherous.

I knew we should have stayed in the same bed... you know, for safety

Even though we had planned for rocks, it was tall grass that actually did us in. We were stuck, with no other option than to bed for the night at some shady looking inn. Should have known better it being free and all. Before drifting off to sleep Gani imparted the cure spell to Zeni. Asking others about her produced dumbfounded looks. Some other guests commented on a mirror that revealed people's true nature, and a key to a nearby cave where the mirror was held was in possession of some lizardmen to the south. All it took was defeating them, and exploring the cave. Inside was a man who offered to help me as many young women had disappeared from that inn.

Using the sickle I found in the cave to take down some two-headed dragon

The mirror I earned from the dragon was used at Kett's inn to dispel the guise of the man that guarded the entrance to Mr. Lee's private quarters. Revealed as a werewolf, I battled my way to the basement. There I rescued Gani from a coffin. On the way out I had to fight Mr. Lee, a vampire. I've noticed that most Game Boy games have limited enemy AI patterns, and once learned it's easy to avoid their attacks. I arrived in Wendel to the south thanks to the sickle that cut through the tall grass. There I met with the man that helped me in the cave. In the large house in the center I found Cibba waiting for me.

Maybe Zeni never had a mom

With Cibba's guidance a message from Gani's pendant of Mana was revealed. An image of Gani's mom said they were part of the Mana family, seeds of the Mana Tree. She sealed the path to the tree with the pendant. The Gemma Knights are sworn protectors of the tree. After the image faded the man who helped me in the cave suddenly appeared to tell me the dark lord had arrived, and he would take Gani to a safe place. Zeni, being the gullible type, said, "Okay."

I'm not even sure who this is lying on the ground, but I got knocked back into him and had to read his dialog multiple times

The man turned out to be Julius, the dark lord's right-hand man. Really Zeni? Shouldn't be letting Gani run off with random men when you're the one supposed to guard her. Julius overpowered me, and Gani was kidnapped. When I came to, Cibba told me Julius escaped to the west in his airship. Unfortunately the cave west was a living cave named Gaia that only enjoyed the taste of silver. The silver mine had a cart that needed to be oiled, only available in a shop to the south.

Trying to aim with the axe proved very difficult, so I eventually switched to the sickle

At the bottom of the mine I found Watts, and he joined me until the end of the cave. A large centipede type creature guarded the silver. It took some time to defeat as it crawled across the screen and disappeared into various holes. With the silver, Watts made some equipment, which he generously sold to me. Bogard joined me on the other side of the cave of Gaia. Julius' airship was refueling nearby. Gani was trapped inside a cell with no way out, except maybe the window. Bogard stayed behind to ensure she wasn't taken from it while I scaled the outside to the window.

Finally doing the smart thing and separating the pendant from the girl

Before I could get Gani out though, Julius showed up and blew Zeni off the side with a fire spell. I guess at some point the airship took off without my notice and I was now in a different part of the world. I landed on a thatch covered house, which just so happened to belong to Amanda, a fighter from Glaive that had also managed to escape. Too bad she was in some kind of trouble, and took the pendant from my unconscious body. Someone in the town of Menos told me of a chocobo egg nearby. The chocobo is a great partner as it allowed me to ignore all the enemies and travel faster over land. Jadd, a desert town to the west, was where all the real excitement took place. With a poison gas field, and complete silence.

Well that's something

Jadd was under the iron grip of Davias, with the ability to curse others by transforming them into animals. The only cure were the tears of Medusa, but her cave was concealed in the desert. Only a random boy knew the location. He wouldn't divulge the secret without something in return: a bag of fangs. I think this is the first RPG where I had to grind on a certain kind of enemy to get a random drop. I only thought to do this because one time they dropped a chest and it was empty. So, not only is the chest drop random, but the fangs aren't always in it. Even with the clue it took quite a while to find the cave.

What a clue...

Even knowing the correct oasis didn't help much... finding the cave was completely by random chance

Inside the cave was Amanda, who had taken the pendant to exchange it for her brother, cursed by Davias, her only recourse now was to fight Medusa and get her tears. During the battle things didn't go quite as planned. Amanda was bitten, and you know what they say... (no game, it's not the same as vampires). Well, without tears from the original Medusa, Amanda offered her own and asked me to slay her before she finished transforming into a monster. Not really even thinking about it, and just pressing the A button to advance the text (also the attack button), I killed her with a single swift strike. Her tears freed her brother Lester, and with his help I tracked down Davias.

Here's one of the many status effects: turning into a moogle (their first appearance)

Now, I haven't talked much about the game since it's pretty basic. There are spells gained at set story events. Weapons are discovered throughout the world, and most of them are necessary for some kind of navigation puzzle. Enemies are sometimes immune to particular weapons, so expect to switch often. Most attack spells are useless, and it's better to save MP for healing HP, except when a status effect hits. Moogle is special as it can't be healed, but poison, stone, and darkness are easily cleared up with magic. Each enemy defeated increases the hero's gold and experience. Levels thankfully come quickly and they restore HP and MP to max.

At each level you choose a stat to focus on, and two related stats increase as well

Davias, like most bosses was a pushover. With his dying breath he laughed at the fact that the pendant was in the hands of Garuda, and he was flying to Glaive. Lester played his harp to clear the gas from the path to Mt. Rocks, which took me to the castle. I fought through a giant metal crab, a cyclops to win a morning star, and a golem as I made my way to Glaive. A bridge that spanned the waterfall collapsed behind me for no reason, cutting off my escape. Inside the castle I faced off against a Chimera guarding Gani. In the middle of our escape I ran out of keys. Luckily there was a shop inside the castle that sold them; however, I think it might be possible to become stuck as doors sometimes re-lock themselves. Save while behind a locked door with no key, and there's no way out. A bit of an oversight that I sidestepped through pure luck.

Someone want to try to decode?

At the top of the castle I faced off against the Dark Lord; however, Zeni again sent Gani off to get kidnapped because it was too dangerous to have her around during the battle. Julius found her, and he had the real pendant. I'm not sure the Dark Lord knew his pendant was a fake. With Gani under Julius' control she reversed the flow of the waterfall and unlocked the path to the Mana Tree. Julius sent me swimming down it before ascending up the water. It's strange falling down the same waterfall and ending up in a different location. This time I fell pretty hard, and couldn't move. My pet chocobo found me, and carried me to the nearby town of Ish.

Dr. Bowow and the newly christened Chocobot, the hydroplaning chocobo

Once I'd recovered from my wounds I found Bogard in a nearby bed, back broken and bedridden. The chocobo injured its leg at some point, and was fixed with a robotic leg that allowed it to run across water. Bogard then told me of the legendary sword Excalibur. It's location was known only to Cibba, so I traveled back to Wendel; however, he wasn't home and there were no obvious clue as to where to find him. Actually there was one clue. Most NPCs retained the same text throughout the game, so imagine my surprised when there was one that did. She told me Cibba traveled to the town of Lorim, on the other side of a snowfield. I got lost for a bit, but eventually found the frozen Lorim. Cibba was trapped inside a room, door encased in ice. The town was frozen over due to Kary, another easy boss.

Why am I trying to carry you?

Cibba gave me the bone key to unlock the Floatrocks Cave beyond the Ammonite Coast. Inside was the legendary Rusty Sword... plus side, I fought a Kraken, and a monster with the strangest spelling of Ifreet.

The translation could have used a bit more polish

Cibba then directed me to find Dime Tower, and he pointed me to Dr. Bowow for help. The good doctor sent me on a quest to defeat Lich, the hardest boss in the game (seriously, I died twice), to recover the nuke spell. Nuke was the only thing powerful enough to destroy the crystals in the desert that would reveal the hidden Cave of Ruins. Inside that cave was a platform where I thrust the Rusty Sword into, which caused Dime Tower buried deep in the desert to rise once again.

Does this guy look familiar to anyone else?

Inside the tower I found a robot named Marcie. He was created by Dr. Bowow 50 years ago, and left to wander endlessly. Also inside was the history of the Vandole Empire. They were the ones that created the tower, and it spoke of a child of hope. I've already gathered that was Julius. In fact most of the tablets of history only reaffirm what I've already learned. On the roof I fought against Garuda. Beyond him was a bridge that connected back to the castle of Glaive, and the waterfall beyond, but it collapsed before I could cross. Marcie threw me, and fell with the tower. It was a very touching moment. Up the waterfall I ascended to face off against Julius. One last lengthy tower climb commenced with many bosses including a dragon, a red dragon, and a dragon zombie.

Many puzzles throughout the game revolved around freezing enemies with the ice spell and positioning them on certain tiles

Finally, after many enemies, I reached the summit and the grove of the Mana Tree. A random woman (maybe Gani's mom) gave me Excalibur, and ushered me on to the final battle with Julius. Honestly, after all this time, Julius was kind of a let down. He had three forms, each progressively more difficult; however, I had collected 3 elixirs from random battles, which nearly fully healed and restored my MP. Without those it'd be quite a bit riskier. The Mana Tree was destroyed during this epic battle. Linked I suppose to Julius' life force, when he fell so did the tree.

Gani's mom instructs her on the way to become the next tree

However, there is hope. Gani is part of the Mana family, a seed of the Mana Tree. The last in fact. She will become a new tree, but she will also be the last. Zeni, a Gemma Knight now, must guard and defend against further attacks in the future. With that, the game was over. Most of it was enjoyable, but some of the dungeons dragged on for far too long with little challenge. I think I've been spoiled with other games, and it wouldn't surprise me if all Game Boy RPGs don't live up to other titles of the same era.

Good-bye

Elapsed Time: 8h33m (Final Time: 8h33m)

Combatant - Combat was challenging in the beginning only due to low HP. Once I gained a few levels it became easier to both kill enemies faster and tank damage. The balance remained weighted in the player's favor until the very end (sans Lich). There were weapon options, but spells sorely lacked punch. The nuke spell might have been the most powerful, but physical attacks were sufficient.
Rating: 4

Looking forward to his other creations on more robust hardware

Admirer - The controls are solid, unlike similar games where hit-boxes make little sense and the possibility of stun-locks exist. The level up system allows for a bit of customization, but the character always has the same abilities. Nothing changes on his sprite when new armor is equipped. Weapons do look different though, and have varying ranges.
Rating: 4

Graphics were pretty good

Puzzler - The random puzzles that do exist are frustrating with little to no hints. I don't think anything is technically a side quest, but the main quest is ever present and never lost (discounting the puzzle in the desert, which I'm not sure how it really fits with the world). Unfortunately there really isn't much going on here aside from combat.
Rating: 2

Is it you I should blame for the puzzles?

Instigator - The story plays out at a good pace. Zeni never really picks up on the whole don't let Gani out of your sight idea. Townspeople are mostly around for fluff. More than half of what they say is completely useless. The player doesn't have any influence over how the story progresses. No choices whatsoever.
Rating: 4

I think you missed a spot... or five

Collector - Inventory is greatly limited, and by mid-game I was dumping items. Mostly I wondered what items like Crystal, Wisdom, and Nectar did when I used them. Gold constantly flows in, and it's easy to purchase everything as it comes up. Equipment and items are kept separately, but it's only items that tend to fill up. There's no way to know if everything has been collected. In fact, it might be possible to miss the morning star altogether.
Rating: 3

The music, especially the scores in the later part of the game, is really well done

Explorer - The graphics, music, and sound are very well done for the Game Boy. Exploring the world is a little underwhelming. There's not much to explore or find. The accessible world is limited at various points by falling from the sky or bridges collapsing for little reason.
Rating: 4

Final Rating: 21 [35%]

I never understood why they use Square and other times Squaresoft

Overall I found the game fun; however, I don't think I'd recommend it to anyone that isn't a fan of the genre. It's rather basic, and the final rating reflects that. The action stays fresh as new weapons are introduced regularly, but navigating the dungeons is tiring.

Next up Uncharted Waters. I've been looking forward to a good exploration game, and I hope this is it. This should be a lot of fun. I have a complete copy, so I've been reading the manual and looking over the map the past couple of days. Seems the story is a bit of a mystery.