The 24 Days of Final Fantasy III -- Forum Edition

[Destina Faroda]

Once upon a time, on another website, there was a section called The 24 Days of Final Fantasy III.

Let me just say this right now.  This idea is credit to Tim, a.k.a Loogaroo.  Aside from the makers of Final Fantasy III of course, all credit goes to him for making this challenge  He'll probably kill me for trying this on another board, so while I can't plug the site, it would be really nice if some of you go there.

And, oh yeah, if you have NOT played Final Fantasy III, there will be major spoilers.

Now that I've gotten this out the way, here are the rules to the challenge from the site verbatim.

1. I must play at least half an hour each day. I can play as long as I want beyond the half hour, but I must log at least half an hour of playing time.

2. No cheats, no codes, no sketch bug.

3. Sometime during the day, I must issue a daily report on how far I am in the game, who's in my party, how much time I've spent, etc. If I play another session after I've filed the day's report, my playing time will count for the next day, but I still have to play at least half an hour on the appropriate day.

4. When in the World of Ruin, I must reunite with every character in the game; no leaving anyone out.

5. All party members must still be developed somewhat evenly as far as level-building. Learning spells is another matter, though. (I'm not going to waste time teaching Gau and Shadow all of the spells if they're never going to use them.)

6. On Day 16, if I haven't reached that point yet, I must take on the Floating Continent, no matter how ill-prepared I may be.

7. And finally, I must storm Kefka's Tower on Day 24. Not only does this mean that I must be ready to take Kefka on by this time, it also means that I can't go after him before this day.

Now in addition to this, I have decided that I may post video excerpts of this challenge on YouTube.  It's very unlikely that I will post the entire thing, since after all, I don't even have enough disk space on my computer to even record an entire playthrough of Final Fantasy III.  I also will not post them with the same frequency as I write a report, because with all the video editing (for size only) that has to be done to upload the file.

Since it's almost midnight, I have to file my report.  Unfortunately, this also means that I may make this report a little less enlightening than future ones.  Here goes nothing.

Day One

LOCATION: Narshe Training Room

PARTY MEMBERS: Terra (Lv. 5 HP 94 Mp 34) and Locke (Lv 7. HP 144)

ELAPSED TIME: 0:30*

STEPS TAKEN: 715

To be honest,  I phoned it in today.  Since I wasn't even able to begin playing until past 10:30 p.m., my goal was a half and hour of playing time, with a log entry that takes even less time to write.

For the most part, this went as planned.  I went through the opening text, and once again, the entire atmosphere of the game just strikes me.  Final Fantasy III has a gritty feel, one where technology and magic have corrupted man.  I went into Narshe, then went through the obligatory and sole optional encounters with the Narshe guards.  I did spend a little more time than I normally did, simply because I wanted to get exactly a half-hour of time in.   So I walked around a little, fighting random encounters and dallying around the Save Points.

The battle with Whelk was a little easier than I remember, mainly because I made sure that the party members.  Then came the scene where the Frozen Esper reacts to Terra.  You know, part of me kinda hopes the Frozen Esper just whisked Vicks and Wedge away instead of vaporizing them, but it's clear that they're dead given the way the scream.  Oh well, I hardly knew you.

So then after more story, Terra got to make her trip through the caves all by her lonesome.  This part also strikes me as psychologically effective, making the heroine fight  on her own just after walking up.  Granted, a similar instance happened in the SNES Final Fantasy II as well toward the beginning of the game, but it didn't convey the same effect in that game as it does here.   Regardless, I ignored the treasure chests as I wanted to get to the next gameplay sequence.

So, as always,Terra falls down the hole and experiences another flashback.  Then there's the introduction of Locke, whose theme just screams "Hero!"  Anyway, he and the Moogles defend Terra.  I usually don't have trouble against the Vomammoths, but they were actually...hard.  Part of this could be due to the fact that I didn't waste time healing.  Part of it was also due to the fact that I was trying to have Locke take on all the enemies so I could get free Tonics. In any case, Locke got killed and the entire party wiped out.  I thought it would be Game Over as this has NEVER happened to me.   Instead, I used Mog's group to challenge the commander party (a Marshal and 2 Lobos).  The Marshall, surprisingly enough, was killed by Mog's snare.  Never was I so grateful.

After this I went to the Training Room and saved.

Tomorrow will not be much different, as I know I will have little time to play the game and write a report.  However, if I can make it to Monday, I'll be able to play this game as its meant to be played -- in very large chunks.

*Please note that the actual playing time tends to be longer, given that the game itself doesn't count the loading and the introduction as playing time -- at least I think.

[ilpalazzo]

Wooooo. You going to complete it this year?

[Destina Faroda]

Day Two

LOCATION: South Figaro

PARTY MEMBERS: Terra (Lv. 5 HP 116 MP 40) Locke (Lv 7. HP 144) Edgar (Lv 7. HP 169)

ELAPSED TIME: 1:01

STEPS TAKEN: 3160

Really not much to report here.  I left Narshe, walked to Figaro Castle, and went through the motions.  I didn't really explore as much as I usually do, because I was in a hurry to just play, and I didn't want my whole half-hour to be walking around aimlessly.  In my haste, I purchased neither Tools (not needed, though, since you have the Auto-Crossbow) nor items.  The latter turned out to be a poor decision as in the ensuing fight with those M-TekArmors, I could have used them.

I'd elaborate more, but I have to go yet another function, one which I won't return until after midnight.

[ninjannihilator]

I thought it was FFIII. This is FFVI. Thank god! Now I can take the challenge. I have the game on an emulator, I'll record my playtime and upload it if I can. I'll start Day 1 tommorow.

[Xuzaf D]

I thought it was FFIII. This is FFVI.

[Destina Faroda]

Let me address a few points before going into another short report.

You can't "start" the challenge tomorrow, I'm afraid.  While you can play the game in 24 days according to those rules very easily, the whole idea of the challenge is that it's from  December 1 to December 24.  Otherwise I'd just have started this challenge any other time during the year.  You're welcome to play through the game, though.

Second, yeah, I intend to complete it, but the weekends are going to be short reports like these (although Sunday's not as bad as Saturday).  Had a relative not passed away I would have completed it last year, so in a sense, I'm doing this in the memory of a loved one or to spite the person's ghost depending on how you look at it.

Insert Quote

Day Three

LOCATION: Returner's Base

PARTY MEMBERS: Terra (Lv. 9 HP 186 MP 61) * Locke (Lv. 10 HP 221) Edgar (Lv 10. HP 222) Sabin (Lv 11 HP 259)

ELAPSED TIME: 1:31

STEPS TAKEN: 4404

I decided to go straight to Mt. Koltz, which took a whippong 20 minutes.  I missed a chest when going through there, and I think I might go back there later if I can.  Those enemies in there were a grade higher than the enemies I had fought dso far, but since I had bought defensive equipment in South Figaro, they weren't that bad.

Vargas was a pushover in comparison.   After that, I went to the base, and went through the whole "convincing sequence," but I haven't talked to Banon yet.

*Technically, Terra is the only one in the party, and Locke will soon leave.

[Destina Faroda]

Day Four

LOCATION: Select your Party sequence -- Sabin's Scenario remaining.

PARTY MEMBERS: Mog* (Lv. 16 HP 411)

ELAPSED TIME: 2:39

STEPS TAKEN: 7697

Finally, I get a report chance to actually elaborate on what happened instead of writing a five minute report because I only have literally five minutes.  Sadly, I did not get a chance to play as much of this game as I would  have liked, simply because I had computer trouble all day.  At least I got some of that straightened out, anyway.

I had already talked to everyone yesterday, allowing me to approach Banon.  I walked outside and instead began to pick fights with Rhodoxes and GreaseMonks to bring Terra's level up a level. Given that I know she only has a relatively short time left in the party before going bye-bye, I didn't think the leveling would hurt, especially on the lowest level character on the team.

When I returned to base, I denied Banon's request, then talked to the Returner to get the Genji Glove.  After this, I talked to Banon again and gave him the answer he wanted.  I think most of you know the story from here, so I'm not going to provide plot summary.  It's bye-bye Locke and Banon time.  It worries me having him in the party, because I know that if he gets knocked out, the game is over.

So it's off to the raft and making a bunch of useless decisions until after what seems like forever, I finally meet Ultros.  He seemed a lot easier than I remembered, although I made sure I had Banon perform Health every round.  I remember once when he got hit with a tentacle and got knocked out.  In any case, Ultros fell to a three course meal of Autocrossbow, Pummel, and Fire.  Of course, this also means Sabin went bye-bye as well, leaving me to the scene select menu.

The first scenario I chose was that of Edgar, Terra, and Banon.  They actually make an effective threesome, although Terran and Edgar make a great gameplay pair on their own.  Part of me wonders what would have happened if the game had tried to pair both romantically, but I realize Final Fantasy III is better off by not pairing either character off.

In any case, since this scenario is by far the easiest, I decided to wander about the World Map and decided to go all the way to Figaro Cave, only to be chased away by a soldier who hops on his Magitek Armor.  After this, I went all the way north to Narshe, then foolishly tried to walk into town to trigger another, brief story sequence.  it's little sequences like this that makes me love Final Fantasy III.  Finally, I did the right thing and went into the cave, but the enemies were so weak it was pitiful.  I purposely set off the security checkpoint a few times in order to get fight some Dark Sides, but even that got boring, and I then completed the section normally.  However, I did not take the Rune Edge from the chest.  If I remember to get it later, I will.

In any case, after that scenario was Locke's scenario, and I really didn't feel like exploring here.  Instead I equipped the Genji Gloves and a pair of Sprint Shoes.  I found the merchant and had a VERY hard time stealing his clothes.  Once I did, I talked to the old man and the boy, then went to go get the cider.  I killed the merchant, since my last attempts at stealing weren't very productive, then talked to the old man again. Of course, he was no help, so I gave the boy the password, then headed to the rich man's house and down the drafty stairs to find Celes.

The funny thing is that after I recruited Celes, she was a level higher than Locke.  I decided to simply exit town by going through the catacombs, but those monsters were so tough I decided to skip the items and instead find my way out, which I did.  After going to Sabin's hut, resting, then trying and failing to get to Mt. Koltz, I decided to further the story and go into Figaro Cave.  The enemies were different than they were before, which puzzled me before I remembered they were supposed to be this way.  Pretty soon, after a quick sip from the recovery spring, I headed for the exit and triggered the boss battle

Here's the strange thing about TunnelArmr.  Some times, I will have a very rough time against it when using Runic.  Other times, it's a piece of cake.  This was one of the other (latter) times.  Admittedly, it's a little unfair with a Genji Glove, but given that sometimes, Locke's gotten killed by TunnelArmr, leaving Celes and the machine in a showdown, this is almost too easy.

So then after all that, I saved.  I might actually play a little more tonight to have it count toward tomorrow's total, but for now, that's all folks!

*Technically, the other members of the party have lower levels than Mog.  However, since they aren't in my active party, I won't report on them.

[Destina Faroda]

Day Five

LOCATION: The Veldt

PARTY MEMBERS: Sabin (Lv. 13 HP 364), Cyan (Lv. 13 HP 319)

ELAPSED TIME: 4:09

STEPS TAKEN: 10360

One of the first things I did now that I had a little time was to change the settings a little so it would be to my liking.  I set the cursor to Memory for convenience and I raised the battle speed a little for a little challenge to compensate; little did I know this would come back to hurt me.  I changed the windows from blue to green for the spirit of Christmas.

So I went to the lone house, bought some supplies, then talked to Shadow.   I talked with the old man in the house, then left, going to the Imperial Base.  Fortunately, I triggered the fight with the Dobermans.   I also took out a few of the enemy solders as Cyan during this section, rather than going straight for the commander, but I stopped after I realized I wasn't getting any experience from defeating them.

Pretty much everyone knows what happens here.  The poisoning of Doma's water supply illustrated that Kefka wasn't just a dangerous clown; he actually relishes in death  and destruction, which is demonstrated over and over.  In any case after more switching back and forth and wandering around because I couldn't remember where the treasure chests were, Cyan, Shadow, and Sabin were soon on the same side and riding out of camp on Magitek Armor.

After this, I thought of going to Doma, but I remembered that it was likely that Shadow would desert the party the longer I kept him in.  Because of the rules of the challenge and my own self-imposed sense of honor, I couldn't knock Shadow out.  Instead, I headed to the Phantom Forest and hoped he didn't make off with my valuable Relics and such.  I actually de-equipped him, but then made the mistake of throwing the Imperial knife in the forest.  Little did I know I'd have an even worse time later on.

Finally we reached the Phantom Train, a train that I purposely went through slowly.  Once upon a time, I went through this section and did not fight OverMind.  I made sure to fight this enemy as well an instance of all the others.  I did recruit a Ghost buddy, but I really didn't do anything with it.

So I finally got to the front of the Train, and I thought it was time for me to fight GhostTrain, the Phantom Train itself.  This has always been a relatively easy fight for me.  Never once have I been in any real trouble because the train always dies so easily on me even with just Cyan and Sabin.  I didn't have to use the "cheap" undead tactics; this train wasn't hard....

This time was different.

Part of this was because I forgot to heal Shadow after a previous fight, but most of this was due to Evil Toot.  Usually, Evil Toot usually muddles a character at worst.  This time, Evil Toot might as well have been a Malboro's Sour Mouth attack.   Cyan was Berzerked, Shadow was Muddled, and Sabin poisoned.   He also performed this attack that I have never seen, Scar Beam.  Never.  The train is usually stopped by this point, or I usually get Acid Rain.  It didn't help that I messed up a Blitz.  The party lasted a grand total of one minute.  Annihilated.  Other than the time Banon died in a playthrough, I never got killed this early in the game.  Not even the first time playing.

So I decided to make adjustments.  I took on GhostTrain again and I thought I was ready.  I was going to AuraBolt this dude to death.  So he Evil Toots again, and this time Sabin is Muddled after I put in the Blitz sequence.  More misteps and a couple of Evil Toots later, I was again annihilated.

The third time was the charm.  I beat the GhostTrain, but the fact it took three attempts bothers me.  I then watched the saddening sequence that follows.  The weird thing is that this time, I looked at the scene in a different light.  Previously, I looked at this scene and wondered, what if Cyan had been able to stop his wife and child from boarding that train?  I always assumed that it was their bodies as well as their spirits that boarded the train (given that everything is physical enough for the living to eat), and that Cyan could bring them out of the forest and back to life.  I now realize that Elaine and Owain didn't go on the train just out of ignorance (not knowing Cyan was there) but out of duty.  In other words, they'd rather go to the Farplane rather than become Unsent like the other undead...okay, no more Final Fantasy X references.

After this, I went to the Waterfall where Shadow left, fought some fish while falling, then crashed onto the ground below, only to be awakened by Gau.  Then I saved.

[Toric]

Darn, this is bringing back so many memories. I wish I'd noticed this in time to start up on the 1st. I don't think I've ever seen that Scar Beam either, kinda sucks when a boss you've breezed through before gives you so much trouble. (grumble grumble f'ing Tonberry)

[ninjannihilator]

Let's do this next year. But next time start the thread a few days earlier that way we have time to adapt.


Hey, there are 12 FF games and 12 days in a year. Hmm...I have a good idea. Let's start an FF challenge next year where every month we switch FF games.

[Destina Faroda]

Darn, this is bringing back so many memories. I wish I'd noticed this in time to start up on the 1st. I don't think I've ever seen that Scar Beam either, kinda sucks when a boss you've breezed through before gives you so much trouble. (grumble grumble f'ing Tonberry)

You didn't notice because I filed the report five minutes to midnight.  I was almost certain I wasn't going to try it this year, but I decided at the last minute to give it a go.  Between continued hard drive problems and an unexpected item on my schedule that cropped up at literally the last minute, I hope I can even get to the Floating Continent by Day 16.

Let's do this next year. But next time start the thread a few days earlier that way we have time to adapt.

If I succeed, I don't plan on doing this next year.  I'll probably play through the game again, but on my terms.

Hey, there are 12 FF games and 12 days in a year. Hmm...I have a good idea. Let's start an FF challenge next year where every month we switch FF games.

The problem with that idea is two-fold.

The first is that it's hard enough for most people to set aside time to play a game, every day, or at least most days for a month.  The second is that most people don't have ALL the Final Fantasy games.  I have never played the original NES Final Fantasy III (although I hope to get the DS remake) and I have not played Final Fantasy V either, even though I've been a Final Fantasy fan since the first game.

Anyway, any credit to this specific idea goes to Loogaroo, though.  While I might have played through the game again on my own, I would have never done it like this.

By the way, if anyone wants to see the Phantom Train troubles I mentioned yesterday, here you go.

Now for my very short report.

Day Six

LOCATION: The Veldt

PARTY MEMBERS: Sabin (Lv. 13 HP 364), Cyan (Lv. 13 HP 319), Gau (Lv 14. 350)

ELAPSED TIME: 5:18

STEPS TAKEN: 13978

Once again, I didn't play as much today as I'd have liked.  The truth is though, all I did today was go to Mobliz to get the Dried Meat, fed it to Gau, watched the hilarious intro sequence, learned Rages, then periodically visited Mobliz for Dried Meat and to help the poor wounded soldier send items to Lola.

I still haven't gotten Overmind yet, despite fighting him.

I did learn that Bomb has a nice Blaze to use as an attack.  I can't remember if Gau uses Exploder when using that Rage, though.

[Toric]

....Oh, never mind, I HAVE seen Scar Beam. Just thought it was called something different.

...And Cyan is down again!

... Sabin committed sepukku (sp?). Awesome.

It's just great that a guy can suplex an entire train. I love that blitz, he could lift a mountain into the air so long as it wasn't a flying enemy.

Wow, so you're recording each day not only as journal entries but also in video form? Cool.

[Destina Faroda]

I'm only posting video excepts when I play for more than half an hour.  And I don't usually provide them in the actual day of the event, because it takes some time to crop the video.

Day Seven

LOCATION: The Veldt

PARTY MEMBERS: Sabin (Lv. 13 HP 364), Cyan (Lv. 13 HP 319), Gau (Lv 14. 350)

ELAPSED TIME: 6:10

STEPS TAKEN: 16759

Yep, I'm still on the Veldt, because I've been trying to get every Rage so far.  And I have gotten them all but Over-Mind.  I'm giving up on that one, because it's taking me too long to build up my Rage list and I have to move on.

I learned that Blaze is better than Fire 2...at least I think it is.

On a bright side, I did get the Tintinabar!  Hooray for helping people.

[gryn]

Oh wow...I'm still going through FFIII.

...never played it before...

[Destina Faroda]

When I wrote previous report, I assumed that I would not be able to play any further for the day, and that it would be next to impossible for me to make up any time I missed.

I was completely, utterly wrong.

Through an unxpected chain of events, I was able not only play further yesterday, but write part of the report before I posted it.

Day Eight

LOCATION:  Southern Continent.  Right outside Albrook.

PARTY MEMBERS:  Cyan (Lv. 15 HP 452 MP 106), Gau (Lv. 15 HP 447 MP 111), Locke (Lv. 17 HP 563 MP 128), Celes (Lv. 17 HP 559 MP 136)

ELAPSED TIME: 10:20

STEPS TAKEN: 26318

Part One*

I began where I left off, in the Veldt.  Since I had gotten all the critical Rages and was not going after a truly perfect game, I decided that I was going to move on.

I went to Crescent Mountain and triggered all the short scenes, includiing the one where you lose 500 GP.  However, after finding the helmet, it was time to leap into the Trench, and down I went.  Fighting the water enemies was about as hard (or easy, since I had Hazer's Rage) as I remembered, but in the first choice to go left or right, I messed up by going right.  I went into the cave, but went straight through, forgetting to look around for the treasure.  I'd have to come back here later on anyway, so I mentally noted to do it sooner rather than later.

Soon I ended up in Nikeah, a town I used to consider a useless town.  However, over subsequent playthroughs, I realize that the purpose of this town was to sell the equipment that is necessary for the upcoming battle.  After triggering the scene between Cyan and dancer, grabbing the obligatory Elixir, and buying a little equipment, I left on the ferry.

It was now time to prepare my characters for the battle ahead.  After equipping Celes and Terra with Magus Hats, I then divided my party up into the .  Terra and Edgar are offensively and defensively balanced enough for a unit, while Cyan and Sabin were offensively powered to the point where Gau was unnecessary.  I then put him in Celes and Locke's unit to give them an extra boost.  One of these days, I am going to make a unit of four chaaracters and have them plow through everything.

In any case, the battles went smootly as the various strategies for the groups boiled down to the basics.  For Edgar and Terra's group, a widespread Fire spell and an Autocrossbow take out hordes of enemies, while Terra can restore HP.  Celes, on the other hand, isn't meant to cast offensive spells in this series of battles.  After all, Ice costs 5 MP, while Fire costs 4 MP, but Ice doesn't do any additiona damage.  So instead, she can heal, Locke can steal, Gau can use any Rage, and if he uses Cirpius, Celes can Runic it to refill her MP. I made sure to de-equip Terra prior to facing Kefka, though, since I knew she would be going away for a VERY long time.

After chasing Kefka away and watching the sequence that follows, I had to choose my party from the lowest available four members.  These were Edgar, Sabin, Locke, and Celes.  Normally, I go straight to Figaro Castle, since it's too much of a hassle to actually explore.   However, that missed treasure kept nagging at me.  While I could do this later to get Mog's dance and do everything in one swoop, I also wanted to collect the treasures I left on Mt. Koltz.  I also never tried to re-negotiate the Serpent Trench and Lete River at this early stretch of the game, so I decided to go through Figaro Cave and enter the cycle from Mt. Koltz.

Travelling from My. Koltz to the Returner's base was almost as time consuming as any of the other legs of the journey, primarily because of the random encounters involved.  The Returner's base was fine, and I leapt into the river to begin the  irreversible portion of the cycle.  I travelled through the continent, even taking a side trek to Doma only to see it under control of the Empire.  I went walked through the Phantom Forest, across the Veldt and into Crescent Mountain to leap into the Trench and *finally* get the X-Potion I missed.  Then it was off to Nikeah and onto the ferry.

Next came the funniest scene that I have ever seen.  Since I had never bothered to take the ferry to South Figaro prior to the troops leaving, I had never seen this scene until now.  As the town is under Imperial control, the party can't simply stoll into town.  Instead the ferryman smuggles you out in a treasure chest.  Every time you play through Final Fantasy, you learn something new.

After all this, my party had gained a couple of levels, and I proceeded as normally.  Since I had four party members, there was no need to take Shadow along with me when I stopped in Kohlingen, although I did watch both scenes involving Rachel.  Other than that, it was off to Jidoor to buy some new equipment, then onto Zozo.

Zozo went gain by the numbers.  I picked up the Chainsaw, got the treasure in one of the back buildings, then headed up the main tower.  One strange thing I noticed was that the Gabbldegaks didn't cast Vanish on me or themselves.  In every other playthrough, they cast their spells. but I did not see this spell even once.  After clibming to the top and fighting Dadaluma, I then went listened to the pivotal expostion that came before the cool moment where you're allowed to access Magicite...and magically obtain MP for characters who had no MP before.

However at the end, I made a big mistake.  I equipped both Edgar and Sabin with Stray and Siren respectively.  However, I didn't realize that Gau and Cyan were still at Level 14.  Ethically, I was bound to take them, but with the Espers equipped on two ineligible characters, I decided to keep them in my party temde-equip them.  So this means I have to literally run all the way back to Narshe (Chocobos non-withstanding), so that I can get those two in my party without me leveling up.  I very rarely run in RPGs.


Part Two

I ran all the way back to Narshe as I planned, then swtiched people, then headed south to the Opera house.  Not until now did I realize how much "passing" this section contains.  This section is 5% gameplay and 95% watching.

There's really nothing memorable to report except that I cleared this section and attacked nearly all of the vermin in one try.  I probably could have gotten the one in the corner, but it wasn't worth it.

Ultros was patherically easy this time.

After this is even MORE padding.  It's frustrating that after a timed session like that, you don't get the opportunity to save for a good five minutes.  That doesn't seem like a while, but it is.  Tomorrow will be another short day, sadly.

*Technically, this was played on December 7, 2006

[Destina Faroda]

Day Nine

LOCATION:  Southwest part of the Southern Continent.  Right outside Albrook.

PARTY MEMBERS:  Cyan (Lv. 16 HP 508 MP 116), Gau (Lv. 16 HP 448 MP 121), Locke (Lv. 18 HP 627 MP 139), Celes (Lv. 18 HP 628 MP 147)

ELAPSED TIME: 10:53

STEPS TAKEN: 27889

There's not much to say.  Since today is a day I wouldn't get much time to play, I decided to simply kill time by shopping, talking with the locals, and wondering around the continent.  I first visited Albrook, then crossed the desert and nearly got offed by Bone Fossil due to my own carelessness, picked fight in the base, went to Tzen and tried (and failed) to make it to Maranda.

I bought an Epee, some Mithril Helms, and a whole bunch of expensive Relics.  I killed time by talking to people twice, although part of this was due to the unusual amount of glare I got from the screen.

[ilpalazzo]

Wow, looking good so far.

[Destina Faroda]

Not really.  I'm shooting to complete the Floating Continent by Day 15, as I know I will definitely not be able to do it on the 16th, which is going to be the worst day for playing unless I can think of some really creative scheduling.  Worse yet, all my upcoming Mondays, which were going to be days that I got ahead, have indeed turned to days that are no better than Saturdays or Sundays.  I still have a LOT to go through.

Day Ten

LOCATION:  MagiTek Factory

PARTY MEMBERS:  Cyan (Lv. 18 HP 644 MP 137), Gau (Lv. 18 HP 564 MP 142), Locke (Lv. 19 HP 696 MP 150), Celes (Lv. 19 HP 620 MP 177)

ELAPSED TIME: 11:45

STEPS TAKEN: 29814

Oh boy, what a day.  I played longer than I intended to play because the program I was using to capture my progress suddenly quit.  The good news is that I was able to use my TV card and play, but I wasn't able to record.

To make a long story short, I went to Maranda, talked to nearly everyone, then made my way back to the capital.  It certainly is a long walk to Vector, but after checking the spells, progress, and experience of my party members,  I went into the capital.  It triggered the fight with the Returner sympathizer (it's obvious that's what the old woman is), talked, then walked around.  Then I triggered the entrance sequence in to facility.  It's funny to watch an old man pretend to throw up, and to watch the reaction.

I went through the lab, but I forgot where a lot of the treasures were, so I had to do a lot of backtracking, sadly.  I think I got everything, though.  I decided to go down into the pit where Shiva and Irfit were dumped, but I went past them to the Save Point.  I wonder why the makers of the game didn't place the Save Point in the same room, so if you lost the boss battle you wouldn't lose all those wonderful items.  Oh well.

[Destina Faroda]

Day Eleven

LOCATION: The Veldt

PARTY MEMBERS:  Terra (Lv. 18 HP 550 MP 148), Sabin (Lv. 18 HP 568 MP 135), Edgar (Lv. 18 HP 559 MP 138), Gau (Lv. 19 HP 625 MP 153)

ELAPSED TIME:  13:28

STEPS TAKEN: 32721

Picking right where I left off yesterday, I picked a fight with the defenseless Shiva and Ifrit, although neither of them were defenseless.  Foolishly, I picked the Hazer Rage in an attempt to pick a spell that would damage both Shiba and Ifrit.  Unfortunately, I ended up picking a rage that did no damage, as both were immune to lightning.  Eventually, the battle lasted long enough that after Ifrit stepped up and cast Fire 3 right in Locke's face (literally), he and Shiva "realized" the party wasn't made up of such bad guys after all.  Then they killed themselves and turned into Magicite.  Horray for suicide!

So then, I fought Number 24, this time again picking the Hazer Rage.  What didn't work last time worked like magic here, pun fully intended.  This guy only went through one WallChange after being pelted with lightning and was soon dead afterward.

Next was the scene where Celes went bye-bye from the party, and we got to take a ride in a mine cart.  More battles, then the fearsome Number 128, who wasn't really all that fearsome.  Sadly, after the save point and being chased by the Chaser I had trouble with a boss, that I use to be able to beat with only moderate difficulty...those darn Cranes.  It took me two tries to beat the Cranes, despite getting Chocobohop and 7-Flush from Setzer's Slot attack.  Why?  Because I picked Hazer once again.  Fortunately, I did better the second time.

After this was the Flashback session with Terra in Zozo, and I was thankful I didn't had to walk in or out of town.   I tried to rush through the trigger points because I wanted to get through this section and into more playtime.  When I emerged, though, I noticed Terra was now at Level 18, and so were Sabin and Edgar.  Those three and Setzer will have to be my party to go to the Cave to the Sealed Gate.

I didn't want to go there yet, though.  I bought Sraphim at Tzen.  After this, I went to Narshe to advance the story, but then I decided to poke around to see if I could trigger the sequence to recruit Mog, which I did.  But Mog came in at a whopping Level 23!  Because of the rules of the challenge, I am forced to leave him out of the party for the time being.

So I went to the Veldt with Terra, Sabin,  Edgar, and Gau to build up the latter's Rages.  It's also a good place to learn spells, as the enemies are easy, which leads to an earning of large numbers of Magic Points in a short period of time.   There are so many Rages to learn, and so little time.

[Destina Faroda]

Day Twelve

LOCATION: Outside Jidoor

PARTY MEMBERS:  Terra (Lv. 18 HP 550 MP 148), Sabin (Lv. 18 HP 568 MP 135), Edgar (Lv. 18 HP 559 MP 138), Setzer (Lv. 18 HP 556 MP 1538)

ELAPSED TIME:  14:27

STEPS TAKEN:  34241

I spent a half-hour on the Veldt so that I taught Gau a few more Rages and to have him learn some spells. Yes, it seems weird, but I always feel I have to teach Gau magic.  In part this makes him more useful as while his Rages allow him to tap into spells without MP, the automated nature of his attacks can throw off my timing.  Besides, if I have to take Gau into the Fanatics Tower, then I'd better be ready.

After that I changed the party to include Setzer again, then went to the Cave to the Sealed Gate.  So far, so good, right?   Then I had a tricky time against my first enemies, a pair of Apparites and a pair of Liches, since the Imp Song got  Edgar and no one in the party knew Imp  Still, I survived...

Then in the second fight, my party was annihilated...by a pair of Apparites and a pair of Liches.

I don't know why I've been having so much trouble with this game this time.  I've already accumulated five Game Overs when usually I have only one or two per the entire game (usually from attacking the Storm Dragon).  Even in my first playthrough, I didn't get a Game Over until the second half of the fame.  I had trouble with these enemies last year, but it seems as though those Apparites and Liches were even tougher than I remembered.

So after I started again I decided to go to Jidoor instead to see if they had anything interesting for sale at the auction.  Needless to say, I couldn't find anything interesting.

I'm playing right after I write this post, because I have to catch up big time, especially to reach the Floating Continent by the deadline.

[ninjannihilator]

I never used Gau that much.

[Destina Faroda]

Before I get into today's report, I'd like to point anyone who's interested to the first time I did this.  The posts stop (but the reports continue) because Loog's  board was on the fritz for some reason, but I made it to Day Nineteen.  I posted the rest og the reports on this board, but sadly those posts got erased.  Sadly, as long as those reports are, they are actually still abriged.

Also, I may not be able to provide videos in the near future, and my HD is quickly running out of space and I can't get my hard drives to work with my USB enclosure.

Day Thirteen

LOCATION: Outside Vector

PARTY MEMBERS:  Locke (Lv. 21 HP 751 MP 172), Terra (Lv. 23 HP 884 MP 229),

ELAPSED TIME:  15:56

STEPS TAKEN:  37949

I played two sessions today, although there's really not much to write about wither.  I went to the Cave to the Sealed Gate as planned, and went up a whopping five levels in the cave.  Much of this was purely unintentional, as I simply could not see where I was going.  The capture device I've been using, as is evident from the YouTube videos, is a little darker than I expected and against dark backgrounds, I can't see where the openinings and such are.

After this, I had to talk to the soldiers and answer the Emperor's questions.  I apparently did so well that I got the Charm Bangle.  Yay!

I only have tomorrow to go through everything the whole Thamasa stuff, because I have to take on the Floating Continent on Day 15 (I know I won't have time on the 16th, which is the deadline).

[Destina Faroda]

So much I did, so little time to report it all.

Day Fourteen

LOCATION: Outside Thamasa

PARTY MEMBERS:  Edgar (Lv. 24 HP 969 MP 206),  Sabin (Lv. 24 HP 978 MP 203), Locke (Lv. 24 HP 968 MP 207)

ELAPSED TIME:  18:33

STEPS TAKEN:  44032

First I went to Tzen yet again, then to the Chobobo stable, then headed to the Imperial Base next to the Sealed Cave, and raided the chests.  Then I went to Albrook, and triggered the necessary sequences to get to Crescent Island.

I fail to understand why they put Shadow in your party, only to have him leave again this quickly.  I was tempted to leave him unequipped but I felt sorry for the guy as I had stripped him before the first trek to the Veldt.  So I equipped him for the grand total of two fights, then de-equipped him after coming into town.

Then there's that time consuming "fire" sequence, whose only purpose is to show off Aqua Rake.  Then it was time to go to the mountain, and my capture device messed me up again, by the screen being so dark!  But after a half-hour, I got through this section.   I forgot that Relm came in a couple of levels below the party.  This means I'd have to take her to the Floating Continent, and I don't want to do that.  She's useful, but she takes too long to build up with spells at this point in time.  Fortunately, this was partially remedied by a fortuitous encounter with a pair of Admanchyts, who sneezed the rest of the party away and gave Relm all the expeience.  Of course, I didn't have a stat-boosting Esper on her at the time, so I got no bonus.

After this and the heart-wrenching scenes that followed, it was time for the Floating Continent to become available.  But not yet.  I had have Mog learn the Water Rondo, raid the chests in South Figaro's underground section (full of Vector Pups).  I tried unsuccessfully to buy another Esper at Jidoor.  Then I put Relm in a party by herself to raise her level to 24 and therefore make her an optional member of my Raid on the Floating Continent Party, which now consists of Edgar, Sabin, and Locke.

[Destina Faroda]

Day Fifteen

LOCATION: Solitary Island

PARTY MEMBERS:  Celes (Lv. 25 HP 1048 MP 227)

ELAPSED TIME:  20:36

STEPS TAKEN:  45805

Goodness gracious, what a day!

I tackled the Floating Continent as I intended today, although it wasn't easy.  It seemed like all the enemies that were difficult were simpler this time and vice versa.  Chupon, Ultros, and Gigantos actually gave me a little trouble, while Atma Weapon and the other bosses were (relatively) easy.  What took me so long going though this part was the needless backtracking I did due to forgetting how to progress through the Floating Continent.  I'm going to have to play this game again so I can play it the way I'd like to play it.

One of the things that I had forgotten about the Floating Continent is how easily one can learn spells there.  Since the Magic Points earned ranged from 3-5 points per battle, I was learning spells like crazy for the Edgar, Sabin, Shadow, and Locke.  This means Locke and Shadow won't have to play catch-up later and lets Sabin bring an asset in addition to his fists.  I also happened to level up three levels here too.  My characters weren't at the 1000HP range before talking on the Floating Continent, but they certainly are after it.

I'm glad I got this out of the way, because tomorrow will be definitely a barebones 30 minute day.  If I can write a report tomorrow, then I may be able to actually complete this challenge this year.

[Destina Faroda]

Day Sixteen

LOCATION: Right outside Tzen

PARTY MEMBERS:  Celes (Lv. 25 HP 1048 MP 227)

ELAPSED TIME:  21:36

STEPS TAKEN:  49595

I played the minimum amount of time today, but something extraordinary happened.

I saved Cid.

I heard it was possible, but no matter how hard I tried, Cid would die on me.  But this time, he lived.  And I feel cheated.  After catching fish after fish and feeding him, I expected him to give me an item or treat me to something other than a mere presentation of a raft.  The path where he dies makes more sense and is just displayed better.  Still, though, it's one of the only two intended game mechanic aspects that I have never actually expirienced in all my playthoughs.  The other, of course, are the Desperation Attacks which I have seen on YouTube but still have never triggered.

After this it was to Albrook where there was nothing new or noteworthy, except for some monsters I had to use Scan on since I forgot their strengths and weakness.  Of course, it threw me for a loop having to use Celes in a real battle by herself.  Hence, I'm going to pick up Sabin, so I don't get annihilated by a single, overpowered attack.

[Toric]

Two things

1: I didn't know this the first few times I played through, but giving Cid no fish is better than giving him slow fish. The quick fish are healthy and cure him, the slow fish are sick and will kill hom off.

2: It doesn't end with him just giving you the raft. Once you get the airship, drop on by the island and pay him a visit. I think he has magicite that he gives you.

[Aridas]

You do get something later on, yeah. Pretty sure.

[Destina Faroda]

Thanks for the pointers.  I've always gotten Pallidor by seeing it washed ashore, though,

Day Seventeen

LOCATION: Figaro Castle (other side of Mountains)

PARTY MEMBERS:  Edgar (Lv. 29 HP 1401 MP 268),  Sabin (Lv. 29 HP 1410 MP 266),  Celes (Lv. 29 HP 1401 MP 277)

ELAPSED TIME:  22:51

STEPS TAKEN:  54586

It took me a long time today to do pretty much nothing.  I suppose that's what I get for trying to play and watch the Steelers on television at the same time.

I went into Tzen and saved the child, all without the use of Sprint Shoes.  Instead, I used the Charm Bangle, although I don't think the item reduced the number of encounters.  However, I was able to complete this scenario rather easily, and afterward went to Molbiz for a long walk.  I then encountered Phunbaba and made the monster run away.   Then it was on to Nikeah, the whole "Gerad" scenario, South Figaro, fighting those wonderful Nohrabbits and then to Figaro Castle.

I'm not a fan of this next section, simply because the lack of Save Points before a rather difficult boss battle after a medium-length dungeon.  No, rather difficult is an understatement.  I detest those tentacles.  I have come very close to losing to them on every occasion I have fought them.

After the long battle with the tentacles, I got the Soul Sabre.  I went outside, saved, then went to Kohlingen.

[Destina Faroda]

Day Eighteen

LOCATION: Maranda

PARTY MEMBERS:  Edgar (Lv. 29 HP 1401 MP 268),  Sabin (Lv. 30 HP 1509 MP 279),  Celes (Lv. 30 HP 1500 MP 290), Setzer (Lv. 29 HP 1398 MP 271)

ELAPSED TIME:  24:00

STEPS TAKEN:  56188

I went back into Figaro Castle to buy a Debilitator, then went to Kohlingen, recruited Setzer, blew my money on Diamond Equipment and a weapon for Setzer.  Then I headed to Daryl's Tomb, and did a lot of backtracking because I couldn't remember the location of the room that held the tombstones.

I tried to beat both the Presenter and his shell in a non-cheap manner (No Vanish + X-Zone), but failed.  I also couldn't remember if Dullahan were weak against Ice or absorbed Ice, then found out the hard way when he absorbed Celes's Ice magic.  Ouch.

Once again my capture device (the program, actually) messed up for no apparent reason, although I got enough video to upload something for today.

I have five days to gather a whopping ten characters, do the Fanatics Tower, the subterranean Castle, and Cyan's Dream.  Actually, given that Saturday will probably be a half-hour day, I really only have four days.   I'd better start playing.

[Destina Faroda]

Day Nineteen

LOCATION: The Veldt

PARTY MEMBERS:   Celes (Lv. 30 HP 1500 MP 290), Gau (Lv. 30 HP 1505 MP 285), Sabin (Lv. 30 HP 1509 MP 279), Mog (Lv. 29 HP 1391 MP 279)

ELAPSED TIME:  25:23

STEPS TAKEN:  59421

Today began with a bit of uncertainty.  I wasn't sure which character I was going to recruit next.  Since I didn't feel like fighting through a whole bunch of random encounters, I decided instead to recruit Terra.  A boss battle and another heart wrenching sequence later, I decided to head to the Veldt with my now three person party of Edgar, Sabin, and Terra, then picked up Gau in a single fight.  Strangely last year, he wouldn't come until I actually talked to the men inside the cave.  I must have been unlucky last year.

To further boost my luck (and to even out my levels) I returned to the Falcon to swap Sabin for Setzer.  Unfortunately, my luck did not last long as I went to the cave and got another three Game Overs, one against Rhyos and two against Sr Behemoth.  Once again, I had trouble with a boss that I don't usually have trouble with.  I feel as though I lost my touch with this game.

After this and the mandatory go-to-Thamasa sequence, I went to the Colusseum, then bet the handy Striker that I found in the cave.  I chose Edgar to face Shadow, who died more quickly than I have ever seen him go down.  He died via X-Zone in one turn.  Sad, actually.

So I took my lowest three members in experience Terra, Gau, and Shadow, to Narsh. After some fights against Mag Roaders, Red Wolves, Wizards and other enemies.  I did pick up the items that I left from the World of Balance and got a nice shiny Ribbon.  Even better, I recruited Mog, who was at a respectable level this time of Level 29 instead of being five levels higher.  I also got the Moogle Charm!  No more random encounters!  I'm left Umaro and Tritoch in Narshe for the time being, given that Umaro be useless for now and I have more important characters to get like Relm, Strago, and Gau.

After this, I went to Duncan's house, learned the Bum Rush, then headed for the Veldt for more Gau training.  I need to pick up some rages, but I also need to pick up some characters.  Oh, decisions, decisions.