Final Fantasy Hacktics

Quote from: Elric on September 05, 2015, 02:35:30 pm
I'll also be writing 'Guidebooks' to go in the Bravestory menu, explaining more about the Synth and Soldier Office upgrade systems.

Thanks for this!

Quote from: Selius on August 28, 2015, 01:26:46 pm
is it possible to remove agrias' guest status without messing something up

Speaking of Guests, and I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I am really glad we are able to take Guest characters into Random Battles and the like. So very glad you allowed that.

Quote from: nyzer on August 18, 2015, 12:38:24 pm
Possibly because Jot5 only lightly touches upon the fact that Ramza has been cooperating with Delita's wishes with little fuss before otherworlders started arriving on his doorstep. Yeah, he's chafing under the lack of freedom, but he knows that his cooperation means a generally comfortable lifestyle for him and his sister, as opposed to needing to flee the country in case someone recognizes him and informs the Church.

Ramza's smart enough to see the sense in the plan and go along with it.

True. Admitedly, it's been a while and I had forgotten that little detail.

One thing about having to go through the chapter again is that, by this point, I could do with a refresher.

Quote from: Elric on August 17, 2015, 10:30:54 am
Yeah, it was definitely on the forums.

Ah! That makes sense. I've never read that thread. I'll go do that now. Thanks!

Quote from: nyzer on August 17, 2015, 12:38:30 pm

QuoteRamza's meant to look older and different.  He's incognito.

http://ffhacktics.com/smf/index.php?topic=9100.msg179230#msg179230

That explanation makes perfect sense! Why did I not consider that?

Quote from: Elric on August 16, 2015, 05:00:45 pm
The entire reason for Ramza's beard has already been explained long ago.

I seem to recall reading a post saying that Ramza having a beard despite not much time passing between the original FFT would be explained later. I assumed later in-game.

Anyway, I don't recall reading an explanation here on the forums.

Quote from: Elric on August 11, 2015, 08:27:02 pm
All Generic Units (and Unique Units and Monsters) quotes are done and back in the game as they were originally intended to be had Square not been too lazy to do it.

Many of these were madeup on the spot since not everything was properly translated or useable. However they all fit the pattern vanilla was using and added a bit of Jot5 to a lot of them.

The worldmap/attack.out reorganization is also done as well.

I'll be doing more event stuff tonight regarding marks and what not, then it'll probably be back to working on choosing the rest of the icons/palettes for the shields/armor etc (weapons are done)

Very nice!

It's nice to see things coming along as well as they are, though it does seems as if there's always more to do.

Quote from: nyzer on August 07, 2015, 11:44:58 pm
Heh, it's more than just a good crossover. Put that crossover stuff aside and you'll see that Jot5 also manages to succeed as a proper sequel to FFT - a lot of the story is dedicated to "what happens after the Altima battle?" as opposed to just "look, crossover!"

That's the biggest thing that sucked me in, actually. A fanmade sequel to a very well-done game.

It's very enjoyable, especially compared to the crapfest of FFTA2's terrible, terrible story.

You had me in agreement with you, all the way up until that last sentence...

Quote from: Elric on July 19, 2015, 07:31:49 am
You aren't sure of the differences? O_o There is a ton more walkable room, and those Planks didn't used to be there

It's been so long. Honestly, I thought that was how it's always been. My bad. 

Quote from: Elric on July 19, 2015, 07:31:49 amYeah, I reduced the blood coughing lol

Glad to here. Yeah, I felt it was a wee bit excessive.

Not sure what the differences is on the Swamp Map.

Also, going over the Change Log, I see you took my suggestion on one of the things.

Quote from: ChaosStar0 on July 05, 2015, 03:00:21 amI never finished the original game though. People say that it's very easy, but I never thought so.

I bet people who say that are super-veterans who've been playing this game for years.

Wow, oh wow! These are so deliciously satisfying! I didn't know we can Synth stuff now!

Truly, I appreciate these and look forward to more! Thanks a bunch Elric! 

P.S. - I do hope that not all of the Marks are impossible crazy hard.

Quote from: Elric on July 03, 2015, 11:08:40 pm
Lol. Alma uses a hammer in both her battles and they were available to purchase after the mandala fight which is shop progression 4.

All Hail Her Mighty HAMMER!! (Insert Alma Hammer Gif. Here)

For me, although there were certain Random Battles that could get out of hand under certain circumstances, like the battle with the Beastmaster and Chocobo against those Skeletons, the only Random Battles that I can recall that seemed too hard are the two aforementioned ones against the 5 Lamias and Beastmaster, which I was able to complete right before I finished up the Chapter, and the 5 Turtles, which I never could get past and haven't tried since I failed.

With the penchant for enemies using Status Ailments in JOT5, a lot of battles can get out of hand by sheer unlucky chance, but those were the only two, once more, that I can recall, that gives that "reset" feeling upon coming across them.

On the contrary, I always liked that alternate battle to the Lamias, with Humans and those 3 Bombs that would behave as a distraction to some of them. I also really liked fighting that Beastmaster and Chocobo VS Skeletons with my own Chocobo.

Quote from: Selius on June 18, 2014, 09:38:23 am

spoiler

Yes, it's the Ganondorf + 2 minions fight. The ONLY way to learn night sword is through Mana Shield learned from Animist because they will never use Night Sword unless they can kill you with it and they are low on health. Learning Dark Sword requires you to get them to exactly 4 or 8 mp depending on which skeleton because one always has half mp. It's an absolute bitch to pull this off because you can never render them permanently out of the battle.

Quote from: Selius on June 16, 2014, 10:11:07 am
I am legitimately happy about having to replay chapter 1. I just wish I knew

spoiler

if there's gonna be an easier way to learn Night Sword and Dark Sword because jesus christ that took a shitload of save state abuse to accomplish. We aren't meant to learn it there, are we? LOL

A tiny little typo that may or may not have already been noticed.

Lionel Castle's Help description reads in-part:

"Currently ruled by a mysterious appointed Duke 'Drake Seymour'"

I imagine "mysterious appointed" should read "mysteriously appointed".

Quote from: Durbs on May 31, 2014, 11:19:13 am
Having moved rumors triggering marks to propositions doing so, believe me, there is a plan for the bar. It won't be quite the traditional style that was in vanilla but just be aware that we do indeed intend to utilize that system. That's all I'll say about that for now.

Well then, I look forward to what comes of it.

Quote from: Durbs on May 31, 2014, 11:19:13 amThis too will be modified for the Ch1 release.

Though I'm glad to hear this, too, based on what Elric said...

Quote from: Durbs on May 31, 2014, 11:19:13 amWell here's the thing about this though... JotF is limited physically by the number of sprites, characters, and moves we can use. JotF is essentially a grab bag that says, hey, here's every character in vanilla! Now pick 3 of them. We didn't want to simply forget people, so some of them were forced to leave the big picture. Come later in JotF they may become relevant again for several reasons, but like Elric has also said it's impossible to make everyone happy. Believe me there's not a chance you won't be satisfied by at least 1 of the characters we have planned for the rest of the game.

JotF is also limited in event space. Every time someone talks individually in a battle, it's its own unique event believe it or not. Just as important reason as to why this didn't happen was because Elric was the only eventer at the time of Ch1 iirc and that's a lot of work for one guy. I can't promise how much of that we'll do in upcoming chapters, but chances are very high that more of that will be incorporated into future chapters.

Yeah, this is one thing I didn't consider much: the "budget" you all have. You have to be mindful of what you put where so as not to "overspend" yourselves.

I look forward to what's to come in this regard, especially with regards to the former thing.

Quote from: Durbs on May 31, 2014, 11:19:13 amOh you'll be getting more delita.

Wonderful! 

It surprises me that I enjoy watching Delita as I do, as I normally don't care to follow characters of his kind.

Maybe it's because of how he began? Personally, I still consider Delita Ramza's best friend, despite all that has happened.

Quote from: Durbs on May 31, 2014, 11:19:13 amThis was actually originally a typo that has since been fixed; only 4 units were supposed to be allowed in formation since Link would have to be present. Last I heard Raven was not intent on changing this back to 5.

Hmm. That's too bad. Well, at least I was able to do it that one time.

If it means anything, I don't believe it ever goes over the "9 unique sprite limit" since Mustadio 8 replaces Zelda, nor do I recall any glitching or anything.

Quote from: Durbs on May 31, 2014, 11:19:13 amPatience.

...Is a virtue, I know.

Quote from: Durbs on May 31, 2014, 11:19:13 amI seem to recall that Ultima was done in a similar fashion, but another thing is that word of mouth has already spread it around anyhow.

Well, as I mentioned before, I am aware of this. Still doesn't mean I'm a fan of it. As I said, an in-game hint or nudge would be nice.

Quote from: Durbs on May 31, 2014, 11:19:13 amI'm glad you liked it though. JotF is a big project and it's really rewarding to see that people appreciate the result.

And I do! Very much so!

Thanks for reading and responding and keep up the good work! 

Another thing that has just been brought to my remembrance is how Alma responded to Dante blatantly hitting on her.

She totally steers the "conversation" into a completely different direction, asking about what a restaurant is (I guess Ivalice doesn't have places you can dine out at), distracting Dante long enough before then going "Can I speak to you in private, Brother?", thus ending any chance for a follow-up from Dante.

This young lady can take care of herself.

EDIT: Also, was I the only who caught the blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo of that original Black Mage sprite in Goug when Dante and Link ran into Besrodio?

I don't recall anyone else talking about it.

EDIT 2: You know what? I had a reply to Durbs' post alongside Elric's that I had in two different reply windows. I was going to past Elric's reply in Durbs' window and I finished both, but after finishing Elric's, I hit post and forgot all about the other window. I ended up closeing Durbs' window too, so I'll get back to it later.

---

Quote from: Elric on May 31, 2014, 01:59:15 pm
I would never mind a long post, just gives me more to reply too, however since it is sooooo long, I will be responding without
quoting, hope that's not an issue.

Not at all. The responses go in order of my post and I'm just glad you did read it.

Quote from: Elric on May 31, 2014, 01:59:15 pmVery glad you liked the Alma battles, some people felt there were out of place and not very fun at all, but they were supposed
to be akin to the 2 Delita battles you have in WotL. Though much less unloseable than those.

I did indeed enjoy them. I also noticed a few responses like that and to tell the truth, was a bit saddened to hear them. They did in fact remind me of the Delita and Ovelia battles, which I also enjoyed, only, as you said, Delita was kinda invincible in his battles. Doesn't mean these Alma battles are impossible to win either.

Quote from: Elric on May 31, 2014, 01:59:15 pmAbout the Rumors, they were removed in Chapter 1 to make them the Marks. However since this has been restructured and we
will now be using Propositions instead, (see my updated OP of the Chapter 2 Progress log thread) this will change. What you will
get in return will not be quite the same thing as rumors used to be, but it'll still be fun

I did happen to see the update earlier, which is how I knew Propositions would be for Marks, which kind of makes more since when you think about it.

Once more, I can't wait for the updated bar!

Quote from: Elric on May 31, 2014, 01:59:15 pmGlad you liked the choice of music, there is quite a few tracks and its not always easy to find one that fits the mood of the event,
so I'm glad that it appears that we did a good job with what we had to work with. I will look at the Vanilla Coliery events and
see what music is there. Chances are we've used it in Chapter 2 already.

Making sure everything is just right would take time.

You first hear the battle music from the snow town when you fight with Olan/Orran as a Guest (his skills are such a tease!). After that, you don't hear it again 'til the Beowulf side missions there. Once that's done, you never hear it again. This is in contrast to the first battle music you hear at the Monastery; you hear that one regularly throughout the game.

Another music that is strangle underutilized is the one that first plays when you first fight Meliadoul. Afterwards, I don't believe ot plays again until that optional Nelveska Temple battle either.

They really has a number of underutilized, and a few less noticeably overutilized, battle music in this game, huh?

Quote from: Elric on May 31, 2014, 01:59:15 pmAs for the Ramza swearing part, Durbs sees to think from his comment that it'll be changed. However I had no intention of changing
any Chapter 1 scripts other than for some stuff that's being added, but if it's that big of an issue (several people have mentioned it)
I can tone it down a bit, though I can't say I will remove all of them.

I would appreciate it being toned down, yes.

Quote from: Elric on May 31, 2014, 01:59:15 pmThe bravestory being boring thing was a joke on Ravens part

Yes, I've noticed from some of his posts that he can be rather...cheeky. 

Quote from: Elric on May 31, 2014, 01:59:15 pmwe actually spent a lot of time doing work in there as you can tell
and I'm honestly more proud of how the bravestory turned out than a few other things

As I fell you should be.

It is amazing to see the detail you've put into the backstory. You can tell there all kinds of love there.

Quote from: Elric on May 31, 2014, 01:59:15 pmAs for the non-returning characters, something Durbs mentioned what sprite space, but thats not the only issue. The biggest issue
is formation space.

Yep, the "budget" thing again.

Quote from: Elric on May 31, 2014, 01:59:15 pmAlso, you must understand that this is only Chapter 1. You will be getting more characters as the Chapters
continue on, just as in vanilla. Though they may not for the most part, be vanilla characters.

A simple thing, but it is surprisingly comforting to here.

Quote from: Elric on May 31, 2014, 01:59:15 pm

Those ladies just don't get the love and respect they deserve, do they?

Quote from: Elric on May 31, 2014, 01:59:15 pmAs for Rafa and Malak, they have indeed left Ivalice, some mention or cameo may happen later on, but I wouldn't hope for much
more than that. As for the abilities and jobs, this is all taken care of by RavenOfRazgriz, I cannot imagine that we won't see any
of their formulas again, but I cannot guarantee that either way yet.

Well, I suppose if some use comes of the Abilities, it be too bad, though I'll still miss those twins.

Quote from: Elric on May 31, 2014, 01:59:15 pmThe in-battle conversation will start to increase a bit, we actually have a few slots that we may be able to add some into Chapter 1
as well, but I know we do have some of this in Chapter 2.

Ooh, exciting! 

Quote from: Elric on May 31, 2014, 01:59:15 pmI'm glad you liked Olivander and Leesha so much, these were originally made as throwaway characters before Tesnya had a twin
or even a name. The evolution of Chapter 1 grew them and their bosses into what they are now and I'm quite happy with that as
well.

Wow. I'm definitely thankful for what they evolved into.

(I don't know why I keep gushing over Olivander. He's just soooo coool!)

Quote from: Elric on May 31, 2014, 01:59:15 pmLove dat Delita

You know it!

Quote from: Elric on May 31, 2014, 01:59:15 pmGlad you were able to get thru the random battle, a lot of people insist that they are too hard, but i didn't have this issue. Glad I'm
not the only one.

I admit that I do pick and choose my battles when I can. For example, the battle going in from the north on Bariaus Hill with the 5 Lamias and the Beastmaster is one I haven't tried to fight yet, though I may do so after completing the Marks just to try. Also, the battle on Zerikile Falls going in from the north as well that has the six Turtles. Because they all have that Rock Spell that pelts more than one person from afar and they take their turns back to back, they can leave you devastated before you can get to do anything meaningful. And they're pretty tough beyond that as well.

Other than those two I haven't had much real problems or frustrations.

My favorite Random Encounters are the alternate battle from the Lamias mentioned above. There are a lot of enemies, but they're spread enough that you can take them out piece by piece, letting the Bombs keep the other distracted until your ready top take them on. Probably the most clever Random Encounter out there. I also like the one with the Chocobo plus Beastmaster facing all those Skeletons. Especially if you bring the right skills and your own Chocobo with you.

Quote from: Elric on May 31, 2014, 01:59:15 pmHoly crap?! You used monk? Like... that thing I've been telling people to do forever when they complain about item expenses? And it
helped? Huh, guess I'm not full of shit afterall, lol

Oh yeah, I had the Five each go through a tenure together as Monks (though Ramza and Snake were doing other stuff and ended up behind). Cloud and Dante kept Martial Arts after that and they only knew Chakra, Purify, and Revive.

Still, is choosing Monk really tha uncommon? I guess they just want to sty in the Five's Base Classes.

Quote from: Elric on May 31, 2014, 01:59:15 pmDon't worry there will still be head ripping and DT Dante even with the end battle Chapter 1 updates

Wonderful!!! (Hmm, that came out too excited for hear ripping...)

Quote from: Elric on May 31, 2014, 01:59:15 pmAs for the Cloaked Stranger, what would the fun be if we just told you flat out? You'll learn more on this character in Chapter 2.

Mind you, I never actually expected an early answer for this. Just trying to show my enthusiasm for the character.

Quote from: Elric on May 31, 2014, 01:59:15 pmThere was no hint in vanilla that Ramza could learn Ultima, and this is the same thing. Not sure why that is an issue, and even if you don't get it in Ch1, you haven't -missed- it yet.

As I've said, I am indeed aware of that fact. I suppose it's not something easy for some to understand.

Besides, with no in-game hint or nudge, later chances won't mean much, because if you weren't aware of it before hand the first time, how or why would you be aware of it later?

Quote from: Elric on May 31, 2014, 01:59:15 pmI'm glad you enjoyed the mod so much, this was a great read and reviews are very important to me, this helps us know our pros
and cons from different sides of the tracks, we may not be able to address everything, but we will certainly do what we can to make
the fans happy

Once more, I'm quite happy to have played this Mod when I did instead of waiting. Count me in with the rest who are waiting patiently but eagerly for the next Chapter.

As always, keep up the great work! 

Quote from: Elric on May 30, 2014, 03:13:32 pm
He just said it does nothing

Oh... Well then...

I guess that'll be removed later or something.

I hope no one minds me posting this here rather than starting a whole new thread since it's relevant to this thread.

This post will be long and will contain spoilers, so be mindful of that going forward. Nonetheless, I still hope you take the time out to read it.

A quick note: when I say "You", I mean "You All", "You All" being towards whomever is appropriate on the given matter.


I first played Final Fantasy Tactics Advance quite some time back and fell in love with it deeply. Later on, I got my hand on Final Fantasy Tactics. It was a different experience on the one hand, but familiar and similar on the other. I also fell in with Tactics just as much as Tactics Advance despite its differing tone.

I found this website from a link on Tv Tropes not too long ago. They mentioned there was an entire site dedicated to Game Mods of Final Fantasy Tactics, and I was like "Why not?" and clicked on it.

Boy, was I glad I did.

Of the different Patches, two caught my eye. Primarily because they were/are treated as "different, but the same" as opposed to "the same, but different". I like the fact that they were new stories and adventures. I'll need to try Call to Power next and see how it goes, but I'm most certainly glad I tried this.

Simple put, I love it! Love it so! 


One of the things I was really hoping for was the ability to use Alma for a battle, and I got to do so twice in one Chapter! I really hope you guys make her an actual playable character later on down the line. Of course, you can imagine my annoyance when Alma all but pleaded to go with Ramza to Goug only for him to keep saying "No."

Alma: "But what about that crazy silver-haired man who you barely told me about three minutes ago!?" 

Ramza: "Oh, he's gone. Besides, you have Rad and them to protect you."

Me: "Well, duh! Just bring them along, too."

Ramza: "No."

Me and Alma: "Okay Ramza. Whatever you say. I'm sure nothing bad will happen while she/I'm out of your sight as opposed to within it. Again. Again."

Guess what happened? And the first two guesses don't count.

By the way, I love how the second battle with Alma and them played out.

This is true for other battles as well, but I'm lovin' the sheer usefulness boost of Status Ailments in this Mod. Same goes for "Defending", too. I applaud your insight for these things into making them early, widely, and easily accessible through the Knight's Guard Stance. Who knew the original had all these wonderful and useful Abilities, Skills, and concepts until now? Even Charge feels more useful for some reason.

Love how Alma's weapon is a Hammer. It suits her. From now on, Alma's canon weapon shall always be a Hammer! Nice Bag retool, by the way. Or is that a Flail?

Anyway, back to the battle, I enjoyed the way it played out. Basically, we have a straight four-against-four; pretty even, right? Of course, it's against those Monsters you just got through fighting in Zigolis Swamp (more or less). Considering they were five Levels ahead of you the first time, you'd think the appropriate reaction would be to panic, right? Nope! Just let them come to you. As long as you realize this, the battle is simple, so long as you aren't careless. While they trod their way to you, you buff yourself and wait for them to come to you (being mindful of the Werewolf's Roar dispelling your buffs). This is when Rad and his ailments come in shining. You Oil them up and Blind them, and maybe Poison them, too. Then pick them off one by one, leaving the Skeleton for last so he won't resurrect on you.

Like I said, I love how it played out. A lot of care and thought was put into this, from what it seems. This applies to the Mod as a whole, it's just, if I can tell you put this much into this one battle, probably making it one of my favorites of the Chapter, then you can tell the overall love put into the whole thing.

Other assorted things:

- You have made mention to the sheer amount of detail you put into everything for this game Mod to come off as a true sequel to Final Fantasy Tactics, including rewriting descriptions for stuff from the ground up, and it shows. With perhaps one noticeable exception for the detail and immersion obsessed like myself: The lack of Rumors at the Bar.

Other than for viewing those snazzy updating pictures, the Bar is, by and large, useless until about the last fifth of the Chapter. What is it missing in the mean time? Rumors. Things like the latest Gossip, the goings on of strangers, and, as I suggested towards the end, little tips and hints about stuff. Feel free to add this going back through Chapter One so that the Bar doesn't feel like it's just there for as long as it does. Also, don't be shy about getting a little meta about it. Remember, the Rumors from the Bar are a part of the overall immersion of the story and Ivalice at large, so don't let it got to waste.

If you don't seriously consider anything else from what I've typed, I do hope you at least seriously consider this: Add back the Rumors, please. (Rumors would be for Rumors and Propositions would be for Marks.)

- I liked your music choices for battles and scenes. I like the one that plays when Agrias is on the Lionel Castle Gates thinking to herself and also the one when they reach Dorter, I believe it was; that upbeat one. I also look forward to the one that plays only in the snow town that I can't recall the name of. It wasn't heard nearly enough in the original game. It's nice to have such a variety of music throughout the first Chapter.

- I agree with Ramza swearing a wee bit too much for how I'd see Ramza should be swearing. In fact, he seems to slowly get worse once you get to and pass Sweegy Woods. Perhaps tone it down for Ramza a bit?

- The Brave Story section is just as fun as ever. Why do you imply that you'd have to be a boring person to want to spend time there? That place is fun! There is one thing though...

- The Letters to Ramza. I must admit, I'm a bit disappointed that you essentially use them to write off certain characters, specifically Rafa, Malak, and Orlandu. I read them as soon as possible, and when I did, I couldn't help but feel you were writing out the characters that some had a problem with. Funny how Cid, as awesome as he is, conveniently decides that he's getting too old, so you can forget about him joining your adventures. To me, Cid comes off as one those folks who are restless 'til their last days, so to read him saying "My time feels to be at hand" can come off as being said "So don't think you'll be using my brokeness this time around!" . Honestly, so long as I'm able to use Agrias and Meliadoul regularly, or at least simi-regularly, I'm not fussed about not being able to use Cid, even as a Guest.

Frankly, though, I am quite a bit disappointed at the heavy implications that I will not be able to use Rafa and Malak at all and, cynically speaking, that they've essentially been replaced by Leesha and Olivander, as much as I love those two. Considering how wonderfully you've revamped everything, including the different Jobs and Skills, I would have loved to see your take on Rafa and Malak's Skill Sets, which are very fun for me to use, tweaking them similar to how War of the Lions did if not better (so long as you didn't get rid of them completely like some choose to do; I wouldn't have cared much for that).

Granted, they could always still show up later regardless of the Letters. However, the Letters themselves heavily imply that they won't. So when one ends up asking "Where the heck are they?", you can go "Well the Letters said...".

- That ending picture was sweet. It's nice that you set out and completed your objective of finding Zelda by Chapter One's end. I need to get a screenshot of that.

- It has already been noted to have been taken care of, but do count me in with those who said that gaining JPs is a bit of a chore in this game. I am glad that's being adjusted to some extent.

- I haven't tried any Marks yet because I wanted to see the ending after the Sephiroth battle. I'll go back and do those in a bit.

- Speaking of that battle, I liked how it played out, too. I am a big fan of those conversations in battle that these three Final Fantasy Tactics have. It makes things more fun overall and make me immerse myself in there world as I ham it up during their speeches. I've only just recently been made aware that this trend was also in the in Tactic's spiritual predecessor, Tactics Ogre, a game I really should play one day. Speaking of which...

- I was a bit sad that there wasn't much in the way of that throughout this Chapter. It would have been nice to have heard some back and forth like it in Tesnya and Romar's battles from them and Leesha and Olivander. Speaking of...

- I quite enjoyed the addition of Leesha and Olivander. I agree with the sentiments that these two provide a link to Ivalice's political side, letting us know that all is not perfect in their land at this point in time, even without the dimensional travelers mucking about.

I find myself particularly drawn to Olivander, his design, and demeanor (and his sprite(s) ). He's only 21, and yet he was raised and trained very well (from a given point of well, mind you, as he and his sister were raised to be spies and junk after all), as he exudes confidence and control that makes you can't help but like him. Leesha, too, for that matter, but I just notice it more from Oli. They'll be quite the force for good in the future, I reckon.

- The Delita scenes: Loved them! Can't wait for more!

- Bartholume had quite the tragic and messy end. Kudos to the balcony-like area that he had his final scene in. Not a big fan of the "blood coughing" and its seeming overuse, though.

- I finished the Chapter pushing 30 and it would have been more had I went after those Marks. I know you had a projection on where one should be on average by that time, but the thing is, one of the biggest ways of enjoying this game is by fighting the random battles. Seeing what they are and finding out if you can tackle them is half the fun. That alone will increase your average Level. Then, add in the need to get JP, and well... This is also taking into account that I was also using Agrias, Leesha, Olivander, and muh Chocobo, too, for some of the encounters (I love muh Chocobo! And Imma' miss it, too. ). The JP adjustment might lower this a bit, but I'm not sure.

My point here is that if you take a leisurely stroll and enjoy everything you can without rushing to finish it quickly, being mindful of the fact that, at this point, there is nothing past the first Chapter to rush towards, you're going to be at least in you 20s by Chapter's end. Perhaps something to keep in mind. Also, no, I didn't unlock Ninja or anything.

- The Penultimate battle was kinda hard. I mean, you're in a cramped space and you have three enemies that are faster than you, two of which use a Samurai-like skill that deals 100-120 damage in a wide radius. You start out bunched together. After Ganondorf took out Link in one swipe of his Sword of Sages, his minions used that skill on me, knocking out two of my party in two hits each. It would have been three had the second one been able to reach the exact same targets the first one did. Thank goodness for the Monk's Revive and for the fact that Cloud and Dante, who had Revive, weren't killed along with Snake and Ramza (and Link). Perhaps it's based on Level, but I wonder if that battle could have become unwinnable if you're too high-leveled? Also, who says Mustadio isn't useful enough? He was always useful to me, and he was just as useful in this battle and the next as usual. Go Team Mustadio! And Agrias!

- That final battle was quite the epic affair. I was even able to bring muh Chocobo with me into it, thus I had everyone in my party participating. I loved that very much! Mustadio 8 was awesomesauce! Again, who says Mustadio wasn't useful enough? I like the overhaul you did to Worker 8 as a whole, like how you gave him Fly (love the animation!) and increased his Move from 3 to 5 making him all the more practical. Can't wait to use him again. It's a shame he only got a single turn before the battle came to an end.

Also, it was quite sneaky of you to use the conversations as a means of giving Ganondorf more turns than he would have gotten. I don't know if I should be amazed or unamused. It certainly upped the difficulty of the battle, but without making it seem cheap unlike the previous battle with those two minions.

- The ending with Dante was awesome: Ganondorf owning everyone at the last minute, even after losing, only for Dante to get the means to own him in turn. I know you're changing up that part to add Ganon, but I hope you leave in Dante being awesome afterwards. That portrait is too awesome not to use as often as possible.

- Who or what is that Mysterious Cloaked individual and what "debt" does he or she owe?

- Last but not least, I have rather mixed feelings on Iganagi Shock, that is, how you can miss it completely. There is no indication whatsoever that you can even learn it. I would have at least appreciated a hint outside of the vague "Interface Spoiler" the skill screen provides (assuming you view it the right way, of course), even if it was a small one. Having an in-battle conversation could have been a nice way to subtly hint that Ramza could learn it.

I know this was in the original version as well, however, I never was a fan of "Guide Dang It!" situations (situations where you need a guide to find something that is not even made vaguely obvious that it exists or is possible to do in-game and thus end up cursing yourself for missing it). I believe that there's a fine line between discovering things for yourself and "Guide Dang Its!".

For example, you could have had a Rumor at the Bar state something to the effect of:

"There are some interesting and strange skills some people out there have. They probably took years to master them. But you know, there are some people out there who are so quick to the draw that they can master stuff like that just by witnessing them first hand."

That alone could have been a good hint to be on the lookout for things like that.

The only reason I know about this is because of one post on this board that alluded to a "Secret" in spoiler tags without even saying what the secret was... Someone else went on to say that they needed an Ether to get the "Secret", once again without telling what the "Secret" was. I then had to puzzle it out for myself with the little info that I got so that I wouldn't be kicking myself when I realized that I had missed it. Thankfully, this time, I was able to do so.


All in all, I can be perfectly honest when saying that I am glad I tried it first without waiting for Chapter Two's completion. The only downside is that now I have to wait like everybody else. Still, I imagine the wait won't be as long as it would have been had I discovered this sooner than I did.

I hope that my post was a fun an insightful read.

Keep up the good work guys!




P.S.: This took me over four and a half hours to type and read over. Much longer than I intended to spend. And there're probably still typos and junk in it, too...