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| No no, Arek, turn around. The hermit king is behind you! |
For general information purposes, here is my general fighting strategy in Final Fantasy: Arek and Lee take on their own enemies, while Vic and Jule gang up on an enemy when I don't use crowd control spells (such as SLEP or DARK or attack magic. When there are only two enemies left, I usually have Vic help out Arek and Jule help out Lee since he has a higher attack power than Vic. My goal is to get as few "air whiffs" as possible!
The Marsh Cave
Off to the marsh cave, also known as the hole in the ground. As I lower myself into the hole, I am greeted with horrible music that will likely get on my nerves. This song still grates in my mind as I have bad memories of constantly dying in this cave. I have to remember that I am more prepared this time than I was the last time. I actually leveled up. Doesn't that account for something?
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| Looks safe. |
After turning down the music to prevent headaches, I head towards the north side of the cave, where I go down some stairs. I fight several undead enemies, and Jule becomes more useful than just a healer. With the handy HARM spell, I clear several groups of undead ZOMBIES and GHOULS. Do I smell the remnants of a Dungeons and Dragons cleric in the original Final Fantasy white mage?
Once I collect the treasures waiting for me below, I choose to turn back and return to Elf Land to restore my HP and MP without consuming any more items. When I reach the town, I browse the shops hoping to find EXIT. Although I don't find what I was looking for, I am excited to purchase FAST, which according to a FAQ, allows me to speed up a character to score multiple hits (not exactly as advertised, but sounds great nonetheless since more hits tends to equal more damage.)/
While I scour the depths of the marsh cave, one of the major differences in Final Fantasy from later console RPGs sticks out in my mind: I DON'T want to fight every single random encounter! The encounter rate is very high, which is great for grinding outside of towns, but inside of dungeons, is a dangerous liability for my party. MP is limited, and one mistake in a random fight can cripple my party before I learn my coveted EXIT spell. For instance, I constantly run into enemies called SCUM. They are only weak to critical hits and magic, so I am forced to run or waste my MP. Oddly enough, though, SCUM's cousin MUCK is weak to physical attacks!
And then my worst fight begins against 3 ZOMBIES and 3 GHOULS. I go for my normal fighting strategy and decide not to use HARM to conserve MP. This becomes a mistake as every member becomes paralyzed from normal hits. When Jule becomes cured, I attempt to cast HARM, but it's too late, as two more ghouls hit and paralyze him again. I just watch in awe as the enemy team rips my characters apart. Even though Arek and Lee will survive, it would be a waste of money to bring the other characters back, so I reset and reload. Thankfully I used a cabin outside the cave and can try again without consequence! As if to test me again, I get in the same exact fight in the same exact spot. I cast HARM, and like a good movie ending, I leave the battle satisfied!
As I make my way deeper and deeper into the third level of the marsh cave, I come across an area full of little rooms. Many of them are empty, while some of them have treasure chests. Among them I notice that I get many of the same pieces of equipment as they had at the store. While it feels like a waste of money, I have to say that I prefer having the equipment going into the cave than what I originally had. At least I can sell them back in town. Then I find the most unusual item of all...
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| WHAT?! How am I going to fit THAT into my bag? The cabin was difficult enough!! |
After ordering Lee to carry the house on his back to prepare him for remedial black belt training, I enter a room with several suspicious looking statues. I run right into them without saving and encounter 2 wizards. I rip them to shreds before they can put up a fight and get the crown! What will happen when I return it to the hermit king?
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| Darn it! This door is locked! That means I have to trek all the way down here to get whatever is inside! |
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| Don't worry. I checked the other door to make sure it wasn't unlocked! |
Without EXIT, I fight my way through to the top of the cave, and things get tense as I run out of healing potions and MP. Vic almost dies in battle but survives with 3 HP as we exit. Not wanting to risk any foul play with the hermit king, I decide to return to Elf Land to heal and save. By a miracle, in each encounter, Vic takes no hits and survives the return trip!
Goodies List: large knife, 680G, 620G, short sword, iron armor, 295G, copper bracelet, crown,
house (?!), 385G, and a whole bunch of empty chests!
When I make it to the hermit king, I tell him I have the crown, and he blurts out his whole agenda. Oh no! Apparently he was Astos, the Dark Elf! How did I not see this coming? Was it the bats? The empty castle? The green hair? The bad attitude? And what made him get so angry at me? Was it because I didn't bring him the crown until after I slept overnight in Elf Land? In any case, it's boss time! After Arek gets erased and dies from the RUB spell, the fight goes completely haywire, and Astos strikes down Jule and Lee with LIT2 then FIR2. Somehow, Vic makes it, becoming king of the world with critical health for the second time this evening! Unfortunately, after seeing how much EXP he earned, I decided I would give it another go and reset....
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| Don't you just love when bad guys give away their plot without you even asking? He even told me he had Matoya's CRYSTAL! Things should wrap up quite well after this. |
Coming next time! The Sleeping Prince and the Confusing Fetch Quest...Part 2!
Thanks for reading, and leave your comments below!
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