RPG Progress Report

[Violent By Design]

So I am playing FF1 and....


I'm at this part where I'm in a cave and have to fight a gauntlet of bosses. But these guys are fucking strong as hell. The only one I've managed to beat is a two headed dragon. Am I supposed to be able to kill these things normally or is there some secret item I'm missing lol.

be more specific as to where you are?

It's the quest right after you get the first crystal.

Basically, I unlocked this dungeon in a dwarf cave way back at the first continent. So I walked back there and entered it.

I had to go through a few floors. One which had a bunch of scorpion guys walking around, and the other one which was a large empty desert (that had an incredibly strong worm monster that could randomly attack you).



I'm on the 5th floor (maybe the 4th). The rooms main gimmick is that there are four extremely strong boss monsters. I've only managed to beat one, and it teleported me to a pretty useless place. I keep getting fucked up by Earthquake (an AOE that has a chance of one hit KOing someone), does evasiveness help against that spell?

I think I'm gonna back track and buy some evasive spells as well as elemental immunity, may come in handy because I'm getting fucked up.

[noiseredux]

are you playing on GBA or PSP? Sounds like you're in one of the newly added dungeons. I skipped those myself as they're not necessary and apparently, very hard.

[Violent By Design]

are you playing on GBA or PSP? Sounds like you're in one of the newly added dungeons. I skipped those myself as they're not necessary and apparently, very hard.

I'm playing the iPhone version which I'd assume is the same as the GBA and PSP version.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Yeah I even skipped the bonus dungeon in Final Fantasy VI Advance - and FFVI is my favorite game!

I hate stupid, tacked on, overly-difficult "bonus content". Either keep the game in its original state or add something worthwhile, I say.

[Violent By Design]

I'm surprised I was able to beat one of these guys, my characters weren't even level 30 the first time I tried clearing the dungeon. Weird they'd put that dungeon in essentially the first zone of the game, certainly gives the wrong impression in terms of trying to continue the story.

[Ack]

Yeah I even skipped the bonus dungeon in Final Fantasy VI Advance - and FFVI is my favorite game!

I did. I was actually happy to have the challenge. FFVI is already quite easy, so I wanted somewhere to show what I was really capable of. I ended up beating both secret dungeons and filling out the bestiary. And the first dungeon doesn't feel that tacked on. It goes more into the seven sealed dragons back story. The second one however...just a string of fights. Not as cool, though much more challenging.

[Ack]

Well, double posting again, but it has been a couple of days since the last one, so I don't feel too bad.

Live A Live

Chapters completed: Cowboy, Fighter, Robot
Currently working on: Kung Fu Master

I ended up taking Yun/Yuan (depending on the translation) as my main student and am currently at the end of the chapter where I must fight a series of battles with the master and his star pupil. I'm a couple of fights in. Of the chapters I have done, I'd consider this one the most like a normal RPG: it features a couple of towns, a final dungeon, and random encounters. It also offers a chance to level up the pupils as you train them, which does not occur in the Cowboy, Fighter, or Robot sections. This is one of my favorites, though I think the Robot chapter is the best since it relies on pure storytelling with only virtual combat occurring in a video game.

Live A Live's greatest strength is that it offers so many different approaches to telling a story. The Caveman, Kung Fu Master, and Cyberpunk settings all behave like more traditional JRPGs, though each offers a different means of connecting their world together. The Ninja chapter plays like a JRPG variation of Tenchu. The Cowboy chapter has the player focusing on finding materials and constructing traps before the final showdown can occur. The Fighter chapter acts closer to a fighting game, with the player selecting their opponent and then hoping they get hit with particular moves so they can be learned. The Robot chapter is the most interesting to me, since it relies more on storytelling (if you choose to not play the arcade game until you have to, there is one fight in the whole chapter). It is also the horror story of the game and clearly inspired by the likes of Alien and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Of these, my least favorite is the Fighter's story, which sometimes boils down to pure luck in the fights. There were multiple times in that chapter where I had to restart because suddenly the desired effect of an attack (knockback, spinning my opponent around, etc.) simply didn't work. Thankfully, it's one of the shortest chapters in the game.

Anyway, after I finish the Kung Fu Master's story, I will only have the Caveman, Ninja, and Cyberpunk chapters remaining before the final character chapter unlocks. We shall see how it goes.

[Stark]

Started up Etrian Odyssey IV for the 3DS, seems pretty tough and might be grind heavy, we'll see.

[MrPopo]

Started up Etrian Odyssey IV for the 3DS, seems pretty tough and might be grind heavy, we'll see.

In spots it can get grind heavy, depending on your team composition. Really, though, you'll get most of your levels from just attempting to make your way through the dungeons and needing to fall back.

[Stark]

Started up Etrian Odyssey IV for the 3DS, seems pretty tough and might be grind heavy, we'll see.

In spots it can get grind heavy, depending on your team composition. Really, though, you'll get most of your levels from just attempting to make your way through the dungeons and needing to fall back.

Ah, great, someone else has played this. Is there a default party that is good? Is there any reason to level more than 5 people? I feel like I should be reading a guide or something for the skill trees, it's a little daunting.