RPG Progress Report

[MrPopo]

Ok, now I know I'm getting trolled.

The Mystic Knight, Red Mage, Double Dragoon run wasn't too bad once I got past the horrid amount of grinding I did in the beginning. The grinding was to get a set of four Flame Rings for the crystal boss (weaken the one that casts Firaga and get free heals while you kill the other three) and to get my AP high enough that I could then get X-Magic off the Magic Pots in the Phoenix Tower. Once I had that it was pretty standard through the final dungeon, as most of the enemies were vulnerable to spellblade and my Dragoons were tossing out solid damage. I spent some time to farm up Dragoon Lances for both of them since I could use the Thief Knife and the Wonder Rod to keep trying the steal til it gave me what I wanted. Exdeath was no match for my party, since I knocked out two portions at the start and then I killed the front before the Grand Cross since it counts as a dragon, so the Dragoons were jumping for 6k a piece.

And now I'm getting massively trolled, as my next run is Berserker and 3x Bards. On the plus side, this team can kill Omega. But man, this is going to be a shitty fight against Neo Exdeath. I'm probably going to have to get some levels to give them the health they'll need for Almagest, and Bards have pretty shitty HP growth.

[alienjesus]

Ok, now I know I'm getting trolled.

The Mystic Knight, Red Mage, Double Dragoon run wasn't too bad once I got past the horrid amount of grinding I did in the beginning. The grinding was to get a set of four Flame Rings for the crystal boss (weaken the one that casts Firaga and get free heals while you kill the other three) and to get my AP high enough that I could then get X-Magic off the Magic Pots in the Phoenix Tower. Once I had that it was pretty standard through the final dungeon, as most of the enemies were vulnerable to spellblade and my Dragoons were tossing out solid damage. I spent some time to farm up Dragoon Lances for both of them since I could use the Thief Knife and the Wonder Rod to keep trying the steal til it gave me what I wanted. Exdeath was no match for my party, since I knocked out two portions at the start and then I killed the front before the Grand Cross since it counts as a dragon, so the Dragoons were jumping for 6k a piece.

And now I'm getting massively trolled, as my next run is Berserker and 3x Bards. On the plus side, this team can kill Omega. But man, this is going to be a shitty fight against Neo Exdeath. I'm probably going to have to get some levels to give them the health they'll need for Almagest, and Bards have pretty shitty HP growth.

It's going to take so long to kill stuff too...

[Erik_Twice]

I started a game of the SMS version of Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar. Just to check it out, nothing serious so here are some thoughts:

First, I can't imagine playing the PC version after playing this one. It requires far less button inputs, the menus are far clearer and, more importantly, I don't have to fight with the text parser to progress in the game. I remember being worried about keywords popping on a list watering down the exploratory aspect of the game but, really, they are exactly what I would ask the characters about so it simply makes it less annoying to do so.

It's also a very faithful, but improved port. The art style is similar, but with more colours, better tiles and cleaner menus. It does keep some annoying parts (you need to press to go into the menu, choose attack and then the direction of the attack instead of just...well, attacking) but so far it seems an improvement in every way. And it does have the exact same text as the original PC game so there are no losses there either.

On the game itself, I really enjoy the premise but gameplay-wise it's a bit naïve. For example, you meet a playful kid who asks you if you are his friend. You are inclined to say yes, because who would say "no, I'm not your friend" to a small child? But you if you do, you would be lying because you are not really her friend. This kind of choice is very fun and very thematic, it's much better than the usual choice between burning an orphanage and giving money to it.

The problem is that, when it comes down to it, you can ignore the thematic aspect and just grind by doing the same acts over and over. You can tell when a particular question will affect your stats and in which way so you can game it and there's an incentive to game it, because maxing out your virtue stats is the goal of the game.

Still, it seems fun. It does require a lot of effort to be put into it so I'll probably play it a later point.

[MrPopo]

It's going to take so long to kill stuff too...

It actually won't be as bad on that front. The plan is to get Equip Axes on my Bards for the strength boost and the option to use axes, and that should be enough for most boss fights. For boss fights the stat boost songs are hilariously powerful and turns the Berserker into a crazy damage machine.

[alienjesus]

It's going to take so long to kill stuff too...

It actually won't be as bad on that front. The plan is to get Equip Axes on my Bards for the strength boost and the option to use axes, and that should be enough for most boss fights. For boss fights the stat boost songs are hilariously powerful and turns the Berserker into a crazy damage machine.

It wasn't the boss fights I was thinking of, it's the random encounters. I guess Equip axes will help somewhat.

I gave up on my run last year, not because I got a bad party (I got one of the best possible imo) but because I got bored of having lots of low damage output characters. It didn't appeal to carry on as the team was so easy it was kind of a drag (Black Mage, Mystic Knight, Bard, Chemist). My first ever run was one of the worst possibilities for a standard run (Thief, Berserker, Geomancer, Dragoon) and so had some challenge going for it that drove me onwards.

[CFFJR]

I've finally returned to 7th Saga. Started a new file, just to be fresh. Playing as Esuna.

I did a bit of leveling, and got to level 9. I cleared out Castle of Aran and beat the boss there. It seems level 9 may have been a bit much though, because while I did have to heal once, I pretty much wiped him out. Ice 2 did the job nicely.

I expect it'll get more challenging as I progress. This is still the very beginning after all. I'm enjoying it though. The music is nice too.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Good to know you didn't wimp out completely like I thought you had.

[CFFJR]

Good to know you didn't wimp out completely like I thought you had.

I can't tell if you're just giving me shit or if you're serious. I thought we were joking around about it.

Its not the first time I set aside a game I wasn't in the mood to play, only to return to it months later, and it definitely won't be the last. Why force it if I'm not feeling it right away?

[Ack]

Good to know you didn't wimp out completely like I thought you had.

I can't tell if you're just giving me shit or if you're serious. I thought we were joking around about it.

Its not the first time I set aside a game I wasn't in the mood to play, only to return to it months later, and it definitely won't be the last. Why force it if I'm not feeling it right away?

Relax, he's just giving you shit. That you have the balls to put it in your SNES makes you a better man than most.

[Exhuminator]

That you have balls to put in your SNES makes you a better man than most.

That's how my brain just read that sentence.

I think I need some sleep for real.