Final Fantasy VI

[Maryokutai]

8 hours ago, mfnick said:

 

Want Edgar and Locke front, Terra back. Which is how it looks here.

 

If the portrait is leaning to the left, they're at the front, if it's leaning to the right, they're at the back. So basically you have to swap everyone in your team around.

 

Back (surprise) attacks (when your party is on the left side of the screen) force your backline characters to the front and vice versa. Whether a back attack occurs is random. There's also battles where your party is sandwiched in the middle, I don't quite know how attack and damage values are modified in that case. It's rather rare that happens anyway.

 

Different problem, but does anyone know how to deal with these assholes?

 

(Fun fact: I still survived that encounter)

 

They randomly absorb certain attacks, physical or magical, to heal themselves. They also sometimes die and then immediately come back. Libra says they're weak to water but I have zero water-based skills. I'm just bruteforcing through them and lose a ton of HP and MP in the process. 

[Metroid66]

I'm way behind you by the looks of your hp level on those characters so I haven't encountered those monstrosities. They look scary in minimal pixels.

 

Be like playing a resi game if they ever decided to remake 6.

[OCH]

9 hours ago, Maryokutai said:

Different problem, but does anyone know how to deal with these assholes?

Spoiler

They are UNDEAD enemies😉

I think I'm ahead (by quite a bit), so if anyone else has questions, feel free.

[Maryokutai]

Only one of my characters had Cura at that point unfortunately.

 

But I managed to get past them somehow. Still don't quite understand why they sometimes dissolve and reappear and sometimes just die right away.

[OCH]

1 hour ago, Maryokutai said:

Only one of my characters had Cura at that point unfortunately.

Phoenix Down is your friend!

 

The reappearing trait exists with a few monsters. I had a character that used a OHKO knife. It worked, then it didn't? There isn't really any explanation given in game either.

[Maryokutai]

Blowing Phoenix Down on random encounter zombies seems like a massive waste though.

 

Anyway, I'm approaching what I think is either a permanent or temporary point of no return (being fully ware that the latter is an oxymoron). So I'm now currently pondering what party to prep because there's no way I'm going to build everyone up to equal levels before moving on. Terra and Edgar are fixed I think, the former is my strongest spellcaster and the latter some sort of defensive support paladin who can also ditch out some damage in a pinch. But I'm really not sure who else to pick – maybe Celes (for Runic mostly) and Sabin, but he's kind of been falling behind recently.

 

I actually wonder why they went with the system that you can only switch up your team in your HQ. It's either an odd design decision or possibly some SNES memory issues they ran into because the number of characters is so high.

[OCH]

43 minutes ago, Maryokutai said:

Blowing Phoenix Down on random encounter zombies seems like a massive waste though.

 

By that point, at least Terra and Celes had learned Raise. So I didn't really use the Phoenix Down for anything else anymore. The same strat works on the bone dragons they are normally paired with too. Also note that Regen acts like Poison to the Undead.

 

As for the bit you mention: I could advise on who to bring and who not to worry about. But that would be too spoilery. However, I will stress this:

 

Spoiler

When given the option to 'Jump' or 'Wait' choose the latter and stick to it.

 

[Maryokutai]

kay, that was a god tip, it would never have crossed my mind to pick anything other than the first option there. Classic obtuse JRPG design.

 

The whole scenario afterwards was interesting to see. I suspect this is where this particular JRPG trope, that is getting used to this day (DQ XI was the last example I remember) was born. The game is also surprisingly effective in dramatic moments despite the obvious technical limitations.

 

On a gameplay level I'm starting to wonder though what the point of physical attackers is. From what I can tell only Cyan has physical special attacks and everyone else just uses that stat for normal attacks? Which feels like a waste of a turn considering Terra can do four times the amount of damage with one spell. I think I'm going to throw three spellslingers into the party going forward and pray to god no boss ever has auto-reflect.

[Metroid66]

Got my espers last night on a 4 hour flight back from Tenegrief, and I'm standing outside the opera house looking to move the story on with the obligatory JRPG air ship.

 

I actually could have moved on, but much has been made of the opera house episode on the thread, so I decided to leave it to today and get the full effect on my telly.

 

 

[OCH]

44 minutes ago, Maryokutai said:

kay, that was a god tip, it would never have crossed my mind to pick anything other than the first option there. Classic obtuse JRPG design.

Yep. It's also the only instance of that in the game. It's not quite as obtuse as the similar situation Suikoden 1 gives you. But I doubt most people would even think about picking the second option.

 

That scenario in particular, is one of the things fans have wanted to see in better graphics. Outside of maybe FF9, nothing like that typically happens in Final Fantasy.

 

I was going to get into this a couple of days ago. The point I'm at in the game, I'm being given new party members.. and they're all useless. What's the point in new people in the second half of the game that can't equip espers? Use magic or weapons??

[Metroid66]

That opera section is off its nut. Surely the most elaborate scenario ever invented to procure a lift.

 

And how did that boss retain a healthy moistness in the dry atmosphere of the higher arts?

 

 

[Maryokutai]

You're going to like a certain fight later on if that's the kind of questions you ask yourself.

[Metroid66]

Well nothing can surprise me in this madness. For instance Kefka just decided to attack my party while it was escaping on an airship at several thousand feet, not with some flying monsters, a dragon or a flock of classic wylverns - but a couple of mechanical cranes.

 

A good choice on his part because they kicked my butt something good. I noticed too late that my usual technique with mechs (thunder spells) seemed to be healing them. I won't make that mistake in the rematch.

[OCH]

Side Quests ..more than I expected!

 

So now, I have the full cast. I didn't remember FF6 having 14 characters? But there you go. Just like I thought Gau was the Blue Mage of the game. He isn't. So I don't really know what you would classify his Rage abilities as if not Blue Magic??

 

Anyway, I thought at this point. I've only got the last dungeon. But no. Sprinkled secretly around the map are at least half a dozen side quests I've completed today. As much as I loathe them. The trophy list has been quite helpful for telling me when some people have maxed out their abilities. The list of Rage arts I have for Gau by now is very long. But apparently not complete?

 

Next session, I'm going to work on completing the Blue Mage ability list.

[mfnick]

On 19/04/2024 at 07:26, Maryokutai said:

If the portrait is leaning to the left, they're at the front, if it's leaning to the right, they're at the back. So basically you have to swap everyone in your team around.

Thanks. I thought this was stupid but I’ve since realised the default battle positioning is facing left. Which is weird but makes more sense formation wise now. 
 

Anyway, I can put some more time into this now I’ve done with Dragons Dogma 2. I’ve just got the 4th member. Is there any reason not to use his Blitz abilities every time? As far as I can tell there’s no MP or anything for them? Potential to mess up button input but that’s incredibly rare. 

[OCH]

17 minutes ago, mfnick said:

Is there any reason not to use his Blitz abilities every time?

No. You get an accessory later that makes his physical attacks worthwhile. But for now, just input one of his Blitz attacks and tap auto-battle on his turn.

[Maryokutai]

Disagree, that's not the way of the monk. No shortcuts. Only manual inputs.

 

[OCH]

It's funny to think that he is so helpful in the first half of the game. But in the second half the shift to magic users over physical attackers is quite dramatic. There's even a whole dungeon wherein the gimmick is 'Magic Only'. 

[Metroid66]

Well I seem to be in a dungeon where the enemies feed on magic as though you're lobbing chocolate buttons at them.

 

One question - is it traditional in this game to move espers around amongst characters so they all build up lots of abilities? What I am finding a bit concerning is the sheer amount of characters. I worry about leaving some unleveled, or picking the wrong esper for them, and I keep forgetting who does what in battle.

 

This ain't no hand holder.

 

I love the freedom but also worry about hitting a brick wall later on.

[Maryokutai]

I don't see any downsides to just passing them around and giving everyone as many tools as possible. The only thing you have to pay attention to is having the right Esper equipped at the moment a character is levelling up, because not all of them give stat bonuses (mentioned at the very bottom of the Esper description). From what I understand that's the only way to actually increase the base stats, so you need to take advantage of that as much as possible. 

 

At least that's how I understand the system and how I've been playing, there's probably more invisible stuff to it but for a normal playthrough this should hopefully be good enough.

 

As for the number of characters to keep relevant, I just hope the game lets me keep my favourites, because I'm very much neglecting some (mainly Cyan and Gau).