Summary:
The party finds its way through the Sleeping Forest and to the
hauntingly beautiful Forgotten Capital. Its watery theme and emptiness
makes me fear we stumbled into R’lyeh and that Sephiroth really wants to
raise Cthulhu.
Overworld
-Setting up a classic team with Cloud, Tifa, and Barrett.
-I think this may be my favorite equipment system in the FF series. Materia, jobs, straight spell lines – not so sure. But this may be the first game where the armor progression isn’t linear. I get a new piece of armor and it may have more attack than my current piece but fewer materia slots, or more materia slots but slower growth. There’s real choice in it, and I like that a lot.
Fought a random Sea Worm monster while searching. The FF series never lets me down in satisfying my love and terror of enormous monsters.
-Not really sure where to go. Gonna try back at that dig up north, mostly because Wutai doesn’t seem right and the northern continent is the only place I haven’t really explored.
---
Dig Site
-A guy here calls the City of the Ancients “the Forgotten City,” and (fittingly) doesn’t know where it is.
-They could dig up something called a Lunar Harp. We go through a digging mini-game that I understand not at all and it gets me a “Mop.” Interesting – I’ll try again later.
-Aeris came by here. She went into the Sleeping Forest. Now if only I knew where that is…
-AHA! The Sleeping Forest is just north of the dig site. I need the Lunar Harp to “wake” the forest and open a path. Guess I have to learn the mini-game now.
-This time I spread five staff members around the dig site and set the bomb off.
It worked – I got the Lunar Harp – but still only have a vague idea of how this system works.
-Aeris and a man in a black cape – probably Sephiroth, but I guess it could be one of the clones – both went into the forest.
---
Sleeping Forest
-It awakened.
-I was about to head to the exit, but I keep seeing the red dot floating around. Materia?
-Caught it! “Kujata” materia. Don’t think I’ve heard of that before in the series.
---
Corel Valley
-Wait, like Corel Mt and North Corel? I thought those were a continent away, to the west.
-Tried summoning Kujata, and holy CRAP does he rock. It’s a bull god thing that casts “Tetra-Disaster,” a multi-elemental attack.
-Reached a dead end. Not sure how to get past here. Can’t climb anywhere.
-Found the pathway. It wasn’t hidden exactly, I just didn’t see it.
---
Forgotten Capital
-Music gets super ominous as we approach the city.
-There are a few different paths to take towards the city.
I start from the left, and hit a save point.
-Water themed city, which surprises me. Is this Atlantis? Is Namor the boss?
-Found a ginormous glowing seashell on a pedestal, but nothing happens.
-We backtrack and take the right path. Saving the center path for last. Some more watery-styled houses with beds, and we rest.
-That night, Cloud can sense Sephiroth and Aeris nearby. I wonder if Cloud can speak Parseltongue as well. Let’s move.
-Can’t overemphasize how beautiful I find this place.
Probably my favorite art design in the series so far. It helps that I’m not stopped by random battles – gives me a chance to appreciate the flow of the city.
-No luck finding her yet. Going to try heading back to the glowing seashell.
-Still no luck, and I think I’ve explored the whole city. Let’s try again. Left path, clear. Center path…
-…there! I found a comet materia upstairs, but downstairs there’s a new path.
Hopefully not walking into the mind-shattering maw of the Old Ones led by the High Priest Cthulhu.
To a crystalline cavern thing.
-Again, this is heartbreakingly beautiful.
---
Next time: the Forgotten City.
Overworld
-Setting up a classic team with Cloud, Tifa, and Barrett.
-I think this may be my favorite equipment system in the FF series. Materia, jobs, straight spell lines – not so sure. But this may be the first game where the armor progression isn’t linear. I get a new piece of armor and it may have more attack than my current piece but fewer materia slots, or more materia slots but slower growth. There’s real choice in it, and I like that a lot.
Fought a random Sea Worm monster while searching. The FF series never lets me down in satisfying my love and terror of enormous monsters.
-Not really sure where to go. Gonna try back at that dig up north, mostly because Wutai doesn’t seem right and the northern continent is the only place I haven’t really explored.
---
Dig Site
-A guy here calls the City of the Ancients “the Forgotten City,” and (fittingly) doesn’t know where it is.
-They could dig up something called a Lunar Harp. We go through a digging mini-game that I understand not at all and it gets me a “Mop.” Interesting – I’ll try again later.
-Aeris came by here. She went into the Sleeping Forest. Now if only I knew where that is…
-AHA! The Sleeping Forest is just north of the dig site. I need the Lunar Harp to “wake” the forest and open a path. Guess I have to learn the mini-game now.
-This time I spread five staff members around the dig site and set the bomb off.
It worked – I got the Lunar Harp – but still only have a vague idea of how this system works.
-Aeris and a man in a black cape – probably Sephiroth, but I guess it could be one of the clones – both went into the forest.
---
Sleeping Forest
-It awakened.
-I was about to head to the exit, but I keep seeing the red dot floating around. Materia?
-Caught it! “Kujata” materia. Don’t think I’ve heard of that before in the series.
---
Corel Valley
-Wait, like Corel Mt and North Corel? I thought those were a continent away, to the west.
-Tried summoning Kujata, and holy CRAP does he rock. It’s a bull god thing that casts “Tetra-Disaster,” a multi-elemental attack.
-Reached a dead end. Not sure how to get past here. Can’t climb anywhere.
-Found the pathway. It wasn’t hidden exactly, I just didn’t see it.
---
Forgotten Capital
-Music gets super ominous as we approach the city.
-There are a few different paths to take towards the city.
I start from the left, and hit a save point.
-Water themed city, which surprises me. Is this Atlantis? Is Namor the boss?
-Found a ginormous glowing seashell on a pedestal, but nothing happens.
-We backtrack and take the right path. Saving the center path for last. Some more watery-styled houses with beds, and we rest.
-That night, Cloud can sense Sephiroth and Aeris nearby. I wonder if Cloud can speak Parseltongue as well. Let’s move.
-Can’t overemphasize how beautiful I find this place.
Probably my favorite art design in the series so far. It helps that I’m not stopped by random battles – gives me a chance to appreciate the flow of the city.
-No luck finding her yet. Going to try heading back to the glowing seashell.
-Still no luck, and I think I’ve explored the whole city. Let’s try again. Left path, clear. Center path…
-…there! I found a comet materia upstairs, but downstairs there’s a new path.
Hopefully not walking into the mind-shattering maw of the Old Ones led by the High Priest Cthulhu.
To a crystalline cavern thing.
-Again, this is heartbreakingly beautiful.
---
Next time: the Forgotten City.
