Friday, May 29, 2015

FFVII Crisis Core – Part 4: On the Tamblin Trail

Summary: A training mission, and then road trip! Zack, Angeal, and Lazard head to Wutai.


 
Briefing Room

-There’s a lot of different categories of missions, most as yet undiscovered. “Shinra Electric Power Company” is the lone discovered category.



-First mission is a training mission. Three infantrymen. Easy fight, but I’m doing it mostly to get used to combat.

-..oh. That was it lol. I wonder if each mission will be a single fight, or a longer thing? Probably a longer thing.

-There are supply pods that Shinra uses to randomly give me goodies. Cool. Got a Bronze Bangle.

-A news email from… hey, it’s from REEVE! Here, kitty kitty kitty! The news is about Midgar’s construction. The city will be completed in like seven years, so that helps give me a timeline.

-Tried that training combat mission again, and it really helped me understand the DMW wheel in combat. It seems to spin every six seconds or something like that. When I get a good roll that gives me a status effect, there’s a message: “No AP cost” or whatever it is, so I don’t need to memorize it.

-Got a “Modulating Phase” screen again. It rolled three silhouette images of what looks like Cloud. The numbers were 2, 2, and 6. The “power surge” is “Blizzard lvl. 2,” but I’m not quite sure what that means. The fight went on, and then the phase modulated more, and I got “Blizzard lvl. 3.”

The tutorial screen said that had to do with leveling up. Did that fight level up my materia a bunch then?

…It did! My Blizzard materia is level 3 now. Cloud himself is still level 6. Not sure why the Blizzard materia leveled up rather than cure or fire. Maybe that’s what the random faces did. Like, if they were someone else’s face…

No. That can’t be. The first time Blizzard leveled up it was with Cloud’s silhouette. The second time it was with someone else’s silhouette I didn’t recognize.

-Can’t explore more of the briefing room just yet. Will head to Wutai next. Lazard’s coming with.

LAZARD: “What is your dream? To become a 1st?”
ZACK, EARNEST AS FUCK: “No. To become a hero!”
LAZARD: “Ah, good. Unattainable dreams are the best kind.” LOLOL


Just look at Lazard’s face compared with Zack’s!

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Wutai – Tamblin Trail

-Heading now to Fort Tamblin.

-…is Angeal trolling Zack? He’s asking if Zack knows about “d***apples.”

ANGEAL: “How can you not know about d***apples? You’ll never make 1st at this rate.”

-I put it at about a 95% chance that Angeal’s trolling Zack. This is kind of awesome.

-The transition to combat here is the best in the FF series here, by far. I’m walking as Zack down the path, and then enemies show up as the woman’s voice says “Combat Engaged” or something. No transition screen, no fade out, just… combat. It’s so smooth!!

-OMG

-COOLEST. THING. EVER.


IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL.

-One of the random Wutai privates, the “imps” of this game I guess, had an axe. Fine. I ran away in combat towards one of his buddies. He puts his axe on his shoulder, points its butt at me, and FIRES IT AS A GUN. BEST WEAPON Y/Y??

-I’m checking this path for secrets, but nothing jumps out at me.

-Oh. I was wrong. Angeal wasn’t trolling Zack. The apples were a crop, “Banora White.” Angeal grew up poor, talks (a bit randomly) about how he sometimes stole apples, but never stole from his friend.



-I’m glad I’m not alone in being confused. Zack: “And… what does that story have to do with me?”



Angeal touches my English major heart with his reply.

This means he’ll either end up being the best ever, or a slimy Metatron. Probably the former.

-Fortress invasion time. Unit B will create a distraction, Angeal will plant a bomb, and Zack gets to chaaaaarge!


arctic_hare was absolutely right – he’s like an excited puppy!

-Interesting. Angeal uses his Buster Sword as seldom as possible to avoid wear, tear, and rust.

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Next time: assault on Mt. Tamblin fortress.