Thursday, March 3, 2016

FFVIII – Part 61: Forest of Rage

Summary: Attempting to play the chocobo forest mini game puts me in a bad mood this session. May have found the Cactuar. The White Ship.


Overworld

-For fun, I went back into the Ruins of Centra to try taking down a Tonberry. It worked. Got it down just as it reached me, but it awarded zero xp and only one AP and no items.

-Wandering the continent a bit. It really is a barren waste.

-Fought a Blitz in the forest.



Always cool to see a new monster and know its stats in Triple Triad. I steal Betrayal Swords from it.

---

Forest of Solitude

-Found a nub of land that I have to walk to get to with a chocobo forest on it. Another chocobo hunt. My main problem here is that the music is so loud that it’s really tough to hear the sonar. My hearing isn’t that great to begin with and the music is just blasting through with little sonar “pips” there too. Makes me hate the music I loved before since I want it to just shut up so I can play the mini game.

-Like, it’s hard to describe how frustrating this is. I keep leaning closer to try to hear the pips better but that instinct is foolish since whenever I do the drums or “oohoOOOOOHHOOOOH” starts to kick in, and since I’m wearing headphones leaning in of course does nothing. Just gotta wait for breaks in the drums.

Ultimately it’s a minor thing, but it’s a horrifically bad piece of game design. My whistle keeps getting stolen because I think I hear three pips when I apparently don’t.



-Chocoboy tells me there are seven forests, one of which is on holy ground.

-I’m about to quit in raw frustration when I ask him for a hint. He says this is the “Forest of Solitude” and I should search carefully when sonar reacts. Uh. I’ve been doing that? But every time I do, the fucking chick steals my whistle.

-Ok. That’s the fifth time I’ve heard the sonar thing ping weirdly, used the Ziner, and had the whistle stolen. WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN “SEARCH” WHEN I HEAR IT? I USE THE ZINER AND NOTHING HAPPENS. DAMMIT.


RRRRAAAWWRRR

-I give up. When I literally throw my controller against the wall with frustration, that’s the sign I’m done. I can barely hear shit in hear, the whistle was stolen six times, and I have no fucking clue what “search” means. Bad job, game.

---

Overworld

-Found a desert island with a cactus on it that appears in different spots.



Can’t reach it, but I’ll guess two things: that’s where a Cactuar GF is and I’ll eventually be able to fly to reach it.

-Found the ship.

---

The White Ship

-The White SeeDs aren’t hostile, and are open to the idea of Edea wanting to help, but don’t believe we’re here from Edea. For reasons beyond understanding, Squall doesn’t whip out the letter of introduction from Edea.

-Watts and Zone are here!

-Zone doesn’t take it well upon hearing that Rinoa is unconscious.



-A barrage of bad rules with Triple Triad. Direct, Random, Same/Plus. But Watts plays an Angelo card and I really want it.

-Lost every game, but eventually won the Angelo card. The Random and Same/Plus rules teach me to basically accept that I’ll probably lose most of the time, but the Direct rules teach me not to care. Just try not to lose anything big and try to win the rare and get out asap.

-Squall gives the letter to the White SeeD leader, who now trusts us. Neat!



The Matron basically raised all the White SeeD.

-Aaaand Ellone’s gone. In another castle. 
 
---

Flashback

-After they left FH, they fled from Galbadia and Edea. The Galbadians found them, chased them, and then an Esthar ship intervened.

-Esthar fought Galbadia. Esthar tried to get the White ship to evacuate with the Estharians, but (reasonably) the White SeeD didn’t trust them either.



Esthar left.

-Just as the Esthar ship was leaving then, something came across Ellone who uncharacteristically jumped onto the departing Esthar ship. Weird.

---

White Ship

-New destination: – the xenophobic, mountain-ringed nation of Esthar.

-Headed back to the White Ship to see if I missed anything.

-A teacher, Miss Lina, revisits the story of Hyne, who we heard about in Balamb.



He made the world. Then made people, went to sleep. He burned some people with magic when he woke up and the people rebelled against him.

The people were without magic, but intelligent and started to turn the tide. Hyne sued for peace, offering half his body and his magic in exchange. The people fought with each other over the body and magic.

King Zebalga and his tribe won, but the body half wouldn’t give power to Zebalga. Vascaroon then came and revealed that Hyne tricked them, and the body half he gave was powerless, just shed skin. (ew.) He tried to kill Hyne, but “Hyne the Magician” constantly eluded.

-Strange story. This is the second time we’re hearing it, so I doubt it’s just world-building. Maybe it has to do with the origins of the line of Sorceresses.

-Zone likes learning to pilot a ship.

-Found an issue of the Timber magazine here. Not sure what these are all about.

---

Next time: Esthar.