Chocobo Forest
-A chocobo and a moogle approach me. Mene the Moogle and Choco the chocobo.
-Nice title screen!
-Zidane asked if a cute girl came here. Mene said no, but an “ugly girl” came by through. (Not very nice, Mene.) I wonder who he means.
-Choco seems nervous.
-We can use Gysahl Greens on choco tracks in the world and call a chocobo. Mene asks us to come back after we summon Choco in the wild for a secret.
-This is a pretty big chocobo forest with nothing in it. I’ll bet when we come back later, something will be up. Perhaps not a mini game as elaborate as FFVIII, but something.
-Digging the calm chocobo music. [Later edit: the more I heard it, the more it became my favorite chocobo music in the series.]
-Mene wants us to train choco. Perhaps an FFVII-esque training thing is in FFIX.
-Choco’s last master was mean and he ran away. BOO TO THE LAST MASTER. Who the hell would be mean to a chocobo?
-Went outside to summon Choco, and even the chocobo-riding music is more relaxed than usual! More bouncy than frantic.
-Returned to the Chocobo Forest. Let’s hear what the big secret is!
-Choco can dig up secret items underground. A mini game we can play for 60gil.
-Seems like it’s gonna be a game of hot or cold. Or rather, “kweh? Or KWEEEEHH!”
-OH GOD YESSSS IT’S THE MUSIC FROM THE DUEL IN THE ALEXANDRIA PLAY
-Found a “Stone with Patterns,” and I leveled up Choco’s beak (lol).
-Gave the stone to Mene and he said it’s like a treasure map that I can use Choco to hunt for something in the world outside. It’s a “Chocograph.”
-We might find cards this way.
-This mini game gets me points, and I can trade in the points for different items with Mene.
-hahaha just found two “Annoyntments,” which cure the trouble status.
-Played Hot & Cold a few more times and found a Chocograph piece. It’s a key item. Something about danger in the sky.
-Found another Chocograph Piece.
*15 minutes later, Choco beak level 7*
what stop staring hey DON’T JUDGE ME THIS IS TONS OF FUN
-So I’ve gotten a few more Chocograph Pieces, but they don’t seem to add anything to my key item. They just give me points. I take this to mean that I have to find the rest of the Chocograph Pieces in the other Chocobo Forests.
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Overworld
-The last thing I want to do before I head up to Burmecia is explore the southeast part of the continent that’s open to me, east of the Chocobo Forest.
-Found another Ragtime Mouse!
-Oh man, I don’t know. The question this time is whether “I Want to Be Your Canary” was written by Lord Afon. I don’t know. Though I seem to remember seeing something that Princess Garnet studied the works of Lord Afon as proof that she was ready to act, so I’ll guess true.
-I guessed wrong.
-wait, are you kidding me? Choco doesn’t run away when I dismount? THIS IS SO GLORIOUS.
-The southeast beach is called Derek Bay.
-Whoa. I misunderstood the Chocograph. It gives me a new clue each time that I explore in the overworld.
-Found the first treasure chest: 2 elixirs, 3 ethers, 4 hi-potion, 2 Germinas Boots. Yes please.
-A few more Chocograph pieces are grayed out, probably meaning that they’re inaccessible. The next one that is accessible is for a river, but I don’t think it’s in this area. I think it’s the river between the Evil Forest and the Ice Cavern.
-Definitely gonna be spending a bunch of time on this.
-More digging in that Chocobo Forest. Stopped when I hit Choco Level 11 and 272 points.
-Found another Chocograph chest!
5 potions, 5 hi-potions, 2 tents, 2 cotton robes.
-One of the chocograph clues tells me to look for a beach near a city with high winds. There’s a chance this might be a pun. Dragoons in past FFs have had the name “Highwind,” so perhaps if there are a bunch of dragoons in Burmecia there may be “high winds” there.
-Found the other end of the South Gate. And coffee is here!
http://i.imgur.com/HtuYiYL.jpg
One coffee down, two to go. (hee! The flavor text on Moccha Coffee is a quote from Cinna, a “closet lover” of coffee.)
-Ok, I think I’m ready to progress now.
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Gizamaluke’s Grotto
-Liking the harpsichord. Intense.
-A number of Burmecian soldiers are dead at the entrance.
Freya is devastated, and worried for her king.
-A door inside here won’t budge.
-There’s a Burmecian guard in here. Dying. She says they took the Burmecians’ bells, whatever that means. She gives us a bell.
-Bells have traditionally been used in FF games by geomancers. Is that what this is? Under key items, the description is a warning on the bell: “Cherish this moment, for happiness is elusive.” Huh.
-We promise to protect the king. The soldier dies.
-Aha. The bell opens the door we couldn’t pass before.
-Black mages are inside, killing the Burmecian guards.
-fucking zorn and thorn are here because of course they are.
They send some black mages at us.
-Tried to eat a low health black mage. “I no can eat!” Killed the mages and the jesters ran.
-Killed a black mage wandering around and took his bell. There are a bunch of doors to try. I try the far right door.
-This Lamia looks awesome but hurts like hell.
I’m also prolonging the fight to get to the point where I hurt it and eat it rather than kill it outright.
-Finally! Got Lev 3 – Def Less.
-Moved into a central room with a moogle and a huge bell. The moogle is trying to reach their “Darling” inside the bell. She’s Mogmi. Her husband is under the bell.
-THEY WERE JUST MARRIED AND “SCARY CLOWNS” ATTACKED. Zorn and Thorn attacked moogle honeymooners. Death is the only appropriate response.
-Mogmi smells the Kupo Nut on Vivi.
-hahahaha it was like a Scooby Snack basically. The possibility of eating a Kupo Nut gave the moogle husband inside the strength to lift the bell.
-They run off together, leaving a bell behind. That was adorable.
-There are two more doors bell doors in this room, but I want to backtrack. There were bell doors in the front hall I want to try.
-The door out there leads to a wounded Burmecian soldier who gives me a bell.
-Back in the big bell room. Two doors. I’ll try left first since I’m a lefty.
-Huh. The left door won’t respond to a bell ring. Right door it is then.
-The moogles are in the room beyond and they’re still adorable.
-Mogmi reads a letter from Moodon. Not a wedding congratulations, but rather an excited retelling of the Festival of the Hunt and how Freya dominated, blowing Belna’s point total from last year out of the water. Go Freya!
-Was about to crawl up a vine, but the moogles say that that’s the way out. I don’t want to go out just yet so let’s find a different way.
-About to head out of the room and Moguta stops us and gives us a Holy Bell in thanks for our Kupo Nut.
If I get more, I’ll have to remember to find him again.
-The message on the Holy Bell: “The angel is ready to fly. Follow your heart and fly away.” Angel fight coming?
-This bell opens the door we couldn’t open before. A Burmecian soldier is wounded here, warning us that Master Gizamulake has gone wild, controlled by Zorn and Thorn.
-Water monster boss time!
Gizamaluke.
-Zidane is in a trance. His “Scoop Art” (not sure what that means) trance ability does huge physical damage.
-Quina went into a trance. Their “eat” ability is replaced with “Cook.” Let’s see what that does.
-Aw dang. The boss died before I could steal or try Cook. Well, that was quick lol.
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Next time: Steiner and Dagger.
