Backtracking
-Before I head south to the Cardinal, heading back west to check for new errands and rumors.
-I really like dragoon so far. The extra tile range on my spear is nice, and Jump is a bit like Aim with bonus evasion.
-Plus, I dig the aesthetic! The helmet, the spear, but most of all the leg garb. Not sure the name of it – it’s that long skirt-type thing you see in kendo uniforms.
-The more I try dragoon, the more I like it. The longer polearm range means that most melee enemies can’t just hit me and run away. They have to move first to get into range and then hit me.
-New rumor: “Princess Ovelia Kidnapped.” The kidnappers had the crest of the Black Lion, so most think it was Goltanna’s Order of the Southern Sky. Goltanna denies involvement.
-Not seeing new errands available yet.
-Just saw that dragoon can get “Dragonheart,” applying Reraise on getting attacked. Seems… good.
-I’m changing up tactics. I currently have 17 party members, each focusing on one job. It’s just too much. Going to try to pare it down to about 8-10 active party members. For example, instead of leveling up a new party member to get Summoner, I’ll just swap my black mage over to get some summoner stuff to try out and then swap back to black mage when I want that.
Not only will this be less stressful, but I won’t have to start from scratch on the new job. I can equip black magic on the new summoner for some powerful back-up while grinding out new abilities.
[Non-rhetorical question: I still can’t quite understand how JP distribution works – what’s the deal here? If I get 10 JP, does a set percentage go to all other jobs? Certain jobs?]
-I like that the game includes character-specific jobs. Fell Knight, Holy Knight, etc. My current favorite is Ovelia’s “Princess” job.
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The Castled City of Zaland
-A swordsman in town Is surrounded by green-clad troops. They want “the stone,” auracite. The swordsman is Mustadio.
-The troops hold his father hostage. The troop leader is Ludovich.
-We watch this unfold and have two options. Unlike the Boco rescue though, both of them have us save him. One reluctantly and one emphatically.
-He’s a machinist. Yay for proto-Balthier!
-The fight layout here is an interesting puzzle. There’s a castle wall and we’re on the outside of it. Glad I have an archer with me to hop up on the wall.
-My strat is to take out the black mages as soon as possible, use Monk!Ramza to soak damage and heal himself, and go on the offensive when their mages are down.
-Argh! I haaaate the “rend” abilities that destroy my armor and weapons. At least gil isn’t that hard to come by to rebuy stuff.
-Mustadio says those chasing him are with the Baert Trading Company. A business front for opium smuggler, slavers, etc.
-Ooh, machinist backstory! A lost civilization beneath the streets of Goug, the Clockwork City. Relics from the age of Saint Ajora. A time of airships and technology. Machinists sound like the people trying to relearn the technical wizardry of that age.
-His pistol is one of those ancient wonders.
-Mustadio doesn’t go into details about why he’s being chased, but agrees with our plan to check with the Cardinal. He might be able to help get Mustadio’s dad back.
-Agrias doesn’t want to let Mustadio join without learning more. Princess Ovelia overrules her.
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The Weight of Royalty
-I’m about to backtrack to get a new chestpiece to replace the rended armor and a cutscene appears.
-Agrias and Princess Ovelia, looking to their destination ahead, to Lionel.
-They’re optimistic. The Cardinal has an honorable reputation. Loyal to the church and unlikely to turn Ovelia over to either Lion.
-A quick note on the language. FFXII wasn’t my favorite FF. I don’t mean that in a negative way – I loved it, but it just wasn’t at the tip top of my list. It took itself super seriously, moreso than any FF game since FFIV.
And yet I LOVE that FF Tactics has the same self-serious tone! The characters don’t joke amongst each other (at least, not yet). They see themselves as dramatic heroes, characters bound by notions of nobility and honor and loyalty.
The game has a clear sense of self. It has integrity of tone, and even if FFIX is my personal fave, that’s because the tone works with FFIX. Really enjoying this so far.
-Princess Ovelia feels the weight of her office. Being a princess in this world is a brutal task.
-The hardest part for her is the guilt. She was the adopted daughter of the king, and knows how many people die simply because of who she is.
Look, I just really like Ovelia.
And I love Agrias for assuaging that guilt, telling her it’s not her fault.
-Ovelia met another girl in the Orbonne monastery. Lady Alma of House Beoulve.
-Mustadio busts in. The Northern Order is still behind us.
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Next time: to Lionel.
