Cyril - Rumors
-Before moving south, I check out this first town of Cyril.
-I can access three things: Pub, Shop, Monster Bank.
-The pub has rumors. Let’s take a look.
-Laws have existed in Ivalice for hundreds of years, created by magic from the first king. The royal line still controls the laws.
-People are starting to resent Queen Remedi for changing the laws frequently and arbitrarily, supposedly to please her son.
Our first look at FFTA Ivalice’s politics.
I’m on the lookout for clues that might tell me when in the timeline this takes place, relative to FFXII and FFT. Nothing yet.
I mean, I know Montblanc is a thing so that presumably makes it super close to FFXII, but not necessarily. He could be a great great great great grandkid or grandparent.
-Clan Borzoi is a warlike clan funded by a foreign criminal ring. I’ll bet they become an early antagonist.
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Cyril – Tutorial
-FFTA’s rumors include tutorials as well as lore!
-“Your weapons and armor determine which abilities you can use, so choose carefully.” It definitely seems similar to the FFIX system of learning abilities from weapons.
-You need AP to learn abilities, and get AP by equipping armor and weapons or clearing missions.
-The only ability type I’m still unsure about is combo ability. “Abilities triggered when an ally uses a ‘combo.’” I think I’ll need to see this in context.
-AHA! Race determines job options.
“Only vieras can become quick-footed fencers, and bangaas are tailor-made warriors… so make lots of friends!”
I LOVE THIS SO MUCH! I value a diverse party and this job system is incentivizing a party that’s not all humans.
-Getting good at a job can open up “expert jobs” with more powerful abilities.
-Each mission has a win condition as well as a loss condition. I can check these in the “Mission” from the main command menu. Marche must always survive. He can’t become zombified and die, or sent to prison, or anything.
-Minor law-breaking infractions get a yellow card. Major ones get a red card. The more cards, the steeper the penalty. I’ll do my best to not break the law unless I really find myself hitting a wall where I need to get a card to progress.
-Laws are classified by difficulty. R1 laws are easy to deal with. R5 laws are “nothing but trouble.” Laws against using physical attacks are probably the R5 type.
For me, the jury is out (so to speak) on whether I like the idea of laws. I’m thinking back to something like FFIV’s magnetic cave, where you couldn’t use metal gear or weapon. That was one of the worst things ever, and basically a law.
-When you place a symbol on the world map and see It shaking, treasure is there. The game doesn’t tell me how to find the treasure when I get to that spot, so I’ll have to play around with it.
-That’s all the rumors.
-I check out the shop but can’t seem to buy anything yet.
-The town also has a monster bank. Dunno what that is yet. Maybe if I get a chocobo to join my party or something, that’s where it stays and gets equipped.
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Mission: Herb Picking
One missions is available to me: “Herb Picking,” rank 3. It sends me to the Giza Plains to gather the muscmaloi herb that reduces fevers.
-This is already a major upgrade to FFT’s errands. Rather than sending my benched party members to do this off-screen while I kill time, I do this myself!
-The mission pick-up screen says if I need skills or jobs or items. Nothing in this case.
-I gotta say, Marche is adapting to Ivalice super well. He could barely defend himself against snowballs from other kids, and now he’s already fought a bangaa successfully, helped take a leadership role in a clan, and is finding work.
I’d be curled up in a corner in shock, terrified whether my immune system protects against bangaa-borne diseases.
-I head south to Giza Plains and start the Herb Picking mission.
-Current laws forbid knives and recommend sabers. Sorry, Neuman. (I just changed him to thief and bought him a knife.)
-The fight starts. There are a lot of what look like imps or garden gnomes.
-Abilities seem to have a much higher chance to miss in FFTA than FFT. Positioning matters even more.
-Spells seem to cast instantly with no charge time. Hard to say if that’s just because I’m using the basic spells so far or because this game eliminated CT.
-It makes me really nervous to see the judge move around the battlefield. Like if I take too long they’re gonna kill me.
-Victory! Montblanc and I proceed to pick the muscamaloi.
-I got 600 gil, 40 AP, and a new location symbol to place: Lutia Pass.
-Picking a location for Lutia Pass feels so weird.
I have literally no context to determine what’s a good or bad place to put it on the map.
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Sprohm
-I head south to Sprohm. The rumors are all the same as they were in Cyril, but I’ll keep checking each town. I learned from FFT that just because rumors are the same in many cities doesn’t mean they’re the same in all cities.
-No new missions here.
-The store is stocked full of SO much stuff, so many abilities I want to try out! I’m restrained for the moment though. I want to try out combat first before making decisions.
-I also buy one pair of Gauntlets. They’re expensive, but hard to go wrong.
-I check out the prison. The music is intense.
-I love the portrait art of the bangaa prison clerk.
-So this is where I go if my party members get sent to prison. I’d come here to free them I think.
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Mission: Snow in Lutia
-Back in Sprohm, there’s a new rumor about the snowy pass I just placed. Kids are out enjoying the snow in Lutia, but the weather’s unusual.
-There are three new missions: Thesis Hunt, Snow in Lutia, and Dueling Sub. I don’t have enough money for Thesis hunt, so I go with the cheapest one, Dueling Sub.
Dueling Sub: someone wants me to take his place in a duel he’s too afraid to fight, a guy named Viscount Gatt.
The reward is… ??? A BUSTER SWORD???
-I can’t pick it up. It says the required job is Soldier. (lol of course it is. SOLDIER.)
But why can’t I pick it up? Marche is a soldier.
-Instead, I go with Snow in Lutia. Someone wants me to protect her kids while they play in Lutia Pass.
-It’s a pretty area! I love snowy climes.
-Missiles are forbidden. My poor archer. She’ll just have to Boost over and over.
-The enemies here look to be hellhounds and goblins.
-Marche used a sword and got a JP for it. Each “recommended” action rewards JP like KOs.
-Success! The kids can go home safely.
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Next time: continuing local missions.
