Summary: Savior/private investigator Lightning works the case of a murderer on the mean streets of Luxerion.
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Preparing to Warp
[Non-rhetorical questions: Is there any difference between the Guardian Corps and Knight of Etro garbs other than cosmetics? Both have no auto-abilities, and each has Max ATB +20 and Default ATB 100%.]
-Interesting! Attack isn’t a default ability for all garbs.
-Warp time. Hope suggests Lightning let things cool down before trying Snow again. Instead, we’ll go to Luxerion, the capital of Nova Chrysalia.
LIGHTNING: “I don’t feel brave. I don’t feel anything. No worry, no confusion, no fear.”
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An Evil Savior (1-1)
-Starting at a train station, on an incoming train. VII style.
-The title screens are super on point.
-Luxerion is “the divine city of light and the holy see of salvation.” We zoom down to a big cathedral, seeing Bhunivelze worshippers.
-The Order of Salvation governs in his name. But heretics are rising.
-WAIT IS THAT LUMINA IN THE CHURCH?
-In the town, we see a dead girl with a note stabbed into her.
-Then holy shit, a Lightning dummy is dropped, hung from a roof. How do the heretics know what the Savior even generally looks like?
-The dummy threat has a message: “The evil savior will die at the hands of the Shadow Hunter.”
-This girl’s murder is the latest in a string where the victim had Lightning’s hair color.
-The victim was a leading member of the clergy, destined to become the next high priestess. She retired. “For health reasons.” Now this.
-The heretics - the Children of Etro – are growing in number.
-The Children of Etro supposedly have an Oracle Drive. That must be how they know about the pink hair.
-Another side quest, “Where Are You, Holmes?” A station attendant’s replacement hasn’t arrived.
-Found the replacement. He saw who threw the dummy. If I help him reach the station, he’ll tell me what he saw.
-Chronostasis is a new EP that stops the clock.
-Interesting! I returned Holmes to the attendant safely. That small sense of peace I granted the attendant saw enough to save his soul, which zwoooped into my necklace.
Zwooop!
-Holmes confirms that the heretics tossed the dummy overboard.
-Heretics gather in the Forsaken Graveyard to worship.
-I feel a bit bad for the Children of Etro. They worship her and don’t know she died in XIII-2.
[Later edit: I’m REALLY digging the noir vibes at the start here, with Lightning feeling like a hardboiled detective!]
---
Preparing to Warp
[Non-rhetorical questions: Is there any difference between the Guardian Corps and Knight of Etro garbs other than cosmetics? Both have no auto-abilities, and each has Max ATB +20 and Default ATB 100%.]
-Interesting! Attack isn’t a default ability for all garbs.
-Warp time. Hope suggests Lightning let things cool down before trying Snow again. Instead, we’ll go to Luxerion, the capital of Nova Chrysalia.
LIGHTNING: “I don’t feel brave. I don’t feel anything. No worry, no confusion, no fear.”
---
An Evil Savior (1-1)
-Starting at a train station, on an incoming train. VII style.
-The title screens are super on point.
-Luxerion is “the divine city of light and the holy see of salvation.” We zoom down to a big cathedral, seeing Bhunivelze worshippers.
-The Order of Salvation governs in his name. But heretics are rising.
-WAIT IS THAT LUMINA IN THE CHURCH?
-In the town, we see a dead girl with a note stabbed into her.
-Then holy shit, a Lightning dummy is dropped, hung from a roof. How do the heretics know what the Savior even generally looks like?
-The dummy threat has a message: “The evil savior will die at the hands of the Shadow Hunter.”
-This girl’s murder is the latest in a string where the victim had Lightning’s hair color.
-The victim was a leading member of the clergy, destined to become the next high priestess. She retired. “For health reasons.” Now this.
-The heretics - the Children of Etro – are growing in number.
-The Children of Etro supposedly have an Oracle Drive. That must be how they know about the pink hair.
-Another side quest, “Where Are You, Holmes?” A station attendant’s replacement hasn’t arrived.
-Found the replacement. He saw who threw the dummy. If I help him reach the station, he’ll tell me what he saw.
-Chronostasis is a new EP that stops the clock.
-Interesting! I returned Holmes to the attendant safely. That small sense of peace I granted the attendant saw enough to save his soul, which zwoooped into my necklace.
Zwooop!
-Holmes confirms that the heretics tossed the dummy overboard.
-Heretics gather in the Forsaken Graveyard to worship.
-I feel a bit bad for the Children of Etro. They worship her and don’t know she died in XIII-2.
[Later edit: I’m REALLY digging the noir vibes at the start here, with Lightning feeling like a hardboiled detective!]
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In the Shadow of the Heretics (1-2)
-EEEEE HAPPY DANCE, IT’S CHOCOLINA! SHE SURVIVED THE CHAOS!
-She’s in front of the Canvas of Prayers, another side quest type mechanic.
-Trying to follow heretics stealthily is a frustrating challenge. I’m supposed to stay in the shadows which are really hard to see. They keep seeing me and chasing me even when I feel like I’m safe.
Hope has gone full Navi on me.
“Light, careful! They see you! Make sure you stay hidden in the shadows.”
“Light, careful! They see you! Make sure you stay hidden in the shadows.”
“Light, careful! They see you! Make sure you stay hidden in the shadows.”
DUDE, I’M IN THE FUCKING SHADOWS
-Reached the graveyard where the phone booth rings. It’s… weird to see a phone booth in FF.
[Later edit: I think it’s because it’s so modern. Not fantasy, not futuristic/sci fi, just modern. It’s weird in the way that seeing the modern world in FFTA’s prologue and epilogue was weird.]
-One heretic answers the phone, gives a code, and the door opens. I’ll need to find a numerical code myself.
In the Shadow of the Heretics (1-2)
-EEEEE HAPPY DANCE, IT’S CHOCOLINA! SHE SURVIVED THE CHAOS!
-She’s in front of the Canvas of Prayers, another side quest type mechanic.
-Trying to follow heretics stealthily is a frustrating challenge. I’m supposed to stay in the shadows which are really hard to see. They keep seeing me and chasing me even when I feel like I’m safe.
Hope has gone full Navi on me.
“Light, careful! They see you! Make sure you stay hidden in the shadows.”
“Light, careful! They see you! Make sure you stay hidden in the shadows.”
“Light, careful! They see you! Make sure you stay hidden in the shadows.”
DUDE, I’M IN THE FUCKING SHADOWS
-Reached the graveyard where the phone booth rings. It’s… weird to see a phone booth in FF.
[Later edit: I think it’s because it’s so modern. Not fantasy, not futuristic/sci fi, just modern. It’s weird in the way that seeing the modern world in FFTA’s prologue and epilogue was weird.]
-One heretic answers the phone, gives a code, and the door opens. I’ll need to find a numerical code myself.
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Find the Code (1-3)
-The four numbers of the code will be written around Luxerion at 6am. Uh… don’t I turn into a pumpkin at 6am?
-I can’t judge the time mechanic until a couple of “days” have passed. But at this early stage? I hate it.
It’s stressing me out. I’m terrified that if I don’t do things in the right order, or if I explore or wander randomly – WHICH IS BASICALLY MY PRIMARY JOY??? – I’ll fail and have to redo hours of content.
-The game provides me a datalog now on time. It suggests moving around the world to progress through quests simultaneously. I guess?
-Time stops in most combat, menus, etc. But I still wonder how much enjoyment the clock system adds.
-A rail system connects the regions.
-VERY interesting! The datalog tells me that I can use positioning on a battlefield to destroy parts of an enemy. It illustrates this with a picture of Lightning slicing off a dragon’s tail.
-I can stagger some enemies more easily by catching them from behind. Not really sure how I get behind them, since on the battlefield, Lightning moves very slowly.
-As time advances and we close on the final day, enemies get more HP. [Non-rhetorical question: do they also gain strength/magic, or just take longer to kill?]
This growth starts at 6am on the seventh day.
-Monsters have limited respawns. After all, the Chaos has destroyed natural cycles of life.
-The status effects are standard for the FF series… or mostly? Imperil now decreases status ailment resistance. I seem to remember this inducing elemental weaknesses in the past.
-There are some new status effect. Like “broken,” making enemies easier to stagger.
-Back to the main quest, I need the code. And the code doesn’t appear on walls until 6am. So I guess I’m just messing around, exploring town until then.
---
Next time: I was wandering until about 5am game time as frustration built. My controller kept disconnecting randomly, which is especially bad given LR’s action combat.
Bought a new controller, an X-Box style one that my PC accepts. All better!
Find the Code (1-3)
-The four numbers of the code will be written around Luxerion at 6am. Uh… don’t I turn into a pumpkin at 6am?
-I can’t judge the time mechanic until a couple of “days” have passed. But at this early stage? I hate it.
It’s stressing me out. I’m terrified that if I don’t do things in the right order, or if I explore or wander randomly – WHICH IS BASICALLY MY PRIMARY JOY??? – I’ll fail and have to redo hours of content.
-The game provides me a datalog now on time. It suggests moving around the world to progress through quests simultaneously. I guess?
-Time stops in most combat, menus, etc. But I still wonder how much enjoyment the clock system adds.
-A rail system connects the regions.
-VERY interesting! The datalog tells me that I can use positioning on a battlefield to destroy parts of an enemy. It illustrates this with a picture of Lightning slicing off a dragon’s tail.
-I can stagger some enemies more easily by catching them from behind. Not really sure how I get behind them, since on the battlefield, Lightning moves very slowly.
-As time advances and we close on the final day, enemies get more HP. [Non-rhetorical question: do they also gain strength/magic, or just take longer to kill?]
This growth starts at 6am on the seventh day.
-Monsters have limited respawns. After all, the Chaos has destroyed natural cycles of life.
-The status effects are standard for the FF series… or mostly? Imperil now decreases status ailment resistance. I seem to remember this inducing elemental weaknesses in the past.
-There are some new status effect. Like “broken,” making enemies easier to stagger.
-Back to the main quest, I need the code. And the code doesn’t appear on walls until 6am. So I guess I’m just messing around, exploring town until then.
---
Next time: I was wandering until about 5am game time as frustration built. My controller kept disconnecting randomly, which is especially bad given LR’s action combat.
Bought a new controller, an X-Box style one that my PC accepts. All better!
