Final Fantasy III - (by SQUARE ENIX)

[Isilel]

Originally Posted by Riotgirl

Completed Temple of Time earlier. I noticed all the doors that I had previously missed in my haste, and thus re-equipped my Knight.

Heh. I have actually made it all the way to the Lute the first time through, but I was out of high-level healing and expected an epic boss fight, so I chickened out and teleported away. Well, the joke was on me, heh. On my return I found the one treasure room that I missed the first time through, though.

This ignominious retreat led me to finding the Catacombs and their gear, however, which provided much needed upgrades. No Gugnir drop, sadly, but I didn't really expect it.

I am ahead of you now - got the Earth Crystal. And since I couldn't find the Legendary Smith despite all the scouring of the landscape and couldn't figure out how the quest was activated, I looked it up. So, now, I guess I'll try 2 split end runs:

one at character level 44 with Dragoon (level 42), Devout, Ninja (both level 5) and Geomancer (level 73) currently at the entrance to the Ancient's Maze and without the Legendary Smith items.

And one with Dragoon, Devout, Red Mage and Summoner at whatever levels they will be once I finish the Legendary Smith stuff, with the Red Mage hopefully attaining mastery.

I will still be able to load the other save after I finish the game, right?

Anyway, I am continuing to love this game. There could have been a bit more side-quest stuff, perhaps, and airship controls are a bit annoying, but on the whole it is really great.

I am debating whether to pick TWEWY or FF IV before the sale ends and kind of inclining towards TWEWY. I already got FF Tactics. What has your experience been with FFIV?

[Riotgirl]

<smacks head> I went back into the Temple of Time to locate the Catacombs. Didn't find it (obviously). So resorted to sadly reading a spoiler. So obvious - especially when a NPC informs you of the location, but it never occurred to me to use what you need to use to find the entrance.

Equipment upgrades were obviously no longer required - except Gungnir, which I stole. Odin did kill both Luneth and Ignus. Took me a couple of rounds to sneak a Phoenix Down to revive Ignus, whilst performing healing duties. Had to revive Luneth after the fight.

Note: party is now Ninja, Dragoon, White Mage and Knight. Will consider Devout once Arc hits JL99. Goddamn Legendary Smith quest condition still not fulfilled! Goddamn Eureka!

In terms of FFIV or TWEWY, I'd say the latter - purely, because if you are anything like me, you maybe need a break from FF. I've become more immersed in the narrative in FFIV - I just need a break from FF. When I eventually finish FFIII, I'll go back to Avadon.

[Isilel]

I also only found the Catacombs because I decided to grind a little (which I normally try to avoid) and was doing it underwater. Due to the manner of NPCs mentionining it thought that they'd be part of the main quest.

Anyway, my level 49 party Ninja (22), Dragoon (57), Geomancer(89) and Devout (19) got to the final boss and... is totally not counting the mustard. Also, you can't teleport out of the final fight area. So, I guess that this run on the final dungeon is hosed. And I was doing quite well, too, except against dragons.
I'll have to re-do the huge labyrinth, which is the last dungeon - in fact, it occurs to me that I must have missed something important, because I don't have level 8 spells for my Devout and didn't find anything like ultimate weapons.

Geomancer has been wonderful throughout, except against dragons and the final boss, where more oohmph is needed. It was great to do consistent damage and not to worry about the mana points, but everything has it's price.
Ninja is pretty great, too, only a bit too susceptible to magic. But his high agility is a huge boon.

So, now I am going back to the Dragoon, Red Mage, Devout, Summoner party and the legendary smith quest, which will hopefully allow me to get through this last challenge without excessive grinding.

BTW, as somebody who shares my tastes re: FFIII, what's your impression of FFIV? Is the story really so great? Does the game often suddenly take away party members that one relies on with all their equipement to shove in some other character? If not jobs, is it possible to affect character development in some other way?

Ditto Spiderweb games. I tried Avadon demo on PC and it seemed too linear to me, and combat felt uninteresting. Does the game open up more later? What about Avernums, if you have played them? I am a fan of early Bioware/Black Isle output, how do they compare?

[Riotgirl]

Originally Posted by Isilel

So, now I am going back to the Dragoon, Red Mage, Devout, Summoner party and the legendary smith quest, which will hopefully allow me to get through this last challenge without excessive grinding.

Hmm .. if your party was lacking with the final boss (I have yet to get that far, as I'm taking a hiatus from FF) and you are missing level 8 Devout spells, as well as Ultimate Weapons, then your suggestion to explore a little more and perform the Legendary Smith quest is a good one. You may need to grind some JLs because 22 for the Ninja and 19 for the Devout sound pretty low. Remember: the JLs affect skills and abilities for a particular Job.

Originally Posted by Isilel

BTW, as somebody who shares my tastes re: FFIII, what's your impression of FFIV? Is the story really so great? Does the game often suddenly take away party members that one relies on with all their equipement to shove in some other character? If not jobs, is it possible to affect character development in some other way?

I'm only a couple of hours into the game, however FFIV is a different beast in some respects to FFIII. Yes, same classes, abilities and spells (to an extent), random encounters are still a part of the game, there are Bosses, still save on World Map (but if you die in a dungeon you re-start from where you died), however the storyline is different, and the narrative darker and more mature in feel.

Job system has been replaced by fixed characters and classes. Also, the Active Battle System is a minor tweak to battles in that they are semi real-time - you can only perform an action in combat once your timer is full (based upon agility - I think?).

FFIV has implemented augments. These are permanent abilities that enhance a character. Since these are permanent and cannot be switched - once assigned - to another character, you need to think carefully before assigning to a character.

The main differences between FFIII and FFIV are the exploration of more adult themes of loss, regret, redemption, love, et al, and a more sophisticated narrative, focusing on the relationship between the characters.

And yes. Characters do come and go as the story progresses. It can be a challenge, especially as the start of the game (the 'extended' tutorial). I found the extended tutorial a lot tougher than FFIII.

Originally Posted by Isilel

Ditto Spiderweb games. I tried Avadon demo on PC and it seemed too linear to me, and combat felt uninteresting. Does the game open up more later? What about Avernums, if you have played them? I am a fan of early Bioware/Black Isle output, how do they compare?

I have only played Avadon so far. According to others who have played other Spiderweb games, Avadon is a lot more modern and 'stream-lined' re: linear. However, there are lots of side-quests, and combat improves as your party develops and becomes a lot more tactical. The real strengths of Avadon is the superb narration, well-drawn and compelling characters, and an immersive World.

What I most enjoy about Avadon is the complex interweave of plot-lines, lore and different perspectives that constantly challenge and questions the player's moral compass. There is no good or evil - only consequences.

Sadly enough, I've only played Baldur's Gate (Bioware / Black Isle) - even then, probably only 1/5 through because it takes me forever and a day to progress through most games, as I always get distracted.

If you found Avadon more linear, but can appreciate the narration and story-telling then perhaps Avernum: Escape from the Pit would be more suitable. It's a more classic RPG in terms of being more open-world, creating a party from scratch, and removing the stabilisers in terms of difficulty i.e. no Oblivion style NPC level scaling.

[GeekyDad]

How do you use staves? In the DS version, if I recall correctly, you pressed the d-pad to the side and it would give you the option of using the inherent spell of a given staff. Can't figure out how to do it in this version.

[Riotgirl]

Originally Posted by GeekyDad

How do you use staves? In the DS version, if I recall correctly, you pressed the d-pad to the side and it would give you the option of using the inherent spell of a given staff. Can't figure out how to do it in this version.

From memory, I believe (and I could be wrong) that when I experimented with staves, you had to have the staff in your inventory and then choose 'Use Item' as one of the combat options to use the staff. I don't believe that you can hold the staves and use the spell contained within the staff.

Thus, only useful because of unlimited charges. However, none of the spells seemed to actually land on the monsters by the time I started using them.

[jtall]

Originally Posted by Riotgirl

From memory, I believe (and I could be wrong) that when I experimented with staves, you had to have the staff in your inventory and then choose 'Use Item' as one of the combat options to use the staff. I don't believe that you can hold the staves and use the spell contained within the staff.

Thus, only useful because of unlimited charges. However, none of the spells seemed to actually land on the monsters by the time I started using them.

You can use the spell inside an equipped staff or rod. In battle, go to "Item" then select "Re-equip" and the equipped item to use it

[Isilel]

Originally Posted by jtall

You can use the spell inside an equipped staff or rod. In battle, go to "Item" then select "Re-equip" and the equipped item to use it

Or, better yet, got to Item command and scroll all the way up - equipped staves will be shown there and you'd be able to use one of their spells. They could be somewhat useful after you change a job and don't yet have that many MPs.

[L.Lawliet]

Get FF4, it's amazing. I'm still working on 3 but I've got so involved in 4 I've almost forgotten about the other. I think I enjoy involving/deep storylines a lot from the FF series and 4 is where they made a big turning point. The funnest part of 3 is picking your classes and getting awesome weapons and equipment for them. FF4 lacks the class aspect but is superior in every other aspect. Dungeon maps are also very useful! I can't wait till they remake 5 and 6!

[Psac42]

I think this is the last day of the sale. FF3 gets blasted by a lot of the reviews on the app store. Is it worth getting? I picked up FF4 already.