Part 2: Faris vs. The English Language

So now Reina and Galuf are officially in our party.



I'll spare you the stats images for Reina and Galuf, as they're largely the same. Assuming a base of 24, we have...

Bartz: +4 Vigor, +1 Speed, +3 Stamina, +1 Magic
Reina: +1 Vigor, +2 Speed, +1 Stamina, +4 Magic
Galuf: +3 Vigor, +0 Speed, +4 Stamina, +0 Magic

Only HP and MP increase when you gain levels. We'll talk about increasing your stats later.



The main problem with Reina and Galuf are their equipment. Reina starts with a measly Knife, and Galuf with his bare fists. Both pale to Bartz's Broadsword.



This cave isn't revealed until you get Reina and Galuf. Now it's our only destination.



I didn't know there was a cave here...?
Probably came out in the last quake.



Wark!





Welcome to the cave. Before I play its music...



...let's start with the battle music.





Battles are kind of a pain to load thanks to this being a PS1 game, but once they're loaded they go by quick, especially if you ramped up the battle speed like I do.

Bartz will almost always one-shot everything, while Reina and Galuf can usually kill an enemy by working together. This is a bit awkward, though, as Bartz goes between Reina and Galuf in battle due to his speed.





When barehanded, a character makes two attacks instead of one. Of course, the damage is usually weak, though Galuf scored a critical with one of his hits.

Anyway, I'm done with this battle, so let's hear the dungeon music.





I decide to do something different and give Reina the Broadsword and Bartz the Knife. The Vigor difference is too minor to affect anything, as Reina will kill anything in one hit anyway. This will make battles flow quicker for now, which is always nice.

As you may have noticed, our characters can currently equip any and all weapons and armor. This is the main perk of the default class, and honestly this alone can make Bare one of the better classes of the game simply because of how much awesome equipment there is. Bare does have other perks, but we'll cover them later.



...a spring?



The game's nice enough to give you early healing in case you're having trouble. Not that you should be having any right now, but still nice.



There's only Steel Bats, Diablos (what), and Stropers in this dungeon, all of which are pretty simple.



...Wha?







Along the way, we'll have a couple minor cutscenes here and there.



A minor defense boost, but Reina can enjoy it.



The next room has this little entrance, and once we get near it...





This little entrance is for little more than an excuse to look out at the overworld.





Maybe it's being fueled by palm oil?

Anyway, just a little bit more and...





Welcome to the Pirate Base.





Of course, it's teeming with pirates.



Think they'd give us a ride...?



They're pirates for chrissakes! What're we gonna do, waltz on board?!
No...sneak on!



You know, you're pretty gutsy for an old timer!



Let's explore a bit.







Yeah, the pirates are blocking everything.



So the only place to really go is the pirate ship.





First, let's go inside and explore.



...But this is the brig. Why would it lock from the inside?



ready...mumble...

Alright, nothing really interesting. Let's go.







"You're looking like a complete idiot right now!"

Ngh! ...no good...won't budge an inch!



Oh no.





It's...



PIRATE-SPEAK FARIS



In the RPGe translation, Faris doesn't speak like a pirate at all. He does a bit in the GBA version, but it's not nearly as bad as it is here. But don't worry, I'll get into it more later.





You're a...?
...PRINCESS?!
Please, lend us your ship! My father's in grave danger!



Oho?! A plea, now is it? And from a princess no less. T'arr! Tis me lucky day. I'm gonna be rich!
Stop it!



Please, I beg of you!







Cast 'em in irons, the lot of 'em!
Aye aye, Cap'n!





-----

SILENCE





Yours, you old psycho!



Yeah, nice timing...



I didn't mean to hide it...
Why were you going to the Wind Shrine alone?
My father's there. I felt something bad was going to happen to him... So, I slipped out of the castle...then the meteorite hit and...



Then the game makes it seem like Reina recounts her entire life story for so long that it suddenly becomes night. That's not what actually happens, of course, but I like it.





D'Arr! Th' Princess o' Tycoon has the same pendant as me own!



Aye... said her father be at the Wind Shrine...

In the GBA version, Faris only really keeps up the pirate act to make appearances. Faris's natural tone is in line with the rest of the characters, much like the fan translation.

Not here, though. Oh fucking God not here. Faris always speaks like a pirate, no matter what. It's no big secret that Faris here is our soon-to-be fourth party member, and I really think the way they translated him here hurts his character. In the other versions, the way he speaks just like the other characters shows that he's a part of the group. He's no different from Bartz, Lenna, and Galuf.

Here, Faris always speaks like a fucking pirate, so he always seems so aloof and out-of-place, like he doesn't fit in with the party dynamic because you just can't take his fucking speech seriously. It sticks out way too much, and I'm really glad the GBA abandoned his full-time pirate speak rather than make him seem brain-damaged.

But unfortunately, this is the Faris we're going to be stuck with, so we might as well learn to love it.

-----





Set sail for the Wind Shrine!





What'll ye do with these landlubbers, Cap'n?
Release 'em.



An' be quick about it!





Ye are workin' fer me now! Any complaints?!

While Faris doesn't actually explain his reasoning in the other versions, at least in those he acknowledges the question. Here, he simply flat-out ignores it.



Are ye deaf or jes' stupid?! Do as yer Cap'n commands!!









Dg'aar! Yer hollow as ye are pretty, my lass.

Faris also isn't nearly as big a dick in the other versions.









How think ye now? Raised together like brothers, were we. Closer mates ye have never seen.

So the pirate ship is steered by a giant sea monster. Yeah, it's a Final Fantasy game alright.







There's no special music for the ship, just the usual bland overworld theme. Once we try to leave the bay...



This guy will automatically steer us to the Wind Shrine, but I'm not going there quite yet.



For now, let's go to Tule and end the update here. Before we do so...





Faris is not too shabby, coming with a Shield and a decent level. Stats are +3 Vigor, +3 Speed, +2 Stamina, +2 Magic. Not bad.

So now we have a four-party team of Bartz, Reina, Galuf, and Faris. Unlike other FF games, this will be our party for the entire game, with an exception or two here or there. There's no rotating party members like in FF4, or a ton of characters to choose from like in FF6. These will be the four characters we'll be using throughout the game, which means we'll be getting to know them very well as we play along.

In a way, it's kind of fun having only four people traveling together, especially in such a goofy game as this one. The characters really start to bond and play well off each other, and there's a ton of humor to be had as well. But we'll get to see more of that as we play along.

Next time, we'll hang out at Tule and then finally go to the Wind Shrine, and thus trigger the meat of the game.