The Let's Play Archive

Final Fantasy V Challenge Megathread

by Various

Part 26: Post 1 - Hydrogen

I lack a sweet-ass title image. Just imagine that I photoshopped :science over Bartz's face or something!

Post 1 - Hydrogen

Much like Mega64, I am also hex editing to accomplish the task of having every job available to me at the start of the game. Unlike Mega64, however, I will not be using the unruly and hellbent Berserker. No, I have something more... sophisticated in mind. A more elegant weapon, for a more civilized age.



I will be proceeding through the game, as close to side-by-side with Mega64 as I can, as the Chemist. Possessers of the almighty command !Mix, you will not see the same amount of suffering and death from our protagonist as you will from Zerky!. While Zerky! is getting everything available, though, I will earn my way into universe-shattering powers.



!Mix is the second ability earned by Chemists. For the power to rule everything, one only needs earn a pittance of 45 ability points. This will be accomplished very quickly. From there, the world is my oyster.



Much like our friend Zerky!, we can't equip the sword that we start with. Unlike our friend Zerky!, however, our stats are at somewhat of a... deficit, compared to his. Almost 20 points less of strength will make that damage formula that Mega64 was totally lying about me having tattooed on my arm significantly less in my favor. We'll get to that later when I have a weapon that I can equip, though.



Fists are, even at 30 strength, good enough to dispatch Goblins*.

(*Fists do relatively fixed damage if you're not a Monk or have Barehaded like Zerky!. )



A name, huh? For someone that will be slamming drugs together to make even more potent compounds, will imbibe tonics and tincutures of all kinds to achieve godlike status, and will eventually topple the threats even the Twelve that sealed Enuo couldn't grapple with?



Of course!



Yeah, Boco has a portable lab inside his saddlebags. Where else do you think I brew Levisalves? (What's a Levisalve? You'll see. )



Mega64 did not acquire this Phoenix Down*, hidden off to the side of the clearing where the Meteor smashed down. I can't say I blame him - after all, Zerky! cannot use items in combat and, like me, has no interest in reviving anyone.

Walter has other uses for Phoenix Downs. Oh yes, and you'll see soon enough.

(*apparently he did: [16:13:14] <Mega64> I actually did grab it.)



It won't be for reviving these scrubs, though. Much like Mega64, they are hex edited to stay at 0 HP, because to hell with them. This is Walter's show. This is !Mix's show.



We proceed through the cave like Zerky!, but unlike Zerky!, we do run. The Chemist cannot equip Knightswords like Zerky! can with access to Equip Swords (Walter is receiving no such blessing from above - all he has are his drugs and his wits), so the Brave Blade is off the table anyways. The Chicken Knife will be our faithful and yellow-bellied companion once we reach world 3, but we have a ways off from that first. First we'll need...



...yeah, a boat. Probably belongs to someone, though. What to do?



Galuf knows what's up. Pity he's going to stay in a perpetual state of death, because I like his cheek.



See?



Oh no, this has gone horribly wrong, who could've forseen this?



Oh no wait, we're going to the Wind Shrine anyways. +1 Pirate (corpse), +1 Ship. More space for the lab.

Much like Zerky!, Walter needs supplies. Unlike Zerky!, it's not any of this "magic" nonsense. Walter deals in the real. Walter deals in...



...pharmaceuticals! See, !Mix utilizes store-bought ingredients as well as special items that we find throughout the worlds (Turtle Shells, Dragon Fangs, and Dark Matter) in combinations to produce unbelievable effects. We won't be getting to it in this first update, but very soon.



Amusingly, on my way up the Wind Shrine, a Moldwynd decides to be very nice and drop an Elixir! As their rare drop, every Moldwynd has a 1/16 chance to fork one over. Most people use these for healing - and I very may well myself, in a bad situation - but these are also valuable mixing ingredients as well! I have a use in mind for this one already, actually.

Anyways, random encounters happen and the Wind Shrine is assailed and oh look, it's Wing Raptor.



Like Mega64, I'll provide the same block of stats about bosses.

code:
Wing Raptor (Heavy)
HP: 250
Vulnerable to Death, Poison, Blind, Old, Sleep, Paralyze, Confuse, Berserk, Silence, Stop, Slow.

AI SCRIPT:
{Breath Wing,Fight,Breath Wing}
{Breath Wing,Fight,Breath Wing}
Unhide Monster: WingRaptor (2nd form)
As before, anything inside {curly braces} means a random decision between those attacks.

Like I said earlier, I don't have !Mix quite yet, and even if I did, all I have are Potions and Phoenix Downs, none of which do anything I'm interested in - potions mashed together just make a better potion (that heals for 1.8x the power of a normal one), and mashing one with a Phoenix Down just resurrects a target at full HP. Great for normal play - pointless for a solo run. I promise, the power of Mix will come to bear soon.



code:
Wing Raptor (Heavy)
250HP
Vulnerable to Death, Poison, Blind, Old, Sleep, Paralyze, Confuse, Berserk, Silence, Stop, Slow.

AI SCRIPT:
Nothing
Nothing
No Interrupt{
     Unhide Monster: WingRaptor (1st form)
     Breath Wing
     }
React:Fight & V00=01{
     Specialty
     }
React:Fight{
     Display Text: Attack when its wings are closed,
     Display Text: and it'll respond with its claws!!
     Set V00=01
     Specialty
     }

Walter is made of smarter stuff than Zerky!. This is why he's a certified Chemist and Zerky! is, well, a bloodthirsty barbarian. He smartly sits by and awaits another opportunity to strike.



And like so, Wing Raptor is defeated. No muss, no fuss. In addition to mimicking Zerky! in counting deaths, I'll count mixes. Sadly, I don't have !Mix yet - I'll be getting it soon, though, no worries - so our counts are:

FINAL LEVEL: 5
MIXES: 0
DEATHS: 0


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6nRJGT9ETo



Oh look, one of four threads that binds Exdeath is shattered. Nothing at all bad can come of this.

And no, there's no Mix recipe for super glue.

Next time: Karlabos, the first reveal of !Mix, and me really wishing that turtle shells were available earlier.