Part 2: Stealing From Monsters Doesn't Make Sense!

Chapter 2 - Stealing From Monsters Doesn't Make Sense!





You were under mind control.
Too bad I don't remember anything.





Default names this playthrough. Could've let voting go on a bit, but hey, I was in the mood to do another update, and this makes my life easier for future updates. Works for me.

Oh yeah, I remember my name is Dongs Terra.







At least this clock still has an Elixir.



Oh yeah, and we hit L4 and learned Fire, helpfully described here.

Anyway, now to sneak off and





Welp.





No Magitek to help us, so battles are slower now. A lot slower, it feels like, as even with battle speed pumped to max it feels like it takes forever for Terra to get a turn.

Anyway, Repo Man had his HP boosted to 50HP now, just enough to take two attacks from Terra. All the more reason to use Fire on him! Oh wait, he's immune to Fire, because fuck you.



Wild Rats also have their HP boosted to 50, but they retain their Fire weakness. They also die more easily than Repo Men.

There's also some chests I grabbed, but then the Tutorial Center told me not to get chests so I replayed this section and left the useless junk alone.





Anyway, Terra gets cornered and falls into a conveient trap hole. Luckily, the guards responsible for protecting the mines are too stupid to take the obvious door next to them to reach where she ends up.



Which is long enough for flashbacks!







We're gonna get some magic and rule the world!
YESSSSSSSSSS

Enough of that. Let's get to Locke.







Now it's time for Locke's theme. It only plays three times the entire game, but it's always badass to listen to.





We found that murder-machine woman who was working for the Empire. If we can get her to join our side and burn the Empire, things would be a lot more hunky-dory here.
k





welp
Kupo!
Blood-thirsty moogles! Sweet!

You know, I kind of like the intro to this game (despite having played it god knows how many times for various LP plans). Come in wrecking shit with your powerful armor, find out the main character is a pawn in some bigger plan, then you play some other guy leading a band of teddy bears to beat up dogs and mammoths, all while the badass Locke's theme is playing.

Good stuff.



Anyway, Locke starts with a Bandana, which gives +2 Speed, and a Mythril Dirk, which like all dirks has a quirk I'll explain later.



Mog still comes with a Mythril Pike, and yes, you can remove it from him.



Gone are the random mish-mash of weaponry the moogles once had. Now it's a bunch of good stuff, most of which can be effectively used from the back row.

Anyway, Locke's a speedy little guy that makes up for a lower offense by running circles around the enemy. Steal's been overhauled a bit to rely only on Speed rather than level.



Also, you can only steal from humans now. Why? Because the author thought it didn't make sense to steal items from monsters. Even though they still drop GP and stuff. Yeah, I don't know either.

It's kinda dumb.





Dusk Requiem is pretty much the same, at least from what I got out of it.





For some reason, the Marshal got nerfed HP-wise, from 420 down to 250HP. This guy was always a bit tricky since he could (and still can) inflict Stop on characters, while his offense combined with the Lobos could make things a bit difficult.



It's easier here, though, as the guy dies more quickly, so here's me stealing a second Mythril Dirk from him.





Alright, time to leave.



I have amnesia.
You need protection!? Because I have a thing for protecting women and all.



Until the plot tells me to leave.





Then we're in front of Narshe.



This isn't a glitch. The Genji Glove's gone, and instead the ability to dual-wield is instilled into certain items, like dirks and claws. I kinda like this better.

Anyway, we're supposed to go to Figaro, but since the Readme to the hack keeps telling me to visit the Beginner's School, let's go there.



Basically, this place will tell us a lot about mechanics changes and all that. A ton of it I'll save for when they're relevant, but here's a few changes worth checking out.



No need for Sprint Shoes!



Some armor's better for magical defense, and so on. Basically, there's no real best armor in a lot of cases.



We start out with Dried Meat in this version, with Tonics and Potions restoring portions of HP. A Tonic will heal half your HP, which is nifty.



Also, lots of stale jokes if that's your thing.



And I mean lots.



Anyway, we're fighting a Dinosaur.





I stole a Gum Pod, whatever the hell that is, and get countered by an instant-death attack. What the everloving fuck.

It still dies to two hits of Fire though.



Stamina's actually kinda useful now. It affects a few abilities, like how likely it is to use a Dance on differening terrain, how long Morph needs to recharge, and the effectiveness of certain Blitzes.



A lot of monsters don't like being stolen from, apparently.



Undead will die when MP = 0. And HP = 0.



Next time, Figaro and Kefka.