Part 11: Lil' Adventures II

(Note: The battle stuff has mostly been cut out of the Highlights video. I wanted to try and keep the length down to make it more easily uploadable. However, I did keep the shots of the unique enemy special attacks.)

Lil' Update 2 Highlights Video


With Refia now awakened as a Champion (I guess?), there are a bunch of new things to do back at Anamika's room.



And I've got stuff to do, so chop chop, let's go. You offered a service and I'm availing of it. Your break can wait for when I'm not around (which is 95% of the time).



First of all, let's get Refia's Champion Medal. We'll see this in action later in the update.



Moving on, two new Intervention Quests have become available. The Ice Bridge is up first.



Seriously, getting to town and back is a real pain in the neck. Maybe with some magic... I wonder if I could just build an ice bridge right here.







It'll be fine, just stick a "Use at own risk" sign next to it and you're golden. Not like it's our problem. We've got Bruce.

You... might have a point there.

Hmm, a bridge of ice... Oh! Now hold on. I've heard of a Mirage who might be able to make us exactly what we're looking for.

That would be great!



Hmm...

Hm? Wait a second. If we build a bridge that leads right to town, then who's going to stay at the Solace anymore?



Do people normally stay at this place? Doesn't exactly look like a well worn path outside. Not to mention the whole wolves problem which only got solved very recently.



You certainly tracked this place down quickly.

That's funny, I thought I told you I could handle it myself.

Hey! Where's Shiva?! Get out here on the double so we can discuss some business!





No thank you. Unless you're hiding some handsome men, then I am done with you now. Good-bye.

Quick! Run outside and grab Warrior of Light!

We never said we're done with you.

Uh, so... we were hoping to ask for a favor.

A favor?

*A brief favor explanation later*



Yes. We heard that you were a specialist of sorts.

You must be mistaken. I'm not the one who does the ice bridge trick.

Oh, out of your league? Well, we won't waste our time with second-tier Mirages. You ready to go, Refia?

What the hell has gotten into everyone lately? Where is all this arrogant sass coming from?

Huh?

W-w-w-wait, wait just a minute! When did I say that I can't do it?



Sherlotta, just shut the fuck up.

I do not talk like that at all! And you dare to call me small-time? You... wretched HUMANS!

Wha-- Everyone calm down!



And now we're cleaning up Sherlotta's mess. Wonderful.

Go on, just build the bridge for 'em! Oh, and for us too.

Lann, just... Oh dear lord. We don't need a bridge over the Icicle Ridge you idiot! We already crossed that place, and we have magic portals that can take us straight to Saronia from anywhere! The only reason to ever go back to that entire region is for a handful of Mirages, which requires us to not skip over the Ridge.

Wait, what? When did you two show up? What's going on?

I guess you might say that we're... kinda sorta tagging in?

You're-- What?! That doesn't even begin to make any sense... But don't expect any mercy from me!

Trust me Shiva, I would love to leave you alone and let Sherlotta suffer. If losing this battle meant Sherlotta got frozen in a block of ice for a while, I'd be down for that. I think it's a lesson worth teaching.

Unfortunately you stand in the way of several things I want, namely access to an avalanche of Mirages, so I'm going to have to beat ya up.

This time I'll show you I'm not whatever it is you thought I was!

Are you still hung up on what she said in the Nebula?

Wow! Lann the-remembers that conversation?

I guess it did traumatize him.

He'll always the-wonder what we were talking about...

Hey, I'll get over it! ...Someday.



Right. Anyway, Shiva isn't crazy difficult in this quest. Not having any Fire moves will cause this battle to drag on longer than it normally would, but as long as you didn't hitch your wagon entirely to the Ice-cart, then you'll get through just fine.

Dark is also a really good substitute as well, although it's a bit harder to get at this stage than Fire abilities. Dingldoink currently has one, but its damage is dependent on taking a hit first.



Petty Grudge is a skill Dingldoink can use which increases damage dealt relative to the damage it receives. So untouched, it hits for about 100 on a weakness to Shiva.





Taking a hit from Blizzara bumps that a bit, but it's still far behind the 370 damage that Reynn's stack can dish out with Thunder (their Magic stat is kind of crazy though).

Shiva knows Sleep as well, although it's not especially threatening. It wears off when you take a hit, so all it really does is waste her turn and then delay yours a little (if it even hits).









Like Ramuh, Shiva starts busting out her signature attack when she gets to the halfway mark of HP. Make sure to keep that HP on the high side.



Diamond Dust has a bit of a drawback for Shiva in this fight. Petty Grudge hits much harder because of the damage that was taken. Still, let's not chance Lann's well-being. Time for Refia.

Lil' Update 2 Highlights - Refia Champion Summon
Final Fantasy III Music: Battle Theme




Refia's summon is Healing Light. Healing Light is a spell that the summon Ifrit is able to do (as long as the person that summons is not a Summoner class) in FFIII. FFIII's summoning was kind of weird. There was a 50/50 chance of the summon doing an action. It would either do an attack spell, or it would pull some kind of support spell.

Healing Light restores HP and also removes status ailments (and stun). It costs one Gauge star.

















Not bad. We've already got offence covered, so let's keep Refia around for a bit in case we need desperation healing. Ailment heal is good to have on standby as well.

That's all there is to this battle. Shiva doesn't have anything too frightening at this early point in the game. This quest is still only 1 star after all.



Huh? Oh, thank you so much!



Thankfully Sherlotta keeps her trap shut on the way back.



That looks safe. No railing, made of ice, thin anchor points, heavier in the middle than at the sides, and no central support. Beats taking your chances in the Mirage infested Icicle Ridge though, I guess.

Shiva vanishes after that.

Now the trip to Saronia won't take nearly as much time.



Yeah, that sure does suck.

No... I must... I must destroy the bridge...!

Uh... Relax, Sherlotta! It'll be okay!



We get two Ice Attack items for finishing this quest. On to the next!

Lil' Update 2 Highlights - Second Intervention




It is f-f-freezing out here. Let's get this over with, so I can go back to the inn.

Then put on a coat!

Right. Somehow, I don't think she'll keep us waiting long.


[???]: Leave it.... Leave it...


Aaah! D-did you hear that?

She's here!



Spooky. This leads straight into a battle. Not wasting any time on this one.



Uh, well, I guess it's possible.

Know who else must be the-wealthy. That skeleton the-Mirage, Lich!

What? Oh, I get it. Lich. Rich.

Heh heh heh heh. Well, too bad, Princess! I don't have a gil to my name!

And you're bragging?

Well, technically, you don't let him the-near any of the money, so he's actually telling the truth.

And I, in turn, don't let Reynn spend the money. That cash is mine, dammit.







Undead Princess packs a pretty decent punch. Shouldn't be anything we can't handle though. Possession Rush has a chance to cause confusion, which is a bit of a nuisance, but that will wear off with time.



There are consequences to not curing that right away, however. Reynn decides to immediately cast Thunderbolt on our party. Good thing we resist/block it.

She can also use Slow. Undead Princess is a fan of ailments it seems.



So the battle drags on. I don't really have the proper abilities to be doing major damage, Lann's stack gets taken out at one point, I revive them, Dingldoink eats dirt immediately after. Over all, not a great run. I even still have half her health bar to go.




So let's turn this fight into a joke. See, if you've played Final Fantasy games, or even just some RPG's in general, you may be familiar with the concept of Undead enemies and their (sometimes) critical weakness.



Trying to heal something that's, well... dead, doesn't work out too well for them.



This is an old concept that still holds true for this game. For example, in FFVII there is a story boss that you can outright kill in one shot using a healing item. It's actually one of the few things that this game doesn't hammer into your skull.

We can't use Phoenix Down to kill Undead enemies instantly (you can't target enemies with Phoenix Down), but we can bust out Potions to deal a flat 500 damage, or High Potions to deal a flat 1000.

Lann's stack can use a regular Cure spell for 250 damage in addition to this. This all makes the battle go by much more easily.




[Undead Princess]: Wooow! You're the strongest mortals I've ever seen. I don't suppose such tough gals would be willing to-- Whoa whoa whoa whoa!


*Sherlotta just walks up and punches Undead Princess off screen*


[Undead Princess]: Eeyaaah!


Do you think she was trying to tell us something there?

Maybe. As long as she's not bothering this place anymore. Let's go home.




[Undead Princess]: Are you just naturally mean?


Sure does seem that way.


[Undead Princess]: 'Cause I was all like "Don't kill me, let's talk!" Don't pretend you didn't hear me.


Was I supposed to spare you so you'd stab me in the back? And why are you still breathing? Can't you take a hint? Let's try this again.


[Undead Princess]: Aaah! I am so not breathing! Check it out! Dead as a doornail-- oh, I'm un-dead!


The problem is, I can't let creepy she-monsters scare folks away from my inn because that would basically put me out of business. ...Hrah!

*And Sherlotta punches her again*


[Undead Princess]: Waaah!


Shall we, Refia?

Uh, remind me never to get on your naughty list.

Oh, please. She'd be dead twice over without us interfering.



What is it going to take?

Sherlotta, I don't think we're going to make much progress this way. Maybe we should hear what she has to say.

You're way too nice for your own good.

*Turning her attention back to Undead Princess*

Now talk. And it better be worth it if you don't want a beating.


[Undead Princess]: Why are you so violent?! Look, just for the record, I'm not doing this 'cause it was my choice.




So you're tormenting people just because you're bored?


[Undead Princess]: Aaah! Please don't hurt me! I'm just trying to give you some context. If m'lady has a better idea, then hey, I'm all ears!


So what you're saying... is you don't know what to do with your un-life.


[Undead Princess]: Yeah. Super lame, I know. I mean, all I've really got is this deep-seated grudge-- which is great for my hex life-- but sometimes the magic just isn't there even though it's supposed to be.


Ugh. All right, I get it. If I can't slay you, I may as well make you useful.


[Undead Princess]: Whoa! For real?!


From now on, instead of scaring adventurers away from my inn, I want you to scare them towards it. If you can do that, you're hired.

So what you're saying is that you're going to start hustling people. How noble.


[Undead Princess]: Coool! You really mean it? Yes! I'll do it! I'm on the job!


Oh well. Undead Princess is happy about it. She just wants to be helpful.

And don't you go threatening them or stealing their valuables.


[Undead Princess]: Oh, I would never dream of it, mistress! Oooh! I have a purpose! Something to live for at long last!


You just got through telling us you're dead.



She's happy.

Oh, right!


[Undead Princess]: Hey! Wait, mistress! I'm going with you!


Nope, your job is right here, 24/7.


[Undead Princess]: Wha? Is that, like, even legal?


We get an undead princess memento and two Holy Torches for that quest. After completing it, a new one opens up. However, there's one snag--



We don't have any more Arma Gems. No worries, we can fix that. Off to the Coliseum!



One of the available fights is Test of Might 1, which will give us Arma Gems for beating it. Looks like it revolves around a Cockatrice and is Level 15. We can do that. Let's get this done so we can get back to--



...you.



This adorable (and also hellishly frustrating) little guy is supposedly available in the Pyreglow Forest. I say "supposedly" because the encounter rate for him is so ridiculously low that you can spend a total of an hour and a half looking for one and not find him.

In case that isn't clear, I'm referring to me. In all of the time I spent in the forest doing story, hunting Mirages, returning for Magic Jar, and specifically trying to find a Cactrot... I never found a single one.

Anyone who has run into one of these things has likely found out that they have a habit of running from battle. Right Claw has an ability fairly early in its Mirage Boards that prevents Mirages from running, so I've been keeping MasterHand around in preparation for this moment.

Only for the moment to never come. You're mine now though, you little bastard!



However, preparations are needed before hand. Cactrot needs to be inflicted with Slow in order to create a capture chance. Chocolatte doesn't sell items that can do this, so I instead turn to Mini Flan. Sticky Goo worked well for them when I had to battle them, so it should do for this one encounter.





Of course, then a different problem arises. Cockatrice has an ability called Death Beak, which will sometimes just insta-kill. Trying to break the stack and separate Cactrot becomes a pain when Death Beak happens to connect multiple times.

Once the Cockatrice is out of the picture it becomes smooth sailing though. Sticky Goo goes to work and we eventually get our hands on Cactrot.



Something worth mentioning. People in the thread have pointed out that repeatedly hitting a Mirage with its Prismtunity condition will increase the odds of capture. So if you keep casting Slow on Cactrot for instance, the capture chance will get better and better. This will be signified by a more intense sound/chime. Good to remember.

As for Cactrot, it's a baby version of the Cactaur. It's also the name Cactaurs were given in the original FFVI translation.

Also, winning the Test of Might 1 battle for the first time will give us 4 Arma Gems. Just what we were looking for. Back to questing.

Lil' Update 2 Highlights - Third Intervention



[Man]: Oh, um, that's quite all right, thank you. I'm not tired. And I need to cross the ridge by nightfall.





[Man]: Ugh... S-strength... fading... Ooogh.


*And the man collapses in the snow*


[Undead Princess]: Oopsie. Now I've really gone and zombified the pooch... Well, no one's gonna blame me for helping young people "go green," right?


Hey! Any luck drawing in customers?



Huh? What's the matter with him? Looks like he's already got one foot in the grave.


[Undead Princess]: Oop! Uh, I bet you he's just hungry, right? You'd better take him back to the inn, on the double!


Hmm, okay. Refia, get this young man set up with a meal. Undead Princess and I are gonna check out that lead.



*Refia proceeds to drag the half dead man through the snow towards the inn. I'm sure he'll be fine. Also, good luck getting him to pay for anything when he wakes up and realizes the scam that's going on here*


[Undead Princess]: So, uh, what exactly is this "lead" we're chasing?


Oh, there's been talk of a really obnoxious Mirage haunting these parts. From what I hear, it's just as irritating as you used to be-- which means I need to dispose of it. And you're helping.


[Undead Princess]: Well, why don't you tell me how you really feel about me. And here I thought you cared. Boo hoo...


Come on, death breath.


[Undead Princess]: Hey! M'lady, wait for me!




Really? I never thought this region would be prime real estate for Mirages like yourself.


[???]: Who goes there? Who has come to trespass upon my domain? This land is mine... Begone at once!




Battle time. Sadly, no, we aren't fighting an Undead Prince.

Har-dee-har, you remembered the "rich Lich" joke. So is this your passive-aggressive way of telling me you want me to give you some money?

...Maybe.

Okay, very well. Here's one gil.

Hands off my cash!

Woohoo! One gil! Now I can buy-- Hey wait, I can't buy anything with this!

Ah, look out!

Wha-- Hey, hold on! This discussion isn't over!



The battle is just against a group of three Metalliskulls, which are variants of the Death Skull we already have.

It's not much different than a standard encounter fight. Their attacks mostly hit for 100-150 damage and they've only got about 2000 HP. They do focus on Electric attacks, so it might be a good idea to make sure your stacks are at least neutral to that, if not outright resistant.



Being Undead, these guys also suffer from the healing weakness. So you could just cheese them with potions if you wanted to. I'd recommend not wasting those on them though. Potions are still fairly expensive, and these guys aren't hard enough to be worth cheesing.



At least they had the good sense to disappear in the end.


[Undead Princess]: Yeah. Sure did.


Ugh... So why is it you can't find the grace to just fizzle out?



I wonder. Maybe you'll pass away properly if I work you a little bit harder.


[Undead Princess]: Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa, I was kind of hoping to put my roots down here in the physical plane if that's cool wi--


So! I think we should head back and check on out guest.


[Undead Princess]: Oh, uh, o-okay! Hey listen, I'm pretty useful to have around. Did you know I can do tricks?


Yeah? What kind of tricks?



Don't quit your day job.

Or DO quit your day job and come fight with us instead!



I'm not kidding. You're coming with us.



Like with Princess Goblin, Undead Princess will hang out on the field map once we've been through the related quest. Undead Princess will hang around outside Sherlotta's Inn and we can battle her here for EXP or a capture chance.



You need to talk to her twice before you get the option. Not sure why.



...Hmm.



Booo!



Let's just battle then.



Also like Princess Goblin, this fight is way above our current capabilities. Thankfully, we can squeak by through the power of sheer numbers.

Undead Princess needs to be hit with Light attacks in order to create a capture chance. Dingldoink has picked up Banish by this point of the game, so that will serve our purposes well.





Staying alive will be impossible, but we can mitigate that by throwing Phoenix Downs everywhere.



If Undead Princess takes out one of your stacks, then do not restack upon popping a Phoenix Down. She only has single-target moves, so breaking up your stacks will increase the number of targets she has to work through.

So as long as your Light attack caster and Lann/Reynn are standing, you're good. The other three Mirages will be useful distractions.



I got lucky and managed to catch her on the third Imprism attempt. Like Princess Goblin, this fight dishes out an insane amount of EXP for our current level. Unlike Princess Goblin, I will be saving this victory. All of these levels give our party access to new Transfigs (you may have spied Mugsy's new look already).



Also, since we'll be keeping Undead Princess, I need to point out something about these special battles. If you look at the bottom of the description, you'll see a blue star with the words "Sui Generis" next to it.

This means that the Mirage is a special one from the story, as opposed to a random encounter or Transfig. We don't get the option to name these Mirages.

Undead Princess is also from Crystal Chronicles, which is why the description talks about her having history with Sherlotta. In that game, she guards a magic MacGuffin which the hero and Sherlotta go looking for. She's kind of goofy in that game like she is here, and Sherlotta also treats her like crap (like she does here).



That is helpful information, Undead Princess. Once we can get our hands on some more powerful healing abilities/items, I'll be putting you to good use as a Mirage EXP grinder.

With that out of the way, it's time to take a look at all the new Mirages we have available. Our travel party got a huge bump in levels from that battle, and many of them have opened new forms on the Mirage Board.



First is Mugsy, who actually got his new form before the Undead Princess battle. Mugsy can now become a Mythril Giant. Mythril Giant has the Smash field ability, so I'll be putting him to use in order to get us access to some previously blocked side areas (Nether Nebula and Icicle Ridge).

Mythril Giant is part of the Iron Giant family. No, not the 1999 childhood happiness destroying movie "Iron Giant" from WB. This one first showed up in FFII. They vary a bit from game to game, but are always depicted as huge armoured dudes with big ol' swords (except in FFIV Advance). They are tough to fight but usually cough up some good rewards.





As a quick side note, I go to the Coliseum and pick up Tama and Serafie's alternate colour scheme Mirages. I like the idea that these are the second player colours.

Next up is Basil, who can now become...



Evil Basil-- I mean, Korrigan.

Basil also gets access to a second Transfig. What other adorable little creature will--



Oh sweet Christ!

Meet Malboro, an (in)famous monster from the FF-verse. First appearing in FFII, Malboro's have been a consistent nightmare to deal with throughout the series. At first they were kind of just slightly dangerous encounters. They would attack in groups and their regular attacks could inflict status ailments. Their threat level changed when they were beefed up in later games. Instead of groups, they would come at you solo. To make up for that, they were given an attack that would become their signature move, "Bad Breath". They start battles by using Bad Breath, which will inflict status ailments on the party.

Not A status ailment mind you. ALL of them. As in example, in FFVI, Bad Breath will cause Silence, Imp, Confusion, Poison, Blind, and Silence to a party member. Meanwhile, running into them in FFX will have them hit the entire party with Slow, Darkness, Poison, and Blind. Plus you might get confused just for fun.

Malboros suck to deal with. They are one of the enemies in FF that punishes you if you ever forget to save. For added fun, here is Amano's artwork of the thing from FFII.



Sweet dreams.



Moving on as quickly as humanly possible. Magus can now unleash his inner Anime to become Zaphr.



Dingldoink can become a Paleberry. Paleberry is part of the Tonberry line, which I'm waiting to lore dump because I want us to get a regular Tonberry first.



I also pick up the special Baby Paleberry from the Coliseum, known as Red Bonnetberry.



And finally, Turbine Shark becomes Jet Shark as Bruce Transfigs to Mega Sharqual.



Also I go back to the Coliseum and grab Mel, who I passed on the first time.



One final thing to highlight before the update ends. As you unlock spaces on a Mirage's board, the Sync Level will rise. When Sync Levels reach certain amounts (like 25% for example), the Mirage will get a stat boost.