🔴 FINAL FANTASY TACTICS - The Ivalice Chronicles
Starting in 30 minutes~!
IT'S TIME TO VANQUISH ALL THE EVIL THAT SEEPS THROUGH THIS LAND! We must fight for what is right!
✦✦ Waiting Room ✦✦
🔗 www.youtube.com/live/XCZhjsm...
#VTuber ▽ #ENVTuber ▽ #FFTactics
Next up: Lionel II, Zodiac Boogaloo. (And while *I* recall well enough where the “sequential” battles are that used to risk soft-locking you, I’m still glad they now
a) warn you to make a separate save
b) allow you to quit to map midway if you’re *truly* stuck
#FFTactics
Gaffgarion, kneeling at low HP taunts Ramza, in front of him, saying: “I’ll tell you again: in battle, I am your better. Your birth will not avail you against my experience!” Bold words from a man at critical health, who lost most of it to a pair of counter-attacks from the opponent standing over him, and has had his sword stolen by the thief behind him, denying him use of his signature offensive technique. (He perished shortly thereafter, and nothing of value was lost)
Things actually got a tad dicey outside for a while, but only a little, and I mopped them up before turning my attention back to Gaffgarion. He remained full of himself, despite not having brought a backup sword *after I’d pulled the same trick on him at Gogollada earlier*
#FFTactics
Ramza with Arts of War or Steal can deny big G the sword he needs to use Nightblade, then curb-stomp him. Personally, I just had Ramza as a Monk. Chakra kept me healed up, Move+2 got me down to the gate switch fast, and then my Thief ran in and yoinked his blade.
#FFTactics
…there’s a *bunch* of possible solutions, depending on classes and abilities. Arithmeticks can heal Ramza or nuke Gaffy from outside just fine. Ignore Height or Teleport can get Ramza to the switch easily—or outside the wall to help fight Gaffy’s squad while the man himself stews.
#FFTactics
And if you do make it, your allies are likely to still be entangled with the ambush team, meaning they may not be in the greatest shape to just sweep in and Ides of March Gaffgarion all together. It’s almost a puzzle battle. And the cool thing is…
#FFTactics
…and bring your party in as backup. The former is nigh-impossible unless you’re overleveled, and if the gate’s still down and Ramza drops, he’s likely out of reach of his allies’ revivals. The latter is more doable, but getting down there is harder than it looks, due to terrain…
#FFTactics
As for the *fight*, well, the wrong class Ramza can have it rough here—Gaffy’s Nightblade is draining your HP into him without fail every turn, so you gotta either outdamage the healing and chew through his pile of HP before he kills you, outheal his damage until you can open the gate…
#FFTactics
Agrias disdains the (offscreen) Gaffgarion’s misogyny: You seem to hold that one’s sex limits where one finds fulfillment. You find yours in selling your sword for coin, yes?
Later he gets sexist at Agrias, who responds with this rejection of traditional gender roles (with a side order of subtext… Agrias/Ovelia ‘Knight and Lady’ ship, anyone?). Gaff keeps being jerky, Agrias tells him he’s crap.
#FFTactics
Not many pics due to bad glare, but I loved Gaffy gloating at the start; “You made it to the castle, but you didn’t notice the AMBUSH!”
Like, “Bitch, please; your last “ambush” at Gogollada was barely WORTH noticing!”
#FFTactics
More #FFTactics: Lionel Castle Gate, aka The One Where Ramza Is Trapped With Gaffgarion. This is the first battle where Ramza’s kit specifically makes a *huge* difference, and kind of an antepiece for another “Solo Ramza” battle later on; one with no convenient gate to open to get your party’s aid…
Whew! With that, we're caught up to my current point, sitting in Balias Swale, ready to have fun storming Lionel Castle. Hopefully it won't take a miracle.
#FFTactics
(9/9)
Folmarv and Delacroix chat up their guest, and drop an *insteresting* revelation on the poor girl--*PLOT!* In the scene its truthfulness seems open to question, but in the Chronicle afterwards, it's treated as factual, at least for the moment (and tbh, I don't recall myself!)
#FFTactics
(8/9)
...the guy in purple, who paid the crappy sellswords back in Dorter at the beginning of the Chapter! He *also* (appears to be) in league with the Cardinal, but beyond that we learn almost nothing about him beyond a name: Folmarv. Don't expect much more for a little while yet.
#FFTactics
(7/9)
Cutscene with Ovelia. She has a nice chat with Delita, who *appears* to be working with the Cardinal ('course, he *appeared* to be working for Goltana before #JustDelitaThings) He seems *almost* on the point of giving a straight answer, when they're interrupted by the Cardinal and..
#FFTactics
(6/9)
Also, the voice acting adds a nice wrinkle to the fake execution, where the voice of the cloaked and hooded executioner instantly gives him away as Gaffgarion, a few lines before he reveals himself and springs the trap. Beat him down, he runs off again, back to plan A--Lionel!
#FFTactics
(5/9)
The whole back-and-forth between Ramza and Gaffgarion is really intense, with the retranslation and voice acting (drink!) hammering home their disparate worldviews. I just love Ramza as a character more and more. Her (see above) fury in the face of injustice is all too relatable.
#FFTactics
(4/9)
Wish I'd gotten shots of the pre-battle dialogue at Golgollada, cause Ramza is a freaking *badass*. "Unhand the princess or take her place on the gallows!"? "Come and take it!" And like, it doesn't come off as bluster either--she (remember, my Ramza's a trans girl!) can back it up.
#FFTactics
(3/9)
Oh yeah, plot--"The Cardinal's evil!" "Yeah, we know, we're coming to rescue her" "She's gonna be executed!" "Oh noes!" Change course from Lionel to Golgollada Gallows!
(Man, I'd forgotten how little the devs tried to hide the Church being modeled on Roman Catholicism!)
#FFTactics
(2/9)
Play cavalry to Agrias in Barias Swale, recruit her into the team. Between starting skills and JP, and *possibly* a random encounter in the Swale (I went back to Warjilis for gear), I get Judgement Blade, Hallowed Bolt, JP Up and Move +1. Into Knight she goes! (need Equip Sword)
#FFTactics
(1/9)
Side note: that scene, "The Cardinal's Wrath", is one of my favorite in the game. The direction, dialogue, and music all coming together to sell the escalating tension, and sudden chill as we realize Ludovich isn't leaving that room alive. Add the amazing new vocals, and... perfection.
#FFTactics
Delacroix agrees, exit Gaffy. Ludovich, failing to read the room, whines about not getting picked. Delacroix says Ludovich is as clumsy as he is stupid, and that he has failed him for the last time. He realizes too late that he's f***ed as the Cardinal advances on him... *exit* Ludovich.
#FFTactics
Then cutaway to (some of) the bad guys, with Cardinal D, our old friend Gaffgarion, and Ludovich Baert discussing Ovelia and the stones. Gaffy and Lud are sniping back and forth over who's the bigger tryhard, we confirm Gaff is working for Dycedarg and Larg, and Gaff wants to lay a trap.
#FFTactics
But Ludovich skedaddled, so they'll know we know about Cardinal Dracula. So the road we came by disappears, and the Seal Evil Showcase That Wasn't Swamp gets destroyed by Stone Rain or something. Sail to Warjilis, meet Delita who is still addicted to cryptic statements.
#FFTactics
Rescue Besrudio "I'm fine, but they have the stone!", "Nope, I gave them a fake!"
Yeah, you've seen that whole scene in a dozen action movies, but it's a classic.
(Good thing that mook blabbed about Delacroix, though--otherwise we'd have headed back and handed him the stone willingly!)
#FFTactics
Anyway, we get to Goug, "Let's split up gang!", head to the Slums, *gasp* he's been captured, "Give us the stone", "Um, no", "We have your father", "Okay, but release him first", "First the stone", "Okay, here", "Bwa ha ha, kill them anyway, btw we're working for Delacroix", yadda yadda
#FFTactics
But regardless, it's at least possible to fight a battle *clearly* intended to showcase this narrow but powerful ability, but not actually have it! (this was true in the original, too, btw). Making the one-time, disappearing battlefield (did it sink?) stand out even more. Just funny
#FFTactics
(8/8)
Problem is, Guest Mustadio may not *know* Seal Evil--he didn't in my playthrough! I don't know if it's random, or if the design team wasn't on the same page (A: We'll add this battle to show off Seal Evil; B: Seal Evil makes this battle too easy, make sure he doesn't know it!)
#FFTactics
(7/8)
...is a chance to have the computer-controlled Guest Mustadio show off his *awesome* Seal Evil skill, that Petrifies Undead units at a high success rate, bypassing their potential to resurrect. It's a perfectly logical reason for the battle. Again, in theory.
#FFTactics
(6/8)
There's four mandatory fights while Mustadio is a Guest unit--his rescue at Zaland, the Baert Company ambush at Barias Tor, the one I'm about to have at Goug... and the swamp fight. The first three are against human mooks from the Baert Company. So a mandatory undead fight...
#FFTactics
(5/8)
