Two more crystals to go, and the next is deep beneath the waves in the Sunken Shrine!
But what’s this? A choice of paths to go? It seems one way leads to topless mermaids while the other leads to a slobbering tentacle monster, and never the twain shall meet — doubtless much to some people’s disappointment.
Which way will the Warriors of Light go? I mean, obviously it’s both, but which way will they go first? Find out today, only on the Final Fantasy Marathon, and along the way we can have a nice chat about my leaky roof.
Freshly minted as full-on heroes after Bahamut’s ministrations, the powered-up Warriors of Light resume their quest to illuminate the four crystals and save the world from the Four Fiends.
But the path onwards isn’t terribly clear; some investigation is obviously required, beginning with a strange town on the northern continent that appears to play host to people who are very excited about having legs.
There really is no rest for a Warrior of Light, is there? “Go and bring me proof of courage,” says Bahamut, without any sort of indication of what the bloody hell he means.
Fortunately, some of this subordinates were a little more forthcoming with the information we needed, and so it was that we found ourselves standing outside the Citadel of Trials, ready to find that which would prove our courage once and for all.
All we knew was that it would take a form that we probably wouldn’t expect… and that there was an annoying teleporter puzzle between us and it!
In today’s episode of Final Fantasy, the Warriors of Light finally get back on track and delve into the fiery depths of Mt. Gulg.
Marilith, one of the Four Fiends, is waiting for them far beneath the surface, but first they have lots of exploring to do. And the floor is literally lava. It’s a good job they packed plenty of potions, but you’d think they’d have brought more sensible shoes for such an excursion.
Of course, before they even get to Marilith, they have to face one of their biggest challenges yet: the seemingly endless Big Rooms of Nothing!
After last week’s unfortunate adventure in the Earthgift Shrine, the Warriors of Light do their best to get back on track.
However, it’s not quite that simple! Their next destination is concealed in the heart of a complicated labyrinth of rivers and streams… and it turns out that they perhaps weren’t even heading in the right direction in the first place.
Oh well. Those are the perils you sign up for when you take on a less linear RPG!
You know how sometimes you get yourself into a situation that, before long, makes it abundantly clear that you have made a poor decision?
Well, that’s what happened in today’s episode of Final Fantasy. Fresh from their defeat of Lich, they decide to check out the newly unlocked Earthgift Shrine, because surely a newly unlocked dungeon is something you should go and check out immediately, isn’t it?
Well… nope. Let’s maybe save these bonus dungeons for the endgame, huh? You’d think I’d know that after having played this version before, but apparently not…
In today’s episode, the Warriors of Light score their first major victory over the Four Fiends and cleanse the Cavern of Earth once and for all.
The fact that this part of the game makes you seek out the advice of an inconveniently located sage then re-run a dungeon in a different context was something pretty distinctive at the time of original release; an audience of players more accustomed to linear “straight line to the finish” games may well have found themselves surprised and baffled when they discovered what was necessary in order for them to progress.
We now know that to be the nature of RPGs, of course; but someone had to define and codify the conventions we take for granted today, didn’t they?
Last time, the Warriors of Light decided to take a well-earned holiday in the town of Melmond, only to discover it was a right shithole.
It (apparently) wasn’t the fault of the people of Melmond, however; the nasty vampire who had taken up residence in the Cavern of Earth was supposedly to blame, because he was blocking the flow of earth energy from the crystal and making everything rot. And this made all the buildings fall down, supposedly.
Motivated entirely by altruism (well, maybe a bit of greed… treasures are shiny!), the Warriors of Light descend into the Cavern of Earth to try and deal with this undead terror once and for all…
After last week’s little… mishap, the fifth episode of our Final Fantasy playthrough sees the Warriors of Light taking full advantage of the mysterious Time Magic known as “Load”.
From thereon, we proceed to track down the wrongful owner of the Crown we found in the Marsh Cave, kick his head in, then set off in search of the mysterious, magical Matoya, who has been feeling a bit left in the dark recently.
We then proceed to spend considerably longer than I intended finding all the locks that the Mystic Key fits. Because treasure.
After overcoming their initial challenge to defeat Garland and rescue Princess Sarah, the four Warriors of Light set out to begin their quest properly… and promptly get lost.
A key part of the early Final Fantasy games — especially this first one — is figuring out exactly what the hell you’re expected to do next. The series’ iconic linear main narratives wouldn’t become more pronounced until the SNES era, and this first Final Fantasy in particular is a prime example of the initial influences drawn from Western role-playing games.
Still, your progress is gated off in a few key ways on the road to adventure — beginning with the necessity to acquire a ship. And who better to get one of those from than a band of rowdy pirates?
The best of overlooked and underappreciated computer and video games, from yesterday and today.
