Final Fantasy Record Keeper

I can’t very well start up a new Let’s Play when I’ve already got LPs for FFVII, FFX and Revenant Wings hung up mid-game. In fact, arthritis as well as writing and Life have gotten in the way of my gaming for most of this year. But I’ve been having a rough month, and I wanted some mental thumb-sucking. KABOOOM in games is so cathartic.

Lulu nukes a sassyflan with Fira

So I downloaded Final Fantasy Record Keeper (it’s free, it’s fanservice). I quikcly discovered that random battles, retro graphics versions of old friends, and glimpses of all the games I’ve shared on this blog since 2013 hit the spot.  It’s very satisfying to drop my favorite characters into different ‘verses, although I have to imagine and interpolate their snark and battle banter. But hey, I did that for my FFI playthrough, and that was a lot of fun, eh?

I’m not gonna write up a Let’s Play of this game, but I’ll share what few tips I’ve figured out at the end of this post.

[NOTE: If you’re playing FFRK already, recruit my Lulu RW with the friend code SuCW. If you haven’t played FFRK before, and want to try it, use my invite code to download it, and you’ll net me a piece of Mythril.]

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FFXII: Revenant Wings (14) – Ch. 6 – Boys Will Be Buttheads

Last time on Let’s Play Revenant Wings, we finally caught up with dear old Fran. Now it’s time to discover the meaning behind the bombastic chapter title, “Stealing Eternity.”

Ymir Qul Underground: Cavern that descends to the foundation of the sacred mountain, attainable only by those who first conquer its heights. Within beats the very heart of the mountain.

A volcano floating in the sky. What will they think of next? I sure hope there’s nothing but sea below us, or Chocobo Little is going to be hot wings.

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FFXII: Revenant Wings (13) – Ch. 6 – Fran Is Whelmed

Last time on Let’s Play Revenant Wings, we scurried around playing sidequests in the shattered remnants of the Skysea. Now, at last, it’s time to catch up with the leading man and his long-suffering copilot!

Their ship, the Strahl, has moored beneath a vertical village named “Heaven’s Vigil”:

The strahl tucked under a cliff at the edge of an island

The northern sky island is called Arda, Heaven’s Pillar. “Arda” is from Tolkien, although in his world it means, well, the world.)

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FFXII: Revenant Wings (12) — Ch. 6 Sidequests: Turtle Soup

Last time on Let’s Play Revenant Wings, we crashed on a paradise island and tripped over a love triangle. Freedom regained, we head straight for the Strahl…

The strahl tucked under a cliff at the edge of an island

…conveniently moored beneath the one sky island we haven’t yet visited.

However, along the way, we discover the Skysea wasn’t vaporized but scattered like Jenga blocks. These fragments offer a wide array of optional missions for a limited time only, with Espers standing by to take our calls.

So this is another Sidequests Before Saving the world post, a whirlwind tour of the whirlwind-torn map.

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FFXII: Revenant Wings (11) – Ch. 5 Cont’d – Love Triangle Goes Ping

Last time on Let’s Play Revenant Wings, Clan Potholder crashed on a beautiful paradise island. Then the game decided to make up for lack of character development by foisting a half-hearted love triangle on us.

Which caused me to run to the hills and waste a lot of time grinding. But it turns out we won’t have to suffer this tedious trope for too long (spoiler), so bear with me as I bear with it.

I still wanna know what that not-quite-police-box object is hanging in the sky.

Island of Tswarra with strange shape hanging behind it

All right. Plot beckons.

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FFXII – Revenant Wings (10) – Ch. 5 – Vaan Loses It

In our last Let’s Play Revenant Wings, I predicted we’d fail to save another hugely significant crystal from the Judge of Wings. Boy, was I wrong. It was an island approximately the size of Australia that bit the dust. Also, tomboy and all-around go-getter Filo was put in her place with a well-timed Damsel in Distress mission.

Now that that’s out of the way, Clan Potholder can get on with the business of trying and failing to save the world. Go us!

Airship lying on jungle

Chapter Five fades in with our airship resting on some jungle treetops. The camera pans down to show our party scattered around a grassy clearing, sitting or standing in a daze.

I wonder if anyone in this crew knows how to repair an airship.

Chapter 5: Stranded. Location: Tswarra, Isle of the Lost

Signs point to “No.”

The music of Depressing Things Just Happened kicks in. I never thought I’d say this, but I feel a sudden pang of longing for Ondore’s lies. He’d be alliterating all over the aftermath of Bahamut’s smackdown with his florid prose.

On the bright side, I can now stop checking every few lines of this playthrough to make sure I haven’t accidentally written “Sandsea” in place of “Skysea.”

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FFXII: Revenant Wings (9) Chapter 4 Cont’d – Fire & Water

Last time on Let’s Play Revenant Wings, we took a break from our vitally important mission to enjoy canoodling canoeing around the Skysea, catching some rays at Port Marilith, and participating in Rikken’s scavenger hunt. There’s always time for sidequests before saving the world, after all.

Then the party wearied of Penelo’s reminders that we had a job to do. So now we’re back on the Path of Plot Advancement, chasing after rumors of the Judge of Wings.

Yaiph Caverns - A scalding cavern of lava and flame rising from a rocky outcropping extending to the southeast of the skysea. Ruins fill the cavern, forming a crude trail to the temple hidden deep within.

Back in Port Marilith, an aegyl mentioned “the shrine that lies beneath the waves.” So I was all set for an underwater dungeon, possibly using a barrel, diving helmet, or submarine.

FFV: Submerged Tower of Walse

However, it turns out that Yapih Caverns are adjacent to the Skysea, not under it, and they’re full of molten lava. This is a sure recipe for a Krakatoa-style eruption if seawater ever seeps in.

Which would be awesome.

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FFXII: Revenant Wings (8) – Chapter 4 – Have Folding Canoe, Will Travel

Last time on Let’s Play Revenant Wings, we caught up with Ba’Gamnan’s old pals, explored our newly-remodeled airship, crafted custom weapons with ridiculous names, and stopped dastardly sky pirates from exploiting and robbing the aegyl.

While engaging in some of the same behavior ourselves. Oopsie.

Alas, it is time to bid farewell to Clan Wee Sprats:

Clan Wee Sprats

…and return to Clan Vaanity, because really I can’t think of a better name.

(Don’t worry, I haven’t played this game for godawful numbers of hours; apparently the clock keeps ticking if I leave the emulator on pause).

And now it’s time to visit the Skysea on a new and exciting island!

view of sea surrounding port Marilith

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FFXII: Revenant Wings (7) Chap. 3 Cont’d – Backstabbing Bangaa

Last time on Let’s Play Revenant Wings, Clan Vaanity continued the hallowed Final Fantasy tradition of letting the villain smash the vitally important thing we were supposed to protect. Oh, and Balthier supposedly died next to a Fran-shaped pile of pixels.

Good times.

Unfortunately, after an End of Act One climax, there is often a lull. So I’m afraid this installment has only a brief segment of plot before Tomaj hijacks the story for airship remodeling and sidequests. I’ll warn you when we get there, in case you want to skip ahead.

The Music of Comic Relief strikes up to take our minds off our recent failure. Remember how I said Ba’Gamnan slipped away at the end of the last battle? My bad. He falls in behind the party as we exit Fane #2 with our tails between our legs. Yes, I know, he’s the one with the tail.

Mission 3-5: Backstabbing Bangaa

Outside, we are accosted by Ba’Gamnan’s bangin’ bangaa gang (Say that five times fast: the sobriety test for Ivalician speed traps).

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FFXII: Revenant Wings (6) Chap. 3 Cont’d – Yep, We Suck

Last time on Let’s Play Revenant Wings, Clan Vaanity engaged in a few dubious sidequests that should have earned us the moniker Clan Hypocrisy, and I’m still waiting for an NPC to call us out.

But now it’s time to catch up on the Path of Plot Advancement, where major speed bumps await. So let’s hurry over to that flag at the Fane of Tehp Qul and get this angst on the road.

Fane of Tehp Qul on Worldmap

Once again, the handy Mission Recapper fills us in on what we were doing before we got sidetracked by squirrels.

Rendezvous Round Back: After saving the aegyl, the party heads for the shrine holding the auralith, but a watch has already been posted outside! How does Vaan plan to sneak past?

Sneak, eh? Just as long as the preliminaries don’t involve a fetch quest and an old coot stroking a pink rabbit, I’m game!

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