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 (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 (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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Final Fantasy VII, Ep. 10: Let’s Do the Mind Screw Again

“The illusion which exalts us is dearer to us than ten thousand truths.” ~ Aleksandr Pushkin

In the most recent two episodes, Cloud has given Sephiroth the Black Materia, punched Aeris while possessed, nearly cut her in two while possessed, and stood there like a man frozen in corbomite while Sephiroth performed Death From Above.

Let’s pause for a moment to celebrate the hoary Final Fantasy tradition of playing into enemy hands.

I'm sorry I deceived even you, Leo

But now that we’ve handed Sephiroth the Black Materia on a platter and let Aeris die, there’s no way we could screw up anything else, is there? I mean, it’s not like we could give him the Black Materia again, right? Ahahaha.

Well then. While Cloud was angsting over Aeris’ bloodless body, Sephiroth idly mentioned his upcoming journey to the Northern Crater. Naturally, we must accept this veiled invitation.

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Final Fantasy VI Recap, Ep II: Are We There Yet?

Before I launch into the next leg of my Let’s Play Final Fantasy VI playthrough, I’d just like to note that FFVI’s washed-out chocobo design is redeemed by its music of pure techno awesome:

I defy you not to bob your head while listening to that with headphones. Or, to quote a couple commenters on the above video:

question: What is it about riding giant chickens that restricts random battles? ~ The Zeldaniac

Picture this, if you’re an enemy and you hear this song, are you going to interrupt it by attacking the guy riding the chicken, or are you just going to dance? ~ hoodedbro1001

Now back to our regularly-scheduled playthrough.

So, in our opening FFVI sonata, our heroes Edgar, Locke, Sabin and Terra had reached the rebel hideout of the Returners. We had just imbibed our first Backstory Dump courtesy of Banon, the rebel leader, when news arrived that the town of S. Figaro was under attack and that imperial forces were headed our way.

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Final Fantasy V Recap, Ep. VI: How to Fail While Succeeding

Welp! Back in the “Let’s Play Final Fantasy” saddle after a real life “ack, the ‘rents are visiting!” hiatus.

(This chunk will be a bit short. You don’t mind, do you?)

As per Galuf’s last wishes, it’s time for us to launch his long-delayed assault on Castle ExDeath. I would pretend that this is the endgame, except that I’ve played FFV before, and cannot help but be aware that this is really the “Let’s go to Zanarkand / City of the Ancients / Lunatic Pandora / OOPS there’s more plot”  dungeon. Still, here we are.

FFV: Castle Exdeath

Krile, why are you standing in quicksand?
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Final Fantasy IV Recap, Ep. IV: Boris Vallejo Feminism

Before we go gadding off in our new airship Enterprise, let us pause a moment to admire our Four Warriors of Technicolor.

FFIV: No female characters

The colors are fantastic — including Cecil’s blue lipstick — but I can’t help noticing that all the female characters have now dropped out of the party for one reason or another.

Cidface: 🙁

But first! Nothing says “sidequests” quite like “The clock is ticking, and your girlfriend or maybe even the entire world is facing imminent destruction!”

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Final Fantasy III Recap, Ep. V: A Little Help from Our Friends

Before we finish off Final Fantasy III’s endgame, here’s a rare video: the original Japanese FFIII.

Note that whoever did this somehow replaced Luneth’s sprite with one of the Four Old Men sprites, and a couple battle sprites are scrambled. Nevertheless, it shows the NPC storylines are all here, except for the individual friendships with particular party members.

As with Final Fantasy I, it seems that original FFIII presented the party as a blank slate upon which we could project our own character development, dialog and proficiencies, while the world and NPCs were at least somewhat fleshed out. Again, this mimics old tabletop RPGs and D&D, in which the game master provided the story, world, and npcs, while the players were in charge of their characters’ histories and development.

We’ve gotten so accustomed to games that create the player characters for us that we’ve quite forgotten the original strong distinction between PCs and NPCs.

Now, back to our playthrough of Final Fantasy III and the grand finale.

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