Final Fantasy I Journal
Total Death Count: 5
Finish Time: 16:48
We started the Megathon at 7:30 PM, North American Central Standard time, after a few minor technical difficulties involving a ridiculously old controller and a memory card. The assembled team for Final Fantasy I was a brash young Fighter by the name of Heath, two well rounded and talented Red Mages by the names of Owo and paper, and the nearest Cyborg Ninja Panda that could be found, called Pandar. He was actually a Monk though.
Orie opted to play first, and after wading his way through hordes of goblins, eventually found his way to the Temple of Fiends. It was here that a rather surly and brash young fellow by the name of Garland was holding the dear Princess Sarah of Cornelia captive. The bastard. Short work was made of him.
After having a bridge built for all that trouble, we were off on our merry way. Control was handed over to the intrepid young Quinton, and thus his harrowing journey through the wilderness continued, staving off packs of ravenous wolves, ogres, and even the occasional psychotically crazy horse.
Pravoca was the next destination, and it was here that Quinton encountered a band of ruffians and vagabonds (They claimed to be pirates, but they didn’t even have any parrots! What kind of pirate is that?!). After making quick work of the gang, a ship was bestowed upon us by their ‘Captain,’ Bikke.
Afterwards, Quinton’s journey continued, the open seas ahead of him. Until, that is, he reached Elfheim. It was here that numerous large Ogres saw fit to thrust themselves upon Quinton’s various implements of destruction, leaving behind their most precious possessions, valued at over three hundred gil. It was around here that Pandar had an epiphany, and saw fit to neglect the use of any sort of combat-enhancing equipment, opting to rely on his mastery of the forces of both mind and body, becoming the ultimate killing machine.
Gil in hand, Heath had a twinkle in his eye as he spotted the Elfheim Weapon Shop’s most valuable piece, a Mythril sword. He quickly snatched it up, leaving just enough for Owo and paper to reinforce their strengths in the art of magic, mostly focusing on burning things to a crisp with Fire 2.
The group set off to a relatively unknown cave known simply as the ‘Marsh Cave,’ forging their way through droves upon droves of snakes, spiders, and wolves to finally lay their hands upon a simple crown.
This crown was no ordinary crown, however, for in the hands of one known as Astos, wicked deeds were to occur. It was here that control was relinquished to Orie, and Astos’ ass was toast (I never get sick of that :P). Quinton takes back control for a while.
A quick trip to a blind seeress and then to Elfheim castle later, the legendary Mystic Key was in our possession, ready to unlock the most precious secrets of the world. And secrets there were! Among the most precious was a plentiful supply of Nitro Powder, able to blast away solid rock with nary a spark.
Thankfully, the dwarven folk were kind enough to create an opening between continents that would allow us to sail our ship into the outer reaches of the world, granting us access to the town of Melmond. Unfortunately, this town of Melmond had been ravaged by the waning power of the crystal of Earth, and it was our duty to stop it.
And stop it we did! A villainous fiend by the name of Lich had been using the crystal’s power for his own diabolical purposes, and after defeating his guardian, a vampire, and subsequently retrieving the key to Lich’s innermost sanctum, the Earth Rod, Lich was reduced to mere dust due to the powerful onslaught of Pandar the Barbarian. I mean Monk.
Lich slain, and the power of the Crystal of Earth restored, it was up to our intrepid team of warriors to continue their quest, leading them to the town of Crescent, where a circle of sages granted the team the gift of a canoe, aiding them even further in their objective by allowing them to journey to the location of the next Fiend, Gulg volcano.
Quinton got to the volcano, got lost on the second floor, and gave the controller to Orie.
Orie gets frustrated at Quinton, for he has entered the volcano with not a single ice spell to his name. A trip outside was needed and a sum total of three cottages were used to get back to full health. Keep in mind we were only on the second floor this first time. Orie then plunges back into the depths of the volcano.
Numerous wonderous equipment is found. These include the Ice Brand, Flame Mail, and the Flame Shield. Death becomes the enemies well.
Marilith was brought down in force, no small thanks to the beast that is Pandar. Two down and two to go.
At this point Quinton turns in for the night, the time being close to 4:00 AM.
Orie navigates through the Ice Cave and nabs the Levistone for the airship.
A quick visit to the Citadel of Trials and sage old Bahamut brings character upgrades for all!
The party hears rumors of bottled fairies whilst looking for missing spells (escpecially Ice).
We were badly cheated by the bottled fairy vendor, but the fairy is free! It flies away to its secret pond where it should relinquish the Oxyale. The action of releasing a fairy from a bottle reminds Orie of Zelda games.
Orie gets hopelessly confused about where the pond is and vehemently searches the completely wrong town. It is 5:30 AM and he is tired, so tired. So he weakly smacks Quinton and says “For the love of all that’s holy take this,” and throws the controller at him. After mumbling something about fairies and ponds, he passes out.
The controller once again wielded by the enterprising young Quinton, is ready to aid in the destruction of yet another fiend. Unfortunately for him, he has NO idea what pond Orie was talking about in his mad ramblings. After a bit of exploration, the town of Gaia was discovered, and lo and behold, a pond was there. A nice pond, with a fairy in the front. The very same fairy that was freed by Orie earlier. Shortly after, the valiant warriors left, Oxyale in hand.
A return to Onlak brings the team to the Water Shrine, where the devilish Kraken dwells, along with the fabled Rosetta Stone. Several run-ins with Sahagin were quickly ended by a well placed Bolt 2, and the Rosetta Stone was recovered soon after. Continuing forth into the shrine, the party came into some very powerful Diamond Armor, along with various other items of great power. This accomplished, it was time to face Kraken, who was made short work of by Orie as Quinton took out the trash (because it’s Wednesday and that’s when the garbage man comes).
A return to Melmond saw the very gracious and apparently extremely excellent teacher Dr. Unne, who used the Rosetta Stone to translate the language of the Lufenian people in no more than ten seconds.
A quick trip to Lufenia to get the Bell, which shall allow us passage to the Mirage Tower and hopefully the Fiend of Wind, Tiamat.
Passage into the Mirage Tower was granted thanks to the ancient powers of the Lufenian Bell (Of course ancient civilizations had more exotic and mystical powers than those of today… Why wouldn’t they?) And thus the tower was eventually ascended, into the madness of the Flying Fortress. Madness because it was, indeed, a flying fortress.
Control was relinquished to Quinton as Orie felt it necessary to leave and do other things. What things these are I cannot say, as I honestly haven’t a clue. But there you have it. Quinton traversed the Flying Fortress, picking up some valuable Adamantite along the way, until eventually he came upon Tiamat’s chambers, where she was swiftly disposed of, in no small part thanks to the madness of Pandar, the beast of a monk. Although at that point he was granted the title of Master, so he could be considered the Beast Master.
The final fiend defeated, the party set out to restock and regroup for the final dungeon. After a short change of locale from Quinton’s to Orie’s, the game was afoot. Or ahand, as the case may be. Because we didn’t really play with our feet. Orie tackled the final dungeon, and in a glorious effort, again with no small thanks to that beast of a monster of a Master, Pandar, Chaos was defeated. Owo and Heath and paper helped a bit, too.
The credits rolled, and thus was completed the first portion of the Final Fantasy Megathon ’05, Final Fantasy I. Babaloo! The first leg of our long journey went fairly well. The next game on the agenda is none other than Final Fantasy II, which we began immediately upon completion of Final Fantasy I. Look for it soon!
Final Fantasy I Pictures
Quinton gets serious with a ballast plunger at K-mart
Quinton in his serious RPG mode
A bad picture of the official Megathon Doom Clock
So far our stats look a pretty nice
The well stocked fridge of 48 cans
Picante Chicken Ramen: Endorsed by dinosaurs everywhere!
Does anybody really understand this ending?