Dragon Quest IV #06

After a short foray into another game, we're back! We last left Alena and co. about to head south and then west to the Bazaar. Let's Play!

At the Desert Bazaar, there are a couple of new weapons available at the shop, and a new armor (although it was available in Vrenor in the remakes). Consider a Venomous Dagger, a.k.a. Poison Moth Knife, for Brey. Morning Star must be a whip-type weapon in newer DQs, because otherwise the new name "Holy Lance" in the remakes is inexplicable. On the south side, a woman asks if you're interested in your pots and directs you to take a look; do so for a couple of prizes! Like a Gum Pod, whatever that is. Well...it turns out it's horse manure, not only in the remakes but also the original Japanese. Censorship, I tell ya! Further west, a guard suddenly rushes you, saying that the King is in trouble and we have to go back immediately! Priorities, man! We gotta finish checking out the Bazaar! There's a tournament in Endor...and that's all the info we were missing. Shall we Return to Santeem? Why, when we can walk for more money?! ...Nah, let's save the time and travel by spell.

In the throne room, we find the King unable to speak! The chancellor suggests speaking to Goz in the backyard shed, of course some random old dude will know what to do! But the only way to the back is through the roof of course, so up to Alena's room! We now have access to the King's room too, but bookshelves don't say anything on the NES. Goz points us to Marone, and after looting his things for a Wing (and a Seed of Magic in the remakes) we go to Surene. Marone credits Birdsong Nectar from the Bazaar with previously restoring his voice, so it's a lead! Zoom!

No one at the Bazaar mentions anything about the Nectar, but let's see what rumors abound at night.... I speak with the horse, fully expecting it to say something, and am flummoxed to hear animal noises. Flummoxed, I say! But look, there's a congregation to the northwest; what are they talking about? Nothing much, but the shopkeep, being off duty, tells us that the Nectar can be found in a tower to the west! Let's go!

Inside the tower, a man tells us the door is locked and he can't go up. What luck that we have a key! There's an inexpensive Inn in the basement if you need it. Up above, start by taking the southwest path to floor 3, where there are a couple of treasures. Watch out for Butterfly Dragons, they'll kill you with fire. They are inexplicably named "Flying Doctors" on the DS. Brey dies, and Alena and Cristo are forced to hoof it back to the entrance without the handy Outside spell that Brey could have cast 8 times. In an unexpected twist, at this same point in my Japanese run everyone dies except Brey, and he totally saves the day with his amazing powers of escape.

Back at the tower for Take 2, Brey learns the spell Snowstorm which gets put to use immediately. Grislysabers call for backup when they defend, so things can get out of hand quickly if you don't have crowd control! In the Japanese, they're called "Man-eater Sabers"; it's appropriate. When they call for backup, the new foe attacks immediately, so it's a real pain (although for some reason, they don't get the extra attack in the remakes). On the top floor are two elves dancing. They run away, aaargh! But they drop the Nectar that we need, so thank you, clumsy elves! The Japanese group isn't so lucky. A band of Pteranodons and Razor Winds kills Alena and Brey, leaving Cristo and his Super Healing Powers to return to town. Thankfully he's close to a hole he can jump into, the exit isn't far, and there are all sorts of Wyvern Wings in tow. The Japanese crew succeeds on attempt three. The remakes, however, are so much easier that I make it at lower levels on the first try without even being fully equipped with the latest gear.

Back at the castle, the King is nowhere to be found?! Then I realize it's nighttime and he's in bed. I come back in the morning. Alena administers the medicine to the King herself. He stutters a bit, then won't shut the hell up. Turns out he'd been having dreams of horrible monsters from the "Evil World," and exactly when he decided to tell his counsel, he lost his voice. Perhaps the Ruler of Evil exerted some influence to try to keep his rise secret?! The King, realizing that Alena's adventuring is what saved him and that she may be able to save others, allows her to continue. Speaking with him again reveals that he also had another dream which he can't remember.... Maybe it was a dream of the Hero!

Till next time!

Name Changes
NES (U)	NES (J)	NDS (U)	PS (J)
* denotes an entry which was not significantly changed from the previous version in the same language. Blank entries either have not appeared yet or were not named in that version.
Atlas
Evil World	じごく [jigoku]	Underworld	地獄
Bazaar	さばくのバザー [sabaku no bazā]	The Desert Bazaar	*
Who's Who
Goz	ゴン [gon]	Starek	*
Lita	リース [rīsu]	Daisy	*
		Oopsy
Armory
Morning Star	モーニングスター [mōningu sutā]	Holy Lance	ホーリーランス [hōrī ransu]
Toolkit
Birdsong Nectar	さえずりのみつ [saezuri no mitsu]	*	*
Spellbook
Bounce	マホカンタ [mahokanta]	*	*
Return	ルーラ [rūra]	Zoom	*
StopSpell	マホトーン [mahotōn]	Fizzle	*
Snowstorm	ヒャダルコ [hyadaruko]
	アストロン [asutoron]	Kaclang
	バギ [bagi]	Woosh	*

Where's the Blanket Charlie Brown?: Side Quest #01

And now for the start of my Let's Play Side Quest! I take on the role of everyone's favorite bald kid to solve the challenge of the missing blanket!
 

Dragon Quest IV #05

Welcome back to Let's Play Dragon Quest IV: Side × Side! Wow, it's been over a week already since the last post?! Starting here in Frenor, I'm pretty sure there's supposed to be something hidden in the garden behind the chapel, which isn't. I'll have to investigate further.... Seems what the priest is tending to will take some time to grow. We'll have to get it later! However, the remakes have a Seed of Life in the cabbage patch right now, so take it!

There's a princess in town! But it's not me. An imposter is staying at the inn! We go upstairs to confront her, and oh no! A kidnapper is staying at the inn, too! The fake princess is being dragged out by two goons, so we give chase. But we're too slow, so we turn back to check out the town! Priorities! Side note: I just noticed that the priests actually are holding a little cross in the original Japanese. Kit, the town dog, has found a letter, so his kid reads it to us. We need to bring the town's Golden Bracelet to the graveyard at night to get May—I mean the princess—back! The kid concludes his reading of the note with a pre-YouTube "I'm 12 and what is this?" The bracelet in the southern cave. Spelunking! It's known as the Armlet of Transmutation on the DS.

Walking outside town, Cristo is killed by a Brahmird. They hurt! Heading back to town, I meet five Carnivore Plants and decide I can take them without a healer (not to be confused with the monster). Oh. My. Goodness. They go down, but not without calling five Healers (not to be confused with the character archetype). Goodness. Gracious. Me.

Let's check out the cave! Alena's hat becomes invisible inside, revealing her table-top flat head. Design error, the floor is the same color as her hat! Brey learns Outside, just inside the cave. Good timing! I'm still too weak for the cave and depleting my MP rapidly, so this is quite a good development. Then I forget to save MP for it. Tch. It's not far to the exit, but six Demon Toadstools later, it feels like it is. Everyone gets equipment upgrades! In the Japanese version, I get mauled by some Vampire Bats because I forget basic strategy, and for the first time my Gold fund is so low that I have to decide who to revive first and who gets to stay dead for another minute or two. Also, I am consistently dumbfounded as to why green was chosen as the "dangerous HP levels" window border color for Dragon Quest III and IV on the NES. At about this time in the remakes, Borya (a.k.a. Brey) also learns Snooze (a.k.a. Sleep), which wasn't available to him originally.

Just for fun, here's an excerpt from a battle that I have on the way back down:

Brahmird appears.

Brahmird attacks before you're ready!

But Brahmird-A is asleep!

Brahmird-A is asleep.
Brahmird-A rolls over!
Alena gets 2 Damage Points!

...Exactly. On the second floor of the cave, some Orcs gang up and Surround everyone, then gang up and kill Brey with his Outside spell and all that. ...Great. However, Alena and Cristo do manage to hike back out safely, after which I finish buying the best equipment available so far before going back one last time. Interestingly, Pickayunes—the DS version of Orcs—don't have enough MP to cast Surround at all. Doesn't stop them from trying!

Back inside, Brey reaches Lv 9 and gains 13 MP, as well as learning Bounce and Return. O frabjous day! Even luckier, in the Japanese original I win a Magic Potion from a monster, adding to the one that's already in the cave. Awesome!

I shake my head at the new spell names for the DS, even though I've already seen them in VIII and IX and they are no surprise. Kasnoose? Really?

Absolutely no problems getting into the cave for the bracelet this time, and we head back to town and wait for nightfall. After handing over the bracelet, the fake princess's captors politely say "Bye!" and vanish! We learn that May is just an actress, and people treated her nicely when she acted like a princess. O...kay.... And she gives Alena a Thief's Key. So, what, she's a thief, too?!

Now that the town is back to normal, we can buy a couple of new weapons, and we hear about a bazaar to the south. We'll go there next time!

My next post will be a Let's Play: Side Quest entry, then right back into the action here.

Name Changes
NES (U)	NES (J)	NDS (U)	PS (J)
* denotes an entry which was not significantly changed from the previous version in the same language. Blank entries either have not appeared yet or were not named in that version.
Atlas
		Vault of Vrenor
Who's Who
May	メイ [mei]	Anya	*
Kit	コロ [koro]	Zasha	*
Toolkit
Golden Bracelet	おうごんのうでわ [ōgon no udewa]	Armlet of Transmutation	黄金のうでわ
Thief's Key	とうぞくのカギ [tōzoku no kagi]	*	*
Spellbook
Surround	マヌーサ [manūsa]	Dazzle	*
Outside	リレミト [riremito]	Evac	*
Sleep	ラリホー [rarihō]	Snooze	*
Antidote	キアリー [kiarī]	Squelch	*
Defence	ルカナン [rukanan]	Kasap	*
Sleepmore	ラリホーマ [rarihōma]	Kasnooze	*
Bounce	マホカンタ [mahokanta]	*
Return	ルーラ [rūra]

Let's Play: Side Quest #01

What's this?! An interruption of the LP!? No, no, nothing that drastic. See, I have a lot of games in my backlog, and I just thought I might pick out one of those to play, like once every few episodes of the regular LP, probably an action game or something that doesn't require a lot of thought to get into. As a Side Quest, so to speak!

So, the first task will be to figure out how to choose.... I think I'll start by choosing a platform. Which means I'm going to be choosing between:

1. Atari 2600
2. NES
3. Game Boy
4. SNES
5. Genesis
6. TurboGrafx-16
7. Game Boy Color
8. Nintendo 64
9. PlayStation
10. Game Boy Advance
11. GameCube
12. PlayStation 2
13. Nintendo DS
14. Wii
15. Nintendo 3DS
16. PC
17. iOS
18. Arcade*

...Wow, I didn't realize I had that many different platforms available, although a couple of these only have 3 entries. Anyway! Rolling...16. A PC game. This will be interesting...okay. According to my profile on GameFAQs, I have 36 PC games to choose from. I happen to know that's not quite accurate, since there are a couple of indie games that aren't listed...how many...looks like 6 after a cursory count. Let's go with that; if I roll higher than 36 out of 42, that'll be one of the unlisted games. So now I'll just go ahead, roll a number, and go down the list alphabetically! And if it's an RPG or something I'll start over.

36.

...

36!

Okay, so who wants to watch me play Where's the Blanket Charlie Brown? This is a game that my wife already owned when we consolidated our belongings, and I never did find out why. But I'll see if I can get it installed and running (we all know how new OSs hate old programs), and after Dragon Quest IV #05 we'll take a look at it! I'm thinking I might try to do actual video for this; we'll see.

*Plug 'n' Play TV games, not actual arcade machines, silly!

Dragon Quest IV #04

Welcome back to Dragon Quest IV! Chapter 2 begins...now!

Princess Alena wants to go on a journey to prove her strength, but her father the King says NO! "Why you must be so very tomboy?" the DS remake moans. Her tutor Brey feels responsible for how she's turned out—too tomboyish! Cristo, apparently some sort of priest/soldier, says if something would happen to her, he'd cry. I mean, the, the King! The King would cry! Cristo's got a crush on her, fufufu. In the remakes you can look in a bookshelf in the next room and find a little doodle of Alena that Cristo has made in a theology book. Awww! A little graphical note, in the Japanese original Cristo's sprite does not feature the same goofy eye-blinking animation as it does in the U.S. version. Odd. A priest says something comes from the east, and he hopes nothing bad happens. Really?! In a room behind him is some Fairy Water in a drawer. We can't get out the front gate, so we go upstairs to Alena's room, which has recently been repaired and is easily escapable. Something about the faux Russian accent on the DS reminds me of an excerpt from a Japanese manual I once read: "Please be careful to spill a drop like coffee in the master console." Get the Feather Hat from her wardrobe before you jump!

We're off to the nearby town! But before we get there, Brey and Cristo come up from behind. But not to bring Alena back, no! They are here to be accessories to her delinquency! In Surene town, a sign advises us to upgrade our equipment. While exploring, we come across a man who is in love with a nun. She says she's too old for him! No mention of vows of chastity or such, because Nintendo of America couldn't let it slip out that she's devoted her life to God or anything. Near there is Marone the poet. La, la, la! A.k.a. Josef Starling. In the PS remake I accidentally discover that I can pick up and reposition flowers. Gardenrific! There's more to the town, but it's behind locked doors. To make battles a little easier, I buy a Copper Sword for Cristo and some Herbs before leaving. In the Japanese version I don't read this to refresh my memory, and get a Leather Hat for Brey instead, then save; I have a feeling this will negatively impact the coming boss battle. Oops. Moving along, our clue says to go northwest!

In the town of Tempe, the remakes have a Mini Medal inside of the well. On the PS these are kept in your inventory, but on the DS they're separate, saving you some room. Talking around, we learn that there is a monster which demands female sacrifices, and Nina will be the next to go. No! This will not do! We tell her father that we'll take care of it, and he sends us to the...shaman. Because shamans are okay, and priests aren't. Anyway, we are told it only appears when given an offering, so shut up and hide in this box, we'll tote you up to it. After getting inside the offering litter, the shaman makes the cryptic statement, "Don't ever litter the litter." An early Dragon Quest pun—even the NPCs tell him this is no time for joking around! These didn't start to get really prominent in the U.S. versions until VIII, hooboy! And then the remakes started. But we love them anyway! He also tells a joke in the Japanese here, but I'm not good enough to understand it, something about God's basket...maybe it's just supposed to sound funny because he says "gokagoga"? On the DS, the joke is praying that the Goddess safely carries you. ...Get it? 'Cause you're in a box? Blech.

Oh, right, the monster. It closely resembles the one that Ragnar fought in the tower basement! In a fairly close battle, my Lv 2 team seems to be gaining the upper hand, but timing prevents Alena from being healed before death, and then Brey's magic fails at that critical point and all is lost. Try again! Learning Sap on the way back should prove helpful. Except unlucky turn order means everyone dies. Take three! It seems that I gain one more level every time I walk to town; Upper should be very useful! And it is; it works wonders! Everyone stays alive while Brey Saps the enemy, and Alena punches judiciously. It drops Lifeforce Nuts, everyone gains another level from the experience, and the town is rejoice! Japanese version went exactly the same way; Cristo spends so much time healing and buffing that his lack of weapon upgrade is immaterial. However, the DS goes much better, with a loss at Lv 2 but then a stunning victory at Lv 3, even though Borya (a.k.a. Brey) doesn't even learn Sap by then! Apparently the spell-level tables were reworked; either that or they're still slightly random like in Dragon Quest III. Speaking with Nina, she says simply, "We're getting married." I guess so, whether I like it or not, huh? Is she speaking to Alena, or Cristo? Naw, she must have meant Brey.

Endor is our next suggested destination, in the east, which we can reach by going...southwest. That's...not accurate at all. (All versions besides the English NES correctly say southeast.) In any case, since I can't save here, I go on for now. Heading up north, on the pedestal are more Lifeforce Nuts for those who search thoroughly, although they do not appear in the remakes, because they're in the graveyard instead. The poet nearby mentions a town called Frenor to the east; let's go there first! Hmmm...the priest there is gardening, and rushes up to see us when we approach the chapel. Is he hiding something? We'll explore Frenor starting next time!

Name Changes
NES (U)	NES (J)	NDS (U)	PS (J)
* denotes an entry which was not significantly changed from the previous version in the same language. Blank entries either have not appeared yet or were not named in that version.
Atlas
Santeem	サントハイム [santohaimu]	Zamoksva	*
Surene	サラン [saran]	Zalenagrad	*
Tempe	テンペ [tenpe]	Taborov	*
Endor	エンドール [endōru]	*	*
Frenor	フレノール [furenōru]	Vrenor	*
Who's Who
Princess Alena	アリーナひめ [arīna hime]	Tsarevna Alena	*
Cristo	クリフト [kurifuto]	Kiryl	*
Brey	ブライ [burai]	Borya	*
King	サントハイムおう [santohaimu ō]	Tsar Stepan	*
Marone	マローニ [marōni]	Josef Starling	*
Nina	ニーナ [nīna]	Anastasia	*
Boss Rush
Chameleon Humanoid	カメレオンマン [kamereon man]	Master Kung	*

Dragon Quest IV Pushmo Pack Chapter #1

For those of you who are 3DS owners and fans of Dragon Quest and Pushmo, I present to you three new puzzles of pure unrelenting beauty:

For those of you who are not: What's wrong with you, man?!

Dragon Quest IV #03

EDIT: Now with shiny new YouTube video!

Hi! Welcome back! Ragnar and I were just heading out, so as my good friend Charles Martinet says, "Let's-a go!"

Right out of the gate, I use the Flying Shoes and soar away to the top floor of the tower which was seen earlier. There's a nice little visual effect on the PS version here, it's nice to see some differences between it and the DS! Some kid is being taken away by some witch or some such, and we follow! On the way down, there is a soldier who wishes he had let Healie join him. Sucker! Lilypas use Upper to great effect, and Ducksbills use Sap, also to great effect. It's almost not worth it to fight them together.

At one point, a Lilypa uses its spell to buff an Ozwarg (called a "baby magician" in Japanese—scary!), which is fine since they can hardly attack, but its defense is raised to the point that each side has trouble hitting the other at all. The battle drags on long enough for me to see the statistically unlikely event of the Ozwarg dodging under its own power, as well as the statistically unlikely event of a critical hit deathblow from Healie. Good going, lil buddy!

If you see a battle made up of a Giant Bantam, a Lilypa, and two Healers, don't even try. If you go for the Healers first, the Lilypa will buff everyone's defense so you can't hurt them, and if you try for either of the others first, the Healers will just keep...healing. So just run if you see this.

So yeah, this tower is hard. core. After the first couple floors I just want to get out and recover my strength, but I'm so close to a weapon upgrade I decide to risk going just a little further. This results in a real nailbiter (although it felt more like a hairpuller) in which I barely squeak out of the tower's front gate with 4 HP. Time to use those Wings I found! The money I earned in battle is put to good use maxing out my armor upgrades, and then it's back to the tower! In future iterations, I make a beeline straight for the Sword, then come back for the other treasures later.

New and improved Ragnar, now with 100% more Sword of Malice, makes mincemeat of the monsters, felling them in one blow now. This will be much easier. No sooner do I type that statement than Healie dies. #($&. Back to town. In my anger, I perpetrate 80 damage upon a Slime. Incidentally, near the Sword is a chest containing a Luck Seed, unless you play the DS, then it's a Seed of Resilience instead.

Third attempt! That four-monster fight I warned you about three paragraphs ago is a straight cinch now, since everything dies before the Healers can react. This is also the attempt in which I realize that there is a healing point in the basement of the tower on the way out, so I actually never had to leave. Nice to know for the other three games! Of course, the extra trips didn't hurt; by the time I reach the bottom Ragnar is at Lv 10 (although poor, confused Healie is forever stuck at Lv ?). A dying soldier there tells me about the Ruler of Evil, who is about to resurrect (I would prefer to hear "to be resurrected," it seems both constructions are valid—O Englishe, thou fickle mistress!), although how he knows this is anyone's guess. Also, there is a prophecy that a Hero is now growing up. How old is this prophecy, I wonder? Did it say he was growing up this whole time?! But anyway, the monsters are after children because they don't want the Hero to mature: "Ragnar, save all children...." Tears fall, everyone dies.

In the basement, there is a monster atop a pedestal who says I wish to be smashed to bits. But I never said that, how did he know!? And so Ragnar joins Saro's Shadow and the Giant Eyeball in battle! He opens with three Firebals, and I can now confirm that no, the Iron Shield resists neither fire nor ice on the NES. The Eyeball's expression changes and it charges twice just before I kill it. Everyone dies.

Fourth time is the charm, right?! Reaching the basement is no problem; the problem is when the Eyeball kills Healie in one hit right when things were supposed to go well. Now I'm missing nine Heal spells and I have to use my one Herb right away. $#(%. And I die again.

Fifth attempt. I was so close last time, it has to work! On the way I try an experiment and find that the Sword of Malice acts as a "spellflinger" in battle, attacking an entire enemy group. Unfortunately that won't help me in the boss fight, and the only enemy group I see regularly is Healers which are rather resistant to magic. Oh well. Ragnar achieves Lv 11 one step before the stairs to the lowest level. Nice! Oh, wow, things are swimmingly this time, the Eyeball died before it could glare at me! Two critical hits per round from that thing takes a lot out of you. Things are looking up, but then the Shadow casts Firebal before Healie can Heal himself, and I once again lose almost all my party's MP. This time I still have fight left in me, though, and I manage to defeat Saro's Shadow, who says he'll see me "in the Evil World.... Gasp!" I guess he shocked himself to death by euphemism. The cell door automagically opens and two children join the party! Oh, and Healie's okay, I guess it was just a scratch. Ragnar was healed too. Yay!

In the Japanese NES version, Ragnar gets a lucky critical hit on the Eyeball to start off the battle, killing it outright. After that it was too easy; the guy never even tried the Firebal spell. I had to retreat once previously when Healie died, so this makes victory at Lv 10 on only the second attempt! Not counting one voluntary return to town for armor; it wasn't a defeat, since I was strong enough to return to the tower without even healing first. The DS and PS remakes are even easier, never being defeated once.

Upon arrival in Izmit, the kids take to their mother's bosoms with vigor. Not really. But they are glad to see them! Triumphant Ragnar and partner Healie trek back to bonnie Burland, where a soldier asks if he can take credit for the rescue. No matter your answer, he calls you naïve. Sound logic. On the upside, he's much less rude about it on the DS, it's more like a slap on the back kind of joke. The King greets us with praise and a gift of—anything! So Ragnar says "..............." but the King understands that he wants only to journey to protect the Hero. Make it so! But he doesn't leave it at that and awards him 3,000 Exp, more than doubling his total and bringing him to Lv 13! Unless you're playing a remake, then you rate 10,000 Exp. Whoa. "Thus, Ragnar left on a journey in search of the Hero...." See you next time, with the start of Chapter 2!

Name Changes
NES (U)	NES (J)	NDS (U)	PS (J)
* denotes an entry which was not significantly changed from the previous version in the same language. Blank entries either have not appeared yet or were not named in that version.
Who's Who
Ruler of Evil	じごくの　ていおう [jigoku no teiō]	Lord of the Underworld	地獄の帝王
Armory
Sword of Malice	はじゃのつるぎ [haja no tsurugi]	Cautery Sword	*
Boss Rush
Saro's Shadow	ピサロのてさき [pisaro no tesaki]	Psaro's Pawn	*
Spellbook
IceBolt	ヒャド [hyado]	Crack	*
SpeedUp	ピオリム [piorimu]	Acceleratle	*
Upper	スカラ [sukara]	Buff	*
Sap	ルカニ [rukani]	*	*
Firebal	ギラ [gira]	Sizz	*

Dragon Quest IV #02

EDIT: YouTube video for this segment, now live!

Let's get back into the game, shall we?!

Ragnar is ready to get moving! We have to go back to Burland to tell Fiora that her husband has regressed into childhood (or as they may say in the DS, "bairnheid"). So when we get there she just accepts that and demands we take her to see him. ...Uh oh, he doesn't recognize her. That can't bode well. So she smacks him. (HAAAAAAAA, of course in the Japanese versions she puff-puffs him! Boobies strike again! The DS remake has her instead showing him her wedding ring in hopes that he'll remember how much it cost him.) And he's cured! It's a miracle! Poor fool lost his mind in fear over the monsters. Alex repays us with a clue about a secret playground. Seems like a good place to kidnap children from, if you'd ask me. Let's check it oot!

Due southeast of the sign that says not to play in the woods, we find the secret playground in the woods. Typical! Actually, on the NES-J run I forget what I'm doing and I try going here before getting Fiora—the playground totally isn't there yet, which implies it gets built between my two visits to Izmit. Makes sense, right?! Anyway, a voice tells us to enter the well, but first there's an enticing storehouse to the left. Inside is an Agility Seed and an Herb. In the DS remake I'm going to save seeds for later since inventory space is unlimited with the "bag"; however, in the originals I'm going to go ahead and use them whenever I find them because space is so limited. In the PS remake, I'll save them unless my inventory fills, since there is a little bit more wiggle room than on the NES (each character gets 12 slots instead of just 8), but there's no "bag" yet as in the DS. Now that we have that settled, let's jump down a well!

A voice tells you which way to go. Most of the time you want to listen, because otherwise you'll be open to random monster encounters, which will give you ouchies. I hope you filled up on Herbs! Sizarmages (a.k.a. Winksters) can use Blaze, which can be deadly, and Lethal Gophers (a.k.a. Mad Moles) can increase their attack power for one turn. Interesting note, in Japanese the Gophers/Moles are called "Killer Shovels." There is a Medical Herb at the end of a long tunnel on the first floor, but it's totally not worth it. I use this knowledge on the NES-J run to, you know, not go that way so I don't use up all my healing. (You can pick it up on the way out with no monsters, too! Win!) On the second floor, however, there is a Healer at the end of a tunnel, and you do want to go get him! And of course I'm one step away and I die. That was on the NES version, folks—these old games don't mess around! I work my way back down and meet Healie, the Kind Healer who dreams of becoming human. Hey, if I follow a human, I can become human, right?! So let him do it, you desperately need the healing!

Circle back around, follow the voice this time, and when you get to a T-intersection, go right. It'll take you around to where you met Healie and put 600G in your pocket. Just follow the voice from here on out and you'll be fine; of course, that T is the last intersection of the dungeon, so whatever. At the end of the tunnel, you will find some Flying Shoes. How strange! In the DS remake these are called Talaria, the winged sandals of Hermes (!), and Healie mentions that the children found these same shoes before, saying that if you wear them you fly into the air! Wheeee! I guess this is to make up for removing Party Chat which was present in the PS remake...perhaps if I were to chat Healie up on the PS he'd mention the same thing, but unfortunately I'm not planning to dig that deep into the Japanese this time, sorry. In any case, there's nothing else here, so it's time to leave! The way back out is a little more complicated since you arrived by jumping, but it's not hard to find and you'll come out through the storehouse. In the remakes you'll continue meeting monsters, though. The NES version was really quite clever; the monsters only attack when you go the wrong way, and once you reach the goal they still let you back out so you can use the shoes freely, as long as you keep to the path. If I were a kid, I might even fall for it!

Back at the town, I buy some new armor (weapons seem okay for now). I opted for the Iron Shield first, because of its alleged magic resistance. I'll let you know if I can confirm or deny whether that's true in any version besides the DS. A save and a quit, and that's that!

Name Changes
NES (U)	NES (J)	NDS (U)	PS (J)
* denotes an entry which was not significantly changed from the previous version in the same language. Blank entries either have not appeared yet or were not named in that version.
Who's Who
Healie	ホイミン [hoimin]	*	*
Toolkit
Flying Shoes	そらとぶくつ [sora tobu kutsu]	Talaria	*
Spellbook
Blaze	メラ [mera]	Frizz	*
Heal	ホイミ [hoimi]	*	*

Dragon Quest IV: Roburt the Burruce Exposed!

It seems that I missed a rather obvious historical reference in the bookshelf of Burland Castle. Roburt the Burruce is undoubtedly named after Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, and I strongly suspect that the missing boy Willy Wally is named for William Wallace.

If you read this and you see any references that I seem to ignore, don't be shy about letting me know—it may well be something I've never heard of, or that I just forgot to look up! I look forward to seeing what you can catch!

And I just have to share this...interesting link. And this one too, why not?

Dragon Quest IV #01 Continued

Nintendo DS time! Still only on the first leg of the journey, but I felt the first post was getting a little long so I cut it short. Plus I'm taking it slow to start, there's a lot of stylistic stuff to look at. EDIT: New as of 1/4/13 is the first chapter of my video LP for DQIV, added above for your enjoyment. Enjoy! ^_^

Flipping a coin for gender again, and again roll male for the Hero. And his name is a randomly chosen...Alden Skyrah? Okay, Alden, let's get going!

First thing I realize is that the Nintendo DSi XL is much larger than the Nintendo 3DS that I've gotten used to over the past several months. The humongous armor case I purchased with storage for four game cards and the XL stylus which weighs just as much as the device itself certainly doesn't do anything to disguise this fact. Just sayin'.

The remakes, unlike the original game, contain a Prologue of the Hero in his hometown, so this time we actually get to begin the game as Alden (though not for very long). Someone is training him to be a warrior, and they seem to think it needs to be done ASAP. Busting some barrels reveals an herb and a little money. Leaving the cellar, there are more barrels hiding an antidote, and a frog beckons! Oh, but it's not really a frog. It's a princess! She says we should help her break the witch's curse, although being a frog isn't really so bad. It's just...it's just that...back to the cellar, run! And so it comes to pass that the frog which is not really a frog is not really a princess either, but my friend Eliza who has just learned the spell of Morph! Tricky! She becomes a rabbit and scampers off.

Around town, everyone seems to know something that they aren't telling me. It kind of feels like The Truman Show. Even at home, my father seems to be acting like he's some sort of oracle, rambling on about grand adventure and strange companions. Mom says "shut up and eat" (more or less), so we do. The Prologue ends!

The name of Chapter 1 in this version has significantly expanded into "Ragnar McRyan and the Case of the Missing Children." Nice ring to it! And thus begins the Scottish brogue. Simmer doon an' listen noo! Izmit toon hae noo become Strathbaile; I suppoose the faermer weren't Scottish enough, youse ken. I actually find the accent quite charming, albeit a little difficult to read when unfamiliar words pop up (The bairns are missing! Jings!), or when a modified word looks just like a real word (Gae tae the toon!). Compared to the Final Fantasy remakes, I prefer the expanded Dragon Quest text. It feels creative, rather than just wordier like FFVI Advance seems to me, for example.

Speaking of loquaciousness, there are some bookshelves that actually contain books to read. In the castle, you can read about Roburt the Burruce, founder of Burland. Poking around further, the old man doing research actually tells us his findings. He's studying the Lord o' the Underworld! But there's no info on it. In the southwest room again is the same Medicinal Herb as in the old days. In the town, Flora is now known as Aigneas, and in her house is a Seed of Strength! A few other scattered coins and items are all about town inside pots and barrels. Don't miss the Leather Shield upstairs in the armor shop! It also appears that the Thorn Whip sold by the weapon shop has been replaced with a Divine Dagger, which is mildly confusing.

Out on the world map, the top screen contains an outline of the world which gets filled in with color as you explore. Nice touch! Another nice touch that I almost missed is the Y Button; pressing it brings up a hand-drawn close-up of the map with greater detail. Attempting the same in town also brings up a hand-drawn overview map, and doing it again cycles through shop inventories—very nice! In battle, monster graphics are fully animated, not just when attacking like they are in the PlayStation remake, so they look pretty lively! The cave, which one of the townspeople referred to as Strathbaile Burrow, is rendered as one continuous area now, rather than having darkened pathways as in the original. The treasures are the same with nothing extra hidden, so I go on to the town.

I also must note somewhere that the arranged music is spot on. Kōichi Sugiyama, a classically trained musician, obviously composed these songs for these instruments, even as good as the 8-bit original tracks were. Awesome job!

Everything in Strathbaile is pretty much as it was when the place was called Izmit, except for a well in the north that hides 25G. Take the money and run! In the shop, the Boomerang is replaced with a Hunter's Bow, and this is when I realize why the Thorn Whip was changed as well: The Boomerang and Whip classes of weapons are multi-targeting in later Dragon Quests, but that wasn't true in the original DQ4 yet. The names were changed so we wouldn't get confused and expect the new behavior from those weapons where it wasn't intended. Good idea!

Now the PlayStation remake! I sit through the opening theme just in case (as I always do with a new game), and I'm rewarded with a series of scenes that doesn't appear in any other version! It seems to be relating what each of the first four chapters' characters are doing just before their respective adventures begin. If only I could read it all! I'll look into it further if I get a chance, but in the meantime here's a cursory description:

A soldier in pink armor, ライアン [raian], is overseeing the royal guards as they practice their swordplay in the castle, when another soldier comes to speak to him. Cut to a scene in the town, where a child runs laps around him and cheers him on as he recruits two other guards to follow him. Then cut to the throne room, where he is present as parents from the next town proclaim to the King the disappearance of their children. Then the four guards head off toward a cave together.

In the next scene, ブライ [burai] is apparently admonishing the young princess アリーナ [arīna] about how she should not leave the castle unattended, during which admonishment she hastily departs behind his back. He asks her other protector, クリフト [kurifuto], where she has gone. The latter says she's left for adventure or something, and the former calls him a moron for letting her go. They take off after her. Cut to the castle gate, where apparently the guards are just stupid enough to let her out, but the King puts a stop to it and explains the importance of her position. She responds by saying she can kill a bear with a kick to the stomach or some such nonsense, and knocks down a stone pillar. Then she actually seems surprised she did that. Hilarity ensues!

Next scene! ネネ [nene] wakes her husband トルネコ [toruneko] to go to work. He neglects to say goodbye to their son as he trundles off next door to the shop, where he serves two customers and goes home because that's how short the days are. They eat dinner and go to bed. Exciting!

Now the final scene. マーニャ [mānya] the dancer is performing on stage when a poor, misguided drunken fool decides he wants to play feely. He lurches his way onto the stage, where her twin sister ミネア [minea] the fortuneteller has been looking on, and she accosts him. He decides he likes her too, and starts to grab her when the dancer jumps in and pulls the man to center stage, where she kicks him in the...face. The owner of the club comes out to witness the hubbub. Cut to the back room, where they are meeting and talking all serious. Cut to a scene in some underground passageway, where the two sisters are fighting monsters. After they win, they are at their father's grave, vowing to find his enemy who killed him. And that's the end!

Since I picked male for the DS, I'll use female here. And my last random name for this Let's Play series is...Sophronia Palamara. The first name won't fit squarely into four kana, so I use パラマラ [paramara], which will.

Basically, as far as I can tell everything is about the same between the DS and PlayStation. From here on out, I'll only be noting sizable differences between any of the versions, so I'll spend the majority of the writing on the English editions.

Below is an updated table of name changes. I will be listing all character names, regardless of importance, including the "Lore" category drawn from bookshelves in the remakes, along with all spell names. Because there are so many items and monsters, I'll only be listing key items and boss monsters, along with certain items whose names were changed drastically.

Name Changes
NES (U)	NES (J)	NDS (U)	PS (J)
* denotes an entry which was not significantly changed from the previous version in the same language. Blank entries either have not appeared yet or were not named in that version.
Atlas
Burland	バトランド [batorando]	*	*
Izmit	イムル [imuru]	Strathbaile	*
		Strathbaile Burrow
		Loch Tur
Who's Who
		Eliza	シンシア [shinshia]
Ragnar	ライアン　[raian]	Ragnar McRyan	*
		King Burnard
Flora	フレイ [furei]	Aigneas	*
Alex	アレクス [arekusu]	Angus (nickname: Angie)	*
Pocos	ププル [pupuru]	Willy Wally	*
Lore
		Roburt the Burruce	バトレア [batorea]
Armory
Thorn Whip	いばらのむち [ibara no muchi]	Divine dagger	せいなるナイフ [sei naru naifu]
Boomerang	ブーメラン [būmeran]	Hunter's bow	クロスボウ [kurosubō]

Dragon Quest IV #01

All right! Tonight I'm replaying an NES game which I have long considered one of my favorites of All Time, Dragon Warrior IV! Unfortunately I'll have to emulate this, since my friend Yūji Horii insists that he won't re-release Dragon Quest games without extras. I can appreciate that, but still I'd really like to see this on the Virtual Console, you know!? Flipping a coin determines that my Hero is male, and the Random Name Generator decides I shall be known as Marc Simeon. Marc it is!

I'm going to take this moment to direct everyone to the Realm of Darkness, which contains a lot of info and really good maps—at least for the NES—which will help you follow along (or play along!) with me.

We begin the story with Chapter 1. Excellent counting! As it turns out, I am not Marc at all, but a Royal Soldier named Ragnar. The King comes to speak with all of us soldiers, and we learn that we've heard about children going missing. The mothers from Izmit came to the King in tears this morning, so we can't ignore them any longer. This leads naturally to a hypothesis that the King generally ignores things until people cry, which will require further testing.

Looking around the castle before leaving, we find some useful gameplay advice, along with an old man who tells he's researching "something" but won't say what. Suspicious! Diligently searching all the drawers yields a single Medical Herb in a room in the southeast. Invigorating!

Outside the castle in Burland, there seems to be nothing of note except for an old man who offers to come along and then proceeds to lurch after me, giving up his quest once he finally catches up. Oh, and Flora is missing her husband Alex. I can't afford any better equipment than what the King has given me, so I buy some Herbs (both kinds, just in case!) and head out.

To the northwest, there is a cave. Everywhere else is rivers and mountains. A dangerous walk to Izmit, no? In the cave, the first branch off to the right holds a Medical Herb, nicely replacing the one I just used. Next treasure, following the path that opens on the left, has a bit of money. Heading upwards leads out. Back on the surface, we are near a tower on an island. Is it important? Hey, it's in the game, isn't it?!

Wow, there are a lot of monsters! Eastward, and I reach the village just as the sun sets. A sign nearby reads, "Do Not Play in the Woods." Sound advice! Poking around in the town at night, there is a Medical Herb in a drawer in the nun's room at the inn, and a peeping tom lurking beyond the bushes waiting for her to take a bath. Eww! Upstairs in the inn, I am glad to find that the cat's anus is not drawn in like it was in Dragon Warrior III. The innkeeper's son Pocos was playing with some shoes and vanished. A lead! It also seems that Alex, missing from Burland, has lost his memory and has been imprisoned for stealing bread and generally acting like a manchild. The horror! But the kids love 'im. Having nothing else to do, I spend the 6G at the inn to make it morning instead of wandering about the wilderness.

Nothing else really happens in the daylight. A fellow soldier says the tower looks suspicious, and a child says Pocos flew into the sky. They can't be connected! Since I now have some money, I buy a Wooden Hat and call it quits for now.

Now for the Japanese original release! Since I ended up with a male Hero on the other, I'll take female here. My random name shall be...Lynn Stirling! We'll go with りん [rin]. Playing up to the same point where Ragnar left off, it doesn't seem anything was changed except for names (like Ragnar's! See below). I expect that to be true for the duration, and I'll list the changes as they come. I'm not going to list everything, just a few names of people and places.

Of course, since I'm not attempting a full translation this time around, I am more than likely going to miss any subtle changes or interesting censorship, like the priest in Dragon Quest II who asks if you believe in God, but in the N.A. version instead asks you for the time and yells at you if you don't tell him. That was trippy.

EDIT: The table of name changes between the U.S. and Japanese versions, originally located here, has been moved to the next blog post and expanded.

Next time I'll go into the DS remake, and then finally play the PlayStation disc that I imported six years ago! Also, new as of 1/4/13 is the first video of my video LP of DQIV, added to the next blog post since I played the DS version there.

Roll for It! #01

EDIT: The original title for this post was a total spoiler for which game I ended up choosing. I've fixed it now, and added a few extra notes to the release list for the winning game at the bottom!

This is the part where I point out that I haven't played Torneko in over two weeks.

What!? Has it really been that long? Unfortunately, yes. And unfortunately, I'm just not in the mood to continue right now. I'll come back to it (and be horribly lost when I do, picking up from the middle of a dungeon), but for now I'm moving on.

On a related note, I've been playing Theatrhythm Final Fantasy on the 3DS. Now this is a fun game. I bring the 3DS to work with me and play it during breaks; since it's a rhythm game, it's great for annoying people nearby with game music and J-pop. ^_^

Anyway, now it's time to decide what to play next. As I did when I chose Torneko (it's not in the blog, it was on Twitter), I'm going to split my games into groups and go from there! So, should I play:

1. Dragon Quest,
2. Final Fantasy,
3. A spin-off of one of those, or
4. Is it time for something completely different?

And we roll a 1—Dragon Quest! Next question: Which one? I want to do this one a little differently. Instead of just picking from I to IX, I'm going to split these into trilogies (I know VII, VIII, and IX don't make a trilogy—just bear with me anyway, k?!). So will I start:

1. The Loto Trilogy,
2. The Zenithia Trilogy, or
3. Those other three games?

Drum roll, please! ... ... ... And the answer is...2! Nice! So I'll be going back into DQ with my favorite characters of the series, and also starting the trilogy that contains V and VI, the only two which I have not yet seriously played. Dragon Quest IV, starting next time on Let's Play: Side × Side!

...I don't really feel like making the fancy starting post like I have in the past, so I'll just put up the basic release info and mention which versions I'll be playing.

• NES
• Dragon Quest IV: 導かれし者たち [michibikareshi monotachi], JP 1990—The subtitle loosely translates to "The Guided Ones."
• Dragon Warrior IV, US 1992—Name changed to protect the innocent once again. I'll be playing both this version and the original Japanese, although to save time I won't be attempting to translate everything.
• PlayStation
• Dragon Quest IV: 導かれし者たち, JP 2001—A North American localization of this remake was planned, and was in fact advertized in the packaging for Dragon Warrior VII, but it never materialized. I actually imported a copy of this, so I will definitely play this version in Japanese!
• Nintendo DS
• Dragon Quest IV: 導かれし者たち, JP 2007—This remake is basically a port of the PlayStation version, with a few extra features.
• Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen, US 2008—And finally the west gets the remake! From among the DS releases, I'll only be playing this one.
• Dragon Quest: The Chapters of the Chosen, EU/AU 2008—I almost forgot about the European and Australian releases! This was the first time this game was released outside of Japan or North America, and it was only the second Dragon Quest game to get that treatment. As with Dragon Quest VIII the number was dropped from the title, apparently because so few entries from the series had been released in those regions. (VIII was the first, followed by IV and V. Starting with IX in 2010, and subsequently VI in 2011, the numbers have been kept in the titles.)

So there you have it! I'll start next time with the NES, and go from there!

Torneko: The Last Hope #06

Toro Ruins! Is that "Loto" spelled backwards? Kinda!

1-3F are super easy, as usual. Lots of good Staves, too! Down to 6F with no major problems, Druids and Derangers and such are annoying but not awful. I'm running low on bread though, and I'm carrying way too much stuff. Then on 7F, an Evilamp catches me when a Druin puts me to sleep, and I end up surrounded and crushed by no less than fifteen monsters. Awesome.

Things are looking pretty good on the second try, except that I'm lower on bread. I took a chance and started with a Melding Pot I got from the bank, and I've put my Metabble Sword+1 and every other sword I find into it. Hopefully it can save me. Down to 6F with no problems....

7F--killed an Evilamp, got a Dragon-X Sword+3! My Mettable is up to +8 now, with the Dragon-X skill on it, woot! I'd better be winning this time! Scapegoat and Itemizer Staves save my life. Heal Pots are great too, but I used it up by the time I reach 11F. Okay, Spectets' Ironize is really annoying. On to 12F! Wow, direct path to the exit. I'm gone!

13F! Manage to down a Magiwyvern for 115 EXP, nice! Right at the exit, too...almost there! Surrounded, I decide to break out the Mettable+8, and I still almost die. Saved by a Warp Herb that I Itemized from a Spectet! Then I get stuck in a hallway confused, and lose everything. Yuck.

Always the glutton for punishment, I go back in. But I really should have stopped, so I use a Quicksave Scroll to interrupt the dungeon after 3F. We'll pick up there next time!

Torneko: The Last Hope #05

All right, let's try this again! Attempt number 4! Did I mention they hoisted me back home in a stretcher last time?

Brought a sword in with me, and by the end of 1F I have a shield as well. But ugh, by the time I reach 7F I've been caught and surrounded and poisoned so many times, I just used that Outside scroll to escape with my life.

Trying again.... Made it to 4F without a hitch. Made use of a Bang scroll I brought to take out a couple Mummies while I was cornered. Yay! Down to 8F now, and I have a couple Warp Herbs for emergencies. And here I am using one, cornered between a Wyvern and a Crabus! Nice, straight to the exit! It's gone really well through 10F, let's see how I handle Berserkers again....

And I can hardly believe my luck! I started 11F right next to the exit. Just a little exploring for a little EXP and money, then down the stairs! 12F isn't being so nice, but thankfully I still have Warp Herb to get out of a jam. Met a couple of Berserkers, thankfully still L1! And here's the exit! That should be the end.

Another pentagram! And Torneko jumps into the middle of it like a moron again. And we get a Tree's Lament. Yay! And here comes the Old Man! He asks if I could possibly be.... Well, of course I am, dingbat! You never thought to ask the last half-dozen times you saw me?! And again with the tubby joke. He says he's been investigating the kingdom for some time, and he never expected the Magic Dungeons to get this far. He's glad to hear the King is looking for him, and comes with me to the Castle voluntarily!

The Old Man is surprised to learn that they think him responsible, and explains that in the past the kingdom was home to fools who wielded magic selfishly. They gathered demonic power without realizing its nature, and it destroyed them. Afterwards, all that remained was the channel through which that power had been gathered. This power causes the land to cycle through extinction and rebirth. It is responsible for reshaping the land into dungeons! But we don't believe all that nonsense, take him away. Sigh.... But what's this?! The Prince and Princess have returned from the west! The Old Man is none other than Gashira, Great Sage of the Western City! Unhand him, ye scoundrels!

It seems the root cause of everything is the Darkevil Chest, the twin of the Joy Chest. Do we know why the Joy Chest was in a Magic Dungeon? Well, no...so Gashira tells us! It was created by the dungeon itself! Amazing! So was the Darkevil Chest. The Magic Dungeon creates them "regularly"...you know, with regularity and all that. So we must destroy the Darkevil Chest which has been created! But even then, the dungeon may simply create another. What to do?!

Don't panic, that's why I'm here! says Gashira. He'll create a Banish Chest to seal everything up. But he needs three things! (Sounds like Dragon Quest I here, don't it?) I already have two: The Fiery Murmur and the Tree's Lament, of course! The third is the Stone's Mutter. Let's get to it!

Hmm, there is a villager cackling like a Gremlin saying he'll find the Joy Chest. Also, Ernest thinks the monsters want the Joy Chest because he wants it too. Can't argue with that logic! Remi's Magic Shop can now increase staff usage points, so that's good. And there's another monster-like villager outside.

Well, that's it for now. Toro Ruins next time!

Torneko: The Last Hope #04

No intro, right into the action! Lost Forest! Oh, a Gargoyle with a shop! Didn't bring any money with me, so I only have enough for some bread, really. On 3F, we see something new: ice panels! Slip-n-slide!

4F: I need to stop attacking Mummy Men. Hmmm.... Pillow Rats seem to be mildly annoying right now, just moving to act like they're threatening, but then stepping back. Ooh, nice, a Gargoyle selling shields! I needed one, since I only took a sword and Outside scroll with me (in case of emergency!). An emergency like the one on 7F, where I disturbed a meeting of Yetis and got knocked out before I could run to safety. Did I remember to use the Outside scroll? No, I was too busy running like a moron. D'oh! I guess I'll retry...I've lost everything I came in with now, though.

On the retry, I'm getting mauled by Big Mushrooms. My Strength is down to 3! Close call on 6F, Mummy right behind me and I just barely found the exit in time! No way to heal right now besides waiting, and that doesn't work with monsters in the room.... Aaaand on that note, 7F is my end again, knocked out by a Dance Vegi. The Gargoyles failed me! I never found one shop that time! Retry once more.

AWWWW YEAAAAH, there's a Dragon-X sword for sale on 2F! I'm just a little short on cash since a Trick Bag got me before I got knocked out last time. AAARGH, I just need one more gold bag to buy it! And I got hit with two poison traps while looking for cash, so I'm down to 6 Strength already. Gotta take what I can buy, I guess. Another shop on the next floor, now I get an Antidote and a sword again!

Okay, 7F again, and now I have a Bronze Shield+3. Let's see how it goes this time. Awesome, actually made it to 8F! Meeting Wyverns now, great sources of Exp! Stepped on a trap, and it molded all my bread. Yuck! Also decided to kill that group of Yetis--they're fast! But I lived, so that's nice! 9F! I'm just going to run for the exit now, and I get to 11F easily. Aaaand, there's a Level 3 Berserker. Done.

Pushmo Pack #1!

If anyone reading this is a Pushmo fan, here's a little gift just for fun: A pack of three Dragon Quest I themed puzzles! Try them out and tell me what you think! Edit them if you like, and send them back--I'd like to see what improvements you can make! ^_^

Torneko: The Last Hope #03

All right! Let's get on with it~!

Mt. Fiery! This is as far as I got the last time I played; let's do this! Scrolls are the tutorial this time around. Yeah...all the dungeons so far have basically been tutorials. At least there are actually some weapons and armor in here this time. Well, armor; Picks don't really count. Oh, my! An injured soldier! But don't worry about him, the King is ahead, he says! Okay!

Oh my goodness, Flames. And now there are traps. Mt. Fiery is not the friendliest place. You know, I take that back--this Metabble+1 Sword is working out great, thanks dungeon! And the deeper we go, the hairier it gets--7F and lower are full of Trolls! And I'm out of Bread and Herbs.... I see a stone statue, but it isn't registering on the map as a foe. Staying away in case I'd wake it up! And yeah, it's definitely a monster, I passed by another.

And 9F introduces Goopi! Damn, I have to walk by one. Grabbed my foot! And, they summon Stone Men. But on 10F, I'm doing great! Level 14, ha! Cleared the dungeon just as Torneko starts to get hungry.

A pentagram! So what do we do? We immediately stand in the center of it! D'oh! A voice calls me Child of Man. How does he know my daddy's name?! It also gives me a Fiery Murmur. Okay. And the King is here! Yay! He steps on the pentagram too, but apparently receives no murmur.

Back at the Castle! Everyone is overjoyed. The Baron keeps panting. The King reveals what he has found! Of course, it's the Old Man's fault, right? Based on him saying the Joy Chest is not good, and he came from the western city. How could it not be good to be happy?! And everyone knows west is evil, right?! Oh, it's been ravaged by Dragons. I mean, no one would ever leave a city overrun by Dragons, y'know? He must be their leader! Oh, finally something that makes sense. The Old Man was in Mt. Fiery and was unharmed by monsters. That actually is suspicious. Now I'm sent to the Lost Forest to arrest him! And of course I can't check out the Fiery Murmur, even though the info it gives is supposed to be important.

Haha! One of the guards says his son has turned into a jerk, and he's a failure as a father! Must be the Loudmouth's dad, heh! Lol, Maggie is displaying the kung fu she'll do to monsters who try to destroy the innocence of children and hurts her back! And the Bank has started handing out free gifts! I get a Joy Herb and a World Leaf, which raise your Level and revive you upon defeat respectively. Haha, that Ernest! He thinks the King game back to eat; he thinks that because he's hungry. Remi's Magic Shop is now open at the Graveyard! Buy an Iron Safe for 2000G! Also, now we can level up before entering a dungeon, for a cost.

Well, that's about it for now. Later!

Torneko: The Last Hope #02

 I'm back! All righty then...

Apparently, the Blacksmith was given the King's Sacred Flame to use in his forge, but can't retrieve it because the Castle Basement has become--dun dun dunnnnnnnn~!--a Magic Dungeon. King is furious! There has also been a Baker lurking around the Graveyard...all righty then. Also, one of the guards suspects this is all the Old Man's fault...of course.

Castle Dungeon! Magic staves are the Item du jour this time. Stupid Trick Bags, stealing all my money; got it back, though! Phew! This was the first dungeon that required a little bit of strategy. It wasn't difficult to recover from bad spots, but there were a couple of places where a less thoughtful Torneko might not have made it.

We got the Sacred Flame, so the Blacksmith will pay us back! Altruism wins again! Now we have a lock for our storehouse. On a related note, several of the Castle guards are afraid of the Power of Torneko. Or something. And by the next morning, Ed has repaired the entire storehouse! ...But it's still a mess, so capacity is limited. However, with more money....

Looking around town, it seems that the Castle has been reduced to a skeleton crew--top secret goings-on. Someone wants to open a magic shop, but the Baker's wailing at the cemetery is proving too bothersome. And a guard says that he can't find the Joy Chest in the village...perhaps insinuating that the chest in Torneko's home is not truly the Joy Chest?! But now, on to the Graveyard! The Baker wants help reaching his mentor's grave. The Old Man pops out, muttering about how A) he can't find Torneko and B) monsters have spread all the way over here. But sir, A) you shoved Torneko out of your way, so you're incredibly observant, and B) we're right freakin' next door to the Joy Chest, again! Sheesh!

Cemetery Dungeon! Woooooo~~, just in time for Halloween. Herbs are this dungeon's specialty item. There are many varieties in this game with offensive effects--they're not just for healing! But sometimes not so effective...I got knocked out by a Mummy Man who wasn't particularly blinded by my science. Guess I should have used a Warp Herb on him...just thought of that. Meh. Retry is going better so far. Disturbing dialogue: "Why did my Master have to get buried so deep?" Shudder to think. When finally we reach the grave, the Baker finds the recipe for Magic Bread and offers this prayer:

"May the spirits of bread guide you in your afterlife..."

...Right. But there's a bakery in the Square now, so let's forgive him! Nina was so worried about Torneko she forgot to feed Paulo! Neglect! That night....

His Majesty is missing! Apparently he's gone off with a company of soldiers to investigate on his own. Silly! Only one tubby is allowed to investigate dungeons, and that's Torneko! Seems he's tracking the Old Man. ...And, we somehow know where the Old Man lives, but we don't know who he is? Okay. Awwww, Paula and little Lulu are playing like Torneko and Nina! Warm and fuzzy feelings! Oh, and the soldier who suggested that we didn't have the Joy Chest? Apparently he hadn't made it all the way over to my house since the beginning of the game. Now he's there; he's convinced. Oh, and now a guard outside the Inn is calling Torneko tubby. Oh good, it's not just me!

At the Old Man's House, the Rumormonger wants to know if there was a ruckus at the Castle. I'd better tell her, right? No. And the forgotten mayor! He practically begs me to rename the village just so he can do something! Ha! A soldier at the door redirects us to Mt. Fiery. Next time!

Phew! I'm glad I quit doing this on Twitter, that's a lot of tweeting!

Torneko: The Last Hope #01

Hey all! What's up!

This post kind of marks a return to LPS×S. I tried the Twitter updates for a couple of play sessions, and I didn't really like it. So I'm coming back to the blog, but with a decidedly less "formal" tone. I'll just write about what happens in the game, and what I think is silly/funny/whatever in the story, in short little blurbs as I go, leaving the really informative stuff for the one post at the beginning of a game (like where I go over all the different releases and such). So I'll kick this one off by repeating my tweets for #Torneko2 in blog form!

Coming home, I'm met with a mysterious man who thinks my having the Joy Chest (see Torneko no Daibōken 1, yo!) is a problem. Now monsters appear! Odd Field! It's now a magic dungeon! Super easy but the poor fool villagers were scared. Storehouse collapse! Next up, Banker!

Banker's mansion is infested with monsters! "Kind sir, though I have no idea who you are, could you retrieve my safe?" Absolutely! Old Man is still looking for me (and walks on by), mumbling "it's already spread to here"...all the way from my house, I guess. Mansion Dungeon! Word of the day is "Arrows." Got the Safe, now the banker can open his bank so I can save my Gold! Altruism!

Blacksmith happily shouting about being allowed into the Castle basement! Sounds great, but this is a video game, mirite~!?

Torneko: The Last Hope

Our Hero, in all his Claymation glory!

Hi there! Although I'm not going to be doing a Let's Play in the same old format anymore, I still thought this would be a good place to write about the games that I'm starting up, so here we go again! ^_^

Dragon Quest Characters: Torneko no Daibōken 2: Fushigi no Dungeon /
World of Dragon Warrior: Torneko: The Last Hope
(PlayStation, 1999/2000)

The original "Torneko no Daibōken" for the Super Famicom was a spin-off from Dragon Quest IV. The format was similar to games that have been referred to as "roguelikes," which get their name from the 1980 computer game "Rogue." It consists of mostly randomly generated dungeons filled with enemies which take their turns after the player, resulting in strategic gameplay regarding the approach of monsters and which skills to use—and when to wait—so as not to let them gain an advantage. At the end of that game, Torneko is successful in retrieving something known as the "Joy Chest" from the dungeon, and all is well! The sequel is another roguelike, and the first (and only) installment seen in the U.S. Six months after the first game, the entire village is slowly becoming a dungeon, and it's up to Torneko to explore the different areas and discover why! The game was quite popular in Japan, as was the original, but the localization of the sequel didn't do as well in North America, garnering as low as 1/10 from reviewers. Really, it's not that bad...judge a game on its merits, not on whether you like its style...but whatever. The NA version has become a bit of a rarity it seems.

Dragon Quest Characters: Torneko no Daibōken 2 Advance: Fushigi no Dungeon
(Game Boy Advance, 2001)

A mere two years after its initial release with Sony, this handheld Nintendo version was published. It appears to be exactly like its predecessor, with the same graphics and sound effects, but with fewer buttons to control the various functions, and an added feature to temporarily save the game between each floor of the dungeon. I'll have to look into it to see if there were any added features, but it doesn't seem that this is worth playing once you've played the console version—unless you just reeeally want your Torneko to go.

And that's that! I hope you'll follow my tweets as I attempt to discover the secrets of this charming little gem!

The Future of LPS×S

Lately I've expressed misgivings about whether I shall continue this project. After giving it some thought, I've decided that no, I shall not; the format of episodes and recaps and all that is just...getting to me. I had much more fun posting the little tweets to give updates about my progress than I did writing up in-depth posts for the blog.

And so, that's where I stand: Instead of the large-format LPS×S blog, I'll continue to tweet about whatever it is that I happen to be playing. You can expect to see a lot of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, specifically XI and I for now, and anything else that I happen to pick up and play for a moment. I'll keep non-gaming chatter to a minimum, just because that's not really the place where I want to talk politics or religion for the most part, so if you follow me for games and you don't like what I say, just ignore it; I won't say it much. I'm @x_loto, and I'll be around. Thank you for reading! ...Of course, I never said this blog will be completely abandoned. Maybe we should all keep an eye out...just in case.

Sigh...

Somehow my cats dragged the laptop off of its cart yesterday and cracked the casing around the monitor portion. It still works, however, so that's good.

At the same time, I've had a strange error occur twice this past week. Suddenly, both times while I was trying to watch review footage for the Dragon Quest blog, the computer just...stopped. Still running, but the screen just shut off and it refused to respond to anything. I don't know if maybe it's overheating or something, but it felt hot to me when I was trying to figure out the problem. I have a window fan set on high one inch away now, just in case.

I'm really starting to question whether I should continue this blog. I know that someone, somewhere, is interested in this sort of thing, although I knew that I wouldn't have a large audience to start--or, more likely, ever. That doesn't bother me. The time involved isn't really an issue either; it really doesn't take that much longer to write the blog after playing the way I was going to play anyway. And I hate that I so very often do not finish what I start. If I pull the plug now, that leaves Dragon Quest about half done, and I just started a side project with FFXI. Maybe I'm just starting to get burned out on video games; I hope not, I still have a backlog of maybe 30 that I was excited about at the time, and I'd still like to see them.

So I guess I'm just kind of bummed about the computer possibly starting to die, questioning whether it's worth it to try to save the files and notes and whatnot involved in writing this. Either way, I'd better get to backing up files...just in case.

UPDATE: Well, I don't think it's the cats that did it, but there's definitely something wrong with the laptop. It died on me again while I was playing FFXI just now. At least it's an MMO this time and I didn't lost my little progress.

Final Fantasy XI #001: Trial of FREEDOM!

Welcome back, readers! After countless (well, not really, just double-digit) hours of installation, update, and config tinkering, I finally got my first taste of what Hiromichi Tanaka, XI's producer, called "the most Final Fantasy of all the installments." Or as I prefer to phrase it, "the most Final of all Fantasies!" So there's that.

Moving right along! I've created two characters so far for the trial, but I'll likely only keep playing one. I decided to make my main a Tarutaru, the diminutive race which was designed to be the magic-users. It was a kind of tough choice, since I didn't really want to play as a kid-looking dude, but meh, it's growing on me. I moreso didn't want to play cross-gender right now, and the female-only Mithra was the only other class that interested me, so Tarutaru it was. I started as a BLM (the abbreviation of Black Mage), since I want to have some decent magic power to start with, and win battles at the same time. I think eventually I'll switch to RDM (Red Mage), and if I get that far I'll tack on /BLM (an abbreviation meaning Black Mage as sub-job; the full abbreviation would then be "RDM/BLM"). I'm not looking too far beyond my 14 days for now, so I may not pass the sub-job quest yet.

Starting out, I was given a little history of the Federation of Windurst, a wonderful land of trees and magic where small children and sexy catgirls live. Upon seeing my character, I was told by some NPCs that I should seek Selele for guidance, and the Gatehouse for missions, both at the eastern gate leading to Sarutabaruta. I also saw that I had a ring and a Stone magic scroll, so I equipped and/or learned each of those. Most of this first session was just spent speaking to NPCs and getting the feel of the city. This was partly because many of the PCs whom I met ignored me. Oh well, it was expected. One very helpful NPC told me all about elemental defense, and pointed out that many status ailments are associated with elements. For example, if I have Ice resistance, I'll be less susceptible to paralysis. This is something I would not have expected, and I'm glad I found that so early.

During my exploration of the town, I met a Porter Moogle who had a heck of a lot to say, and none of it very useful to me. During his long speech, a Hume (I think) player named Cordareo came along and cheered me on! I appreciated the nice gesture, and rushed through the remainder of the Porter's dialogue so I could greet him in return. After some fumbled attempts at chatting, I said hello and explained that I was new, and trying to figure things out. His reply was classic: "Well, this moogle is not for you sir." Not for me, indeed! At that time he invited me to join his party; at that time my son woke and began to cry, so I had to go. However, he stayed with my character long enough to leave a fair amount of info behind, going so far as to look up info and give me more precise directions to Selele. Speaking of that, I forgot to check out the Field Manual he told me about; I'll get it next time. So if you happen to read this, thank you Cordareo; you are exactly the kind of person I hoped I would meet on my adventure!

It wasn't too long after this that I was given my first task by Selele, to raise my Weapon Skill to 5. Doing this, of course, requires using my weapon. Which is a staff, because I'm a mage. So I began by simply fighting to raise my Level until I could survive better while using my staff. My first two battles: I killed a Tiny Mandragora, and then another Tiny Mandragora killed me while I was confused by the battle system. How about that, killed by a Slime. </DragonQuest> At least I didn't lose any EXP. What can I say? I tried to run away, and I didn't realize he was still chasing me when I stopped to heal! My thoughts on camping to heal: Too. Slow. 30-40 seconds wasted if you need to recover significantly, though I suppose it's better than draining all your gil into healing items. Speaking of those, treasure chests are pretty fun. If they are locked, you get several chances to try to determine the combination based on simple clues. It's not easy--I succeeded only once, out of three, maybe four locked chests--but it is interesting. And time-consuming. Also, if there are more than one item in the chest you have to acquire them individually; no "Get All" command in this game. Anyway, it wasn't long before I'd forgotten why I was fighting but reached Level 5 regardless. My thoughts on battles in FFXI: So far, they appear to move kind of slowly. though it did seem to pick a little once I realized where to pay attention for gauges and timers associated with spellcasting.

Sometime during all that--during the time between dying and leaving town again, no doubt--I found a place with a bunch of PCs all standing together. I commented that it was the most people I had seen together so far, but no one paid me any mind until a Tarutaru named Dyoko arrived and waved at me. I took the opportunity to ask about emotes, and received some more helpful advice. Thank you, Dyoko!

Well, that's about it. I went back out and raised my Weapon Skill to 5, got some stuff as a reward along with a new assignment, and sat down for a break. Final thoughts for this post: There has been extremely little story so far to make me feel like something is actually happening, but knowing the nature of the game, it can't help but have a slow start. I'll definitely continue to play through the trial period, and we'll see what happens by the end of that.

By the way, if anyone reading this happens to play on the Bismarck world, my name is Bartholomey, so go ahead and look me up! ^_^

My Progress
Level	BLM 5
Total Time	02:56
Deaths	1

Let's Play Final Fantasy XI: 1-Sided: Introduction

Welcome, Readers! Today I have a treat for you: I decided to go ahead and begin my side project of playing "the game that got away," Final Fantasy XI, a little bit early! As I've mentioned in a previous post, I didn't think I'd ever actually sit down and play this, and I'm not sure how far I'll get, but here it is, and here we go!

But first, we have to install it! I decided to start by going through the 14-day free trial available from Square Enix's website, and of course the downloading is Step 1. Well, not long ago I had gone to my ISP and reduced my broadband speed to the lowest level possible to save some money. I hadn't been watching a lot of YouTube lately, and it had been quite some time since I'd had to download anything substantial, so for a time it was worth it. But RIGHT NOW, it's making a 1-hr download take EIGHT FULL HOURS at 768 Kbps.

Step 2 was bringing my speed back up. That will take effect on Tuesday. Sigh.

Well, finally the 2GB file is mine! I run the install file, and of course I have to install the PlayOnline viewer. Okay! Then I have to update it...? ...Okay! So after maybe 10-15 minutes of that I arrive at the point where I need to register at PlayOnline...and all it does is say I need a Square Enix account. Huh? I made one of those yesterday, ahead of time! Why is this option here if it doesn't work?

So I went ahead and skipped that step for the mo, and I started installing FFXI proper. The install took a while, but it wasn't ridiculous or anything. Then running the game...brings up the PlayOnline viewer. No luck there, so I go to the Square Enix website and finally figure out this PlayOnline ID thing! I enter the registration code for the free trial, and voila! We're online!

So I start up the game, and I see this:

A Word To Our Players

Exploring Vana'diel is a thrilling experience. During your time here, you will be able to talk, join, and adventure with many other individuals in an experience that is unique to online games.

That being said, we have no desire to see your real life suffer as a consequence. Don't forget your family, your friends, your school, or your work.*

*Emphasis added.

...Is this really necessary~! O_o I mean, I'd read about that disclaimer before, but actually seeing it was just...wow.

Next step is to play the game! ...Except instead we have to update the game itself now. FOREVER. As of this moment, there are 26033/28909 files remaining to update. Insert "over 9000" joke here.

...I'm going to go play Dragon Quest.

Let's Play...an MMO?!

Loyal readers! As you may have realized, this project of mine will eventually include every main Dragon Quest game, at least up to the currently released IX (and many spin-offs as well). It's not much of a stretch to assume that I'm also including Final Fantasy (especially if you saw my long-running poll before votes started expiring), and that I intend to do the same with that series, at least up to XII; I don't currently have a system to play XIII on, but we'll see.

That seems straightforward, but one game has been in question: Final Fantasy XI. It's a polarizing title. Is the play style so different that it should have been a spin-off? Does it deserve to be a "numbered" FF game? Even people who have played and enjoyed it don't all agree on that. I myself used to be of the camp that believed it should not have been called "XI," though I admit that was largely because I regretted that I likely wouldn't be able to play it, and it would always be the "missing" FF to me.

Or would it? It's been 10 years since the Japanese release and it's still running, with a fifth expansion soon to be released. I have a better computer than I did at release time, so I don't need expensive hardware for the PS2. The price has also dropped considerably. I think...I think I can do this!

I intend very soon to download the free trial from Square Enix's website. If I decide to keep it up, I won't be able to LP it "Side × Side," so Final Fantasy XI will get the "1-Sided" treatment. And since it's only 1-Sided, I'll continue the Side × Side main LPs alongside it, so no worries there!

But I'd like to close this out with a question: If anyone reading this has played FFXI, what would you suggest for a race? I'm assuming it can't be changed after starting, and I can't make up my mind! ;-)

Dragon Quest #04: Cave of DARKNESS!

Hi again! Small note here, I've gone and renamed the first couple posts of this blog to match the format I seem to have started. I'm also going to try a different method of writing, doing a little bit after each leg of the journey, so you may notice a change in the flow of the blog. Anyway, it's been long enough since last time, so let's move along, shall we?

First, our goals for the evening:

1. Loot the Rocky Mountain Cave repeatedly until I have enough money for a Large Shield.
2. ...That's it.

So let's begin!

Marching a little bit north of the castle and then west to the coastline, and turning south to cross a bridge, one soon comes to a small patch of swampland to the east, around which a majestic mountain range looms merrily over...well, everyone, I'd suppose. East of this swamp is a cave which I do not believe has ever been officially mentioned or named in any version of this game, but which is commonly known as the "Rocky Mountain Cave." Inside, as in Erdrick's Cave, we are welcomed by a comforting blanket of TOTAL FREAKIN' DARKNESS, and unlike Erdrick's Cave, the warm embrace of MONSTERS TRYING TO KILL YOU.

Let's start with the original set of releases. On the first floor we encounter a new foe, the Druin, which dies. There is also an Herb on the first floor, in the northeast corner near the stairs leading downward. Be careful, as there are two sets of decoy stairs which lead to dead ends in the northwest and southeast.

The second floor is not so friendly. All of the monsters are stronger here, comparable to Scorpions and Skeletons from Kol, only worse because they're worse. One, the Poltergeist, would very much like to HURT you. The Sleep spell comes in very handy down here, unlike Hurt which is already starting to lose its utility due to hey, we're getting stronger now and we just bought an Axe. I'd recommend not sticking around if you don't have MP to spare for Sleep castings; Warlocks and Drolls are as capable of making you die as Skeletons (which caused my first NES-U death), and Drakeemas are the first monster we've met which can Heal itself, so Sleep can save you a lot of trouble!

For the intrepid explorer, there is much to find in the depths of the Rocky Mountains. Along with a common Torch and a small sum of Gold, there is the Fighter's Ring and a large sum of Gold. First the Ring: Unless you just like having useless things (which I admit, I do...), sell it. It's worth 15 Gold to you gone, and nothing to you on your finger. It has been discovered that there are only two places is the game code that check for the presence of the Ring. One is a man who changes his dialogue if he sees it. The other portion checks to see if you're already wearing the Ring when you go to put it on. It doesn't increase your Strength, and it doesn't make monsters run away (although it may seem that way, since wasting your turn gives them another chance to try).

Now, the large sum of Gold: There's a 1-in-32 chance that you actually get something other than Gold here, namely the Death Necklace! If you do, JACKPOT!, it's worth a lot of shiny. Just don't use it!--it's cursed! What does that mean? Oh, nothing important...you just won't be allowed into the castle because of the evil stench rolling off of you, so you won't be able to SAVE YOUR GAME. Even intentionally dying doesn't work, because the King will revive you just enough to kick you out of the castle with 1 HP and 0 MP. Now, if you do happen to accidentally put on the Death Necklace, there is a man in Brecconary who will remove it for free...but you'll lose the merchandise. Better to sell it!

Now for something that I didn't expect: While running through the cave on the MSX version, I actually succeeded in obtaining the Death Necklace! Called しのくびかざり [shi no kubikazari], it is worth a whopping 1200 Gold, more than enough to buy the Large Shield and end that leg of the journey. It was fitting that I received it on that run as well, since a Warlock nearly killed me twice with Sleep just beforehand, and then I was immediately ambushed by another before grabbing the treasure, which left me with only 2 MP and no Herbs remaining to escape the cave with my booty. Thankfully, even if I'd died the equity in my Necklace would have remained, but I managed to escape anyway so I was pretty lucky all around! ^_^

But most iterations of my journey were not so fortunate. Even so, after only two or three trips in and out of the cave, noble Egbert had enough money for the Large Shield sold at Garinham. Let's go get it! ...and then we're done.

But now it's time to talk about the remakes. I stated in previous blogs that I expected all the caves would look the same. Boy, was I wrong! The Rocky Mountain Cave in particular has been vastly redesigned for the SNES, and the same new design was carried over into the GBC. Instead of heading toward the northeast, we are forced to take a circuitous route along the outside edge of the cave moving clockwise, stopping for a small treasure behind a pool along the way. The amount of Gold? ALMOST 350. Sure beats 14, right? Our goal, by the way, is the stairway in the northwest corner, unless you're coming here late and you have a key to open the door which has shown up in the southwest; both lead to the main area of the lower level. Also, for some reason the メーダ [mēda] are drawn as floating in the SNES edition--that's the monster called "Druin" in North America.

Or is it? Here's an interesting tidbit: Although the Japanese names never changed, the monster originally called "Druin" was renamed "Eyeder" for the GBC. The reason? Who knows, but it probably had something to do with the "Warlock" being renamed..."Druin." O_o

As different as the upper level was, the lower level is much more so. Along the north wall are several rooms, one of which contains a large amount of Gold (OVER 670!) which I promptly lost by putting off healing in a battle with a ドラキーマ [dorakīma]. Forgetting that the battle system was now shared with DQII on the same cart, I also forgot that in each round the monster now actually has a chance to go first if it's faster than I am. I learned the hard way to heal ahead of time! However, even after losing half I still had 657 Gold, which is pretty dang good this early in the game.

Anyway, back to that long hallway. After the big chest of Gold is one which contains a Torch, or perhaps the Death Necklace if you're (un)-lucky? No, you'd be lucky! ^_^ Going around the east end of the cave brings you to a section where you can turn west and enter the central chambers. In various rooms around here are a 鉄の盾 [tetsu no tate], ちからのたね [chikara no tane] to increase STR, ふしぎなきのみ [fushigi na ki no mi] to increase Max MP, and displayed very prominently, the 戦士の指輪 [senshi no yubiwa]--you know, the ring that does nothing. But wait, that "tetsu" thing...that's actually the "Iron Shield," which is the same as the Large Shield we were here to earn money for. That means we're done! Banzai! Head back to town, and if you have over 1000 Gold (you probably do), put it in the Vault at the Inn before saving.

Next time we'll try to journey on to Rimuldar. Will we make it, or will we laugh in the face of failure and try again until we make it?!

My Progress
Version	NES (U)	MSX (J)	MSX2 (J)	NES (J)	SNES (J)	GBC (U)	GBC (J)
Level	8	8	8	8	8	8	8
Total Time	02:10	02:22	01:57	02:09	01:27	01:24	01:22
Deaths	1	1	1	0	1	1	0