Tales of Phantasia is a terrible game.

 I just cannot get over how terrible the battle system is. Mages do more damage while taking away the player's action. So what's the point of playing Cless?
There's no need for the Formation option because monsters attack you on both sides more often than not. If they don't, it's probably a back attack, and you have a mage on the front line. Yes, you can flip everyone with a few presses of the L1 button, but that's a lot of in-and-outs there, too.
AI is utter trash. How many times are you gonna cast a fire spell on a monster we know is weak to wind? More time wasted!

The characters and story seem fine. In fact, I felt like the plot was about to start tonight. Arche began to question why Dhaos was starting this war. And it's a good question to ask. If Dhaos can attack some no named hamlet, why wouldn't he do that to Midgar? But, the get that answer, we need to go across a war zone. We have five days to march across the Valhalla Plains, fighting an entire army of repetitive mobs who are just tough enough to be annoying. There's no plot during all this, and is entirely combat. But the battle system is the worst in the genre.

I can't do it anymore, and I'm not going forward. Morrison did some time travel shenanigans, so there are probably going to be some time travel paradoxes and questions that'll unwind any cool story points, so I'm done. I hate the Tales of series.

773-202-

Forest mazes are worse leaving than entering.

But it's easy enough. When we get back to town, though, there's a commotion going on. An intruder has snuck into the village and has been detained. The chief thinks it's a human, but the guard says it's a half elf. We all go see a woman tied to a tree, and the voice sounds familiar. It's Arche. Why'd she change her outfit if she was gonna get caught? Either way, she's not into this "kinky" stuff and is upset. But she's about to be more so. Not only are half elves banned from the village, but any found are to be killed on sight. We promise to take our mage and run if the chief will overlook it, but rules are rules. Suddenly, a woman leaves the inn and pleads for Arche's life. She goes so far as to offer herself in the lynching. It works, and the chief lets Arche go. We all rush towards the exit, but something triggers in Arche's head. She starts to scream to be let back in. She thinks the woman who saved her is her mother. Arche wants to see the woman she believes is her mom for a moment. The guards don't allow it, so we all leave. After missing all the great EXP, Arche is now three levels beneath everyone.

Talking to the chief's advice, we all head to the Zodiac Tower south of Midgard. The doors open this time, and now we need to hear music. The gimmick here is every door is locked and can only be opened if you find the correct song as stated on the tablet. The clue it gives you sucks, though. And it's not like you know what the song will be before you play it, anyway. So find the statue on the floor that plays the song. There's plenty of treasure around, too. We've got to get through six floors of this.

At the top is a fairy! This is Artemis, and HE is very protective of his big sister, Luna. He may be the last fairy on the planet, but he's also a pervert. Art says he'll let us pass if someone gives Arche a kiss. Arche hits on Cless, who reluctantly agrees to it. Mint, however, gets between the two. Hmm... A voice front the floor above echoes down, telling Artemis to let us pass. He does, and we meet with the spirit, Luna.

Some words are said, and Luna makes a pact with Klarth without a fight. I don't think this scene had plot relevance... We leave, and Artemis poofs in behind us. I'm sure it's nothing. The party climbs down the tower, and we make our way towards Midgar. He'll find Edward Morrison...

... tomorrow!

I got a late start, lost in the forest, and the tower was a bit "meh." It's a perfect representation of Tales of Phantasia!

Somehow, a runaround is progress.

Save me RNGesus!

First on the docket tonight is to find five or six basilisk scales. Basilisks are a random encounter in the desert, so we're gonna be here a while. They're rare, too... I found they spawn more frequently on that peninsula far to the east. Bring panacea bottles because, as their name suggests, they can turn their targets to stone. Fortunately, they only spawn one at a time. Unfortunately, this took an hour...

Once you get your scales, return to Olive Town. The innkeeper will spread the word that people with scales have arrived, and we get a free night's rest. In the morning, we'll meet someone who looks familiar. Edward's last name is Morrison, and yes, he's an ancestor of our Mr. Morrison. Remember him? The guy who sent us to the past? Anyway, he tells us only elves can repair the pact rings, but there's a village of them sound of Altavista. We'll need the King's permission to see them, though, so it's back to the castle. As Ed leaves, Cless tries to speak to him. Cless says that he knows his grandson and tries to give him his book. Ed turns it down because he doesn't want the future spoiled. Though he is glad to know he masters time travel magic. Edward is looking for soldiers willing to fight Dhaos, so Cless tells him to wait for us in Midgard. While this happens, Mint informs Arche she's from the future. It's NBD.

So it's back to the castle to talk to the mage. He gets us a pass in the morning but warns us half elves aren't allowed into the elven village. Arche is half elf, so she'll stay at the inn until we return. As the party leaves Altavista, the camera cuts to Arche, transforming herself. Hmm...

The Forest of Ymir is south of the castle on a peninsula. The guard lets us through when we show him the seal, and we have to walk a quick maze to the village. The mobs here are pretty rewarding, especially in terms of gald. The trees are back, and everything is weak to fire. Avoid the left side of the map.

We'll meet the village Chief, Brambert, and he lets us in. This scene goes fast, and it's rad that elves are quick and to the point. Follow him north into the forest. He tells us to follow the animals to find our way. So if we don't see bush babies and dragonflies or hear animal mating rituals, you've gone the wrong way. But there are A LOT of treasures off the beaten paths. None of it is super rad, but I want it. And who knows what I missed!?

We'll eventually reach a stone tablet that the chief says speaks of a world creation myth. It's something about the King of the spirits. I've forgotten most of it, but the King has only appeared in the world once; to end the Age of Antiquity. But the tablets can repair the rings by returning them to their true form. The chief does so, and we get the Topaz and Moonstone Rings. Brambert also suggests we investigate the Zodiac Tower south of Midgard. And I'll be doing that...

... tomorrow!

Was that Arche sneaking into the Elf Village behind us?

I think I hate this game.

But let's wrap up Moria.

The next five floors are much of the same but with an added effect: darkness. And also floor spikes.
Floor six is just us trying to find our way with no lights.
After that, we're gonna have to walk across a lot of spikes, open a chest, hit a switch, pull statues, find a new switch, and put the statues back.
Floor seven has us teleporting around before we get to the treasure. Go the long way around the room to reach the goal. You'll come back to the main room three times, but you'll be in a slightly different place each time you trigger the teleporter.
Floor eight has us using the Sorcerer's Ring.
Floor nine is a decoy. Don't use the ring on the candle since it's a switch. Make sure to open the shortcut back to floor one after this. Find the combo link and hit the switch behind it to open the path to the final floor.
Floor ten is a bit better. Find the Turquoise Ring before pulling the switches to activate the teleporters. The right one tells us how to solve the puzzle in the left one. There's an obelisk with Elven script on it that only Arche can read. Klarth calls it "moon writings," which is a lotta bit racist. In the second room, Klarth needs to summon the four spirits on the correct spots. Clockwise, up to left, Ifrit, Sylph, Gnome, Undine. We'll all hear a voice ask us who summons "me."

The voice is back at the obelisk, and it is the leader of the four spirits, Maxwell. He asks us what we want, and Klarth says for the door behind him to open. To do that, we need to beat him.

Maxwell is pretty easy. He'd be easier if the game didn't make Cless run away randomly. Max is hard to pin down since his attack causes him to rush across the screen, attacking everyone at the same time and repositioning himself. He has no elemental weaknesses.

Maxwell opens the door, and he even joins as a summon. He also powers up Gungnir, the spear Cless was using. Beyond the door is a mast amount of (useless) treasure. The team splits up to find the ring, but they only find two halves of one. If this is Luna's ring, it'll need to be fixed. Perhaps the court mage at the castle can be of help.

Nope. We all go outside out of fear of someone listening in, but wouldn't being outside allow for more prying ears? Either way, the mage tells us a man named Edward can help us. He lives in a house far to the west, so he gives us a letter of recommendation. As we leave, Cless' head starts "buzzing" with a voice telling him, a mortal, he's dealing with things beyond him.

The rest of the night is a game of hide 'n' seek. Edward isn't home, but his wife, Sif, tells us he went to Olive Town. A man there says he went to the oasis. So on and so forth until we return to Olive town. The innkeeper informs us Ed is looking for basilisk spines, so we're gonna need to grind for a rare mob drop...

... tomorrow!

The battle system is garbage. Between the mage spam and the game forcing you away from mobs, you're not allowed to play most of the time. I think this was the reason my second play through stopped just before this. I'm bored. Not only that, but why is EVERY fight a pincer or a back attack? What's the point of the formation menu if it doesn't mean anything? It's frustrating, not fun, and far from rewarding. If the story doesn't pick up soon, I'm dropping this. Or if Klarth says anything racist, sexist, or pedophiliac again...

Long dungeon is long.

Also, I finished the Elwyn/Nancy side quest. Papa E hates Nancy, but Elwyn brings up how disappointed his dead mon would be at his workaholic tendencies. Papa E okays the marriage, and everyone lives happily ever after in Venezia. Nancy gave Mint her wedding gloves as a gift, which I hear may be her best gear!

So let's do the Fire Cavern! The trick here is to go down as fast as possible. There's a mob here that's really annoying to fight, so let's keep that to a minimum. At the bottom is the Sorcerer's Ring, which shoots a magic beam. You can use that to hit targets throughout the area and unlock doors. Unlock the first door on the right and loop around. There's a Lava Key down there, which opens the second door. Use the ring to knock down the pillars and make a path across the lava. On the otherside is Ifrit (spelled stupidly in this translation). Ifrit isn't too hard since he's all alone, but he is hard to tack down. He likes to push you away when you get too close for too long. The warrior djinn accepts us as his better, and Arche learns Eruption.

From here, I kept looking around the desert until I found its north exit. That takes us to the castle of Midgard. There's not much here, but I had enough money for a Mech Halberd, which doubles Cless' attack power! This was as far as I got a few years ago.

So let's make new memories! The Moria Mines is a ten floor war of attrition. The knight in charge lets us through with the King's permission. From here, we have to find floor switches to open a door elsewhere around the floor.
Floor one's switch is in the northwest, and the door is in the northeast.
Floor two has us dragging a statue on the left side, which opens a door to a switch, which opens the exit on the right side.
Floor three asks us to find a floating panel to float over anti door switches.
We need to find a lever on the fourth floor. It's the unlit torch. There's also a puzzle where we need to stand on a switch and hope the NPC stands on the other one. I like it!
The fifth floor has us inputting the KONAMI Code. The statue is tertiary. This floor is also a checkpoint, and you can return to the world map from the save point. I looked ahead and learned I'm halfway through this, but I'm out of time. We'll get the Luna Ring...

... tomorrow!

Exploring future lands takes time, but it was worth it. For some reason, the game doesn't have new mobs around the castle, so exp and gald rewards suck. Oh well, look at my spear!

Spirit Hunting!

But before that, let's steal into a castle. After I run faster than a child, getting three pieces of dead coral as a reward.

Reluctantly, Arche drags her three friends onto a nearby balcony. It seems broomsticks have a weight limit. From here, we have a stealth mission to free the Prince from Dhaos' grasp. This kinda sucks because it's a SNES era RPG forcing stealth mechanics into it. Those never end well. If a guard is on screen, they will immediately notice you if you come into a possible view. Even if they have their back turned. I suppose, had I been patient, this might have gone smoother. But I tried to force it and got caught a dozen times. You're forced back to the balcony. Fortunately, there are only two guards, and the Prince's room is to the right.

There are no lights on, and it's pitch black. The team talks about not having night vision, but they're too loud. A figure gets out of bed and turns on the suddenly electric lights. It's the Prince, whose name I forgot. He yells for the guards, and the team realizes they have no time. They quickly start looking for a potential culprit and decide on the parakeet. The bird flies across the room and transforms into a monster. It says it would have tortured us had we not found it, but now it's gotta kill us. Had it not moved, it probably would have been fine.

Jahmir has two knights protecting her, and they do an excellent job. The knights jump around, and one got between Cless and everyone else. This meant I was sandwiched and had to divide my offense. It also meant Jahmir could cast spells with abandon. She summons a demon, which does a butt ton of damage to everyone in the area. Arche died, and Cless nearly followed. Fortunately, I was able to take out the knights, revive Arche, and then focus on the boss. With Cless in her face, she becomes no threat.

Prince Laird passes out just as the soldiers enter the room. They blame us for attacking the Prince and want to haul us to jail. We think about fighting out, but Klaeth tells us to follow the soldier's orders. The King will recognize Laird is different, which'll open our way out. So we go to jail, but it's not for long. Klarth is correct, and we're able to go free. We also get the rewards from Jahmir; a spear, a book that sucks, and something else I forgot. As a personal reward for saving the kingdom, the King rewards us with a pass to Moria Minds, our destination, that I might have skimmed over. The pact ring to Luna may be found there.

But dig around the castle first. We can buy two new spells for Arche, which'll help us out later tonight. More importantly, we get clues about three more spirit whereabouts. We can go to Moria Mind now, but the party wonders if we should find some side paths. We will.

East of Balladum is the Cave of Spirits. The path down is blocked by a door that asks for a password. Back in the Adventurer's Guild is a man who sells us a clue for 1000 gald. I'll save you the money and tell you it's YOMI. I think... On the second floor is a lost gnomette. We now have to guide him to his friends. There are no random encounters, but he walks real slow. In the next room are the only fights here. Sadly, they're not worth it. The mobs are immune to physical damage, and there are four of them who like to roam apart. They die to one Tractor Beam, but they reward one gald and exp apiece. Once we end our escort mission, the four of them will block more doors forward. Find a switch to pull, setting off an alarm to distract them. Behind one door is our target.

Gnome sucks. This battle isn't hard, but it sure is stupid. Gnome turns himself in four ICBMs that rain on the whole party. During this, we can't target him. And it lasts so long!!!! Once every forty five seconds, Gnome will return to four stone pillars. Hopefully, Klarth has a Sylph ready. Lame... Anyway, Gnome remarks we won and makes a pact with our summoner. The chest teaches Arche Grave.

Undine lives north of Venezia, and I probably should have come here later. All the battles are pincer attacks, and the mobs have so much hp! I had to start running away because it got so bad, and I got lost. There are several lavers we need to flip to change water levels. I hate it. Good dungeon, though. Undine isn't a tough fight. As you'd expect, it's a pincer attack, but my party took out the ones behind them while I kept the boss from spamming too many spells. The egotistical water spirit will be upset near humans beat her, but she'll sign the pact. The last spirit lives in a volcano in the desert, so I'll head to Feybrand...

... tomorrow!

I kinda hate the battle system. My allies pause the game too often, and I'm sick of being pulled back to the party. It isn't fun. And enough of the damn sandwiches!

Team's all here!

We have to avenge Reah's home from a man named Dementor. Like, the greek goddess?

There are two boats in the town of Venezia. One is too afraid to go across the sea, but we can convince the second one to take us around the Euclid Cape to the Western Island. The captain doesn't want to, but for a fee of 800 gald, he'll take us there. It's a lengthy journey, but all goes well, and we come to a mist filled castle.

At first, the manor is quiet but unsettling. There are strange statues in the foyer and hallways on either side. But one of the doors in the right wing is locked. Explore the left wing, and you'll come to Dementor's study. There are quite a few goodies to find here but dig around one of the vases. Finally, something to inspect that isn't a bookshelf or a chest. You'll find a key that unlocks the locked door on the right side of the house. It's...a...tree? Inspect it several times, and each party member will comment on it. Once they're done, they'll notice it's alive. But not in the normal way a tree is alive!

We're attacked by two sentient trees. This fight can be pretty tough as the enemies have the range advantage. But we have the healer advantage, and Sylph is easy to spam. The tree in the room will be gone, and it's much brighter now. When you return to the central room, take a look at the shared walk. You'll notice the curtains, which can be adjusted. The middle one shines light into the darkness, and we can see the statues are light puzzles. This one is simple, and you only need to rotate the ones on either side until the beams strike the vases. The room will shake, and a new path opens up! If you're weak after the trees, return to the ship and rest in the cabin.

The basement has random encounters, which are a bit annoying. You'll get sandwiched a lot, but at least the ghost thing drops rune bottles. The guy we're looking for is in the northeast. After some wannabe Magus flames, which are green, we meet Dementor himself. He's upset that we're trespassing but remains calm enough to ask us why we're here. Cless responds with revenge, but he has no idea why. When asked about Homel, he blames his master, who is also Reah's dad. Speaking of Reah, Dementor claims that's not the real Reah. Reah died in an experiment performed by her father. He'll offer to let us go if we leave the imposter, and the game gives you a choice. I don't know if anything changes, though, but I backed Reah and began the fight. And good thing, too, because he has the same spirit as Ares had!

Dementor sandwiches us with two golems and ghouls. Sylph makes quick work of the stone men, and Dementor doesn't even attack. I assume he'll cast spells, but I didn't let him do anything.

Once we win, Reah will thank us and say it's time to let her friend be free. She'll collapse between us, and we'll see a spirit raise to the skies. The team will wonder what happened until the body of Reah moves. Her speech patterns are a lot different now, and that's because she isn't Reah. This is Arche! Reah died and possessed the body of her best friend, Reah, to get revenge. We'll all warp to Bart's house and finish this arc. Afterwards, Arche will join the team as our mage, handing Klartg three pact rings as she does.

From here, return to previous cities. Reah learns spells through books, not by leveling up. Lenios can teach her something. While you're here, get a new arte for Cless at the weapons shop. Klarth's house has a spell to teach her, as well. There's an elf in Venezia that, for 1200 gald, teaches Arche two more. Also, return to Dementor's basement for two chests. And while we're in Venezia, let's find a boat!

The captain of the other ship is too afraid to cross the ocean. Something about Dhaos and a war. So Arche tries to hit on him. I had hoped this was a DeHap being saucy translation for SNES, but it seems she really is like this. She's seventeen, so it's creepy. Well, sorta. The caption turns her down, but he's more open to a conventional payment plan. For less than a trip to the Western Island, we can go to Altavista. The voyage is mostly uneventful, but we learn Klarth is a pervert. More reason to hate him! After the moment is saved, the team goes to drink with their new friend, Whatsgisface. They drink for six hours! Cless and Mint leave halfway through, but Arche drinks her fill. She passes out and has naughty dreams about Cless... What's actually important, though, is My Man tells Klarth that the Prince of Altavista is possessed by Dhaos. It's the reason the country has stayed out of the war despite their allies, Midgard, being in the thick of it. Everyone goes to bed after this...

But we're awoken in the morning by Our Dude. He's not polite and rushes in. Klarth saves us, but he's too hungover to help further, as is Arche. Mint is seasick, so this is a Cless solo adventure! The "Berserker " is on the deck, and I used him to grind Sword Storm with my halberd. Everyone assumes He was possessed by Dhaos for knowing too much, but he's dead now. But it's something we need to look into. The rest of the trip is smooth, and we reach Altavista in peace. Klarth wants to formulate a plan at the inn that night, so go there. The plan is to have Arche, with her witch's broomstick, fly the team into the castle. I feel like that's a third of a plan, but YOLO. We'll raid a castle...

...tomorrow!

I thought this was as far as I've gotten, but I explored further and couldn't find the cities I thought I recognized. But It's still new to me, so what's it matter?

Blow me!

I hate work, so I kept exploring. I ended up in Venezia and found Nancy. I convinced Elwin to talk to her, and they ran away to elope. Do I feel gross? Not with my new spear!

But back to Lone Valley! Karth needs to speak to the guy who...guards...the valley, so we do just that. His name is Bart, and he knows more about summoning. But he's more preoccupied with his missing daughter, Arche. She ran off into the valley a few days ago and has been missing ever since. What's worse is a recent earthquake has caused the spirits to go mad, attacking everything they see. But we're big, strong adventures who have business here. We agree to kill two birds with one stone, and Bart gives Klarth the Opel Pact Ring. This ring will allow the user to make a pact with Sylph. Before going deeper in, head to the town in the north. Enter the tool shop and buy a pickaxe and rope. We'll need them, and ToP isn't giving you free stuff.

Beyond the bolder is our introduction to the dungeon's gimmick. We see four tiny spirits floating nearby. When we get close, manifestations of Sylph attack us. They're not hard, so don't be afraid to go after them later down the road. As they fade away, they'll say how much pain they're in because of miasma. Klarth calls this evil smoke Demonium. Cless makes a dumb joke at this point, but to reach Sylph, we need to clear the miasma. This is easier said than done as the second part of this gimmick is more manifestations of Sylph blowing high winds around the area. Sometimes they keep us away from treasure, and others blow us into tornadoes. In the caves in the back is where most of the miasma is. We'll need to drag three rocks onto pits to stop the spread of the gas. While we do this, though, the miasma damages us. The basement of the caves is a long and winding path that sucks to be in. There's a rare mob called the Helltaker. If you find one, just run away. You're low on HP/MP, while the Helltaker has 2000 HP, only takes damage from elemental attacks, and aren't worth what you get from him. I drained so many orange gels... But once you've closed the holes, the cave becomes free to roam, and all the manifestations are cleared up. We can now head to the real Sylph.

A lone tree stands on a cliff, and Sylph comes to greet us. She thanks us for saving the valley but gives us some bad news. She's willing to form a pact, but it won't matter. Mana is draining from the world because the Mana Tree, Yggdrasil, is losing its power. Sylph asks us to save it for the sake of preserving mana, the key to stopping Dhaos, and Klarth finally stops being useless. He still sucks, but he can summon Sylph in battle to deal decent damage to a single enemy. Yggdrasil can be found in a forest to the south, so I may have an idea...

Bart is waiting for us as we leave the valley. We inform him we, nor Sylph, saw Arche. We promise to keep an eye out for her and continue on.

Back in Boar Forest is Yggdrasil. Sylph gave us an orb to use now, and we do. The same spirit that spoke to Cless before his life was ruined appears before us. This is Martel, and she shares more bad news. Yggdrasil is the source of mana on the planet, but it's dying. Apparently, it also feeds on mana, so is this a chicken and egg thing? Either way, Martel doesn't know what's wrong. Using mana isn't enough to drain it, so Dhaos might not be involved. Sadly, Klarth gets mad. He doesn't believe Yggdrasil can create ALL mana. Cless tells him that the tree is dead in his time, and magic is a legend. After some bickering, Klarth comes around just as Martel abruptly leaves. Mint tries to heal the tree, but it doesn't do anything. There's an expert in magic in the country of Altavista, so we're gonna head to Venezia and hope to find a boat.

En route, we stop by Hanel again because we have to. This time, though, it's in ruins. Something destroyed this peaceful town. In the center is a young girl. She's the only survivor, and she tells us Demeter did this. Cless and Mint want to help her, but Klarth tries to talk them out of it. We're busy, after all. But Cless knows what it's like to be alone, and Mint is always helpful, so we're gonna help the girl. She says her name is Rhea Scarlet, and Demeter went north. In Venezia, talk to people in the mayor's house. They'll say Demeter used to be kind, but he changed a year ago. It reminds me of Ares... Demeter now lives on an isolated island, so we'll find a boat...

... tomorrow!

I'm having fun running around with my spear. I hope Miguel, the swordsman, taught his son about a lance! Also, Rhea is seventeen. Why does Cless treat everyone his age like a child?

Army of Ms

Uncle Olwen was gone, and no one knows where he went. I also learned Miguel was once the leader of the Free Knights of Euclid. The current leader, Ares, has gone missing. But we still need to find Morrison!

It turns out the rest of this dungeon is actually pretty small. After you get the treasures on the west side of the map, head eastward. I also the floating block trigger to get east is over there. Cless will drop the Red Ruby, so we have to pick it up. As we approach, it'll magically drop down to the lava field below. You can walk on it, but you'll take damage as you do. Step on the strange glyph before the door, and Cless will be able to float. The Ruby is near the stairs, but you might as well get the chest down here. You'll stop floating just as you reach it, though... The Ruby opens the door, which leads to a fight against two golems, one on either side.

Beyond them is Mr. Morrison and the guy who took our amulet. The knight is Ares, so I'm glad I went back to Euclid for this connection. Ares has had his hands full with Morrison, who we distract by showing up. This lets Ares break the seal behind him. Morrison panics, warning everyone of the dire consequences Ares has begun. During a lengthy scene, we learn that the opening scene was our parents and Morrison sealing away Dhaos. They used two necklaces, ours and the one Meryl had. But Ares targeted us, explaining why Meryl and Mint were in jail, to free Dhaos. Ares believes Dhaos is a genie and will grant him power. Instead, Dhaos kills him. Before he takes his revenge on us, Morrison formulates a plan. He'll send us to a place where we might be able to stop him. Dhaos lets Morrison say all that, but he won't let him cast the spell. Chester bum rushes the mage, allowing Morrison to send Cless and Mint away. Chester sacrificed himself to get that spell out, so Dhaos plans to torture them.

Cless and Mint land on a cliff overlooking a beautiful sunset. Neither knows where they are, and they're afraid of what's happening to their friends. Cless finds the broken bow of Chester, and we set off to a familiar yet strange town. We see the forest where Cless and Chester chased the boar to the south. The tree is slightly less damaged. To the north is Balladum, and it looks like Toltus. People are here, and they don't know who we are. We get to the center of town, and the locals ask us who we are. The village chief comes to greet us and says his name is Lenios. Cless knows that name from somewhere... Eventually, we let everyone know we're looking to kill Dhaos. Everyone is shocked because Dhaos is a borderline god.

That night, we spent the night with Lenios. We eventually figure out that we're 100 years in the past before magic has vanished and clerical arts have been discovered. Lenios was the founder of Toltus and half elf, which he shows off by casting a fireball. Dhaos can only be harmed with magic, but Lenios is too old, weak, and human to be able to use anything of strong effect. We'll need to find an elf. Lenios suggests we speak to a man named Klaus in Euclid Village as he's the area's expert on fae and magic. We all hit the hay, but Cless and Mint have to share a bed. Cless decides to sleep on the floor to avoid an awkward encounter, and Mint finds a blanket for him.

The path to Euclid is much the same as 100 years ago. The castle town is gone, "replaced" by a quaint hamlet. Klaus lives in the north, and he confuses us with someone else. He slightly hits on Mint, but it's only because we never introduced ourselves. How rude of us. Mint tells Klarth who we are and why we're here, but we never had a shot of learning from him. Klarth wanted 10000 gald, which we don't have. His maid enters and yells at him for being rude. I got kinda lost, but we came around to us, and we all have a chat.

Klarth actually doesn't know magic; he's a full blooded human. However, he knows of summon magic! If he can find a spirit that controls the world, he can use something similar to magic. In theory... But he doesn't have one. Sylph lives to the north of here, so that might be the place to see. Klarth offers to teach us something if we find Sylph. Across the bridge is Lone Valley. Before we search for Sylph, we need to see a man about a Pact Ring, which I'll do...

... tomorrow!

I did some looking around Euclid and started a love story between Nancy and Elwyn. Nancy is a daughter of the grocery, and Elwyn is a foreign trader. After some back and forth, Elwyn goes home, but Nancy chases after him. I found her in the inn in the town north of Lone Valley. There's also a really good sword I want there, so here's a reminder to save 1600 gald.

What's a Phantasia?

I've tried to play Tales of Phantasia twice in the past. The first time ended after the boat scene with that questionable "translation" choice. The second didn't go much longer: to where the boat landed. I wandered around the new continent and found a strong spear. Then I got bored because my mages kept not letting me play... Both of those were on the DeJap SNES edition. This time, though, I'll be playing the Playstation One version with the Phantasian Production translation. It's the newest, so my dumb brain assumes it's the best. Honestly, I doubt I'd even know a difference.

The Tales franchise has always been something well regarded and a nail in the Nintendo RPG empire. Although they don't have a Smash rep... But I don't have a lot of experience with them. I played Symphonia a few years ago, and I think it's one of the worst games I've ever played. I've tried Phantasia twice, and both were dropped. If I really am the RPG enthusiast I claim to be, I should know more about this franchise and its unique combat. Here's hoping I can get past a boat!

The game starts with an auto battle scene. Four unknown people are fighting a powerful wizard. One of the good guys is dead, and another is buying time for their mage to cast Indignation! The spell goes off, and the wizard is sealed in several layers of magic. It seems overkill, but what do I know?

We then cut to a small hamlet nestled in the mountains. Our main character, Cless Albane, has just woken up. He goes to speak to his father, Miguel, a famed sword teacher. Miguel asks about Maria, Cless' mom. She's been ill, but she's a fighter and doing well enough. Miguel's mentor, Tristan, is also here. The topic turns to the necklace that Cless wears. It was a gift Miguel gave his son two years ago, Cless' fifteenth birthday. Before we learn anything about it, we cut again.

Chester exits his house and says goodbye to his sister, Ami. Ami has a gift for Cless, so she asks if he can stop by. But the plan today is to go hunting in the woods south of town. They're looking for a meaty boar! Cheater heads to Cless' house and yells for him, interrupting the talk Miguel and his son we're having. With a want to consume ham, Cless joins his friend. Maria comes out to say goodbye and because she's worried. Chester is confident his bowmanship and Cless' sword skills will keep them safe, and Maria goes back to bed. Before heading out, look around town. There are a few goodies around to give you a connection to Toltus. Are titles useful?

And welcome to the world map! I'm quickly reminded that Motoi Sakuraba composed the OST, which is a good sign! We also get to why I wanted to play the PSX version: skits! These fun little scenes can be seen on the world map and let your party members have a moment together. So far, they've only talked about the mission, but it shows more personality that shines through. They were my favorite part of a terrible game and probably worth it. And the Star Ocean world map is red too.

In the valley of the mountains to the south is a forest and home to our boar hunt. It's small, so we quickly find our prey. Cless and Chester give chase but don't follow it at first. There are treasure to the west! Once you've gotten the two chests, go find the boar until you reach a dead end. All we see is a massive, dead tree stump. Chester goes back to see if we missed its trail, and something strange happens to Cless. Suddenly, a gate opens over the tree, and a woman appears in it. She says, "don't let the tree die." An image of the tree in all its glory appears before Cless, but the vision fades when Chester returns. And just in time too, because the boar is sick of running!

The battle is very straightforward, so let's talk about the battle system. It's a 2D beat 'em up, and your group has to march towards the enemy in single file. It's...a thing, alright. I like the idea of it, but it has some annoying things about it. Why must Cless always return to his group if he goes ahead? I don't like having control taken away, and it leaves you open to damage. It's frustrating, and I hate it. But I do like how holding down a button on the d-pad changes the attack Cless can use. Hold up to jump, down's a knock up, and forward is a thrust. Couple that with the Star Ocean fighter skills, and I can see how cool this is. Did Symphonia have this?

But we were killing a boar and its babies! I took out papa, but his kids got away. We got what we came for, but there's no time to celebrate. We hear the alarm bell ringing in town, and we're suddenly worried and book it back home. On the world map, we already see our home is on fire.

We enter the remains of Toltus and see everyone dead. Chester rushes home to Ani, and I see if anyone survived. I found no one. Miguel is barely alive but can tell us what happened. An army came here looking for the amulet Cless has. They used Maria as a shield to take down the fabled swordsman. Miguel tells his son to head to Euclid, where Cless' uncle lives and dies. Nearby is Maria, and Cless places the body of his mom next to him. Meanwhile, Chester is mourning over the body of Ami. Cless tries to get his friend to go with him in case the soldiers attack again. Chester, though, wants to bury everyone, so they split up. If you're on the SNES, leave town. On the PSX, you can find an overpowered sword in Cless' house. But you might lose it soon...

Euclid is to the north, and we need to go through a mountain path. There are two paths to choose from here. If you move the statue blocking the north path, you find a lot of fights but get some treasure at the end. The left canton is short and boring. If you have the Knight Sword when you get back to the world map, unequip it.

Euclid is home to a juggler that entertains kids and a monkey that steals things. None of this matters. Uncle Olwen lives in the northwest, and he's glad to see us. He sets us up for the night, but we don't get much sleep. Olwen betrayed us. He blames the soldiers for threatening to torch Euclid, but word around town makes me think he's working with them. But the same men who attacked Tolkus drag us off to jail. We meet the black knight in charge, and he takes our amulet. As he looks at himself in a mirror, we notice a spirit over his reflection. We then cut to Chester burying his townfolk. But he hears someone approach...

So we're in jail. Inspect the hole in the wall and the door. Suddenly, Cless hears a voice from the hole. It's from a woman who asks him to put his hand in the hole. She'll give him something to escape prison with, but on the condition he takes a girl in a nearby cell with him. Cless does, and a warn hand gives him an earring. The voice says to hold it to the walk. Doing so breaks the wall. On the otherside is a dead cleric. She's been run through with a sword that Cless needs to take. He uses the sword to pry open the door, which he does several more times. In one of the cells is a young girl named Mint. The game treats Mint like she's seven, but she's actually eighteen, a year older than Cless. Despite that, Mint asks us to save her mom. Cless assumes the dead healer is that mother and is afraid to even tell her what happened. She's an adult game! Or is this a questionable translation thing? To the south is a sewer gare that'll break whatever weapon Cless has equipped. RIP my battle axe. But it opens an exit. Pass through and find all the treasure. It's mostly gel and food, but one chest has 1000 gald. The exp is great, and save points are common. There's a mini boss at the end, and we'll get the stuff that was taken from us back. I even got the Knight Sword!

We come to a forest, and we're about to celebrate. But then Cless sees a slime attack Mint. Our tank jumps in front of it and gets poisoned. It's so strong it knocks him out. Mint hears footsteps, so she drags him away.

We wake up in an unknown bed with an old man over us. He introduces himself as Morrison and says our buddy brought us here. Mint enters the room and says how she and Morrison have been speaking. But we should get some air... Outside, we see Chester come into the yard! It turns out he's the one who brought us here. But since we're all here, Morrison says he knows usm or, at least, our parents. Morrison was friends with Miguel, Maria, and Mint's mom, Meryl. He changes the topic to the amulet, but the vibe changes when Cless says it was stolen. Morrison begins to panic and needs to head to a nearby cave. He tells us to stay here, but we want to go with. He's adamant, though, so we go eat.

Later, Tristan shows up. With little egging, he convinces us to chase after Morrison. Before heading into the Mausoleum, Tristan teaches Cless about Duel Techs. I haven't unlocked it, so I still don't know what they are. Anyway, head to the bottom and beat up a golem. Drag that to the southwest to open a door. This takes us to a spirit guarding a Ruby Stone. This stone opens the door at the beginning of the mausoleum, but I'll have to finish that...

... tomorrow!

Remind me to do more skits and return to Euclid.

Working hard or hardly working?

Fun fact about me, I'm secretly a video game developer. Over the last week, I've been working on a raid dungeon as much as I could. Because of that, I haven't been playing any games. I wanted to make a complicated armor set, so I did. Ten of them, in fact. That's a lot of day one graphic design, coding, and complicated math. And that's just armor. I also did some stuff with mobs and bosses, and I've got weapons on the horizon. But, I hope, I'm almost done. By Saturday, I hope to start another attempt at beating a Tales of. I hate one with a passion, and the older version of the one I'll be playing bored me. But maybe I'll start sooner? 

Anyway, there's a quick update I wrote on my phone on where I've been. Let's plan Phantasia soon! 

Stories and themes across Final Fantasy X

Final Fantasy X is my favorite game. There, I said it. It's better than Chrono Trigger or any other games in the franchise. However, X-2 kinda sucks. I don't think it's the story's fault, mind you. But this isn't about quality.

There are a lot of underlying story points that tie them both together that make for a great and worthwhile experience. Even if X-2 isn't your brand, I think playing it for the plot (the actual plot) makes both games better. I'm gonna focus on themes and concepts because I didn't like much else in one of them...

Let's start with what the story of Final Fantasy X is about: Death. This is obvious, and everyone who's discussed the game has said that. Mika makes this obvious before he poofs away. He says something to the effect that Sin is the spiral of death that the whole of Spira revolves around. Sin kills people, and people die trying to stop him. Even if Sin dies, it'll come back, and the whole thing restarts. But there's more to it than that.

Fiends are all dead people. People who die and aren't sent return to Spira as mobs we have to kill. But, if they are sent, they go to the Farplane. The Farplane is the realm of the dead where the living can envision the bodies of their dead loved ones and speak to them. They can't respond or interact, so it's a thing for the living.

However, some of the dead can "survive" as Unsent. We fight many of them through the game, and others become strange friends. And it's amazing how prevalent the Unsent are. In fact, they pretty much run the place. For being corpses, Unsent have a lot of power.
Maester Mika, the de jure head of the theocracy that is Spira and has been dead for several years.
Also a maester, Seymour feels like the true villain of the game, seeing how Jecht merges with the story and Yu lets us stop him. At the very least, you see him enough. Hell, you're the one who kills him.
Lulu's backstory is an Unsent boss, Lady Ginnem.
The most notorious fight in the game is against Lady Yunaleska, an Unsent. The Unsent control the modern religion and formed the precepts that keep Spira in her death cycle.
Belgemne is a friendly unsent who's a model for Yuna. She teaches our main heroine the finer arts of summoning before she lets Yuna send her.
There's also Maechen, who we don't learn the secret of until X-2.
But, of course, there's also Auron, a playable cast member. He's a mentor to Tidus and Yuna and an icon to the rest of our party and Spira.

But there are more dead people who guide Spira who are actually dead.
Lord Jyscal is perhaps the largest turning point in the series. When he breaks free of the Farplane to give Yuna a sphere (somehow), he takes nearly everything off the rails. Yuna's got a b plot for our b villain.
Chappu is a big part of the backstories of three characters. He was Wakka's brother, Lulu's lover, and Luzzu's comrade. Tidus even gets to use his sword for thirty hours.
The High Summoners are the legendary people of Spira's past. Everyone looks up to them, especially Braska.
Braska is Yuna's dad, Auron's friend, and Tidus' "uncle." He, more than anyone else, is the reason for X's plot. If he doesn't pilgrimage, neither does Yuna. If he doesn't take a defamed monk and a drunk from a sacred city along with him, we're not here. Tidus, especially. What kind of person would Yuna be if she weren't half Al Bhed?
According to Auron, "that depends on how you define alive?" What about Jecht? Do you consider him dead?
There are also the spirits of the fayth. All we know about them is they chose to become relief statutes so their souls may aid in stopping Sin. And before that, they stopped Bevelle. Did these people die before or after the Machina War?
FFX-2'a entire crisis of s because a dead guy wants to destroy the world.
Not only that but, if the songstress and black mage dress spheres are to be believed, all dress spheres are made from the memories of corpses. Who was the white mage!?

Nearly every location is filled with people dying. It, Sin, follows us.
There's Dream Zanarkand to jump start the journey.
We see the devastation of Kilika when we arrive.
How many did the guado kill in Luca?
There's Operation Mi'ihen and the fallout at Djose.
The Moonflow flows with pyreflies, and Guadosalem has the Farplane.
The Thunder Plains is where dreams of maxing all celestial weapons die.
Macalania is where our faith is ruined.
Home is destroyed by the guado.
Bevelle!
The Calm Lands is where many pilgrimages end. This includes Lulu's first and second.
Seymour nearly causes the ronso to go extinct.
Zanarkand has the Final Aeon and is the point of no return for other summoners as their fight against Sin is eminent.
Inside Sin is where Yuna performs her final sending.

How many people die or want to die?
The Crusaders willingly get excommunicated from Yevon for a small shot of killing Sin. They know most of them will die buying time for the Al Bhed's laser, but we don't find anyone second guessing their decision. Gotta even wants to be on the frontlines. We've gotten to know Gotta and Luzzu since our journey started in Besaid, so our friendship takes a turn when one of them doesn't survive.
Our own party member, Kimahri, is willing to sacrifice himself against Seymour just outside Bevelle. If Tidus doesn't force the party to return, he's dead.
He, and the rest of the ronso. According to Seymour, "the ronso threw themselves at me" to prevent him from catching Yuna and crew.
But it's not just our furry guardian. All guardians are willing to sacrifice their lives for their summoner. It's a statement made several times throughout the game. Auron says it a bunch. And it's no more evident than at the end of our pilgrimage. Lady Yukon's pyreflies image foreshadows it when her guardian jumps at the opportunity to become her Final Aeon.
Speaking of, the Final Aeon can only be made through sacrifice. And that just leads to more death. Sin is defeated, and the Final Aeon kills their summoner. A sacrifice for a sacrifice; all for naught as the great cyclE begins again.
And it's all sanctioned by the people. Not just Yevon priests but the masses before us are all looking forward to Yuna dying. All the old people, the kids, Calli, the maesters. Even Wakka, Lulu, and Kimahri are complicit in Yuna's death. Only Rikku and her people want to stop it.
But if you succeed, you get a statue in the temples of Yevon, and the citizens get a few months of peace. Yuna may think it's worthwhile, but Tidus doesn't.
Seymour Guado is a constant thorn in our side, and he's got a one track mind. He wants to bring death to Spira. Seymour dreams of becoming the Final Aeon to become Sin and bring more death. His plan is to kill everyone in Spira. It's morose, but I can understand. There's a terminal amount of death that can happen before the cycle of death is forced to end. If there are no people, then there's no death. And at last, we have peace.

But how does Spira overcome this death? Sports and art.
Everyone is excited for the Blitzball season. The masses risk a genocide when they all group up in Luca to watch underwater handball. We can recruit dozens of people to join our team all throughout Spira, from all races and backgrounds, proving how important the sport is. Just after Kilika is destroyed, Tidus wonders if they should even be thinking about playing. Wakka assures him that now is the best time for blitz, though. It's the only thing that brings peace to Spira.

But, something I haven't seen mentioned throughout the internet is the importance of art in Spira. We see banners and symbols of Yu Yevon everywhere we go, but is that just religious indoctrination? It seems to work for everyone on the mainland.  
The fayth. These stone relief statues are made from former people who wanted to stop Sin. These statutes give hope to the people that they will one day stop Sin. Summoners go from temple to temple, forming bonds with them as a way to grow stronger and prepare for their Final Aeon. As stated above, though, all of this is just more death. The bodies are dead, but the soul lies on as the beasts we summon

The Hymn of the Fayth is a song that is beloved by all races across Spira; Yevonites, Al Bhed, and even Dreams. Tidus tells us that Jecht loved it and would often hum it. Every faith has their own version of it, save for the Magus Sisters. Even Lady Yunaleska has a version that is several people all singing it; all the Final Aeons that have tried to stop Sin. We hear the Al Bhed sing it before Cid blows up Home, and the entirety of Spira sings to calm Sin just before the team breaks into him. Even the ronso sing it to us after we prove we're on their side, and they allow us to pass Gagazet. It's a song 1000 years old that, ironically, was sung in defiance of Bevelle. Now it's just a memory of those trapped in stone and sung as a Yevon hymn.

But that's how people cope with their life. Every good game teaches a lesson to its players. It's usually something boring like, "friendship is magic" or "violence isn't always right." FFX, though, teaches us about the power of dreams. Through the power of dreams, Spira can overcome the cycle of death.
People dream of becoming a guardian and fighting fiends to protect their hometown, their summoner friend, and all of Spira.
Either as a guardian or a Crusader. The Crusaders dreamed of stopping Sin, ending the summoner sacrifice, and laid their life on the line at Mushroom Rock Road. Wakka informs us they defend Luca during the blitz season, trying their hardest to keep Sin away from the big cities. Presumably, they do the same at Bevelle.  
People dream their team will win the blitz tournament. Wakka keeps the Aurochs in line when we reach the ruined Kilika. Tidus isn't sure we should be playing a game at this time, but Wakka makes it clear now's the best time.
At least one kid dreams not of playing bltizball but of simply becoming a blitzball. Whatever keeps ya ticking, brother.
The Al Bhed dream of stopping Sin, as well. They teamed up with the Crusaders for Operation Mi'ihen. They think big, fancy guns and other technology will stop Sin from killing them. And they end up being right when the Farhenheit's lasers tear apart their foe (without help, of course).
The Aeons are dreams of the fayth. No one knows if they're an "ideal" of the soul or something else, but we know it's how the fayth appears in battle. We also know they have human forms we can speak with when we get an airship.
But there are two vital aeons that are more important than the one we summon. Jecht and Tidus. Jecht becomes Sin, and Tidus kills him. Both are from Dream-Zanarkand, which is what the fayth on Gagazet have summoned through Yu Yevon. Without either of those two men skipping town and ending up in Spira, the cycle of death continues. I wish it were better understood how they reached Spira, but they're here. And they saved the world because dreams are all powerful.
But it wasn't them alone. Had Yuna kept to the precepts she'd grown up with, all of this would have ended like the other High Summoners. Yuna hoped to live with her friends and her love, Tidus. If she accepted her namesake's plans, one of them would have had to die, just as Jecht did ten years ago. But she cared about her friends and threw off the yoke of her false religion. Yuna shaped her story as she saw fit. She took her fate into her own hands and made her dream come true.

Final Fantasy X is about death. But it's also about overcoming death with dreams. And how does that carry over into Final Fantasy X-2?

The theme of X-2 is a bit harder to pin down because it doesn't show up until the last chapter. Several times during the game, chapter five, especially, the idea of memories are brought up. Early on, it's just a word, but we eventually realize that Yuna's entire journey isn't just about finding Tidus. Her dreams from two years didn't come true. She's not living with Tidus. Her friends are out and about being the ronso Elder or whatever Rikku is doing. Auron is at peace. We know she's living with Wakka and Lulu, but what, exactly, is she doing before joining the Gullwings? Receiving praise for bringing the Eternal Calm, but she never felt worthy of that. We learn before the battle with Vegnagun that Yuna's upset about the failings during her journey. She's been mulling over the things she wishes she could have done. Could she have saved Tidus and Jecht? What about Auron? And we see the suffering on her face as she summons her aeons during the final sequence, only for us to need to kill them after.

FFX-2is about Yuna not being able to leave her memories as that. She wants more out of life; she wants her dreams back. Tidus, Braska, peace. She saves the world again to protect all she's done.
Macalania Woods is the most obvious of the areas. We see how the dying trees affect her in chapter five as it becomes an empty and silent sarcophagus for her memories. Macalania was where she began to question her faith in Yevon. It's where she failed to kill Seymour, where they fled to after Bevelle, and where she shared her first kiss with Tidus. It's a large reliquary of her precious memories, and she doesn't want to lose them. But, sadly, she has no choice. Like the Moonflow bandits, we don't fix anything.
Her feelings are also pretty clear in Zanarkand. Seeing the place that finalized her commitment to her friends turned into a tourist trap breaks her heart. She gets upset that some shoobie is standing where Tidus stood at the start of FFX. "I never wanted someone else to stand there." In response, she breeds monkies to push out all the humans.
Returning to the pre-Vegnagun fight again, Yuna doesn't want to see any of her new friends to die just as her older ones did. She wants to protect Nooj, Gippal, Barelaie, and even Leblanc because of the bonds they've formed. They're not even that strong, but Yuna won't let them be more sacrifices.
She even uses the memories of Tidus as a way to understand what Shuyin is going through. And it works!
Now that I think about it, the title of the main menu song is called "Memories," so the theme should have been clear from the get-go!

And, if you've gone through all the filler, Yuna's effort makes her dreams come true. Tidus is brought back to Spira by the power of her aeon friends. She seems to have accepted that she couldn't save everyone. Some were already dead, for example, but she and Tidus return to Besaid to live happily ever after. Well, uh... Look, listen. I'm not sure where to go with this because the audio drama and light novel kinda take the entire journey of Spira and totally ignores it. I don't know how to connect them, so I'll end this final thought.

Dreams come true. I've been in the midst of depression for nearly twenty years, and everything I've ever wanted has eluded me. But how much have I fought for what I wanted? I didn't save the world once, let alone twice. Obviously, I shouldn't have to do such a thing alone or with a group of six friends, but life can be what you make of it. If you have the drive to be a simple priestess of a false religion, you can. But only if you're willing to make that goal come true. I know this sounds cheesy, but if you have good friends, then friendship really is magic. It can overcome a lot and save the world of some people. And people should cherish their memories. But be prepared to let them go in the face of a changing world. Don't cling to that which wounds you. Let the good times guide you to more good times with your magic friends. Just don't kick any coconuts...