...

I'll find time for PSO and ToP eventually.

Sorry

I know I haven't really posted since last month, but I've been busy looking for work. I'm going to update this blog soon enough, but it's not as high on my list of priorities right now.

Anticipation: a Phantasy Star Online update

I'm leveling in Very Hard mode Ruins once more, and I'm getting more and more anxious to fight Dark Falz again. Unfortunately, I know he'd whip me like a red-headed stepchild, so to speak. If his 3rd form's Slash didn't kill me instantly, his spells would.

Therefore, I'm stuck doing Ruins runs over and over until I think I can kill DF. The thing that's bugging me the most right now are the Dark/Death Gunners. Those little douchebags usually spawn when I'm already fighting Delsabers or Dimenians, and they actually do decent damage at low levels.

I also found yet another DB's Saber...*sigh* the sooner I get to Ultimate mode, the better.

-Current Stats-
[lvl 54]
[Total EXP=400144]
[Next lvl=21380]

-Closing Thoughts-
As tired as I am of getting weapons I already have/can't use, I'm still shocked by how good a month February has been. I hope PSO stays this generous in March.

Through the sewers: Tales of Phantasia update

Sorry for the short delay; busy with life and all that. I just bought Masamune Shirow's "Ghost in the Shell" (I've seen the movies and the anime, but I've never had the chance to read the manga until now), and that's kept me busy for a bit.



Anyway, I progressed a little bit further in Tales of Phantasia today. I'm not going to go into such great detail regarding the story anymore, but that doesn't mean I won't keep you up to date. I chose this because I don't want to have to take screenshots of practically every line of dialogue.

I'll do a short recap of what happened in the story, and then it's stats time!

Cless and Mint progressed through the sewers for a while, only to come across a flying demon (apparently, he was demoted to sewer duty. You won't catch him complaining, though! This optimistic loser thinks he owns the place).


Come see the violence inherent in the system!

Anyway, they beat him, escaped the sewers, and were making their escape...until a poison slug came out of nowhere and attacked Mint. Cless, being the cliche hero we all know and love, jumped in the way and lost consciousness. He awakes in the house of Tornix D. Morrison, who apparently knew his and Mint's parents (they are the four fighters seen in the beginning of the game).

After learning that Cless's pendant was stolen, and telling Cless, Mint, and Chester (who just rejoined the party) to stay behind, he sets off to find Dhaos's minions and stop them from resurrecting their leader. Then, an old friend of Cless's shows up and decides to train the party in a suspiciously small cave.


...how are we supposed to fit in here?

And that's where I've stopped playing for now. Got to fit in some PSO time at some point, right?

-Current stats-


-Funny screen of the day-

Elementary, my dear Chester.

-Closing thoughts-

This game is freakin' gorgeous.

Previously on Tales of Phantasia

Well, I worked on ToP a little today, and I'll be playing either that or Phantasy Star Online (or both) later tonight. I'm only a little ways into the story, but I'll recap what happened so far.

Meet Cless Alvein, swordsman in training and son of Miguel, one of the four warriors who banished Dhaos (evil Ganon-y ruler) years ago. He and his best friend Chester Barklight set off to kill some boars, bears, owls, and whatever else would piss off PETA.


Take that, Pamela Anderson!

After Cless sees a ghost pop out of a tree, and after killing a particularly big boar and it's children, they hear the town alarm sounding and rush back home, only to find that everyone is dead. Chester decides to stay behind and bury everyone, while Cless sets of for his Uncle's house, mostly due to things his mother told him.

On the way there, I got to go through a pretty good looking (especially for the SNES) mountain pass, and unfortunately, I forgot to take snapshots of some of the best parts. Anyway, proceeding to Euclid, Cless takes a nap at his Uncle's house, only to awake surrounded by soldiers. Apparently, they were going to burn the town if his Uncle didn't give him up, or something like that.

After having his pendant stolen and being hauled off to jail, Cless meets a dead woman and, after taking a sword out of her stomach, frees his new friend Mint (who is the daughter of the stabbed woman). Together, they resolve to escape this dungeon...later on, when I get home from work.

I'll be posting lvls and stats, as well as more screen caps, like these ones:


Kneel before the awesome might of your new king, you puny town! Watch in horror as I stomp you to-


...death?

Tales of Phantasia (SNES)

I've decided to start this epic adventure once more, in the hopes of reaching the Maximum lvl and beating it for the first time. I'll be playing it on the PSP mostly, but I'll be using a second save file on my laptop to take snapshots and upload them here.

If you haven't played Tales of Phantasia yet, well, shame on you! Not really, but you should definitely play it if you get the chance. You'll probably have to use the DeJap translation patch for this version.

The story revolves around a teen named Cless Alvein (or Cress Arbane if you're playing the GBA version), whose home town of Totus Village is burnt down, and whose parents are killed in the process. Cless then sets out with his best friend Chester to take his revenge on the evil that caused it.

As cookie-cutter as this sounds, it's actually a gorgeous game with a pretty decent storyline. The evil ruler Dhaos gets unleashed, sh*t hits the fans, and a few Doc Brown-esque (okay, so it's more mystical than scientific) plot twists later, we get a game I'll thoroughly enjoy conquering.

In conclusion, I've undertaken The Quest For lvl 99!

Results for Feb. 16-17

Lvling in Very Hard Mode is a breeze so far, mostly due to the fact that each monster now gives at least 90 EXP (not counting Mothmants and other small creatures). I've now fought my way to Ruins once more, and I'm pretty excited about how quickly I'll lvl, but alas, I've run out of time.

I found another rare, this time a piece of armor called "Proto Regene Gear" (no, Regene is not a typo. That's what it's listed as in the game). Unfortunately, I can't use it until lvl 66. Apparently, it's a prototype for a shield that regenerates health, but in the model I found, the function doesn't, erm, function.

Anyway, I'll have more time to play over the weekend probably.

Current stats are as follows...
Fade: [lvl 52] [Total EXP=360654] [Next lvl=18076]
Closing thoughts: I'm finally a quarter of the way there! It's all uphill from here (then again, when isn't lvling in RPGs an uphill battle?), but I'm still excited. I recently put emulators on my PSP, and I feel like starting another RPG, so expect more posts. I'm thinking about playing Tales of Phantasia for the SNES.