Monday, March 14, 2011

Text Play: Breath of Fire (SNES): Issue #13: Chocobos are Grim Fowl

Got some good news and some bad news here, folks. But there's something to balance it out, too.

The good news is here's a little proof that it doesn't need to take me at least a fortnight to get around to these. The bad news is that this is more than likely going to be another short issue. But that's kind of mitigated by the fact that there are two boss fights to talk about this time around.

All in all, the part of the game I went through last issue and am continuing here is pretty easy. One thing I didn't talk about much before is that I did upgrade a lot of equipment for most of the party. The new weapons and armor I got since I went through the Dark Dragon base prematurely has been a big help. Most of it came from the shops in Prima, which there are plenty of opportunities to visit right about now.

But anyway, the actual game. It's pretty much a straight shot from the weapons collector's house to Nalon Castle, by way of Prima and the Dark Dragon base. Along the way, there's the Chocobo Forest I mentioned in Issue Eleven. Within the game, these big birds are called Grim Fowl for their foul tempers when upset, which will be revealed in a second. I don't remember if this was available before, but now there's an egg in one of the nests that can be picked up. Of course, the attempt alarms one of the mama Grim Fowls, who comes to protect her nest. The resulting battle scene is no real problem. This particular boss can pretty much be beaten down with regular weapons easily enough, I suppose, if that's how one prefers. I, however, can't resist using magic every chance I get, so it's worth noting that lightning magic works best against the Grim Fowl.

Now, to actually get the birds into the castle, you've gotta get one of the things to actually follow you out of the forest and to the castle so that whoever's in front can toss the egg in. Once the birds invade the castle, the Dark Dragon troops are too busy getting chased around by the the Grim Fowl to really worry too much about the heroes getting in. I guess even birds with brains the size of walnuts have something against the Dark Dragons.

And here we run into what is probably the most obvious example of how some games are like riding a bike. I know there's some cool stuff in the chests around the castle, and considering that I haven't played through this part of the game in at least ten years, you'd think I'd have found myself wandering around enough to open a few of them so I could say what was in them. But no, I had to find my way straight to the boss fight instead. Needless to say, I'm really wishing and hoping and praying that I can go back there later and get the treasure.

The boss fight here is one that's made immensely easier by the use of lightning magic and the hero's Thunder Dragon morph. But that's to be expected when fighting a trio of Jellies. Beat them individually and they merge into a giant SlimeX, with the same weakness as the previous three-part form. While this isn't a particularly difficult fight, it does serve to slow the party down just long enough for the General in charge of the secret weapon the men of Gant were building to escape with said weapon.

The now-rescued women of Gant, who were being held in the castle after the men got rescued, say that the General is off to use the weapon on Prima. The cutscene continues in Prima, where the Guild Owner tells the party that the only person who can help them is the Sorceress in Wisdon, and there's a dude sleeping on the top floor of his house who has something you need to get there. The guy has a Statue, which will help you get into the moving city near Arad and Krypt.

And since this is a convenient place to break, I'll do just that and pick things up again from Arad next issue. So, stay tuned for the next winning chapter, which will be Issue #14: Little Miss Sorceress Edea?

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