I'm not sure if it's just me, but this
game seems to just move right along.
Maybe it's the number of times I've
been through it since it came out, but even this more challenging
version seems to breeze right by.
At any rate, when I got back to
Mysidia, I bought all Cecil's Paladin gear but didn't equip it right
away because I wanted to see what happened if I talked to everybody I
needed to without it on. It went pretty much the same as if I'd had
it on, from what I remember of past playthroughs. Most of the
differences came from the fact that this is a better translation, not
only because it reads more like the characters are native English
speakers, but also because it's not so much like the translators were
getting paid by the word, too.
The townsfolk are all surprised that
Cecil managed to pull off the class change, though not all can
forgive him. The elder's explanation of why Palom and Porum were
sent along is better, too, as is Cecil's acceptance of it. He says
he understands, considering all he'd done. The Elder also says the
way back to Baron will be opened for the party, this version calling
it the Devil's Road, rather than the Serpent's Road. Either way,
it's back to Baron.
When the party arrives, we're directed
to the inn, where Yang and a couple royal guards are hanging out in
the Pub. Along the way, we're told that Cid has been locked up in
the castle for refusing to turn over the latest airship to the king.
One thing I found interesting is that there's this one kid who
comments on Cecil's class change. In the SNES version I've got, the
kid says he misses the Dark Knight because he was scary but cool. In
this one, he simply asks if the knight is dead.
The fights with the guards and Yang are
a little harder here, but that's OK because it's what I was looking
for. I wound up losing the twins in the fight with Yang, but the
night at the inn restores everybody's health to full. Everything
about that cutscene plays out pretty much the same, just with better
dialog.
I also went most of the way through the
Old Waterway. Having Bolt Claws on Yang is generally a help, so
that's what I've got there. Towards the save point just shy of the
castle, I was actually running from battles as a defensive thing, and
decided to end the first session there because I needed rest myself.
When I came back to this a while later,
it was time to go on into Baron Castle for the fights with Baigan and
Kainnazo, or in this case, Cagnazo. The fight with Baigan was
markedly more difficult in this version than the one I'm more used
to. I actually lost a few party members a couple times before
finally winning
Water Fiend Cagnazo is more of a
challenge in this version, too. Not as much more as Baigan, but
still noticable. He actually managed to hit the party with his wave
attack a few times. At least it's still kinda possible to cheese him
with Tellah's Lit-3 spell.
With the fiend out of the way, we're
introduced to Cid. I'm not sure what I think of him here. He's
still one of my favorite characters in the game, of course. I just
get a sense this is what they were basing Barrett on on Final Fantasy
7, too. I do like how they changed the dialog after the twins turn
themselves to stone, though. It seemed kind of silly, in the original
SNES release, that he was saying that he'd avenge the party to his
new airship, the Enterprise. In this version, it's more clear that
he means it's time for payback against Golbez, which means it's time
to get the new vehicle.
The cutscene where Kain tells the
others that they need to get the Earth Crystal from Troia to save
Rosa is less hammy here, and I kind of like that, too. From there, I
did a little side tripping, but that didn't last long, and I wound up
at Troia, which is where I stopped for the night and will be ending
this issue, too. Hopefully, I'll be able to get these things out on
a more regular basis again soon now.
Until then, stay safe, have fun, keep
gaming, and DFTBA. See you soon, folks!
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