Side Post!

It has been quite some time since I've had a new Side Post.
The reason? I couldn't ever think of anything to make a Side Post about.
I mean, there's only so many times I can go back to Final Fantasy for Side Post ideas.
Or...I'm unsure of how to go about an idea I currently have. One way or another, I'm generally unsure of what to do. SO! What am I planning to  do? A game review!
For this review, I'll be talking about a fantastic and incredible game called Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. More likely than not, you haven't heard of this really great RPG, but lucky for you, I'm about to give you a brief glimpse into this game! By the time you finish reading my review, you'll want to go out and buy it up! Let's not delay this any longer...

Recurring Fantasy Presents 
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Review

Now, before I get fully going, I'm going to lay out how I plan to score/review the whole thing. I'll be covering my usual points of interest (graphics, gameplay, story, characters) plus a few other things as I go along. I'll have a short pros and cons list at some point, and then I'll follow up with a final words on it. I'm going to try and include a few screenshots as I go along too! I'm hoping to keep the review short but awesome, but my usual style says that won't happen. Let's start with a nice foreword.

In this day and age, the RPG has (in most cases) left the turn-based style behind in favor of action with hack and slash elements. I'm more of a fan of the turn-based RPGs, but sometimes a game pulls through that does a great mixture of the old with the new to create something magical. Thus steps in the game I'm reviewing! Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is a recently released RPG that proves creativity isn't dead yet! If I were to try and describe it in a sentence/equation, I'd say it is Studio Ghibli meets Dragon Quest plus Pokemon equals massive pile of fantastic and enjoyable win. (or Studio Ghibli x Dragon Quest + Pokemon = WIN!)

What's so special about Ni No Kuni? There's really no one thing that makes it special because it is an all around great game with no major flaws. It combines the cinematic look and feel of a Studio Ghibli movie with a fun yet challenging RPG with more than enough to do. I've rambled on enough for an intro though, so let's get right to the good part! The ACTUAL review! To begin, we're going to take a look over the first thing that truly opens up Ni No Kuni as something new and different: the graphics and atmosphere.

If you have ever seen a Studio Ghibli movie (My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Princess Mononoke, and more!), then you are already familiar with the graphical style of Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. For those of you who are not, first off...SHAME ON YOU! Moving past that shameful thought, I'll follow up with a few images that I've hand selected from around the Internet. (Apologies! I meant to only do like three images, but then I found a pile of images I wanted to share. I also wanted to make sure there was a decent variety.)

Flying around the world on your dragon. Yuuup! You get a dragon!

The Forest Guardian! BOSS BATTLE TIME!

A small glimpse of an active battle. Also the best image I found...quality-wise.

Oliver and Mr. Drippy arrive in the other world!

A glimpse of the world map in the desert area known as Summerland.

Do you see it? Are you giddy and/or amazed yet? Honestly, this game is just a refreshing look at how games can appear! They've taken a memorable animation style and turned it into a game. The style and look of it all just fills me with nostalgia. The graphics are quite enjoyable, but the music and atmosphere aren't going to be left behind! The environment, the people, the colors! This game doesn't fail in any of these aspects. No matter the location, the monster, or the event, it always does its best to feel vibrant and alive. The music is always there and just adds into the entirety of a nostalgia bomb. The look and the style of the monsters throughout the game is pretty interesting as well. They tend to lean more towards cutesy than cool, but it's a pretty interesting variety. To reiterate, I really like the look and design of this game, from the monsters and music to the characters and world.

If I were to further reiterate and describe it in a single sentence, I'd summarize it as such: Ni No Kuni is like walking through a Studio Ghibli movie. I can't stress that enough. Overall, the game looks and feels how it should. I could go on forever about how much I love this aspect of the game, but you get the idea. If the pictures didn't get you excited somehow, I have nothing more to say to you! Of course, this is just the graphics and atmosphere! It's time to dig into the next part...THE GAMEPLAY!

Another great thing about this game is that the looks...can be deceiving. Despite the admittingly child-ish look (still love it), the game doesn't hold back in the gameplay department! Ni No Kuni brings in a really strong RPG experience littered with fun yet challenging battles and enough side quests to keep you busy for a long, long time! The side quests are a good variety to boot. You got your monster elimination, item collection, character back-and-forth-talkary, fixing heartbroken people, and more!

Your main character is an aspiring wizard and learns new spells as you travel along. The spells have all sorts of applications from battle spells, like healing and fireballs, to field spells like opening chests or talking with animals. The spell selection is quite vast, and many of the spells have multiple uses apart from the obvious. Besides spells, you also collect and mix items for item creation, aka Alchemy, and you can even capture monsters to make into allies! One of my most favorite parts of the game revolves around your massive in-game, fully-readable spellbook. When you start the game, it's missing a large portion of the pages, but you slowly collect them all as you play through the game. It contains all your spells, all the monsters, stories, a list of items, alchemy formulas, and more! It is easily one of my favorite parts of the entire game. I'll go into more details about all of this later on, but let's cover exploration first.

The exploration of the world of Ni No Kuni is reminiscent of older RPGs. You walk around a large and expansive world map with all sorts of different islands, continents, and regions. There are special locations all about that are enter-able of course (dungeons, forests, towns, etc). Exploring the world map is a very nice experience in and of itself because it is a beautiful world to walk around. The game has your usual areas like a forest, a woods, the volcano, a desert, and more! While exploring areas, the environment is fairly interactive. Making use of various spells you learn throughout the game,  As you explore the various areas and locations, the game has traded out random encounters for monsters on the map. This means you can fight them directly or attempt to run away. Of course, that entails the initiative and ambush factors. (Taking the monsters from behind gives you initiative, but getting assaulted from behind causes an ambush.) This talk brings us to the next point...the battles!

The battle system of the game is mostly action-based, but it does take a little turn-based style into the mix. You fight monsters in an open arena in whatever field you are currently on. You can fight the monsters directly as the characters, or you can fight the monsters with your familiars (also monsters). When the battle starts, you can move your character about and physically dodge some attacks. However, when you go to select actions, the game pauses and gives you time to choose your moves. Each character has a specialized selection of spells and abilities, or you can just physically strike. Moves have a charge up time, but physical attacks will constantly lash out for a period of time. There's all kinds of factors along with all this like timing and speed, but I won't be going into those details. New areas do come along with harder enemies, and your selection of powers and familiars can easily turn the tide of battle in your favor or against you. The game doesn't really try to create anything new, but the style/method it uses is done very well. Battles feel fairly fast-paced, but they are almost always fun. Boss battles feel big and epic-y. It's a win-win scenario.

While you fight off random monsters, you also gain a chance to get into the Pokemon aspect of the game and catch monsters! (I know there are other games with monster catching, but Pokemon is one of the more recognized names.) Capturing monsters is enabled after you get a ways into the game, and it allows you to create your own team of powerful familiars to fight at your side. (Three familiars per character plus three backup familiars you can change out in the field.) Like your characters, the familiars have a selection of moves and abilities they can learn as they level up. After so many levels, monsters are able to "metamorphosize" into stronger versions of themselves. It's also possible to boost a familiar's stats through the use of treats. As they grow more "familiar" with you, it's possible to boost their abilities more and more. If you enjoy Pokemon, this part is just right up your alley.

The game does offer one really unique part of the game, and it involves collecting and restoring emotions! There are people throughout the land who are "heartbroken". They have been cursed by the main villain, an evil wizard, and they are at a loss of a particular emotion. It's up to you to restore that emotion to their heart and fix their life. To do this, you first have to collect the necessary emotion from someone who has an overflowing amount of it. You then take the emotion and restore it to the heartbroken person. It's an interesting gameplay mechanic, and it's interesting to see how it all works out. One thankful part is that you only have to deal with a couple emotions at first, and more of them unlock as you continue throughout. They also made sure that emotion-full people are easy to spot, and that's a good thing. Anyways, that's enough about the heartbroken people. As you may realize by now,there are a lot of things to do in Ni No Kuni...and yet I still have one more part I need to talk about before moving on...Alchemy! 

I'm starting to get a bit lengthy on the gameplay area, so I'm going to try and wrap this part up quickly. Alchemy! You mix things together and get other things. Sounds simple, no? Well it isn't! (Actually it is, but bear with me!) When you first receive your cauldron, you only get a couple recipes to try out. However, if you remember my mentioning of the book up above, the wizard book contains a list of several recipes. You'll have to make a note or remember offhand, but it's possible to do any of the recipes available as long as you know what goes into them (and have said items of course). The selection of create-able items is pretty large, and it also gives you access to many items you can't buy or obtain easily...if at all! I'd go into more details, but honestly, alchemy is pretty simple YET extremely useful. It's a good thing. I've said a lot about the gameplay, so I'm going to run over it real quick before I move along.

Ni No Kuni gameplay is the entire package of RPG funnary. You get exploration, side quests, item collecting, fun battles, expansive list of spells, monster hunting and collection, alchemy, and probably a few things I forgot to talk about! Basically, Ni No Kuni has everything that an RPG fan could possibly want in an RPG or a game in general! It's fun and engaging gameplay where there's always more to do or see. Of course, we haven't even gotten to the story and characters yet, so guess what is next?

When it comes to RPGs, some of the factors that should always been considered are...

1. Are the characters enjoyable?
2. Is the story enjoyable?

As far as I am concerned, those are the only real factors you should consider. RPG stories and characters are almost always overly crazy or convoluted. I mean...they are supposed to be, but there comes a point when a story/character can become too crazy and overly complex. Of course, you have to be careful to not go to the exact opposite end. A super simple character can feel plain and un-interesting. Thankfully, Ni No Kuni brings in a cast of lovable and interesting characters, and it compliments it all with a story reminiscent of a storybook or (once again) a classic Studio Ghibli movie. Without further ado, I'll start with a brief description of the story. 

WARNING! POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! 
You may now read on.

The story is the adventure of a boy trying to save his mother. It sounds simple enough, but then you add...THE TWIST! However, he soon discovers that he's a chosen individual known as The Pure Hearted One. He travels to a new world (alternate dimension of his own) and begins an adventure to bring down an evil djinn named Shadar. It's your usual idea of an alternate dimension. People resemble people from his original universe (referred to as soul mates), and you have to travel back and forth between the worlds to solve problems. As you travel along, you adventure through a wonderful and mythical world where cats are kings and there's a desert town with a milk fountain. It's a pretty crazy fantasy setting, but at the same time, it doesn't feel too far-fetched to seem unappealing. It's not the biggest and most original game, but it's a nice balance of elements to keep it in check yet still great. Now, I won't talk a lot more about the story because I wouldn't want to reveal too much. Of course, you can't have a great story without some fantastic characters!

The characters of Ni No Kuni are a large cast of crazy and interesting individuals. You have your main hero, Oliver. He's a boy becoming a wizard so he can save the alternate world and his mother. Mr. Drippy is a cute little guy who is Oliver's faithful guide and sidekick, also Lord High Lord of the Faeries. The duo travels throughout the world and encounter all kinds of people. There are Cat Kings, Cow Empresses, Pig Princes, and more! (And they aren't all animal-humanoids either!) The best part about the characters is that they all feel unique and fun. Each one comes alive in their own way. I'll admit that a couple of them come off as a bit silly, but I still like them nonetheless. (There are a lot of puns with the animal people though...Not like they could help that.) Time to get more detailed!

Oliver is just a simple boy who wants to right a wrong. He just wants to save his mother, and he ends up trying to save a whole other world in the process. Throughout it all, he proves to be the Pure Hearted One time and time again. He acts just like he is though...He's just a kid. He can be a bit gullible at times, but thankfully for him, he's got Mr. Drippy to help him out. Mr. Drippy is easily my most favorite character in the game. He's a weird-looking little guy. He's round with a big nose, and he has a lantern hanging from his nose.

Mr. Drippy with the Wizard's Book.

Mr. Drippy acts as Oliver's guide through the mysterious other world. He's a cocky little guy, but he's always full of knowledge and a Scottish accent. Seriously, that's what they chose for how he speaks. Despite that, he's a lovable little guy and always has something to say. These two are just a couple of characters in a big world full of people. I could go on and on, but I figure it's about time I wrapped up this review. So...LET'S REVIEW!

As usual, my game review has gone through the four major tiers of RPGs: graphics & atmosphere, gameplay, story, and characters. As far as I am concerned, Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is a fantastic RPG experience and does a fantastic job in all four tiers. The graphics and atmosphere breathes life into a genre where the look and feel of the game has become a one horse town of generic-ness. It's a beautiful and breathtaking game that makes you feel excited to explore the vast array of locations across the game world. Alongside a beautiful game is a game with great gameplay! It's nice to see something not trade looks for gameplay or vice versa. For Ni No Kuni, you get the best of both worlds.

It's interesting combination of action and turn-based battles is almost always fun and often can be challenging. Even without the numerous battles, there's a whole portion of gameplay to do. While you explore, you'll discover all kinds of interesting and collectible monsters, a large assortment of spells, plenty of items to buy and create, and just oodles of side quests to complete. Of course, the game just keeps going from there! It comes into you brain and unleashes a great and enthralling story full of vibrant and alive characters. I'll admit that the game might seem childish to some people, but I think the more appropriate word is cute. If you don't instantly fall in love with the cast of characters, then I have nothing to say to you.

The shortest way to describe Ni No Kuni (as I've stated a couple of times now) is this...Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is like walking and exploring the world of a Studio Ghibli movie. It's just a great big package of fantastic game that doesn't hold back in any of my tiers of RPG-ary. A fan of RPGs should jump on this game immediately. A fan of J-RPGs should have already bought and started playing this game. For everybody else? Unless you just hate the idea of an RPG, I'd highly suggest the game. It's plenty of fun and more than enough to do for the price. It's a great game and you should acknowledge it! ACKNOWLEDGE IT NOW!

I'm really glad that I heard about Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, and I'm even happier that I reserved and purchased it! I look forward to playing through it more and more and completing it before too long. (I realize it's bad taste to fully review something without fully playing through it, but I've been busy with FFXII and other assorted games. Gimme a break!) Thanks for reading my humble review, and I apologize for the horrible format of it all. I really should just do the entire review in one sitting, but I ended up typing it up over several sessions. Either way, my review is complete! Look forward to a new Day coming soon! RECURRING FANTASY...OUT!

~May the Crystals Guide Me~

Day 79

Game - Final Fantasy XII, Day 79
Hours Played/Hours Total - 10-1/2 hrs / 27-1/2 hrs
Starting Point - Bhujerba, Lhusu Square.
Current Goal - Figure out what I'm supposed to do next. Vague but involved the Marquis I believe.

What Happened - As it seems, I'm having a really hard time pushing through Final Fantasy XII. That isn't necessarily the game's fault of course. I'm getting new games to play left and right, and then there are other titles of interest. Of course, the blame still sits squarely on myself, so blargh me. That's enough of that talk...ONWARD! THROUGH IVALICE!
     Okay, where we left off, I was about to revisit Marquis Ondore to continue this shenanigan of a story. I head for his palace, and the story starts up again. The game cuts partway into their conversation (thank the gods), and we come in on the tail end of Ashe's story. She's explaining that Vossler helped her escape that night long ago when the invasion took place. She figured that Ondore could help her, so she tried to come to him. Unfortunately, Vayne told the Marquis to announce Princess Ashe's suicide. He wasn't exactly happy to make the announcement, but at the time, he didn't see Vayne's real reason for giving it. It's clear to him now though...Vayne is a big schemer! (My words...not his) Ashe pleas with Marquis Ondore to fight with them now. He's unsure about this though...He has an entire city/country/skyplace that counts on him after all. He does seem to want to help, but he asks her a very important question. What does she plan to do when Vayne is defeated?
     According to him, Ashe can't rebuild the kingdom without a proof of her royal lineage. Her lineage can only be proven with the Goddess magicite that the Judge took from us. The herka derka globba dobba ding dong won't recognize her as the rightful heir without proof. (That's not the name, but screw the real name. It was long, complicated, and I didn't catch it. Stupid name.) She might be the Princess, but she is powerless without some proof of her true identity. He says that she will remain here, and that they'll do nothing until the time is truly right. Ashe claims that they can't wait, but the Ondore asks her what they are supposed to do. Ashe doesn't have anything so...she walks away sadly. As she does, Balthier starts asking about a reward. Vaan and Penelo just watches her walk away. SCENE JUMP!
     Now, Ashe is in Balthier's airship, and she's trying to hijack it. Vaan walks in on her and asks what she's doing. She says that she needs to go and retrieve the Dawn Shard. (I lost track of things earlier, but this is important it seems.) She knows where to find it and needs it for proof of her royal lineage. She says that she is doing it for everyone...like those who have fallen during all of this. She just wants to free her people! After saying her bit, the Marquis all of a sudden starts to speak from the back, but then Balthier appears? He holds up a little speaker in his hand and shows off his fancy voice changer. He says that things like this are quite useful in his line of work. He proceeds to tell Ashe that she is staying with the Marquis because she will be safe there. As he finishes that thought, Ashe suggests that he simply kidnap her instead.
     This intrigues Balthier, but he does ask what she could possibly have for him. She mentions a Dynist-King Treasure. She says that the Dawn Shard is just one of many treasures located in King Raithwell's Tomb. Basch steps in around this time and lets Balthier know that kidnapping royalty is a serious offense. Balthier doesn't seem to care to much and figures that the price on his head will just go up. He does ask Basch what the price on HIS head would be at this point. Back to the story, Basch has come aboard because he plans to escort Ashe. Fran walks in with Penelo and asks Vaan if they'll be joining them. Vaan is up for it, but he doesn't want to get Penelo involved. However, she's not going to let Vaan leave her behind. Since the gang is all here, it's time to go...so we leave! As they are leaving Bhujerba, I get a nice/boring cutscene of what's going on elsewhere.
     The cutscene starts off with a bird's eye view of a large and futuristic-ish city. (More futurish than previous cities I've seen.) If I were to guess, it's the Archadian Imperial Capital. An airship is landing on one of the taller buildings, and it is dropping off Judge Gabranth. Now the cutscene shifts into a regular scene. Gabranth is talking with what appears to be the Emperor. They are discussing all sorts of things, but the majority of the talk is focused on Vayne's current actions. It is suggested that Vayne is planning something with the Doctor Cid character. On top of it all, the Emperor seems to be sick and dying. He appears to be on his last days and needs to select a successor. The "Senate" fears Vayne and would greatly prefer someone else. They seem to favor Larsa instead.
     Then, the subject just changes to Gabranth. The Emperor looks at him and asks about his loyalty. Gabranth is completely loyal to the Empire despite it destroying his homeland. He then asks about Gabranth's brother because his brother didn't accept the Imperial rule and fled to Dalmasca instead. He questions what happened to him. Gabranth claims to be watching him and will strike him down if need be. Finding those answers satisfactory, the Emperor asks for Gabranth to protect Larsa and to be his sword if the need arises. He also asks for the Judge to keep an eye on Vayne. He feels that Vayne is preparing something, and he doesn't wish to see his sons fighting again. (Obviously suggesting that some selection of them fought before. How many sons can there be?!) Finally, that scene comes to an end, and I jump back to the actual group I'm in charge of.
     This game is starting to feel like one large cutscene with some fighting inbetween. I'm being overly harsh, but I have to pause so often during the scenes...Anyways, the group is setting down in Dalmasca Westersand. They have the airship parked, and Balthier turns on a cloaking device. Our current destination is the Tomb of King Raithwell. To get there, we have to pass through a large desert area, and that'll take us to the Valley of the Dead. The Valley of the Dead will lead us straight to the tomb. It's a long trek, but we have to make it. As I enter the next area, another damn cutscene throws up! (Seriously...Feels like there are too many of these.) This area is known as the Ogir-Yensa Sandsea, and it is exactly what it sounds like. Vaan is looking out at the very large body of water in front of them, and as it turns out, it's literally an entire sea of sand. It looks a lot like water and even flows like water. Honestly, it's actually pretty cool sounding and looking.
     Moving right along, the group is starting the long trek. Penelo asks how far we are to go, and Basch confirms for her that it is a long distance. First, it's the Ogir-Yensa Sandsea. That's followed by the Nam-Yensa Sandsea. After those, we will finally be at the tomb, but that's at the completely opposite side of this large sandy sea of...sand. You might be wondering how they could possible cross the sea, but that is quickly answered. The span of the sandsea is covered by a large network of towers that are connected by bridges. As we start crossing them, Basch explains why they are even there. As it turns out, these towers are (more or less) oil rigs. They were built by Rozaria (the nation at war with Archadia/the Empire) to extract the oil from below the sandsea. During this explanation, Vossler magically appears out of nowhere!
     He started following us as soon as it was obvious they weren't in Bhujerba anymore. He questions when Basch became so friendly with these Sky Pirates. Basch feels that Balthier can be fully trusted, and it was Ashe's decision to bring them into all of this anyways. As that group discusses things, Balthier is talking to Fran. She tells him that they should leave this place right now. Balthier asks if a sandstorm is coming, but Fran says it is much worse than that. Back to the other group, Vossler is talking with Ashe. He says that the Marquis can only do so much, and the Empire blah blah blah. (Apologies. I got tired of typing all this nonsense. He is acting slightly suspicious though.) Balthier comes over to them and says that we need to leave now. We're in Uruten-Yensa territory! And those are? CUTSCENE EXPLANATION!
     It's out in the middle of the sandsea, and there are sandpeople riding atop sandfish in the sand sea. They are quickly charging towards us and the large oil rigs. After that, the group has decided it is time to move, and Vossler rejoins the party (as a guest of course). As we start to move, Ashe asks Vossler if he found a way to restore Dalmasca. He tells her that it all begins when they claim the Dawn Shard. Aside from that, it's just your average walk through a monster-infested area! There's a few smaller monsters here and there, but they aren't too hard. The majority of the enemies here are the Uruten-Yensa though. I couldn't tell at first, but I learned later on that they are actually crab-based people. That makes sense with what details you can see, and the clicking sound they constantly make.
     Either way, the enemies in this area weren't too hard to defeat, but from what level Vossler was, I seemed to be a bit behind in levels. While I was crossing via the bridges and oil rigs, I killed a big ol' pile of Uruten-Yensa. It wasn't a very long walk across, but it seemed to last forever. I was interested in getting the entire map opened up and explored, but I was ready to move on. I figure I'll be back for some sort of Mark or Quest though. After what felt like forever and a lot of dead crab people, I finally make it to the Nam-Yensa. The Nam-Yensa is still a desert, but the area has a sort of beach look to it all. So! I am back on the land now, but I still have to traverse another desert area before I reach my destination. As I make my way through the Nam-Yensa, I spot a random Uruten-Yensa talking with a random Moogle. He runs off quickly enough, and the Moogle tells us what he said. The Uruten are currently dealing with some large tortoise. It's an enemy of theirs and is causing trouble for them. The Uruten that approached him asked for help and promised some sort of treasure to whoever helped it out. Sounds like a plan to me! I accept the task and head into the Nam-Yensa.
     The Nam-Yensa is basically just the same as the Ogir-Yensa, but we are on actual land now. I don't have to go too far before I spot this enemy of the Uruten. The game makes it quite obvious that he's an enemy...He's called an Uruten Eater, so it is pretty obvious that they wouldn't get along with the giant tortoise. The Urutens waste several of their people fighting it, and I swoop in afterwards to finish the beast off. Of course, the Uruten-Yensa didn't do much to the large Uruten Eater, so they were merely a small distraction. As for difficulty, I honestly put no strategy into beating the thing because it didn't REQUIRE a strategy. I attacked it with all my attacking might! With its defeat, I was given a special message clarifying that I defeated it. I ran back to the Moogle to learn more about this treasure reward.
     Of course, it's never quite that simple. When I talked with him, he said the Uruten had just ran back to the Ogir-Sandsea to get the treasure. I ran out there, and then he ran past me and went back to the Nam-Sandsea. Thank you annoying task! I ran back after him, and it turns out he did something bad. There's a huge group of the Uruten Yensa gathered in one spot. The one who requested the help is currently speaking to their leader, and it seems that what he did was considered wrong to them. The leader (labelled as a Queen) executes the rogue Uruten Yensa. The Moogle steps in and asks why she did that despite his plea for help being good for them. She simply warns the Moogle that the Uruten aren't to be taken lightly, and she leaves with the rest of the group in tow. After they leave, the Moogle spots a rare flower where the Uruten was killed. He says that flowers are rare in the Yensa Sandsea area, and this flower is especially rare. The flower is known for a special berry that is disliked by some powerful bird monster. I take the strange berries from the flower and head on my way. Overall, I'm hoping the small quest was worth my time.
     I continue through the Nam-Yensa and quickly find that...I don't have the foggiest clue of where to go. It's a fairly big area to traverse, so I had to spend quite some time going around. At one point, I somehow managed to find an exit that took me to a different part of the Ogir-Yensa Sandsea, so I literally took a step back at that time. There was a merchant there though, so that helped a little bit. After that, I went back and found yet another wrong way! It took me underground into a cave, and those enemies were pretty darn tough. I ended up turning around and leaving the cave, called Zertinan Caverns. With those spots both covered, there is only one area left. Obviously, that direction should take me where I needed to go. I head that way and meet the merchant from before! He talks about the "treasure" I got from the Uruten Yensa and mentions how I should be able to beat the bird with it. Time to meet this infamous bird!
     I head onward, and a cutscene reveals that I am most definitely in the Valley of the Dead. Ahead of me is a massive temple and most likely the Tomb of King Raithwell. The group heads towards the temple, but it seems we finally get to meet the reason nobody comes here. A giant bird comes from around the other side and swoops in, and it is BOSS BATTLE TIME! The giant bird, called a Garuda, looks quite menacing, but unfortunately for it, it was very much the opposite of that. I threw the Eskir Berries at it immediately (the treasure), and they...did some damage. I couldn't tell if they did anything more than that though, but the monster was beaten quite quickly without a lot of effort. The only problem that occurred during all of this was the fact that it was a flying monster. Nobody could hit it except people with ranged weapons. In my case, only Fran with a bow and Balthier with a gun could shoot at it. They kept shooting with fair consistency and speed, and they quickly finished it off. With the Garuda's defeat, I get a nice CONGRATULATIONS!
     With the Garuda out of the way, the game lets me see a random bit of the temple and simply states that "THE ANCIENT DEVICE STIRS". Yeah, this game just loves to do things like this. I head up the steps and get to listen to a fun history lesson about "why we are here". Ashe tells us all about King Raithwell and who he was. I'm going to try and wrap this up quickly, so please forgive me on the finer details. King Raithwell was a great leader of the past. He ruled over pretty much everything from Rozaria to Archadia. Despite being the Dynast-King (what they call him), he was a pretty cool guy. He had great compassion for his people and didn't approve of war. He passed this philosophy on through his descendants, and this allowed for a long period of peace and prosperity. During that time, both Rozaria and Archadia, allies of Raithwell, began to root and grow. Things were going well for the world.
     Before he died, Raithwell left behind three relics to signify decent and linage to himself. Of these relics, the Midlight shard was given to those who became House Nabradia (Prince Rasler). The Dusk Shard was given to the founders of Dalmasca, also known as Ashe's ancestors. The final relic, called the Dawn Shard, was hidden in his tomb, and this fact was only known to those with Royal Blood. So! We're going inside to get the Dawn Shard, but Ashe points out that only descendants can safely enter. As for anybody else...as Balthier nicely puts it, there is a lovely arrangement of traps, monsters, and all sorts of other things. Ashe reminds him that the Dawn Shard is at stake, and that King Raithwell's treasure is also located inside. Time for us to enter inside!
     I head to the top and touch the "stirred" ancient device. It teleports us into the Tomb of Raithwell. As soon as we are inside, Vaan asks about the device, and Balthier quickly answers him. It's an ancient contraption found in ruins. You touch it and are teleported somewhere. The finer points elude him, but he feels the finer details are unimportant and we know enough. There's another teleport device in front of me, but it currently isn't working. So, I take the bridge right in front of me. As I go onto the bridge, the strange-looking wall behind me suddenly comes to life! It traps me on the bridge and slowly chases after me. I have a choice now to either fight it or run...BOSS BATTLE TIME! Of course, I choose to fight! But...that doesn't go very well. I attempted to fight it, but I wasn't doing a lot of damage. It kept pushing forward, and I had to turn and run or be crushed to death. There's a door at the end, and I ran through it.
     As I come out of that door, I come face to face...with another machine-monster wall. BOSS BATTLE TIME!...again! However, this time I'm starting from the opposite end. I have to run down to meet the wall monster, and I don't have any way to escape this time. However, compared to the previous one, this one is quite a bit easier and moves pretty slow. I run up and begin my assault on the wall as it slowly pushes us back. Everything is going pretty well until it doesn't! There are pairs of torches all along the bridge, and by activating them, you can change the movement of the wall. One torch speeds it up while the other one halts it. Of course, I didn't know this at first and activated both of them at one point. This small mistake completely turned the tables on myself, and then the wall starts being a super jerk. He starts casting all sorts of status effects on my team, and I can't keep up with him. I try to swap out the characters where I can, but the wall eventually backs me right into the door....and auto game over time! Time to reload and try again!
     Wall Boss Attempt #2! I fight the wall again, but I don't make the same mistakes! Basically the same attack pattern as I did last time (just physical strikes really), but I don't use both torches! It still throws a pile of status effects at me. I deal with those as I can though. I also learned that it had a lovely "destroy all your MP attack", but that only targets a single person at a time. The only thing that really surprised me during this big fight was when it gave people a status called X-Zone! (If you don't remember, X-Zone was a move/magic spell from the old 2D FF titles. It threw enemies into another dimension to kill them.) Regardless of the troubles, I managed to destroy the wall and CONGRATULATIONS! Time to move along.
     The next scene shows off the interior of this large tomb. It's all maze-like and quite complex. The group is just walking through now and admiring the scenery. Vossler comments on how sad he is that they are going to pillage this place. He says this as he is looking over at Fran and Balthier. Ashe replies that they need the help, and despite thinking of his own profit, Balthier will stick with them. Vossler doesn't seem to share that same trust of the duo though. Ashe says they can talk about it later and should currently focus on obtaining the Dawn Shard. Before the scene ends, Ashe tells us that she just KNOWS the Dawn Shard is here because she can feel it. Time to begin my true exploration of the tomb!
     The only noticeable thing in the area is a pair of the strange teleportation devices. The ones I currently see aren't activated, so there's bound to be a way to get them up and running. The room has three paths, but I can't access the middle path. I head down the left first and try to find the other half of the teleport device. I head through a maze with all forms of monsters and eventually end up in a room with the other half of the teleport device! Nothing happens when I touch it though, but there is a strange crystal structure on the wall. I touch that and things start to happen. The crystal disappears, the device activates, a nearby wall moves, and then a ghost pops up! I quickly fight off the group of ghosts (called Lichs), and then I use the nearby teleport to head back to the middle. From here, I head off to explore the right area.
     The right side of this area is quickly explored. It does have a few different monsters compared to the other side, but nothing is necessarily amazing or hard. I quickly dispatch any of the enemies that get in my way and head around to find another mystical device alongside another crystal. I repeat the steps from last time, and it comes out with the exact same results. I quickly defeat the group of monsters that pop up (zombies instead of ghosts if I remember right). The wall to the side moves, but this time it fully lowers to reveal another path! I head through this new path and it takes me to the very bottom of the tomb. Once inside, I get another scene where they FINALLY discuss Mist. Down in this deep area of the tomb, there's a strange fog about us. Penelo asks about it, and Fran identifies it as the Mist. Explains that it can be visibly seen when there are large concentrations of it. Penelo asks if it is dangerous, and Fran replies that it can be dangerous. However, the Mist can also enhance magic and allow them to cast stronger magics. Time to move along though.
     I head to the bottom of this area, and we find a huge monster standing right in front a door. Of course, that's the door we need through. Need I say more? BOSS BATTLE TIME! The large beast picks up its massive spear and charges at us! Before attacking, I decide to give the buffs a try. I cast Protect and Shell on my current party (Basch, Penelo, and Ashe), and then I charge at the beast. It was a fairly long battle that took place here. The monster was fire-based, so I had to attack it with Water spells where I could. Of course, that quickly drained what little MP I had, so I had to either physically attack or make use of the Charge technique. (I've found that Charge is insanely useful and gives around 20ish MP per use. It's free to use! Of course, if it fails, then you lose ALL your MP. It's really only good if you have nothing to lose. Back to the battle.) It was mostly alternating between physical strikes and Fire spells. Outside of that, it kept using a special move that would buff it. That added Shell and Protect, but it didn't do this until it was about a third of its health left. Of course, at that point, it is really only delaying the inevitable. Upon its defeat, the massive beast turns into a square-shaped crystal and now I am confused. However, it is quickly explained.
     The monster we just fought was a powerful Esper called Belias. Fran says something about these creatures attempting to challenge the gods, but they failed and were forced to walk the Mist until the end of time. It's a legend of the Nu Mou (Another Ivalice race that isn't super common. They're like short and reptile-ish though.) Ashe says that there is a story passed down through her family that talks about the Esper. It's said that in the Dynast-King's youth, he defeated a mighty Gigas. The gods took heed of this and bound the Gigas to him forever. Balthier comments that the Esper was here to protect the Dynast-King's treasure then. Unfortunately for him, Ashe responds that the Esper IS the treasure. Balthier doesn't really approve of that, but Ashe insists that they now have a powerful Esper to fight by their side. It's strength and power makes it a treasure without measure. Balthier states that he prefers a kind of treasure that can be measured, but there's really not anything he can do at this point.
     Before heading on, I check my License Board out.  I'm informed that Belias is now on it, but only one character can obtain each Esper. (Thus suggesting there are more on the way.) I think about it briefly and end up letting Vaan have Belias. After learning/obtaining/whatever, I go ahead and try it out. The summoning system runs off the same idea as the Quickening system. It requires an entire magic bar to summon up an Esper. (You gain an extra magic bar for every Quickening you gain. Each character gets three so...three magic bars is the max.) I summon Belias, and it seems to work a lot like it does in FFX. The Esper replaces the two party members (the ones who didn't summon it) and follows me wherever I go. I can't directly control the beast, but I can cast spells or use items on it. I can't really see what it does without enemies around, but I'd say the summon comes out a bit better than the Quickenings, as far as cost goes. Let's go ahead and get that crystal!
     I head into the next room, and we have to descend a bit further into the depths of the tomb. I finally come to a large platform and a glowing orb floats ahead of us. I'll assume this is the Dawn Shard aaaand scene! Ashe approaches the Dawn Shard, and she suddenly sees her dead husband/the prince Rasler! From everybody else's perspective, she just appears to be staring off into space, but for some reason, Vaan can also see him! (Suspiiiicious) The ghost figure of Rasler walks past the group, and of course, Vaan and Ashe are the only ones to watch him go. Ashe does notice his response to all of this. Regardless, we now have the Dawn Shard! Mission success! Thanks to the teleporters, getting back to the entrance is both quick and easy. As I head outside, I start to wonder what the next goal is...As it turns out, I don't get a chance to think about it because CUTSCENE!
     Up above us, there are a pile of airships flying towards the tomb. They land all around the party, and we are officially captured again. Jump ahead a bit, and the group is being greeted once again by Judge Ghis. He greets Ashe, but she just asks what he wants. He demands that they turn over the nethicite. Penelo thinks he means the manufactured nethicite, but he says that is just an imitation and what he wants is the Dawn Shard, which is deifacted nethicite. He then questions Vossler for not telling them about it. As it turns out, Vossler seems to have made a deal with the Empire. He exclaims that he was tired of fighting a profitless war, and he was always thinking of Dalmasca. Judge Ghis explains that Vossler made a deal with the Empire. They'd hand over the Dawn Shard, and the Empire would allow Ashe to reclaim the throne and restore Dalmasca. Ghis thinks it is a pretty good trade...a stone for a kingdom. Ashe doesn't want to do it, so Ghis makes it more of a point. Balthier says something about his master having another pet, and Ghis threatens to kill everyone there...starting with Balthier. Ashe hands over the Dawn Shard. Ghis takes it and says something about Doctor Cid being interested. Balthier asks about that, but he's shut down. Vossler and a couple of Imperial soldiers escort the group off of the Leviathan and to the Shiva.
     As we are being escorted away, Ghis hands the Dawn Shard off to someone and orders them to assess its power. The guy comments that they were supposed to turn it in immediately for testing. Ghis replies that he won't be returning with a stone that hasn't been proven yet. Jumping away from that...a cutscene! An airship is flying away from the Leviathan and towards a smaller airship. It's identified as the Shiva, and we are now inside of it. Vossler starts talking with Ashe about announcing her alive status to the people. After that, they'll need to continue negotiations with the Empire, and he suggests they go through Larsa. Vossler believes that Larsa will listen to them. Ashe isn't very happy with him though and isn't really responding to any of this. She's not happy with Mr. GaveUsUpToTheEmpire. As they are talking, Fran starts having problems. The guards tell her to keep moving, but then she goes into berserk mode and starts attacking them. While she has the guards distracted, the others set to make their escape. (Balthier magically escapes his handcuffs again.)
     The game then briefly jumps back to the Leviathan. They're testing out the Dawn Shard with their engine...because that's just a fantastic idea. As it turns out, the stone is being tested at the exact same time as Fran is going berserk. (Coincidence? No, she said something about the Mist burning.) The stone is super energy-ifying the ship, and Ghis is basically all "MWAHAHAH! POWER!" Of course, he holds that thought as things starts to take a turn...Back to the other group!
     Everybody is getting out of their handcuffs while Fran is going crazy in the background. As we try to leave though, Vossler stops us. He claims that he won't let us Sky Pirates stop Dalmasca's future! BOSS BATTLE TIME! For this round, I get to fight Vossler plus a trio of Imperial Guards. Of course, the Imperial Guards go down pretty quickly, so all that leaves is Vossler. I figured that three on one should go pretty easy and that the rest of this battle wouldn't be a challenge. I was...more or less wrong about that. The first half of the battle was very much in my favor. I hacked and slashed my way through his health, but then Vossler jumped into asshole mode, also known as haste. During his asshole mode, he was able to almost constantly attack with little to no wait inbetween strikes. Everybody got caught in a heal cycle, and things weren't going well. I had to start reviving people, so I said screw that! I threw Vaan out and summoned Belias into the battle. Belias finished Vossler off in two hits! BOOYAH! With Vossler down, the game turns back to the Leviathan.
     As I was saying before the battle, the testing of the Dawn Shard starts to take a bad turn. The Dawn Shard begins to drain power from the ship, and they can't stop it or get it out of the chamber. Oh noes! Back to the other group. They are leaving the current area and trying to find a way off. Basch and Ashe both stop by Vossler briefly. He claims that he only did what he did for Dalmasca and asks that Basch take over as Ashe's protector. Then they head on....back to Ghis. The ship is beginning to act badly, and although it looks bad, it then blows up! CUTSCENE! The Dreadnought Leviathan implodes into itself...and then explodes. This blows up pretty much all of the ships around it. The Shiva tries to hobble away, and the group has commandeered an airship to make their own escape. (It's a Tonberry model I believe. Very small.) They are flying away from the explosion and wreckage when they notice something floating among it all. It's the Dawn Shard! They turn around to go and grab it, so that means we win...for now. Now we switch to history lesson mode.
     The game is going over the events that just took place as well as what proceeded after that. (Also realize that it's Marquis Ondore doing this bit.) He talks about the Dreadnought Leviathan being destroyed and taking out most of the 8th fleet with it. With that setback, the Marquis fakes illness so that he can start bringing together the various resistance efforts in the area. He wants to concentrate all of the anti-Imperial forces together to form one great unified Resistance effort. Lady Ashe heads back to Dalmasca, but she doesn't reveal herself or the Dawn Shard to the people yet. Ondore comments that it is best that she didn't yet. Her current alive status would have made his suicide announcement a complete lie. This would have undermined all of his current efforts. On top of that, Dalmasca's restoration would simply bring the Empire's wraith down upon them all. Despite the loss of the 8th fleet, Archadia was still a strong military power. And thus ends the history lesson...and begins a long ass scene of events taking place elsewhere.
     Thankfully, the scene begins with a very pretty cutscene. It's a large city scene with all sorts of flying vehicles and prettyness. Of course, that is followed up by a long and boring talk-y scene. Yaaay. The Senators are talking with the Emperor. They talk of how Rozarria is assembling troops under a training guise, but they believe they are simply waiting to strike. The loss of the Leviathan and 8th fleet was a hard blow, and this could easily make their upcoming battle very hard fought. They also tack on that Lord Vayne is partially to blame for setting the fleet up where he did. Despite his position, Vayne must be punished. (Although technically, it's not his fault for the Leviathan blowing up. Way to go Ghis!) The Emperor responds by saying that they are making him choose between his throne and his son. Senator comments that it is quite a predicament. They feel that Vayne isn't right for the throne anyways, and they all suggest Larsa instead. The Emperor says that Larsa truly loves his brother and is way too young for the throne. A senator comments that he won't be young forever, and he's actually making progress as is. He's started to unravel Vayne's scheme and is doing so with quite a bit of enthusiasm. The Emperor asks who set him to this very task. A senator changes the subject and mentions that Lord Vayne once brought his elder brothers to justice. They promise the Emperor that they will keep the Empire going regardless of anything that happens to him. The Emperor breaks down and agrees to bring Vayne in. And finally that long scene ends.
     We jump back to Ashe. She's in a random spot somewhere and holding the Dawn Shard. She is looking at the ghost Rasler, and then Vaan appears and is looking on as well. Time jump! The group is back in Rabanastre, and they're talking about the next step. They all realize that the Dawn Shard is what destroyed the Leviathan and in turn destroyed the fleet. Basch mentions something about seeing that kind of destructive power before. He looks over at Ashe and says that she knows where he means. She says the word Nabudis, and Basch fills in the details from there. Nabudis was the capital city of Nabradia, Lord Rasler's homeland. Imperials entered the city and fighting began, but then suddenly an explosion took out most of the city. The coincidence here was that another of the Dynast-King's treasures was located here, the Midlight Shard. They all seem to agree that the Empire was after more nethicite. Ashe says that the Empire can't be allowed to claim the nethicite! Balthier brings up the thought that they kinda already do. They already have the Dusk Shard and most likely the Midlight Shard. On top of all of this, they can also manufacture it.
     With all this in mind, Ashe makes a conclusion on it all. They must use the Dawn Shard to fight the Empire. She goes off into a huge speech about Dalmasca and using the Dawn Shard as her sword and such. Vaan brings up a good question though...Does she even know how to use it? Ashe doesn't have an answer, but lucky for her, Fran does. Fran makes mention of a tribe known as the Garif. She says that they live by the old ways, and magicite lore is part of their culture. They'd probably know all about it as well as how to use it. Ashe realizes this path is dangerous, but she feels it is the path they must take. She asks Fran to take her to the Garif. Fran says that they live beyond the Ozmone Plains. Balthier steps forward and comments on how it is a bit of a long trip. Ashe catches on immediately and asks what he wants for compensation. He asks for her wedding ring from Rasler. She doesn't seem too keen to give it over, but in the end, she does. Balthier assures her that he will give it back when they find something more valuable. Vaan asks him what that might be, but Balther claims he will know it when he finds it. He then asks Vaan what he is looking for, and Vaan doesn't have a clue...Time to move on!
     The group heads outside, and Balthier suggests that we prepare ourselves before moving on. The path we need to take is south through the Giza Plains, which is currently in the rainy season. After we pass through the Giza Plains, we simply have to make our way across the Ozmane Plains to find the Garif village. The best part of all this? I can finally explore again! The first stop on my exploration? To the shops for purchases! Unfortunately, I don't have much money, and there is a HUGE pile of items I need to buy. You know what that means? It means I get to go kill and loot a huge amount of monsters. I grab up all of the new marks and head out in pursuit of loot! However, I did make one more pit stop before going. I went to Migelo's store and talked with him. He has a talk with Penelo and Vaan. He realizes he can't stop them from leaving, but he asks for the two of them to be careful. With that done, it's time to check out these marks.
     First up, I go to learn about the Wyvern Lord. An Imperial Soldier set up the mark because he felt worried about the possible threat from it. It's located in the Sandsea, and we need to go beat it! LET THE HUNT BEGIN! From there, I head out into the Giza Plains for some training and looting. Also, there is another Mark maker there. The village is currently cleared out due to the rainy season, but a lone guy is there. He wants us to deal with the Croakadile (hardy har) and retrieve some ring it swallowed. LET THE HUNT BEGIN! As I wander the rainy version of the plains, I quickly found out that half of the enemies here are almost too much for me to handle. The small guys aren't too bad, but there's a stupid Lightning Elemental that is floating about. It remains neutral unless it sees you attacking monsters. Then it starts throwing out Thundara all over the place. It was enough to kill me, and it actually did once. With that in my way, I decide to make a small trip to Bhujerba.
     Once in Bhujerba, I go to turn in the Rocktoise mark from waaay back there. After that, the Moogle who requested the Mark asks a small favor of him. It was super quick and simple and doesn't bother a mention though. Since the Giza Plains was a bit too much, I head into the Lhusu Mines for training and looting. I spent about an hour in there fighting off what I could. These enemies were almost too easy, but they helped the overall money problem. From there, I decided to head out to the Sandsea to deal with the Wyvern Lord. While looking around for the Wyvern Lord, I fought a whole pile of the Uruten Yensa. I fought enough of those to need a restock trip. I head back to a nearby store to restock my stuff, and then I head back out. I spent quite a bit of time training on both Sandsea areas. During the training part, I spent a lot of time just searching for the Wyvern Lord. I wasn't very confident that I'd be able to beat it, but I was going to give it a shot. I looked all over the place before I realized...He's probably in the one area I haven't been to before. As luck has it, I head to that one area and there he is! He was in a remote spot of the Nam-Yensa Sandsea. MARK BATTLE TIME!
     Before I go into details, I'd like to say...This was a very enjoyable and entertaining battle. I started off with a trio of Quickenings, and despite my inability to do those right, it knocked off a pretty good chunk of the Wyvern Lord's HP. I did learn that obtaining a certain amount of hits in a Quickening combo results in a final hit combo breaker of sorts. For this time, it ended the Quickening combo with Inferno. With that done, I was out of MP, and I'm quickly finding out that probably wasn't the best idea. This wouldn't be a problem if the Wyvern Lord wasn't a FLYING monster...and most of my team uses melee weapons. Luckily, I had just the right time to fight him. I took control of Vaan and disabled his Gambits, so he just played the part of healer and commander. I let Balthier and Fran just go crazy with physical strikes using a Gun and Bow respectively. Basically, while they wailed on him, I just ran around taking out outer lying enemies, using Charge to gain MP, and healing as needed. Overall, this was a fairly easy Mark to deal with and is now VANQUISHED! Woo! Time to go turn it in.
     I head back to Rabanastre now. I sell all of the loot I found and turn in the Mark. The Mark rewards generally aren't that great, but the loot makes up for it at least. I had enough loot earnings that I was able to upgrade everybody's weapons! Unfortunately, I need to do MORE looting so that I can upgrade all of their armor. Yaaay...Oh well! That's more work for another post. I go to save and will end the post here.
     So! That took...way longer than it should have. Yet again, I've had most of the notes ready to go for a while, but it took me some time to get it all typed up. Enough excuses though. That last mark battle started to make the game feel a little funner. Don't get me wrong, the game isn't too bad, but the story just feels exhausting at times. So many people and places, and I might as well go read the Game of Thrones book series. Seriously, it's just a big pile of people and treachery. Either way, I look forward to more Marks to fight. They could prove fun to fight as well! I'm doing my best to double time FFXII when I can because I want to have it done this month! It'll be close, but if I keep up this kind of rate, I could easily have it done. Either way, I'd like to thank anybody who has stuck with the blog. It's been a rough ride lately, but I appreciate those who have stuck around in interest. Stay tuned for another thriving post from RECURRING FANTASY! (Also should have a Side Post up soon...I won't say anything other than game review!)

Ending Point - Rabanastre, South Gate.
Current Party -

• Basch - Level 21
• Ashe - Level 21
• Penelo - Level 22

Goals Accomplished - Crossed the Sandsea and located the Tomb of King Raithwell. Defeated the Garuda and entered the Tomb of Raithwell. Made it through the Tomb of Raithwell and obtained the Dawn Shard. Captured by the Empire (again) and lost the Dawn Shard. Defeated the traitor Vossler and retrieved the Dawn Shard. Finished up a few Mark Hunts that I had on the back burner.
Next Goals - Prepare for the next part. Head south through the Giza Plains and locate the Garif village.

~May the Crystals Guide Me~

Day 78

Game - Final Fantasy XII, Day 78
Hours Played/Hours Total - 5 hrs / 17 hrs
Starting Point - Rabanastre, West Gate.
Current Goal - Head out to Bhujerba. Find and rescue Penelo!

What Happened - The trip through Final Fantasy XII continues onward and upward. I really need to get things in gear if I plan to finish this by the end of February at best. I've already abandoned the notion of beating it in January because that would require I triple my time and then I'd never get posts done from all the gameplay. Overall, I'll learn to accept it and get posts out slightly faster. Time to move right into the story...
     Where we left off, I was about to enter the Aerodome and leave the ground behind! I head inside the Aerodome, and it's basically...just a large airport. There are tons of people and desks around, and you can apparently travel to different places from here. However, I'm only allowed to travel to one right now, and it's not through any desk for sure. I locate Balthier and learn a bit about Bhujerba before we leave. Bhujerba is located on a Sky Continent known as Dorstonis. It's a city-state that thrives on the export of magicite. It's currently ruled by a Marquis Ondore, and he's kept off Imperial Invasion through neutrality and staying in good graces with the Emperor. Well, that's all he has so I guess it's time to move on!
     Next up, the group is walking through a hanger and towards Balthier's airship. As we approach, a group of moogles are leaving it, and he asks how it is. They don't really say anything though, and we climb aboard regardless. Balthier's airship is known as the Strahl. Vaan is very excited to be aboard. (Who wouldn't be?) Everybody straps in and the ship takes off into the sky! Of course, this happy cutscene is cut short by a slightly depressing scene. It jumps over to a captured Penelo who being held by the Bangaa group. The leader comes in and talks about how they are preparing to capture Balthier. They seem to want him alive because the bounty is worth more if he is. And...end scene.
     We land at the station, and we spot a group of Imperial Guards who are looking about. The group seems to assume that they are the ones being searched for, so we head right along. Outside, I gaze upon the large Skycity of Bhujerba. The group discusses the next course of action, and that is heading to the nearby Lhusu Mines. A random guy over to the side overhears us and has a request. He has something to do there as well and asks if he can come along with us. Balthier agrees but asks that he stays right where he can be seen. The guy agrees and introduces himself as Lamont. Vaan begins to introduce himself and give EVERYBODY'S name despite Balthier saying they are supposed to keep a low profile. (He just mentioned like a few minutes ago for NO NAMES.) Oh well! We move right along into Bhujerba.
     It seems that Final Fantasy XII does one thing right. All of the places that I've been to so far feel fairly alive. On top of this, you can talk to almost 40% of the people around you, so this means it at least looks and feels lively. Back to the game, our current goal is the Lhusu Mines. We have to travel through town to get to them, but there are Imperial Soldiers all about. They're blocking off several paths throughout the city, and more importantly, they are blocking the most direct path to the mines. So I get to do this the fun way and take the long way through town. While I walked through, I hit up a few of the shops and got what I could. Not a lot of new things at this point, so I quickly make my way through and to the Lhusu Mines. As we are about to head inside, Basch thinks there may be Imperials afoot inside, but he is quickly told otherwise. Lamont steps forward to inform us that very few Imperial Soldiers are allowed inside the city at all, and that none of them should be present in here. So...off into the mine we go!
     Finally, we have made it into the Lhusu Mines, but it doesn't seem we are quite alone yet. The group jumps to the side real quick, and it seems for good reason. A small group is walking through here, and it's not just anyone...it's a Judge! Along with the Judge is a group of fairly important looking people. The Judge is talking to the man among them about the mine's magicite. He seems to be questioning it's quality or quantity or something like that. The man tells the Judge that all the magicite is going straight to Lord Vayne. Nothing of importance is really said and the group moves right along. As they are leaving, Lamont informs us that the man talking to the Judge is quite important. That man was Marquis Ondore, the leader of Bhujerba. Lamont goes on to say that Ondore has tried to remain neutral during all of this conflict. He was even the mediator at Dalmasca's surrender. Balthier notices that Lamont seems quite well informed...and asked who he really is. Vaan interrupts all of this and says that none of this matters right now. They're here to find Penelo and nothing more. So our journey into the mine continues/actually starts.
     The Lhusu Mines are your typical mines. There are shafts full of bats and skeletons, and several tunnels separating to different directions. It's a pretty easy trek through overall. Lamont is a bit behind us in power, but he keeps up regardless. Despite being the same level as the group, he certainly feels under powered compared to the group. There's not any directions of where I should be going, so I have to guess. As luck would have it, I happened upon the exact room I needed to. (Found out later it was the ONLY place I could go actually...Everywhere else is locked off.) After all of the mine shafts, we finally come to a mining area. Lamont steps forward and says that this is why he came here. He pulls out a strange object and holds it out. Vaan asks him what it is, and he calls it manufactured Nethicite. He quickly explains that Nethicite draws in magical energy, unlike Magicite. He also mentions something about research at the Draklor Laboratory. He thanks everybody for our help and says that he will reward us soon enough.
     Of course, Balthier has been suspicious of him this whole time, and now his suspicious has peaked. He comes forward and asks Lamont how he knows all of this. He inquires about the Nethicite, how he got his sample, and what he knows about the Draklor Laboratories. As he attempts to question him though, things take an obvious turn. The Bangaa who called out Balthier appears now. The Bangaa, known as Ba'Gamnan, is very determined and seems quite happy to finally have Balthier cornered. He puts together his chainsaw spear...thing and comes at is. (Seriously, that's how I would describe it. It's a chainsaw ring on top of a spear.) Vaan asks him where Penelo is, but Ba'Gamnan replies that he released her nowns more, and we were back at the entrance. We lost the Bangass, but we also lost track of Lamont as well.
     We go to leave the mines and spot Lamont outside. Of course, we find out that Lamont ISN'T Lamont. He's actually Lord Larsa, and as he leaves the mines, he's greeted by the Judge and some guards. They seem to have Penelo oas well though. They found her wandering and trespassing in the mines, and they are about to punish her. However, Larsa ends up defending her. He claims that if wandering the mines is a crime, that he is guilty as well. He asks the Marquis if he can accommodate another guest, and the group begins to leave. Lamont takes Penelo with them as they leave. The rest of the group watches on, but Vaan is still behind somehow. He asks what is up with Lamont, but Balthier reiterates that he isn't Lamont. He's Larsa something-or-other Solidor. He is one of the Emperor's sons and a brother to Lord Vayne. Fran tells Vaan not to worry about Penelo though. She feels that Penelo will be treated well.
     After all that is said and done, Basch comments that their paths are now one and the same...to Ondore. Of course, the group doesn't have a way to approach the Marquis, so that is our next goal. Balthier figures that the Marquis is giving money to rebels who are opposing the Empire. That's where we need to start, and unfortunately, it's going to start in the most annoying way. The group wants to be discovered by the rebel groups in Bhujerba. Balthier suggests that Basch's current status of "not being dead" might spark up interest if it becomes well known. (As far as the world is concerned, he was executed a couple years ago.) Vaan volunteers to run around town and yell out about Basch's new status. This involves one of the most annoying and ridiculous sounding parts of the entire game.
     Basically, I have to run around town as Vaan and yell at people. This is yet another percentage minigame sort of like the electricity in the underground area from before. The game threw up a Notoriety meter and gives me a percentage. I just go about yelling out things like "I'M CAPTAIN BASCH!" or "DON'T BELIEVE ONDORE'S LIES!". To achieve more percentage, I simply have to quickly spread rumors around town. You aren't timed while you do it, but you have to do it quickly because the meter drops. Unfortunately, the game didn't tell me that only certain people I can talk to are affected by your yelling. It didn't waste a lot of my time, but I wish I'd known beforehand...Anyways, I ran all over town and yelled it about like an idiot. It was soooooo much fun. /end sarcasm Overall, it's just a large and incredibly annoying task, but it goes by relatively quick.
     With the goal achieved, I'm shown a little scene. Vaan is suddenly surrounded by a group of people and abducted for spreading the rumors. Next thing I know, I'm in a random backroom and being questioned. The guy there asks why Vaan keeps saying he's Captain Basch. He demands that Vaan explains himself right now, but Vaan doesn't get a chance. The rest of the crew suddenly comes in and starts talking. Balthier comments on how the rebels are disguised as tour people, and that the Marquis is supporting them during all this. He did find their backroom tavern hideout to be a bit typical though. Basch steps in finally and things are going to get interesting...SCENE CHANGE!
     Now, I'm seeing Penelo at the palace (I think), and she's talking with Larsa. She thanks him for helping her out of the jam with the Judge, and she asks if Vaan is okay. Larsa was glad to help, but it seems the two were talking about the current state of Dalmasca. He seemed troubled by whatever she said, and he promised to speak with the Consul himself. He informs her that the Consul is his brother...He's Larsa Solidor. He believes that his brother is a great and righteous man, but Penelo says she is scared of him. She tells Larsa that he can't possibly understand how much the people of Dalmasca lost during the war. Larsa asks if she fears the Empire, and Penelo shakes her head yes. Larsa approaches her and says that he was taught to take the needs of others before their own. He will see that she is kept safe from harm, and that is his duty as House Solidor. She asks how she can possible believe him, and he gives her his word. He claims that his brother would do no less. End scene, and back to the main group!
     Thankfully, the group went over the entire backstory without me having to listen in. Basically, the Marquis is going to be quite surprised to find that Basch is alive, but at the same time, he is going to be in trouble because of it. (Doesn't directly explain, but I'd assume because the people would see him as a liar.) Of course, one of the Marquis's men is present during all of this discussion. He says that he'll arrange a meeting for us with the Marquis, and we are to head there as soon as possible. I leave the tavern, and I'm finally free to roam again! I run all around the city and do a bit of shopping. After that, it's time to catch up on the side questing. In this case, I'm needing to look into a few of the Marks I took on some ways back. Of course, before I can rush off to those, I have to find the people who requested the Marks.
     I'm not going to go into detail of finding the people, but I'll list the names of the Marks of course. The two Marks that I acquired are the Rocktoise and the Nidhogg. Both of them are located in Lhusu Mines, so I simply need to re-enter the mines and locate these monsters. Will I be able to beat them? I'm going to assume yes, but the Rocktoise does have me a little worried. I received that Mark quest from the Clan Hall before I left Rabanastre. The other one I received (cluckatrice) was incredibly hard, and I couldn't beat it. No point messing around here though, so let's get to it! BACK TO LHUSU MINES!
     I ran through the mines and gained extra loot and LP as I could. After doing that for a bit, I went just a small ways in and located the Nidhogg! LET THE HUNT BEGIN! I made use of a Quickening (The in-game Limit Breaks...still never gave me a proper explanation for them.) and dealt a pretty good amount of damage. I was doing pretty well on the whole, but then something happened and everything went downhill. The Nidhogg managed to kill one person, and then it just became a revival game with no hope of killing it. If I got one person up, the next one would fall and things would just repeat. So...that ended in a big ol' Game Over, and I got to reload and retry. I wasn't very happy about that either since I lost like 40 minutes of battling and looting. Regardless, I took another stab at the Nidhogg.
     However, this time, I took a slightly different approach. I did use the Quickening again, but this time I made use of another feature of the Quickenings. Basically, like previously stated, Quickenings are sort of like this game's version of Limit Breaks. It deals a pretty good amount of damage on its own, but there's a better use for it! If every character has a Quickening, they can chain them together! From what I read somewhere, it's also possible to constantly chain one after another, but I didn't remember the details to that. The biggest downside to the Quickenings is that they take an entire MP bar to activate. That means that you're going to be without magic as soon as you use it, so you have to choose wisely. Regardless of that, I threw two Quickenings at the big snake and took out pretty much all of its HP. I was able to keep after it from that point and quickly finish it off. And thus...NIDHOGG VANQUISHED!
     Since the person requesting the Nidhogg mark is just outside, I left the mines to go ahead and turn it in. Yet again, the reward wasn't anything to brag about, but it was better than some of the previous ones. I sold off all of my loot and had a small shopping spree. The main thing I had to restock on was potions from all the training. After that, I returned to the mines to do a bit more training. I spent at least another hour inside of there to get extra levels and loot. Let me just say...Getting extra money in this game is very slow and time consuming. You have to sell dozens and dozens of items at a time just to gain enough to fully upgrade ONE character to the current standard. It's a very slow road to upgrade, and I've only got four characters that I'm trying to fully equip at this point. (Based on positioning and such, I believe you have a max of six people.) After my hour of training/looting, I left the mines and made my way to the Marquis's palace for the meeting. (No point delaying this game anymore.)
     A brief walk later, and we are now face-to-face with Marquis Ondore. He acknowledges that Basch is very much alive, and he realizes now that Lord Vayne has placed him in a most precarious position. Basch requests the Marquis's help in rescuing Amalia and claims that she is of great importance to the resistance. The Marquis seems like he would like to help, but he mentions that he's currently stuck with the Empire looming over him. Vaan asks if they can see Larsa since Penelo is with him. The Marquis informs us that Larsa and the girl have already left and will be heading for Rabanastre soon enough. Of course, now it throws us a super suspicious cutscene. There's a large group of airships in the distance away from Bhujerba. They launch off a pile of little fighter ships that go heading towards the palace. Back inside the palace, Vaan is currently being held back for whatever reason, and it turns out that this meeting was a big damn setup. Ondore calls in his men, and we are officially captured. He informs us that we are going to be turned over to Judge Ghis. (Prounced GEESE. This game is all about it's weird pronunciation of things.) Now we get to jump over to a completely different conversation!
     I am now privy to a conversation between Consul Vayne and one of the Judges. They're currently discussing the resistance and their insurgence. The Judge talks about how the Bhujerba resistance seems a bit too well funded, and he believes that Marquis Ondore is behind this. Vayne then shows the Judge (calls him Gabranth) a letter. He says that the Marquis has captured Basch and is sending him back with Judge Ghis. Ghis will arrive tomorrow with Larsa, and Vayne orders Gabranth to escort Larsa back home. He bids Gabranth to leave now because Dr. Cid is about to arrive. (Yuup, Cid is back once again! But...he might be a bad guy this time.) Cid enters the room as Gabranth is leaving, and he starts discussing something with Vayne. Of course, the game cuts off this scene around this point. (I also didn't really care what they were yammering about!)
     And guess what? Right into another cutscene! The group is being chain-scorted onto an Imperial airship. Then that airship flies into a LARGER airship, and I'm quickly informed that this airship is known as Dreadnought Leviathan. (Based on earlier bits, the airships in this game are named after various monsters and summon monsters. Tonberry, Leviathan, Ifrit, and etc.) We're taken into a large room, and Amalia is here as well. As soon as she sees Basch, she comes forward and is quite angry at him. Then the secret is revealed...AMALIA IS PRINCESS ASHE! (Dun dun duuuuun! Not really a secret. I already knew as soon as I saw her the FIRST time.) The Judge states that despite that statement, she doesn't have any proof of her royalty and shall be executed soon enough. Basch steps forward and claims that he has something to prove her royalty-ness. The late King of Dalmasca entrusted him to give her the Dusk Shard, and that would prove her royal blood. He claims that only he knows where it is. Ashe is angry with him though because she believes he killed the King. Everybody believes that though...except the current party. She asks him why he would leave her alive after killing the King, something about shame. Vaan tells her to stop yelling or they'll all die. Randomly enough, the Goddess Magicite happens to be in his hands and starts glowing.
     The Judge is quite happy to see the stone Vaan has because it saved him quite a bit of trouble. He then asks Vaan to hand over the stone. Vaan gives it to him, but he asks that nobody is executed. The Judge takes it and says something about upholding the law. After that, the group is taken away while Lady Ashe is taken elsewhere. As we're being escorted away, Basch and Balthier start chatting away. As the guards tell them to hush, the two of them start the BREAKOUT! Despite being shackled, they start beating the crap out of the couple of guards nearby. As they are coming to deal with the last one though, suddenly one of the other guards strikes him. He steps forward and reveals himself as an old friend in disguise. It's one of the Resistance guys whose name I didn't catch!
     Basch and he start talking about all of the events. The man apologizes for his previous actions towards Basch. He needed to protect the Princess and couldn't trust anybody. He requests Basch's help in rescuring her now, and Vossler (his name) joins the party as a guest. Time to mooove out! As we begin to search the ship, Vossler warns us about the laser alarm system. If we trip it, guards will keep coming until the system turns back off. As I explore, I do my best to avoid the lasers as I can. However, I eventually get caught in one because the NPCs decided it would be fun. Luckily enough, the Imperial guards are pretty easy, so I just deal with the "problem". I have to fight quite a damn few of them while trying to find the Princess. For most of the game, I've been sticking with Vaan, Balthier, and Fran, but I ended up switching out Vaan for Basch because of the level difference. (Vaan was up two levels on everybody else.) I'm moving right along when I come to a conveniently shaped room for a round of mini-BOSS BATTLE TIME!
     As we walk into the room, a pair of Judges (non-named I guess) come in along with a pair of Imperial guards for each. They come at me, but they don't stand a chance! I quickly beat the Judges and then follow up by beating the couple of guards with them. CONGRATULATIONS! (The game throws up another one like with the Flan.) This battle was super easy, and it's barely a boss battle. I probably shouldn't have called it that...No point in going back now though. With their defeat, one of them dropped a No 1 Brig Key. Hooray for keys! I grab the key and enter the nearby brig area. I quickly explore the four cells here and find that one of them...has Princess Ashe! As soon as I opened the cell, I imagined the following situation...

Princess Ashe "Aren't you a little short for an Imperial Guard?"
Basch "My name is Basch Fon Rosenburg. I'm here to rescue you!"
/end tacky reference placement

Back to the game now, the Princess isn't too happy to see Basch, but then Vossler shows himself. She seems fairly eager to see that guy. She wants to argue with him, but he says that we need to escape now and can talk later. Princess Ashe joins the party as a real member, and it's time to move right along.
     As we leave the jail cells behind, the alarm turns on and goes into "permanent mode". I get to run back to where I started, and I get to do so while enemies are constantly flooding towards us. With the Gambits in place, this was a fairly easy task. Of course, I'm getting a constant flow of enemies, so I had to start managing my characters here and there. I don't have a perfect Gambit setup, and they can sometimes get caught up in what I call a "Healing cycle". (Quickly explained, they get caught healing each other constantly.) Lucky for me, there's a shortcut to go back, so heading back went quite a bit faster than coming to the jail area. It's possible to hit a console in the ship and deactivate the alarms, but it's a temporary fix and only lasts a minute. However, that lasted long enough to get me past a lot of the guards! Just as I'm coming back to where it started, we run into Larsa and Penelo.
     Penelo and Vaan have a small moment here because they are reunited and such. Larsa looks over and comments that something is definitely up if two dead people are currently very much alive. (Basch and Ashe) He says that their current alive status is bound to pull up some strings, and we had best follow those leads as they come up. He requests Vossler's aid in dealing with something so that the rest of us can make our escape. Before leaving though, he gives Penelo the manufactured Nethicite and wishes her luck. He runs off with Vossler, and Penelo re-joins the party. Well, it's time to make our escape! I head to onward and find out the truth...We aren't getting away THAT easily! The Judge from before, Judge Ghis, has come around to stop us himself.

Judge Ghis

It seems that he knew we'd be this way, and he has waited for us. He conjures up a massive ball of magic and tosses it at us to finish us off. Then things take a different turn to his surprise! The Nethicite absorbs the giant ball of magic, and the Judge is forced to take care of us more directly. He pulls out a pair of strange weapons, a couple guards join him, and BOSS BATTLE TIME!
     The Judge looks to be quite a powerful foe, and I hoped that I was prepared to face him. As it turns out, I was MORE than prepared to face him. I start off by taking out all of his guards first. They were just regular Imperial guards, so they go down quite easily. With them out of the picture, I change my focus to him. I started on him by unleashing a couple Quickenings in his direction. For this case, I was actually able to combo them up! This took out a pretty good chunk of his health, but then I had to focus on regular attacking and let my Gambit setups work their magic. He wasn't the easiest enemy to beat, but it was a fairly simple battle overall. The only interesting attack that came out of him was Aero. Instead of just striking one person, it hit everybody within a certain range. With his defeat, he is knocked back, and his helmet comes off. We get a glimpse at the man inside, but we don't linger around too long.
     Vossler comes in and informs us that he has secured us an Atomos shuttle to escape in. (See! More summon monster names for aircraft.) Balthier doesn't seem overly impressed with that, but we don't have much choice and head out. Cutscene! We pile inside the small airship and fly out of the Leviathan. Penelo tells Fran (currently piloting) to hurry up, but Fran has a plan. They slowly fly up and past the other ships, and as she clears their range, she finally takes off. She tells Penelo that it would have been suspicious to have gone faster. Therefore, we have officially escaped! Huzzah!
     We make it back to Bhujerba safely. Basch has a talk with Ashe and Vossler now. It seems that Ondore was responsible for making all of this possible, and Vossler says he feels bad for distrusting the Marquis at first. Vossler needs to head off now though. He's trying to find a way for them to defeat the Empire and asks that we wait for him at Marquis Ondore's palace. He entrusts Ashe to Basch and asks her to stay with him despite her not wanting to. He fully trusts Basch now and wishes that she does the same. From here, I'm finally free again to explore as I want. Before heading to the Palace though, I decide it's time for a little extra training and a Mark I ignored earlier.
     Of course, with Bhujerba, there's only one place I can go at this point...back to Lhusu Mines. I head inside to do a bit of training, a lot of looting, and to deal with a pesky Mark. Earlier on, back at the Clan Hall waaaay back there, I got a Mark about a monster called a Rocktoise. Someone got it as a pet, but then it got out and turned into a massive monster. He asked that we go and take care of it, and here we be now. I head into the mines and locate him all the way at the back. THE HUNT BEGINS! Of course, the first thing that came to mind when the fight started...I'm probably not going to succeed. With the Cluckatrice in mind, I figured this Mark would be quite a bit harder to vanquish. I was right about that, but with one spell, I quickly changed this battle from "insanely hard" to "just takes time". I cast Blind on the Rocktoise, and everything was downhill for the monster from there. With it Blinded, it missed on nearly 90% of its attacks, so from there, I simply needed to take the time to constantly attack, attack, attack! Honestly, it made it a pretty unexciting event. Regardless of that though, MARK VANQUISHED!
     With the Mark dealt with, I took some time to do a bit more grinding and looting of the mines. I spent at least an hour fighting off all the monsters I could. The main group I dealt with were the Skeletons scattered throughout. They weren't anything horrible to deal with, and they dropped some of the better loot available at this time. With my bag overflowing with loot, I left the mines and sold everything I could. I contemplated heading back inside, but I'm having a hard time keeping focused on the game as is. Thus, it was time to continue onward! I visited all of the shops and bought what I could with my meager income. I managed to obtain all of the current spells and even buy a few techniques. Of course, that drained everything I had, so I was forced to skip any true equipment buying. I want to spend more time looting to get better equipment, but I decided it would be better to push through the game.
     That being said, I saved my game and stopped there. I've taken long enough getting this post typed up, and I decided to stop and get this done before going a lot further. It's not the longest post I've ever done, but I wanted to release a new one. If I went a whole lot further, this post could easily double in size. This is the end of the post though, so I won't babble on anymore. I meant to have this up and posted sooner, but then I got distracted. I wasn't playing much of Final Fantasy XII because I was playing the newly released Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. If you are reading this post and haven't heard of it, GO FIND OUT ABOUT IT RIGHT NOW! It's a fantastic RPG with a Studio Ghibli movie vibe. It's lots of fun and very well made. Back to the ending bit, thanks to anybody who stuck through until this post made it up! I'm going to try and work harder this week, and hopefully, I'll have another post up sooner rather than later. Thanks for reading and see you soon...on RECURRING FANTASY!

Ending Point - Bhujerba, Lhusu Square.
Current Party -

• Penelo - Level 15
• Balthier - Level 15
• Ashe - Level 16

Goals Accomplished - Made it to Bhujerba. Explored the Lhusu Mines.  Met with Ondore but ended up being turned over to the Empire. Rescued Princess Ashe, defeated Judge Ghis, and escaped Dreadnought Leviathan. Killed the Rocktoise mark. Prepared to move right along.
Next Goals - Figure out what I'm supposed to do next. Vague but involved the Marquis I believe.

~May the Crystals Guide Me~