Day 94

Game - Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, Day 94
Hours Played/Hours Total - 5 hrs / 8-1/2 hrs
Starting Point - Aquaria.
Current Goal - Find and restore the next crystal. Save the world!

What Happened - MYSTIC QUEST! It's great! It's short! Let's get right into it!
     Where we left off, I had to continue to Fireburg to deal with Earthquakes while also finding where Captain Mac went. Before I leave though, I explore the village a bit to make sure I'm not missing anything. As it turns out, there's a lady in one of the houses who sells you better armor for 200 GP. (I didn't explain armor earlier, so here's the short version. Armor is simply found and auto-equipped.) With that done, it's time to head back to the Focus Tower.
     Along the way, a new pathway has opened on the World Map! It also contained a couple Battlefields to fight through. The first one rewards me with an Exit spell. The second one just gives me money. OH WELL! Time to move on and into the Focus Tower's next floor. In there, the old man is waiting once again with more news. First off, Captain Mac left his home because of something horrible happening. Keeper goes !!!, but then the old man says I should seek out Reuben in Firebug. So... I'm not going there for Captain Mac. That's all okay.
     The only thing left to do in this spot is move a pillar into a position and obtain a few new items. (Venus Shield and Blizzard magic) Then I get to exit the tower and re-enter it at the base to continue upwards. With the Crystal of Water restored, another colored door opens, and I get to leave through another Focus Tower exit. Oh boy! Three battlefields in a row! Whoopee! Now that I'm past those... Let's get to Fireburg.
     And here's some Fireburg for you.

Dat Hotel sign.

I explore the town a little bit and used my recent battlefield earnings to stock up. I got a good assortment of healing items and bought a fancy new axe, the Battle Axe. Then I look around for this Reuben fellow and learn about what is going on. It seems that his father was heading to the nearby volcano to investigate current happenings. On the way there, his friend abandoned him and ran away while the father got stuck on the volcano behind a boulder. Reuben wants to save his father, and Keeper is more than eager to help.
     Keep in mind, this all comes back around to restoring the Crystal of Fire. We can't get to it without Reuben or his father or whatever. First thing's first though, we have to find his father's friend. The guy who abandoned him knows how to use the Mega Grenade, and we need that to clear out the boulder. However, Mega Grenade guy has locked himself in his house, and we have no way to get in there. A random villager I talked to spilled the beans about a man in town who can "open any lock". As it turns out, this man is actuall Tristam! (The ninja star guy from earlier in the game.) Keeper explains to him about the locked door, and Tristam hands over the Multi-key.

Looks like a sword...

     I take the Multi-key and go over to Mega Grenade guy's house. I open the door, go inside, and he explains what happened. He was scared by the monsters up there and ran away, but then Reuben's father got trapped up there by a boulder. Keeper asks how to use the Mega Grenade, and his explanation simply is "Just throw it!" ....That was almost pointless. Giant Bombs have now become Mega Grenades, and they can be thrown now too. Time to rescue Reuben's father.
     Two battlefields later, and I've earned the Thunder spell. Thus, it wasn't a complete waste of my time. Now onward into the Mines! The Mine is full of exotic creatures like zombies, red caps (goblin), and red skeletons. To be fair, the Mine felt kinda small and boring compared to previous places then BOSS BATTLE TIME!

I am Jinn! (The D is silent and nonexistent here.)

     Funny thing is, the boss blended in so well with the other units that I didn't realize it was a boss. The boss battle music was the first thing that directly tipped me off, but anyways! It's time to fight the DJINN. He's got more HP than anybody else, but he really wasn't a special fight beyond that. I'd really only call him a mini-boss at best. His attacks were powerful though, so I'd advise not going unprepared. Aaand then it's over.
     I head through the exit he was blocking and find myself on a ledge across from another ledge. There's a man over there with a large boulder next to him. Odds are, this is Reuben's father, and we just need to fling a Mega Grenade over. That dislodges the boulder and causes it to roll out onto the world map. (It was physically present on the world map to block my path.) We can now reach the Volcano... after I explore the Mines a bit more!
     I quickly found out that the Mines were quite a bit bigger than I thought. It's not a massive place, but there are several small rooms to explore. It's worth the time too because you find the Charm Claw, an upgraded claw weapon. It's weaker than the Battleaxe I bought, but I go ahead and use it anyways. There's not much more to describe of the area so... RANDOM SCREENSHOTS!

The path system in here is different from most. The paths are generally all one-direction, so you can't move back and forth easily. This caused me to get lost at one point because I couldn't figure out the right path to the exit. I finally said "screw you game!" and used an Exit spell to leave.
     With the boulder moved, a new Battlefield opened up just for me! I cleared it out and went back to Fireburg to gear up. I briefly talked to Reuben's father, but all he did was confirm that the Fire Crystal is definitely on the Volcano. Therefore, our next target is the Volcano.
     The Volcano consisted of two parts. The climb up the slope came first. Overall, it was a pretty straightforward climb up the Volcano's exterior. There's a few different paths you can take, but they only lead to new items. Along the way, I acquired a Gas Mask. Strangely placed in this game, but it lets you see monsters in foggy areas. Once I reached the top, I had to fight a green haired lady among all the monsters. Turns out it is Medusa for BOSS BATTLE TIME!
     Along with Medusa is a pair of "werewolves". They aren't any trouble, but she comes off as pretty dang tough. Her attacks are decently powerful and all, but she is able to petrify people. Petrification is death, and if both characters are petrified, then it's automatic Game Over. (A flaw of the game is having only two party members.) I died several times just dealing with the petrify status. What ended up doing the most damage here was the spell "White" (Holy). I recently obtained it, and it's all forms of powerful against pretty much any monster. Also targets all monsters, and that is just icing on the cake. It is a Wizard spell though, so you are pretty limited on casting it. Anyways, here's a few screenshots to accompany all this.

Pretty sure those "werewolves" are actually cerberus-i.

Now you've got me REALLY angry!

Somehow you shaved me with bombs and a morning star.

     After more tries than I'd care to amount (nor did I count), I finally defeated Medusa and was allowed into the Volcano's Dome. The journey into the dome took a bit longer than the climb up on the outside. The key problem I ran into here are just the sheer number of enemies around here. That and they're hilariously misplaced enemies lurking in the volcano, like ninjas. Just take a look below.

Volcano ninjas! The world's deadliest warrior.

Seriously programmers. Ninjas don't belong in volcanoes! Also the other monsters that don't really fit here, but whatever! I think part of it's supposed to be a joke against other games doing this.
     Now, I haven't been doing as much suggestions and tips through this walkthrough, but I will say this. As far as this game goes, it's always best to explore every single divergence from the main path. Heck, make sure to check every nook and cranny because there are new armor, weapons, and spells littered throughout the game. It's the main reason I keep doing all the Battlefields as well. Many of them reward you with spells and armor. Just be sure to look around when you can! Before entering the final chamber here, I had to open the big door with a switch. I did this by chance before I reached it though, so I didn't have to backtrack any. Inside the final chamber is a two-headed hydra-dragon thinger!

Final Room + Hydra Shot

     BOSS BATTLE TIME! It's a fire-type Hydra and breathes fire. (Not really a surprise seeing as we are in a volcano and all.) Unfortunately, he wasn't very hard at all. Medusa gave me a lot more trouble. Sure, the Fire Hydra had some powerful attacks, but he didn't have anything beyond that. I did include a damage montage for you though!

Pardon, I forgot the initial look.

Now he just looks like a regular dragon.

Now he's very angry and beaten down!

With the Fire Hydra defeated, the Fire Crystal appears before us, and it is officially restored. Keeper makes a mention that there's just one crystal left to restore at this point. Reuben says that someone from Windia once mentioned a crystal being there. Keeper inquires to where Windia is, and Reuben says we need to head Southeast of the Focus Tower.
     With the Fire Crystal restored, the Volcano erupted and created a new path to the Focus Tower. I leave the Dome, and head south. One Battlefield later, and it's through the Focus Tower we go... to Windia! I briefly met the Old Man in the Focus Tower, and he said something about the next location. However, I accidentally skipped through it and missed what he said. It was only a sentence about Windia though. Anyways, while going through the Focus Tower, I found an alternate path that lead below the tower into THE DOOM CASTLE! I wasn't able to explore the area much, but the path did lead to the Aero spell. So it was worth the effort of fighting one monster.
     With that done, I head back up and out of the Focus Tower and to the southwest. The first stop along the way is just an event location. Seriously, I only stop here so that Reuben can fail to fight a monster, fall down a bridge but be unhurt, and then Tristam walks in to take his place. That is all it is. You can't go back ever again. Oh well, goodbye Reuben! We're heading on without you into the ALIVE FOREST!
     The Alive Forest is full of all sorts of ghosts and mummies. Strangely enough, there really aren't any evil demon trees to fight. That would make more sense here, but it's all good. I destroy all of them to reach a fancy Giant Axe and a tree with a face. (Let's just assume he's the ALIVE part of this forest.) Keeper and Tristam attempt to speak with him, but they can't understand him. Tristam mentions Kaeli's ability to speak with trees, and Keeper figures she's finally in Aquaria now. So... I get to backtrack all the way back to Aquaria. (Not a huge trip, just an annoying one.) One trip to to Aquaria later...
     I find that Kaeli is at Phoebe's place. Phoebe says that Kaeli is tired from the trip and resting, but I should go speak with her grandpa (Spencer) in the meantime. And wowzers a lot happens in this short visit. When I find Spencer in the cave below, he informs me that he can't finish the tunnel to get to Captain Mac without Otto's help. Otto is supposedly in Windia, but then he drops that and asks who Tristam is. Tristam introduces himself as a treasure hunter. Spencer mentions that he recently heard a rumor of some fancy armor. Tristam and Spencer immediately abandon me and head out to locate it. Before leaving though, Tristam hands over the fancy Dragon Claw. Neato!
     With those two gone, Phoebe comes in and asks what is going on. Keeper explains that the two left, and then she tries to go finish the cave Spencer was building. However, she does exactly the stupid thing and tries to finish it using a bomb. This causes part of the cave to collapse, and so she runs off to tell Spencer what she did. She asks me to take care of Kaeli and dashes off. I work my way around and back up to Spencer's House. Kaeli has just woken up, and she asks about her father. Keeper says yes, but now we have to see Otto in Windia to remedy the situation. (Seriously, it goes in exactly that order.) KAELI JOINS THE PARTY!
     First things first, the Dragon Claw is pretty awesome. It works like a claw, but it has a cable attached to it. You use it as a grapple hook and can shoot it all wimbly-nimbly! Unfortunately, I have to head immediately back to Alive Forest after less than ten minutes of time in Aquaria. Going to fast forward right to the part with the giant tree with a face. Aaaaaaand
     We're there! Kaeli asks the tree if he will let us pass by him. He agrees to let us through, but he asks that we "whack the monsters inside him". Keeper figures that's easy enough, and we enter inside the tree. Inside the tree, the monsters are a huge assortment of random. There are mummies, ghosts, trees, frogs, scorpions, golden skeletons (named skuldiers), and it's just ridiculousness. The frogs and scorpions make some sense I guess. The inside of the tree feels pretty big too. There's lots of side rooms to explore, and you even find the Meteor spell! After a lot of exploration and screenshots, I finally make it to the top.

Frogs and Toadstools. GET IT?

Evil trees inside of a tree... TREECEPTION?

HA! Skuldier.

It's a Chimera!

Just in time for... BOSS BATTLE TIME! It's Gidrah, and he looks like a big ol' Chimera to me.

Okay, it's Gidrah.

Goat out of here!

Imma DRAGON you down Gidrah!

The boss doesn't offer too much challenge, much like the last one, but he can petrify. Kaeli's resistant to it though, so it's a much easier time than with Medusa. After a few rounds, I randomly tried the Aero spell on him and turns out that it is his weakness. Kaeli also has the Aero spell, so after I eliminated his cohorts, Gidrah went down pretty quickly. (Sorry about those puns. Couldn't resist!)
     With the tree cleared of monsters, we talk to the face inside the tree right in front of us. He thanks us for killing the monsters and offers to carry us to our destination of Windia. After he drops us off, I check out the nearby temple and meet up with the Old Man again. He says that Captain Mac will tell me about the prophecy and zooms off as usual. Two Battlefields with meh prizes later, and I'm in Windia!
     Not much of a town to see here, but I do buy a Cupid Charm from one of the villagers. Then I look around for Otto. When I approach him to talk, he says something about "not right now". His daughter Norma went to the tower north of her using his Rainbow Road. Unfortunately, the road making machine broke because of a powerful wind blowing from Mt Gale. Kaeli adds that the Wind Crystal is most likely on the mountain, so we should head there now. Thus we dropped anchor just long enough to pull it back. Our next destination... Mt Gale!
     Or so it would be, but I felt I should go ahead and cut the post off right here. It's a pretty short post, but I figure it's best to end here. The ending can't be too far off, and if I don't stop here, it'll be like double the length it needs to be. Anyways! Look forward to Mystic Quest coming to an end quite soon. Once I finish that, it'll finally be time for me to start the Dragon Quest series! Woo!
     The couple of games will even come along with fancy screenshots since I'll be playing them through an emulator. (FYI, I do own actual copies of the ones I'll be emulating.) I am still lacking Dragon Quest V and Dragon Quest VII though because they're the most expensive ones to get. I'm trying to mostly play the remakes because an up-to-date game will be easier to play in the long run. Also America didn't get several of the games... I think we stopped at Dragon Quest IV and didn't get anymore until Dragon Quest VII. (Almost exactly the Final Fantasy route!) I have rambled enough though.
     Thanks for reading and look forward to Mystic Quest ending soon!


Ending Point - Windia.
Current Party -

• Keeper - Level 30
• Kaeli - Level 31

Screenshots - IMGUR Album.
Goals Accomplished - Made it to Fireburg. Obtained the Mega Grenade. Rescued Reuben's father. Made it to the Volcano, defeated the Fire Hydra, and restored the Fire Crystal. Made it to Alive Forest then had to leave and come back. Helped out the giant tree by defeating the monsters inside of it. Made it to Windia.
Next Goals - Restore the Wind Crystal at Mt Gale. Save Norma at the tower. Save the world!

~May the Crystals Guide Me~

VGBA 8 - Stand Tall and Shake the Heavens

Codename Trigger Thumb - Stand Tall and Shake the Heavens

Get ready for the "feels". Also it's a strange album cover but TRUST ME!

Band - Codename Trigger Thumb
Sites - Home. Facebook. Bandcamp.
Type of Album - Video Game Covers and Remixes.
Genres - Rock, Experimental, It's really piano-y but beautiful.
Favorite Song/Songs - No Heart No Friends

Review - Now, I'm all for video game covers, but ever so often, I feel like I need a change. Most video game cover bands tend to trend towards rock or metal. Nothing wrong with that. VG Rock and VG Metal are just great and classic examples of "how to remix and/or cover video game music." Today, I bring you something a little different with the band Codename Trigger Thumb and their debut album, "Stand Tall and Shake the Heavens."

Of course, you might be wondering how it's so different. If you read the genre's part, you noticed I threw in a "really piano-y". Basically, the songs selection here is slower-paced and more emotion tugging than your usual VGBA lineup. The song selection features quite a selection from titles like Nier, Kingdom Hearts, Xenogears, ICO, and more. Now, I'm not an expert on these soundtracks, but I did recognize a tune here and there.

Despite the different lineup, they have brought along a great sound and talent to the board. The songs are slower than your usual VGM, but they really hit you in the face with FEELINGS. It's slow and somber, but there's a good sound to hear. The piano takes control for a majority of the tracks, so if you hadn't realized it by now, this album won't be for everybody. Anytime I start it up though, I can't help but go through the entire thing.

Now, the album does come with the concept. I could try to re-explain it in my own words, but I'm going to just borrow and credit their bandcamp instead.

Quoted from Codename Trigger Thumb bandcamp

It is the end of days. Government has shut down all video game devices and has been issued orders by the president to destroy any remaining games, both past and present. Gaming as the world once knew it will cease to exist. Violence in gaming has led to outrage among parents and adults. 

A small coalition has formed in the wake of the attack on gaming. Calling themselves "Trigger Thumb," the faction of four begins an underground movement to attack the government and reclaim all forms of video gaming.

It's an interesting concept, but it's not very prevalent in the album. Why? Because the album features very few lyrics, so any interpretation of what's going on is purely on the sound and mood of the music. If you ask me though, I hate when they do this. If you are trying to tell a story, you need to have SOME words and lyrics. You don't have to straight up tell me the whole story. Heck, if nothing else, take The Protomen route and include a ridiculous number of filler notes.

Regardless, I'm probably trying to hard to find it in the album. It's quite possible that it's not supposed to be there. Therefore! I won't count it against the overall score, but I will still mention it as a con below.

The only true con I have about this album is the following: A few of the songs drag on a bit long. That's really all I have. Near the end of the last song (Stand Here Forever) it especially does this. It's possible they're going with the source material, but I'd still say it drags on a bit near the end. That's my only real complaint.

SO OVERALL! Codename Trigger Thumb's first album, Stand Tall and Shake the Heavens brings a great new sound and style to a genre with very little slow-paced, thoughtful musicalness. (It's not a bad thing, but variety is the life spice.) It's not a perfect album, but I'd still say it's quite enjoyable.

Pros - Great video game cover-mixes. A rare sight of NOT electronic, rock, or metal remix! (Okay some rock.) Lots of great sounds and talent. Nice calm yet moody sound of pianos, drums, and guitar without going overboard.
Cons - Compared to most, it's not very exploring. If you don't know at least one or two of the tracks, I feel that some of the value will be lost, as with most VGBA stuff. There's a few parts near the end where it drags on too long. The album story concept isn't very graspable, but I don't think it's supposed to be... MIGHT JUST BE NOTHING! (AKA I'm calling that "not a real con".)
Rating - 4 out of 5.

Now, go to their bandcamp and download it! Or, you can be more awesome and PAY FOR IT! (You don't have to, but I feel it's always a nice gesture to the artist.)

~May the Crystals Guide Me~

Side Post!

Here's just a simple Side Post to talk about how much I enjoy the new Pokemon games.
I bought both Pokemon X and Y, but I've been focusing more on Y. This is partially filler content as I burn myself on Pokemon Y. I'll start working on Final Fantasy Mystic Quest more soon...
ON TO THE SIDE POST!

Recurring Fantasy Side Post Theater Proudly Presents
Pokemon X / Y - Same Old Thing? Or Something Greater?

Now, I realize that the Pokemon crowd is generally split between two kinds of people... People who say they'll never play a Pokemon game again, and people who have almost always loved Pokemon. The secret to that message is that everybody hits both categories at some point. (There is a mythical third category of people who have never played Pokemon, but most of those people are liars.)

First off, let's go over my back history with Pokemon. Like many adults, I got into it when I was a kid. I started way back with Pokemon Red and Blue. I enjoyed it then, and then I got Yellow when it came around. Gold and Silver came and went, but that's where things kinda died down for me. I dunno if it was just me or everybody around me that affected it, but I stopped. I skipped over Crystal, Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald. In comes the summer of 2007, for some reason, Pokemon Pearl and Diamond seemed tempting, so I jumped aboard!

It was new, great, and so many improvements! I spent over 200 hours that summer just playing up Pokemon Pearl. It was just fantastic. Over the next several years, I got back on the Pokemon fad. I skipped Platinum but got Black and White, Black and White 2, and now I've got Pokemon X and Y!

Pokemon X and Y released worldwide on October 12th, and I'd like to say... They did not fail to deliver here. As with almost every Pokemon since the beginning, they've vastly improved on their already winning formula. The biggest jump for Pokemon X and Y is that the game has added a true third dimension to the game! Previous titles gave a 2.5 dimension look, but in the end, it was still a flat world.

With X and Y, the flatness is a thing of the past. It looks great, plays great, and there's just so much to do. I've heard that some people are finishing it quite fast, but if you ask me, they're just playing it wrong. Speed isn't really a good thing for Pokemon titles because they're all fairly short to speedrun them. (If you want a true challenge, look into the "Nuzlocke Challenge".) I could go on and on about all the greatness and expanded features of X/Y, but that's not what this post is supposed to be... This post asks the question. "Has Pokemon truly evolved? Or is this just another lazy new game?"

Now, overall, this question could be asked of almost every game series that we have. Pokemon has been going this way for FIFTEEN YEARS! That isn't much compared to most Nintendo franchises, but that's a long dang time to keep on running. If you break it down to the core basics, the game has never really changed. In my opinion though, that's a good thing. There have been new Pokemon types added, new gameplay features, moves have slightly changed, and we've got a lot more Pokemon. (Over 700 at this point...) Overall though, it's still the same fun game to pick up and play.

Yes, you can get into the crazy challenging bits like specialized breeding, natures, hidden abilities, effort values and EV training, and so much more. However, a lot of these are more for serious tournament players OR just serious guys/gals who want to have THE ULTIMATE POKEMON! I'm not going to link to every single thing that I listed above, but you can find out more, if you want to, over at Serebii.net.

The only gripes I can truly say I have with Pokemon is the numbers, obtaining some of those numbers, and lack of a console title and/or MMO.

Now to fully imagine it, there are 718 different Pokemon! That includes everything from the original Red and Blue up until the newest in X and Y. OVER SEVEN HUNDRED TO COLLECT! That's just ridiculous. On top of this, there are some that can only be gotten once in the game, at special events in the real world, special distributions online/real world, trading from different versions, super special trades, and so much more.

I could be okay with the single shot legendaries because that's been around since the beginning, but the further in the series you go, the harder it becomes to collect old favorites like the original legendary birds (Articuno, Moltres, Zapdos) or the legendary dogs (Entei, Suicune, Raikou). That's just two sets of triplet legendaries. Not even getting into the legendary Pokemon you could NEVER get in the games, like Celebi or Jirachi. It's just... screw you Pokemon creators. Collecting everybody (without hacking) is a daunting task at best. I can't say it's impossible, but it's certainly not fun.

That covers two of my gripes, and that only leaves the final one. This is less of a gripe though and more of a "What everybody wants since forever". Let's be fair. After Pokemon Stadium came out, who DIDN'T want a fully 3D Pokemon console game? It showed the awesomeness of Pokemon but fully 3D with attacks and everything all cool and animated. What we really wanted was a full adventure game you could play and explore the world of Pokemon. There was Pokemon Colosseum (with its RPG mode) and Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness (continued where the previous left off), but it wasn't quite the same as the original games. It was always a step off.

At this point, what we TRULY would want is a full online world of Pokemon. Go anywhere throughout the multiple regions created in the game. Battle through the gyms in EVERY REGION. Become the true Pokemon Champion over the entire world. Battle and trade at a whim. What we want isn't another sequel... We want the whole damn planet in what would most likely be called POKEMON WORLD!

The only negative I can see of that is that the entire world would collapse because everybody stops everything and starts playing. I do mean everybody. There are a few who would resist, but as everything slowly came to a stop, you wouldn't have a choice. You'd have to get into it or be left alone in the wasteland left from humanity's sudden halt. (I'm being overly dramatic of course.)

But again comes the question... Is Pokemon the same old thing or something greater? As far as I'm concerned, it's both. Pokemon is the same old thing it has always been, but it's almost always done its best to improve, grow, evolve into greater forms. You could pick up the old games and be just as happy, but I think you're better off joining the latest and greatest where you can.

If not.... have fun finding a cheap, working copy of any of the old ones. Seriously, have fun with that.

That's all I've got to say on it. As for now, I'm going to keep playing Pokemon Y, but I will do my best to pull myself away every now and then to finish up Final Fantasy Mystic Quest. Then Dragon Warrior is coming... IT IS COMING SOON! (Before the end of the year at least.) Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more... MYSTIC QUEST!

~May the Crystals Guide Me~

VGBA 7 - World 1-2

Koopa Soundworks - World 1-2

Well Known Video Game Composers VS Great Video Game Remixers!

Band - Koopa Soundworks
Sites - Home. Facebook. Bandcamp. Album.
Type of Album - Video Game Remix + Original Video Game Music.
Genres - Video Game Music, Video Game Remixes.
Favorite Song/Songs - Driving Upwards, The Night Fighter.

Review - Here comes a strange but quite awesome collaboration. Game Chops joined up with the new studio, Koopa Soundworks, to help them release their first album, World 1-2. Now this album is just... It's an amazing piece of work. It's one part mixture of classic video game composers meets newer video game composers meets video game remixers. You mix that all together, and you get a great album.

Now I'm not really great with names, but I decided to look up a couple of the artists to give you a good idea of who you will be hearing on it...

• Manami Matsumae - Best known for her work on the Mega Man soundtrack and sounds for later Mega Man titles.
• Benjamin Briggs - One of my favorite chiptune/electronic/video game remixers. Has a lot of great albums available for free at http://benjaminbriggs.bandcamp.com/  (Please throw a few bucks his way though.) 
• Stemage - Songwriter and arranger whose most notable work is the Metroid Metal project. It's good stuff. YOU SHOULD CHECK IT OUT!
• halc - Electronic music and video game music composer. Great stuff!
• Danimal Cannon - Musician and well known Chiptune artist. Is also a part of the great video game remix band, Armcannon.
• Aaaand a whole lot more that I don't know very well.

Now, with this all-star lineup, the expectations have already been set really high, but guess what? It delivers on every level.

The album selection is just great stuff. There's a lot of variety from artist to artist, so no two songs sound remotely alike. You've got grand video game orcheastriac pieces, original video game-style sounds, hippin and hoppin remixes, chiptunes, and so much more. As I've said many times, I'm not really a very good reviewer for music, so I'll replace any real chatting up I'd have on this album with a single sentence.

"As I listen through this glorious album from track to track, I feel the breeze of video game inspiration blow in and out of my ear's mind. The great sounds fuel my fire of love for video game music and remixes alike. I hit play on the album and time slips away into a dream state of deliciousness."

That just about covers how I feel. I can't really diss this album in any way. There's really nothing to hate about it because it's just so well done and organized. There are original songs to give you something new, and the rest of the songs are great remixes by some awesome artists. (The Night Fighter is a remix from Street Fighter 2.)

The only other note I really got to say here is... For $10, you get twenty great songs. Compared to most VGBA albums I post, it costs a little bit more, but I'd say the price is worth it. Figured I'd mention it because this could drive people away. If nothing else, just listen to it on the YouTube or BandCamp. It's great stuff though, so you really should support it!

And... that's all I got. I really didn't prepare for this review. I've had this sitting here for several weeks now, and I felt the need to get it out there. I waited too long, but I promise the next one will be better!

Pros - A great collection of new and old music. Pretty good amount of variety. Good selection of old and new video game artists along with remixers and just so much stuffed in this package.
Cons - It's only great video game music? Oh darn. Costs a bit more than most of my reviewed albums, but it more than makes up for the cost. So... not really any cons.
Rating - 5 out of 5.


Side Note - Although I'm review World 1-2, they actually released a new album that goes with this. You can download the new albums (which includes new songs and also a recollection of the original album) right about here. It is called World 1-2: The Complete Collection, and I shall be digging into it fairly soon.

~May the Crystals Guide Me~

Day 93

Game - Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, Day 93
Hours Played/Hours Total - 3-1/2 hrs / 3-1/2 hrs
Starting Point - Beginning of the Game.
Current Goal - Start Mystic Quest. Beat Mystic Quest.

What Happened - Woot! It's finally time to wrap up the Final Fantasy series! (For now) It is possible that I'll come back to it in the future, but this will most likely be the final Final Fantasy playthrough. Just so you know, I currently have no plans to pick up and play Lightning Returns. However, I am somewhat considering Final Fantasy XIV, but I'm not really an MMO guy. Thus the future holds for us many mysteries. Back to the game at hand!
     Final Fantasy Mystic Quest is an off-title in the overall series, but it also featured incredibly simplistic gameplay compared to its brothers. I'll highlight things as I start to play of course. This is another Super Nintendo Final Fantasy, but I'll be playing it on an emulator! I do own a real copy, but I figured I could use an emulator and take some screenshots as I go. It's time to start this bad boy up!
     Ah the intro screen! I missed these simple yet entertaining 2D ones... Seriously, I sometimes feel like I miss the simplicity of older 2D RPGs compared to all of today's 3D, generally action RPGs. Just for fun, let's throw up the very first screenshot RIGHT HERE!

That's right. I'm going to be having so many screenshots with this game. It'll be nice to show off the game as I play it. It might be an older, simpler Final Fantasy, but it's a great game nonetheless. Let's start the game!
     The game begins, and shit is already going down. I'm on a mountain as the main character. (His actual name is Benjamin, but I named him Keeper.) He says something about his village being gone, and then a mysterious old man (who I think is on a cloud) appears. He tells me that the mountain is coming down, and that we had best hurry. We quickly traverse the mountain to reach the top, and I CAN JUMP! Not lame jump like in FFXIII, but it's a real jump that can be useful!
     The old man points out a tower in the distance and explains the story to me. That tower is the Focus Tower, and it's the center of the world. It holds a great power within it, and there's a prophecy involved! (You can't have a true RPG without the word Prophecy.) The prophecy states that the Vile Four will steal the power from the tower and divide the world behind four doors. At that time, a knight will appear, and the old man believes I am that Knight. The four monsters have locked the doors and run off with the keys needed to open them. They're draining all of the light from the Four Crystals of the Earth, and the world is in... CHAOS! Being Final Fantasy, the Crystals are quite important to the world. Only I can save the world! OH NO! A MONSTER! FIRST BATTLE TIME!
     And just a small note here, I've actually lost to this monster before. You don't have any items or any way to heal here, so if the criticals are against you, you can die here. There's not much to say for this battle, so I'll just show a few screenshots to show off how the battles look.

As you may notice, the battles are pretty simple. You have Battle, Run, and Control. (Control lets you switch between manual and auto fight.) From there, Battle offers up four different commands of Attack, Spell, Item, and Defense. Back to the battle at hand, it was actually a pretty close fight here. (Also pictured below is the "damaged" version of the Behemoth.)

I got a critical on him, he got a critical on me, and I almost lost. Regardless, I came out victorious and won my very first battle. With the battle over, the old man sees my victory as the sign of being a TRUE KNIGHT! Another great thing about Mystic Quest is that it's got quite a sense of humor. Keeper is all like "But I thought you were already knew!" The Old Man admits it was a guess, but he's confirmed that guess now. The mountain is coming all the way down now though, so we head off to the Level Forest!

     As soon as I enter the Level Forest, all I get is a "Which crystal is first?" The old man says the Earth Crystal and then vanishes. The forest isn't very traversable at the moment though because of all these little trees blocking my way. The only path I can take involves pushing a boulder out of a guy's way. After doing so, he hands me a piece of withered tree and tells me to show it to a woman named Kaeli in Foresta. I don't really have anywhere else to go, so let's head for Foresta!
     When I arrive, the town is quite grim looking despite it's name. The place is all brown and gray colored. The people are all old people and claim to be young although they clearly aren't. Exploring the town earned me a Cure spell and some other various items. (Just a quick explanation, the spell system works much like the original Final Fantasy title. Instead of MP, you have a limited number of castings of the different types of spells: Black, White, and Wizard.) With the village looted, it's time to locate this Kaeli person.
     Once I find her, she immediately realizes what is wrong from the tree branch. She talks about an evil tree blocking the northern exit of Level Forest. She says that she can't handle it by herself because of the monsters, so Keeper (my guy if you forgot) offers to escort her and help. To her mother's dismay, she grabs her axe and comes along. KAELI JOINED THE PARTY! I'm only level 1, and she joined at level 3. We head off for the forest, and she immediately shows an example of some of the game's action-y elements. She walks up to a tree that was blocking the way and chop it down with her axe.
     Basically, your weapons all have a use outside of battle. Alongside jumping, you can stab with your sword, swing an axe, and I'll reveal other weapons' abilities as I get them. She chops down the tree, and we continue through the forest. Now, I should go into how the encounters work in this game before I get too much farther. Unlike the previous and afterwards Final Fantasy titles, Final Fantasy Mystic Quest has a set number of encounters. For instance, in the Level Forest, there are monsters just standing around and waiting to battle. You can avoid some of them, but you can't avoid them all. (Many are standing directly in the path you need to take.) Now, seeing as the encounters are numbered, I feel it is best for me to fight any and all enemies I can. (I did find out later that they respawn if you leave and come back though.)
     We fight our way through Goblins and Slimes to come upon a lone tree. However, it is an EVIL LONE TREE! Kaeli chops it down, and SURPRISE! MONSTER IN A TREE! The monster poisons her, and now it's BOSS BATTLE TIME!

(FYI, poison element was only story element at this time.) We are now facing off against the MINOTAUR! The first of many, many other minotaurs to come. He's pretty tough, but we kick his butt to awesome boss music. Seriously, it's awesome stuff. Listen to it here. I have more screenshots if you were curious how he looked during his "damaged" state, but to keep the post a bit shorter, I only included the single screenshot. I have a link to the screenshots album at the bottom of the post. Check it out!
     Anyways, with the battle over, Kaeli's mother comes by to get her daughter. (Since she randomly knew that something had happened somehow...) Kaeli says she'll be fine as long as I can get the Elixer to cure her. Where's the Elixer? It's in the nearby Sand Temple, and Keeper offers to go and get it. Kaeli gives her axe to me, and now I can chop down trees! Before I left the forest though, I went around and collected all of the items I couldn't. Also, the axe is a new and more powerful weapon in my arsenal, so yay for that as well. I head back to Foresta to heal and grab more items. (Like enemies, items replenish when you leave and come back, so you can kinda farm them up if you want.)
     You can save at any time in Mystic Quest, so that's a nice feature. Also, this is what the basic pause menu looks like. Just going to add a screenshot right here.

Nothing special really, but it's got all the right information. Since the battles are supposed to be more or less set encounters, the game also has multiple Battlefields set around the world map. You can visit the Battlefields whenever you like and fight through ten random encounters.
     The first one I encountered was full of "Mad Trees" that were all quite weak to my fancy new axe, so I cleared it out pretty fast. It takes a little time, but the reward is generally more than worth the effort. I received lots of experience, money, and even gained a level in the process! (Level 5 Now!) You also sometimes earn treasures like new equipment or items, so they're always worth stopping by. Now, it's time to head to the Sand Temple!
     The inside of the Sand Temple turns out to be really small, but there are chests all around. Unfortunately, they're all empty... As I am looking around, a random guy shows up and offers to sell me the Elixer for the low, low price of 9000 GP. Keeper is all "That's way too much!", so the guy (looks kinda like a ninja) offers a trade. He wants to me to go with him to the Bone Dungeon and hunt for treasure. It's our only choice so... Tristam joins the party! Not only does he look like a Ninja, as it turns out, his main form of attack is throwing ninja stars. It's got a limited quantity of attacks, but he starts off with 99 of them.
     Before heading to the Bone Dungeon, I use Tristam to clear out another Battlefield. Nothing really special to say here... The game does have a sort of "weakness" system, but it's more like you think about it and it works SORT OF. For instance, the axe worked well against trees, and that's really the only one I can think of at this time. (SORRY) After the battlefield, it's time for the Bone Dungeon! I head inside and start fighting my way through various enemies like skeletons, sand worms, frogs, zombie minotaurs, and more. Partway through, Tristam offers to sell me bombs to use. It's less about offer and more of I have to have them. EITHER WAY, I now have bombs!
     With the bombs, I have a great way to attack, and a useful item for opening up paths. The bomb works differently than most weapons and actually attacks the entire enemy group. It's very much useful! The Sand Dungeon isn't too long though, and I quickly find myself confronted by a giant red T-Rex Skeleton! It claims that we will never defeat it because it has the Crystal of Earth to power him. BOSS BATTLE TIME! It's Flamerus Rex, and it's a pretty easy battle overall really. Only advice I can offer? Be sure to have some status healing items because he can cause both poison and sleep. Bombs seemed to be the most effective weapon against him. This battle is another great example of how the battle sprites change based on the damage done to them. (I love it!) Flamerus Rex went through four different sprites of falling apart before his defeat.
     After his defeat, Tristam runs around to the nearby chests and grabs all the treasure. As he does this, the Crystal of Earth appears and is now reborn! Tristam comes back and says he found what he wants. He hands over the Elixer and leaves the party. Unfortunately, I have to manually walk back out of the dungeon. Thankfully, I cleared the dungeon on my way in, so I didn't have any trouble while heading out. Back to Foresta!
     And as it turns out, restoring the Crystal of Earth had a drastic change on the environment of... all over the place. The world map looks quite a bit better, and Foresta is drastically improved.

The area is all green, pretty, and full of life. The old people from earlier have reverted to their younger selves. And it's just all all right now! I head for Kaeli's house and give her the Elixer. She tells me that she can no go and visit Spencer in Aquaria. Keeper offers to check out the place first though since the world is all full of monsters and such. She says I can get there by going through the Focus Tower and leave through the Northeast exit from it. 

     Before going to Focus Tower though, I revisit Level Forest to see the difference. It is also all green and pretty now! The monsters have respawned as well, like I said they would. I didn't think the monsters did respawn honestly, but I know for sure now that I was wrong. SILLY ME. Enough of this extra nonsense, time to continue along the path. I fight my way through the nearby Battlefield and then head for Focus Tower. When I arrive there, I find the old man waiting for me. He congratulates me on restoring the Crystal of Earth and says that someone named Captain Mac will be crucial to my quest. He also adds that a girl named Phoebe can help me out as well. Keeper tells the old man that he's heading for Aquaria right now, and the old man responds by saying that I should find her along the way. With his message delivered, the old man flies off. 

     I love it when the character does that... "WTH?!" gesture. It's pretty funny to see. Anyways, let's take a look at the Focus Tower. It looks something like this!

The Focus Tower, as you can see, features four gates that you can open as you proceed through the game. Since I restored the Crystal of Earth, I can exit through the first door and continue towards Aquaria. There's nothing to do or fight in the tower, so it's a quick run through it. When I come out on the other side, there's a couple battlefields waiting for me. I quickly and easily fight through them and then I find myself at the Libra Temple.
     Inside there, I meet a lady. She says something about Aquaria being frozen, and she's worried about her grandfather. She seems to think that things are hopeless. Keeper inquires about Spencer, and she says that he is her grandfather. Keeper jumps up at this and exclaims that we should go save them! The lady claims she can't because she's going home now. Keeper asks for her name, and as it turns out, she is Phoebe. TIME TO JOIN UP! PHOEBE JOINED THE PARTY!
     With Phoebe's help, I blast through a pair of Battlefields before heading into Aquaria. This is one snow-laden village going on here. Everything is frozen and icy, so there's not much we can do right now. The Inn is still available though, so I rest to recover real quick before moving on. I head to Phoebe's house, and she explains a couple things. Spencer is stuck below the house right now. He was digging a hole and then the ground froze up around him. He's stuck there for now, and we can't unfreeze the place until we get the Wakewater from the Spring of Life. The Spring of Life is located in the Life Temple which is only accessible through the Libra Temple.
     Of course, things can't be that simple. A monster stole the Libra Crest from Temple and is hiding in the nearby Wintry Cave. Therefore, we are heading for the Wintry Cave! A couple Battlefields later, I'm in the Wintry Cave and searching for whatever monster stole the Libra Crest. I quickly fight my way through the temple, but we have a bit of a setback when the ground collapses beneath us. Keeper falls to the floor below, but Phoebe manages to catch herself using her weapon, the Cat Claw. She tells me how to use it and then gives it to me. Yay for a new weapon!
     We continue through the cave with my fancy Cat Claw. Also, Phoebe now wields a bow which does a lot more damage than me with Cat Claws. What's that? MORE SCREENSHOTS? Of course.

If it isn't obvious, I'm really enjoying the ability to throw up screenshots. It livens up the post, and with this game, it could certainly use it. If I didn't have screenshots, this post would be much shorter and very unappealing. (IMO) I realize that I've always had overly wordy posts, but that's besides the point really.
     Back to the game at hand, the monsters in this area are fairly tough, and they seem to have no plans to just give up. I never truly lose either character in battle, but it's no cake walk by a landslide. The funnier thing to me is the ridiculous variety of monsters that I'm finding in this "Wintry Cave." There are centaurs, turtles, birds, scorpions, worms, frogs, and a few more that I can't remember right this moment. Either way, the assortment is nice but also kinda stupid if you ask me. However, I don't have too long to complain about that because BOSS BATTLE TIME!

     Oh no! It's a giant squid and his bird cohorts. Whatever shall we do? I just slayed the birds first, and then I went after the squid. There's really nothing to add about this battle. He didn't deal out too much damage, and he didn't seem to have any major status effect abilities either. This... barely qualifies as a boss battle really. He has quite a bit of HP, but other than that, it was like fighting a slightly longer battle than normal. Just be sure to have healing items and magic, and you should be fine.
     With our quick victory, we earn ourselves the Libra Crest. With that in hand, it's time to return to the Libra Temple. Wait!... Another Battlefield unlocked, aaaand it's gone. We get to the temple, use the Crest, but find that the Spring of Life seems to be dry. However, the mysterious old man is there as well, and he gives us a bag with the last of the Wakewater. It's all that is left, but he says we should use it to revive Aquaria. Then he takes off... and we take off to Aquaria.
     Back in Aquaria, Phoebe takes the Wakewater and revives the fancy plant in the middle of Aquaria. As it turns out, that didn't do anything. Phoebe figures we'll have to go and restore the Crystal of Water at the Icy Pyramid. Feel like we should have done that first, but whatever, let's go! The Icy Pyramid is located at the top of a nearby frozen waterfall, so we have to go through there first. The frozen waterfall is not a very big area, but it's got a small puzzle to it. There are ice pillars that you can push around and use as platforms, and that's really all there is to it. It's possible to mess up, but all you have to do is leave and come back. I continue through the frozen waterfall and come up to a GIANT SNOW CRAB! BOSS BATTLE TIME!
   

     And that wasn't a challenge at all. With his defeat, I'm able to leave the waterfall and continue to the Icy Pyramid. Also, Phoebe upgrades my bombs to Jumbo Bombs. The upgrade is simply so that they do more damage, but it's totally worth it. I hit up another Battlefield and clear it out. Time for the ICY PYRAMID!
     In the Icy Pyramid, I learn that the sword has an out of battle use! You can use it to activate switches that are inside of holes. At the entrance, you have to activate a switch inside a statue with it. One strange thing about the pyramid is that I can't see the enemies around here. They're clearly still positioned in places, but I can't directly see them. It's... weird. Compared to previous dungeons, this one is fairly large though. It's maze-like enough that I felt like I was lost several times. I was going to throw up a few screenshots showing it here, but I forgot to take them. ANYWAYS!
     The order of the Icy Pyramid goes something like this. It's a maze of going up and down over and over. You climb to near the top, and then you drop back down to below the ground floor. I do acquire a "Knight's Sword" while I am down there. It's an upgraded sword that does WONDERS compared to the Cat's Claw I was using. Along the way, there's a random huge enemy just sitting there.

I go talk to him, and he says something about "enjoying our little game". Then he teleports away, and I have to run up the tower. You have to climb back up again but through a different route that takes you to the TRUE top of the tower. When I hit the top, he's there again....

All he has to say here is "You think you're a Knight? BWAHAHA! BOSS BATTLE TIME!
     For this boss battle, I'm facing off against the ICE GOLEM!

He's not going down without a fight. Compared to the previous bosses, he was actually a decent challenge. He had a good number of strong attacks to back up his sassy talk. Another cool bit (that I didn't get screenshots of) was how he was slowly melting as we were depleting his health. Just imagine the image above slowly melting and being less and less golem and more and more puddle of water. Outside of his attacks, he also had a magic blizzard attack which dealt damage to us while it simultaneously healed him. Regardless, as long as you have healing, you can easily get through this. Just keep after him, use a few spells, and just beat his face in.
     Upon his defeat, the Crystal of Water appears and is fully restored. Woo! Phoebe immediately leaves the party to return to Aquaria, and I'm left to climb down the tower by myself. Now, like I said earlier, I can't actually see the enemies here, so I was unable to clear them all out. The enemies were a decent challenge with the two of us. I was not looking forward to the climb down. Luckily, I seemed to clear out most of them on the way down. The few of them that I ran into did quite a number on me, but I did survive. Now let's head on back to Aquaria...
     And holy crap the place is quite a bit better. I forgot to get a screenshot of the area before, but the area after is AMAZING now!

It was all white and iced over before, so this is quite an improvement. TO AQUARIA! As you may realize, it's also defrosted and alive now. I go beneath Phoebe's house and find Spencer hard at work at digging the cave. Keeper explains to Spencer about what happened with the Crystal of Water and all the ice. Spencer thanks him and offers up the Knight's Shield as a reward.
     Of course, the Knight's Shield isn't here right now, but it is located up in the Focus Tower. He goes on to say that the shield was found by a Captain Mac. Keeper remembers that Captain Mac has been mentioned before (by the old man), and this leads to a bit of backstory about him. Captain Mac was researching the prophecy when he found the shield. That leads to his ship being randomly stuck on a cliff, and that's why Spencer is digging below his house right now. (Yeah, it really does jump topics like that.) Spencer also says that there are earthquakes in Fireburg. So... I guess that's where I'm heading next. Spencer stays behind to continue digging though. This is where I'm ending the post.
     Yes, I realize it's sorta sudden, but this game isn't very long as is. I figure I'll cover the rest of the game in about 10-12 hours (at most), and that will take place over like 2 to 4 more posts. It might sound like I'm being erratic about what I say, but I'm actually covering 90% of the conversations that go down. It's a really simple game, and lots of things are kept short and sweet. I've played the game before (not fully), but I can say that I really like how simple this game goes. It's got good humor, simple system, combat is quick yet awesome, and it's just a lovable game.
     Thanks for your patience with this post. I was planning to have it done yesterday, but then I got distracted. I've been juggling games recently because I'm trying to finish everything before more games drop down. I have a PlayStation 4 reserved, so I've got a lot of things coming up to play in the future. HOWEVER! I will still keep my RPG playing near the top of the list. The biggest break I'm going to take is this upcoming weekend when Pokemon X and Y drop. I've taken the weekend off just to play the crap out of it! So... don't expect anymore content until Monday. However, I have considered writing a small review of Pokemon X and Y, so look forward to it. That's all I got. Thanks for reading! KEEPER OUT.

Ending Point - Aquaria.
Current Party -

• Keeper - Level 17

Screenshots - IMGUR Album. **
Goals Accomplished - Started Final Fantasy Mystic Quest. Destroyed the evil tree in Level Forest. Obtained the Elixer for Kaeli. Restored the Crystal of Earth in the Bone Dungeon. Made it through Focus Tower to Aquaria. Made it to and through the Icy Pyramid. Restored the Crystal of Water which restored Aquaria to not being frozen.
Next Goals - Find and restore the next crystal. Save the world!

**Considering the next SEVERAL titles will have screenshots of some sort. I'm including a screenshots link to the IMGUR albums I'll be uploading for them. I'll still include some of the screenshots in the post of course, but the album will contain ALL of the screenshots I take.

~May the Crystals Guide Me~

VGBA Explosion! #1 - The First

Now I know what you're thinking... but please let me explain first.

Basically, there will be dozens and dozens of Video Game Band Albums that I'd love to share and review, but at the end of the day, I can't review every single one. Therefore, this is where VGBA Explosion! comes into play. At least once a month, I'll write up a post with three to five albums just showcasing the album with the genres and slight description. These albums should be considered either average or good as far as ranking goes, but I won't go into a lot of details with everyone to explain why I am recommending them like I do with reviews.

The best question that could be asked here is "Then why would you still do album reviews?"
Simple! Albums that get reviewed will most likely hold a special place in my heart. I feel the need to review them because they're either above and beyond awesome OR they're just so terrible that I can't help but say why.

Either way, the following albums are being shared for the good of Video Game Band Awareness! They're albums I have bought or am planning to buy very soon. ENJOY!
(Apologies beforehand, but all the links are going to be bandcamp because I like bandcamp.)

VGBA EXPLOSION! #1 - The First

For the first post, I've thrown together a selection of four albums. I tried to vary the types a little bit to give you a good selection of things to try.

Chiptunes = Win

Price = Name Your Price

Album - Chiptunes = Win Volume 1

Artist - Assorted. It's a compilation.

Genre - Chiptunes obviously!

Suggested Because - Chiptunes = Win is a great entry point into chiptunes. It's a selection of FIFTY-ONE chiptune songs by all kinds of different chiptune artists. If you can get through a portion of the album, you are likely to find at least a few artists that you like. 

The X-Hunters, Mankinds Arrogance

Price = $8 (digital), $10 (physical w/ digital)

Album - Mankinds Arrogance
Artist - The X-Hunters
Genre - Video Game Covers. Metal. Rock.
Suggested Because - It's just great rock and metal covers of various Mega Man X series music. Also contains a few other games as well. Just... really great stuff.

Metroid Metal - Varia Suite

Price = $8 (digital)

Album - Varia Suite
Artist - Metroid Metal
Genre - Video Game Metal Covers from the Metroid series.
Suggested Because - If you like Metroid music, get it. If you like metal music, I bet you'll still like it SO GET IT!

Lauren the Flute - Moogle's Flute

Price = Name Your Price

Album - Moogle's Flute
Artist - Lauren the Flute.
Genre - Video Game Music Covers with a Flute.
Suggested Because - It's an interesting album. It's a couple RPG songs but covered by a flute. For the price, it's a good and different listen.