Saga and Final Fantasy Legend

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Emperor Rego, Year 1255-1256
 

Rego recruited 2 Crusaders and 2 Imperial Guards to serve as his retainers, and made sure to teach them Wind and Water magic to counter Wagnas.  He couldn’t even approach Wagnas, however, since Hiraga ran out of Windmakers.  Hiraga offered to build a bridge across Victor Canal for an unspecified amount of crowns.  Most in Miramar were pleased, except for the ferry operators who were out of business.  One resident mentioned a shadow passing through the canal. 
 

Rego headed to the Red Labyrinth to train, only to perish at a regenerating Jann in the Red Labyrinth on a high floor.  The candidates to succeed Rego were Cherno the Mole, Audrey the Light Infantry, Shiyuan the Strategist, and Philippe the Ranger.  Strategist was a new class, and it seemed one was required for a quest in the Steppe. . .
 

Shiyuan Stats:
 
HP:  430
LP:  10
MP:  108
SP: 103
STR:  10
DEF:  2
DEX:  11
MAG:  21 + 1
SPD:  23
STA:  11
 
Defensive Traits
 
Sword
Axe/Club
Short Sword/Spear
Bow
Fire
Lightning
Dark
 
Skills
 
Sword Lv 23
Short Sword/Spear Lv 12
Martial Lv 6
Axe/Club Lv 16
Water Magic Lv 16
Wind Magic Lv 21
Divine Magic Lv 22

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Emperor Shiyuan, Year 1256-1257
 

Shiyuan expanded the Orchard as the first act of his reign.  Researchers in the magical laboratory were starting to figure out fusion spells, and asked for a spell to burn demons and undead (Divine + Fire), and a buff for magic defense and speed (Divine + Wind).  Shiyuan paid 500,000 crowns to each mage.
 

Shiyuan taught a new formation to the soldiers in Avalon’s castle:  Rising Phoenix.  This was meant to direct enemy aggression to the Emperor.  Rising Phoenix was probably a better idea for other classes than the magic Strategist, but Shiyuan’s Defensive Traits made it tempting to make take hits and train Life Water.
 

The Strategist Emperor recruited Azami the Ninja, Cherno the Mole, and Luna and Tancred the Imperial Guards.  Palna’s 300,000 crown investment had created Imperial Guards for future generations that specialized in Short Sword/Spear and Divine Magic.  Ninjas joined the empire due to a rescue by Emperor Rego in Maze of Memory.  Although they bragged about their 8 Martial skill, my Ninja started with 24 in Sword. 
 

Does the Strategist for the ship fort in Steppe have to be a different character from the Emperor?  “If only the Empire had a clever strategist. . .”  I SELECTED YOU AS THE HEIR FOR THAT PURPOSE, SHIYUAN!  Shiyuan couldn’t get onto the ship fort no matter how hard he tried.  Even the slavers wouldn’t take him as a captive.
 

Shiyuan walked to Wandering Lake for lack of anything better to do.  What I hadn’t realized was that clearing Teretuva Tower 1 forced Noel of the Seven Heroes to appear inside the building.  He offered to leave without a fight, but given the goal of the game Shiyuan had to refuse.  Noel was a Martial specialist that struck with Kick and Sobat.  These usually killed a character, but Cherno the Mole once survived a Kick.  Counter destroyed physical attackers, so much of the fight was spent casting Sunlight once I realized what was happening. 


The strategy was working. . .until Noel incinerated the whole party with an 800+ damage Red Drake Wave.  Shiyuan’s party was lucky to have HP in the 430s.  The options for Shiyuan’s heir were Boyue the Strategist, Magdalene the Crusader, Audrey the Light Infantry, and Julianna the Ranger.
 


Magdalene Stats
 
HP:  430
LP:  14
MP:  108
SP:  103
STR:  13
DEX:  14
MAG:  22
SPD:  11
STA:  12
 
Default Defensive Traits
 
Sword
Axe/Club
Short Sword/Spear
Bow
 
Skills
 
Sword Lv 23
Short Sword/Spear Lv 12
Martial Lv 6
Axe/Club Lv 16
Water Magic Lv 16
Wind Magic Lv 21
Divine Magic Lv 22

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Empress Magdalene, Year 1257
 


Enough was enough.  I was getting sick of the overpowered bosses, so Magdalene recruited Valentine the Crusader, Polaris the Mage for Hire, Kygnus the Court Mage and Shion the Ninja.  The imperial squad set out for Maze of Memory specifically to train Water Magic, so Hasten Time could give them an advantage in any fight.  Each of the Labyrinths in the Maze of Memory have a “theme”, and Black Labyrinth had cave graphics with “demon” and “undead” type monsters. 


Magdalene and friends defeated the Lust Liquor ogre by Stunning it with Vertical Strike, and they spared its life instead of killing it.  That was because an earlier cutscene showed a human named Seimei possessed by a spirit before becoming Lust Liquor.  Seimei was grateful that Magdalene rescued him, and offered a new character class in Avalon for future rulers.
 

Black Labyrinth wasn’t just good for leveling skills.  Magdalene acquired a Black Gardiel armor that boosted her DEF from 33 to 67, a drastic increase for Romancing Saga 2.  This complemented her role in the Rising Phoenix formation well.  A later treasure chest had a Darts for Bow users. . .with 5 ATK.  Not even the treasure placement makes sense in Romancing Saga 2.
 

Encounters were imbalanced even on the higher levels of Black Labyrinth.  Magdalene had to run from Chariots or be destroyed in a few rounds, while other enemies were much more manageable.  The hardest battles in Romancing Saga 2 aren’t always the ones that yield the most Tech Points.
 

Magdalene returned to Maze of Memory to train in Green Labyrinth, a jungle area with “plant” and “insect” type monsters.  Defeating a miniboss encounter of 4 Ancient Goblins and a Boss Goblin unlocked the Goblin Formation Scroll, which probably produces a “3 in the back row, 2 in the front” setup.
 

At the end of Green Labyrinth, an Evil Memory dragon accused Magdalene thus:  “Such magic is beyond vile.  Just how many bodies have you consumed to gain this much power?”  Sounds like a line the final boss of Rogue Legacy would say.  Evil Memory was beyond Magdalene’s capabilities, as it regenerated HP each turn and overwhelmed the party within a few rounds.  I reloaded a save and took the teleporter out of Maze of Memory.
 

Magdalene returned to Avalon after her session in Green Labyrinth, only to find to her horror that 28 in Water Magic wasn’t enough to unlock Hasten Time.  Perhaps it’s based on global levels, meaning more grinding is in store.  She had enough money and global levels to unlock fusion spells for Water, however.
 

In an attempt to advance generations, Magdalene returned to Eirunep Shrine and fought the Guardian who had killed previous rulers.  Valentine charged Jolting Slash, Polaris and Kygnus prepared to cloak themselves with Mist Cover, and Shion lashed out with Swallow Reversal for 1890.  Poison Mist still made the team choke on fumes for 200s damage, but it seemed to be survivable.  Not for long.  By the 3rd turn, only Valentine and Shion were alive, and everyone perished by the end of the 5th turn.
 

Magdalene’s potential heirs were Maria the Crusader, Opal the Court Mage, Audrey the Light Infantry, and Theseus the Mercenary.  Maria was the obvious choice.
 

Maria Stats
 
HP:  491
LP:  12
MP:  138
SP:  104
STR:  13
DEF:  28
MAG:  23
SPD:  12
STA:  13
 
Default Defensive Traits
 
Sword
Axe/Club
Short Sword/Spear
Bow
 
Skills
 
Sword Lv 23
Short Sword/Spear Lv 12
Martial Lv 7
Axe/Club Lv 16
Water Magic Lv 29
Wind Magic Lv 21
Divine Magic Lv 25

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Empress Maria, Year 1257
 

Don’t be fooled by the 1 year reign.  That only counted her time spent in battle.  Maria was one of the most successful Empresses in Avalon’s history.  She had managed to do what no other ruler since Gerard could:  kill one of the Seven Heroes.  Maria recruited Davout and Juno the Imperial Guards, Orban the Crusader, and Opal the Court Mage.
 

At first, it looked like Maria would fail like other mid 13th century rulers.  Her retainers couldn’t learn Divine spells like their Empress had planned since the researchers were too busy practicing fusion magic.  A Strategist at Avalon Imperial University promised a “remedy” for Bokhohn and the Landship in the Steppe.  Maria had to go to Hofah, talk to the Strategist again, then visit what seemed to be the empire’s version of the Landship.  This was actually a decoy for Bokhohn’s monster army, and the Landship had to remain stationary long enough for the Nomad Village leader to board it with Maria.
 

Maria fought her way through monsters until she reached Bokhohn himself.  Bokhohn groveled for mercy and claimed he wasn’t really Bokhohn, only a monster who idolized the Seven Heroes.  Maria didn’t fall for that trick, and her party beat up the wimpiest member of the Seven Heroes with Vertical Strike, Double Stab, and Flame Whip.  The most Bokhohn could muster was Bone Crusher or Full Flat which hit for less than 200 damage.  Opal healed for more than that with an HP Absorb!
 

Bokhohn’s death brought 250 years of peace, until Besma the first Nomad Empress was chosen over Agatha the Crusader, Aries the Court Mage, and Hannibal the Imperial Guard.
 

Besma Stats
 
HP:  542
LP:  9
MP:  138
SP:  120
STR:  16
DEF:  3
DEX:  17
MAG:  18
SPD:  16
STA:  15
 
Default Defensive Traits
 
Sword
Axe/Club
Short Sword/Spear
 
Sword Lv 23
Short Sword/Spear Lv 12
Martial Lv 7
Axe/Club Lv 16
Bow Lv 16
Water Magic Lv 29
Wind Magic Lv 21
Divine Magic Lv 25

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Empress Besma, Year 1507
 

Unlike earlier rulers, Besma focused on domestic policy rather than foreign affairs.  She learned from her intelligence briefing that Comroon Volcano was likely to erupt after over 300 years of dormancy since Empress Topaz’s time.  The Armed Merchants had broken their nearly 400 year old treaty with Emperor Libra, and their piracy would reduce Avalon’s tax revenue unless she put a stop to it. 
 

Besma was compassionate enough to put her subjects’ safety before her personal wealth, so she sailed to Comroon Island first.  For this mission, she recruited Agatha and Georg the Crusader rulers of Cumberland, and Deidamia and Achilles the Mercenaries.  Mercenaries were chosen for their Greatsword aptitude.  Besma and Agatha were primarily spellcasters who took advantage of new fusion spells like Diamond Dust (all-target Water attack) and Cyclone Twist (single target Wind attack + Stun chance.)  Georg was better as a Greatsword user, but he could cast spells if needed.  One benefit of choosing a Nomad for an Empress was acquiring 16 Bow skill for future rulers.
 

To save Comroon Island, Besma talked to the Salamander leader in Zemio, who told her to evacuate the human town of Tsukijima.  Once she did that and returned to Zemio, the Salamanders gave her the Comroon Hammer to destroy the rock at the top of Comroon Volcano.  The area’s monsters could not handle repeated Diamond Dust, Waterfowl Blade, or Swallow Reversal  attacks.  Comroon Volcano had an unusual boss fight even for this unusual game:  Stone and 3 Hellhounds. 


The usual tactics in Comroon Volcano worked here, and Stone never attacked directly.  Instead, it damaged the party at the end of every turn as if they were poisoned.  This represented the extreme heat of the area, and was effectively a time limit.  Stone once summoned another Hellhound before being destroyed.

 

Tsukijima and Zemio were once again safe, but now there were monsters in Seer’s Citadel.  Zemio’s Salamanders were always suspicious of why a “friendly” Sorcerer would need a home with so many traps.  After being lost for a while in an endless staircase until she took a hidden exit to the south, Besma found the answer.  The Sorcerer had given the Ice Seed to Empress Topaz so a cataclysmic eruption could occur hundreds of years later, and reveal an island with an ancient spell book.  Besma loathed the idea of sacrificing 2 towns to learn a new spell, and the Sorcerer was willing to demonstrate that “magic is the only thing that’s important” by trying to kill the party with it.

 
All Greatsword users prepared Swallow Reversal, and Agatha and Besma attempted to Stun the Sorcerer with Cyclone Twist.  Stone Shower dropped rocks for over 300 damage to the team, and the Sorcerer regenerated HP at the end of the round.  The Sorcerer cast Flame Whip on the 2nd turn and failed to kill Besma, while Swallow Reversal proved that there was more to death than magic.  Killing the Sorcerer did not generate new dialogue for any character in Tsukijima or Zemio, but the victory music played to Besma’s satisfaction.
 

Besma was an energetic Empress and had enough time to take on the Armed Merchants before retiring from the army.  She met Henrique the erstwhile leader of the Armed Merchants in the Mobelm compound and learned “that scallywag Garon commandeered my ship!”  Another way Romancing Saga 2 is ahead of its time:  it used the name “Garon” for a villain before Fire Emblem Fates.
 

Garon’s master turned out to be Subier, the seafaring member of the Seven Heroes.  Henrique offered two plans of attack:  “Ye can go by boat through the Waterway Maze or by land through Cape Chalier”.  The tradeoff was that the Waterway Maze had fewer enemies, but Garon would expect an assault from that direction.  So Besma talked to an old man in Tefal to unlock Cape Chalier instead.  She fought her way through many encounters by having everyone cast Diamond Dust.  This wasn’t the most efficient tactic, but it raised Divine and Water spell global levels.
 

Henrique was right:  Garon and his minions were facing in the direction of the Waterway Maze.  He was so unprepared for Besma that she walked right up to him and challenged him to fight on his own.  Garon collapsed after 2 Diamond Dusts.  Besma defeated the minions in separate battles and charged into Garon’s building.  Two alleged “Great Ones” confronted the party, but were apparently not great in HP or DEF as a single Waterfowl Blade won the battle.  Besma found a Viking Axe and a Bard’s Bassoon in the treasure chests once Garon retreated to his basement.
 

Garon was too much of a coward to fight Besma again.  He vowed revenge with Subier’s help and fled Nuono on his ship.  Messages appeared saying “The anti-imperialist faction within the Armed Merchants disbanded”, and “69 Years Later. . .”.  Besma’s possible heirs were Mizra the Nomad, Gley the Mole, Magnolia the Mage for Hire, and Fury the Imperial Guard.  This may have been the 1st time I’ve seen this screen with no male candidates.  (Moles have “Unknown” gender.)  Gley was tempting, but Fury had the most impressive stats.
 

Fury Stats
 
HP:  601
LP:  11
MP:  144
SP:  125
STR:  19
DEX:  13
MAG:  18
SPD:  11
STA:  16
 
Default Defensive Traits
 
Sword
Axe/Club
Short Sword/Spear
Bow
Fire
Ice
 
Skills
 
Sword Lv 23
Short Sword/Spear Lv 16
Martial Lv 7
Axe/Club Lv 16
Bow Lv 17
Water Magic Lv 30
Wind Magic Lv 22
Divine Magic Lv 27

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Empress Fury, Year 1576-1579
 

Fury’s first act as Empress was to teach the soldiers a new formation with 3 units in a straight line and 1 for the top and bottom flanks:  Imperial Arrow.  She preferred the Speed boosting Goblin Offense formation that Empress Besma used.  She recruited Sagittarius the Court Mage, Rigel the Mage for Hire, and Gertrude and Paul the Crusaders for one mission:  destroy Noel of the Seven Heroes at Wandering Lake.  The Armed Merchants had become the Imperial Merchants by Fury’s time, and from here on out rulers could recruit them as party members if they wanted Axe/Club specialists.
 

Fury’s party defeated Noel after a battle that permanently damaged their health.  Everyone lost 3 LP as Noel pummeled them with Counter, Sobat, and Red Drake Wave once he buffed himself with Heat Hand.  Salamander Claw was survivable but inflicted Stun.  Sagittarius and Rigel spontaneously learned how to dodge Sobat, which was essential for reviving the other party members with Life Water. 


Much of the fight was spent casting Diamond Dust after Cyclone Twist failed to Stun Noel.  Trying Swallow Reversal was fatal during a Counter turn, but worth the risk after Noel changed his moveset with Heat Hand.  Faerie Glow boosted Speed and magic defense when the party spent a round casting it on themselves.
 

Sharrkan of Wandering Lake became the first member of the new Desert Guard, and moved to Teretuva.  He claimed to be good with Greatswords, the best melee weapon class as far as I know.
 

Fury wasted no time in hunting down the Seven Heroes and ascended to Floating Castle with the Windmaker to fight Wagnas.  The party began with Faerie Glow buffs to weather Fireballs, then tried Swallow Reversal and Cyclone Twist.  Wagnas killed Fury with a Self-Immolation counter to her Swallow Reversal, but this was certainly better than one of his all-target spells. 


Wagnas occasionally cast Blades of Wind, or Light Ball to Blind melee characters.  One round was spent entirely on Life Water recovery, and Heat Wind knocked out the front row once.  A Swallow Reversal from Paul knocked out Wagnas. . .while he was still Blind from Light Ball.  Rigel spent the end of the fight prone since no one had the time to revive him.
 

The Jauda region (i.e. Not-Japan) was added to the empire.  Fury was the most successful ruler in Avalon history when she defeated not one, but two Seven Heroes!  She commissioned an expansion to the capital for 3,000,000 crowns so all her allies from abroad could move in.  But the best part came when Fury visited the laboratory:  Avalon’s global Water levels were high enough for everyone to learn Hasten Time!
 

Hasten Time’s first victim was Guardian in Eirunep Shrine.  The boss music even sped up as if they knew players would abuse it.  Hasten Time is expensive at 36 MP, however, so I let Guardian get in one Poison Mist to see if it would last for more than one round.  It doesn’t.  Still, Fury’s party easily defeated Guardian before residual poison damage took them out. 
 

Rocbouquet retreated to Sunken Tower in Salamat after learning its secrets in Eirunep Shrine.  Fury had to trudge through a tedious dungeon with trial and error puzzles that required many reloads.  Some monsters like Lilith were guaranteed to cause problems with their charm abilities.
 

Water Dragon was a boss that had good stat gain yields, but was never allowed to act thanks to Hasten Time from Sagittarius.  It took 3 rounds for Water Dragon to die to Swallow Reversal and Cyclone Twist.  To confront Rocbouquet and avoid Temptation for male party members, Rigel stripped off all his clothing to get turn order priority for Hasten Time.  He cast it twice before running out of MP, and Sagittarius was about to relieve Rigel when the boss died to Cyclone Twists and Swallow Reversals.  Salamat joined the empire, and 72 years later, the Empress from the prologue appeared. . .
 

Mint Stats
 
HP:  704
LP:  10
MP:  148
SP:  137
STR:  23
DEX:  24
MAG:  24 + 1
SPD:  25
STA:  20
DEF:  51
 
Default Defensive Traits
 
Sword
Axe/Club
Short Sword/Spear
Bow
Fire
Ice
Lightning
Dark
 
Skills
 
Sword Lv 27
Short Sword/Spear Lv 16
Martial Level 7
Axe/Club Lv 16
Bow Lv 17
Water Magic Lv 31
Wind Magic Lv 22
Light Magic Lv 28

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Mint the Final Empress, Year 1651-1656
 

By the mid 17th century, Avalon’s inheritance magic had expired.  Imagine if that happened when you fail enough times at Rogue Legacy!  Mint would have to destroy the Seven Heroes for good.  Kzinssie sent a greeting card to Mint telling her to come to the Sealed Cave.  The seer from the beginning of the game revealed that the true bodies of the Seven Heroes were still alive, and said her people “live in a town with no name on the other side of Mount Chikapa”.  The New City proposed in Empress Fury’s reign was completed by Mint’s time, and was a residential district for recruits from other regions like Saigo Clansmen and Nomads.
 
 
Although battle tactics were reused from Fury’s reign, Mint saw fit to recruit new classes:  Ganryu the Levante Guard and Numan the Desert Guard.  Both were Greatsword specialists.  Taurus the Court Mage and Mizuki the Ninja were the last members of the final party.  Mint descended into the lower levels of Sealed Cave and fought several consecutive random encounters that Kzinssie threw at her.  These included 2 Helter Skelters and 1 Poison Eater + 2 Djinn.  Kzinssie never had the opportunity to attack when the party outran him and cast Hasten Time for five rounds while releasing Diamond Dust or Swallow Reversal.
 

I had no idea where Dantarg of the Seven Heroes was, so I had to look it up.  Never would have guessed he’d be in the Mu Tundra area.  In that town, Mint was asked to rescue a child and a missing Mu since they didn’t have the time to search before the Mu migration.  The conversation unlocked a special dungeon named “Child & Mu Calf” because Square had run out of ideas.  This was a trial and error cave where I had to reload saves to ensure I was going in the correct holes and secret entrances.
 

Dantarg ought to have been a player character, not a villain.  He didn’t care about the Seven Heroes’ plans at all, and only wanted to fight monsters to grow stronger.  Mint offered to let him go, but Dantarg took it as an insult and challenged her to a fight anyway.  Four rounds of Hasten Time were sufficient  to send Dantarg back to the underworld.
 

Mint was relaxing on her throne when an alarming message came from one of her staff:  “Your Highness!  They come from below. . .”  The staff member sloughed off his skin to reveal a Termite Battler!  Queen had resurrected four and a half centuries after Empress Topaz’s reign, and had better troops than she did in the Savannah.  It took a long time for Mint to find the cave entrance in the sewers to the second Termite Den, and that meant an atrocious amount of encounters.  Sometimes there were 3 fights in a tiny stairwell room.  Enemy variety was lacking as well; all fights seemed to be 2 monsters, and at least one of them was a Termite Battler.
 

Termite Battlers were inconsistent opponents.  Sometimes they wasted their turns casting Gilden Strength or Earth Heal, while on other rounds Stone Shower killed over half the party with one cast.  I reset whenever Stone Shower occurred to prevent excessive LP loss, since that could only be recovered with my limited supply of Anima Draughts.
 

Real Queen said she planted an egg in Empress (Topaz?) to rise again.  Her triumph did not last long. Real Queen went down after four rounds of Hasten Time with the usual Swallow Reversal and Diamond Dust tactics.  Numan had learned a superior Greatsword skill called Scattered Petals during the termite storyline and used that instead of Swallow Reversal.  Mint sat on her throne after the termite extermination, and learned that monsters were forming an army in the Snowdrifts south of Nazelle Strait.  That region had formerly been irrelevant except for a sidequest I never pursued, but was now the site of the final dungeon.
 

Subier had never been confronted as the Garon storyline was incomplete.  He even had a special taunt for Mint not being able to find him “in the sea”.  In truth, I was glad to see Subier here.  If he didn’t appear in the Den of Umbrage, the game would probably have been unwinnable in the Sierra adventure game style.  Subier wounded the whole party with Tidal Wave and took them down to “orange” HP range, but this was the last time the boss could act before a couple of rounds of Hasten Time.
 

All Seven Heroes zoomed into the screen, and I’m not sure whether this was a Mode 7 effect from the original Super Nintendo release or whether it was added to the remake.  Subier retreated and combined with the other Seven Heroes to form the final boss, simply called Seven Heroes.  Mint and friends floated on a scrolling sky background with pillars of light descending from the clouds. 


Hasten Time was a necessity rather than a luxury since Seven Heroes had massive HP relative to other bosses and the ability to charm party members to its side with Temptation.  It still wasn’t enough.  About 12 rounds of Hasten Time was enough to exhaust everyone’s MP on the first few attempts, and once their SP for weapon skills was gone, the fight was effectively over.
 

At this point, I deleted the game in rage and tried to move on.  Romancing Saga 2 is addictive, however, and I re-downloaded it the following day.  My save files were still on the Switch, and Mint and friends fought their way back to the entrance of Snowdrifts.  They plundered the teleporter maze of Loess Ruins and found the Phantom Sword, an upgrade for Mint.  Phantom Sword wasn’t a Greatsword, so she had to randomly learn some new skills like Fillet to make it usable. 
 

Mint took down the four dragons of Maze of Memory:  Sinful Memory, Ruined Memory, Evil Memory, and Crushing Memory.  Each had enough health to require 9-13 rounds of Hasten Time to kill, and they regenerated HP at the end of each turn.  Mint’s bodyguard would not have won if they tried to fight fair, as seen in one Crushing Memory attempt where the dragon made 2 characters pass out on the 1st round before Hasten Time could activate.
 

Between Sinful Memory and Ruined Memory, Mint picked up a Fatestone as a reward for saving a merchant from 3 Basilisks and a Lizardlord in the Blue Labyrinth area of Maze of Memory.  Mint took the Fatestone to the Avalon blacksmiths and had them forge it into the 63 ATK Sevens Sword in time for Crushing Memory.
 

One secret boss would remain undefeated:  Dread Queen, the final form of the termite Queen from the Savannah.  She promised to subdue even the Seven Heroes, and she probably could have done it if she hadn’t spent all her time in her crystal pocket dimension.  I knew there was no chance as soon as the message “Time could not be manipulated!” appeared.  Dread Queen was the only enemy immune to Hasten Time, and I had no desire to waste LP on fighting her the hard way.
 

Mint returned to Den of Umbrage to challenge Seven Heroes for the last time.  It took 14 rounds of Hasten Time to win, and the team only had the MP for maybe 1 more cast before victory.  Fillet from the Sevens Sword increased damage output in particular, along with the party’s increased Sword levels in general.
 

At the beginning of Romancing Saga 2, a bard was playing a ballad in Avalon’s tavern about Mint’s exploits.  I expected it to recur at the beginning of Mint’s reign, but this incident was actually the ending.  Mint wasn’t just the Final Empress in gameplay, but politically too.  She had abdicated so the Avalon empire could become a “commonwealth”.  I think the writers meant “republic”.   Mint believed that her reign was only remembered in songs, but the other party members returned to the tavern to visit her.
 

A montage played of the emperors’ achievements in chronological order, and the credits sequence showed many weapon skills and spells that I had never used. 
 

Much of the fusion magic was locked since I got the Final Empress before the laboratory could research in time.  Some schools were at least partially neglected, like Fire and Earth.  Weapons such as Axes, Clubs, Martial, Spear, and Bow weren’t emphasized since I favored Sword and Greatsword skills. 



Some quests hadn’t appeared during my playthrough, such as confronting Subier in the sea.   Romancing Saga 2 has more content than any individual run can cover, and it’s an interesting game if you’re willing to deal with tedious party management, poor balance, and high encounter rates.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Final Fantasy Legend 1 All Humans:  Who Needs Magic Or Meat When You Have Money?



Bought the Collection of Saga Final Fantasy Collection on Switch and wanted to try it out!  The Final Fantasy Legend games for the Game Boy are really the first 3 titles in the Saga series, so they'll go in this topic rather than the Final Fantasy thread.  (And if I do a Final Fantasy Adventure playthrough, that'll go in the Mana/Seiken Densetsu topic.)


Final Fantasy Legend 1 lets you pick 4 members from up to 3 "races":  human, mutant, and monster.  Humans are basically FFL1's equivalent of the Fighter since they can wear up to 4 pieces of armor and specialize in physical damage.  Final Fantasy Legend isn't a conventional RPG, so humans don't level up.  Or even gain stats after battle like in Romancing Saga or Final Fantasy 2.  Instead, humans have to buy permanent stat upgrading potions at shops.  You've probably guessed that a team of humans involves a lot of money grinding, and the Switch version helps with its speed up feature.


SARA, KARA, LARA, and ANNE were dumped in the 1st town with only broken English hints to guide them.  They were forbidden from entering the tower because "Door is locked by magic of black".  It seemed the way to progress was to follow up on the clue "Gen-Bu has hidden the key to the door in the Statue of Hero".


(It was hard for me to come up with female names with only 4 letters.  Maybe there should have been 3 boys named HUEY, DEWY, and LOUY instead.)


But first it was time to gain some stats and equipment.  SARA the leading lady came equipped with a SABER sword and a BRONZE gauntlet.  The other girls were stuck with the weaker RAPIER.  Weapons have durability like in older Fire Emblem games, so occasionally our heroes had to return to town to buy more RAPIERs.  Fortunately weapons were cheap.


I bought some agility potions because the RAPIER scales off that stat rather than strength.  The game doesn't tell you anything about its mechanics, which must have confused players in 1989!  Be sure to keep GameFAQs open when playing Final Fantasy Legend 1.  I was really better off buying GOLD gauntlets and body armor.  Physical defenses also seem to work like Fire Emblem.  When SARA had both armor pieces equipped, LIZARDs in the starting area did 0 damage, and ZOMBIEs hit for around 2-3. 


REDHORNs were to be avoided at all costs:  SARA died once while trying to fight them before I reloaded.  Final Fantasy Legend is the 1st handheld RPG, but it also comes with a convenient "save anywhere" feature that even many later RPGs on more powerful hardware lack.  If Kawazu could do it in 1989, why does Ni No Kuni force you to sit through about 50 minutes before being able to save for the first time?


(Some text in the game has been changed since the original English version, likely for copyright and trademark reasons.  REDHORN was once called REDBULL, for example.)


ALBATROS and GOBLIN were easy to kill even at the outset and died in one round.  The only fight with multiple enemies so far was a 3 SKELETON crew that yielded 120 gold instead of the typical 40.


There isn't much of a point for a Stats and Equipment section.  I'll be including the equipment in the playthrough itself, and the stats display can be misleading since they go up to about 255 instead of 99 like the game says.


Final Fantasy Legend so far is an example of a "strategic" RPG rather than a "tactical" one.  With humans, you're mainly fast-forwarding through weapon selection until something dies.  But you have to keep enough weapons in your supplies, make sure party members don't lose their limited "life points", and buy potions to power up stats.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Final Fantasy Legend 1 All Humans Part 2:  Three Not So Wise Kings


The party wandered around the small overworld to the southwestern area of the map and entered a castle.  They soon left after encountering WERERATs that were too strong for them.  In a game where permanent death is a possibility, you have to be cautious.  (Though infinite save reloading ability prevents Final Fantasy Legend 1 from becoming a roguelike.  It works more like Fire Emblem, if units had 3 "lives".)


Our heroes were better off walking to the southeast of the tower town to find the Town of Hero next to the Castle of Shield.  According to its residents "3 Kings fight for control of the world", and they gave directions to their castles.  It seems the one I tried first was the Castle of Sword. 


Guards kicked the party out of Castle of Shield if they tried to talk, and the king and steward refused to give up their national treasure.


Town of Hero sold multiple weapon upgrades, but I went with the 50 use BOW since it was the best Agility weapon available.  Strangely, the starting tower town's GOLD armor was better than Town of Hero's BRONZE versions.


Castle of Armor was more accommodating to SARA, ANNE, KARA, and LARA.  Its king wanted to marry a woman to the south who turned down his proposal.  Girl (her real name!) was a friendly monster who did want to marry the king, but feared a bandit leader in a cave to the west who threatened to destroy her town.


Not that the bandit could have done so, unless the village was populated by the lowest rank monsters.  P-FROG was merely an upgraded LIZARD who died in less than 2 full rounds to BOW arrows.  Its BITE tickled ANNE for 7 damage once.  My game speed was too fast to catch all the post-battle dialogue, but effectively P-FROG begged for mercy while my party said he should have done that before the fight.


Before leaving P-FROG's cave, I found POTION, MUSCLE, and a BRONZE shield.  MUSCLE was the Strength boosting potion, so I gave it to SARA in the 1st slot.  POTIONS were for healing instead of stat upgrades.  Local enemies were the same as on the overworld, such as ALBATROS, ZOMBIE, and ASIGARU samurai.


Next up was Castle of Sword.  The party could handle most enemies there by now, and gold yields were between 80-200 per battle.  Prices seemed to be low in this game compared to other old RPGs, so potion progress was quick.  5 KARATEKAs were the one group to run away from.  They managed to kill SARA once and forced me to reload.


SWRDKING on the top floor had the same sprite as ASIGARU and challenged the party to a fight over the KING sword.  He could hit for 32 damage per melee attack and killed SARA on the first attempt.  I technically won after 3 rounds, but reset to avoid losing life points.  They returned after quaffing some HP200 potions and won in 2 turns.  There didn't seem to be a defense potion, so SWRDKING still slashed for 32 damage.


SARA and company limped back to Town of Hero after KARATEKA and REDHORN encounters.  The only place left was Castle of Shield, and I had activated all the necessary "event flags".  It was the cue for the steward to assassinate the king and frame the party, but he had the wrong idea when he sent out 2 SKELETONs and 1 ASIGARU.  They were easily defeated, but weren't as pathetic as the STEWARD himself who died in 1 BOW shot after fleeing into a secret passage.  STEWARD dropped 400 gold and the KING shield after dying, which made me want him to respawn over and over for grinding purposes.


Our heroes purchased more HP200 potions until they reached 114-123 HP.  Then they used all 3 KING treasures on the statue in Town of Hero to receive the SPHERE.  Before they could leave, GEN-BU the tortoise said "Here is another who had the 3 items" and started a fight.


GEN-BU's main attack was GAS for 25 damage.  ANNE was hit twice and KARA once.  GEN-BU wasted every even-numbered turn defending with SHELL.  Although BOW damage was reduced to single digits, free attacks were still welcome.  On Turn 7, GEN-BU perished and the party was ready to climb the tower to Paradise. . .

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Final Fantasy Legend 1 All Humans Part 3:  Finding Paradise Is Easier Than I Thought


The most dangerous enemies on the lower floors of the tower were GHOULs that could paralyze party members for multiple rounds.  SLIMEs were unprofitable to fight when they cast MELT to drain HP for high teens, took multiple rounds to kill, and only yielded 40 gold when killed.  CONDORs had high HP and pecked with BEAK for around 18.  ONIs were upgraded GOBLINs that sometimes gored characters with HORN for 30 damage.


On the 3rd floor, the humans found what seemed to be the tropical paradise they were looking for.  Their HP was fully restored and random encounters were absent.  Residents said these things:


“Store?  Nobody works here.”


“Creator made this paradise.”

“We never work here.”



The 4th floor had a "hell" room where GARGOYLEs were torturing prisoners.  Or it may have been purgatory:



“Oooh. . .put me out of my misery.”
 
“I must endure this torment to reach paradise.”



Random encounters with GHOULs, SNAKEs, and GARGOYLEs were possible there, and there seemed to be nothing of interest.


On the 4th floor, SARA and friends found a PISTOL in a treasure chest.  This was called a COLT in the original Game Boy version.  The 5th floor had one character who said "Look for the old man!", a door that was "locked by magic of blue", and a "pool" to the southwest.  These "pools" were also on the 4th floor and the "paradise" world.


It was time to hunt for another SPHERE, so the party kept on climbing until they entered another tropical world.  Villagers in the 1st town available seemed helpful:


“A voyage by ship is too dangerous due to pirates.”


“I saw an island sailing like a ship.”

“Sei-Ryu has banished Ryu-O.”

“The caves are connected to various islands.”

“The brothers live in a town on an island in the northeast”.



The two weapons worth considering here were the PISTOL and the SMG.  Both used Strength and Agility in their damage formula, but the PISTOL seemed more cost efficient.  PISTOLs sold for 80 GP apiece, had 40 power and 30 uses, while SMGs cost 400 GP and had 50 power and 20 uses.  Everyone got PISTOLS and I spent the rest of the money on MUSCLE and HP200 potions.