Completion Project Update

I spent a lot of time fishing in Breath of Fire III this morning, then cracked and played Ehrgeiz for a bit. What I like about Ehrgeiz is not the fighting so much as the mini-rpg. I like the dungeon trawl, and the systematic kind of exploration. That's what I like about the .hack// games and Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter. It appeals to my analytical side.

I'm not playing Ehrgeiz properly, as such - I'm just playing around with it for funsies, and, so that when I do it play it properly, I have an idea of how to do it well.

Things I've learnt so far include the fact that it is quite easy to get out of your depth very quickly, and a pain to go after your characters, especially since your inventory is with the other one.  Each floor doesn't contain enough monsters to level both of your characters up as much as they need, so I'll probably have to spend some time level grinding on each one.  I'll probably alternate; get Koji to two, Clair to three, Koji to four, Clair to five, and so on.

Another issue with the game is the fact that your inventory is tiny, especially since it includes food, healing items, weapons and armour, and piles of coins that you need to drop off at the bank frequently.

Oh, and the dungeon is randomly generated each playthrough.

I still like it, though.

UpaRupa

At one point in Breath of Fire II, your party is sent to catch an UpaRupa.

See?

'UpaRupa' or 'Wooper Looper' is the Japanese name for the Mexican creature, Axotlotl. They are adorably weird, and look oddly like how I imagine the link between humans and our last time as aquatic creatures.

Axolotl!

Axolotl also appear in Final Fantasy IX, in Qu's Marsh.

See?

Finally, the Pokemon Mudkip is also loosely based on the axolotl.

See?

Breath of Fire III, Part 14

Defeated the Elder, then did some level grinding. I set up two Copy Shops in the Faerie Colony, with three fairies each. I then set one up to copy an Ivory Dice, fought two battles, rinse, repeat. After they'd all been set up, they started churning out the dice at a rate of one every two battles (except for at a certain point, where it took four, instead of two). Doing it this way means you can ensure a higher success rate, by saving inbetween visits. Failure and Success aren't actually determined until you enter the Colony.

I apprenticed Garr to Hachio, and Peco to Ladon. They'll be done at levels 26 and 32, respectively.  Nina finished with Emitai, but I left her there for a while.

Okay, I've mastered every master.  Not bad.  I also did some fishing, and got Life Armours for both Rei and Ryu.  I'm trying to get maximum points for every fish, which is proving to be a long, tricky task.

Completion Project Update - New Games!

Yesterday, I bought a ton of second-hand playstation games. I did mention this in another post, I think. I got Croc: Legend of the Gobbos, Casper, Spyro, X-Men: Mutant Academy 2, and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

A weird thing happened as I was paying. I asked if they had a copy of Ehrgeiz, and the person serving me told me that that game was "crap", and that it was called "energize" (he did confirm that it was the same game, since it had Final Fantasy VII cameos, so at least he knew which one I meant).

Dude. I didn't ask for your opinion, I asked if you had it. Keep a civil tongue in your head when you're working.

This is why I buy most of my games off Amazon.

If anyone's wondering, this was the Game store on New Street in Birmingham.

On a brighter note, for Casper, I intend to write a full, clear, walkthrough. It may not include everything, but it ought to get people to the end of that damn game. All the walkthrough's available are quite confusing, and the game's hard enough as it is.

Breath of Fire III, Part 13

I apprenticed Momo to Fahl, with the idea of apprenticing her to Deis later. Copied a few Ivory Dice in the Faerie Colony. I'll have Garr apprentice under Hachio once I've got the things working again. I also copied a Ring of Fire, and Nina finished with Yggdrasil and moved to Emitai while I was getting those dice.  She'll be done at level 30.  Rei finished with Meryleep, so I stuck him with Fahl as well, again in preparation for Deis.

Once I was done with all of that, I picked up some Deep Divers from the Manillo nearby, then headed back to Steel Beach.

I had a bit of difficulty learning Tornado from the Insectors.  They wouldn't use it until they'd already used up all their AP on Typhoon.  I had Nina learn 'Transfer' (the handiest skill in Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter, incidentally, though not quite as good here), and use that on them at that point, which worked.  Then all of my characters failed to learn it, and the stupid thing ran away.  But still, the theory is sound.  I also found that, when alone, if they don't run away immediately, they'll use the skill, but I wasn't watching it that time.  Finally learnt it in another battle.

Oh hey, there's another statue of Ladon in Dragnier.

I like the mural, and the clear continuity from the previous games.

Shopping and Completion Project Update

I bought some new games today. Well, new-old games. Croc, Spyro, X-Men: Mutant Academy 2, Casper, and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. All games I have fond (ish) memories of from my childhood, all for the playstation. I guess I'll have to make an updated Project List, and put it up at the side of my posts.

Last time I looked, they had Donald Duck: Quack Attack, which I seem to remember completing at the age of twelve or so.  I couldn't find it today, though.  I kind of want that and Ehrgeiz.

I want a DS too, for things like the Phoenix Wright games, Final Fantasy III, Time Hollow, and, maybe, Chrono Trigger.

Someday.

Breath of Fire III, Part 12

Since the Fairy Colony Weapons (Speed) shop is done, I've closed that down (after buying the good stuff, obviously), and set up the two kinds of item shops. I also have two copy shops now, but only one faery in each. I've all eight houses built, with one faery working in each, and the rest hunting, so I can get my twenty faeries (some of whom, I hope, will have high blue bars).

Also mastered quite a few of the masters.  Ryu is now with Deis, and will be done at level 47.  Nina still has a level or two to go with Yggdrasil, and then will master Emitai.  Rei's still working with Meryleep.

Momo and Peco have unlocked all of the forms, between them.  Peco's working on getting the Cupid's Lyre, and he'll be done at level 23.

I need to figure out what I want Momo and Garr to be working on.

Breath of Fire III, Part 11

Did a bit more fishing. I've got everything except whales now, although I'm still missing points on quite a few of them.

I played around with the Shisu sidequest, but got bored in the end, after getting Lacquer Armour (the second best).  I did some levelling, and experimented with casting burn on Lava Men in Mt. Zublo.  It makes them more powerful, and give off more exp.  They were killing my party members in one hit after four spells, and only giving 196exp each, so I quit.  Played all the way through to the Black Ship.  Then I died on the ship, and managed to get the Shaman's Ring after all.

Few notes on the Black Ship.  The bolt enemies are hard to hit, and the lucky strikes can really hurt.  The big frogs and the little frogs also make a horrible team with all those status effects.  I'd suggest bringing Rei along with the Chain Formation - with any luck, you can take them out before it starts to hurt too much.

Oh hey, silly me, I can learn Disembowel from the Assassins in the Steel Grave.  No need to have Garr spend ten levels under Bunyan.

...there we go.  I'll put Garr under Hachio once I've got the transporters unlocked, then.

Peco's doing well.  I've got an Amber BPlate and a pair of UV Glasses for him already.  That's half his best equipment.

At some point, I ought to make a shopping list of things to get.  Not character by character, but all in one, so I don't have to refer to six different ones.

I've also maxed out the Faery Colony's Weapon (Speed) shop.

Shisu

At a certain point of Breath of Fire III, you'll need to make Shisu.

The ingredients are as follows;

Mackerel - caught at the fishing spot near Maekyss Gorge. It will only appear after talking to the couple there about Shisu, after having visited Parch and spoken to the Mayor. The Mackerel will always be the largest one you've caught, even if you've since sold your entire stock and caught another one (ask me how I know this). Aim for one 68cm or longer.

Shaly Seeds - use Peco to knock some off the tree behind the hut in Maekyss Gorge. You'll need fifteen, so twice should be enough.

Horseradish - on Ogre Road. Use Ryu's sword to slice them. You'll need seven. Enter and leave to make it grow again.

Vinegar - go back to the Cafe, near Momo's tower, and have Garr speak to the person by the well. Play the minigame to get vinegar. You'll need four, so once or twice should be enough.

Finally, speak to the lady at Maekyss Gorge again, then head back to Parch and speak to the Mayor's assistant. You'll be taken to another screen where you can make the Shisu.  The recipe is as follows;

Click on the Mackerel (again, you should have caught one at least 68cm long).  Add fifteen Shaly Seeds, seven Horseradish, and four Vinegar, then knead twice.  Note that you'll only get a visual the first time you click 'knead'.

You should get a Shaman's Ring for this.

The full list of rewards is as follows, in order from best to worst;

Shaman's Ring
Lacquer Armour
Barbarossa
Sage's Frock
Wisdom Fruit
Wisdom Seed
Ammonia

Peco's Best Equipment - Breath of Fire III

In Breath of Fire III, Peco's best equipment is as follows;

Dragon Fang - 85 power, 1 weight.
Dropped by IceDrakes and RedDrakes in Myria Station Laboratory.

Amber BPlate - 45 defence, 4 weight.
Can be bought in Parch or in the Faery Colony's Weapon (Ability) shop.

Aries Gloves - 45 defence, 5 weight.
You can steal these from Berserkers at the Container Yard.

UV Glasses - 18 defence, 1 weight, resists blind.
Found in Steel Grave.

Garr's Best Equipment - Breath of Fire III

In Breath of Fire III, Garr's best weapons are as follows;

Beast Spear - 150 power, 15 weight, drains 1/20 of HP each turn.
Search Gaist's ashes immediately after the battle.

Gideon's Garb - 82 defence, 10 weight, +10 to power.
Dropped by Armor in Myria Station.

Giant Shield- 45 defence, 5 weight.
Found in Myria Station.

Divine Helm - 26 defence, 2 weight, resists flame.
Dropped by Gold Eggs in the Factory and Wraiths in Myria Station.

Rei's Best Equipment - Breath of Fire III

In Breath of Fire III, Rei's best weapons are as follows;

Holy Avenger - 198 power, 1 weight.
Dropped by ArchMages in the Container Yard.

Life Armour - 80 defence, 8 weight.
The armour will heal you, each turn and each step. You can buy it from the Manillo at the fishing spot near Kombinat, where it costs one Whalefish, one Spearfish, and three Barandy. You can also find it in the Desert.


Since this is also Ryu's best armour, it may be easier to have the faeries copy it than to find one and buy one, or to buy two.

Aries Gloves - 44 defence, 2 weight, +10 to power.
You can steal these from Berserkers at the Container Yard.

Divine Helm - 26 defence, 2 weight, resists flame.
Dropped by Gold Eggs in the Factory and Wraiths in Myria Station.

Momo's Best Equipment - Breath of Fire III

In Breath of Fire III, Momo's best weapons are as follows;

Atomic Bomb - 198 power, 1 weight, 100% to hit.
Bought in Caer Xhan for 16,000 zenny.

Mist Armour -75 defence, 4 weight.
Dropped by Mistmen in the final area of Myria Station.

Aries Gloves - 44 defence, 2 weight, +10 to power.
Stolen from Berserkers at the Container Yard.

Silver Tiara - 23 defence, 1 weight.
Found in Eden.  As this is also Nina's best helmet, you may want to have the Faeries copy it.

Nina's Best Equipment - Breath of Fire III

In Breath of Fire III, Nina's best equipment is as follows;

Ouroboros - 80 power, 5 weight, +10 to intelligence. Will cast Raise Dead when used as an item.
You can buy this from the Faerie Village's Weapon Shop (Ability). It's the final item, and costs 22,000 zenny.

Diana's Dress -72 defence, 4 weight.
Dropped by Revenants in the final area of Myria Station.

Aries Gloves - 44 defence, 2 weight, +10 to power.
Stolen from Berserkers at the Container Yard.

Silver Tiara - 23 defence, 1 weight.
Found in Eden.  As this is also Momo's best helmet, you may want to have the Faeries copy it.

Ryu's Best Equipment - Breath of Fire III

In Breath of Fire III, Ryu's best equipment is as follows;

GooKing Sword - 180 power, 4 weight.
You can steal this from a GooKing in the final dungeon. Steal its apple, so it doesn't run away.

Life Armour - 80 defence, 8 weight.
The armour will heal you, each turn and each step. You can buy it from the Manillo at the fishing spot near Kombinat, where it costs one Whalefish, one Spearfish, and three Barandy. You can also find it in the Desert.


Since this is also Rei's best armour, it may be easier to have the faeries copy it than to find one and buy one, or to buy two.

Aries Gloves - 44 defence, 2 weight, +10 to power.
You can steal these from Berserkers at the Container Yard.

Dragon Helm - 50 defence, 2 weight, protection against flame.
You'll find this in the final dungeon, after fighting Chimera.

Breath of Fire III, Part 10

I got Momo and Peco back, and spoke to the four kids in Wyndia. Then I apprenticed Rei to Meryleep, went back to Dauna Mine to get Bais and the Coupons. I want to apprentice Peco to Bais, since his levels are lowest, his stats are good, and I want the Chain Formation. It's very handy to have with Rei around - everyone can get extra turns, no matter how much you weigh down the other two.  Unfortunately, I need to find Lee and Wynn first, and for that, I need the damn passport.  I'll just have to try to keep Peco from levelling until then.

Incidentally, I love camping in Breath of Fire III and IV.  I like being able to check in with my characters.  I love the whole 'battle areas' aspect of the world map, too.

I bought some new weapons/armour from Syn City, and then headed to the Plant.

I got a ton of Scale Mail here, which will be sold to fund new weapons.  I also learned Flame Strike, and found the Force Gene.  Then I had to leave for my (real life) exam.

After the exam, I came home and finished out the factory.  This bit reminds me quite a lot of Mamon in the first Shadow Hearts game, crossed with Koudelka (with Repsol playing the part of Patrick).

Interestingly, up until Nina and Momo talk at camp, when Rei is shoved out to spend time with the other males of the party, Rei is always alone in the tent.  After that point, Momo's in there with him, and he seems to be more of a part of the group.  That's sweet.

Momo managed to master Fahl's spells (the only one I needed was Counter), so I put Garr with Bunyan (remind me to head back when he's level thirty).  I found all the triplets, and I intend to put Peco and Momo with two of them, put the game still isn't letting me into Wyndia.  I want that Chain Formation!

...gosh, doesn't Gaist look like DeathEvn?

I finally managed to get Peco apprenticed to Bais, and Momo to Wynn.  Remind me to check back when he's at seventeen, and she's at twenty-seven.

I also got the Faerie Village's culture level to 7, and started up a few shops - Weapons, with speed and ability, and Handyman, with Ability.  I spent some time in Mt. Zublo, levelling Peco up, and advancing the faeries a little more.  Finished with Bais, apprenticed Peco to Lee.

Damn, Peco is powerful.

Breath of Fire III, Part 9

First thing I did today was head to the faerie village, to start building it. I may or may not write a guide post on this - there's a huge number of guides out there already.

I started off with three faeries. One who was great at hunting (and not much else), one who was hugely intelligent (but bad at hunting), and one who was mostly strong, but not really.

I love how the appropriate bars flash when you assign them to a job.

I assigned one to hunting, one to clearing, and one to studying culture.

Did some fishing, caught two red catfish and a barandy. Bought a Katzbaiger from the manillo.

It took bloody ages to learn Mind Flay. And Timed Blow.

I love Rei. Poor Rei.

When they were separated, all he tried to do was get justice. Ryu searched for Rei and Teepo, but he also found friends, while Rei was alone.

Rei kept on searching for Balio and Sunder long after Ryu defeated them at Maekyss Gorge.

Imagine Rei's life before Ryu and Teepo. Ryu and Teepo always had someone. Rei had to be alone.

I got Nina. Work now!

Breath of Fire III, Part 8

Blogger ate the new bits of some of my posts in the night, so I rewrote them while fighting the thirty battles for Fahl. Apprenticed Garr to him.

Ryu's only one level off learning Bunyan's final skill, so I had him, Nina (who is maxing out Yggdrasil) and Garr (who just apprenticed to Fahl) train for another level in Mt. Zublo. Currently debating who to apprentice Ryu to next. Torn between Yggdrasil and Mygas.

No, I know, he can max out Hondara next. I'm saving Meryleep for Rei, although I suppose Momo could do it, since I've been keeping her under D'Lonzo for the agility anyway. Or maybe put her under Giotto for now, and under Deis later?

Masters only affect how much your stats go up by in future, not what they're at currently, after all. They won't actually lower them.

Also, a note on the Vulcans - Nina's Simoon spell works pretty well at waking them up.

The thing is, I want all my characters to be well-rounded. Perhaps I should just make a list of which stats to emphasize for each one, in order of importance?

Okay.

Ryu; AP needs to be high, and so does Power and Defence.
Nina; Intelligence and AP. Defence would be nice, and so would be HP. Speed, maybe, but she seems fast enough by herself, and I tend to use the chain formation with Rei in the lead anyway. So, Mygas, Yggdrasil, Hondara, Emitai, and Deis.
Momo; Power, AP and Intelligence. So, Deis. Since Deis severely lowers defence and HP, I should work on those early on. So, Fahl for a bit. I also had her master D'Lonzo, for speed, and to get Steal as early as possible.
Peco; Well-rounded. I'm thinking Giotto then Deis and Ladon.
Garr; Defence, Power and HP. So, Bunyan, Fahl, and Hachio.
Rei; Speed and Power. So, D'Lonzo, Meryleep, and then Fahl.

The helped. I should go apprentice Momo to Fahl now. Nina has a few more levels before she finishes Yggdrasil, then she can move to Hondara. Or, maybe she'll stay with Yggdrasil for a while for the defence boost.

Peco can stay with Giotto until Deis is unlocked. Garr is working on getting all of Fahl's spells.

Ryu just finished with Bunyan, and his Agility is looking low, as is his intelligence. His AP really needs a boost, though. I'll put him with Hondara, since I'll be unlocking him in a minute. Hondara will slow down his power-growth slightly, but Ryu can take that hit.

Oooooops. I forgot to speak to Bunyan twice, to get both of the skills I'd unlocked. I had the levels, but because I un-apprenticed Ryu (and then accidentally saved), Bunyan won't count it. Dammit. I'm going to have earn all ten again later.

Oh well, Peco or Garr can do it when I get to level-grinding with the Ivory Dice.

On the bright side, I did remember to unequip all my characters before getting to the end of Angel Tower.  And to give that fucktard Garr a crappy spear.

It seems that Urkan Tapa (and the factory and so on) are the last remnants of "St Eva"'s empire.  It also seems that the Guardians are Myria's children from Breath of Fire II.

I can't be the only one who finds the ZombieDRs the saddest thing ever, can I?  They try to heal their group, and kapowie, everyone's dead Dave.

I also unlocked Emitai after leaving the mine.  I'll apprentice Nina to him once she's done with Yggdrasil.

Breath of Fire III, Part 7

I really like the fishing minigame in Breath of Fire III (and in the other games, but this one best). I also love the hunting minigame in Final Fantasy IX. D'you know what the silly thing about that is? I'm a vegan.

Played through to Rhapala. I've given up working on my post about enemy skills - just refer to this FAQ.

I got bored with training Beyd after he'd managed to get himself countered to death three times.  Luckily, I'd managed to net him an extra 12 or so attack and defence points and another hp, which really helped.

I took Peco to the Lighthouse for the levels, along with Momo, to get the treasure.  This made the lighthouse much tougher than it needed to be.

I love the aussie dolphin, and the English translation.  It's awesome.  I wonder what they did in the original version?

Bit of advice on the Vulcans.  Firstly, you can steal proteins, which are awesome.  Secondly, you will double the experience gained if you use a fire spell on them.  This will, however, make them start attacking you, with horrible spells like Lavaburst (which can be learned).  I generally try to whittle their hp down as much as possible (with frost) before using a firespell on them.  After using a firespell, they also become vulnerable to physical attacks, which helps.

Once you have the fairy village up and running, these vulcans will be where you level up, and even without the Ivory dice, they're pretty handy.  You might be lucky, like I was, and manage to nab a set of Magma Armour as a drop from one of the monsters here.  With that and the Ring of Fire you've got two characters here absorbing flame attacks as HP.

Idea.  I can get the fairies to copy that ring when I come back here to level up.  And the ring of ice.  Be handy to have three or even six of each of those.

Ooh, creepy old man.  I'd forgotten him.

I suppose all the bits about the tower and the brood mean that the ending of Breath of Fire II, where Ryu waited too long, is canon.

Did some fishing to the south of Mt. Zublo, and bought two Wisdom Rings.  They raise your Intelligence by thirty!  Also, got Meryleep. 

Breath of Fire III - Ivory Dice

The Ivory Dice is an item in Breath of Fire III, which, when used on an enemy, doubles the amount of experience and zenny earned.

For example, using it on a Vulcan results in the following increases;

• 1 dice = 600 exp, 900 zenny.
  
• 2 dice = 1200 exp, 3600 zenny.
  
• 3 dice = 2400 exp, 7200 zenny.
  
• 4 dice = 4800 exp, 14400 zenny.
  
• 5 dice = 9600 exp, 28800 zenny.
  
• 6 dice = 19200 exp, 57600 zenny.
  
• 7 dice = 21845 exp, and a little over 57k zenny.

As you can see, the experience caps at 21845, while the zenny caps around 57k. Therefore, it is more profitable, when using a Vulcan (one of the most exp and ap rich random enemies of the game) to use six dice at a time, rather than seven. Because Vulcans are fairly easy to defeat and give extremely high exp and zenny in comparison to this, you will almost certainly be using Ivory Dice to level against them rather than anything else. They can be found in Mt. Zublo, near Deis. Remember to cast 'burn' on them at least once; if you don't, the given exp will begin at 60 per character instead of the 300 you're aiming for. Try to remember to steal a protein while you're doing this, too.

Ivory Dice can only be found in a few places. However, you can use the Faerie Copy Shop to create more. A fairy with a full Sky Blue bar has a better chance of success. Save before entering the village, as success or failure is not determined until you enter.

It takes the fairies exactly fourteen battles to copy one Ivory Dice. This means that it is possible to set up a production line - have fourteen fairies working to copy Ivory Dice at once. Simply set one, fight one random battle, then set the second. After the last one is told to start copying, the first one will finish. This is the most efficient way, since you can guarantee success by saving just outside of the village each time.

You can continue this production line for as long as you wish. Should you have more than one fairy completing their copying at once, there is a higher chance that at least one will fail.

You can use the copying production line to copy an expensive item too, and sell it if it's money you want more than levels.