LostSanity's blog

Before returning to the main quest, apparently I'm withing the level range for a few of the optional dungeons.

Actually... my party is in the 40's now. Yeah. I guess I should stop getting distracted by sidequests huh? BUT I DON'T WANNA. I WANT THIS GAME TO LAST FOREVER.

*coughs*

Anyway... I tried Malmalam Thicket which has a Royal Arm within it. Recommend level was 35. I got through it relatively easily with only some use of items. When I reached the end...

FREAKING HUGE ENEMY. BANDERSNATCH.

Did I lose?

Of course not. I actually won rather easily. GOD I LOVE BEING OVER-LEVELED.

Optional Royal Arm get.

I could do another optional dungeon but I'll move on to the main story since there's about to be a CRAPTON of sidequests to do once I reach Cape Caem.

IT'S FINALLY TIME FOR NO MORE MR. NICE PRINCE. THE EMPIRE WILL GET EXACTLY WHAT IT DESERVES.

This time for sure. I promise. Maybe.

Next time:

More sneaking around all stealthy-like. But somehow I doubt this is going to end without some major boss fight. (BTW it's not)

I ended up only doing a few sidequests before I was pretty much forced to continue the main story.

It turns out... the empire invaded Lestallum... and...

Well...

Iris is fine. But another helpful character by the name of Jared... well...

THAT'S IT. THE EMPIRE HAS OFFICIALLY CROSSED THE LINE.

There was nothing that could be done. Noctis assures the grandson of Jared, Talcott, that the empire will pay. DAMN RIGHT THEY WILL.

At night... Noctis has a nightmare... It's a CG scene that's been seen a few of the trailers as well. Noctis fighting the empire alone and struggling. One of the dogs, the white one, helping him, but then... NO. NOT THE DOG. ANYTHING BUT THE DOG. THAT'S IT. NO MERCY SHALL BE GIVEN.

Admittedly it was just a dream... but still...

Iris needs to be taken to Cape Caem and we agree to give her a lift. However... as we proceed... we see another Imperial Airship so the group stops in an Outpost called Old Lestallum.

Iris is going to wait there... WHILE WE GIVE THE EMPIRE EXACTLY WHAT THEY DESERVE.

But my preparation will come first. To do as many sidequests as I can in order to get my party even more leveled up. The more over-leveled the better as far as I'm concerned. That way beating up the empire and giving them their just desserts will be easier.

It seems to be Noctis and co. are no longer playing the 'nice card' and it's about time. NO. FREAKING. MERCY. WHATSOEVER. AT ALL.

Next time:

Preparation for giving the empire their just desserts. We go in, and KILL THEM ALL. NO QUESTIONS ASK. They've crossed the line. So it's exactly what they deserve.

Noctis and co. rest at the haven and devise a strategy. Infiltrating during the day is suicide. However, infiltrating at night is more doable.

So that's what the group does.

This... was pretty awesome honestly. I guess it is like Metal Gear Solid but I wouldn't know, because, as I've said several times already, I haven't played the series and likely never will.

You could warp kill imperial soldiers when they had their backs turned. ALL OF MY YES. NOCTIS FTW.

I did... okay during this. Not great, but not horrible either. I was able to warp kill a few soldiers but sometimes I got caught too. Not that it mattered as I was able to take all the soldiers out even when I got caught.

Eventually it got to the point where we could no longer get away with sneaking around in order to get the Regalia back. Only one choice then.

GO ALL OUT.

Which I did.

I had to use a few items but that was basically it. However... the enemies began to become overwhelming and that's when... the game prompted me that Ramuh was willing to give assistance.

OH GOD YES.

THIS WAS JUST... I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO DESCRIBE IT. BUT RAMUH DEVASTATED EVERYTHING.

As Prompto put it "Dude that was... hardcore!"

Yes. Yes it was.

When we got the Regalia back...

OH GOODIE. MORE EMPIRE JERKS.

However... this one turned out to be someone named Ravus, who was apparently Luna's older brother. AWKWARD...

He threatened Noctis and co. hurt Gladio, and made it seem like we we're going to fight him. WELL COME ON THEN.

Until Ardyn reappeared. THIS JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER (not)

He claims he came to help and get the empire out. YEAH RIGHT. Then states that they have other business... across the sea? Okay... the two then... just... leave. Wow... um... okay...

But we have the car back now. THANK GOD. I mean... I like Chocobos as much as the next person... but... the car is just... well... THE FREAKING CAR.

Either way getting to places is easier now. Looks like we have to return to Lestallum to see what this 'across seas' business is. Either way... with the car back... well what do you think I'm going to do? Yeah. Sidequest catch up. Believe it or not, but there may not be a lot to catch up on and lot of sidequests are unlocked once you get to Cape Caem (which is apparently an upcoming destination) so it probably won't be much sidequesting I'll be doing before we move on to the next Chapter.

Next time:

Sidequest catch up. What exactly is the empire up to across seas? Isn't it about time to start going after them instead of them coming after us? Guess we'll see..

Wow... um... I'm actually disappointed in myself for making this reference considering I NEVER watched that stupid movie and probably NEVER will...

Anyway...

Noctis and co. head into the dungeon to touch the final Runestone to obtain Ramuh. They fight Daemons as they do so.

Eventually... Prompto... disappears. WAIT WHAT?!

We find him in the midst of lots of Daemons and quickly take them all out. He claims he was taken by a large snake. OH WONDERFUL.

After progressing through the dungeon... we reach a large cavern... and..

OF COURSE. HELLO LARGE SNAKE.

It's called 'Naga' and it's a Daemon. It goes on and on about it's 'baby' and where it is... creepy much?

Good thing I had Tricast Blizzara that pretty much took out most of it's health and then I just wailed on it with my Greatsword for an easy victory. Boy... being over-leveled is... REALLY NICE.

After that we reach the runestone and Noctis touches it and receives Ramuh as well as another vision of Luna meeting Ramuh as well. STOP BEING BADASS LUNA. Actually don't. It makes you cooler.

As we leave... we receive word from Cindy... that the empire has our car. WELL OF COURSE THEY DO.

We make our way to the Imperial Base where the car is at and find it difficult to infiltrate. So a strategy meeting will be held at a nearby haven.

I would have done more but whenever you do main story stuff it doesn't let you manually save during it and I was worried I didn't have enough time so this was all I was able to do unfortunately. Good place to stop honestly though. Save the awesomeness for next time.

Next time:

We infiltrate the base to get our car back. All Metal Gear-like. Yeah... I still haven't played that game and still never will. Still kind of awesome though.

As I meandered around doing sidequests... I walked up to a Royal Tomb and took another Royal Arm with no one to stop me whatsover. Alright then.

Either way... I continued following Mr. Suspicious (Ardyn) and he was somehow able to open up a blockade. You know what? It's just too obvious at this point. No reason to say it. Still though. SO. MANY. RED. FLAGS.

We head in and make our way further in. Only to find another Royal Arm. O... kay...?

Then...

HI TITAN. GUESS IT'S ABOUT THAT TIME.

Spoiler

You know... I think Square-Enix did this on purpose. I really do. Due to it's popularity.

BUT GOD AM I HAPPY THEY DID. TIME FOR ATTACK ON TITAN FINAL FANTASY VERSION!!

We get forced down to a lower area but Gladio saves us before we fall to our doom. We're forced to go further with only Noctis and Gladio. Eventually... well...

What did you expect?

EPIC FIGHT WITH TITAN.

The reference would have been complete if you could attack the back of it's neck. Sadly you can't. Did I try? No but I'm pretty sure you can't.

It wasn't really that hard. Was it because I was over-leveled? Probably but who cares. The empire showed up and started attacking it too. But it's not like they were helping Noctis. and co. You could even attack them if you wanted to. I did occasionally. Did I do it to prolong the fight in an attempt to find a way to attack Titan on the back of his neck? I don't know...

Oh I almost forgot. Even though I kind of wish the battle theme was Attack on Titan Opening 1, which probably would have fit more, but the actual theme?

Well...

Spoiler

..........................

WELL THERE'S NO QUESTION NOW. BEST. GAME. EVER.

After damaging it enough (I even used my new unlocked Armiger) the group barrage Titan with Blizzard and freeze it. We also get a scene showing that Luna met with Titan as well which explains why Titan wanted to get Noctis' attention I guess. Still though... Luna... you're quite the badass.

But... things are still pretty bad.

OH GOD IT'S MR. SUSPICIOUS AGAIN. AND HE'S THE FREAKING CHANCELLOR OF THE EMPIRE. I. FREAKING. KNEW IT.

He offers to rescue us. UGH. GODDAMMIT. WE CAN'T DIE. There's no choice... UGH.

Eventually... we get stranded at Wiz Chocobo Post. WITH NO FREAKING CAR. OH WONDERFUL. THANKS GAME.

We see BEST DOG (Umbra) again who wants us to follow so I oblige. We then meet a mysterious woman named Gentiana. I really didn't understand what she was saying. She basically spoke in fairy tale language. But the group seemed to summarize it. Also we saw a flashback with kid Luna and Noctis talking about how Noctis is the chosen and how he'll do his best to fulfill the prophecy or whatever it is he's supposed to do.

It looks like we're getting godly help. First Titan. Now Ramuh. We basically have to go around touching Runestones. To be honest... this actually surprised me. Because normally... god-like entities have to have the crap kicked out of them. They don't normally help. But then again all Final Fantasy games have summons right? Okay then.

With no car... IT'S CHOCOBO TIME. PERFECTION.

I was able to touch the first 2 runestones. Sometimes I avoided the empire other times I had to deal with them. But being over-leveled... they weren't a problem. As I did so we get more fairy-tale language from Gentiana.

We make our way to a dungeon for the final trial to obtain Ramuh. But that's where I stopped. BTW... my Chocobo use got my Chocobo to level 4. Yeah. You have to use them quite a bit for this part. It'd take to long to go on foot. Good thing I did that Deadeye quest.

I can't use the car. Looks like I'm stuck on the main story until I get it back. See? It's a good thing I'm over-leveled now isn't it?

Next time:

More summon unlocking. Where the hell is the car? Do we have to now make multiple Metal Gear Solid references, which is a game I never played and never will, in order to get it back?

The answer?

Probably.

Yes I know, it's been awhile. But it wasn't because I wasn't playing the game. Because I was. It's just that I was doing a A LOT of sidequests and none of them were worth talking about honestly.

Either way... doing all that got my party to the level 30's. I'm starting to think my party is over-leveled now. Well... better than being under-leveled.

Either way... I did finally move on to the main quest though. As I was doing my sidequests, however, I came across another battle theme.

This one... is dramatic and awesome at the same time. I'd even say it's better than Stand Your Ground.

Spoiler

PERFECTION

Anyway I come across the waterfall in question, and the legend states that something is behind it. So behind I go. What do I find. OF COURSE IT'S ANOTHER DUNGEON. WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?

We get a second dungeon theme as well. Somewhat dramatic. This dungeon is pretty much an ice area. Full of... ice. And slides. YAY. ?

Spoiler

I explore the dungeon to obtain the next Royal Arm. I get attacked by Daemons as I do so. But I fight my way through the area until we reach the Royal Arm and obtain it. Easy enough honestly. Probably because I was over leveled.

We head back to Lestallum to report back and Noctis gets more headaches. He should probably get that checked out. He keeps seeing visions too. About... an area of fire? Ignis seems to think it's a place called the Disc of Cauthess and they can view that area at the lookout so they decide to do that.

When they do however...

OH GOD. NOT YOU AGAIN. IT'S THE SUSPICIOUS GUY FROM BEFORE THAT THREW A COIN AT NOCTIS.

He claims this is a coincidence. Yeah right. However... he gives important information about something called the Archean and says he'll take the group to the Disc. EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS GUY IS THROWING UP SO MANY RED FLAGS.

But... with no other leads... there's pretty much little choice. We learn that the suspicious man's name is Ardyn. The group doesn't think running into this guy is a coincidence. GEE YA THINK?

Either way they suspect he's following him. THIS TIME FOR SURE. STALKER ALERT.

Well... apparently my freedom to explore is about to be restricted. So I'll do the new sidequests that have opened up first before following Mr. Suspicion around some more. Don't worry I'll try to keep them to a minimum this time. Maybe. I'm probably already over-leveled but some extra room for error is always good if you ask me.

Next time:

More sidequest cleanup before my exploration freedom is taken away as we investigate the Disc of Cauthess and this 'Archean'

What will we find? Well... I already looked ahead in my walkthrough.

Here's a hint:

Spoiler

......................................





OH GOD YES.

So... as I was doing the myriad of sidequests, out of nowhere, I got Prompto character development. Apparently, he didn't always used to e the happy-go-lucky jokester that he portrays himself as. He was actually kind of shy as a kid and had trouble making friends and he was worried he wasn't pulling his own weight in the group. But, Noctis assured him he liked Prompto as he is and he's doing fine. WE ALL LOVE YOU PROMPTO.

Either way... eventually... we go to the Chocobo Farm and learn that a Behemoth menace called 'Deadeye' is roaming the area making it impossible to ride Chocobos, so, being the awesome group we are, we join the hunt for him so we can go chocobo riding.

So... as I did this... it did the similar scenes from some of the trailers!! BEST.

This Behemoth... had a broken horn and an impaired eye, explaining it's moniker of 'Deadeye' eventually we trail it in the mist to it's den. I did fairly well here. This part was actually quite good. I loved it. After we sneak into it's den there was really only one thing left to do... take it down.

Now admittedly... I didn't do very well in this fight. Honestly... I sucked.

Not that it mattered. I still won. The only bad part is I didn't get the hear the boss theme for long enough. It was the other AMAZING boss theme known as Omnis Lacrima.

Spoiler

Either way with that complete WE CAN RIDE CHOCOBOS NOW. PERFECTION. But I haven't done so. I waiting for the perfect moment to.

With everything done, I moved on to Lestallum and did a few other sidequests as well. It's quite the big area, after collecting items I met up with Iris in the hotel who informs us that it was... bad in the Crown City. Well... I would think so considering the attack.

But she's okay. In the morning Iris drags Noctis into a tour of the city with her and near the end of teased Noctis thinking it was a date. DON'T BE A TWO-TIMER NOCTIS. Not that he would but still.

With that complete some kid informs us of a rumor of a legendary sword in an area behind a waterfall and the group surmises that it could be another Royal Arm. Oh goodie. More dungeon crawling. Full of monsters trying to kill me. Perfect.

Eh. I'll be okay. Maybe. I had a lot of gil but it all went away as I bought the stuff at the armor vendor. Great. Well I'd better try to get some of it back with some hunts and other quests. So that'll be next. More sidequest cleanup to get my party as strong as possible for the next dungeon.

Next time:

Sidequest cleanup part 2 for dungeon preparation. My party is actually pretty close to the 30's now. If I can get them to the 30's I'll probably be okay. Hopefully anyway. I'm still in love with this game. I'm starting to get addicted to it.

After an array of sidequests Monica informs us of sort of a 'back way' in to the Imperial Base that we need to infiltrate so we go in that way. But it's just Noctis and Cor while the others act as a distraction. By the way, the sidequests got my party to the 20's.

As Noctis and Cor fight their way through the Imperial Troops, we get a different version of Veiled in Black and IT'S EVEN BETTER THAN THE ORIGINAL.

Spoiler

Eventually, after taking out the troops, we go to the entrance to meet back up with everyone, only to be interrupted by some guy named Loqi who comes in on an Imperial Airship and
OF COURSE HE'S USING A MECH. WHAT WOULD AN EVIL EMPIRE BE WITHOUT MECHS?!

Well... guess it's time for our first official 'boss fight'

OH. MY. GOD. THIS BOSS THEME. IT'S THE BEST. EPIC CHANTING. PERFECTION.

Spoiler

.....................................





GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So... not much to say about this boss. Taking out the other soldiers is ideal so you don't get annoyed by them. Then focus on the mech. Abuse Cor's Technique so you can avoid the mech's annoying lighting attack. It's not really weak to anything so I just abused my Greatsword. I wasn't really taking that much damage myself but I had to rescue Gladiolus a few times. Not that it really matters. It may have been because my party was in the 20's. The boss was level 22 though. Still though.

I WON. BECAUSE I'M JUST THAT GOOD THAT'S WHY.



Afterwards, with the base destroyed we can move on to larger areas like Cleigne and Duscae. However, we get a scene with the evil jerks first who seem to be determined to find Luna and kill her as well as Noctis. YEAH YOU GO AHEAD AND TRY AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS.

Once in a rest area in Duscae, we get a phone call from Iris, Gladiolus' sister who was concerned about Noctis but not Gladiolus. Which Ignis figures is due to Noctis' name being the one thrown around as being dead. Still funny though.

Either way she's in Lestallum so that seems to be our next destination. YAY AN ACTUAL CITY. SHOULD BE FULL OF FUN EXPLORATION THAT WILL SIDETRACK ME.

But of course I'm going to do sidequests first again. By the way, I got a new battle theme for this area. Not as good as Stand Your Ground but it's still pretty good.

Spoiler

That's pretty much it.

I'm gaining levels quickly enough so soon I may even be able to take on Daemons. Maybe. Either way Duscae & Cleigne sidequests coming up.

Next time:

Sidequest cleanup once again and possibly the first city we can actually explore. Lestallum.

We meet a woman named Monica who informs the group that Cor is waiting at a nearby 'Royal Tomb' where a past King is at rest. Why would he go to a place like that? Well I suppose we'll just have to go there to find out.

Once there, Cor informs Noctis that it is his duty to collect the Royal Arms now in order to protect his people, which somehow angers Noctis because his father didn't tell him this when he left and just left him with a smile. Cor states that the King wanted Noctis to remember him as his father. Still though, Noctis' emotions are still understandable considering everything that's happened.

Well... Royal Arm get. Yay I guess. It drains your HP as you use it though. I may try it at a later point. Cor also informs us that there's another Royal Tomb nearby and suggests we go get the Royal Arm there so we head that way. Cor even joins the party to help us out. He's... quite powerful. Like the Level 30's powerful.

However... we see the Imperial Army with their dumb annoying ships come into the area. OH GOODIE.

So yeah I had to fight my way through more Imperial Army troops and even some mechs as well. But somehow I got through them all. As we enter the area in question, Cor gives us a key to open the tombs and leaves already. That... didn't last long.

Well either way... it was already night and I tried to go back to a Haven but it wouldn't let me. Luckily Daemons weren't showing up. I guess sometimes they won't show up during certain instances for story purposes? I'll have to keep this mind for later so I may or may not take advantage of it.

So... the dungeon. It was... awesome, dark, creepy, scary, and intriguing all at the same time and the music was quite good. I liked it.

Spoiler

Dramatic...

However... sometimes I got attacked by some of the 'weaker' Daemons and we finally get the Daemon battle theme as well.

Spoiler

Also dramatic.

Not that I died or anything.

Eventually, after a long dungeon trek, what do I find? OF COURSE IT WAS A GIANT SPIDER WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?! KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!! (which ironically is what it was weak too lol)

I survived so that means I won. I make it to the Royal Tomb and get Royal Arm #2. BTW there are 13 in all. Hmm. 13 seems to be an important number in games. Either way we exit the dungeon and get another mission from Cor.

He wants us to destroy a new Imperial Base that has been set up. PERFECT. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WANTED TO DO.

YEAH. YOU'RE IN FOR IT NOW IMPERIAL ARMY. YOU SHALL BE RIPPED A NEW ONE.

All the experience I got from all this got my party to 18. Almost to the 20's.

So now it's once again time to do some sidequest roundup and maybe some other hunts now that I'm in the recommended level for some of them. Although one of the hunts seems to be impossible to do because it's at night again and I can't seem to get to where the monster is at because DAEMONS KEEP POPPING UP.

Well... maybe I can find a way to do it. Eventually. Either way this game is getting quite good. I'm seriously addicted to it and I have to force myself to stop playing it sometimes.

Yeah. I'm in love with it now. It truly is turning into BEST. GAME. EVER.

Next time:

Sidequest roundup, Hunt roundup, and whatever else I feel like doing. Possibly destroying an army base as well. BEST KIND OF ACTIVITY.

Noctis and co. head out to get the item Dino wants. However... they have to sneak past a GINORMOUS bird in order to do so...

Well... I was able to do it... but somehow woke it up on my way back and it knocked Noctis off the cliff. Owie... no game over though.

Well... with the item collected we report back to Dino and give it to him. He apologies for blackmailing us and informs us he's also a jeweler on the side and that's why he wanted the item. He claims he's going to 'pull some strings' to get us a ship. WHATEVER. APOLOGY NOT ACCEPTED.

He also informs us that the mysterious guy from before was giving everyone that coin. The group surmises that he may not be an ordinary citizen. KINDA OBVIOUS DON'T YOU THINK?

But we rest up to take the ship the next day.

However...

The next scene was familiar to me. It is if you watch Kingsglaive anyway. Which I did. Looks like the treaty... was pretty much a farce. Niflheim attacks the King and the barrier around the city goes down. As for the King... well... um...

So... the next morning Noctis wakes up and Ignis gives him the news about the attack. Noctis' reaction is honestly understandable. As for the King... yeah... um... he's dead. Not joking.

Noctis thinks it's all lies so the group decides to see for themselves. The report also states that him and Lunafreya are dead as well. He is? He seems quite alive to me considering I don't have GAME OVER on my screen...

Either way... the entrance to the city is blockaded so we go around. In order to proceed... Noctis and co. are forced to force their way through some Imperial Troops. As far as the fighting... it was a little difficult but I came out victorious in all of them. We also get the next battle theme. THE BATTLE THEME I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR.

Spoiler

Afterwards, Noctis tries calling someone. A guy named Cor. He informs him... that it's true. The King's dead.
DAMN YOU NIFLHEIM.

Cor wants to meet Noctis in Hammerhead so that's our next destination. It's raining too. Almost fitting weather considering the situation...

When we arrive Cindy is glad to see that we're okay and informs us that Cid was worried sick and even pacing waiting for us. Wow. I guess he does care.

Noctis seems to think his father was fooled but Cid informs him that he saw it coming but just refused to go down without a fight.

We're not letting these ***holes get away with this either. It's far from over, as Ignis stated. Cor is waiting for us in a Royal Tomb apparently so that's the next main quest.

But of course I'm going to do sidequests first.

OH. MY. GOD.


THE FREAKING IMPERIAL ARMY ATTACKS YOU WHILE YOU'RE EXPLORING. NOT ONLY THAT, IT WAS ALMOST HAPPENING TO ME EVERY 5 FREAKING SECONDS. GIVE ME TIME TO DO SOMETHING MY GOD.

Well... about the only positive is it gives a good chunk of experience if it happens like that constantly. Which is was for me.

This game is getting INSANE.

However... it's starting to become exactly why I figured it would become.

Which is BEST. GAME. EVER. of course.

Still though... I can take my RAGE out on them at least.

Next time:

Will I even be able to do sidequests or will the Army ATTACK ME CONSTANTLY and prevent me from doing ANYTHING? I guess we'll have to wait and see...

I started off with more sidequests. Which, to be honest, was probably a good thing. Because when I finished them all, I ended up in the double digits for level. Yep, my party is in the 10's now.

Some of the quests were interesting though. A few ended up being from Dave, the guy we helped before. He needed some help locating dog tags. It's kind of similar to those that are in the military I think? They use them for identification. But since he needs help locating them, well, you can surmise what happened to them. Yeah... it's to give the hunters' family closure. Kind of sad honestly. But I helped out and got the dog tags.

One of the few hunts I did had to be done at night time. Yep, the target was a few Daemons. Uh oh...

I swear. Exploring at night is... creepy. I almost felt like I was playing a horror game. Because when you're exploring, unless your at a haven or an outpost that's lit up, the only source of light you get is from random areas or a small flashlight that are on your characters. So... creepy...

I tried to drive to the location but Ignis stopped me and warned me that there was a difference between bravery and stupidity. Yes Ignis I know. Daemons kill unprepared parties.

When I found the Daemons (Goblins) the fight was... kinda intense. But, somehow, I was able to eliminate them all. Yeah I don't know how I did that either. They were only level 7 though so I guess some Daemons are weak.

I also did a bunch of item gathering as well. Which really didn't take that long but I had to span it out because I still refuse to take risks and roam around at night.

Once I was finished I finally moved back to the main quest and made my way to the Goldin Quay which pretty much ended up being a seaside town.

Noctis and co. tried to get a ship but as they did so... they met a suspicious man who informed them that the ships weren't running and said stuff like the truce being a waste of time. SUSPICIOUS PERSON ALERT. POSSIBLE VILLAIN.

He freaking THREW A COIN AT NOCTIS TOO. I hate this guy already.

With that randomness out of the way we go to confirm this man's story and it turns out to be true only to then be confronted by a reporter named Dino who said it wasn't hard to figure out who Noctis was and he would keep quiet if we did something for him. OF COURSE. WHAT HAPPENED TO JOURNALISTS JUST DOING THEIR JOB INSTEAD OF BLACKMAILING PEOPLE?! *sighs*

Well... guess there's little choice. AGAIN.

Since I was in the area I did a few more quests as well. One was actually a tour with Gladiolus who wanted to train with Noctis early in the morning... by racing. On sand. Yeah... okay.

Well I found a way to win the race and complete the tour, which somehow impressed Gladiolus.

Another quest involved trying to help a cat get some food. NOCTIS IS THE BEST. HE EVEN HELPS CATS.



This gave me a chance to try out fishing. To be honest... it's actually not a bad mini game. I can see how you might get a addicted to it. Luckily the fish I needed I already bought but I wanted to try fishing anyway so I could level up Noctis' fishing skill. I might do it more often. Just because I can.

That was about all I did this time.

Next time:

I see if there's any other quests I can do, but if not, I move on with the main story to get the item for Dino so he doesn't blab to everyone that the Prince of Lucis is roaming around. WHY MUST WE BRIBE SOMEONE WHO'S BLACKMAILING US?! Ugh. Whatever. Not like there's a choice anyway.

Not much to talk about really.

I drove around in Regalia and used my Official Strategy Guide to guide me in finding the people around the area to help out to complete sidequests. I pretty much completed them all too and once I rested for the day it was worth it. My party made it to level 8. So I did the next hunt as well.

It took a little longer than the other hunts did but I was still able to complete it.

With pretty much everything done I moved back to the main quest and delivered the item to the person at the hotel. Then... OH MY GOD NOCTIS HAS A PET DOG AND IT'S THE BEST.

We get a flashback scene when Noctis and Lunafreya were kids and I choose what to say in the handbook for the dog to return. Afterwards, with errands complete, Ignis suggests going to an area called the Golden Quay. But before I do that I'll do some more sidequests so I can level up even more and this way I won't have to worry about them later. I also gathered some items around the new outpost area I found myself in.

Next time:

I do more sidequests to level up my party and possibly see what's so important at the Golden Quay that Ignis wants us to go to.

Sorry for the delay. I got busy and I had to go back to one of my doctors so they could put in an order to stop my TPN and take out my pick line which I am now no longer on. Well... that and March Madness.

Anyway...

So as I stated I made my way to the two 'Haven's' so I could do the two tours to get 20 AP for both of them for a nice, practically free, 40 AP to use to get more abilities.

The first one involved Ignis who wanted help from Noctis in cooking breakfast. So we agree. Let's just hope Noctis doesn't burn the whole camp down.

It's all good. Ignis was there to pretty much watch over him. All you really had to do here was spin the left circle button to stir the pot and apprently that's it and somehow that made breakfast taste good. But Noctis doesn't want to do this consistently so Ignis is back to being the main cook for the group. Either way tour complete?

The next tour involved Prompto wanting to take a picture so we go with him to a specific area to do so. But what does he want to take a picture of? He states 'Our Garage Goddess' Okay maybe it's not Cindy that's the stalker and it's actually Prompto?

However, right before we're able to do anything, Cindy finds us. Awkward...

So we have to do a conversation choice mini-montage thing here to try to make sure we don't get caught. I ended up having Prompto say that he just wanted a picture of Hammerhead and it lead to Cindy wanting to look at Prompto's pictures some time. Well... at least we got Prompto out of that jam I guess? Tour complete?

After this I went back to the main quest and heading towards the monster Dave wanted us to get rid of. It turned out to be a large Bloodhorn. My strategy to barrage it with Fire actually didn't work out as well as I was hoping it would. Apparently once you use magic it goes through a 'cool down' period and you can't use it again until the 'cool down' period ends. Luckily the game wanted me to use a Gladiolus Technique so I do so and use my fire-embued giant sword and am able to come out victorious with little damage to show for it.

Afterwards we get another call from Cindy who has heard that we found Dave and thanks us as well as informs us that our car is finally done. OH THANK GOD.

I make my way back to Hammerhead and we get our precious car back and now the road trip TRULY begins as I can drive around now.

So I do so to practice. Normally I'm pretty bad at this but I actually didn't do half bad. Then again I think the game makes sure that you don't drive all over the road.

I gather some items and then decided to do the first two hunts.

The theme that plays during hunts isn't half bad honestly. Kind of dramatic.

Spoiler

I did fairly well in the hunts believe it or not and completed them rather easily. So, I think I'm starting to get the hang of this game because I'm doing better in battles. As the saying goes... 'practice makes perfect'

Either way this game is getting good and fun now. Especially now that I have a car to get me places faster.

Also... Cindy wanted us to do one more thing. I did as my walkthrough suggested and tried to refuse but she forced it on us anyway. 'But thou must'

Looks like I've become an 'errand prince' now. HEY THAT'S THE TITLE OF THE QUEST TOO.

Anyway...

I'm going to do some item cleanup and some of the other quests as well because quests don't just give you gil and items they give you experience as well. Experience is good because it levels you up. Obviously. So I'll be doing that before moving on to the next HUGE area in order to continue the main story. Besides, I'll get more battle practice in as well.

Next time:

I help out some stranded people to get experience and gil and collect some items. If it doesn't take me long to do that then I'll also head to the next area to continue my 'mission' to deliver this item to a hotel owner for Cindy.

Well... I didn't do very well this time. But that's not going to stop me from enjoying this game.

We continue to search for Dave and we find some weird piece of paper describing one of the monsters in the area. Then...

WE GET AMBUSHED IN THE SHACK BY SAID MONSTER.

I didn't have a lot of room to maneuver around so I got beat up quite a bit. But I still came out victorious somehow.

We search for Dave at another shack and Ignis suggests warping up to a windmill then warp striking the monsters nearby to gain an advantage so I do so. At least this time I had more room to maneuver around and didn't get beat up.

Either way afterwards we find Dave and find out that he was hiding out due to a strained ankle. Even though we don't 'look like hunters' he offers us a job to get rid of another monster in the area which we agree to do... for a price of course.

But before we do so... Ignis seems to think we should rest up. Probably a good idea so I can level up. I tried to get an item suggested by my walkthrough but it's really hard to get and it got close to nightfall so I headed towards the Haven in question. I also got a Magic Flask from Dave so now I'm able to absorb Elemental Deposits, near the Haven, and begin crafting spells!! Oh goodie.

So I do so. Most of the enemies are weak to Ice and Fire so I craft those two spells. I rest up at the Haven and level up a bit. Then head back to try to get that item and even though it takes a REALLY long time I FINALLY get it. Ugh.

I go get another item but get beat up EVEN MORE by FREAKING ANNOYING FLYING ENEMIES THAT ARE LEVEL 8. I had to use some Potions and a Phoenix Down just to survive. But I guess all that matters is that I won. I guess.

I got said item and ran back all the way to Hammerhead so I could do some other quests that give 20 AP. I sold some accumulated stuff as well.

Either way the monster in question Dave wants us to get rid of is apparently weak to Fire and luckily the Magic Flask came with a 99 potency Fire.

So I'm going to try to do these 2 'Tours' involving Ignis and Prompto so I can get more AP to get more skills and then try to move on to taking out the monster Dave requested us to take out. My plan right now is to just abuse my 99 potency Fire.

Hopefully I'll do better next time. But it's not like I got a Game Over... so...

Next time:

I do these 20 AP Tours and hopefully will have enough time to take down this monster Dave has requested us to take out

We talk with Cindy and explain the situation. Apparently... Cid seemed to realize that this was going to happen so he told Cindy to offer us a job getting rid of some monsters in the area that are causing problems and we'll get paid for it. Well... with no funds there's little choice so we agree. Cindy is nice enough to gift us 1,000 gil though.

So we head out to eliminate the monsters. But not before I bought better equipment and changed up Noctis and co's attire as well as suggested by my walkthrough. To be honest... getting lost is actually quite easy. It happened to me fairly quickly. YES. THE AREA IS THAT BIG. Guess that's going to happen A LOT with an open-worlded Final Fantasy.

Either way... I defeated the first pack of monsters before I ended up getting lost. The game jumpscared me a few times though with some unexpected enemy encounters but I survived them all pretty much. It turned into night and Cindy warned us of daemons that roam at night and I wasn't about to risk a Game Over this early in the game so I returned to Hammerhead, sold some stuff, and rested for the night. No level up though. I wasn't able to do enough.

Well I continued the next day and took out the rest of the monsters. Afterwards, we get a phone call from Cindy. HOW THE HELL DID SHE GET NOCTIS' PHONE NUMBER?! POSSIBLE STALKER ALERT.

Either way... we inform her of our completed mission and now she gives us a new mission. To track down a person this time. A guy named Dave that hasn't been heard from for awhile. Well... more money and experience is always a good thing I suppose so we agree. We're informed he was last seen in a nearby run-down shack so we head that way to investigate.

Unfortunately, once again, this was all I was able to do. But I have to admit, now that I'm fighting enemies and in the midst of things... the fun factor is increasing.

Slowly... but surely... it's doing exactly what I thought it would do. Turning into BEST. GAME. EVER.

Next time:

We try to track down Dave. Will we find him? Is he alive or dead? I guess we'll find out...