HCBailly plays Final Fantasy II AGAIN - Part 41 of 65

In this entry, we head down to Castle Fynn's basement to get the White Mask.

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Castle Fynn Basement

Map (by Paco)

The chests at the beginning contain worthless items.

Blind is a Body elemental spell and requires Barrier to be Level 7 to block it.

The Parasites are Rank 4 can drain your MP with their physical attacks, and they are weak to Ice.

The Changers - which could be met in the Black Mask Cave earlier - can cast Swap to swap stats with one of your party members, making that specific person much easier to kill. That's not good, as they basically have less than you. They are also Rank 3 enemies, so good luck gaining experience from them. They are weak to Mind elemental spells.

The Brains can cast Fog and Mute on you. They are Rank 5 and are weak to Mind elemental spells, and for some reason, they are considered Werebeast-type enemies.

The Flame Shield will cut the amount of damage dealt from Fire-based spells dramatically. It is also one of the very few items in the game that resists Ice, and it has no equipment weight. There are only two of these in the game.

The Stalagmite is Rank 4, but there is nothing special about it and it not have any elemental weaknesses.

The Blood Sword is really useful for battle. Despite having absolutely no attack power, hitting an enemy with it will drain its HP. The amount you get is directly proportional to the stricken enemy's max HP. This is really good for bosses, as it makes it easier to keep one of your party members alive. Not surprisingly, HCBailly bans it this time around, as bosses will have so much HP that it can deal thousands of HP worth of them, especially when they start getting status immunities. 

PrinceWatercress plays Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves - Part 7 of 42

In this entry, we foil Octavio's plans once and for all...even if things hit a bit of a snag.

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Adrenaline Burst works just like it did in the second game: assign it to a button and press it, and at the cost of a little bit of special energy, Bentley will get a quick burst of speed for a second.

Tar Ball

You'll need to be Bentley to play this job.

When you reach the job marker, Murray will catch up with Bentley, but Bentley gets irritated with Murray's new re-emphasis towards peace. Murray admits that he feels guilty about not being able to save Bentley from being horribly crushed by Clock-La's steel beak at the end of the second game, but Bentley tells Murray that he never blamed him for being paralyzed from the waist down and that he feels worse about losing Murray. Murray then mentions his promise to his Guru to meditate peacefully until "the black water runs pure," but Bentley tells him that he can still help by using his Aboriginal ball form to clog the tar reservoirs located throughout town.

From here, you'll finally play as Murray for the first time. You'll have a new gadget for this game: Be The Ball, which allows Murray to enter his ball form. Press L1 (or whatever button you'd like to assign it to) to enter ball form. You can roll around by moving like you always do, but if you press X, you can bounce. By pressing X as soon as you hit the ground, you can maintain your bounce, and if you get to higher places, pressing X upon hitting the ground lets you maintain that high height.

To get launched into the air, however, you'll need some help. Thankfully, there is an open manhole nearby. Enter ball form and drop into it, then you'll get launched into the air. Use the left stick or D-Pad to control where Murray goes, and press X upon hitting the ground to maintain your height. Be sure to use L3 when you need to in order to find the tar reservoirs, and when you reach one, press X when you land on it to get back up high into the air while smashing the reservoir.

Once you destroy the tar reservoirs, you'll get a cutscene where "Operation: Tar Be Gone!" Sly will have to use his disguise to sneak into the opera house and let Bentley in through the side entrance so he can destroy the tar vacuum. From there, Bentley will distract Octavio by challenging him to an opera duel so that Sly can drop the lines to the chandelier and drop it on Octavio's head. From there, Bentley can take the detonation switch away from Octavio, and the "black water will run pure" again.

Operation: Tar Be Gone!

You'll have to play as Sly to start this mission. Once you get it started, equip your Venice Disguise and use it to get entry to the opera house. (This is where the Octavio chase ended in the last video.) Once you're inside, you'll have to get to the tar vacuum. If you have to do any passwords, you'll do it with the person who asks you for one only once. Also, don't drop your disguise; otherwise, you'll be found out and you'll have to do this part over again.

When you reach the passage leading downstairs, you'll run into Octavio. When you get the password right, he will tell you to pass word to the rest of the guards that he is not to be disturbed during his opera recital under any circumstances. From here, Sly will ask for help getting into the pump room while in disguise. From here, you'll be doing another double button door much like earlier in the level, and once the door opens, you can get into the pump room and let Bentley in through a side entrance.

From here, you'll play as Bentley. Place bombs on the valves with the Triangle button. When you blow a valve up once, oil will spill out and you'll have to bomb it again. When a valve is on fire, it's destroyed. Enemies will start popping up once you blow up at least two of the valves; let Sly take care of the enemies while you go for the valves.

After all six valves are destroyed, it's time for the next phase. Bentley will challenge Octavio to an opera sing-off. This event is a quick time event where you have to watch the button commands at the bottom of the screen and then press the correct buttons at the correct time. (If this seems familiar, the dance mini-games from the second episode of the second game worked the same time.)

At the end of the sing-off, Sly cuts the rope off the drop the roof, but Carmelita shows up and shoots the roof with her shock pistol, wrecking everything. This allows Octavio to run away, and you'll need to chase him on the motorboat. Once again, you'll need to shoot down Octavio's boat while not only avoiding the usual things from the battle with the Blue Viper Gondola Gang, but you'll also have to jup over blockades of cop avoid the barriers that Octavio throws at you. Some of these barriers will be horizontal, while others will be vertical. Take your time lining yourself up with Octavio and get shots in while you can, and make sure you jump over everything in your path.

Once you shoot down Octavio's boat, it's back to the town square. Murray will be there when Octavio blows up a building and knocks Bentley out of his wheelchair, and he finally puts peace aside to smack Octavio around.

Octavio will have two attacks: a ground pound with a damaging shockwave that you will have to jump over, and a flash kick. Get two punches in with the Square button, then jump away with a single jump. You'll want to get Octavio stuck in the tar in order to make your move. If Octavio bends back as if he is pain after the two punches, jump back, as he is about to do a somersault kick. If he does a somersault after the two punches, double jump to avoid the ground pound and shockwave. Octavio also has two other moves that he can only perform if he's not stuck in the tar. Octavio has a charge attack, but if he's in the tar, he won't be able to use it; otherwise, sidestep when he charges at you. Ditto with the stomp attack, which he can use to dodge your punches if he's not in the tar.

When the tar disappears into the center of the arena, you'll have to wait until a Murray icon appears in the center. When it appears, go up to it and press Circle to get the tar flowing around the arena again.

When you get Octavio down to half health, you'll have to run to the town square. Hold R1 to run, use L3 to see where you need to go, and don't let Octavio get near you and attack. Eventually, you'll make it to the town square where you'll have to fight Octavio. This time around, Octavio has a singing attack that packs quite a punch. You can sidestep it and get punches in from there if there is tar all over the ground, but if you jump into the air and hit him with a belly flop by pressing Square in mid-air, you can knock Octavio back and out of the attack. I didn't really try this until near the end of the battle when I re-tried here. You can tell he's about to do the singing attack when he gets one arm up into the air and he moves his mouth.

Once you beat Octavio, Octavio is done. The demolition switch is taken away from Octavio, who gets arrested and sent to jail, and Bentley is helped back up. Meanwhile, Murray switches back to his usual Cooper Gang gear and joins the gang, becoming the first person to join the team.

Once you beat an episode, you'll get something for the episode called the Master Thief Challenges. These Master Thief Challenges are harder versions of the jobs you've done in the episode, with some of them being done either within a time limit, with half a full health bar, or with another additional caveat. I will handle these after the main game.

Controls:

D-Pad/left analog stick: Move

X: jump/double jump

Square: attack

Circle: use to interact with sparkles, steal from enemies (from behind; with Sly)

Triangle:

• charge up cane, knock enemies into the air (from behind; with Sly, use Square afterwards to slam enemy down)
• drop bombs (Bentley)
• uppercut (Murray)

Select: access Gadget Grid

• D-Pad/Left analog stick: select gadget/ability
• L1, L2, and R2 buttons: assign gadget to button pressed; gadget can then be used with that button

Start: Pause/unpause

• D-Pad/left analog stick: choose options
• X: confirm choice
• Triangle: back out of choice

L3: bring up waypoint

R3: use Binocucom

• Left analog stick/D-Pad: look around
• Right analog stick: move in and out
• R1: take picture

R1: run (hold down)

Right analog stick: move camera

As Carmelita:

• Left analog stick/D-Pad: move
• Right analog stick/D-Pad: move camera/aim
• Triangle: toggle between strafe mode and free movement
• Square: kick
• Circle: mega jump
• X: jump and double jump
• R1: shoot

HCBailly plays Final Fantasy II AGAIN - Part 40 of 65

In this entry, we get some backstory on quite a few things, including the Airship, Mythril, the Dragoons and the White and Black Masks.

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World Map (by Rick Bruns)

Mysidia

Map (by Paco)

Buy Mallets, as the enemies coming up will hit you with Amnesia, which is the permanent version of Silence. The Gold Needles will cure the Petrify status, so you'll probably need those too if your Esuna spell isn't strong enough.

The staircase in the ground takes you to the Goddess Statue. You won't be able to do anything with it, however.

There is a bookcase in the house in the lower-left corner of the town. If you go to it and use some of your keywords, you'll get some nice background information on the game, including why Ultima was sealed. By choosing Mythril, you'll find out that Mythril is strong and easy to forge and responsive to magic. Choosing Airship will reveal that technological advances produced the Airship and that technology could one day replace magic. If you pick Sunfire, you'll find out about the legendary origin of it: a star fell to what became Kashuan and a man took flame from the star and built an altar for it. Picking Goddess' Bell will reveal that long, a king asked for an indestructible lock and key; three were made, but the first two were broken in two days, but the third key remained unbroken was hidden by the king in a snowy cavern. That key was the Goddess' bell. Piking Dragoon will reveal that Desit was the home of the Wyverns and that Haan, the first Dragoon, spent 30 years alongside them. Picking Wyvern will explain the Wyverns: the Wyvern was trained to fly with Dragoons. Though smaller than dragons, a Wyvern can carry up to five people. Picking Mysidia will reveal that the town was founded so that mages could remain secluded, as they were too powerful. Picking Ultima Tome will reveal how eons ago, Pandaemonium, the palace from Hell, emerged in the human world, and that the mages conjured a mighty spell and banished it. Fearing the power of Ultima, they then sealed it within a tower.

If you pick Mask, you'll learn that you will need to give the White Mask to the Goddess underground. "If thou art pure of heart, the doppelganger will cease to move. Fit the Black Mask upon him, then he and his defiled heart shall fade." Both Masks will lead you to the Crystal Rod, which you need in conjunction with the Masks to break the seal on Mysidia Tower. It is guarded by the Goddess Statue enshrined near the town.

The weapons in the Weapon Shop are pretty powerful. If you're mastering a certain weapon type, buy it.

The Thief Gloves in the Armor Shop boost Agility as well as Defense.

There's a lot of magic to buy in the Magic Shop. Change is pretty good (and breaks the game) when you've leveled it up enough. 

Werewolf is a Werebeast-type enemy, and it does not have an elemental weakness.

From here, return to Fynn and head to the castle basement. If you've opened it up before, just press A at the wall to re-open it.

(YTP) Paula Deen Gets Arrested (originally by AllanRWO)

For cannibalism!

Also, just because you say the word salad doesn't mean it has to be salad.

PrinceWatercress plays Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves - Part 6 of 42

In this episode, we ruin the advertising for Octavio's upcoming opera recital, then Carmelita and her mercenaries get to shoot down Octavio's aerial forces.

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The Combat Dodge allows Sly to quickly sidestep attacks at the push of a button in exchange for some special energy. The Knockout Dive is a downward dive that does a lot of damage from above, and also uses special energy. At least it's more powerful than the regular mid-air strike (which kills all forward momentum if you are jumping forward while using it, which is something I never mention throughout the Let's Play).

At this point, you may run into Carmelita. Her flashlight is bright white as opposed to yellow and has far more range, and if she sees you with the flashlight, she will shoot at you and chase you around for a good while. Your only way of escape is to hold R1 and get away from her as fast as you can, as hiding will not work and she will find you if you even try it.

Run 'n Bomb

You'll need to play as Sly to do this one.

Bentley has taken a Carnivale fireworks stand and turned it into a base of operations, and you'll be using the fireworks to take out the sign and balloons advertising Octavio's upcoming opera recital. 

The first thing you'll need to do is take some dynamite to the nearby blue arrow. Hold R1 to run and smack the enemies with your cane so they don't attack you. If you get hit, the dynamite blows up, and you'll have to start this part over. When you get the dynamite to the destination, one of the balloons will fly away.

From here, head to the fireworks stand for another target. Use L3 if you need to find it. The next destination is a little further away, so use L3 if you need help finding it as you run through the streets of Venice. This will get rid of the other balloon.

Unfortunately, the balloon will get caught on the sign, which you'll also need to destroy. You'll have to get to the side of the building where the sign is and spire jump from fixture to fixture, then get to the sign, jump where the cigarette on the mustache is and smack the sign with your cane to free the other balloon while also destroying the sign, killing two birds with one stone. Getting up here can be a tad difficult, as you'll be hanging on and jumping off hooks while also spire jumping on narrow poles and even sidling across a narrow platform on the way up. This is one job that you really don't want to rush through too quickly.

From here, Bentley gets kidnapped. Head back to the fireworks stand, and you'll find Octavio grabbing Bentley by the wheelchair. From here, you'll have to hold R1 to run while you chase after him. If he gets too far away, you'll have to start over. As you chase after Octavio, he will drop red electric barriers that you will have to jump over. Also, watch out for enemies; they can definitely get in the way. When you make it to the opera house near the town square at the end, Octavio will let Bentley go.

Turf War!

You'll need to play as Sly to start this job.

Get to one of the roofs near the police station to start this one. From here, one of the Vincinetti goons that acts as Octavio's aerial security will start chasing Bentley. Sly will knock on the door of the police station, and this starts a gameplay section where the unthinkable happens: the mercenaries come out, and you play as Carmelita...and it's fucking awesome.

The left analog stick and D-Pad moves, R1 shoots, Square kicks nearby enemies, Triangle switches between strafe mode and free movement, X jumps and double jumps and Circle performs a mega jump.

When in strafe mode, use the right analog stick to move the camera and change the direction that Carmelita is looking and aiming. If anything is in the orange target area, you can shoot at it. When the enemies are gone, switch from strafe mode to free movement to make it easier to get to the next part of the battle, which you can find with L3.

The Vincinettis will shoot at you and throw bombs at you. If you see a red light anywhere, get away from it, as it will be a bomb that is about to start flashing and soon detonate. When the enemies start spinning around, they're going down. You'll want to stay on the move and not stay in the same place for very long when fighting the Vincinettis, or else you're going to get pounded very quickly. At the town square, you can move around in a circle to avoid being shot, and you can more easily avoid any bombs.

Eventually, you'll take out all of the Vincinettis, and that will be one more job down.

Controls:

D-Pad/left analog stick: Move

X: jump/double jump

Square: attack

Circle: use to interact with sparkles, steal from enemies (from behind; with Sly)

Triangle:

• charge up cane, knock enemies into the air (from behind; with Sly, use Square afterwards to slam enemy down)
• drop bombs (Bentley)

Select: access Gadget Grid

• D-Pad/Left analog stick: select gadget/ability
• L1, L2, and R2 buttons: assign gadget to button pressed; gadget can then be used with that button

Start: Pause/unpause

• D-Pad/left analog stick: choose options
• X: confirm choice
• Triangle: back out of choice

L3: bring up waypoint

R3: use Binocucom

• Left analog stick/D-Pad: look around
• Right analog stick: move in and out
• R1: take picture

R1: run (hold down)

Right analog stick: move camera

As Carmelita:

• Left analog stick/D-Pad: move
• Right analog stick/D-Pad: move camera/aim
• Triangle: toggle between strafe mode and free movement
• Square: kick
• Circle: mega jump
• X: jump and double jump
• R1: shoot

HCBailly plays Final Fantasy II AGAIN - Part 39 of 65

Our trip to Mysidia introduces us to a bunch of new enemies...and a bunch of glitches.

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World Map (by Rick Bruns)

There is a bug with Aura in the Famicom version where it grants your weapon the ability to exploit a certain creature type for additional damage depending on how high the level for the spell is, and for each level you gain for it, you can exploit an additional creature type in addition to the one it's supposed to work on. At Level 8, it is supposed to make you strong against undead-type enemies, but that does not work.

Walking to Mysidia introduces you to new enemies. The Ghosts are Rank 5 Undead, Spellcaster, Magic Beast and Earth-type enemies, and are weak to fire. They will cast Scourge, so make sure you have a Gold Shield on hand to protect against it, and they can drain your HP with their physical attacks. They can also cast Curse, Stun, and Mini on you at high levels, too.

The Flying Rays (FlyngRay) have no special abilities or status abilities to inflict, but they are Rank 5.

The Mantis is Rank 5 and weak to Ice. 

The Vampire Girl (VmpGirl) are Rank 5 can cast Temptation on the party and Charm them. They are Undead, Spellcaster, Magic Beast and Earth-type enemies, and Fire is particularly useful against them.

Mysidia

Map (by Paco)

Ask around, and you'll find out that the Black Mask is on a small island in the middle of the sea. This is how you're supposed to find out about the Black Mask, which we got earlier in the game. You'll also find out that it is time to break the seal on the nearby tower, and that you'll need the Black Mask and the White Mask in order to do it and get the Crystal Rod. You'll also learn that a statue of a goddess beneath the city watches over the Crystal Rod, and that Minwu went to this tower.

In the stores, you can buy the Flame Spear, which is much more powerful than the Demon Spear. The Demon Spear is still useful for certain monsters, however. You can also buy the Ice Shield in this town as well as the Thief's Gloves, as well as spells from previous towns. However, this is the only one to have Barrier (which gives resistance to elements depending on the level), Wall (which protects against black magic and enemy skills up to the level of the spell), Swap (which swaps HP and MP with the enemy, assuming the enemy has MP) and Holy (a powerful non-elemental White magic attack that kills off the undead).

Barrier has two bugs in the Famicom version. It is supposed to give you Ice resistance at Level 8, but it doesn't do that, and the elements that the game tells you that you are protected against are out of order.

Holy's base power level is 15 instead of 10, and is useful against enemies that absorb elemental damage.

HCBailly plays Final Fantasy II AGAIN - Part 38 of 65

In this entry, we head back to Fynn, check out some new spells, and face some powerful magical enemies. 

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World Map (by Rick Bruns)

Fynn

Map (by Paco)

If you talk around, you'll find out that Paul the Ninja has made it back home.

Dispel removes elemental resistances and buffs from enemies, but it is bugged in the Famicom version. Mini turns enemies tiny and is an instant death spell as enemies can't cure it. It has the highest base accuracy of any white magic spell in the Famicom version (in other versions, it's Teleport). Fog is the permanent version of Silence and inflicts Amnesia, which enemies cannot recover from. Slow reduces the number of hits that the target can inflict on you, but it can underflow and raise the number of hits the enemy can inflict to the maximum, making them a real pain.

Unlike future games, Mini (which is in the magic shop in Phin) and Toad (in one of the chests in Castle Phin) are considered instant death spells (Black magic type and White magic type, respectively). They're also the most accurate of the instant death spells as well. They can also be multi-targeted, which can effectively make the game a lot easier and sometimes even break the game in some parts.

You can buy the Werebuster and the Wing Sword here if you need them.

While you're in the town, get a Giant Helm for Firion for later on, as well as some Gold Cuirasses. The Giant Helm will decrease his evasion, but increase his accuracy. Also, Quartz Plates for your party. They're just 1000 Gil apiece and they're really light.

The house in the lower-left corner of town is Paul's house. Ask him about Ekmet Teloess. He'll tell you that there is a White Mask behind a secret door in Castle Fynn, and to check the upper-right corner of the audience chamber (which is essentially the throne room).

Castle Fynn

Map (by Paco)

The Sorcerers are in the chests with the Aura spellbook, and they can be pretty nasty: along with Fire 8, they can cast Deth 6 (Death) on your entire party if you're not careful. The Deth spell is like the Doom spell in the later games. Shell can protect against it, but so can the Protect Ring Interestingly, the Aura bestows the target's weapon with a Creature-type property that allows the character to do more damage to certain Creature-type enemies.

There is a stairway leading to a Mirror Chamber in the southwest corner of the ground floor, but you won't need the chamber until later. The Break spell is an instant death spell that permanently Petrifies enemies. Death is obviously an instant death spell, as is Toad, which turns enemies into Toads and is the black magic equivalent of Mini.

Head to the upper-right corner of the throne room and press A at the wall. Use the Ask command, select Ekmet Teloess and you'll be able to access the hidden passage. This leads to the basement, but before you go down here, you can find a secret passage leading to Gold Armor, a Golden Shield and a Gold Cuirass. The Armor is heavy, but the Shield is useful against Poison-type attacks and you'll need the Gold Cuirass for later.