Hello, and Welcome to this LP. Here, I am going to show off one of the best New Old-Fashioned games I know of: Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light.
Now, T4HoL is a side game in the Final Fantasy series which used some plot elements of the main series in a fun (relatively) light-hearted adventure with a storybook motif and bizarre difficulty: Sometimes easy as pie, other times almost impossible.
For now, I'll set aside this page to reference gameplay elements that won't be obvious to players, like information on Weapon proficiency and stats. Most story information will instead be discussed when it comes up.
Right now, let's talk about who these 4 heroes are. Here's what the manual and game introduction says about them:
Brandt:
Guide: Brandt is kindhearted, even if he is a bit scatterbrained, and has a great sense of right and wrong. His strong personality draws others to him, but some rebel against his pushy ways.
Game: This stout-hearted village youth doesn't know much about etiquette but he knows right from wrong.
He likes to take the lead with robust cheer; some people enjoy his enthusiasm, but others think he's just pushy.
Other details: Brandt lives in the city-state of Horne with his mother and pet parrot (Who seems to have been with the family since about the time Brandt was born). His father was an adventurer, but that's all we know about him besides that he isn't around anymore (even the timeframe of what happened to him or when is impossible to pin down). The story initially starts with him going to the king to be recognized as an adult: a rite of passage for Horne citizens.
Jusqua:
Guide: Jusqua is intellectual and realistic, and for the most part acts very mature. But he can be surprisingly childish when he doesn't want to do something. He has been spending a lot of time around the castle recently.
Game: This village youth has been spending a lot of time at the castle lately.
He is pragmatic and sharp as a tack. But he can also be childish and, for some people, a pain in the neck.
Other details: Jusqua seems to be a friend of Brandt, or at least they know each other well (This would be natural for a close-knit farming community like Horne). Interestingly, artwork depicts him as practicing magic in secret, which is interesting considering that magic is banned in Horne...
Yunita:
Guide: Yunita is a female knight, stoic and loyal to the royal family. Her ability to stay alert and notice even the smallest details are impressive, but she tends to get overwrought and easily stressed.
Game: This dutiful lady warrior of the castle can always be relied upon to carry out orders.
Her sharp eyes rarely miss a trick, but sometimes she stresses too much over the small stuff.
Other Details: Yunita is the personal bodyguard of Princess Aire, and probably one of the people who knows her best. At the start of the story, she's already in the thick of the action on a mission to rescue her charge with the rest of Horne's military, but...
Aire:
Guide: Aire is a bright and cheerful princess of Horne. She loves to talk and she can cheer up even the gloomiest of gatherings, but only if she stops thinking of herself long enough to notice others.
Game: The castle princess is bright, cheerful, and loves to talk. She can raise spirits and bring parties to life in the direst of situations.
On the other hand, everyone agrees that she is completely self-centered. But then, she would be, being a princess and all...
Other details: Princess Aire is the second of two daughters of the King of Horne. She never knew her mother, who fell into a coma shortly after she was born and did not survive. At the start of the story, she has been kidnapped by a nearby witch, but the party is in no position to know why...
