Disclaimer: The downloadable chapters are broken. So only the prologue will appear in this blog until that bug is fixed.
The title screen is your typical minimalist FF design. Select a new game, and get treated to this bit of Exposition:
In an age long past, the world was suffocating under the crushing grip of war. Only the efforts of the idealistic Avalonian Empire was enough to bring the warm embrace of peace to the land and lead it towards a new age of prosperity.
Do I spot an aversion of The Empire? Could be.
What follows is a scroll across a forested world, and an impressive reproduction of Mode 7 from the SNES era. I feel nostalgic already. Inside the forest is a figure (can't tell gender with these sprites) in a Nice Hat. He says something about feeling the noise, and then we cut back to the world map to see an airship fly by.
Next we're at a graveyard. A guy with a horned helm and a cape is all alone, but is telling someone named Sigurd that it's time to go. Has he named his sword? Is he talking to the gravestone? Is he just schizo? We won't find out now, because we're now scrolling across the world map to a castle.
Next, we see a boy walking in the forest. An earthquake begins. An airship flies by. He names it as Avalonian, and he doesn't seem happy to see it.
Finally, we get a FF 6 style introduction to him. He's identified as "A strong, hot-headed youth from the small kingdom of Lux. Dreams of riding an airship." What a surprise, a Squeenix game with Gratuitious Latin. Also, that seems like a pretty small dream - just ride in an airship? Not own one, or pilot one? Are airship rides that rare, or is he just that callow?
Anyway, I take the default name of Sol, because I'm just that lazy. Lux, Sol? Sensing a trend, here.
Wait, a ponytailed boy just ran out of the woods and attacked me! The battle system is essentially the same as FF 6 so far, with the standard Attack, Item, etc options and an ATB gauge. Sol appears to have Counter as an innate ability, so the battle ends quickly.
Now I get an intro screen for ponytail. It says "A kind-hearted young lad. Childhood pal of Sol, the two have a friendly rivalry." A wild RIVAL appears! FIGHT ITEM... wait, wrong game.
This kid's default name is Glaive. ...They really are laying on the meaningful names rather thick, aren't they. After a cute scene, I'm introduced to yet another character. A girl with blue hair, who seems to disaprove of the boys' squabbling.
"A cheerful young woman. Has a loving older brother. Treats Sol like a kid." Her name is Diana. A moon reference to Sol's sun? Love Interest ahoy!
The three reveal that they've all snuck out to greet Diana's brother, who is returning from some sort of expidition today. Sol reminds Diana to watch out for monsters, and she asks if he isn't going to protect them. He replies in the affirmative, she makes a crack about him being recruited by the Empire, and he seems offended by the thought. Hmm, perhaps we're talking about The Empire after all.
Now it's tutorial time. Movement and interaction seem easy enough. Giving it a try, it works pretty much like Chaos Rings, so away we go.
Looking at the menu, it appears that Diana is our resident White Mage, at least to start. What a surprise. Sol has Counter innately and Glaive has Focus. There's a Job option, but I don't have any jobs to pick from (yet).
I'm going to save the game and take a break for a bit. Tune in later for more nostalgic adventures.
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