Oh yes, yes... I am so looking forward to start my New Game+ and I think I am almost done by the time I write this post. Let me update the 'equipment' I am 'packing' to prepare for the new story game. ;)
Materias
After my careful consideration of Materias, I have decided on: 1) Curaga; 2) Hell Firaga; 3) Hell Blizzaga; 4) Hell Thundaga; 5) Quake; 6) Flare; 7) Costly Punch; 8) SP Master. Yep, these are my final 8 materias that I think are most devastating, destructive, and gives me solid defences as well. I can only use 6 at any one time, so it is likely I seldom use SP Master and Hell Blizzaga. But still, I have pumped all 8 of them to the max... and guess what? 6 times over!
Yes, I have 6x Curaga, 6x Hell Firaga, 6x Hell Blizzaga, 6x Hell Thundaga, 6x Quake, 6x Flare, 6x Costly Punch, 6x SP Master... Each type of these materias has max stats for six different attributes of +ATK 100, +VIT 100, +MAG 100, +SPR 100, +LCK 100, +HP 999%, so therefore 8x6 = 48 materias in total. Why this crazy? Well, it is for convenience sake mainly, and with this arrangement I have flexibility in switching and varying my materia use. Besides, 48 out of 255 maximum amount of materias allowed to carry is not too bad, I still have plenty of slots to collect new materias. Anyway, I have spent about 50million SPs to do that, which translate to about 85million gils, meaning I roughly mugged at Minvera at least 170 times! (**Not to mention I still have 30+million gils and 20+million SPs balance now**) Haha... so much for the numbers. ;-)
Accessories & Items
I have completed almost all of the missions (sadly, missed missions 4-3-X), so I am bringing over all my ultimate Accessories except for Heike Soul. As for quantity of Genji Helm, I am not as crazy as some people who feel that buying 99 of this satisfy their desire for 'perfecting' the game, as I rather use that 99million gils to make me the above materias. No offense anyway, but i guess I would only do that if I got a savegame hack or something. Otherwise I cannot afford that much time, and I feel bored of farming at Minerva for hundreds of times already. Once again, the ultimate Accessories are: 1) Heike Soul, 2) Divine Slayer, 3) Genji Glove, 4) Genji Shield, 5) Genji Armor, 6) Genji Helm, 7) Ziedrich.
From my own perspective of 'perfecting' the game, I keep 1 quantity of all Items and Accessories that I know of and within my reach, selling off extra sets. As for more powerful ones, I would keep as much as up to 4pieces and sell off the rest. Well, I am just being my logical self as I think that the maximum Zack can carry is only 4 Accessories, so no point at all keeping more than 4. But anyway, it is just personal. You may want to keep 99 of each Item if you like as long as you are happy.
Alright, I am going back to my game now. So have fun and enjoy the game! ;-)
Thursday, March 26, 2009
FF7 CC Advanced Materia Fusion
This section is more directed to players who have access to the Minerva (Mission 9-6-6), so that gil and SP farming are at most efficient levels of the game, as what I am presenting today requires MILLIONS of both resources. Without further delay, let's go...
Okay, if you have made it this far here I can safely assume we are all FF7 CC millionaires now. By now we should have already gone through some time-consuming and painful hardship of fusing some powerful materias to help get by to later missions. Well, the good news is that there are efficient methods to produce them with less time and effort required compared to when you were at earlier stages of the game. For those of you who are experimental like I am, you might probably already know so feel free to skip, however, I am just sharing my game experience with fellow FF7 CC fans whoever needs it:-
Materias come in various grades and classes as we know, and like what I emphasised in my previous blog post, I just care about what are my chosen materias (the end result of the materia I want to have). Basically, I am sure most people would agree that any materia in its highest grade of its class is likely to be strongest and powerful, for that is a logical fact. So to better illustrate my coming explanation, I recommend you to grab a copy of a materia list containing its class and grade levels - I use one from AbsoluteSteve.
To begin fusing, we not only place the resulting materia we want in slot 1, we also need what I call a 'neutral' materia just to fill up slot 2 if you know what I mean. Because the idea now is that we no longer use the attributes of the slot 2 materia to infuse into slot 1's (remember the HP Up/Up+ materia fusing?), and instead we rely on Item this time. Referring to the materia grade list, the best 'neutral' materia I recommend is the Libra materia (as Libra is Grade 1,2,3... to Grade 8), meaning to say most materias when fused with Libra returns you your slot 1 materia (unless materia is mastered where resulting materia might change to another class/type). Or alternatively, quite a number of materias out there when you fuse both of the same class/type also gives you your desired resulting materia (unless again, you have any mastered materia).
So you have 2 ways of using a 'neutral' materia now. Next thing we need to look at is the materia attributes. The materia you are holding may have no attributes, a +10% MP, a +1 SPR, a +1 ATK, etc. The good news is, it does not matter. ;)
This is because if you have gone through most parts of the game as well as its missions, you already own many of these attribute-switching Items such as Fat Chocobo Feathers, Hero Drink, Adamantite, etc., and you only need 1 quantity to switch materia attribute at any one fusion process. From my experience, I received Fat Chobobo Feathers about twice as many quantity than the other Items.
I hope you are still following my concept so far, we are almost there. Now, the turning point. Remember the Items we used to enhance the HP Up or HP Up+ materias? Yes... Potions, Hi-Potions, X-Potions (quite silly to use this although enhances effect much higher). Logically we all know that Hi-Potion is better than Potion, X-Potion is better than Hi-Potion, right? The tricky question is this: What is the best Potion then? If you say Elixir, you are almost there for there is something better than that... YES! PHOENIX DOWN !!! Why not? Phoenix Down not only gives back life to Zack, it also does a full HP restore, and it is as rare as Elixir for both Items are not for sale in any shops. ;-)
With regards to enhancing effect, we know that every 10 Potions give a +1 or +10% attribute increase up to a certain limit. But for Phoenix Down, 1 piece itself adds a +1 or +10% increase in attribute, but NO LIMIT, so that's how you can blast the attributes up to +999% HP. So, piecing the puzzle together, let me provide an example to help see the big picture:
Step 1 -
1) Quake +1 MAG Materia in slot 1
2) Libra lvl 1 Materia in slot 2
3) 1x Fat Chocobo Feather in Item slot
*This process returns you Quake Materia with HP attributes.
Step 2 -
1) Quake +10% HP Materia in slot 1
2) Libra lvl 1 Materia in slot 2
3) 99x Phoenix Down in Item slot
*This process now enhances Quake Materia to Quake +999% HP.
Step 3 (optional) -
1) Quake +999% HP Materia in slot 1
2) Libra lvl 1 Materia in slot 2
3a) 1x Hero Drink in Item slot (to change Quake +999% HP to Quake +100 ATK)
3b) 1x Adamantite in Item slot (to change Quake +999% HP to Quake +100 VIT)
3c) 1x Dark Matter in Item slot (to change Quake +999% HP to Quake +100 MAG)
3d) 1x Mythril in Item slot (to change Quake +999% HP to Quake +100 SPR)
3e) 1x Gysahl Greens in Item slot (to change Quake +999% HP to Quake +100 LCK)
***Note: There are also Items which can be used to change the Quake +999% HP to Quake +999% AP or MP as well, but I do not recommend this as I personally think AP and MP are not important anymore once you are able to own a Genji Helm / Soul of Thamasa / Laurel Crown Item that allows 0 MP/AP consumption.
There you go, I hope this helps you in your game. Personally I chose Quake Materia myself too, therefore my example. Meanwhile I am still doing gil and SP farming to achieve a certain amount before I start my New Game+ mode, because I have just spent tens of millions of gil and SPs creating my powerful materias... hehehe. Though it cost me lots of time and patience, I feel great when I obtain the stuffs I want. :)
So I hope you people don't give up too, keep on rolling!
Okay, if you have made it this far here I can safely assume we are all FF7 CC millionaires now. By now we should have already gone through some time-consuming and painful hardship of fusing some powerful materias to help get by to later missions. Well, the good news is that there are efficient methods to produce them with less time and effort required compared to when you were at earlier stages of the game. For those of you who are experimental like I am, you might probably already know so feel free to skip, however, I am just sharing my game experience with fellow FF7 CC fans whoever needs it:-
Materias come in various grades and classes as we know, and like what I emphasised in my previous blog post, I just care about what are my chosen materias (the end result of the materia I want to have). Basically, I am sure most people would agree that any materia in its highest grade of its class is likely to be strongest and powerful, for that is a logical fact. So to better illustrate my coming explanation, I recommend you to grab a copy of a materia list containing its class and grade levels - I use one from AbsoluteSteve.
To begin fusing, we not only place the resulting materia we want in slot 1, we also need what I call a 'neutral' materia just to fill up slot 2 if you know what I mean. Because the idea now is that we no longer use the attributes of the slot 2 materia to infuse into slot 1's (remember the HP Up/Up+ materia fusing?), and instead we rely on Item this time. Referring to the materia grade list, the best 'neutral' materia I recommend is the Libra materia (as Libra is Grade 1,2,3... to Grade 8), meaning to say most materias when fused with Libra returns you your slot 1 materia (unless materia is mastered where resulting materia might change to another class/type). Or alternatively, quite a number of materias out there when you fuse both of the same class/type also gives you your desired resulting materia (unless again, you have any mastered materia).
So you have 2 ways of using a 'neutral' materia now. Next thing we need to look at is the materia attributes. The materia you are holding may have no attributes, a +10% MP, a +1 SPR, a +1 ATK, etc. The good news is, it does not matter. ;)
This is because if you have gone through most parts of the game as well as its missions, you already own many of these attribute-switching Items such as Fat Chocobo Feathers, Hero Drink, Adamantite, etc., and you only need 1 quantity to switch materia attribute at any one fusion process. From my experience, I received Fat Chobobo Feathers about twice as many quantity than the other Items.
I hope you are still following my concept so far, we are almost there. Now, the turning point. Remember the Items we used to enhance the HP Up or HP Up+ materias? Yes... Potions, Hi-Potions, X-Potions (quite silly to use this although enhances effect much higher). Logically we all know that Hi-Potion is better than Potion, X-Potion is better than Hi-Potion, right? The tricky question is this: What is the best Potion then? If you say Elixir, you are almost there for there is something better than that... YES! PHOENIX DOWN !!! Why not? Phoenix Down not only gives back life to Zack, it also does a full HP restore, and it is as rare as Elixir for both Items are not for sale in any shops. ;-)
With regards to enhancing effect, we know that every 10 Potions give a +1 or +10% attribute increase up to a certain limit. But for Phoenix Down, 1 piece itself adds a +1 or +10% increase in attribute, but NO LIMIT, so that's how you can blast the attributes up to +999% HP. So, piecing the puzzle together, let me provide an example to help see the big picture:
Step 1 -
1) Quake +1 MAG Materia in slot 1
2) Libra lvl 1 Materia in slot 2
3) 1x Fat Chocobo Feather in Item slot
*This process returns you Quake Materia with HP attributes.
Step 2 -
1) Quake +10% HP Materia in slot 1
2) Libra lvl 1 Materia in slot 2
3) 99x Phoenix Down in Item slot
*This process now enhances Quake Materia to Quake +999% HP.
Step 3 (optional) -
1) Quake +999% HP Materia in slot 1
2) Libra lvl 1 Materia in slot 2
3a) 1x Hero Drink in Item slot (to change Quake +999% HP to Quake +100 ATK)
3b) 1x Adamantite in Item slot (to change Quake +999% HP to Quake +100 VIT)
3c) 1x Dark Matter in Item slot (to change Quake +999% HP to Quake +100 MAG)
3d) 1x Mythril in Item slot (to change Quake +999% HP to Quake +100 SPR)
3e) 1x Gysahl Greens in Item slot (to change Quake +999% HP to Quake +100 LCK)
***Note: There are also Items which can be used to change the Quake +999% HP to Quake +999% AP or MP as well, but I do not recommend this as I personally think AP and MP are not important anymore once you are able to own a Genji Helm / Soul of Thamasa / Laurel Crown Item that allows 0 MP/AP consumption.
There you go, I hope this helps you in your game. Personally I chose Quake Materia myself too, therefore my example. Meanwhile I am still doing gil and SP farming to achieve a certain amount before I start my New Game+ mode, because I have just spent tens of millions of gil and SPs creating my powerful materias... hehehe. Though it cost me lots of time and patience, I feel great when I obtain the stuffs I want. :)
So I hope you people don't give up too, keep on rolling!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
FF7 CC Ultimate Deity Fight - MINERVA (Mission 9-6-6)
Yes... I have made it thus far now. After struggling with many tough missions (yea, no kidding w/o the game's ultimate accessories), I have finally managed to clear the final mission now, the big queen, the boss of all bosses in the game. Let's update my progress so far - Zack lvl.92; playtime about 70hrs; captured 5 of the 7 ultimate accessories of the game (which gives you capacity to challenge Minerva appropriately); earnings into 40million gils; mastered all materias needed including having 2x HP+999%, 1x VIT+100, 1x SPR+100, 1x LCK+100 (key materias are Full Cure and Costly Punch).
It has been awhile since I update my FF7 CC blog, mainly because this game is so addictive! Since the last post, I have been working hard clearing the missions as I was still at about 40% plus and standing at the final save point as I mentioned that I am just nostalgic, I play this so that I can complete the story of FF7, picking up from the older series a decade back. But one sad thing to note is that I can never obtain the Heike Soul this game round as I have missed out the miss able Missions 4-3-X. :-( However, being my optimistic self, I pushed myself to just do what my max in the current game now so that I can bring over the best stuffs to the New Game+ which I intend to play. And surprise surprise! I did not expect myself to do this well as to have achieved so much, being a 'No-RPG gamer' tag. ;)
So, I am ready to start New Game+ anytime now, but I just want to make more millions of gils and SPs... Hehe. Anyway, let me get on to the main topic, which is to share my experience on my fight with Minerva:-
First of all, what are the 'ultimate accessories'? Well, that is by my own definition after looking through the entire accessories over and over again as I went through the missions. They are - 1) Ziedrich (Mission 9-5-6); 2) Genji Helm [Buy at NetShop Shade **Note that this Accessory only appears 1st time you enter the shop, so prepare at least a million gil before you enter to ensure you get a piece**]; 3) Genji Armor (Complete DMWs to 100%); 4) Genji Shield (Magic Pot at Mission 7-6-6 [Prepare to hit it with 1xGil Toss, 2x99999 damage, 1xOctoslash]; 5) Genji Glove (Mission 9-6-4); 6) Divine Slayer (Defeat Minerva); 7) Heike Soul (Clear all Missions including Minerva).
I think I do not have to elaborate on WHY they are important, because I think once you own them you will understand. During my fight, I equipped Ziedrich, Genji Armor, Genji Shield, Genji Glove. In my opinion I believe these are the best accessories to use for challenging Minerva. As for Materias, I have Costly Punch +HP 999%, Mug +VIT 100, Hell Thundaga +SPR 100, Smart Consumer +HP 999%, Hell Firaga +LCK 100, Full Cure. Lastly, Items I used were Phoenix Down and Elixir, and I use a Phoenix Down just before I entered the battlefield.
Right from the get go, I rushed to give Minerva 2 Costly Punches then she started to retaliate with her 'light' attacks - Flash Slash, Crimson Flare, Photon Feather, Thor Hammer, Krysta. So far I observed that in between each of her 'light' attacks, it is possible to hit her twice in succession especially in the earlier half of the battle. I noticed that in the later part (apparently she must be dying), average is only once before she retaliates. The good news about the 'light' attacks is that they can be evaded totally, or at the very least blocked with minimal damage incurred.
Halfway through when she was getting tired of being punched, she started flying up to space and operated her Judgement Arrow at me. That is when I ran further away from her and started pumping back a Phoenix Down and an Elixir on Zack, and did a Full Cure before I continued punching her. Soon after, she started pulling up new magic tricks - Anti Material, Anti Magic, Absolute Barrier, Blessing Light. Except for Absolute Barrier, I simply kept pummeling her with Costly Punches... Until finally she does her other best attack, Ultima magic. I blocked to ensure I only inflicted 66K of damage (though I did forgot to block once and it hit me 99999), and then immediately used Full Cure to recover some HP. I kinda felt victory in my hands already, as I think I already handled all her attacks comfortably and able to land successful punches at her quite constantly. And after at least 101 Costly punches, I started to see her being smoked away and... CONFLICT RESOLVED! ;-D Victory is sweet!
At the end of the battle, Minerva threw me a piece of her accessory called the Divine Slayer and Zack received an email from Kunsel of SOLDIER acknowledging Zack as the 'Legend of SOLDIER'. How wonderful this feeling is, especially for me as a 'No-RPG gamer' to have once again defeated the toughest boss in a FF7 game ever since Emerald Weapon. Though I am proud of my achievements, I would like to thank all the contributors of FF7 Crisis Core guides, strategies, walkthroughs that I managed to google out conveniently in providing me generous and important information on this great game. To fellow fans, I wish you fun and all the best playing your Crisis Core, and look forward to my new postings here... yes yes, I am NOT DONE yet like I mentioned earlier on that I look forward to start New Game+ to go through the story once more, and finally get my hands on the final ultimate accessory - Heike Soul. ;)
It has been awhile since I update my FF7 CC blog, mainly because this game is so addictive! Since the last post, I have been working hard clearing the missions as I was still at about 40% plus and standing at the final save point as I mentioned that I am just nostalgic, I play this so that I can complete the story of FF7, picking up from the older series a decade back. But one sad thing to note is that I can never obtain the Heike Soul this game round as I have missed out the miss able Missions 4-3-X. :-( However, being my optimistic self, I pushed myself to just do what my max in the current game now so that I can bring over the best stuffs to the New Game+ which I intend to play. And surprise surprise! I did not expect myself to do this well as to have achieved so much, being a 'No-RPG gamer' tag. ;)
So, I am ready to start New Game+ anytime now, but I just want to make more millions of gils and SPs... Hehe. Anyway, let me get on to the main topic, which is to share my experience on my fight with Minerva:-
First of all, what are the 'ultimate accessories'? Well, that is by my own definition after looking through the entire accessories over and over again as I went through the missions. They are - 1) Ziedrich (Mission 9-5-6); 2) Genji Helm [Buy at NetShop Shade **Note that this Accessory only appears 1st time you enter the shop, so prepare at least a million gil before you enter to ensure you get a piece**]; 3) Genji Armor (Complete DMWs to 100%); 4) Genji Shield (Magic Pot at Mission 7-6-6 [Prepare to hit it with 1xGil Toss, 2x99999 damage, 1xOctoslash]; 5) Genji Glove (Mission 9-6-4); 6) Divine Slayer (Defeat Minerva); 7) Heike Soul (Clear all Missions including Minerva).
I think I do not have to elaborate on WHY they are important, because I think once you own them you will understand. During my fight, I equipped Ziedrich, Genji Armor, Genji Shield, Genji Glove. In my opinion I believe these are the best accessories to use for challenging Minerva. As for Materias, I have Costly Punch +HP 999%, Mug +VIT 100, Hell Thundaga +SPR 100, Smart Consumer +HP 999%, Hell Firaga +LCK 100, Full Cure. Lastly, Items I used were Phoenix Down and Elixir, and I use a Phoenix Down just before I entered the battlefield.
Right from the get go, I rushed to give Minerva 2 Costly Punches then she started to retaliate with her 'light' attacks - Flash Slash, Crimson Flare, Photon Feather, Thor Hammer, Krysta. So far I observed that in between each of her 'light' attacks, it is possible to hit her twice in succession especially in the earlier half of the battle. I noticed that in the later part (apparently she must be dying), average is only once before she retaliates. The good news about the 'light' attacks is that they can be evaded totally, or at the very least blocked with minimal damage incurred.
Halfway through when she was getting tired of being punched, she started flying up to space and operated her Judgement Arrow at me. That is when I ran further away from her and started pumping back a Phoenix Down and an Elixir on Zack, and did a Full Cure before I continued punching her. Soon after, she started pulling up new magic tricks - Anti Material, Anti Magic, Absolute Barrier, Blessing Light. Except for Absolute Barrier, I simply kept pummeling her with Costly Punches... Until finally she does her other best attack, Ultima magic. I blocked to ensure I only inflicted 66K of damage (though I did forgot to block once and it hit me 99999), and then immediately used Full Cure to recover some HP. I kinda felt victory in my hands already, as I think I already handled all her attacks comfortably and able to land successful punches at her quite constantly. And after at least 101 Costly punches, I started to see her being smoked away and... CONFLICT RESOLVED! ;-D Victory is sweet!
At the end of the battle, Minerva threw me a piece of her accessory called the Divine Slayer and Zack received an email from Kunsel of SOLDIER acknowledging Zack as the 'Legend of SOLDIER'. How wonderful this feeling is, especially for me as a 'No-RPG gamer' to have once again defeated the toughest boss in a FF7 game ever since Emerald Weapon. Though I am proud of my achievements, I would like to thank all the contributors of FF7 Crisis Core guides, strategies, walkthroughs that I managed to google out conveniently in providing me generous and important information on this great game. To fellow fans, I wish you fun and all the best playing your Crisis Core, and look forward to my new postings here... yes yes, I am NOT DONE yet like I mentioned earlier on that I look forward to start New Game+ to go through the story once more, and finally get my hands on the final ultimate accessory - Heike Soul. ;)
Monday, March 16, 2009
FF7 CC Materia Fusion - Method,Tactic,Strategy
Today I am finally able put to together my thoughts to write on a clear and simplified explanation about crisis core's Materia Fusion, as well as my personal experiences going through learning and using this process with great fun, so that people sharing the similar trait as I have, once again, a 'no-RPG person' are able to put their collected materias in good use. Without further delay, let's move on to...
Basics
1) Materia Fusion needs to be enabled, and it will as you progress around early-middle of the game.
2) You need an Item called 'Item Fusion Tome' (clear Mission 7-2-1) so that your Materia Fusion menu will then be complete, and you can start to mix and blend your materias.
3) Requires lots of time, patience, as well as Gil (FF7 currency), SP (Soldier Points), and relevant Items and Materias.
4) Understand the impact of different materia types, levels, and classes. Read up other web sources such as "http://www.finalfantasykingdom.net/crisiscoremateriafusion.php", "Absolute Steve's Crisis Core FAQ/Walkthrough"... Don't need to read entire contents, just zoom in to the materia fusion sections for self-clarification.
(Note: I did not mention 'attributes', which is the +10% HP or +2 MAG or +3 VIT or +4 ATK that may or may not appear beside the materia description, because they do not affect whether the resulting materia changes into another or not. However, the resulting materia does retain or changes its attributes, but not to worry as there will be working examples later on to elaborate this part.)
Using Materia Fusion
Depending on where you are and with what available resources (as in materia, gil, sp), you may take materia fusion at the level of your comfort. Personally, I only started this after I completed the normal story game once. And being the typical 'no-RPG person', I saved my games at many points, I decided to use the final save point to begin my quest to practice my materia fusion (this is so that it'd be convenient and faster for me to be able to watch the ending cutscenes whenever I want to ;] ).
Okay, now. I assume that you have done the basics, so let me share with you what I have learnt:-
We all know that there are big and wide assortments of materias available in the game. And you might have read from many other sources about very technical or even fundamental explanation on materia type/class/level/rank. Those are good information, for there are where I got my knowledge from, with due respect. However, do allow me to interpret it in an alternative way that perhaps enables greater understanding.
So basically, I identify materias best by colours as well as what I need or want Zack to be equipped with, and also which Materias or Items that will help boost the resulting materia to the desired effects. Alright, one of the items I want is the Costly Punch (by far the most efficient weapon in terms of damage, ease of use, and difficulty obtaining it). The materias required to fuse into Costly Punch will be any 'punch' materia plus any 'dmw' materia. I suggest referring to AbsoluteSteve's FAQ/Walkthrough to find out for example, what are the 'punch' materias available, as well as where or how to obtain them. Now at this point, assuming you have the 2 materias needed to fuse into Costly Punch, what is left is the attributes to the resulting materia. As mentioned in the basics point number 4 above, this is where you can fuse the attributes you want into the resulting materia, using relevant Materias or Items. In this instance, what are the relevant Items needed to max the attributes to the resulting Costly Punch? Okay, there are a handful of choices:
1) Hero Drink for ATK+1 (use 99 quantity to max into ATK+99)
2) Adamantite for VIT+1 (use 99 quantity to max into VIT+99)
3) Dark Matter for MAG+1 (use 99 quantity to max into MAG+99)
4) Mythril for SPR+1 (use 99 quantity to max into SPR+99)
5) Gysahl Greens for LUK+1 (use 99 quantity to max into LUK+99)
**There are dozens of other Items you may use to fuse the attributes in, some require more, some less, logically depending on how difficult it is to obtain them.
There you go, now you should have a resulting Costly Punch materia with e.g. ATK+99 attributes, assuming you have the required SP for this fusion process (should be about 1million SP for this bad-ass resulting materia). Lastly, if at any point of time you feel that you do not need ATK+99 and want to change to let's say LUK+99, fret not. Simply place your Costly Punch materia in slot 1, and any 'punch' materia (level should be lower than Costly Punch's though) in slot2 and add 1 quantity of Gysahl Greens in Item slot should get you a resulting Costly Punch LUK+99 with just a few thousand SPs this time round (as logically speaking, you have already spent loads of SPs to boost to ATK+99 already). I hope by now you see the idea and concept used in the entire process. :-)
[Note: this example is interpreted from Atma Xplorer's Crisis Core Materia Fusion Guide & Stat Modifier Trick.]
Experiencing Materia Fusion
The above is one great method to perform a Materia Fusion, and after reading more guides from other authors and sources, I will now share my individual experience using trial and error the exact steps I did with Materia Fusion. Remember, my ideology is still the same. Select a materia I want to use, and find out what other materias or items that I need and are available to do fusion.
When I was selecting my materias, I asked myself what are the 6 best or most practical materias I would like Zack to use permanently? I would suggest referring to Absolute Steve's FAQ or other authors you can find and zoom into the Materia sections. For myself, I decided to use a Curaga, a Smart Consumer,a Costly Punch... I haven't decided on the rest at the point of writing. To illustrate my experience, let's see what I did with Smart Consumer materia:
Firstly, why Smart Consumer? Well, it's part of my personal game strategy. I learnt from the materia guides that Smart Consumer materia boosts item effectiveness, and since I prefer using potions to heal (as that will leave me loads of MP for offensive materias). Furthermore, I have the resources needed to fuse one out (yep, this 'no-RPG gamer' missed out Dash materia as he missed the entire Mission 4-3-1 ~ 4-3-6). So, 1x Steal (Master level) + 1x Libra (lvl 1) spent to make me 1x Smart Consumer materia. Next step will be the attributes booster part. It's slightly different this time, as I used the resulting Smart Consumer materia in slot 1 to fuse with a Hp Up+999% materia in slot 2 with no Items in the fusion (this is because my Hp Up+999% is already heavily boosted. Furthermore, SP needed is very little now as the approx. 1million SP was already spent in making the Hp Up+999%).
Hey, how did you max Hp Up materia to +999% then? Ah... I have to thank the many other sources such as Atma Xplorer for the concept. What they share is that you take 2x Hp Up or 2x Hp Up+ materias and fuse them with 80potions to get a resulting 1x Hp Up or 1x Hp Up+ materia with slightly increased attribute. And repeat the process until you get a Hp Up+999% materia. This is correct and I agree that it is a good early game method to gain a Hp Up+999% materia.
Before I move on, it is good to know some maths involved in this. Check out your Hp Up materias and look at the attribute. Assume that you got your Hp Up materia from Shop, it should be a Hp Up +10% HP. If you have Hp Up+ instead, check its attribute and it should be a Hp Up+ +20% HP. Let's use the Hp Up+ +20% as an example: the formula is - "resulting materia attribute = {materia with higher attribute} + {half times the materia with lower attribute}". [Note: If both materias are of similar attributes, then apply logical maths give you "20% + {0.5x20%} = 30%". However, be cautious of FF7's 'round down number rule', meaning a 30% + 30% will give you 40% as 30% + {0.5x30%} = 45%, round down to 40%.
Phew... confusing? But it is important to understand this so that you will enjoy your Materia Fusion, so re-read again if you must to grasp the concept. :-) Anyway, my recipe was this:
1) Prepare 1x Hp Up +150% materia. You need to fuse 2x Hp Up +100% materias to obtain this, and will cost you 2375 SP.
2) Prepare 17x Hp Up +100% materias. Each Hp Up +100% is obtained by fusing 2x Hp Up +50% and 60x Potions. A Hp Up +50% is obtained by fusing 2x Hp Up +10% and 80x Potions. So theoretically, you pay 2x1000gils plus 80x50gils plus 124 SP. And to fuse 2x Hp Up +50% into a Hp Up +100% will cost you another 60x50gils plus 875 SP.
3) Once you worked your 'finances', the idea now is this - Remember the simple mathematics from above? Now, your slot 1 will permanently fit in that Hp Up +150% materia now. And what you do is to fuse every Hp Up +100% in slot 2 one by one and fuse into that in slot 1. Your resulting Hp Up +150% should increase +50%, +50%, +50%... untill 999%. Got the idea? :-)
Materia Fusion Flexibility
Next, I would like to show you my method of fusing attributes into my Curaga materia. Thanks to Atma Xplorer once again for sharing a good SP farming trick in Mission 1-3-2 (you must have Mog Amulet Item [buy at Sector 7 Shop - treasure chest in Mission 4-4-3] equipped for rare Item drops) that lets you gain loads of Ap Up+ +20% materias with ease. So, assuming you have access to loads of Ap Up+ +20% materias, this was my recipe:
1) Fuse each couple of Ap Up+ +20% until you have 19x Ap Up+ +100%. The process of fusing up to a piece of Ap Up+ +100% costs you [419 + 437 + 461 + 491 + 527 + 569 + 617 + 671 SP].
2) Fuse the first couple of Ap Up+ +100% so that you get 1x Ap Up+ +150%, which will cost you 2775 SP.
3) Then place the resulted Ap Up+ +150% into slot 1, and one by one fuse each Ap Up+ +100% in slot 2, eventually you will get Ap Up+ +999%, same concept as the previous example of getting Hp Up +999% materia. The process will cost you [5025 + 8025 + 11775 + 16275 + 21525 + 27525 + 34275 + 41775 + 50025 + 59025 + 68775 + 79275 + 90525 + 102525 + 115275 + 128775 + 143025 SP].
With your Ap Up+ +999%, and assuming you would like a Curaga materia like I do, place Curaga into slot 1, and Ap Up+ +999% into slot 2 and start your fusion! OR, alternatively if you do not fancy adding 999% Ap to Zack's stats, place the desired Independent purple stats boosting materia that you want (e.g. MP Up+/ATK up+/MAG Up+/VIT Up+/SPR Up+) into slot 1 and the Ap Up+ +999% and start fusing! Only costs you a few thousand SP and an Up+ materia now :-)
Wow! What a blog load today! Hope everything I mentioned helps in your game. All the best, till next blog! :)
Basics
1) Materia Fusion needs to be enabled, and it will as you progress around early-middle of the game.
2) You need an Item called 'Item Fusion Tome' (clear Mission 7-2-1) so that your Materia Fusion menu will then be complete, and you can start to mix and blend your materias.
3) Requires lots of time, patience, as well as Gil (FF7 currency), SP (Soldier Points), and relevant Items and Materias.
4) Understand the impact of different materia types, levels, and classes. Read up other web sources such as "http://www.finalfantasykingdom.net/crisiscoremateriafusion.php", "Absolute Steve's Crisis Core FAQ/Walkthrough"... Don't need to read entire contents, just zoom in to the materia fusion sections for self-clarification.
(Note: I did not mention 'attributes', which is the +10% HP or +2 MAG or +3 VIT or +4 ATK that may or may not appear beside the materia description, because they do not affect whether the resulting materia changes into another or not. However, the resulting materia does retain or changes its attributes, but not to worry as there will be working examples later on to elaborate this part.)
Using Materia Fusion
Depending on where you are and with what available resources (as in materia, gil, sp), you may take materia fusion at the level of your comfort. Personally, I only started this after I completed the normal story game once. And being the typical 'no-RPG person', I saved my games at many points, I decided to use the final save point to begin my quest to practice my materia fusion (this is so that it'd be convenient and faster for me to be able to watch the ending cutscenes whenever I want to ;] ).
Okay, now. I assume that you have done the basics, so let me share with you what I have learnt:-
We all know that there are big and wide assortments of materias available in the game. And you might have read from many other sources about very technical or even fundamental explanation on materia type/class/level/rank. Those are good information, for there are where I got my knowledge from, with due respect. However, do allow me to interpret it in an alternative way that perhaps enables greater understanding.
So basically, I identify materias best by colours as well as what I need or want Zack to be equipped with, and also which Materias or Items that will help boost the resulting materia to the desired effects. Alright, one of the items I want is the Costly Punch (by far the most efficient weapon in terms of damage, ease of use, and difficulty obtaining it). The materias required to fuse into Costly Punch will be any 'punch' materia plus any 'dmw' materia. I suggest referring to AbsoluteSteve's FAQ/Walkthrough to find out for example, what are the 'punch' materias available, as well as where or how to obtain them. Now at this point, assuming you have the 2 materias needed to fuse into Costly Punch, what is left is the attributes to the resulting materia. As mentioned in the basics point number 4 above, this is where you can fuse the attributes you want into the resulting materia, using relevant Materias or Items. In this instance, what are the relevant Items needed to max the attributes to the resulting Costly Punch? Okay, there are a handful of choices:
1) Hero Drink for ATK+1 (use 99 quantity to max into ATK+99)
2) Adamantite for VIT+1 (use 99 quantity to max into VIT+99)
3) Dark Matter for MAG+1 (use 99 quantity to max into MAG+99)
4) Mythril for SPR+1 (use 99 quantity to max into SPR+99)
5) Gysahl Greens for LUK+1 (use 99 quantity to max into LUK+99)
**There are dozens of other Items you may use to fuse the attributes in, some require more, some less, logically depending on how difficult it is to obtain them.
There you go, now you should have a resulting Costly Punch materia with e.g. ATK+99 attributes, assuming you have the required SP for this fusion process (should be about 1million SP for this bad-ass resulting materia). Lastly, if at any point of time you feel that you do not need ATK+99 and want to change to let's say LUK+99, fret not. Simply place your Costly Punch materia in slot 1, and any 'punch' materia (level should be lower than Costly Punch's though) in slot2 and add 1 quantity of Gysahl Greens in Item slot should get you a resulting Costly Punch LUK+99 with just a few thousand SPs this time round (as logically speaking, you have already spent loads of SPs to boost to ATK+99 already). I hope by now you see the idea and concept used in the entire process. :-)
[Note: this example is interpreted from Atma Xplorer's Crisis Core Materia Fusion Guide & Stat Modifier Trick.]
Experiencing Materia Fusion
The above is one great method to perform a Materia Fusion, and after reading more guides from other authors and sources, I will now share my individual experience using trial and error the exact steps I did with Materia Fusion. Remember, my ideology is still the same. Select a materia I want to use, and find out what other materias or items that I need and are available to do fusion.
When I was selecting my materias, I asked myself what are the 6 best or most practical materias I would like Zack to use permanently? I would suggest referring to Absolute Steve's FAQ or other authors you can find and zoom into the Materia sections. For myself, I decided to use a Curaga, a Smart Consumer,a Costly Punch... I haven't decided on the rest at the point of writing. To illustrate my experience, let's see what I did with Smart Consumer materia:
Firstly, why Smart Consumer? Well, it's part of my personal game strategy. I learnt from the materia guides that Smart Consumer materia boosts item effectiveness, and since I prefer using potions to heal (as that will leave me loads of MP for offensive materias). Furthermore, I have the resources needed to fuse one out (yep, this 'no-RPG gamer' missed out Dash materia as he missed the entire Mission 4-3-1 ~ 4-3-6). So, 1x Steal (Master level) + 1x Libra (lvl 1) spent to make me 1x Smart Consumer materia. Next step will be the attributes booster part. It's slightly different this time, as I used the resulting Smart Consumer materia in slot 1 to fuse with a Hp Up+999% materia in slot 2 with no Items in the fusion (this is because my Hp Up+999% is already heavily boosted. Furthermore, SP needed is very little now as the approx. 1million SP was already spent in making the Hp Up+999%).
Hey, how did you max Hp Up materia to +999% then? Ah... I have to thank the many other sources such as Atma Xplorer for the concept. What they share is that you take 2x Hp Up or 2x Hp Up+ materias and fuse them with 80potions to get a resulting 1x Hp Up or 1x Hp Up+ materia with slightly increased attribute. And repeat the process until you get a Hp Up+999% materia. This is correct and I agree that it is a good early game method to gain a Hp Up+999% materia.
Before I move on, it is good to know some maths involved in this. Check out your Hp Up materias and look at the attribute. Assume that you got your Hp Up materia from Shop, it should be a Hp Up +10% HP. If you have Hp Up+ instead, check its attribute and it should be a Hp Up+ +20% HP. Let's use the Hp Up+ +20% as an example: the formula is - "resulting materia attribute = {materia with higher attribute} + {half times the materia with lower attribute}". [Note: If both materias are of similar attributes, then apply logical maths give you "20% + {0.5x20%} = 30%". However, be cautious of FF7's 'round down number rule', meaning a 30% + 30% will give you 40% as 30% + {0.5x30%} = 45%, round down to 40%.
Phew... confusing? But it is important to understand this so that you will enjoy your Materia Fusion, so re-read again if you must to grasp the concept. :-) Anyway, my recipe was this:
1) Prepare 1x Hp Up +150% materia. You need to fuse 2x Hp Up +100% materias to obtain this, and will cost you 2375 SP.
2) Prepare 17x Hp Up +100% materias. Each Hp Up +100% is obtained by fusing 2x Hp Up +50% and 60x Potions. A Hp Up +50% is obtained by fusing 2x Hp Up +10% and 80x Potions. So theoretically, you pay 2x1000gils plus 80x50gils plus 124 SP. And to fuse 2x Hp Up +50% into a Hp Up +100% will cost you another 60x50gils plus 875 SP.
3) Once you worked your 'finances', the idea now is this - Remember the simple mathematics from above? Now, your slot 1 will permanently fit in that Hp Up +150% materia now. And what you do is to fuse every Hp Up +100% in slot 2 one by one and fuse into that in slot 1. Your resulting Hp Up +150% should increase +50%, +50%, +50%... untill 999%. Got the idea? :-)
Materia Fusion Flexibility
Next, I would like to show you my method of fusing attributes into my Curaga materia. Thanks to Atma Xplorer once again for sharing a good SP farming trick in Mission 1-3-2 (you must have Mog Amulet Item [buy at Sector 7 Shop - treasure chest in Mission 4-4-3] equipped for rare Item drops) that lets you gain loads of Ap Up+ +20% materias with ease. So, assuming you have access to loads of Ap Up+ +20% materias, this was my recipe:
1) Fuse each couple of Ap Up+ +20% until you have 19x Ap Up+ +100%. The process of fusing up to a piece of Ap Up+ +100% costs you [419 + 437 + 461 + 491 + 527 + 569 + 617 + 671 SP].
2) Fuse the first couple of Ap Up+ +100% so that you get 1x Ap Up+ +150%, which will cost you 2775 SP.
3) Then place the resulted Ap Up+ +150% into slot 1, and one by one fuse each Ap Up+ +100% in slot 2, eventually you will get Ap Up+ +999%, same concept as the previous example of getting Hp Up +999% materia. The process will cost you [5025 + 8025 + 11775 + 16275 + 21525 + 27525 + 34275 + 41775 + 50025 + 59025 + 68775 + 79275 + 90525 + 102525 + 115275 + 128775 + 143025 SP].
With your Ap Up+ +999%, and assuming you would like a Curaga materia like I do, place Curaga into slot 1, and Ap Up+ +999% into slot 2 and start your fusion! OR, alternatively if you do not fancy adding 999% Ap to Zack's stats, place the desired Independent purple stats boosting materia that you want (e.g. MP Up+/ATK up+/MAG Up+/VIT Up+/SPR Up+) into slot 1 and the Ap Up+ +999% and start fusing! Only costs you a few thousand SP and an Up+ materia now :-)
Wow! What a blog load today! Hope everything I mentioned helps in your game. All the best, till next blog! :)
FF7 CC Story Gameplay
Good news to all FF7 fans (especially newbies and/or 'no-RPG player' like me: It is possible to clear this game without using any external guides, strategy/guide books, hints, tips, etc.! Be confident and just play crisis core like any RPG gamer would - 1) search every corner, 2) open any chests/treasures/boxes/cupboards/wardrobe/etc. where possible, 3) save game often, 4) use map frequently to navigate directions, 5) take note of what townspeople say when you approach to talk to them, 6) and what can kill you or aid you during each quest. By following the above advices I guarantee that you will complete the game smooth sailing. And enjoy the story cut scenes along the way! :-)
I am sure everyone would be familiarised with the game menu easily, so I will just go through briefly. Consumable items like potions, remedy, elixir, soma, etc. are limited to 99 per item, so save and spend sparingly. Accessories such as amulets, rings, bands, ribbons, shocks, etc. are also found in Items menu, main difference is that Accessories may be slotted as Equipment. **Items may also be used for Materia Fusion, which opens during early-mid game progress. Also, complete Mission 7-2-1 to enable adding Items in Materia Fusion.** As for Materia itself it has an individual menu. You may slot a few in the early stages of the game, and maximum of 6 will be available later on. Look under the Equipment menu to check Zack's stats, slot in Materia and Items to boost him up. Initially if i recall, you may only place 1 item as Equipment. Mid-game progress opens another slot, and that's the maximum until when you feel like trying to clear out Mission 7-2-2 for Keychain to unlock one more slot, and Mission 7-2-5 for Backpack to unlock the final slot. **From my experience as a 'no-RPG gamer', I have completed the game with only 2 slots. So I know most FF7 fans shouldn't have a problem too (trust me, it's really possible and you can finish the game smooth sailing as promised).**
Next, DMW [a.k.a. Digital Mind Wave]. Remember the old FF7 when you were used to be highly dependent on materia and spell castings? As you slowly unlock your way the shadowed faces inside the DMW menu, I am sure some will be very familiar. In crisis core, my gaming experience so far has generally low dependence on offense materia (e.g. fire,thunder,ice) and I equip the more conservative and 'no-RPG gamer' style of barriers, cure, regen materias. Yep, this is crisis core now, not the old FF7. So it seems like crisis core is living up to its 'Action-RPG' category now, as you would be using much more physical attacks instead of spell castings. Anyway, if your mind is still confused about DMW and spell casting materia, I suggest you relate DMW to the old FF7's 'limit breaks', since they happen randomly and similar to the old FF7, it is uncontrollable. As for the spell castings, just tell yourself that it is still the same, just that it is less time consuming and graphical to use one now (remember old FF7 where you cast fire for example and you had to wait ifrit to do his thing?). Anyway, 2 good things to know about DMW - 1) Uncover all the faces, even at 0% you will get an Accessory [Fury Ring]; 2) If they are all used up to 100%, re-enter the DMW menu to load up your Accessory collection with one of the most powerful Accessory in the game known as the Genji Armor.
We are now left with the last 2 menu in the game. If you are intrigued in the story, check and read all the Mails! They can be fun and interesting, and on a more serious note, they do give some clues to get certain stuffs. Last but not least, Shops. They are moderately important throughout the game, though just a couple of shops and their items being sold (e.g. potions,remedies,soma,etc.) should help you clear the story game. Fret not, if you just want to clear the story mode, you DO NOT have to work your way to clear ALL the missions to unlock all the shops. Of course, there are secret shops to unlock to acquire some powerful Items and Accessories (logical RPG game idea), but once again I remind you that you do not need to seek to unlock all the shops to complete the story game.
That's all for now, do check my other posts for latest FF7 crisis core hints, tips, tricks updates!
***ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Thanks to various web sources such as Absolute Steve's FAQ, GameSpot, GameFAQs, IGN, Mahalo.com, Atma Xplorer, and all others who contribute sharing game information to help players with their games and excel! :-)
I am sure everyone would be familiarised with the game menu easily, so I will just go through briefly. Consumable items like potions, remedy, elixir, soma, etc. are limited to 99 per item, so save and spend sparingly. Accessories such as amulets, rings, bands, ribbons, shocks, etc. are also found in Items menu, main difference is that Accessories may be slotted as Equipment. **Items may also be used for Materia Fusion, which opens during early-mid game progress. Also, complete Mission 7-2-1 to enable adding Items in Materia Fusion.** As for Materia itself it has an individual menu. You may slot a few in the early stages of the game, and maximum of 6 will be available later on. Look under the Equipment menu to check Zack's stats, slot in Materia and Items to boost him up. Initially if i recall, you may only place 1 item as Equipment. Mid-game progress opens another slot, and that's the maximum until when you feel like trying to clear out Mission 7-2-2 for Keychain to unlock one more slot, and Mission 7-2-5 for Backpack to unlock the final slot. **From my experience as a 'no-RPG gamer', I have completed the game with only 2 slots. So I know most FF7 fans shouldn't have a problem too (trust me, it's really possible and you can finish the game smooth sailing as promised).**
Next, DMW [a.k.a. Digital Mind Wave]. Remember the old FF7 when you were used to be highly dependent on materia and spell castings? As you slowly unlock your way the shadowed faces inside the DMW menu, I am sure some will be very familiar. In crisis core, my gaming experience so far has generally low dependence on offense materia (e.g. fire,thunder,ice) and I equip the more conservative and 'no-RPG gamer' style of barriers, cure, regen materias. Yep, this is crisis core now, not the old FF7. So it seems like crisis core is living up to its 'Action-RPG' category now, as you would be using much more physical attacks instead of spell castings. Anyway, if your mind is still confused about DMW and spell casting materia, I suggest you relate DMW to the old FF7's 'limit breaks', since they happen randomly and similar to the old FF7, it is uncontrollable. As for the spell castings, just tell yourself that it is still the same, just that it is less time consuming and graphical to use one now (remember old FF7 where you cast fire for example and you had to wait ifrit to do his thing?). Anyway, 2 good things to know about DMW - 1) Uncover all the faces, even at 0% you will get an Accessory [Fury Ring]; 2) If they are all used up to 100%, re-enter the DMW menu to load up your Accessory collection with one of the most powerful Accessory in the game known as the Genji Armor.
We are now left with the last 2 menu in the game. If you are intrigued in the story, check and read all the Mails! They can be fun and interesting, and on a more serious note, they do give some clues to get certain stuffs. Last but not least, Shops. They are moderately important throughout the game, though just a couple of shops and their items being sold (e.g. potions,remedies,soma,etc.) should help you clear the story game. Fret not, if you just want to clear the story mode, you DO NOT have to work your way to clear ALL the missions to unlock all the shops. Of course, there are secret shops to unlock to acquire some powerful Items and Accessories (logical RPG game idea), but once again I remind you that you do not need to seek to unlock all the shops to complete the story game.
That's all for now, do check my other posts for latest FF7 crisis core hints, tips, tricks updates!
***ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Thanks to various web sources such as Absolute Steve's FAQ, GameSpot, GameFAQs, IGN, Mahalo.com, Atma Xplorer, and all others who contribute sharing game information to help players with their games and excel! :-)
Sunday, March 15, 2009
FF7 CC Synopsis
It's been so many years back since most FF7 fans have completed the crisis core sequel game inside out, outside in. Now the prequel sheds light on the life of FF7 before Cloud Strife's era. Great thanks to the technologies that help make this game packed with solid graphics, sound, and portable.
Regarding the gameplay of crisis core, I think it is now much easier and straight-forward to play through the storyline. This is especially good for people like myself, who is not a very 'RPG' person. I recall briefly the old FF7 where there were lots of important weapons, items, accessories, materias that can be easily missed, making you stucked or have to make-do with mediocre stuffs to tackle those ass-kicking bosses. The story game through many stages were a pain, and chances to complete the story mode were very slim unless you have a guidebook. I managed to have access to one because my brother was playing the game as well. He shares this same trait as me - we are no 'RPG' gamers. :)
We slowly crawled through the game, page by page, step by step. Eventually we got hold of all the powerful and important stuffs needed or not exactly necessarily needed to complete the game by normal standards. We finished it thoroughly in the sense that we even beaten the hidden boss - Emerald Weapon (1 million HP + crazy atttack & defence). This brings back great memories as I recall the 'Knights of the Round' (13x9999hp) spell used to knockout great deals of HP emerald weapon has, and whenever available, Cloud's 'OmniSlash' helps alot too.
Anyways, back to crisis core. The very first time i loaded the game and started, I literally fell in love with it. Probably excited and felt nostalgia about this series and its storyline. The beginning scenes connected me back to the old FF7's midgar, Shinra, trains, soldiers, etc... And when Zack starts to appear with his mentor Angeal, I was puzzled by who Angeal was but I clearly remembered Zack from some pictures from old FF7. The graphics awed me, and my eyes were glued to it. When I finally got control of Zack, I was already engaged in a battle (yeah, thanks Square Enix for putting the player in a battle w/o detailed button controls and configurations to start a game with). Luckily the enemies are easy, and no problems getting rid of them even if I let them hit me a little bit. Oh yes, I noticed during the battle Zack's sword, and I thought to myself: "This can't be the buster sword right? And where could it be???" Anyway, I certainly appreciate the flexibility and mobility that Zack has now compared to Cloud. We can now block and dodge enemy attacks, and even try to sneak behind them for critical hits! Ah, and one last thing - the magic casting. I tried using the given fire materia and only a small ball of fire shot towards the enemy, useful but losing MP fast (hmmm... I remembered Ifrit would appear and do his thing when I used fire in old FF7?).
Well well, so much for a start! Soon after, I catch on game quickly (I think due to strong nostalgia from old FF7) and figured the basic and necessary stuffs needed to play through the story game and enjoyed the many cutscenes appearing now and then as the game progressed. At the point of writing my FF7 crisis core blog, I have already completed the normal story mode and now working on powering up Zack to his greatest potential possible (by my standards and level) so that I can enjoy playing the New Game+ version to relive the FF7 experience once again. :)
** To my fellow FF7 fans: take pride, take joy in your quest to finish the game, beat it, perfect it, whatever just have the most fun and pleasure doing them! And feel free to drop by to read my coming updates for tips/hints/tricks that I write on FF7 crisis core. Cheers!
Regarding the gameplay of crisis core, I think it is now much easier and straight-forward to play through the storyline. This is especially good for people like myself, who is not a very 'RPG' person. I recall briefly the old FF7 where there were lots of important weapons, items, accessories, materias that can be easily missed, making you stucked or have to make-do with mediocre stuffs to tackle those ass-kicking bosses. The story game through many stages were a pain, and chances to complete the story mode were very slim unless you have a guidebook. I managed to have access to one because my brother was playing the game as well. He shares this same trait as me - we are no 'RPG' gamers. :)
We slowly crawled through the game, page by page, step by step. Eventually we got hold of all the powerful and important stuffs needed or not exactly necessarily needed to complete the game by normal standards. We finished it thoroughly in the sense that we even beaten the hidden boss - Emerald Weapon (1 million HP + crazy atttack & defence). This brings back great memories as I recall the 'Knights of the Round' (13x9999hp) spell used to knockout great deals of HP emerald weapon has, and whenever available, Cloud's 'OmniSlash' helps alot too.
Anyways, back to crisis core. The very first time i loaded the game and started, I literally fell in love with it. Probably excited and felt nostalgia about this series and its storyline. The beginning scenes connected me back to the old FF7's midgar, Shinra, trains, soldiers, etc... And when Zack starts to appear with his mentor Angeal, I was puzzled by who Angeal was but I clearly remembered Zack from some pictures from old FF7. The graphics awed me, and my eyes were glued to it. When I finally got control of Zack, I was already engaged in a battle (yeah, thanks Square Enix for putting the player in a battle w/o detailed button controls and configurations to start a game with). Luckily the enemies are easy, and no problems getting rid of them even if I let them hit me a little bit. Oh yes, I noticed during the battle Zack's sword, and I thought to myself: "This can't be the buster sword right? And where could it be???" Anyway, I certainly appreciate the flexibility and mobility that Zack has now compared to Cloud. We can now block and dodge enemy attacks, and even try to sneak behind them for critical hits! Ah, and one last thing - the magic casting. I tried using the given fire materia and only a small ball of fire shot towards the enemy, useful but losing MP fast (hmmm... I remembered Ifrit would appear and do his thing when I used fire in old FF7?).
Well well, so much for a start! Soon after, I catch on game quickly (I think due to strong nostalgia from old FF7) and figured the basic and necessary stuffs needed to play through the story game and enjoyed the many cutscenes appearing now and then as the game progressed. At the point of writing my FF7 crisis core blog, I have already completed the normal story mode and now working on powering up Zack to his greatest potential possible (by my standards and level) so that I can enjoy playing the New Game+ version to relive the FF7 experience once again. :)
** To my fellow FF7 fans: take pride, take joy in your quest to finish the game, beat it, perfect it, whatever just have the most fun and pleasure doing them! And feel free to drop by to read my coming updates for tips/hints/tricks that I write on FF7 crisis core. Cheers!
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