T w e n t y S i d e d

This week we return to Final Fantasy 1 Pixel Remaster. I have been grousing about the weather almost non-stop, and the only answer I think is to just be thankful we’re back to cold and wet against the odds…even if it is only supposed to last this weekend. We are allegedly going to hit 90 degrees F in a few days, and the 1/3 of an inch of rain we got this weekend is possibly the last significant amount we’ll get this year. And I just found out at least as late as the 1950’s, you could buy a handgun in what was described as a “grocery store” in the United States. Just had to get that out of my head. The thing is, I’m old enough to remember when “grocery stores” were still transitioning from general stores and 5 & Dimes to what we think of now. My upbringing was southern and rural, so that affects the model some, but when I was very young (after the point in the story I’m watching, which would have been post-WWII to early 1950’s) most “grocery stores” were still small community general store-type establishments that had put some refrigeration in. That seems to be what made them a grocery store. A rural community such as the nearest “town” to my home might have one…my home community still did until only a few years before I was born. The nearest “bigger” town had a half-dozen or more. When I was young this was down to four, although a couple built new, “big” stores and within only a few years there were only those two left, with an occasional third operating.  Anyway, the point of all that is despite being described as a “grocery store,” at the point the story takes place it was much more likely to be closer to what we would consider a general store. I don’t think anyone would actually think it odd that you could buy a handgun in a general store.

Back in FF 1, here’s where we ended last time:

We leave Elfheim City and jump back in the boat, then cross the ocean north to Corneria again. As usual, this takes about two random encounters. The only magic used is trying out the Fear and Confuse spells. While Fear seems a bit chancy, Confuse actually works pretty well. After the due-north crossing reaches Corneria we follow the coast to the Northwest which soon reaches a port with no nearby associated town, castle, or other resource. But I have been assured this is the closest port, in fact ONLY port that allows you to reach Mount Duergar, the home of the dwarves. Dwarfs. Whichever spelling you prefer. I like dwarves.

We stick to the coast moving Southwest until we run into two mountain ranges to our right, or to the West on the map. Traveling between them leads us to the entrance of Mt. Duergar.

Inside Mt. Duergar one dwarf will drop some lore:

This next section of the game will be restoring the Earth Crystal to fix that rot…that’s why we’re only really hearing about that particular problem. The “rot” seems to manifest in a lack of soil fertility that is not really shown, only talked about. More visibly the places the rot is spreading from will become increasingly marsh-like and swampy…or swamp-like and marshy. Whatever. Also, the undead will walk the earth instead of only inhabiting graveyards and caverns. So there’s that.

Another dwarf will mention that wearing armlets may not seem like much “armor” per se, but can be really good for your defense. Because of our meticulous play we have already found, I think, a leather armlet and a copper armlet or two, both of which increase our defense. You will also likely remember that a major upgrade item in The Legend of Zelda was the Red Ring and Blue Ring (the Power Bracelet, while most analogous in placement specifically gave you the ability to move certain large or heavy objects). The effects of jewelry items would eventually diversify, but early RPGs frequently assigned damage reduction abilities to these items.

A third dwarf will mention their desire for “levistone” which seems to be a quest pointer; although they immediately add that levistone is used to make objects fly, like airships. Considering this is the second recent reference to airships, we’re probably heading for one soon and this only keeps the idea in mind.

However, a fourth dwarf will be referenced with wordplay:

The “smithy” isn’t labeled, but we’re standing right next to it. Smyth the smith has this to say:

So that’s a quest to be fulfilled eventually. Actually, toward the end of the game is my understanding; as this sword is supposed to be this game’s “ultimate sword.” Once we find or receive some adamantite ore or metal we can bring it back here.

Of course, the reason we’re here is to give Nerrick the Nitro Powder (your version may literally say TNT) we found in Corneria. He is way down at the bottom of the cave banging on some rocks. If this is the first time you’ve talked to him, he’ll take the Nitro Powder out of your inventory and proceed to blow some stuff up. If you HAVE NOT found the Nitro Powder yet, he’ll tell you he needs some. I have mentioned before what it’s for: Nerrick is trying to blast a way to the outer sea and the rest of the lands on the map. So far we’ve been limited to the Aldean Sea which can only access certain areas. On the World Map and even the Mini-map, it looks like you can sail West just South of Mt. Duergar…but you can’t. There’s actually one square of land connecting the Northern parts of the this continent with the land of Elfheim to the South. We’re actually pretty close to the Westnorth Dark Castle where we defeated Astos. (Not that we can see that from underground.) But if we have the Nitro Powder to give to Nerrick, he blows up that one square of land:

Not pictured: the sound of a long explosion and the screen shaking. After Nerrick has created his “canal” to the outer lands you can go get back in your boat, sail down the coastline to this point, and cross over. There will be a small island in the way with no port (or anything else) but after going around that you will almost immediately hit the town and port of Melmond, the city associated with the Earth Crystal. In a manner of speaking, this is where the Story Story starts. Why does this keep happening?

This is Melmond, the city of the West that is associated in legend with the Earth Crystal. Most of the farming of this world used to be done in this region. The balance of the four crystals was upset hundreds of years ago when the Air and Sea crystals were taken over or lost. This region was attacked by a lich or vampire; depending on your translation. You will notice how decrepit the town of Melmond is; the entire area seems to be sinking into the swampy land. The town is covered in marked graves. Every single one will prompt an interaction, and every single one says the same thing:

There are four shops here other than the inn, but you’ll notice the church is destroyed. Or, I presume it’s the church. There is no church available, so no cures or re-lifes are available at the moment. There is also no item shop so no refilling your potions, any of your cure items, or your camping options. However, the two spell shops here offer 5th Tier spells, which  should provide almost everything you need…if you don’t mind spending your spell slots on support actions. I don’t, but our hands are tied it looks like. The weapons and armor don’t actually provide many upgrades, only the Silver Armlets for the two mages. I actually found some upgrades for the thief and the warrior while looting Mt. Duergar. So the warrior now has a sword Wyrmkiller that technically upgrades over the previous sword. You can buy a Longsword here that provides a small attack upgrade. The game thinks it’s worth it, so I’ll give it a try. The warrior also found a helmet upgrade. The thief is now using the Runesword; I don’t know why it didn’t equip earlier. Or maybe I didn’t even try? I can’t remember now. Pretty sure I found an armor upgrade for the thief as well. In the end, it resulted in not needing much here in Melmond, although I don’t quite have enough Gil to buy all the 5th Tier spells I need, so I’ll probably grab a level or two before moving on.

Most of the information available from Melmond residents comes out in a circle. First, the decay in the Earth is because the Earth Crystal isn’t glowing/powered/freed/etc.

Also, a big part of the reason Melmond is in shambles was because of a/the Vampire Attack:

And there’s a guy named Sadda in a cave to the south who sounds important:

Further conversations reveal that a cave to the South is actually the Earth Cavern, and that the fertility of the ground used to increase as you approached the cave. Now it’s the opposite. And the vampire is probably in there. This cave is on a peninsula called “The Devil’s Tail.” It’s not clear if Saada is also in this cave, but maybe not. HIS cave is supposed to be on the tip of the continent, so probably not. Also, there’s a giant who eats rocks in a cave to the south. He likes gems the most, but again it is not clear if the giant is in the same cave as either of the other two things mentioned, or if this is a THIRD cave.

Also, there is a Dwarf here named Watts who is looking into what caused the ground to rot, but has no quest pointers. At least at the moment that I can tell. There is also a genius called Dr. Unne, who claims he knows everything and is very upset that you’ve never heard of him. Watts may only be here for continuity; the dwarves were trying to find out why there was rot in the land coming from the West; but Unne will probably be important later. Then again, I keep thinking the sages in Elfheim City would have something to say, and they haven’t yet. Maybe I should go visit the dancing girl in Corneria again.

That’s it for now, see you all next week!

Paige Francis He/him