Jess Just Play: JRPG Video Game Blog

In my last update, I left off with Atreus heading out back to Asgard. Sindri gave him a traveling stone (or something) which would give him one quick exit for an extreme emergency.

Atreus has a habit of talking to himself, which I find very humorous and cute. He was trying to have a convo with Mimir but he realized he can't do his accent. 😂

Once he arrived in Midgard, he found Angrboda and Fenrir. I guess they've just been traveling around too. I forgot what Angrboda said here.

Atreus finds Odin and Odin gives him a new assignment and has Atreus find Thor. He ends up asking Thrúd for help and they go to the pub where they find Thor getting drunk. I guess Thor had promised his daughter he was going to stop drinking, because she was very disappointed in him for being so drunk. We all 3 get into a pub fight with the other people in there. It was chaotic.

I actually don't remember the order of things here. Atreus and Thor reach the area where the last piece of the mask is, but then Sif arrives and is talking to Thor that they need to stop Odin (I think) or to at least question his actions. Sif tells Thor the reason her sons are dead is because of Odin. (I THINK) Or she is the one that tells Odin that Kratos killed Heimdall and that's why Odin arrived with his two Valkyrie fighters. But I do remember Sif and Thor having a conversation here, about possibly becoming a family again - the three of them (Sif, Thor, and Thrúd).

Atreus uses the emergency exit that Sindri gave him and arrives back at Sindri's house with the mask. Everyone is now prepared to attack Odin. Tyr says he knows a way into Asgard and everyone is like "whoa, really? All this time?" but Brok is the only one who found it suspicious.

"This ain't right. All the pieces ain't welding together true." - Brok

And then Tyr stabs him. What the heck?? It turns out Tyr has been Odin this entire time??? I feel like someone should have picked up on that.

Technically, Brok was already dead, but now because of this... he's like, totally dead and gone? Mimir says the part of his soul that can go onto the next life (or whatever) is gone, so there's nothing to bring back. I actually do find that super sad.

"When a soul missing its fylgja - it's direction... He's not only dead... he's been denied an afterlife..." - Mimir

Sindri is completely devastated and probably the scariest character at this point. He's completely volatile and erratic. It's strange because even at the end of God of War 2018 or at the beginning of this game, Freya's anger did not feel this unstable. You could tell she was mad and angry and vengeful, but there was a steadiness to her. Sindri completely lacks that.

In one of my previous updates, I mention how Freya shows immense strength by doing what she knows is right even though it's hard. I feel like Sindri is the complete opposite, blaming it all on Atreus instead of seeing the greater picture. (Also that he accidentally killed Brok and intentionally brought him back.)

Freya and the crew are ready to build an army and bring together the nine realms to fight Odin. Everyone gets sent to a different realm. Freyr goes to Alfheim because he knows the elves like him there. I thought that was funny.

Kratos and Atreus go to Muspelheim to convince Surtr to join them by becoming Ragnarök. Atreus is confused why he is there while Sinmara is elsewhere. Surtr says they are together because they traded hearts. (Stop. So romantic.)

Surtr: We are together. Got her heart. Surtr: (to Atreus) Have you ever been in love? It's pretty good.

Surtr tells Kratos he won't sacrifice Sinmara, but he will help them by channeling his flame power into Kratos' blades. And then if Kratos stabs Surtr's heart (which is Sinmara's cold heart) that should be enough for Ragnarök to form. Something like that.

"This man of ash cares nothing for his life, only for who he loves. He bears her heart in his chest, and is separated from his own, as he is separated from her. I believe I understand his condition." - Kratos journal entry

Also, random but. I like how Surtr calls Sinmara's heart "beautifully cold." So romantic.

"Am I not always careful with you?" - Kratos

Kratos hasn't wanted to go to war with Odin at all, but he realizes that it's now inevitable. He has never wanted Atreus to see war much less be part of it. You can tell Kratos is really struggling with all of this.

The fights in this area were actually really tough so I decided to head back to the recently unlocked Crater area in Vanaheim.

Back when Brok went with us to Svartalfheim to get the spear, he (Brok) gave Mimir a riddle to solve. It was something like, what gets bigger the more you take away? While walking around the Crater area, Kratos actually took a guess and said "Brok's riddle. Could the answer be, "nothing?" but Mimir told him no. And Kratos is like, "I do not like riddles." 😂

Later on, Mimir tells him a riddle and Kratos actually likes it. It was something like, what would you rather face... a pit of spikes, something else I don't remember, or lions that haven't been fed for 3 weeks. And Kratos answered "a pit of spikes is easily avoided" and Mimir was like "you should pick the third, because lions that haven't been fed in weeks would be DEAD!" and Kratos just says "Mm. I like this riddle." 😂

One of the cool things about the Crater area is there are some side quests that are related to Faye! There is a big lightning bolt at the center that Kratos says did not happen from him because he has never been to this realm. The ghosts around the area talk about a fair-haired woman and Kratos, Atreus, and Mimir start to wonder if they could be talking about Faye.

It's really interesting to see Kratos handle finding out all this new information about Faye. He's like, "She never talked about Thor before"... Faye really seemed to have kept a lot of secrets from him. Personally, I'd be pissed off.

Magnus: Of a fair-haired woman doing battle with the post powerful of all gods.

Andor: Then a fair-haired warrior stepped in his path and a fight began. She was a brave woman.

Kratos: This axe? Did it belong to a fair-haired woman? Skarde: Yes, she was fearsome. I remember her gloved hands brandishing that axe with exacting precision. Kratos: It was Faye that fought Thor in this valley. It seems there is much I never knew about her. And now she is gone.

Holger: A battle. Thor and this woman... with fair hair. The warrior... She was furious and fought like it. It was out of control. I saw her fury with every swing of her axe.

Kratos: These stories... I have known Faye's anger. But never to this extent. Mimir: We hide the parts we're ashamed of, brother. Atreus: Mom must've hated Thor for what he did to the Giants. Maybe that's why she did what she did. Kratos: We both had secrets. But that kind of anger... I never saw Faye in that light. Mimir: Even the brightest among us carry darkness, brother.

While walking around, Atreus asks Kratos if he has a favorite weapon. Kratos responds like Kratos, saying there is no point in picking a favorite because they each serve a purpose. Atreus says he likes the axe, and Kratos says he does too.

The Crater area looks so cool at night. I spent a lot of time here during night time fighting enemies, trolls, and dragons.

We also opened the dam up so that the river was full of water again. Being able to explore on boat opened up a lot of new areas. I liked this scene when Atreus asks Kratos how he's going to defeat Thor, and Kratos says "Last time, you were not with me." and Atreus takes that as a very heartfelt compliment.

After wrapping up the Faye-related side quests at the Crater and fighting the really tough fights (!!!), I returned to Midgard. I unintentionally walked to the spot that led us to the Fates, and Mimir asked Kratos why he's trying to visit the Fates if he knows the way is closed. I actually love that Kratos said "I... thought Atreus would like the horse." Very very cute, Kratos. Very cute.

Here is are my stats and the equipment I had on Kratos when we got to the bridge at Tyr's Tower.

I leveled up all 3 weapons to level 7.

Freya asks Kratos to be their general, Kratos says that she would be a better fit. She tells him to sleep on it, and points them each to their own tent. Atreus is surprised that he gets his own tent, but when Kratos comes near it, he tells his dad that he needs some time alone. Kratos heads to bed, and then... Atreus comes in and asks to sleep inside Kratos's tent. It was so cute, omg. I cried.

Atreus can't fall asleep, so Kratos decides to tell him a story. He talks about a man who cut logs (I think) and that as he got older, he was getting more and more tired. He eventually called Death and Death visited him. But then Atreus fell asleep, so Kratos doesn't finish the story. Instead, he falls asleep and he dreams of Faye again.

AND OH MY GOD. The saddest most beautiful scene between them.

Faye has Kratos helping her with her some things she wants to get done before she dies. Faye tells Kratos death is normal and that she wants a proper burial. This is where she tells Kratos to spread her ashes at the tallest point.

Faye: We will always walk together, Kratos. You will always be a part of me. I will always be a part of you. Kratos: And when you are gone, that part of me dies as well. Faye, to feel your absence – Faye: The culmination of love is grief. (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) And yet we love despite the inevitable. We open our hearts to it. Faye: To grieve deeply... is to have loved fully. (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Faye: Open your heart to the world as you have opened it to me, and you will find every reason to keep living in it.

Kratos agrees to be their general and we all have snazzy matching red outfits now. Also, those are the new Valkyries who are called Shield Maidens now!

"I came to these lands to escape my past. To start a new life. I can hide no longer." - Kratos

Kratos gives a speech and he blows the horn which is supposed to wake up Ragnarok. A portal opens and they all step inside to get to Asgard.

Once we get to Asgard, everything is crazy and everyone is fighting. Even Fenrir!

"Open your heart." - Kratos

Huge day for character development. At the very beginning of the 2018 God of War, Atreus hesitates to kill an animal while they were out hunting. Kratos tells Atreus to close his heart to it. Here in Asgard, Atreus witnesses the people of Midgard who were living outside the Asgard wall get attacked and he's extremely affected by it, but he tells himself he needs to close his heart.

Kratos: You feel their pain because that is who you are. And you must never sacrifice that. Never! I was wrong, Atreus. Open your heart. Open your heart to their suffering. That is your mother's wish... and mine as well.

Sindri and Atreus go to try to... break part of the wall (I think) with Sindri's powerful dwarf hammer... Sindri is still pissed off. I lowkey hate him lol he swats away Atreus's hand here, which was so mean. What a fall from grace this guy took!

Thrúd finds Atreus and is about to break him half, but Sif intervenes. She convinces Thrúd to focus on helping the Midgardians instead.

Thrúd tags along with Atreus and Kratos. I couldn't really enjoy their conversation because fights were going on at the same time, but she introduces herself to Kratos. Kratos compliments her on her fighitng. She says her dad taught her, and I think Kratos said he can tell.

Kratos and Thor have a fight and eventually Odin arrives pissed off and he is the one that kills Thor. Thrúd witnesses this, and Odin tries to trick her that they (Kratos and Atreus) made him do it. She is about to get Thor's hammer but Odin tosses both the hammer and his granddaughter away. I feel like we'll see Thrúd again in another game wielding that hammer.

We have like a three-part fight with Odin, who was annoying but completely doable. Freya has a noose that she ties around him. I think she found that earlier in the game with us, it seems familiar but I can't remember exactly.

Atreus puts Odin in one of the Giant marbles and I think he gives it to Freya to dispose of it, but she says she doesn't need to do that anymore to feel better or whole.

But who know who does have a vengeful chaotic soul right now? Sindri.

So he comes outta nowhere and uses the Dwarf hammer and obliterates the marble with Odin. I believe this means Odin is completely gone.

I forget what happens exactly, but basically Freyr sacrifices himself so that everyone can get out of Asgard and we wake up as Atreus. He goes through a corridor where we talk to everyone for a bit. Freya returns the arrow that she snatched from him earlier in the game, complimenting him as a fine warrior but he is more than that because he also has a good heart. They hug and it was very sweet. Freya is definitely playing a mother figure for him.

Atreus tells Mimir how much he appreciates him and basically says Mimir was like a second father to him.

We meet Angrboda and Fenrir next, and then Kratos shows up. Angrboda wants to show Atreus something, so Kratos was going to stay behind but Angrboda says he should see it too.

On the way to whatever Angrboda wants to show them, Atreus tells Kratos that he didn't finish the story. Kratos wraps up the story saying the old man asked Death to help him the carry the logs. He didn't want to die anymore.

Angrboda shows them the shrine that Laufey/Faye made (I think Faye made this) and then Atreus tells Kratos that he needs to go with Angrboda to... fix somethings, help people? I don't remember.

Kratos and Atreus hug, they remind each other that they will think about the other while they're apart. A sort of, "What would Atreus/Kratos do?"

Kratos goes behind the shrine and sees another side of the painting. I gotta give it to the characters, they know how to interpret these things really well because I have no idea what I'm looking at lol

Afterwards, Freya and Mimir join up with Kratos and they head down. Mimir mentions there's going to be a funeral for Brok, and Freya says there's a lot of other things to wrap up in the realms.

I talked to Lúndra to start the funeral side quest. Kratos says Brok was one of the few he called "friend." Mimir says he always knew Brok was one of the dumbest creatures, but didn't know he was also the bravest.

On the way to the funeral, Freya mentions we aren't dressed properly. Mimir says Brok wouldn't have cared anyway.

Everyone was waiting for Sindri, with Lúndra saying he has to show up... one of the dwarves says that loss can do things to a man. Which I just find to be a poor excuse for mad men to act insane. Loss does things to everyone. We all get affected by it. Look at Kratos and Freya. Even Atreus. Everyone has lost something.

Anyway, Sindri does show up. And... I don't remember if he says anything. I think Kratos was saying something to Sindri when he just walked away and then disappeared. Blah. Hope we don't see him again. Unless he's healed himself.

2022!!! I can't believe it took me 4 years to play this. I'm definitely buying God of War: Laufey on or near day one!

I loved this game!! I will write a game review later.

I get it, a waterfall... and also, Freya does fall from the grace of her people. She says people used to give her lots of gifts, but after the wedding and specifically after the birth of her son, they stopped giving her gifts.

"The earth is a reflection of those who tend it." - Freya

I love this quote!

"Bein' in love's always a risk. That's what makes it fun." - Lúnda

I don't like Lúnda but I do like what she says here.

Freya talks about how she and Odin were happy at first, but she paints the picture like Odin wanted Freya to teach him a lot of information. She didn't want to teach him old magic, and he got mad at her, and I guess that was the beginning of the end.

Mimir: Better now? Freya: No. The pain only grows... Will I ever be free of it? What more do I need to do? So much about that day I wish I could change. If only I'd seen the signs...

She eventually gets a new sword. Admitting that she wants to let go of the pain Odin caused her and the realms.

Freya and Kratos eventually leave and get back to Sindri's house, where Atreus is planning on leaving to Asgard. Everyone is upset about this.

I like this scene, with everyone together.

Atreus finds one of Odin's crows in Midgard and he gets teleported to Asgard. Which is beautiful!

Atreus gets sent on an errand with Thor (to find more pieces of a broken mask) but then sneaks off to check one of the shrines which Angrboda is conveniently also looking for. They go inside and two of the gods in the shrine are depicted as falling in love and becoming a creature/monster together.

When Freya and Atreus are in your party but not physically with you, they get shown as a statue and I think it's really cool. I like Freya's statue!

I did some side quests with Freya. Kratos mentions a story about a blacksmith and his daughter. And then he said something about the blacksmith dying in order to protect the daughter. And Freya is like, "At least it's a relatable story." So... yeah. That's the ending, isn't it?

It's in these desert sands that Freya tells us that the elves worship Freyr so much because he came out of the lake of souls (I think?) and so they immediately thought he was a deity, but I think Freyr just accidentally teleported there. Something like that.

Back in Midgard, we team up with the wolves and explore a lot of the realm. There is one side quest that ends with Kratos petting the wolves and finally being a teeny bit nice to them and we get a trophy that says we pet the wolves lol

We eventually find the Fates which seem to be the name of three women who foretell the future. They were underwater and we reached them by riding a horse...

The Fates are basically like, you guys have such obvious patterns that telling the future is too easy.

I respect that Kratos does not put his arms around Freya. What a guy.

This dude said "Good boys" and Freya is like... um they are GIRLS!

"Maybe buying something expensive will take your mind off it?" - Sindri

Lol that's relatable.

Later, we head back to Sindri's house and they get a ring that we are taking to The Lady. Sindri wanted to go, but Kratos decided on taking Brok. Brok tells Kratos about the nature vs the form of a thing and how they are different. He also calls Kratos "pasty", which I thought was very funny. Also kinda rude. But Kratos likes that Brok speaks plainly, and honestly? I prefer that too.

We meet The Lady who is an underwater creature and she turns the ring into a spear! She doesn't notice Brok and Mimir tells him that The Lady can only acknowledge people with a soul. Or something. So that's how Brok finds out that he died.

"It's good to have friends when you find out your brother's a rack-scabbin' liar." - Brok

Brok got on Kratos's back for the climb and he said something like, "guess we're doing this boy style" which was funny because this is how Atreus used to climb in the first game.

We meet Odin as we are exiting and they talk. Odin tries to get in Kratos's head. Asks him if anyone has ever actually worshipped him. Odin tells Kratos that Atreus is in no rush to return.

After we get back to Sindri's house, Kratos falls asleep and he dreams of Faye with a newborn Atreus. Faye tells Kratos he should talk to his son, so that the baby can learn his voice. Faye mentions that when they first met they almost tore each other's heads off. And she also says Kratos seems to be best at just grunting. Oh, and she calls him Grumbles which is funny.

Back with Atreus, Odin basically says everything he is doing is because he desperately needs to know what's going to happen to him when he dies. He says there's no Valhalla for him. I feel like every villain is just a being that cannot fathom the world without them in it. Like, it's okay to be an insignificant creature in the grand scheme of things.

We met a lot of new characters in Asgard. Heimdall, Thrúd, and Sif. Thrúd is Thor and Sif's daughter and she wants to be a Valkyrie. Heimdall is a know-it-all and protective of Odin. Heimdall doesn't trust Atreus. Thrúd kinda doesn't know how to feel about Atreus, but Atreus is hopeful that they can be friends.

It's in this assignment that Thrúd and Atreus release a huge dog that was chained up in Helheim. Turns out it was a helhound and it can rip through the realms. Odin is pissed off. Atreus is so confused and wants to go back home, and Odin does actually let him go back.

Atreus immediately falls into Kratos's arms for an embrace. They go back to Helheim together to get rid of the hound.

"I am your father. I will always help. As long as I am able." - Kratos

Eventually, Atreus remembers that Angrboda told him that his knife has a soul. He figures it must be Fenrir's soul, from the magic spell he accidentally cast when he was burying Fenrir all the way at the beginning of the game. Fenrir's soul transfers to the helhound and then they tell him to go home. An interesting happy ending.

Afterwards, Kratos realizes that Atreus has learned a lot and they promise each other to keep the other in mind whenever they are apart.

Kratos: You have grown into a warrior.

Atreus: I'll listen for your voice in my head, when you're not there.

Atreus: I need to know you'll be okay without me.

Back at Sindri's house, Atreus shows them the mask. Tyr says the mask helps the person gaze into the secrets of Creation itself, which is exactly what Odin wants to know more about.

We end up going back to Vanaheim to help Freya and her brother. When we get there, they seem to have been kidnapped (I think?) so we have to go rescue them. Part of this is returning the moon to the sky, which is the item that Heimdall took from Helheim at Odin's request.

Before we rescue Freyr, we actually fight Heimdall and we finally beat him. The spear came in handy!

We were able to flee with Freyr's magical boat which also flys! Unfortunately we got attacked here by a dragon and one of Freyr's members essentially sacrifcied himself to save the others.

The big dog that is part of the group smelled the dude's scent, so we followed him and end up in a completely new area of the map. It reminded me so much of the desert area in Final Fantasy XVI.

This place was HARD. I was able to get some crystal shards and beat some enemies, but I escaped as soon as I could because it was way too stressful. It definitely seems like an extremely challenging area. Thank God it's optional!

But I'm glad I went just for this scene. One of the side quests was to find two scrolls for a fallen soldier. I think Mimir or Atreus said something about Faye possibly having a drink here in this realm with Thor. Kratos has never been here and doesn't know if Faye ever visited. But he didn't like the thought of Faye drinking with someone else, saying "Faye never drank with me. And she would not have with him." but then Mimir tells him you never really know the ones we love.

After we escaped, Atreus tells Kratos that the horn he (Kratos) took from Heimdall is supposed to be blown by a god and that it harmonizes the space between them.

Then, Freya and Freyr are at Sindri's house and Freyr discovers the idea of a "muse" and says he would like to be a muse because he doesn't see himself as a leader.

I felt like I was inside the tunnels under Gringotts Bank. (Harry Potter world)

"War does not measure the strength of a man." - Kratos

There has been a reoccurring theme of Kratos trying to teach Atreus that war should not always be the goal or answer.

We actually met Tyr! He is huge. There was a point in the game where Atreus says something like, "It's funny that out of us two, I'm the Giant"... and you know what? I do find that very interesting.

"Well ain't you filler-sophical." - Brok

We took Tyr back to Sindri's house and it was really interesting to see such a huge person in there. Sindri was like begging the dude to not break his furniture lol

Then we go on a mission with only Atreus and Sindri. How fun! And funny. Atreus tries to open the chests by punching it, just like his dad, but he realizes it's much harder than it looks. 😂

"Take this you dirty pile of rocks!" - Sindri

Sindri joins us in battle by throwing things at the enemies. He's so funny. He doesn't like things to be dirty or feeling hands on himself, but later he actually admits why. It turns out he accidentally killed Brok and had to go down to Hel to get him back, and so he feels those dead grimy hands on him as he's trying to get Brok out. "Thing is... I could only get three of his four soul-parts back." I still don't know what that means. Is that why he turned blue?

Sindri throwing a huge pumpkin. Hilarious. 😂

Atreus talks to himself a lot. It's really cute and funny. He has full on conversations with Kratos, even though Kratos isn't there.

"I am far from whole." - Freya

Atreus eventually finds Freya, who is still pissed. But there's something so incredibly fascinating to me about seeing this woman, who is heartbroken, angry, feels trapped, enraged, vengeful, etc... it's that, despite all that, she still knows what the right thing to do is. She lets Atreus go, saying "Go, before I change my mind."

A weak person could never!!!

After Sindri and Atreus's little adventure, they head back to Sindri's house and they all gather round the table for a bro dinner.

Then we met... this talking squirrel? I don't actually remember what he said, but I think he's in charge of the tree that we use to travel to different realms.

"My dad likes loot." - Atreus

"He's just looking around. He does this sometimes." - Atreus

For the next part, we take Tyr with us and he keeps wondering why Kratos lags behind. Atreus explains that Kratos is very thorough lol

We saw the Lake of Souls, which is part of that really bright elf location from the first game. Except the whole area here looks different. It has more flowers and stuff.

Oh my God this was the most annoying puzzle! And I admit it - I had to look this one up because I couldn't figure it out. I felt stupid after I read how to do it. I just had to call back the axe. Smh.

We keep finding these poems around and Mimir asked Kratos if he has a favorite. I like what Kratos replies. "Why would I choose a favorite?" That's honestly how I feel about colors lol but later, he does say he has a favorite poem from his homeland. So I guess he just meant. why would he pick a favorite Kvasir poem when he already has a favorite poem. Such a Kratos answer.

"I daresay he's beginning to ENJOY the vandalism. Pretty soon he'll by laying waste to pottery..." - Mimir

I'm glad Mimir mentions the pottery breaking. I definitely try to hit every pottery I see. 😂

I think Atreus asked Tyr about his mother's soul. Tyr replies:

"Her soul is one with the Light now. United by forces older than Odin himself." - Tyr

And then we see Kratos attracted to the light. I think Kratos said he could hear someone. (Faye, obviously).

We eventually find the shrine and Tyr is like, "Nah, I'm not fighting." and so we head back. But Kratos asks Atreus if he wants to help the hurting animal he heard.

So we find him and this scene was funny. I don't know if I shared a screenshot of Dínner, which was a squid thingie from one of the dwarf peoples (I think he's the dwarf who gave us a map?), but this conversation between Kratos and Atreus made me laugh:

Atreus: Don't worry, Lúnch. We'll get you out. Kratos: What is that name? Atreus: Well the last squid-thing we say was Dínner, so...

Oh my gosh, these two! They were such good animals. They follow you around when you're on foot, so you never have to go far whenever you're ready to get back on the sled.

There were a lot of good stories here in this desert. At one point, Mimir talks about the soul and that it has four parts: form, mind, direction, and luck.

Back at home base, Tyr is cooking and is enjoying it. Brok is pissed off that he has to eat vegetables. And Kratos is upset with Atreus for thinking of himself as a champion.

Atreus: It's just a word. Kratos: A word that clouds your judgment.

Atreus gets mad and storms off. Sindri actually puts his hand on him to comfort Atreus (a big thing for Sindri) and then Atreus falls asleep holding a marble thing.

I don't actually remember when he found this... was it in the bag of ashes from the first game?

Atreus falls asleep and travels to the Ironwood. Which is a secret location of the Giants. He meets another Giant named Angrboda, who I think he has a crush on. Or at least wanted to impress.

Angrboda notes. She recognizes him and leads him deeper into the woods to her village, where she lives alone.

Atreus finds a painting prophecy that is similar (or identical?) to the one he saw at the end of the first game. He loses his marbles after seeing his dad dead and himself with Odin and turns into a wolf.

Angrboda was able to calm him down, and now in battles (at least when it's just Atreus) his new ability is to transform.

Atreus: Feels weird when I change. Like I'm not in control. Angrboda: Do you need to be? You can fight with all sorts of eotion in your heart – not just rage.

We spend some time with Angrboda and even explore riding on the back of her yak. Angrboda tells Atreus that his knife has a soul inside...

What a cute scene omg. Atreus randomly finds a flower, pulls it out, and hands it to Angrboda. She's like, "You killed a flower?" and doesn't take it. Poor Atreus. 😭 (But also, I feel the same way about flowers. I'd rather see them flowering than pulled out.)

So, during all this, one of the wolves in the forest gets captured and Angrboda tells us Gryla took it. So we go to Gryla's home, who happens to be Angrboda's grandmother. She is a very cruel woman. It's interesting to see how her grief manifested. It's also interesting that of the very few women we see in the game (Freya, Faye, and now Gryla), two of them are just tortured by their all-encompassing grief.

Atreus tells Angrboda that he has to leave, and she is lowkey upset that her part in all this is over. I think that's why hearing her own grandmother tell her that she'll be forgotten is so hurtful. Atreus reassures her that it doesn't have to be the end.

Also, Angrboda gave him a bag of more marbles which are actually holding the souls of Giants. He ended up using one to re-add a soul into a huge serpent that was inside Gryla's home. But the serpent just slithered away and Atreus was confused and (I think) he handed them back to Angrboda for her to keep. (I think)

Anyway, Angrboda helps Atreus head back home. Except... well he heads back to the home in snowy Midgard...

And Kratos is there... very upset.

Atreus tells him that he can't tell Kratos what he's working on. And why can't he keep secrets since Kratos and Faye kept things from other people. Kratos tells Atreus he just wants to keep him (Atreus) safe and that he (Atreus) doesn't need to protect him (Kratos).

And then Freya appears! And she is ready to kill Kratos once and for all, but... she doesn't. She decides to use him on a mission to Vanaheim so that she can remove the locks that keep her trapped in Midgard.

Freya ends up turning into a bird when we get to the next location because she couldn't keep her human form up because of Odin's spell that keeps her trapped.

It was at this point that I realized there was an "Anger Mangagement" tab under Labors that has been tracking how many chests I've opened. The fact it's called Anger Mangement is so funny.

Brok joins Kratos and Freya btw, and he along with Kratos (and Mimir) all try to talk to Freya about forgiveness and such. Freya is upset with her brother Freyr. It's all very strange. Like, just leave her alone. She'll forgive when, and if, she's ready.

A full moon!!

And in a sad dialogue, Freya tells Kratos he has no idea what it is like to mourn a child. And Kratos tells her that he does. Kratos says his first child was a daughter named Calliope and that he destroyed the village that she and her mother lived in. I never played the first God of War games (with younger Kratos) but I think these events happened in that trilogy.

The Draugr in this location was so hard! It turns out it was because I had the Rage set to replenish HP. I changed it back to the original Rage where Kratos punches a lot and I finally beat him.

Every time Kratos gets on these swinging things, I pretend Kratos is saying "weeee"...

"I am reaching my limit for enlightened platitudes from you today. Can you please just shut up and kill things?" - Freya

Freya finally has had enough of all the lecturing and tells Kratos to shut up. He doesn't like being told what to do, and like I mentioned before, I've never played the original games but I'm assuming it's because he was tied to the orders of Roman gods/goddesses that used him as a killing machine.

"I kill to protect my son. To aid my friends. But I will be no one's monster. Never again." - Kratos

We finally reach our destination and we kill the... monster thing that was protecting the... roots thing that had... something that was... keeping Freya trapped.

Afterwards, Kratos comes up to her and is like... so are you gonna kill me? I love what Freya says.

"To be honest... I don't think I can do either. (Forgive him or kill him) There's still a part of me... that is so... angry. And it'll always be... it'll always be angry. But, no. You are not the one who needs to die. I do see that." - Freya

Oh FREYA. My heart. This is true strength. To be so angry and hurt and full of rage, but to still think clearly?

Ugh, and then they shake hands. And it was ...so touching? It is interesting to see these two. They respect each other. They care about each other, in a way. It's odd. It's different, but not in a bad way.

"I do not regret saving your life... and never will. But the choice between life and death should have been yours to make. I should not have robbed you of that choice." - Kratos

Freya gives the tiniest smile, and they head back. In the journal, the entry is updated and the last line reads: "I am relieved to think of her as a friend once more. I can imagine no more formidable ally."

She joins us in battle and has a bow that she uses like Atreus. She shoots pink runes that are really cool (Sigil arrows). And later Brok fixes her bow to also shoot the green arrows like Atreus (Sonic arrows).

Kratos: You use your anger effectively. Freya: Well, you learn to use what you have.

Freya is reunited with her brother. They forgive each other.

"Forgiveness can be powerful. My wife Faye taught me that." - Kratos

This is the first time I've seen Freya and Kratos (and Mimir) on a boat, so that was cool. Mimir is glad they are working together.

"Whatever comes next, our best chance of surviving is to work together." - Freya

There was one dialogue while on the boat that made me laugh. Freya told Kratos that if she wanted to, she could have beat him.

Freya: You know I would have beaten you. Kratos: Mm. Perhaps.

A MAN WHO DOESN'T GET OFFENDED OF A WOMEN'S CONFIDENCE! Gotta love it.

And I ended up dying here, so this is the last screenshot I have. Mimir said a funny line about what they each contribute.

Mimir: With my brains, Kratos' brawn and my lady's... Freya: Wisdom. Magic. Ability to tolerate you for long periods of time. Mimir: I was going to say "brutality."

We saw Freya again and she is maaaad.

"I killed her son. There is no letting that go." - Kratos

Wolf girlies! Speki and Svanna

And this is why I started bawling my eyes out. I barely even knew Fenrir and yet his death was incredibly sad. 😭

"I don't want to fight anyone. I just want answers." - Atreus

We also met Faye for the first time. At least I don't remember seeing her in the 2018 game. She reminded me so much of the girl from Daredevil (the original Marvel TV show, I haven't watched the reboot). I looked her up just now to find her name (Deborah Ann Woll) and turns out she is actually the voice actress and they used her as a model for Faye's character!

"A problem doesn't have to reach our doorstop for it to be our responsibility. If we have the power to limit the harm it would cause, we should act." - Faye

Later, Atreus goes to bury Fenrir and we can't find him. Basically he turned into a bear and killed a mama bear and her cubs are all alone. Cue more crying. 😭😭😭

"Intent does not matter. Only consequences." - Kratos'

Thor visits us and... well, he sure isn't Chris Hemsworth (in the first Marvel movies... towards the end they did make Marvel movie Thor more like this).

The graphics in this game! Absolutely amazing details.

After Atreus tells us his plan to try to find Tyr, we meet up with Sindri and Brok again. They are so funny.

We travel to a new location, The Wetlands which was pretty in it's own unique way.

And then eventually find our way to Nidavellir which I think is the home of the dwarves.

The water!!!!! Spent some time around here on a sidequest for Mimir to free some creature he trapped.

"You must live with your deeds, but do not be troubled by them, brother." - Kratos

I always think it's funny when Kratos does this. I imagine him going "weee" like if he was at an amusement park.

"Even hateful things have their uses." - Kratos

One of the best things about having a boat again is the stories that Kratos, Atreus, and Mimir talk about. Or sometimes it's just silly dialogue, like Atreus asking Kratos when is he going to get big and strong like him (Kratos).

"My strength does not come from my body. But both are honed by disipline." - Kratos

We eventually get on a train and make our way to the next location.

Which is beautiful.

Looks like a heart.

Gameplay/Exploration 3/5 (mechanics, controls)

Exploration

The overworld is a map that looks like this above. The yellow symbols denote your next destination to the progress the story. The smaller points in between the castles/buildings are fields, deserts, and various terrains with random battles that you can flee from or fight. I like how succinct everything feels. You know where to go next, you can fight or flee, and go back to a town or castle to buy items or check on your errands.

Treasure

The treasure chests in this game are on the battle field and they appear after enemies disappear from the screen. You have to use a turn to move a character onto the spot where the treasure chest is.

Recruits and Errands

You can recruit squires from the taverns and then send them off to errands. At first I thought I wouldn’t be doing this, but it’s such an easy way to make a lot of money and find treasure/information so it’s honestly stupid to NOT send out recruits.

Battle System 3/5

Can I just say, the tutorials for this game are basically nonexistent. You really have to figure everything out on your own… which can easily turn into a huge waste of time.

The very first battle is way too automated and should have been a tutorial. I remember sitting there just watching the computer make all the decisions and moves and thinking, “What in the world is going on!”

The battle screen is a grid of squares. When it’s your characters turn, you can move a certain amount of spots and perform a move depending if it’s a far-attack or near-attack ability. For example, an archer will be able to hit enemies far away compared to a knight who can only hit someone on a square next to or in front of them.

The camera was really annoying in battles. Maybe it’s because I played Jeanne d’Arc first because in that game you had a lot of freedom to move the camera but FF Tactics heavily restricts you.

The Archer Job...

Speaking of archers... what the actual F is up with the archers in this game? The game limits who you can attack, even at a distance, which I thought was really weird. In Jeanne d'Arc, an archer could hit anyone without any restrictions!

EXP and JP

After your character performs, they earn EXP and JP (job points). Job points for a particular job are distributed to the other characters too. For example, if you have a monk, ninja, and dragoon in battle, the character acting as a dragoon will get JP points AND the monk and ninja will get some dragoon JP too. So from what I understand, it’s good idea to have a variety of jobs on the battle field at once so everyone’s jobs are leveling up.

Spellcasting and Characters Moving/Dying

It is very annoying when you cast a spell but either: • your character dies so your healing spell gets cast on someone else... and usually it's the enemy so now the enemies have your heals or protection spells -_- • the enemy moves so your attacking spell gets cast on no one, someone else, or often your own party member!!

Other Annoying In-Battle Things

You can’t use any items until your Chemist has enough job points to unlock using those particular items. This is why it helps to always have a Chemist in your party at the beginning to make sure everyone is getting some Chemist JP.

If an enemy counterattacks you, Auto-Potion doesn’t seem to work? I notice Cloak Evasion activating during battles, but I’m not sure how it works. (It’s helpful though.)

Character Progression 3/5 (leveling up, customization)

Bravery and Faith

Characters have a Bravery and Faith stat. This is important when you're recruiting new characters. Apparently there is some complicated weird stuff going on to figure out these numbers. But I simply like to think Bravery is someone's physical attack and Faith is their magical strength.

Unlocking Jobs

You unlock jobs by leveling up previous jobs to a certain level. It’s REALLY annoying. For example, the Ninja job (one of my favorites) requires Level 4 Archer, Level 5 Thief, and Level 3 Geomancer. Some jobs are blacked out until you’re close to unlocking them (which was kind of annoying because it would have been nice to know what they were).

EXP, JP, and Mastering Jobs

I mentioned EXP and JP above under Battle System. Characters level up with EXP and each job levels up with JP (up to level 8). Once you learn all of a job's abilities, the job is considered mastered.

Job Combinations

I guess this is one part that gamers really like about FF Tactics. Once you learn a job ability, you can equip it to your character even if they have a different job equipped. In the example above, Bardolf is a Dragoon. Under the Abilities column, the first slot is the job default ability that changes depending on the job equipped, in this case it's Dragoon so the Jump ability is active. The 4 abilities under that can be changed to whatever you want.

• Red: Action Abilities grouped by job command, used for attacking and healing • Orange: Reaction Abilities triggered automatically when attacked • Blue: Support Abilities provide helpful effects that are always active • Purple: Movement Abilities related to how the unit moves

Bardolf is a Dragoon here (above) so his action ability is Jump and is using Items like a Chemist. It’s not really combining two jobs (I think Final Fantasy V does a better job at that) but you’re still creating a mix of some sort.

Art (Music and Graphics) 3/5

Good. I thought the graphics looked great and the music was fine.

Enjoyment 2/5

I love the Final Fantasy series but I don't love Final Fantasy Tactics. HOWEVER, after finishing the game and understanding the battle system and mechanics so much better, I can definitely understand why some people love this game.

Do I recommend this game? No but maybe?

Would I replay this game? No.

Favorite character: My random recruit, Jillybean! Her name was Jillian but I changed it to Jillybean and she stayed with me the entire game. Bardolf, too!

Favorite moment: Finishing it.

Gameplay/Exploration 5/5 (mechanics, controls)

Modes

The game has Story mode, Adventure (normal) mode, and Challenge mode.

Traversal

The game heavily focuses on traversing through locations and dungeons, not just by walking and running but also:

walking on tightropes and ledges

climbing up/down

swimming

jumping across/down

using a grapple hook for wide jumps

Also, as you're walking around and if you touch something that makes another area open or change (or a sound effect plays), the camera will automatically pan over to show you what changed or unlocked.

Treasure

There is a lot of treasure in this game and you can also collect Rainbow Conch Shells for a side quest that helps you unlock some stuff for a location later in the game.

Puzzles

There are SO many puzzles throughout that you have to solve in order to progress through dungeons. I loved them. They reminded me of Nancy Drew PC game puzzles (a lot of them were identical).

Save Points

There are plenty of save points in this game. I thought they looked like the books the moogles from Final Fantasy IX pull out to save the game.

Overworld Map and Walking Speed

The only thing I guess I didn't like was that you can't run or sprint faster than the default speed,which I noticed the most while on the overworld map. Which btw, looks exactly like Chrono Trigger. Once you exit a town, you maneuver across a screen like this until you reach your next destination. If you pull up the world map while on the overworld, a yellow star will be on top of the main story's next objective.

Couch Co-Op

I didn't use this, but apparently the game has couch co-op!

Fishing

The game has fishing and it's actually a lot of fun! They play a really silly song when you have a fish on your line. Different locations have different fish (there's a board at each spot telling you which fish are there and once you find them, the fish appears to let you know that you've caught it.)

Camping

Every location has a campsite where you can save your game, cook, and rest. You can also talk to the other party members during this time.

Battle System 5/5

Great. The battle system is fun! The battles are turn-based but you don't have any way to tell who is next. However, you can toggle between your 3 characters for whoever you want to go first if they have a turn.

Combos

The characters have combo moves with each other. They require 1-3 gold squares to perform and 0 MP. The Combo gauge fills up as you participate in battle. Eventually, a second gauge that wraps around the Combo square will show up and that will be for the character's limit breaks.

Blocking/Double Hits

If you press the X button (or whatever you're using) you can successfully block the enemy's attacks which reduces the damage. When you are attacking an enemy, pressing the X button with correct timing lets you hit twice. They give you a tutorial battle to practice this. Timing the blocks can be annoying because every enemy's speed and movement is different, so you have to figure it out through trial and error. Kind of like in Clair-Obscur: Expedition 33.

Auto Revival

What I found interesting is that there are no Phoenix Downs or revive items. (Well, muuuuuuch later you can cook food that will revive your KO'd characters.) But whenever a character's HP hits 0, they stay knocked out for awhile and then they are automatically revived with partial HP. (It felt like 2-3 turns later they would get revived.)

Items = Food

There are no "items" for MP or HP either though. You cook food and those become your inventory items for healing.

MP is used often for Skills (not combos) and is minimally replenished every round after your character attacks the enemy.

Battle Assist/Help

I think these are called Amulets and they are basically ways to make the game easier/harder depending if you toggle them on/off. The Amulet of Storytelling was turned off when I first started playing, but I eventually turned it on because I prefer it when my characters get fully healed after a battle.

Switching Characters

Also, you can switch between characters very easily during battles which comes in handy since each character attacks differently.

Character Progression 4/5 (leveling up, customization)

Solid. Characters earn EXP after the battle. All characters!! That means even the ones not in your active in-battle party will also gain EXP.

The customization is built in through the character design. I don't want to mention the later characters, but each character has a different set of weapons and fighting style.

Valere - Monk - Poles Zale - Mage - Daggers Garl - Warrior Cook - Pot Lids

Art (Music and Graphics) 4/5

I loved the pixel art in this game. I was mesmerized by the beauty of it. Everything was so detailed! Just look at their faces and posture while walking a tightrope...

The music was pretty alright for most of the game, but some of the songs were not pleasant and I had to mute the sound.

Enjoyment 5/5

I was playing Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles when I needed a break so I started Sea of Stars and I couldn't stop playing it. It's such a fun adventure! If you love pixel art and JRPGs, this is a must-play game!

Do I recommend this game? YES

Would I replay this game? Maybe

Favorite character: Valere because I love her character design and the fact that she's a monk and represents the moon.

Favorite moment: Just seeing all the different locations!

Not treasure, but I have a screenshot of a random enemy named Zell disappearing. Obviously I thought about Zell from Final Fantasy VIII.

Final Fantasy VI phantom train.

Aerith??

Got into a random battle with a bunch of monks!

This Sephiroth looking dude was SO annoying. I really hated the game at this point.

How I beat him.

But after those annoying battles, I was able to recruit Meliadoul who I think is really cool.

For the plot.

"What is love? Mayhap it is when you care more about someone else than you do yourself." - Meliadoul

SO FUNNY. This is Gilgamesh's prized weapon from Final Fantasy V lol good times

Rapha is someone I recruited and really wanted to use, but she starts off at level 1 or no level at all with all her jobs. It was just way too annoying trying to use her in battles and it would have taken me too long to teach her all the important Items, Auto-Potion, Dual Wield, and more.

But for some reason, Meliadoul was already leveled up nicely with a few of the jobs. Including Dancer. She was the first one who had Dancer unlocked and I had just recruited her. I put her as Archer (or Monk?) and then Thief so she could unlock Ninja. I really wanted her to have Dual Wield. Actually, I made her learn JP Boost first, then I started all that. I taught her some Chemist skills too, including Auto-Potion.

I tried the Mystic job on Jillybean and I really liked it!

Such cool treasure!! Tarot cards!

And a black cat. Very witchy finds.

This was cute. Anna and Edward from Final Fantasy IV.

Setzer from Final Fantasy VI.

I forgot who I was fighting here. But omg. I love the Geomancer job so much. Ramza (who was a Gallant Knight with Geomancy skills) was able to inflict Stone on the dragons/drakes which helped so much.

As if things couldn't get any worse, the end of the game consists of 3 back-to-back fights without any chance to save. At least you can retry at the start of each battle, but when I died during the 3rd phase I needed a break and I had to restart from the first battle.

I like that the Saint Ajora person turns out to be Ultima. Big fan of this.

3 of my characters, Jillybean, Bardolf, and Meliadoul all ended up disappearing in the 3rd phase of the final fight (pictured above). It was INSANE. At one point, Alma died, but she doesn't disappear, and then it was just Agrias and Ramza attacking the boss. But then he inflicted Agrias with Sleep or Immobilize (I can't remember) but I lost control of her and it was just Ramza on his own. !!!

I was so nervous. But boosting him with his "Shout" skill made a huge difference. His speed increased a lot so I was able to have a good amount of turns. And I was attacking him at this point around the 400s. Eventually I saw the "KO" prediction and I couldn't believe it. I actually beat the game.

Here are my endgame stats:

My jobs in the final boss fights were: Gallant Knight with Geomancy, Meliadoul with Items, (Bardolf) Dragoon with Items, Agrias with Items, and (Jillybean) Geomancer with White Magic. Auto-Potion and Critical Restore HP were my orange icons. And I gave Attack Boosts and Defense Boosts to everyone else.

I ended up not using Dual Wield because at this point of the game, the enemies were dodging the 1st or 2nd hit so it made more sense to boost the characters defense. If they didn't have Defense Boost, I gave them Attack boost. Geomancer is incredible. One positive thing about this game is now I really appreciate and understand the Geomancer job.

These were my stats during that end-of-chapter 2 battle against Gaffgarion.

Oh yeah, this was a fun moment. NOT. My characters got petrified and I couldn't even remove the status ailment because my Chemist hadn't learned the "Gold Needle" ability. *screams into the void*

But I didn't want to give up, so I kept leveling up. I also replaced one of my recruits with Agrias and started using her more. And I got the best job ever: ninja! (I really like the ninja.)

That stuuuupid little latch in the top photo would have made everything a lot easier during my first 100 attempts. I have no idea how I never saw it. At this point, I'm totally over-leveled and the boss fight (this one against Gaffgarion and the one immediately after) were easy. And I was GLAD after all the headaches I went through.

Bravery = physical strength Faith = magical power

That would have been really helpful to know, game!

I love the ninjas because they hold two weapons and they're super fast. Their movement range is also really good.

I didn't want to complain as much about the end-of-chapter 3 boss fight like I did with Gaffgarion, but oh my gosh, the Wiegraf boss fight was EXTREMELY ANNOYING.

He is very fast but thank God for "Rend Speed" and two dual-wielding knights because that is how I was able to beat Wiegraf.

And now I am currently in chapter 4. "In the name of love." Cute, I guess!

Seraï joins our team and she is able of creating a vortex of some kind where can instantly transport to various locations. We later learn she is actually not from this world at all, but from a technologically advanced world that doesn't have Solstice Warriors. Her ninja mask is a great cover-up because she is actually turning into a cyborg. Her world's story is so sad and eerie.

Garl gets hit with an attack that Seraï is able to pause so we can look for a cure. Poor Garl! He is such a sweet person who goes through a lot.

I liked the plot twist of Erlina and Brugaves being on the bad guy's side. Unfortunately they really shouldn't have given Erlina such a bad-ass look because she definitely screams "baddie" right away. So while I enjoyed the change, it wasn't THAT shocking. (But I'm not bothered by the lack of shock.)

I really liked how the water splashes look.

Hortence is so cool! She randomly reminds me a lot of Sandy from the Spongebob Squarepants cartoon and also Jessie from Toy Story.

Seraï's ultimate move is calling the pirates and a bunch of bombs drop in battle. It is so funny. And strong!

We're diving in deep waters now.

And we finally found out why we were collecting the rainbow conch shells. A little miss entrepreneur.

We finally met The Archivist from the beginning of the game. He eventually joins our team as Resh'an.

We get a flashback of Erlina and Brugaves as children. Neither one of them wanted to be Solstice Warriors, and Brugaves was a little chicken. He didn't like how he would get scolded for being too slow, so he wanted to run away. Erlina promised him that she would get them both out. And eventually, she does. So turns evil for a loved one. I mean, I can't really hate her for that lol but Brugaves is kinda annoying lol

Eventually we get to a clockhouse area and we meet Caël (pronounced Kyle, I think?) and he basically gives me Final Fantasy Cid vibes.

Fights happen and Garl gets gravely injured. He is basically dying, but he asks for a bottle of Borrowed Time. Our task is to carry out his plan, and when we do... he will die. So sad.

We eventually make it to the Sea of Stars which is like, an in-between space between worlds. We go to Seraï's world first and we eventually beat the Fleshmancer there.

The Cerulean Expanse is SO Bikanel Desert from Final Fantasy X.

Later we come across some creatures that are bodiless. B'st is one that wants to fight with us. Resh'an uses or makes some type of glass that is able to contain B'st and give him a physical shapeshifting body.

We learn more about Resh'an and Aephorul (The Fleshmancer) and apparently they were friends and cared about each other, but Aephorul always had some evil in him. Or I guess, just like Erlina he is willing to do anything for someone he cares about.

Caël and the other kids in the clocktower combine their brains and the AI core that we found in Seraï's world to become a robot that looks similar to Robo from Chrono Trigger.

Valere and Zale end up unlocking flying powers as a light orbs which is really cool and convenient.

After doing some side stuff, we go back to Seraï's world and meet the Fleshmancer, but instead of fighting him, we fight his lieutenant.

Who is of course, Erlina. We don't see Brugaves again. I wonder if we will in another game or DLC?

And then we fight final boss was a big monster and we fight as orbs. It was very strange, but also fun. I don't know if you can actually die or not, but after this... the game just ends.

With a question mark. The ending kind of felt abrupt to me??? I don't know how else to explain it. I guess the Fleshmancer and Resh'an didn't fight because (if I remember correctly) they were like, "Oh this kind of stuff is beneath us" or something like that. That was the vibe I got anyway. That's why the final boss was just Erlina and this world eater.

For awhile the menu has had this graphic of DLC. I think I'd like to check it out. New Game + is also added to the menu!

Here are my endgame stats:

Gameplay/Exploration 4/5 (mechanics, controls)

Solid. The game is very linear and you always know where to go next. I played this on my PS Vita so you can can hold the circle button to run inside dungeons and towns (but not on the world map) which was helpful.

There was a particular tale where both your characters are mages and I am SO GLAD that the dungeon for this tale had a lot of MP pots for the characters. I don't think I would have survived or enjoyed the game if they hadn't included this.

There is an adequate number of save points inside the dungeons. You can rest at inns and the stores have good equipment every time. Gil is plentiful so you can easily upgrade to the best weapon. There are also chocobo forests to ride a chocobo (avoids battles).

Battle System 4/5

Really good. You can have up to 5 characters in the turn-based battles but they are chosen for you except during the final chapter. There is an Auto feature where they all attack automatically or repeat the last action you chose (I can't remember).

Each character has an ATB gauge that loads up depending on their speed. Once they're ready, you choose their command. Attacks happen right away, but if you choose a spell then you have to wait for the gauge to fill up again before they cast it (so the stronger the spell, the longer you wait).

Moon Phases

What makes this game very different than the original Final Fantasy IV is the moon phase feature. The moon changes as time passes (or right after you rest at an inn/tent/cottage) and it affects your characters:

New Moon: raises Skill abilities, lowers White Magic Waxing Moon: raises White Magic, lowers Black Magic Full Moon: raises Black Magic, lowers Attack Waning Moon: raises Attack, lowers Skill abilities

So depending on your characters, it's handy to have plenty of tents and cottages if you want a specific moon phase while you're going through a dungeon or for a particular boss fight.

Bands (Combos)

Another feature in this game is that the characters can learn combo moves (like in Chrono Trigger). They learn their combos as the story progresses.

Character Progression 3/5 (leveling up, customization)

Good. Characters level up with EXP from battles. Pretty standard. No complaints. They each have their own set of abilities that they learn as they level up (you don't get to choose). The only customization is the weapon and armor you choose for them.

Art (Music and Graphics) 3/5

Good. The concept art of this game is interesting. It visibly looks like a computer painting with digital brushes. I especially loved the pixel graphics of the game. Everything is so detailed! The music is also really good. The boss themes stressed me out which I thought was great since it captures the mood very well.

Enjoyment 5/5

Overall, I had a fun time with Final Fantasy IV: The After Years. Whenever I had to level up a lot, I would put on a The Warning live concert and just run around the dungeons. So fun!

I really liked that I always knew where to go next because I hate feeling confused! And I LOVED how much I learned about the characters - both old and new. I feel like I understand everyone so much better now.

Do I recommend this game? Yes

Would I replay this game? No

Favorite character: I'm going to say Ursula because I loved her cute outfit and her determined attitude. I'm also just glad I met another Final Fantasy character with a "U" name!

Favorite moment: I really enjoyed seeing Edward in this game; he grew into a noble king. And also just seeing Rosa and Cecil together again along with Ceodore is too cute. He is definitely the best parts of them.

After the 3 kids go into a cave and Garl gets hurt, Zale and Valere get sent off to Zenith Academy to start their Solstice Warrior training. Garl has to stay behind, which is SOOO sad.

The school, and the island at the beginning, are so beautiful. The attention to detail is amazing. I love all the pixel art.

Garl finds a way to send them a letter. HELLLOOOO, Star Ocean: Till the End of Time name mentioned!

So this game has blocking... and I'm pretty terrible at it. I also got used to the blocking in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 where a successful block actually blocks all damage. In this game, I'm pretty sure it's just blocking a percentage of the damage.

They have their little graduation and they give their statements. Zale is a blade dancer. Valere is a battle monk.

When exploring, your characters can really run around anywhere. Here is Zale and Valere walking on a tight rope. But they also walk carefully across ledges, climb up walls, and fall down to the floors below.

My characters leveled up and the Level Up screen is identical to the one in Ara Fell: Enhanced Edition (one of my all-time favorite games). I love it! You have to choose on extra category for a stat boost.

The villagers got together and wished us well. Luana and Solen were mentioned. Either they are the first Solstice Warriors or maybe the Moon Goddess and Sun God.

The game shifts to this dark room with red-cloaked people around a table. I think they're plotting against the Solstice Warriors.

Eventually we run into Garl again and he joins our team as a warrior cook. Actually, he's super useful because he introduces the Cook feature at the camps. Which btw, are very helpful. You can rest at camp and heal up your team.

I accidentally opened this screen and it looks like you can have people join you while you play!? Local co-op? But I don't see it mentioned on the game's back cover.

Anyway, we meet up with the Elder Mist who gives us some boosting powers. And he also shows us how to rewind and fast-forward the time of day, switching between day and night.

The Elder Mist also gave them each a prophecy.

To Zale: In order to reach your full potential, you will first need to stare at the night inside of you.

To Valere: When the time comes, you will be the one to create paths on water.

To Garl: You must be mindful of your limitations during this journey. The Mists are unclear in your case, but it appears your heart might be warm enough to soothe a long tormented soul.

Random ninja girl. She just appears and then leaves. I'm sure we'll see her again.

And we also meet this pink-haired girl named Teaks who calls herself a researcher. She got very excited when she found out we were the Solstice Warriors.

I also found this in the menu. It was turned off, but I turned it on because I actually like it when my characters start battles at full health.

The battles are fun. They are turn-based. There are combo moves (again, very much like Chrono Trigger) where two of your characters attack the enemy together. The Combo square fills up as you attack. You can block enemy attacks and also if you successfully hit X while your character is attacking, your character will do a double-attack for twice the damage. Garl has a healing skill (which is giving himself or a team member a snack) and Zale has a healing spell. Valere does not have any healing skills, but one of her Combo move (that requires 3 yellow squares) is a healing spell for the entire party. Very useful!

The game has a lot of puzzles, including this one where you have to move pieces around. So fun!

At the end of this dungeon, we met this mole dude and I thought he was really funny. I thought he was going to join our party, but he didn't.

Anyway, that's what I've played so far. We are going to look for a port now to find a boat to get to the next location.