The Dandy Ideal

Gentle Reader,

Wow.  This is the biggest clothes-boner I have ever gotten in my life.  These clothes are just... just... like, wow.

He looks like a fashion plate from an alternate universe where Edwardian style sensibilities have somehow remained en vogue.  Or maybe he's from a steampunk-influnced future.  Well, whatever world he's from, I want to live in it.

Honestly, I would probably be THIS before I would be anything else.

Ever Yours,
Fauntleroy

UPDATE – Final Fantasy VI: General Leo Edition Hack

Gentle Reader,

Many commentators have suggested that the storytelling in Final Fantasy VI loses steam in its second half due to its nonlinearity.  (I agree with this assessment, though I would argue that the presentation itself remains excellent.)  However, what works well about the second half is that we get to see how the twelve initial party members have tried to find a place for themselves in an environment of isolation and ruin.  Some have done better than others, and many are haunted by memories of their old lives.

The primary aim of this project is to answer the question:  how would General Leo react to the end of the old world, and what would he end up doing in the new world?  General Leo doesn’t get that much screen time in the original game, but what we do see of him is impactful.  This is evidenced by the tremendous amount of interest in him even after so many years, despite his brief role in the action.  So, I think the question of how General Leo would deal with the ruined world is an interesting topic to explore, and one that has not been touched on before.

As I said in the previous article, the overall story is largely unchanged in the hack.  However, I did take advantage of a couple of opportunities to give General Leo more time in the spotlight.  Since he survives the attack on Thamasa, we get to see how he reacts to finding out once and for all that Emperor Gestahl is beyond redemption.  Will he accept this truth, or deny it?  Will he remain loyal to the Empire, if not to the Emperor?  And then, after the year of darkness, what type of role will give Leo a sense of purpose?  Will he try to repair the damaged world, and if so, how?

I also thought it would be best if Leo’s story in the second half could reflect the arcs for Terra and Celes, the two characters to whom he has the closest relationships.  Leo’s expanded story is connected to both of these threads, and ends up bringing to them a greater sense of resolution.  However, I have been mindful to try to take the existing story elements to a natural-seeming conclusion, rather than delving too far into fan fiction land, and I think I’ve succeeded in that.  I’m really very pleased with how it’s turning out so far, and I hope you will be, too!

And now… pretty pictures! ^_^

General Leo's new troops.

Hanging on the airship.

Initial stats.

100% bug-free equip menu.

Using his newly-learned spells.

Shock is way too overpowered!

Links:
Original Article

Ever Yours,
Fauntleroy

My Next Project

Gentle Reader,

Some time back, a reader who was commenting on my Playable Golbez Edition hack half-jokingly wished me luck on my inevitable General Leo Edition hack for Final Fantasy VI.  At the time I downplayed the idea, although it had crossed my mind, because what I really wanted to do was a Phantasy Star II hack.  Well... now that the Phantasy Star II Modernization hack is a reality, I think it's time to revisit old Leo.  So...

 I'm thinking it will take me a good while to get this one finished.  There is probably more hacking documentation out there on Final Fantasy VI than on any other major RPG, but I'm not familiar with any of it.  Although the documentation on this game is deeper than what I was able to find for Final Fantasy IV, it's also a lot more complicated and will take more time to digest.  With that said, however, these two teaser images are not mock-ups!

As with the Golbez hack, the idea here is to keep the storyline as intact as possible, but to reduce one of the main party members to "guest character" status in order to accommodate Leo.  The hardest part was deciding who to cut.  It has to be one of the main 14 party members, because there's no point in doing this if Leo has to stay a guest character.  However, it also needs to be someone who 1.) is not too central to the storyline; 2.) doesn't have a special ability too unique to lose; 3.) can be convincingly modified into Leo despite my limited hacking experience with this game; 4.) can be made to seamlessly rejoin the party in the World of Ruin without creating a major new story event; and 5.) can be inserted into the ending without major difficulty.  I'm pretty sure I know who the "lucky" character is going to be, though as with Edge in the Golbez hack, that character will still be an important part of the game world.

I plan to update some item, ability, and enemy names, as with my other hack projects, and probably create a few new items, too.  Beyond this, however, I only intend to change the elements that I must change for the purposes of the hack.  It will ultimately be the familiar Ted Woolsey version of the game, but with Leo as one of the permanent 14 party members.

Watch this space!

See Also:
Playable Golbez Edition
Phantasy Star II Modernization Hack

Ever Yours,
Fauntleroy

Vector (Final Fantasy VI)

It was such a cool image that I just had to share it.

Add a little music to complete the effect...!

Turbografx-16 Game Over Gallery

DOWNLOAD - Final Fantasy IV: Golbez Edition Hack v1.4

Gentle Reader,

Version 1.4 of the Playable Golbez Edition hack is now available.  Before you get too excited, this update is just a quick bugfix of the least release.  Specifically, it was pointed out to me that the last two revisions contained a bug that created problems for the Black Chocobo Farm in Toroia.  Version 1.4 repairs that bug but is otherwise identical to Version 1.3.

Click here to download:

Golbez Edition Hack version 2.1 download (Updated 10/1/14)
Romhacking.net article

Thanks!

Ever Yours,
Fauntleroy

80's Cartoon Nostalgia Overload

Pole Position

1984-1985

Galaxy High

1986-1987

Dungeons & Dragons

1983-1984

Jem

1985-1988

The Transformers

1984-1987