"I was wondering where these "elite forces" were, was beginning to think they'd all changed career into tour guides."

Aw come on Cone! Sometimes the Elite forces doesn't pay much, and they have to make ends meet :P

That's very true. We don't know what it is like for them and their financial stability so we shouldn't be too harsh. And a tour guide is a good second job to have in the back pocket. Not sure if it's so useful in this instance, what with no visitors for hundreds of years...but it could be worse.

Looking for my update? It's right here!

Indeed, we have to think what's best for them! :)

So starting off we're in the airship that we sneaked on our escape from Cleyra although suprisingly there is not much to do here so let's jump in the pot and head off on an adventure!

Marcus and Steiner look to be in a bit of a troubled spot but after some high school physics level of fun, we're finally free! A few battles with some improperly dressed soldiers who forgot to disarm the prisoners and we meet up with the main crew, how convenient! Marcus is off to save his brother (took a while but we're getting there) and the party is off to save Garnet.

Maybe it's just me but I couldn't get along with that rocking minigame. I tried back and forth several times and just got back to the centre. Clearly, Physics not my subject. Nice to see my main man Steiner again though, his theme is always a joy. 

However the Queen is planning to execute Garnet as soon as she gets back! So we have about 30 minutes to save her. In all fairness I probably could have explored the castle for any goodies since the amount of time given was super generous but ah well. I met up with some Knights of Pluto who get a rather obvious hint onto where the princess is, so onwards we go!

Spoilers Blue! Noone saw that one coming...there were a few goodies there as you likely know, some interesting information about the towns and the Queen's eating habits, but nothing major. Now we know to serve bat when we go see her!

So I went back to that room we were in the last update when Garnet met up with her mother and we got the bad touch. Naturally the secret entrance was behind the fireplace and it's a pretty long way down. Managed to find some goodies here like the Ice Brand (although I need to finish up some skills with Steiner first) and there's Garnet, along with those creepy jesters just... staring at her?

Well we beat them up, not a huge deal although the meteor attack hurts quite a bit, you only need to defeat too it seems. Garnet is out cold though but probably best not to wait around for too long with the castle being on high alert and all. South exit is blocked so back up the stairs we go! Our good friend Beatrix is there to meet us as well. Steiner's sword has some insane damage (1200+) but we were still no match to Beatrix who decides to beat us....again.

It was interesting to see two such boss battles back to back. There was probably some dynamic to that jester fight I missed. Maybe I needed to change my attacks between the two but a few steals and a Dyne later, no need to panic. 

I do love Beatrix. I don't know if it's the music or the character design or that we're fighting her every 30 seconds, but it's great. She hits like a horse, particularly that magic counter. But I think I've got her number now so any future fights should be A-OK!

But this time it's different! With a change of heart, now we're the electric wielding badass! Too bad I didn't get to use her much because she practically killed everything in one hit. So now we have to go back down the stairs with the addition of Garnet and without Freya, not too much trouble although those dog things are rather annoying.

South exit is open now so let's go.... oh great it was a trap and it's those bloody jesters again. But Marcus and Blank to the rescue! My impression was that rescuing Blank was going to be a bit of a challenge, the cutscene seemed pretty menacing and all but it looks like it was no big deal for Marcus.

Ha, electric wielding badass. I have to say it was satisfying playing as her. Very powerful, very easy. No Trance bar so not a permanent member but alas. I'll miss Freya, don't see her rejoining the party anytime soon (and here I thought I would be with everyone together, doesn't seem to be the case). Not sad to see Marcus go, though.

One thing which gets me is how little HP she has.

She was fine throwing magic out like it was going out of fashion before but when you play as her it's near impossible to get anything out. Funny that.

Our quest now is to reach Doctor Tot back in Treno so we're in Gangen Roo on that... thing and oh this feels very familiar. So that snake worm thing is still alive but it's not too big of a problem (trying to scan it definitely is though! Grr..) I also got some mythril items off of that thing. But it's not easy, this ugly bastard just won't give up which scared the “thing” so much that we missed the Treno exit and we broke the whole tram!

We should really kill those things. It would make everything so much easier. Easy enough fight (boss #3 this update!) and a nice new location to visit too.

We're back near Lindblum now, in a new arena named Pinnacle Rocks. Very serene but I don't dig the bloodthirsty bats and the Zaghnols, Ramuh is a cool guy though. Next time we'll finish his puzzle and head off to Lindblum!

I actually managed to finish playing Hide & Seek and put it together in Pinnacle Rocks. Wasn't too long, just a bit dull as the enemies hit hard. I can see why we had all these summons now, it's like Metroid where they tease you before taking them away.

Made it to Lindblum, but it's not as we know it. To avoid spoilers I'll say no more but watched the scenes, got the next destination and went shopping. Got some new weapons and armours forged (sorry Blue, you have still missed out from Cleyra but you can partially make it up here!) and, after aimless wandering, left to save. The next update might not be until Tuesday or Wednesday, but I'd like to do a bit tomorrow so keep an eye out!

Been busy lately and have missed this thread until now.
Loving it though! Tagged
(Even to this Day I am amazed how good looking the FF IX intro is. On a freaking PS 1!)

Thanks! Glad you are enjoying it. It's pretty fun to play (obviously) and to write up too, it's nice to know people appreciate it. 

My update will be updated in Leadified's post above shortly. Keep an eye out!

Post updated with my comments, check it out here!

Playing as Beatrix is one of the most fun moments of the game. Really enjoy the bits with her and Steiner fighting the hordes through Alexandria.

I know you're doing the breakdown as you go, but you're getting near the halfway point if my memory is correct. Overall thoughts (summary) so far?

Yeah, it's a lot of fun. Started out pretty slow but pretty much as we picked it up with this thread again it kicked into life. The combat is good (not too slow, now), the characters are enjoyable, the music is sublime and there's an awful lot more fun yet to come I can tell. Can't wait to play more!