Yes, Monday's column is going up a bit prematurely, but the powers that be, a.k.a. Mother (Norman! Norman!) will not let me go to sleep any later. The blunders of being the youngest staffer... *sigh*

Lots of letters today (...that I can answer... what is the world coming to?!) so, on to Q & A mayhem!

A: I LO~VED IT
B: they switched Baramos and the green guy's roles
C: There were four kewl heroes, with a *drool* chick with a sword....
D: I don't remember what the Hero looked like
E: It ended as the Hero was climbing onto the ship with the Princess.
This has driven me nuts! I can't find any information on this series! It's slowly slipping away from my memory! Can you help me find anything? I've found pictures, but all they've done is confuse me more. Please help this poor otaku! I will reject Square and all thier empty promises! Long live Enix, despite that I hated Dragon Warrior I. And Final Fantasy. Course, I played them AFTER Phantasy Star IV.

Max (I love slimes....)

Veronica:
*scratches head* I can't remember ever seeing the Dragon Warrior series... goodness...
If anyone can help Max, please mail him and do a random act of kindness today! Hey, it may not seem like much to do, but it's the little things that count. : )

1) I just purchaced a new playstation accessory called the Game Enhancer. Its a MOD chip and Game Shark in one. The thing is, its put into the Playstations parrallel ports instead of directly installed inside. You might know what I'm talking about. I was just wondering if you knew or not if that can hurt your Playstation in any way.

2) Seeing as how im getting this MOD chip thing, Im gonna want to import games. Do you know If theres any possible way someone can partially translate a japaniese game into american?

3)Lastly, are you by any chance free next friday night? I think you're great and want to know how long the line of guys is in front of me. Would I have any chance or not? just checking! :)

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ Thanx for reading my letter!
ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ -Alan

Veronica:
1) Actually, from what I know a majority of the staffers own Game Enhancers. ( and Ronnie the Eternally Broke is not in the 'majority'...) They don't have any complaints, and I think the Game Enhancer would be much safer to use than having a Mod Chip soldered into your system, which can damage it if you try to do it yourself with not much background knowledge in electronics or you take your PSX to a novice.

2) I've never been big on the import scene, so I'm not sure. If someone hasn't created a magical plug-in for your PSX that will instantly translate Japanese into English (see, it's sarcasm... okay?) you'll have to go this route alone. RPGs can be extremely frustraiting to play in Japanese, unless you can read Japanese characters fairly well. If you're dead set on interpreting Final Fantasy 8, for example, in Japanese you may end up shelling out some cash for a self-taught course in the language or a simple chart that translates Hiragana and Katakana. Katakana is the alphabet that might do you the most good to learn, because with enough practice you can recognize the words translated simply by sounding them out.
(ex. sutaato = start, menyuu = menu, aitemu = item, kyanseru = cancel, suteetasu = status, etc. )

3) *adds fanboy no. 342 to the list*

Alright, I'm on Disc 3, I have the Ragnarok, and saving the world can wait.Ê I want cards!Ê So, I went on the little CC Group mini card quest. I got up to Princess Diamond on my own, but then I could not find the Queen!Ê I gave up after a while and looked on the internet, and it told me the next person in Xu.Ê However, all she does when I talk to her (with X or Ù) is say something along th elines of "Hey, Squall, can I ride in that dragon-shaped spaceship sometime?"Ê AAAAAAGH!!Ê Have I missed some window of oppurtunity here?Ê Please help meeeee!

-Leland Aldridge

Veronica:
Well, your source on the Internet was incorrect on several points. ^_^ Before you can challenge Xu ("Heart") you must defeat "Jack", "Club", "Diamond", and "Spade." Card Member Spade can be found on the second floor next to the elevator. He's usually one of two people that hangs out in the hall. If you can't find anyone in the hall, leave and come back until Spade appears. After defeating Spade, you can talk to Xu and she will challenge you to a game of Triple Triad. Be sure to complete this quest before the end of Disc Three, as it becomes unavailable in Disc Four.

But, anywhoo, yesterday on Halloween a guy wrote in saying he lost his Triple Tiad Card of Zell and Seifer/Ê I found your answer kinda unclear, so I just wanted to kinda touch base.Ê If you weren't saying what I'm saying, then we can post this and get it right ^^

If you lose a TT card, you must in back from whomever you lost it to.Ê The only exceptions to this rule are the Queen of Cards subquest (hehee, you get the cards back from the QoC's little brother, but I'll let you find him :P) and when you must lose Ifrit's card to General Caraway.Ê He, in the blinking instant that you come back from winning Rinoa, ran halfway across the world and lost it to Martine at FH.ÊÊ Go figure.

-Paws

Veronica:
I received several other letters saying the same thing, and thank you to those readers who clarified that. I've never lost a Triple Triad card, and when I lose a valuable one I simply reset my game. I didn't know that winning it back from the person you lost it to was possible. I suppose you learn something new every day. ^_^

By the way, the Queen of Card's little brother is located in Dollet, past the pub and to your right...

Ê I think that ... hhhuuummm ... Yes I know I'm searching for the stupid sharp spike, in FF8, for the ultimate Quistis weapon I know you can get these spike from Death Claws and Grand Mantis ... but I a can't find one ... I ear that you battle Grand Mantis in Centra Ruin but I never got one here ... and Death Claws are in the inaccescible garden ! And the stupid Ultimate Weapon I'm gonna tear off his nail with a plastic butter knife !! He play very cheap : 3 heaven pillar ( I think 9,999 ) in one row , or 6 normal attack of 3,000 HAHAHA !! prout prout ... hhiihihi heheh hohoho .... Oh ! no the wild one got me !

Ê Farwell

Dave '' J'aime mieux me casser les dents sur une toast '' TheyGotMe

Veronica:
Well, Sharp Spikes are available from either a Grand Mantis or Death Claw, as you stated. Either monster can be found by fighting within the forests on the Centra Continent and equipping the Mug command on a character. You can of course hope that a Grand Mantis or Death Claw will randomly drop a Sharp Spike, but mugging will get you those coveted Sharp Spikes much sooner.

I have a nasty question regarding the equally nasty Triple Triad.Ê Simply put, I am looking for all of the members of the "CC" group.Ê I think that's the name, and so far have only found "Jack" and "Club".... I still need to find "King", "Princess" (unless that's you *wink*), "Joker" and some unnamed one I can't remember... Ace or Queen?

-Kev

Veronica:
Seeing that I already partially answered this question, let's go into more detail. The members of the CC Card Group, in the order they are to be defeated (with the exception of Joker) are:

1. Jack - can be found in the main hallway, by the Balamb Garden Directory. He usually enters from one of the sides at random.


2. Club - can be found near the entrance to the Cafeteria. Appears at random as well, so entering and exiting the screen may be necessary.


3. Diamond - standing in front of the Balamb Garden Directory.


4. Spade - on the second floor, next to the Elevator. Often appears at random.


5. Heart - on the bridge of Balamb Garden. "Heart" is Xu.


6. Joker - is located inside the Training Center. Appears at random, and is difficult to find at times. He can be found in the Training Center after you defeat Jack.


7. King - speak with Nida on the Bridge, then visit Dr. Kadowaki in the Infirmary and challenge her to a game of cards. She'll mention something about you finding King soon. Go back to your dorm room and take a nap. King should appear to challenge you during the night.

JERRY: Hello, folks. Todayâs topic is royal cross-dressing pirate captains who have to save the world, and the people who adventure with them. All right, let bring out the first guest.

::Butz enters::

JERRY: Welcome to the show, Butz.

BUTZ: Thanks, Jerry. Glad to be here.

JERRY: Now, youâre the leader of the group thatâs out to save the world. What do you think of group member Faris?

BUTZ: Well, heâs a bit on the rough side, and I think has a bit of a drinking problem. Heh, you know pirates and rum.

JERRY: We have a comment from the crowd.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Well, you should just lay off the smack, whore.

::Audience cheers::

BUTZ: What?

JERRY: Okay, letâs bring out the rest of the group.

::Galuf, Reina, and Faris enter::

JERRY: Welcome to the show. Now Faris, you said that you wanted to admit something today. Why donât you go ahead?

FERIS: Darr..allrighty, matey. Arr..fellows I got something I want to show ye..

::Faris rips her shirt from her chest::

BUTZ: ::passes out::

REINA: Oh my, we wear the same bra size.

GALUF: Well, well. You are quite the woman, Captain. ::heart bubble:: perhaps you like to get together for some lovinâ later?

::Crowd hoots, and whistles::
JERRY: We have a comment from the crowd.

AUDIEANCE MEMBER: Well, you should just lay off the smack, whore.

::Crowd cheers::

JERRY: Now, Faris I have some people I think you want to see. Your crew!

FERIS: No, they canât see me like this!

::Crew appears on stage, all wearing eyepatches they donât need::

CREW MEMBER: Capân! YOU @*#$%!

::Crew attacks Faris::

CROWD: Jerry, Jerry!

JERRY: Hereâs my final thoughts. Sometimes the only way to get anywhere in life is to rack up levels. Remember that folks.

Moogle "I'm not white trash, I swear on my rusted out pickup." Child

Veronica:
And Moogle Child wins the "What in the hell was THAT?!" Award for Twisted Humor