This was I was able to squeeze in a couple of Final Fantasy titles despite being on the road for a few days as well as having my hands full with Nier: Automata (buy the soundtrack and thank me later). Now that I've finished that off, it's time to get busy on the new Final Fantasy XV DLC before I get sucked into Mass Effect: Andromeda and Persona 5.

If you want to catch up on my prior pieces, here's a link to last week's Issue 11.

Final Fantasy XV (Episode Gladiolus, PS4)

While I was only able to barely get started into Episode Gladiolus, it is already hitting me right where I want it to. One of the things I most wanted out of Final Fantasy XV was being able to use all of the party members in combat, so having control over Gladiolus is just fantastic. While I had no issues with Noctis, I love swapping around and am a fan of Gladio, so this is exactly what I wanted more of. Another thing I wanted more of was more time with the guest characters, so teaming up with Cor is great. I was so sad when he wasn't part of the main party, so this helps comfort that longing. I've hardly scratched the surface here, but things are positive so far. Expect more on this next week after I finish it off.

Final Fantasy IX (PSP, PS1 Classic)

After last week's slip up with the mandragoras I was much more careful when making my way to Treno. This time there were no issues as I worked Dagger and crew to and through the dark city in search of the supersoft for Blank. Here I spent some time grinding while I watched TV, and I used my funds to get new gear and to try my hand at the auction house. With new equipment, my trio headed down to Gargan Roo and took on the boss there. We were able to handle it with ease and quickly ended up back in Alexandria trapped by the evil Zorn and Thorn.

With the other party tied up, the game swapped back to Zidane and crew. Having just recovered from the beat down from Beatrix, we took stock and headed on to Cleyra. I vaguely recalled being annoyed by this area before and had that confirmed upon entering. The encounter rate, sand golems, quicksand, and lack of a healer just made more irritating than I'd like. That said, I made it most of the way through without any actual incidents until the quicksand section where you have to tiptoe around the pits or get stuck mashing X on the controller to get free. I couldn’t get a good grip on the controls and kept falling in, but eventually worked my way through. It was shortly after this that I called it for the week. It might not seem like much, but I am happy with the progress I made this week. I'm still looking forward to what is next and am delighted that I remember so few of the little details. It makes it all the more exciting.