Athena finishes reading one of the letters on her desk, and then pulls a thick envelop over and carefully opens it. A small pile of photographs tumble out, with pieces of paper slipped in between them. She arches an eyebrow. Not the most conventional way to send a note, but Athena settles into her armchair and begins sifting through the images. The note on top, however, catches her eye…
Dear Athena,
You don’t know me, but I know you’re a friend of Athen’s mother (I mean, she named her son after you, you know?), and… things have gone a little sideways so I figured I’d write to you for an outsider’s perspective, and also… well things aren’t looking so good right now, and I want someone out there to know what’s coming and what we’re trying to do. I’m the only one who was able to figure out a way to get these pictures to you in the first place, being the tech genius that I am (ain’t it the truth, though?), but I don’t think you’re going to be able to write back to us.
Anyway, if we don’t get out of this mess, I hope you’re able to send word to any other hero out there who might follow in our footsteps…
The Millennial Fair! I was finally able to try out my new invention!Oh, Athen. Be a gentleman and apologize, will ya?Aw. See that?
Everyone has that one perfect “blackmail” photo of their friend, right?Er… I can explain…Oh no! That’s not supposed to happen!!He’s got this, though.This is NOT the time to take a nap, Athen!Well, this is unexpected…THIS IS ALSO UNEXPECTEDThis… was also also not expected. Nice Froggy…Seriously? That’s the best catchphrase you could come up with?I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry….Things just got real. Something you’ll want to discuss at some point?“Lucca, you’re amazing!”😉Things just got REALLY real…I tried. What can I say?WHY IS THERE A DRAGON HERE?Yeah, take that. Time and space are on our side.A technologically advanced future…. but we’re still hungry… 😦Rats. Why is it always rats?
No no no no no….NO NO NO NO NO!When you love a friend so much you get in the car with them, even when you think there’s a good chance you’re going to die…Oh. I have a fan.I know I hate when people just start popping up at the End of Time…These guys are surprisingly chill considering we just fell out of their cupboard…Is this really the only way to get home??IS THIS REALLY THE ONLY WAY TO GET HOME?Again with the napping.Hey, Dad!This is most definitely NOT what it looks like.“I don’t know. What do *you* think we should do?”…drat.The Chronobus is coming, and everybody’s jumping… Oh, sorry… Also, I love the look on Marle’s face.Froggy!Oh.
We then proceeded to get lost for a few days, time-traveled to a few different time periods, and acted like a chicken for 10G because Athen apparently has no shame.
Sigh.This is not disturbing at all.There it is! The Masamune! Now we just have to…Uh oh.What??WHAT? Why don’t I have a “final form,” seriously?Phew… made it. Turns out they just want someone to fix them… 😦Well, this is an interesting development. A time-traveling swordsmith, too?He didn’t say much. I guess he was confused as us.Yikes!
And before we knew it, we were honored guests of the chief of the tribe, Ayla!A soup race. Right up Athen’s alley.Some dissension in the ranks? But we need our Gate Key back!The reptites took it…. And I’m sure Nizbel is just lovely.Sigh.But we got it back and that’s all that matters.And with some help from Ayla and Melchoir, the Masamune is back in action!Froggy was pretty excited about it, too. He’s even traveling with us now. So… yay?I almost feel bad for calling him Froggy after hearing about his past…But he knows “de wey,” as the kids say nowadaysMagus’s Lair. Here we go!Oh boy.OH boy…I’m just going to leave this one here and let *that* sink in…Oh, outdated stereotypes of the LGBT community. I’m sure where you live, in the 2000s, this way of thinking has been completely eradicated.…sigh.WHOEVER DESIGNED THIS HALLWAY SHOULD BE FIRED!Slightly better than hiding in a box, I suppose.Magus!Poor Marle, picking up the slack again.This isn’t good…WHAT?I’m not sure if reality is less strange than dreaming at this point…Yes. This is happening.
Who knew dinosaurs had warp technology and could wield it so precisely?What could go wrong?Oh, thanks Nizbel.
Wait…
Nizbel??
Okay, we are all on the same page again.Wait, didn’t that happen in the future? Wibbly wobbly timey wimey…But we prevailed anyway!
So… it’s been a bit of a wild ride. Athen was arrested, we’ve been bending the spacetime continuum like it’s our job (which I suppose it technically is, now), and always there is something else weird going on. With Nizbel II defeated, it’s… well I’m sure what’s behind the door isn’t going to be a cakewalk. But we’ll push through. We always do.
Please, Athena. Get the word out what we’re up against. Marle’s spirits are unsinkable as always, but we still don’t seem any closer to real answers about Lavos…
Sincerely,
Lucca
Athena carefully put the pile of photographs down. Regardless of what they were up against, it seemed like Athen and his friends were at least in overall good spirits, with Athen dutifully continuing his journey in his methodical way. She looked at her unfinished letter to Crono; maybe this information would be helpful to him…
If you were the hero in an RPG, what advice would you want to hear as the story became more complicated and the situation more dire? What if you were an NPC? Have you ever wondered what might be going through the minds of the characters as you play? Let me know in the comments!
Thanks for stopping by, and I’ll see you soon!
~ Athena
5 thoughts on “Year of the RPG: From Lucca with Love…”
🎶Doom doom doom doom… I want you in my gloom…🎶 Your fault that song is stuck in my head again 🙂
There is just something so charming about retro RPG graphics! I can’t wait to play this game. Maybe RPG heroes and NPCs are only putting on a show for the players? When the game is off, they go have coffee breaks and stuff, haha.
Yeah it’s actually nice to see that again, like an old friend.
I always liked that idea. Loony Tunes did that sometimes, where the characters were “off duty” and they’d go eat lunch together before having to punch the clock and go back to hating each other haha
That’s quite the collection of postcards. Also yeah, the game takes you on a really weird segue before you get to Magus’s castle. But hey! The team’s been making it through all right! Tell them to drop by my place when they get to 1999 a.d. and say hi!
It is! Someone has a trigger finger when it comes to taking pictures…. and has the means to send them across time and space haha.
I was surprised a little with how some of the plot was shown… particularly the Frog storyline, which seems suddenly and unexpectedly very important.
Yes, they seem to be the motley crew that could, don’t they? I’ll pass the message along! If they survive the end of the world, I’m sure they’d love to meet up for coffee or something haha
“Am I a bowling ball dreaming I’m a man? Or a butterfly dreaming I’m a plate of sashimi?” Chrono Trigger asks the big questions by using the spirit who lives in a magical, holy sword 😉 My worry with CT is being an NPC who’s existence is nullified by something the main characters do to change the time stream. That part where Marle gets back from nonexistence was the first “real” thing in the game. It was eerie and thought provoking.
🎶Doom doom doom doom… I want you in my gloom…🎶 Your fault that song is stuck in my head again 🙂
There is just something so charming about retro RPG graphics! I can’t wait to play this game. Maybe RPG heroes and NPCs are only putting on a show for the players? When the game is off, they go have coffee breaks and stuff, haha.
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You’re welcome!
Yeah it’s actually nice to see that again, like an old friend.
I always liked that idea. Loony Tunes did that sometimes, where the characters were “off duty” and they’d go eat lunch together before having to punch the clock and go back to hating each other haha
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That’s quite the collection of postcards. Also yeah, the game takes you on a really weird segue before you get to Magus’s castle. But hey! The team’s been making it through all right! Tell them to drop by my place when they get to 1999 a.d. and say hi!
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It is! Someone has a trigger finger when it comes to taking pictures…. and has the means to send them across time and space haha.
I was surprised a little with how some of the plot was shown… particularly the Frog storyline, which seems suddenly and unexpectedly very important.
Yes, they seem to be the motley crew that could, don’t they? I’ll pass the message along! If they survive the end of the world, I’m sure they’d love to meet up for coffee or something haha
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Am I a bowling ball dreaming I’m a man? Or a butterfly dreaming I’m a plate of sashimi?” Chrono Trigger asks the big questions by using the spirit who lives in a magical, holy sword 😉 My worry with CT is being an NPC who’s existence is nullified by something the main characters do to change the time stream. That part where Marle gets back from nonexistence was the first “real” thing in the game. It was eerie and thought provoking.
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