Dan:
Ah! A Lufia 2 question! I could have sworn he was called the Ancient Slime and not Master, but I digress. To answer your question, when you beat him, you SHOULD get a key that will then open the door behind the old man at the entrance of the Ancient Cave.. There are three treasure chests in there if I remember correctly, but I completely forgot what was in them. Your brother may not have actually killed the slime, though... He runs away after a few turns, if I remember correctly, and that doesn't count as killing him, so you don't get the key. Good luck getting down there again and actually killing him!

Googleshng:
More importantly, you get the satisfaction of finally being done with the Ancient Cave and you can more on to the actual game. Oh, and I seem to recall you get to keep the slime itself and put it with the Isis treasures. That's just plain cool.

Dan:
My favorite RPGs? Well, up until recently, my favorite RPG was Lufia 2, and it held that spot for some time. It truly is a great game, and I recommend it highly to anyone. But, Lufia 2 has since fallen to my second favorite game, and my favorite RPG is now Xenogears. I'll also answer the question you directed at Google, though, just because it seems like the right thing to do. I'm not much of a fighter fan, but Tekken Tag on the PS2 is really, really fun... <Smiles innocently> Oh, and the Soul Blade series has great music! Good games, those are.

Googleshng:
(by Soul Blade he means Soul Edge/Soul Calibur). Anyway, I would have to say Bloody Roar (2's probably better but I haven't played it much) just barely edges out Soul Calibur. It just has so much strategy with the whole transforming thing, plus the whole breakable wall thing is the best take on Ring Outs I've ever seen. Everything but those two are just too slow for me. Oh, and just so nobody gets mad, I don't count the Bushido Blades as fighting games by the way, I give them their own genre because they're really something else entirely.

Dan:
Hey there Four Finger Wu, good to hear from ya! Well, from the description you've given me, that game sounds an awful lot like Soulblazer for the SNES... That would be my best guess, at least. Hope that helps, and good luck in the search of your dream game!

Googleshng:
If it isn't Soul Blazer, it MIGHT be one of the Ys games, or Lagoon... but I can't see anyone renting Lagoon twice. X(

Dan:
Not much up here. Just hangin', answerin' questions, that type of thing. It's actually surprisingly relaxing as opposed to getting new media up and every hour of the day. But, enough about me. Now, to answer your questions... I have played a little (and I mean a LITTLE) of Seiken Densitsu 3... I thought it was great. I just wish I could have understood more of it. As for Legend of Mana, yes, we've all heard about the bad reviews and how much shame it puts to the series, but, nonetheless, I'm still looking very much forward to it. We can't always believe what we hear from the pres--er, wait. We are the press. Scratch that. Yes, always believe what you hear from us! ;-)

Googleshng:
I really only know two things about SD4. It's gotten bad reviews, and it's possible to have a Rabite on your party. I'm hoping the latter outweighs the former.

Dan:
Paws!! Thanks for writing in! Well, personally, from that list, I'd warm up with Vandal Hearts (great game, just amazingly fun to play), then move onto Genso Suikoden (another great game, but really short). After Suikoden, I'd probably play Legend of Legaia (fun game) and then Wild ARMs... (Pretty long and a good game.) Then I'd finish up with Xenogears, which is just about the longest console RPG there is, I believe, and is my favorite. What can I say, I'm a sucker.. I always save the best for last. ;-)

Googleshng:
I wouldn't start with Vandal Hearts, just to use it as a nice break from straight RPGs later on. It is odd though that Suikoden is such a short game. 108 characters on your party by the end, and yet I beat it in a single weekend (and this is BEFORE my weekends started on Thursday nights).

Dan:
No hello for the guest host? Ah well. Anyway, to answer your question, you certainly do keep the experience you earn in the simulated battles for FM3. And, of course, the money. Otherwise, what would be the point? Well, I suppose you masochists could have fun going in there and repeatedly watching your mechs blow up and lose battle--er, ahem. Never mind.

Googleshng:
Guest hosts who know all the answers don't leave me with very much to say.

Dan:
'Tis the woes of being guest host, not everyone greets you. I see how it is. But, actually, when I first played Final Fantasy VI back when it first came out, I recall having similar problems with Blitz attacks. Then eventually I figured it out and got it down, with no other problems again. But, to be honest with you, I can't really recall or explain when exactly to push the button combinations.. Perhaps Google will have a better answer? (I hope...)

Googleshng:
Go down to blitz, hit A, then hit left right left A pretty fast (although you aren't penalized that much for speed). Obviously if it's the Anthology version, those are X not A. Unless you just mean when during the fight do you do it, uh, whenever you want. As soon as you pummel, the fight's over. Like my censorship by the way? 8)

Dan:
Hmm... Damn. Wish I would've thought about trying that when I fought Diablos... Out of curiosity, did anyone else beat him right when they first got the lamp, like I did? He was certainly hard like that!

Googleshng:
Eww Status Magic. I just beat Diablos as soon as I got the lamp, no problem myself. If nothing else, once your HP gets low enough, your GFs are basically unkillable.

Dan:
Hi there, Loaded..Pants.. No, I don't even want to ask. Moving on... ;-) 1) I'm actually not sure about Vanguard Bandits' sales in Japan... I'm sure they were relatively good, though, if it is getting ported over. 2) Actually, those parts in the trailer where you see one-on-one mechs are just the battle animations... It's a lot like what was done in Brigandine. You fight on a battle map, moving your mechs around, just like you would in FFTactics, Vandal Hearts and such, but once you actually select your attack, it switches to the animation mode to show your mechs fight it out. I hope that clears up any confusion.

Googleshng:
The reason you didn't hear anything about it might be that it was called Detonator Gauntlet right up until that trailer came out. On the other hand, it might just be because it's by a company that isn't widely recognized and therefore gets somewhat ignored. They made Dragon Force though, which just plain rules.

I do believe that the quote is from Baldur's Gate. I think Imoen says it, occasionally, when a party member dies.

- Cheshire Catalyst

Hey Google and guest!
I just thought I'd let you know that I picked up Star Ocean 2 at my local department store for a mere $10. Jealous?
poj

One small question, why is the Black Chocobo purple? It seems a bit weird to me....

Hey, you have fanatical yet graphically talented fans! Can any of them (or you) have an animated gif of some college frat boys with a keg or two within 24 hours?

--Impeesa--

Hey Googleshnag!
I've got a question about Star Ocean 2. You might have already answered = this in past columns, but I just recently started playing SO2, so it = didn't used to interest me. How do you get the pickpocket skill?
-Enforcer
P.S. Is it bad that I have over 20 RPGs(SNES and Playstation), but = still have over 10 still needing finishing?

AHA! I knew it! You're a girl, Google! The picture frum yesterday isn't that funny, you're right, but a GUY wouldn't have said anything!
frum Rand

Actually the slimes are in "Slayers the motion picture" . They befriend Naga while she is drunk,.... or somthing. As a fan of slimes you should see it.

-Zelgadis

The Last Laugh: