Tutpa? What exactly is tutpa? Its origins go back many many years, to an ancient civilization where Apple computers with green-tinted monitors ruled supreme, where the ultimate television shows in my world were Roundhouse, David the Gnome, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and eternal bliss was beating Super Mario Bros and Mortal Kombat without a Game Genie. Ah, ye good olde days....

Recipe for Ultima:
1 - Curshed Shield
1 - Ribbon (optional, masochists may wish to substitute cursed ring)
1 - Party Member of reasonably high levels
255 - Battles
100 - AP earned from additional battles beyond the 255
1 - Gaze of Wonder

Mix Curshed Shield, Ribbon, and Party Member thoroughly. When blended, add mix to battles. When done with this step, you will have a Paladin Shield. Apply Gaze of Wonder to Paladin Shield. Decorate Paladin Shield with AP. (Not-so-)Instant Ultima!

Now, as for getting another Ragnorak...

Yes, you can steal one from Doom. Use all your theiving relics, and anything that might raise Agility/Speed beyond that, as that usually improves your steal ability. Also, use Gogo, and have be sure s/he/it mimics Locke every time.

Go to the Colosseum with your Ragnarak/s, and save outside. Equip one char for fighting (if you need help with this, there are numerous FAQs available). You'll fight Didalos to earn Illumina. He's big, tough, and generally nasty, but has a weakness to Pearl (and I think Fire, too). You win, you save and do it again for the other one. You lose, you reset, and figure out what you did wrong. :)

DarkLord Info
"Beware when sacrificing virgins... if their cords aren't tied properly, they may just wind up sacrificng you, and that'll just ruin your day."

Veronica:
Thanks to all of you who set the record straight. I went through Final Fantasy III(U.S.) with very little help and not a single clue how to obtain the Paladin Shield although I had heard the bare bones of equipping the Cursed Shield and fighting 255 battles. I wish I had known the full story of Paladin sooner while I was playing through it, because I made a very idiotic mistake that I still regret.

I turned my Cursed Shield into a Cursed Ring and sold it.

Don't go after my example if you are still early into Final Fantasy 6.
a.k.a. - Don't pull a "Ronnie." (Inside joke.)

As you may or may not know, Princess Mononoke, the last and best film from Hayao Miyazaki, God of Anime, is opening in about 40 theaters this weekend. And it's in full wide release in Minneanapolis/St.Paul. If it does well, it goes into thousands of theaters across the country. If it does poorly, it will just fade away.

If a complex, serious animated film for adults like Princes Mononoke fails the same year as a high-quality children's film like Iron Giant fails and treacle like the Rugrats Movie succeeds, we send a clear message to studios: Don't make good animated films. Make kitschy crap designed only to sell toys. Warner Brother has already said, off the record, that they will no longer be making the effort to produce quality films, because "every time you do you get burned." We can't afford to prove them right.

After the Robotech movie fizzled in 1986, it took a decade for animation to recover. If Mononoke does the same, we'll have to go back to square one again. The course of the animation industry for the next 5 to 10 years is going to be determined by what happens this weekend.

Of course, Mononoke has something going for it in that it's the best animated film of the decade, and possibly ever, but that alone won't get butts in seats. We all need to do our part to spread the word, and by now you have figured out what I'm getting at. Veronica, I know this sounds like a cut-and-pasted letter, but I swear it's not. And I know that RPG fans will like PM, because I personally got into anime because I liked the similarity to video game plots. And I know Pokemon is coming out next weekend, but it's a sure bet. Mononoke is shaky, desite having ten times the budget, the best staff in the anime world (those fantastic cutscenes in Jade Coccoon were directed by Katsuya Kondo, a *student* of Miyazaki's), and hands down the best dub ever made.

- Charlie Tangora
Besides, I fear what will happen if Pokemon does well but Mononoke fails. You seen some of those "Pokemon imitator" TV Shows like Monster Rancher or Digimon? God help us all if that becomes the standard fare.

Veronica:
Yes, I know this is an RPG question and answer column and this is a letter pertaining to animŽ, but it immediately drew my attention because I am just as big of an animŽ otaku as I am a RPGamera. If you're an animŽ fan who has easy access to see The Princess Mononoke and you haven't made plans to see it, I highly reccomend you try to go. Miyazaki is probably the Japanese animŽ equivalent to Spielburg or Cameron. Charlie is right on target; if Mononoke fails, animŽ's popularity and possible comeback will be halted once again, and PokŽmon shall rise into the history of American pop culture as "that Japanese show that was a silly success with America's youth." There will be no mention of Japanese animŽ in everyday life. PokŽmon will remain, and wonderful movies such as Mononoke Hime and The End of Evangelion will never receive the respect and recognition that they should.
Now I've done my part of "spreading the gospel." : )

Ê Ê I haveÊasked this questions already once but Brad didn't answer to them so I try it once again....

Ê Ê Ê 1. Where the hell should I blow the Chocobo Whistle in the "Chocobo Forest of Soltitude" (on the Nectar Peninsula) to get a small chocobo drop down??? My ChocoSonar DOESN'T react anywhere!!!

Ê 2. Is it really true that the Ruby Dragons give me a HP+10% bonus everytime I devour it? I spent hours ofÊtrying to eat a LV 100 Rupy Dragon but I finally ended up eating him at LV 30. The problem is that I NEVER got some HP bonusses?!?!?

Ê 3. Is there another enemy that could give me a HP bonus?

Ê 4. Do you know where to get the Ribbon ability?

Ê and the last one: Do you speak or at least understand German?

Ê Please forgive me if my English isn't so good because I'm Swiss.

Ê Ê Kind regards

Ê Ê Martin "shadowmaster" Wallimann

Veronica:
1) What you're experiencing is why the "Forest of Solitude" is such a difficult Chocobo Forest unless you're a lucky sap. The point that the Chicobo is located at is very small, and the best advice I can give you is to search very slowly and very carefully. A job worth doing is worth doing well. :)

2) Ruby Dragons do give you HP+10% bonuses, but only if they're on a high enough level. I think from Level 45 and up you can receive an HP+10% bonus from devouring a Ruby Dragon.

3) *Spoiler Alert!* Danger Will Robinson, danger!* I haven't proceded far enough in the game to see if this is true, but from the Bestiary of the Final Fantasy 8 Official Strategy Guide (on loan from a friend... yeah...) there are only 2 enemies that will give you the HP+10% ability if they are devoured: a Ruby Dragon or Adel after she has Rinoa junctioned to her. I don't reccomend putting your faith into the second monster. Stick to the Ruby Dragons. ^_^

4) The history of the Ribbon item is a mystery... in fact, I did about 2 hours research just attempting to pinpoint where it is in the game. I really haven't a clue where the Ribbon item is, (it gives your GF the Ribbon ability which cancels out all Status ailments) but I have heard rumors that it can possibly be attained by playing through the Chocobo mini-game on the PocketStation...

5) Nein. I only know about 8 words off the top of my head from singing lots of German songs in voice lessons. My vocabulary consists of:
Tod, nein, mein, Herr, nun, komm, Leides, and susser. : )

Hey Veronica,

What does Gilgamesh mean?

Thanx,
Rok

Veronica:
This Final Fantasy Summon/GF origin lesson is much easier than the Alexander attempt, because Gilgamesh is such an exclusive name.

I don't know what the literal translation of Gilgamesh is, but I know who he is.
Gilgamesh was the main character in a heroic poem called the Gilgamesh Epic, written by the ancient Babylonians in about 2000 B.C. The main character, Gilgamesh, was a tyrannical king who ruled over the ancient city of Uruk very harshly. The citizens of Uruk prayed to the gods for assistance, and they sent down a wild man (who was later an inspiration of the "Abominable Snowman" myth) named Enkidu to challenge him to a wrestling match. The match ended with no clear winner, and the duo became close friends. The story is much longer, but it is an interest to Bible scholars because of its close parallels to events in the Bible (a massive flood, etc.)

ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ A fellow RPGamera,
ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ    Jessica

Veronica:
A swift easy way would be to page Big Momma and call in the Sorcerer Hunters, but unfortunately things aren't that easy in the real world.

What you have to be careful about in this battle is to make sure you don't use too many attacks that will harm Adel and Rinoa. If you kill Rinoa, the game is over. A nice way to avoid this is to cast Regen on Rinoa and the rest of your party. Adel's occasional draining of HP from Rinoa won't affect her as much, and you can concentrate more on the task at hand. Be sure to keep re-casting Regen as it wears off.

There really isn't too much to do in this battle except for the normal battle precautions as I like to call them. ( In almost all boss battles I summon Cerebrus and cast Protect, Haste and Aura when its available to me.) Just use normal attacks against Adel and be sure to avoid injuring Rinoa whenever possible. I think Adel carries a Samantha Soul, so try to mug her when you get the opportunity. If you want to walk on the wild side, Rinoa carries a few Megalixers that you can acquire by mugging her. Just remember what happens if you kill her...

So this leads me to three things:
A.) Cloud or the Chocobo itself must not like the Red Wings.
B.) It could have been an oversized plush toy thrown out on the ice.
C.) This could be a cheap Photoshop editing attempt on my part.

So maybe you can help me clear this up...Ê Why did it really happen? Fortunately, everyone made it out okay, but as for me, I think I need help...Ê Lots...
-Yud

Veronica's Theory:
It was probably a time-release trick that pops up in one out of every 3,000 NHL '94 ROMs implanted by the Japanese, laughing at the "stupid Canadians" who have to pay even more than the "stupid Americans" to play their games. Damn, the Japanese sure can be evil... first kamakaze pilots, then Roujin-Z, and now this! O.o

Ê ~Aorah
"I'll trade you a cookie for your Squall card!"

Veronica:
Right on par. An Adamantoise has to be on Level 30 or higher to drop an Adamantine. There is a remote possibility of an Adamantoise dropping a piece between Levels 20 - 29, and I stress remote.