I usually mastered a Technique when learned, and then moved on; not necessary, but it sorta keeps you on par with Gald earning and such.
Cooking in this game, or do I have to leave the food 'til I get the biggest Bag of Holding?
I really never even bothered with food. Mint’s spells+TP recovery was more than enough for me.
You people are jerks for not answering my question! Nevertheless, I purchased the game on Saturday and it kicks ass. Oh yeah.
The script compared to DEJAP’s, it’s almost identical in terms of overall gist. Even the kinky parts are still there, except toned down a notch [no F word, for example].
I’m so sorry!! Can you forgive me? 
Doesn’t it kick ass though? I actually stayed up late at night playing it instead of reading before I went to sleep, ha.
Yeah, it’s a great game! I just got Chester back, which seems to be pretty early in the game. I was fighting in this area with all these skeletons and zombies but then I got killed so I stopped playing for the night.
Seraphim, please tell us about this weapon and levelling stuff near Alvanista.
I don’t know if near would be the correct word. Available is more like it. Anyway, look at this:
10 - Alvanista
11 - Ymir Forest
15 - Olive Village
18 - Midgar
Leveling: South of Alvanista, following the orange line is the Ymir Forest which you should be able to access later on. The guard there will not allow you to pass yet, but there are two or three squares before the guard in which you can move around. The monsters here are probably as good as you’ll find for EXP and Gald leeching. It’s annoying to move within the cramped space and you have to remember not to completely exhaust yourself so you can return to Alvanista, but it’s still faster than anything else.
Note that, while you will eventually have free access to the forest, you will never be able to enter with your full party, so this method will still be the best towards endgame (The monsters in the map will become stronger at one point, but Ymir will still be the best leveling spot).
The Mecha Halbred: Probably the best weapon available for Cless for a loooooong while, and it costs 11,000 Gald. You are not actually supposed to buy it this soon, but you can.
After securing the cash and some more (there will be expenses in the trip), follow the line towards Point C. This is a harbor, so pay the transport fee and you’ll be taken to the harbor in Point D. From here it’s just a little walk to your last resting place, Olive Village (15). What follows now is a long suicidal trip rounding the desert, through the grasslands (Ignore Point 17, it’s a dungeon) and finally into the city of Midgar (Point 18).
The trick here is to run like a scared mouse. The desert area isn’t bad except for the Basilisks, who have the ability to petrify you with almost 100% accuracy. If Cless gets petrified (Meaning you can’t run), you’re as good as dead unless someone uses a Remedy Bottle, the rest of your party manages to kill the enemy by a fluke, or Mint is so overleveled that knows Recover. By the way if you want to save time later, killing basilisks nets a Basilisk Egg, a pretty useless item, but you’ll eventually have to get at least 5 in order to advance the story. I don’t remember if they sell well or not.
The forest/grassland has even more powerful monsters, so… pray. They aren’t too difficult to run from though. As soon as you get to Midgard, go to the weapon shop and buy the Mecha Halbred. Now, here’s a problem: The INN doesn’t let you stay, so you’ll have to go all the way back to Olive without healing. And don’t get cocky because you have the Halbred, it’s still not an easy trip back.
There IS something that might help you a bit. Most of the time, if you use a Holy Bottle every 20 steps, the invisible counter will reset and you’ll be able to go another twenty steps without facing anything. You can only carry a limited amount, so use them wisely.
Now Basilisks don’t have quite the petrification rate they used to, and if you keep them busy, they won’t have too many chances to use it. Also, they drop Basilisk Scales, which you still need 5 of relatively soon, have the benefit of totally healing you and curing a bunch of maladies, including KO, which is nice.
I was able to run up to Midgards with only a few fights, and most of them were against Hill Giants, which are easy to run from, so it wasn’t too bad. You can also use the Tower south of Midgards as a sort of stop over, as the counter resets when you enter and exit a place on the map. If you feel really daring, you can run over and get a combo across a river SE of Midgards.
Interesting changes… hey, what was the gift Chester’s sister gives in this version?
A stuffed Cless doll. Don’t know what it does yet.
I don’t think 2 minutes of gameplay constitutes a spoiler.