Return of the Dark Sorcerer

I am actually quite enjoying the story and characters. Every FF game should have a healthy mix of silliness and seriousness anyway. It's not like the original VI was devoid of random wackiness. (Ultros anyone?) I just got FuSoYa and Eiko and the backstory FuSoYa recounted was pretty interesting. As for crossovers, I've also been using Cloud a lot because i really enjoy the arc ROTDS has with him with Aerith standing in for Rachel. I'm a Clerith shipper but this is a nice compromise, assuming Cloud and Tifa end up together like Locke and CELES.

And yeah, I figure it must be incredibly difficult to rework everything so it makes sense to just edit within the framework you are given. You can still make new and interesting characters, as you did with Aurora vs. Terra and Cloud vs. Locke. So while completely new stuff like Arc is appreciated, I can easily sympathize with why it's not the norm. (also why Arc wasn't part of the Skull Train fight. Yikes, I cann't even imagine what a headache it would have been to try and squeeze him in there)

As for some questions, what does Expert and Insane do exactly in terms of difficulty? Amp up enemy stats, lower Gil earned, etc.?

But yeah, I play a lot of difficulty hacks such as the stuff over on Insane Difficulty. I mean, I'm not some guru, I die a lot. I just enjoy the challenge and seeing new things. Final Fantasy IX UNleashed and this other mod called Alternate Fantasy are so good for reinventing IX's gameplay and helping me enjoy it along with the story.

One more quick question. I don't want any precise details because spoilers but are there any additional party members? Or is it just a replaced Umaro and Gogo awaiting me in the WOR?

Thanks for the quick response. No rush on getting a new version out since I'm still on this one. But if it ever does get done, I'll be all over it.