|
04 - Happy, Happy Fun Times Last time on Hero's Realm...  The Undead apocalypse was averted~ It's about time we headed back to the plot now that we've got a sidequest or two under out belts. We'll get back to the optional stuff after this, though, promise.  Remember this place? It's just to the south of Heminsk. We're not going there yet. Instead, we're going to happy fun land!  To the north-east of Helminsk is a happy little place called the Happy Funhouse. It's a catchy title, I know.  Prettyful~  Hm, this will come in handy around about now-ish.  This be my kinda place!  HellooOOOOooo  Do tell!  I am certainly feeling welcome!  :Yoink!:  It sounds A-maze-ing!    OH HELL YAS!    And you don't half look it, either!  Fill me up, barman!  NOT THE RUM!!!  Now that we can't get wasted, I guess we'll have to look elsewhere for some entertainment. (And I was so looking forward to seeing Harley and alcohol combined too. Who knows what kinds of crazy fun we would have gotten into?)  Well, I'm glad someone is.   Who, me? Alright, keep your pants on mate. Before I talk to him, let's take the stairs to the left instead.  'Ello!  This is the Token market - the place our mother was talking about way back in the first update. It's a simple process - you collect tokens by killing monsters of different types, then come here and trade said tokens for items to help you on your journey. Exchanging a Beast Token will get you a Hide Herb. Beast Token + Avian Token will get you a Warp Wing. Undead Token + Demon Token + Insectoid Token will get you a Wizard Potion. Beast Token + Beast Token will get you a Blaze Scroll. Hominid Token + Hominid Token will get you a Firebal Scroll. Mandrake Token + Mandrake Token will get you a Heal Scroll. Dragon Token + Demon Token + Mandrake Token will get you a random seed. Mandrake Token will get you a Medicinal Herb Pack.  One thing left to check out here. TO THE MAZE!   [x] Drink [x] Rest [x] Carouse [ ] Try Maze We know what we have to do.  Hells to the yes!  Give me your adoration!  Pfft! We're tried and tested adventurers! How hard could this possibly be?  Aight. Lemme at this!  Aaaaand we're off! We do literally have only one minute of time in here to find our way through the maze. It's not terribly difficult, but there are a few bits here and there worthy of notice.  Treasure, for example.  And not!Treasure, too.  The ghost isn't a difficult fight as long as you have either some scrolls at hand or a magician or two. They are immune to physical attacks, so if you made a party of beefcakes you might want to go grind up some Blaze scrolls just for this battle.  That said, it is an entirely optional battle, and aside from the no-hitting thing, not very hard. Ghosts don't do much in the way of damage, but they will slow you with a whole-party target skill.  For our efforts we get a Ticket and run out of time. Yes, time will count down in battles.  Bugger.  In the maze is usually a shop of some kind. In this chapter it's a pretty nice weapon store.  The Iron Claws were what that one zombie/skeleton in Helminsk used to kill a Timberwolf. Harley can use the Bullwhip (35 STR). It's a big boost to what she had equipped (a Sabre I think) and allows for two attacks a turn. Chainmail (20 DEF) is a decent upgrade that everyone bar Harley can equip. I sell off some of the items we have on hand and get me some of that double-whip action. Harley is now one of our physical attackers - combined with Healing Aria and Slumber, she's the current MVP.   Don't mind if I do~  That's my fastest time yet! I breezed through it in this run, but then, I'd already grabbed all the prizes. Each time you restart the maze, the treasure chests will refill, but since they're small prizes (a handful of money and healing item) they're not worth wasting your Tickets on. Onward to the main prize!   Oh, don't you worry. There's no way in hell I'd forget about them! (I say, but my first time playing, I was so happy, I walked straight on to the blue tiles and fell back to the Funhouse below. Meaning I had to do the maze all over again. Joy.)   OM NOM NOM  Harley is criminally under-protected at the moment. We'll get her some stuff eventually, but for now, this should beef her up a little. And yes, I've yet to equip the new weapon because I am a dingus. Don't worry, I remember for the next area. Speaking of, let's head to that cave now that we've done all we can here, shall we?  There's a few people hanging around. Let's see what they have to say.  I hear you, bro.  Oh yeah, I remember hearing about that. I met the guy. Seems like a top bloke. You know, bar the whole 'being a criminal' thing and all.  We'll be using this shortly~  Oh yeah? Good thing we managed to procure one of those back in Helminsk, eh? Check this puppy out, Mr Guard!  ...bugger.  Right. I know how to fix this. TO STROMHOLM! Warp Wings will let you teleport to towns and certain places of interest that you've visited before. You can only warp if you are considered 'outside' - that is, if it has a roof you won't be able to warp. When used, it will open up the list of places you can warp and when you choose where you want to go...  ...you'll be teleported where you want to go. This is me Uh... ignore that third spot on the list. I've visited the area so I don't have to walk everywhere. :shhh:  We want to talk to this guy again. For a criminal his heart is in the right place.  Item get~  We won't need it but thanks anyway!  Vultures are pretty weak monsters. They usually turn up with another monster or two and have a swooping attack that just deals straight damage (though not much). They are fast, but fragile.  They also drop chests and give decent experience. Chests dropped in battle are chest items. Which means we have to open them with the 0 key or through the item menu.  Ni~ce! You can never have too many of those.  Right, let's get this party started, shall we? Time to follow the plot for a little while.  Uh, thanks? For a cave it's surprisingly comfortable in here.  In fact, the legend says that the King himself was a The Golden Pickaxe lies there to this day. *is *cough*  Hells yes, we are!  Hm... talk to the seemingly important man in red or...?  Pffft, like there was a choice!  Warp Whistles are the cousins to Warp Wings. Instead of teleporting you from one place to the next, they will warp you out of a dungeon. Very useful for when you're running low on life and need an exit strategy.  Well... not really.  Oh... uh... hi there.  Uh... I have a bad feeling about this!  Of course you do.  Of course they haven't.   ...suddenly I'm liking this idea a little more.  YES!  SIR! o7  You can get there by the teleportal in the northwest. Well, we could if the batteries weren't flat. Guess we're going to have to wait a while before we get to go north.  Guess who's going to find out?  Us. The dungeon here is a little more maze-like than the last two we went through, but still pretty simple. Heading north will lead to many different branches (about four or five). Most of them are dead ends.  Like so. Follow the path and you'll find stairs leading down.  Yeah, I did a bad in taking images of this dungeon. Really, it's more simple than it seems.  Going to the east leads us to this water room. It's pretty~  Oooh~ I've always fancied myself a pirate! There's no way to get to it yet, though, but it shows off another dungeon gimmick that will return - boating in caves.  Head to the east and we get to a tunnel that leads south. Really, there's not many places to get lost in this dungeon.  Harley... Popliums come in packs but you don't have to worry about them too much. They have a lightning-all skill that isn't too damaging and a slumber spell that hits one target. They aren't very dangerous, and they do have a chance to drop Demon Tokens, so it's worth it to fight them a few times.  The tunnel leads down and to the left.  Spitting out here, where there's a few ways to go.  Hm, I think I forgot to talk about Cave Mammoths. They're tanks - high health, decent defence and an attack that will do some pretty decent damage. They drop Beast Tokens and are usually in a group.  Going all the way west we'll find this room. It looks kind of bland but-  - as you can see, it offers a sneak peek into the future~ We will have to get across that water to progress the plot.  If we head back down the tunnel and to the south, we'll find this charming room. Looks safe enough.  Drat. If only there were a clue that such a thing were going to happen! drat game makers and their inability to foreshadow scary battles!  Oh joy. An army of Morkus. They have high health and decent attack power. They have two main attacks - Pus and Charge. Pus inflicts slow on a target. Charge is a low-damage attack. They can also waste a turn just watching the battle. Ideally you want them to use anything but the default attack skill. They drop Beast Tokens and give a lot of EXP.  Shown here is a skill that I forgot to add. Harley gained Healing Aria at level five - a skill that restores a small amount of health to the whole party. It does pretty well for the early game and I tend to rely on it when two or more characters are missing a bit of health - especially since Harley hasn't the best Tarot cards at her disposal. Also, at level five Cecilia learned Bless. It only ever does damage to the undead and is going to come in super useful.  After this battle everyone goes up a level. Well, everyone but Harley - she's behind due to dying that one time. No skills gained for the girls, though.  Loot time!  As you can see, we didn't need to buy a Ring of Warding since we got one here. I hand it to our fragile Druid so she can keep us alive. I call her fragile but she's very well protected - more protected than some of the others.  If we take the northern exit in the tunnel, we find our ship! Let's go~  Sailing! Sailing! Sailing!    Harley levels up and learns a new skill - Faint Echo. It inflicts Weak on all enemies, with a hit rate of 80%. It's not the most useful spell, but it can come in handy when you're faced with a group of hard-hitters.  The only place we can go on our boat is to the left. I'd be sad, but hey, treasure.  Yoink!  Harley tries out her new skill. It's prettyful~  Oh, hey, found a Demon Token! Nice~  Go back to the island and down the stairs will lead to this wonderful room.  Very nice. Love what you've done with the place. To the left is plot. To the right is optional. We're going plot-first this time - just in case we have to come all the way back through.  This is definitely a step-up from the previous room's decorations.  Gettin' lucky~  Up the stairs and, hello!  McGuffin acquired!  TO THE SIDEQUEST!  Hello there, beautiful. You and I are going to meet very, very soon.  I, I, Not it!  Hello first boss of the game! Darmon and his eye friends are mean, especially if you're not up there in levels. Darmon will change into an alternate form if given enough time. I didn't. Give him time, that is. The alternate form will just watch the battle and wait. It has higher defence and, if killed in this state, will drop a Tarot Card. Yes, I am an idiot. That said, normal Darmon will drop a Behemoth Token - which are hard to come by - so either/or is a good deal.  Darmon has a fair few attacks. Bash, Charge Up, Tail Smash and Firebreath. He has high health, attack and agility. By himself, he'd be a challenge. Add in his buddies and he can be hard. Bash doesn't do much initial damage but it is influenced by the enemy's attack and since Darmon has triple digits in that stat, he can take a fair chunk out of you. Couple it with Charge Up, which increases his damage output and it can lay the hurt on you something fierce. Tail Smash is a high-damage attack, but thankfully it isn't influenced by attack, so while it does hurt, it won't change much when Darmon uses Charge Up. Firebreath is a fire-elemental attack that hits the whole party. Thankfully, it's not too bad.  Good thing we got Faint Echo. It helps a lot with this battle, weakening Darmon if it hits.  Taking out Darmon leaves us with his flunkies. From the top~ Shadeye is a spirit-type and physical damage won't hurt much. It will use Surround, Poisonbreath, Darkeye and Shadowflame. Darkeye is a weak dark spell. It doesn't do much damage, thankfully. Shadowflame is like the one we've seen before - removing good buffs - but does more damage. The other two spells are pretty self-explanatory. Stoneye is earth-type and has the higher defence of the four. It can use Sap, Upperself and Stone. Stone will inflict petrify, which turns you into a statue over a few turns. Fireye is fire-type and has the highest attack and speed of the four. It can use Speedup, Firebreath and Blaze. Of the four, it can be annoying and deal a bit of damage if you're not on the ball with healing. Healeye is an rear end in a top hat and should be the first one you destroy. It has a group heal spell, a single heal spell and Surround.  Everyone hits a level after this battle. Blucia learns Return. It's the spell version of a Warp Wing, but it does cost a pretty MP amount - about half of what Blucia currently has. Velka learns Bless, making her even more useful than she already was. The other two didn't learn anything, sadly.  Oh-ho-ho! Hello, sweetheart. Come to Momma~ Let's get the hell out of here! Warp Whistle, ahoy!  I wasn't expecting you to succeed. Well, here's that gift I promised in exchange... Gimme!   Ring of the Stars gives a +8 to every stat. It's quite nice. I give it to our leading lady since she hasn't got a pretty yet.  Aw yeah! Gotta love that extra EXP. We don't get levels from this but it'll help get us closer to the next one.   : Now there's a little injustice I need to see to...  'ello rear end in a top hat. Now that we have the McGuffin, it's time to break away from the storyline (heh) for a little while! Sidequest time!  You all remember this place, right? I wanted to get up a few levels before coming back since it can be hard to do this quest if you're low on them.  There's a cave that we didn't check out last time, behind the guy that told us about ladders being useful to get across gaps. It was hidden by a message box but it was there.  Cave-dwellers! Right, so this quest is pretty simple. Find and kill the monsters in question. Cinch.  To the left we find this room.  If you can't figure this puzzle out, you should be ashamed of yourself.  Easy~  He's an ugly bugger. Let's kill him!  Horn Imps are pretty easy compared to the boss we just got through. It's got half the health, though its other stats are a bit lower than the eye-bros, never hitting triple digits. It has poison attacks, but apart from them, it's pretty easy to put down.  It should be ashamed of itself. Harley is our second-flimsiest character. Honestly, they aren't a threat at level 6. Level 3-4 could give you a run for your money if you're not careful, but as it stands, it's pretty easy.  The treasure drops aren't great either, though the experience and gold isn't bad (a flat 100 for both - not great but not horrible).  What's that Lassie? Timmy is trapped in the well?!  I look forward to it!  Let's see... If I were a green-skinned Horny Imp, which way would I go...?  'ello, me lovely~ This is the path to the south. Do you see the ladder? We need it to progress.  Wow. You're even worse than your brother.  I just like killing green things. What can I say?  A new monster! Wolf is a downgrade to most enemies we've faced so far.It does middling damage and has an attack, Bite, which doesn't do much. As you can tell, you could probably get away with doing this area a bit earlier since the trash mobs are easy enough. Level 4 should be okay, if you're good at RPGs. I just like waiting. I'll explain that at the end of this excursion.  To the north we find this room. Good thing we went and got that ladder!  To the right there's a chest with this in it. Not great loot but hey, free poo poo is free!  You can pick either way to go. I decided to go this way because, well, why not?  I see you, you sneaky fucker. Don't think you'll be missed just because you're hiding behind a rock!  Not an upgrade but, hey, something to slap on whichever of the girls is currently shieldless. I think this one went to Cecilia, actually.  The other ladder leads here...  ...which in turn leads here.  Nab that ladder and...  ...yoink!  To the left of the crossroad we find a gap. Are you surprised? I'm surprised! (I'm not surprised.)  *gasp* How rude!  Kill the last one and there's a sudden, convenient off-screen occurrence. Let's get out of here!  Don't worry, I grabbed the ladder. That will come in handy later~  Always happy to help Alright, just a quick run down as to why I usually leave this quest for a while. In the first edition of the game - when it was just a demo of the first chapter - this quest was not set inside a cave. It was set on a series of cliffs (that we'll see later) and it was much harder. The Horned Imps would eat your for breakfast and the trash mobs would have your bits for dessert. I have been trained to dread this quest, even though I know it's a lot easier in this version. That is my story. It's not a great story, but it is a story. Onward!  I don't even remember what I killed - I think it was an Ourson. Only Velka and Blucia level up here. The other two will do so eventually.    Credit where it's due! They both say this - I didn't forget to nab one.  Hello, reward~  I'm glad you're happy with my service. So... about that reward?  :rubhands:  :smitten:  We both are! This is a happy day!  Confirmation! And more Experience, to boot!  Yes!  Oh, good God, yessss!  This will be very, very useful. Cecilia will not need any weapons for a long while with this baby in her arsenal.  Now, to the plot!  That sounds plot important. You go do that!  Yus!  Oh, dear God, yus!  drat straight!  Time to put this baby to the test!  Blue flash as the screen shakes. You can't tell because *screenshot* but that's totally what happens.  This is new!  Hello, next update! Next time:  GET. IN.
|
#
?
Dec 25, 2014 03:08
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 02:16 |
|
|
As I figured, this is right where I am. Incidentally the 'clear the imps' quest I did at L3 without much trouble. Having a Wiz to throw dedicated murdermagic makes bursting stuff down a breeze. I have a two questions though. 1. Do items (Such as tarots and other skill items) carry over between character chapters? 2. Are all skill items available at some renewable point or are there some that are only available at certain times in certain chapters and you're hosed if you miss them?
|
|
#
?
Dec 25, 2014 06:59
|
|
|
Word on the Wind posted:As I figured, this is right where I am. A mage can certainly help with that dungeon. Other party builds do come into play with how hard or easy it is, too. 1 - Each party will have their own inventory. This won't be a problem though, as you find more than enough equipment and items to deal with anything to come your way. 2 - There is a point where you'll have access to everything by everyone.
|
|
#
?
Dec 25, 2014 10:27
|
|
|
I do like that this game gives you quest XP. That was a pretty rare bonus in Dragon Quest.
|
|
#
?
Dec 27, 2014 10:36
|
|
|
Glazius posted:I do like that this game gives you quest XP. That was a pretty rare bonus in Dragon Quest. I always thought it was a nice thing for kentona to throw in - just in case you under-levelled or something. No update today - probably no update until the New Year, despite having planned one for yesterday. My keyboard's space bar has broken and I've a new keyboard on the way but until then it's a major pain just to type out even this much (I am hammering on the space button to get it to work). So typing up a lot is out of the cards for the moment. Sorry for the wait. Everyone have a great New Years!
|
|
#
?
Dec 29, 2014 05:09
|
|
|
First, I want to apologise for the long wait. I had to wait on my new keyboard which finally arrived today (it was international mail so it took it's sweet time). First thing I did? Make a start on this update for you all. Enjoy! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Update 5: A Night of Tales and Treasure (aka The Cantankerous Contraption) Last Time on Hero's Realm:  You should never, ever rip off a group of powerful, independent women who carry various weaponry and are out to Ever. Bitches give stitches.  There's a shrine to the left of us. Let's check that out before going any further, shall we?  ... Fine then. It's a little hard to see but just to the north is a grassy spot. (Excuse the double-use.)  Hello, what's this then?  Yay! Rover camp! We were told about this place by an NPC earlier. This is something I like a lot about this game - the references to future locations, people and other information. Kentona did a great job foreshadowing things in this game and it helps to make the world seem a lot more connected than your a-typical jRPG.  We'll be back to steal the dog's treasure in the next update... because I forgot about it in this one. Oops!  :yoink: I send this Velka's way since she still has the lowest HP.  Although, there is another terror wandering the plains... A huge, monsterous mechanical contraption is terrorizing the area. We've tried to take it down, but it malfunctions and escapes before we can destroy it. It has to be stopped! Sounds like you need a hero...  Side quest, anyone~? >Yes I am impressed! Return to me once you defeat it and I will see that you are rewarded for your efforts. >No Huh. I don't blame you, though. It is a fearsome sight.  Sounds like a good idea when you're made of squishy meat. Some people aren't so smart, but then muscles aren't quite as squishy as old lady body, so...  I can imagine. Just lolling around, playing cards and sitting out under the sun. Sounds like a good time to me.  He can give you some more information. Sure, sure. Just let me check every optional area that I can before progressing the story any, okay?  Ah, that's good to hear. At least your kids are taken care of... in a way.  Um... I'm assuming you wanted to be caught then?   Right. Maybe these kids aren't as safe as I first thought. They were pretty easy to catch.  Oh-ho-ho~ Reeeeeally~? I promise I won't tell your 'Papa', don't worry~   Weapon shop time! Let's see if there's anything we can use.  Silver Harp - (+46 STR) Never misses. It's for Harley but we already have a Bullwhip and I prefer the double-attack. Long Bow - (+64 STR) Never misses. Good weapon for Blucia. Iron Spear - (+51 STR) Only Harley can't use this, but the others can. I pick up the Long Bow after selling off a few pieces and come back a little later for an Iron Spear.  This is the church and inn tent. Nothing interesting to find here, unless you need sleep or healing. Next!  In the Armour shop tent we find this little treasure. We don't really need it now but there will be some time in the future that we'll be glad for it.  And this is the true treasure in this tent. Very nice! I decide to pass it off to Harley so that her damage output is even bigger. She's gonna be killing things all over the place.  Please do~  Bronze Shield - (+18 DEF) Chainmail - (+20 DEF) Harley is the only one who can't wear it. Silk Robes - (+21 DEF) Females only. The second piece of female-only clothes. Again, the price is how kentona balances there being female-exclusive armour. It's a small boost in defence compared to Chainmail (one point) but more than three times the cost. Cecilia can't wear it, despite it being for women, as it's a bit too flimsy for her tastes. As a Paladin, she's an armour snob.  The last non-plot-essential tent holds the Item store.  Nothing much new here that we can use.  There's a bunch of rings, including upgraded ones. Ring of the Ox - (+20 STR) Ring of Guarding - (+20 DEF) Ring of Switness - (+20 AGI) Ring of the Mind - (+25 INT) Insomniac Headband - Immune to Sleep Like I said, unless you have the money to spare, they're not really worth getting. I already have an accessory for everyone and they're all decent enough for now, so there's no need for me to spend money on them (especially when I still need to kit the ladies out a bit more with armour).  Oh. Hello there, Mr Important-to-the-Plot. Nice tent you got here.  :yoink:  I won't tell his 'Papa', but that don't mean I won't take it. Rare Treasures, remember?  Okay. Feeling a little threatened by a bevy of beauties like us, eh? No worries, Sis, we're only here for the plot.  Would you like to know the cause of the disappearances? Well, now that yo- Wait, why am I asking? Of course you do! ...rude.  >Yes Well, let me recap it anyways... No No? I'm surprised! Dude. Why even... you know what, nevermind. Tell me. Tell me about the Prophecy.  While this is great news, it carries with it a dark realization... The return of Mephistocles, the Lord of the Demons, is nigh. So, one of his cronies, Balthalas is his name, I think, the one who lives in the tower north of here, has been capturing children who are 12 years old, in hopes of finding the Child of Light. You might have notices that some children remain unpestered. We Rovers have remained ever-vigilant, but we have seen Balthalas' raiding parties leave the tower. Head toBalthalas' Tower! It is where the children are!   Good luck to ye, brave Hero! s. Heroes. Plural. There are four of us, including a kung-fu Paladin who may or may not be just a tad crazy and a very dangerous, very clumsy Harlequin who has a very powerful double-whip that I'm sure you never, ever want to meet. VERY plural.  To the north-east of the Rover camp there's a small shack. We should check it out because my loot senses are going all kinds of crazy.   Oh, nice. I'm gonna hand this over to Velka to boost her magical power. Let's check out the well next.   We're getting a fair few of these now. It'll be time to hand them in for goodies soon.   Cozy place. I like it!  Ooooh~ I'll give that to Harley after we finish  As I said, getting a fair few of these.  It has been a while since we had a bath. The ladies are starting to smell a bit on the ripe side so we'll have a rest at the next inn, just for the sake of role play.  It's been so long since I've talked to another person. Haven't since my Martha died a few years ago. Wait! You haven't talked to anyone for years?! Um. Wow.  If you say no you are a cruel and heartless person. >Yes You would! That's great! Well, have I got stories to tell you...   - Heh. That's actually pretty funny... - Ahahahahaaaa, oh that is hilarious! What happened next?!  - I'm sure I would have - she sounds a lot like someone I'd really like. - No problem, it was nice to hear all your stories. And, uh, sorry about her... She's been on healing duty lately. Really takes it out of a person, you know. - ZzzZzzZzz Present?   GET THE gently caress IN Muahahahahahaha! DOOOOOOOOOORSSSssssssss  Yes, that was a mini-quest. You should always listen to your elders! Because loot.  Gladly!  Might as well knock another quest on the head. Look closely in the top-left of the image, near the mountains. There's a blue butterfly floating around. Let's go catch it!  This is not a butterfly.   This is the Contraption, a multi-battle optional boss. You'll have to fight him a few times before you can complete this quest but thankfully you can do it all in one shot as long as you're strong enough. If you look carefully you can see that it hit Velka for over 50 damage. And that's the least of its abilities. The Contraption is an interesting enemy. After a certain amount of damage it runs away. You don't get any experience or gold when it does that, but don't worry, the pay-off is decent.  Like he says, you need to wear this enemy down over a series of battles.  The Contraption will automatically take increasingly more damage at the start of each battle. It starts off with 5500 HP, which is a fairly long slog at low levels, but after a number of battles it'll whittle itself down quite a bit.  The longer a battle goes on, the more dangerous attacks it will pull out and use against you. Here's a list of what to expect: Slash - Basic physical attack that is affected by STR. Since Contraption has a lot of STR, it does a decent amount of damage. Program 26 - A physical magic attack that does low damage to the whole group. Program 18 - Single target lightning attack. It can rid the target of Invisible and deals small damage. Program 5 - Basically Surround cast on the whole group.  Yes, you can fight it in different terrain. The butterfly just returns after entering and exiting another area. It moves around so it is possible to get a beach scene or mountains or forests. More skills. Program 11 - A rather strong attack on a single target that removes most good and bad states. It's an interesting skill as it can help, but does vary quite a bit in the damage (though it's always pretty painful). Program 13 - Drains all MP from the whole group. This can be very painful when you've got a mage-centric party. It will also remove Invisible. Program 99 - Self-destructs. It will only trigger this when it dies.  And Program 0.  Program 0 is problematic. As you can see, it kills you. No numbers, just death. You do not want that skill to pop up too often. Thankfully, it's a 55% chance to work. Cecilia wasn't lucky this time around.  Blucia, though, has this in hand. Sadly, Cecilia doesn't get a piece of that pie. It took about 4-5 battles before I managed to kill the Contraption. I've managed to do it faster, but I had a different party set-up at the time (one that wasn't as suited to the chapter, but could lay down the physical hurt like no-one's business). Our ladies are great, but they're tailored more towards this chapter than being made of pure muscle. That's fine, though. They still kick more than enough rear end.  For our hard work we get 400 EXP, 600 Gold and some Contraption Parts that we'll need to give to the Rover who gave us the quest. Both Blucia and Velka level up after this battle, though they don't gain any new skills. Poor Cecilia is going to be pretty far behind in the experience count now.  Just hard work and perseverance.  Of course, that helps Cecilia and Harley catch up, boosting them both to level 9 as well (though they're still behind in experience). No skills learned, though. That gold is nothing to laugh at, either. I grabbed a Chainmail or two after this, if I remember correctly.  Glad to be of help, Ma'am. (Especially when the reward is so nice.)  Right. We have a key. I think it's time to wreak some havoc. First place to stop - the shrine to the south-west.  Hello there, Mister Door.   drat, that feels good~  Through the portal we go and get spit out on the other side of another door. At least we're on the nice side, though.  The side with the loot. I hand this to Velka and she finally catches up to the others in HP. Yay!  Brrrr! Icy~  My loot senses are tingling. Bet that cave has some treasure in it!  drat it! Ugh. I was right next to the cave, too. Icebergs (get it? Like Lettuce and Cabbage?) aren't much more dangerous than their counter-parts. They have Heal and Stopspell but aren't too bad. At level 9 they're pretty much a pushover. (Also, they are super weak to fire, so if you're not at a high level, Blucia can destroy them with a light application of Blaze). They have 10% chance to drop a Medicinal Herb and can be found in a few groups of enemies. Oh, and they're decent speedsters so they'll outrace your attacks to heal their allies. Take 'em out first. Cardinals are pretty simple enemies. They only have Double Attack and Attack but they do have a hefty amount of attack - more than Contraption. Their agility is also top notch but they are pretty fragile and have very low intellect, so spells will take them down fast. They have a low chance to drop an Avian Token.  I SMELL TREASURE!  Oh dear lord, ice sliding puzzles.  This can get a little frustrating, especially after seeing those lovely chests before. Basically the ice slide is set up like this: - If you walk in any direction on an ice tile you will slide along in that direction with no control. - If you hit a wall you will bounce back to your original position. - You can only stop on snow. - If you hit ice spikes you will take some small damage and bounce back to your original position. - You can't get in to random encounter battles while sliding, but you can when on snow. Once you know your way through, it's not hard to get back, but this is a pretty sharp incline in difficulty when considering the last puzzle we had was basically just finding an item and putting it in a very obviously marked spot.  That said, I made it through after a little frustration. Hello, my beauties~  Oh, nice. Wonder what's inside? We'll check after looting.  More money for the Blucia's Retirement Fund? Cha-ching!   Ice Mammoths have a lot of health (over 500) and pretty good defence. Their agility is also decent, as is their attack. Thankfully their intellect is low so spells will do well against them. Oddly enough, while they aren't weak against fire spells, they are weak against fire-element physical attacks, so if you have a Spell Sword, you'll be able to carve through them pretty fast. The only skills they have are Decrease and Claw. Claw does attack-influenced damage (low) and Decrease halves the whole group's defences. They give a decent amount of EXP and Gold, and have 1/4 chance of dropping a chest. If you can get them in a group and put them to sleep, you can easily rake in the cash and levels. (And extra goodies!)  Again, don't be selling your tickets. There's more than one Happy Funhouse in the world.  Oooh~ Luxurious! I give it to Velka since she's still a bit short in the defence department. Fur Coat halves Ice damage and gives +23 DEF. Not a bad find. Ooh~ Wait, that reminds me. I didn't use the last Tarot card I found in the old man's house. Need to remedy that.  Idiot Tarot is another not-great card. It gives the chance to hit all allies or enemies with Discord (halves defence for up to 10 turns and has a 50% chance to wear off each turn) or Inept (halves attack, defence, intelligence and agility for up to 10 turns, with a 50% chance to wear off each turn). Yeah... While it would be great to hit enemies with either, the chances for a colossal backfire, especially with Harley's history... well, let's just say this one will sit on the bench except when I show it off for you. At least we got lucky with the second one. Flames Tarot. Dear lord, thank you! This is a much better card! Elffire is an all-enemy attack that does about 100 damage, ignores defence and hits 75% of the time. It's a decent attack-all skill and can be pretty helpful in a fight. Cleansing is also a nice skill. It removes all negative affects from the whole party. Now, keep in mind that the shape-shifter afflictions, Invisible, Ironize, Ghost, Rage and Berserk also get removed with this skill, but it's well worth it, especially when you have a whole party down with Poison or Surround. Bomb is a decent skill. I'll have to double-check but from what I can recall (and make out of the battle events in the game) it takes a random amount of HP from the user (from 55 to 255) and decreases the enemy HP by that amount as well. It will hit multiple enemies, too, with no decrease in damage, so it can be very, very good... though it can kill the caster if too much damage is done and they don't have enough HP. Flames Tarot is such a lucky get - though knowing Harley's luck, she'll probably blow herself sky-high numerous times. Won't stop us from using it, though! Now... I distinctly remember another door somewhere...  Hello there.  I will never get tired of that~  Very nice. We can always do with more Wizard Potions, especially in an upcoming area. The other two chests contain a 102 Gold donation to the 'Destroy all Doors' fund and a Voicebox that we put on Harley since we don't want her spells to be stopped. Now, where was that other door...?  ...huh. Seems this isn't a treasure door at all. And here I thought that jar was hiding an awesome treasure or something. Welp! There has got to be something I can do that isn't plot related. Wait. I know! There's a certain well we need to revisit.  I AM HERE FOR THE RARE TREASURES!  Good.  This is a tough choice. While I like the insta-death chance that Poison Needle has, I also like the extra damage, back-row attack-down negating, hit all enemy ability of the Bladerang (+48 STR, Attack all, 91% hit chance). I decide to keep the Poison Needle in reserve and use the Bladerang for now, since the next place will render insta-death attacks null and void.  Guess we have no choice but to go forward with the plot. To the north of the Rovers camp we find this tower on it's own little isle. Time to head on in, I suppose. Next Time on Hero's Realm:   - You're really going to make me walk through that gunk? Seriously? I haven't had a bath in weeks! Ugh. There better be a ton of treasure in that tower or ELSE!
|
|
#
?
Jan 14, 2015 20:15
|
|
|
I'm surprised how well done this game seems given how easy it would be to just do a lazy FF knock off. There's nothing groundbreaking but it looks really well put together and fun to play 
|
|
#
?
Jan 14, 2015 23:54
|
|
|
The overworld and story is hella DQ, everyrhing else is pretty much FF. The locked doors with a key on the other side of the world are a very very DQ thing though.
|
|
#
?
Jan 15, 2015 00:08
|
|
|
Good to see this back  silversatyr posted:
Another, even smaller chest!
|
|
#
?
Jan 15, 2015 00:22
|
|
|
Good to see this back in action. I've been addicted to FF14 so I haven't progressed -much- by I have progressed. I'd call myself three updates ahead. My seasonal work term expired so I have a lot of free time to play now, too.
Word on the Wind fucked around with this message at 04:33 on Jan 15, 2015 |
|
#
?
Jan 15, 2015 03:27
|
|
|
It's pretty neat that there's just a little treasure cave hiding out for you to go explore and loot.
|
|
#
?
Jan 15, 2015 19:36
|
|
|
Everything okay here? Been a while. Was playing some more earlier today and was wondering if there's any troubles.
|
|
#
?
Feb 2, 2015 07:04
|
|
|
No, no problems. I've got most of the next part sorted, but there's a game jam currently going on in the forums I frequent so I've been too busy making games instead of playing them (or doing much else, really). That said, my part in this game making (we're on teams) is almost completed so I'll be updating sometime in the next few days. Sorry for the long wait!
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2015 06:59
|
|
|
I'm rather impressed with some of the polish this one has gotten compared to Victim of Xen. They truly are like mirror opposites. I'd actually want to play this, despite all them stolen assets.
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2015 09:26
|
|
|
This is kentona's magnum opus. He worked on it for years before it was completed, and often sought feedback from the community by releasing demos and just asking peoples' opinions. Helps that he knew what he wanted and worked hard to make it become a reality. He often jokes about actually making a commercial version, which would be awesome. Of course, it would have to be moved to a whole other engine (Ace, maybe) and might take a few more years to get working. Now that he has a family and runs rpgmaker.net, he might not actually have the time to do so. Pity, but hey, this game is awesome and one of my all-time favourite RM games... and I've played a few thousand of 'em. XD
|
|
#
?
Feb 3, 2015 19:10
|
|
|
I kinda like this older RPGMaker engine, it looks retro and feels retro. To make it a commerical product though, he'd need to get entirely unique art for the characters, which wouldn't be too hard with a decent artist on board. I'd also replace all the RPGMaker RTP assets, but depends on what he thinks he'd get in return for it.
|
|
#
?
Feb 5, 2015 08:43
|
|
|
There and Back Again. And Again. And Again. And... What were we doing again?  Oh, right. Let's start with a round-up!  Blucia is typical main character. Well-rounded and generally with better stats than the rest. Her attack is a lot higher than the others, she's one of the fastest and best defended, and her intelligence is pretty good. We currently have a Long Bow on her, which means she doesn't get a shield, but all up she's a pretty good hard-hitter as well as a decent mage.  Skill-wise, she's a bit thin on the ground. She should gain a few more soon, but for now Blaze can do quite a chunk of damage, Heal is decent in a pinch and Poison is great for enemies with high HP. Return costs a lot, yes, but it won't be used too often, and will usually be followed with an Inn visit, so it's not a big deal.  Harley is doing well, too. Her strength is low, yes, but she gets two attacks out of that Bullwhip which means she does a good deal of damage. She also is well defended and with her cards she can do some pretty good magic damage to enemies.  Her list of skills is the longest so far. Unfortunately, we haven't had too much luck with the cards, but we have got a few good ones. Flames is definitely one of the better ones out there, and Star has it's uses. Thankfully she also has her spells which are definitely very useful, especially Healing Aria and Lullaby.  Velka is rocking a bladerang, meaning she hits all enemies, regardless of row. She gets full power on those hits, even being in the back row, due to using a long range weapon. She is a bit on the slow side and she's back to being the lowest in health and defence, but since she is in the back row, damage won't hurt her quite so much as it does the others.  Her spell list is looking pretty decent. Heal and Antidote are both useful spells for taking care of the party. She should be getting another good one soon. Poison is great for enemies with high HP, especially when Blucia is doing something else, and Puff is great in conjunction with Harley's Lullaby for controlling groups. Bless has yet to come into its own, but this update should prove its usefulness.  Cecilia is still rocking the 'look, Ma, no weapon' look. That said, she's using spells instead of attacks for now, so until there comes a time we need her to don a blade, she's fine as main healer. She'll definitely not care about weapons in the upcoming area. Apart from that, she is slow but well defended. Her health is second only to Blucia's (by one point) and will more than likely hit the 200s before any of the others. She can take a hit pretty well.  She doesn't have much in the way of spells right now. That said, Bless and Bonebane are both going to come in handy in the next area (and future areas, don't worry). Bonebane will do well with undead groups and she has a decent amount of MP (though it would be great if she had more), allowing for a decent amount of uses. Add the healing spells and at the moment she's definitely going to be focussing on using spells for a while. Now, let's get back to the game itself. We've a tower ahead of us that needs conquering!  ...this is not a tower.  ...this is also not a tower.  Oh, right. I forgot this happened! First fight and we all went up another level. Not that anything was learned, but still! Level 10!  I was headed to the tower, but then I remembered a certain something I forgot to nab last update.  Enter the area during the night and the dog that was standing on the dirt patch is fast asleep. Meaning we can check this not-at-all-suspicious spot for loot!  Eh, we can't use it. Hell, we can't even sell it for much (1 Gold). Don't worry, we'll learn about this item in another chapter, but for this party it's just wasted space (or a Gold).  THIS... is also not a tower.  Walking on this stuff actually does damage to you, so it's a good idea to plan your path before walking on it (unlike me, who decided to just run through like an idiot).  This is a tower! Finally we arrive. Thankfully, the door is not locked so we can waltz right on in.  You'd think villains would be smart enough to invest in home security but guess again!  There are a few paths you can take on the first floor of this place. I'll try to explain it as best I can in lieu of maps.  Ah, joy, a monster got me! Well, I guess I can talk a bit about the rabble we'll be messing with in here. Rhinotaurs have high attack and agility, and their defence is decent, too. Skill-wise, they don't do much. They can charge up their already-high attack and release a stronger attack next turn or use Bite. They also have Gore, a high-damage skill that hits one person. It can deal pretty good damage to an unprepared party. There's a 1/4 chance of them dropping a chest.  As with most enemies...  ... Flames tarot can wreck their poo poo.  Krypocalypse has a lot of health and agility, with below-average stats for everything else bar attack, which is decent. It can do a good deal of damage due to it's various attacks. Slasher is a weak physical attack that hits the whole party and the only new skill in the roster. Others include Numbing Thorns, Shadow Flame, Decrease, and Claw. There's also an 8% chance that the Krypocalypse will drop a Demon token.  Let's try out the one Tarot card we've yet to show: The Idiot Card.  Oh. Oh no.  God. drat. It. Harley.  Here's Bless.  Here's the enemy flashing when being hit. Oh, and me forgetting that Demon != Undead.  Harley, kill it!  Blucia! You go too!  Yeah. These things have 900 HP. That's as much as some bosses.  Fuckin' finally! They are not fun to fight, especially in groups.  Next up we find this unhappy combination. Spectres are like their cousins, Ghosts, and thus...  ...immune to physical damage.  They, like most enemies, are...  ...NOT immune to Flame cards. Thankfully. Best card in game. They aren't much different to Ghosts, bar being a little better in intelligence, defence and agility - and when I say 'little better' I mean that there's very little difference in their base stats. That said, they do bring a new skill to the yard - Wail, which causes Chaos at 50% chance. The rest of their attacks are the same as their cousin - Ethereal attack and a normal attack.    And this is why we love Bless. It will ruin any ghost or skeleton's day. Cecilia as finally come in to her own.  As for Guardians... well, they have good strength, defence and agility. Usually you'll want to stick to spells as their defence will make chipping down their decent HP a hassle. Thankfully their attacks aren't too bad even if you do choose to go the long route - Bikill, to increase their damage output, a normal attack and Axe, a decent attack that grows with one's strength. Taking them out before they can get Bikill up is the best way to go, as their damage output grows quite a bit with it. They also drop Humanid tokens at 8% chance if you're looking for them. Enough enemy talk for the moment. Let's go  The first floor is shaped around the middle area. There are four openings that lead to small rooms in the middle. This indent will lead to the left-most one.  The one below, the two on the sides and one at the entrance make up all four. This is rather annoying the way they're set up but you'll see why that is a little later in the update.  The path makes a big ol' loop around.  On the way around I got a lucky drop...  ...which turned out to be a useful drop.  Right, so going in from the front, there's a cock-block room which shows all the things you could be doing if you'd chosen another door. That's okay, we'll get to those in a moment. (Please ignore the rampant out-of-order shot.)  The left and right rooms both have chests. In the right we find a Warp Wing, which is always nice.  :yoink: Another medal for  I missed screenshotting the middle room, but it had only the two staircases going up. The left one leads to this small room. You can see the other directions - the right stairs lead to another room and there are two other small rooms - one with a chest and another with a pair of stairs.  Dude, are you... oh.  "I have wandered for days looking for a ladder to cross the chasm between the catwalk and the chamber of Balthalas. I fear that I shall perish before I shall ever find it... Now, I know what you're all thinking - "Hey, we totally got a ladder before!" Yeah, I thought the same thing too... unfortunately either my memories are messed up or the game went and changed between versions, but our ladder is missing. So it seems we'll have to find one in here.  The right stairs will lead...  ...out here. It's hard to tell but this whole area is actually connected like the first floor. The tower is built like that, with inner rooms and outer rooms that are connected all the way around. It's hard to show off properly in screenshots. I'll do my best.  As we follow the path around (the only way you can go) you can see a walk-way to the left, outside of the tower. We'll be dealing with that shortly.  If we ever want to leave the tower quickly, we can simply jump out from any open-air areas like this.  There's a door there, and the path continues around.  In the room is a chest with another Wizard Potion. In this tower they come in very handy, especially since Cecilia doesn't have much MP to draw from for her spells. I mean, she's got a decent amount, but it's not up to Velka or Blucia's standards.  Here's the way forward - follow the outer path all around in order to find your way to those stairs. You want to be careful with this as it's very easy to accidentally step over an edge and fall to the bottom of the tower, having to start all over again... which is why the way the first room is set up is annoying - it's very padded out in order to force you to battle. Speaking of battles! Let's do a rundown on the enemies you can find on this floor.  Karkass's are pretty easy to deal with. They have middling health, decent attack and great agility. They're strong against poison attacks and can drop Undead tokens at 6% chance.  Skill-wise they don't have much to boast. Ethereal attack, normal attack and Firebreath are all they can do, though a bit stronger than the previous versions we've seen before. They're weak against Bless, though, so they're not really a danger.  Yes, that is a Ghost. No, it hasn't changed from when we last saw it.  Yes, it is still an annoyance to deal with when it comes to punching and kicking (and whipping).  Yes, Bless can also kick it's rear end.       The twins work well together.   Bless you! These were a pair of Karkass's. Were.  Mere-Wyverns have lower health than most enemies in the tower, but their agility is the highest. The rest of their stats are pretty low, though, so they don't pose much of a problem to a well-prepared party. Skill-wise, they don't have much. Swoop deals low physical damage to a single target. They also have Firebreath and a normal attack. Yeah, not much of an issue - though they do appear with other enemies as a filler monster pretty often.  They also have 1/4 chance to drop a chest.  I won't say no...  The game does try to trip you up by making you walk around holes in the ground.  Thankfully, if you're careful, it doesn't take long to get to the end.  Third floor is different to the last two. It's basically open with a few small 'buildings' on top. No, it's not the top floor, but hey, it's fantasy land - it don't have to make sense~  This small room, just to the south of the stairs...  ...has a health recovery spot. You won't see these too often through the game, but they're appreciated when they are.  This room is just to the south-west of the one above. Scale Shield (29 DEF) is pretty nice. I hand it over to Cecilia since she needs a little more defence.  The left-most door leads to the next floor... the worst floor.  I hate this floor.    :teehee: As you can see, they do like to attack you in groups. That healing point did come in handy at the time.  ...it was at this point that I cursed myself for not having bought more Moon Herbs. I was also running out of Healing Herbs, MP and didn't want to use too many Wizard Potions.  It can be easy to under-estimate the enemy and get yourself numbed to death.  Instead of leaving like a smart person to stock up on items, I carried on. There's a small puzzle here that the screenshots have been teasing and that I forgot to screenshot. Basically it's a matter of pressing buttons until they were all turned on. Hitting the switch on this wall resets the puzzle, but it's not that hard to figure out. Once complete, stairs going down appear.   These go through the smaller rooms that we saw on the way up.  Welcome to the basement. It's a lovely spot. There are two ways you can go - to the north or south. Both end up in the same spot but provide a slightly different experience.  The south is a longer path but allows you to have breaks between the mirrored floors you see in the screenshot, which will deal small damage to you when walked on.  North forces you to go past the floor in the first image and deal with the damage, but is a lot faster (meaning less monsters). I went north.  And nabbed a Life Herb, which I used to bring Harley back to life, instead of leaving and saving it for a better time. Oh well~  These stairs...  ...will take you to the first floor where you may remember there was a ladder. Nabbing it is a good idea on your final journey through the tower. You'll see why shortly...  Back up on the fourth floor, we can see a blue orb - this is a magic heal spot. Like the health heal spot (the red one), it will restore the party's MP.  ...oh gently caress.  That was not intentional.  Well, might as well make the most of it, I guess.  Rest up...  ...and heal up. (It costs a straight 10 Gold.)  This is what she will say if you accidentally choose to heal someone who doesn't need it.  Much better!  At this point I realised that I sold off the weapon I was holding for Cecilia (just in case) so I figured I'd buy her a spear. We have more than enough money for it.  Once more into the breach!  Bless you! Again~  Oh, nice!  Blucia also levelled up, but I'm focussing on Velka because...  :giggity: ...she learned  Another thing I forgot about was this little skill. You gain access to it by wearing the Jesters' Mask that we got as a prize in the Funhouse.  There are a bunch of random skills that can be triggered by using Goof Off. The ones we could have got: - Runs around in circles: SpeedUp self - Ducks for cover: Upper self - Flexes: BiKill self - Dance a Jig: restores party MP by a random number from 1-30 - Makes a funny face: 1/5 chance to inflict Chaos on a random ally or enemy - Does a magic trick: 1/5 chance to inflict Demi on random ally or enemy - Does a somersault: decreases enemy HP by 75% - Trips and falls: 1/5 chance to deal random damage (1-999) to random ally or enemy - Tells a funny joke: either the party or the enemy is inflicted with Laughter - Takes a nap: 1/2 chance Sleep self - Goofs off: does nothing  Of course, this being Harley... The monsters caused the Chaos but Harley has taken Blucia out of the battle for the moment.  ...which does not end well for Harley when Blucia is also inflicted with Chaos.  Thankfully, we have Velka to clean up. That Bang spell is coming in useful already.  Ohdeargodthatwasclose!  Not pictured: Mere-Wyvern dropping another chest.  Thank you~  I decide to head back and get healed once more.  And head on back in.  Cecilia finally reaches level 11, though she doesn't learn any spells.  Harley is two battles behind her. Again, no new spells.  Pictured: falling off once again.  I haven't even gotten to the tough part!  Find a chest...  Get a prize.  Beat a monster, get a token. By the time we've finished with this tower we can probably get a bunch of good stuff from the Token Market. Pity I forgot it existed - I could have made a run back there during one of my accidental 'escapes'.  No more messing around! Time to do this poo poo!  Hup! Hup! Hup!  Oooh~  Poismore is a medium Poison spell, dealing a lot more damage on hit for double the cost. It's pretty good.  Cool, coo-  Ohdearlordthankyou! Healus is basically Heal on the party. It's a bit costly, but it's a great spell for when everyone needs a bigger heal than Healing Aria can give.  Up we go.  Finally. Straight across from here is platform with stairs going up.  Welcome to Hell.  This path...  ...is the absolute...  Oh, found a chest.  And Cecilia went up a level.  Got me a Moon Herb. Where were we?  ...worst...  Oh hey, treasure! A Blazemore scroll casts Blazemore, the upgraded version of Blaze. It can come in handy against any hard-to-beat undead enemies.  This is a jump point. "But why would you ever want to jump off?"  Because it's the only way to get here. This may as well be considered a trap, by the way, since the only way off is down and down means... outside the tower. Again.   Yay! No skills, though.  Like I said, you get a fair few of these.  Backtrack and bit and this will cause me to jump off the top once again. See, this is where we'd place the ladder... if we had it. See, in this dungeon the ladder is tied to a switch that gets reset when you leave (probably so you can't use it in another dungeon or something). What does this mean? This means I have to go back to the basement, grab the ladder and come all the way back up again. I fell off two more times. In order for this update to eventually end, I figure I'll just skip those parts. Nothing of interest happened, bar my constantly tripping over myself and having to backtrack over and over to grab the ladder again. Let me take a moment for serious talk: this dungeon is a bit of a bitch. I get padding in order to allow space between battles but still allow for enough battles to level up. That's fine. But this... a dungeon where you can fall by accident and have to restart the tower over and again is a bit much. Thankfully the game doesn't pull many dungeons like this - in fact, I believe this may be the only one that does this.  Finally, we have a ladder, a space and a lot more gold. (Though we didn't hit any levels on our way up.) Let's head on up to the next area.  This looks... comfy.  Why hello there.  Balthalas, I presume?  You know how you're supposed to say yes to things like this?  I said no. It didn't change much. It is nice that you had the choice, though.  Please, do.  So, I have taken it upon myself to rid the world of ALL of its 12 year olds, thus ensuring that my master may reign unopposed when he returns! *Fufufufufufufu* Nevertheless, I shall have to kill you. I tire of you mucking up my plans. Goodbye, Blucia. He's nothing, if not devoted to his master. That's one thing you can say about him at his funeral at least. And make no mistake, after all we've had to do to get here, there will be a funeral.  He may be loyal, but Balthalas is a bit of a bitch, hiding behind three Vanguard.  Vanguards are strong against all magical attacks, so this casting of Bang did nothing to them, though it did deal some nice damage to Balthalas. They have middling health, high strength, decent agility and good defence. Thankfully they only have a couple of skills to use - they're here to provide a wall of muscle for Balthalas.  Axe and normal attack are easy enough to deal with, though Axe, combined with their already high strength stat, means they do a goodly amount of damage.  No, their worst attack is Mutespell which applies Stopspel to the party. Remember that we put that Voicebox on Harley a while back? Probably would have been a good idea to move it to Velka before this battle.  Thankfully, Harley still has Healing Aria to help us out. It's not Healus but it'll do for now.  As you can see Axe does decent damage.  Three of them on one person can put you down pretty quickly.  Finally, they go down, leaving their squishy mage, Balthalus, all alone and ready for a beating.  While his wall is protecting his rear end, Balthalas won't be sitting idle. He has a lot of intelligence and he uses it well.  He has a few skills to support his allies: Surround, Decrease and Heal. He can also use Shadow Flame - though a beefed up version to the usual.  Stat-wise, he has 7500 health, but we only have to take it down by half before he decides to change. He also has high agility and MP.  If, on the very, very, very off chance you beat him, he'll drop an Undead token 100% of the time.  Of course, that's never going to happen.  Since the game won't let you kill him in this form.  That's right. Like every good (?) villain, he has an alternate form. (By the way, Bless is effective on this form, but it's best to wait for his next one before expending all your MP.)  Meet Uber-Balthalas.  He likes long walks in the rain, fruity mocktails and romantic evenings in front of a roaring fire. Things he does not like:  Bless.  Bonebane.  Life.  Seriously, though, he's not much trouble for a group at this level. He has 7800 health, high strength and agility and a decent amount of MP. The rest of his stats are pretty feeble. Skill-wise he has a nice long list of things he can do to hurt you. Most of which we have seen before, though to a lesser degree. Firebreath, Wail, Strike, Sleepmor and Defend have been seen previously. He can also just watch the battle for a turn. As for new skills, he has Tail Smash (heavy damage, single target, no variance) and Lesser Black Death (minor-middling damage at 40% chance to hit).  He gives decent experience.  And pretty good gold.  A chest.  Uh, two chests.  ...Three chests.  And an Undead Token.      As with all good bosses, he dies in a rather... flashy way. :badumtsh:  Welp. Let's open those chests.    Not a bad haul, I guess. And no, we can't sit on the throne. Unfortunately. Yes, I tried. The stairs to the right...  ...leads us to the kids!  They're in shock. Check out all those bones, though. Either this room was repurposed to hold the kids, or there's a lot of children who didn't make it.  Gather 'round kids. Time to do a head-count.  Yeah, your parents were pretty worried.  Sure thing, we just gotta get you lot out of this tower safely.  I... probably? (I know, the kid meant that it's hard to believe someone came to save them but I can't help but read this as sarcasm. I've spent too much time on the internet.)  I'm sure she missed you too, kiddo.  Don't be, your safe now. The monsters left know not to mess with these lovely ladies. No fear!  Then home you shall go!  Achieve get~  I missed it, but we teleport straight here and the kids run to their parents. No more falling off towers for us!   Aw shucks, t'weren't nothing anyone else wouldn'ta done. Yeh welcome, though.  And suddenly, to the castle.   :tears:  We're just happy to have been able to help, Ma'am.  Well, it was a group effort, really.  And we were happy to do so!  :O Bluciaday. It has a certain ring to it. Me likey~  And that right there is the cherry on top!  NOICE! Expel drains MP from enemies. Very nice~  Woo! Silencio will hit for 100% and apply Stopspel to all enemies.  Yay! Awaken removes Sleep from the whole party.  ...yeah! Well, it's a thing.  And so the plot continues.  This spoony bard-like person?  "The War of Darkness is upon us - This is a call to the world's greatest heroes. Come to Cadana and fight for the Light and the Goddess. The Forces of Light needs the bravest warriors, the most talented mages, and the pluckiest rogues if we ever hope to defeat the Forces of Evil."  Well, we didn't really have a choice but hey, welcome.  Well, if you say so, Your Majesty.  No. Don't wanna.  ... :/  Fiiiiine.  Oooh, new areas to explore! New monsters to fight! New treasures to find!  Thanks! We'll probably need it.  Talking to this guy just lets us read the letter again.  Yikes! Okay, I'll be sure to do the heroic thing and go. Don't worry, your valiant effort will not be in vain. ...I feel like I should be saying that to someone who is dying.  Before we head off, let's drop off our medals.  Not enough for new stuff, but at least we got all the ones from this part of the world.  Right. Honestly, after a stay at the Inn, we're ready to go.  There is, however, one thing I want to do.  Oh, hey, a monster I missed. Oops! This isn't what I was planning but let's do a rundown anyway.  Lizarders have under 100 health, decent attack and great speed for a low-level critter. They have a skill named Help! which has the chance to call another Lizarder to the battle. Needless to say, this is a good way to gather some experience and money. It also has a low level Strike and another skill called Leecher which deals very varied damage and absorbs it. In a large group, with a low level party, these can put a damper on your day.  Not so much against a party of level 13ers.  THIS is what I was after. Hello there, Greywolf. Remember me?  Heh. Byyyyyyyyyyeeeee~  NOICE!  Right. To the border we go!  These two say the same thing.  And this guy is the only one whose dialogue has changed for this part. Still, it's a nice touch.  You're welcome~ Let's go!  ONWARD TO CHAPTER 2!
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2015 12:27
|
|
|
Good to see this back in action. I actually hit Chapter 4 last night. One thing that I have to say that I disagree with you on is the +Stat accessories. I find them to be quite useful, especially the +Agi accessories on slower classes like the Paladin. A +20 (In the early game anyhow) brings them from trailing at 60% action bar while everyone else is acting to relative parity. Meanwhile anything with multi-strike or Multi-target physical attacks benefit amazingly from +Str if they're already fast like say a Harlequin. Going from "Leaving enemy in critical condition" to "Killing enemy group" saves a lot of time and trouble. I can see how their value could drop off later in the game but for Chapters 1-4 I find them quite worth the 700 gold.
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2015 19:47
|
|
|
Word on the Wind posted:Good to see this back in action. I actually hit Chapter 4 last night. I can understand that, but I find the game easy enough ( And hey, you're just about to get to the best part of the game! It can be a long slog but it's definitely worth it!
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2015 23:34
|
|
|
Chapter 3 kind of went by really damned fast because uh... wow. I want to say "Overpowered" without giving anything away.
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2015 01:20
|
|
|
silversatyr posted:
Now that is a name fit for your final form! It's a nice way to wrap up the quest, with a totally sweet reward, and... ... I got a good chuckle out of this, too. Good show! The game really does a good job doing the thing it does. Looking forward to chapter 2.
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2015 06:08
|
|
|
Do the Vanguard actually prevent you from melee-attacking Balthalas before they're all dead, or are they just there to add damage to the pile so it's a good idea to take them out first?
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2015 04:22
|
|
|
I think it's a case of old engine limitations that the enemy do not have a concept of ranks and thus are free plucking. Though ones closer to the 'front' have the cursor default to them.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2015 06:00
|
|
|
As Word of the Wind said, 2k3 is limited in what you can make it do (without plugins) which is half the fun of dealing with the program (also half the frustration, but I've seen wonders made in the drat thing that blew my mind, so...) But, yeah. You can hit Balthalas, though with the sheer amount of HP in that form, you're better off killing off the Vanguards so you can focus on him without having to deal with them hurting you all the time. Magic attacks are best against him, but it can be annoying if he gets Surround off before you kill all the Vanguards since only physical attacks can hurt them. Best to kill them while you can, take them out and then focus fire on Balthalas because you don't want to be bothering with them at the same time as his secondary form.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2015 07:17
|
|
|
...So I just got a certain "Red Stone" and holy -rear end- the result is stupid.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2015 09:06
|
|
|
Word on the Wind posted:...So I just got a certain "Red Stone" and holy -rear end- the result is stupid. Hm~ There is a reason for it. That reason being that it unlocks something with a bit of patience and a revisit to 'that place' where it was relevant. So... there's that. It just takes a while before it becomes worth it. For the record (it's not much of a spoiler because I will be addressing this in the next update) you can access that thing at the very start of the game. Same with the other ones of it's type. How? By pressing up while making your choices, instead of down. Yeah~ XD
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2015 11:46
|
|
|
silversatyr posted:For the record (it's not much of a spoiler because I will be addressing this in the next update) you can access that thing at the very start of the game. Same with the other ones of it's type. How? By pressing up while making your choices, instead of down. Yeah~ XD Oh no, I stumbled on to that on my own, used two of them silversatyr posted:Hm~ When I say 'stupid' I mean game-breakingly ridiculous. "What are the advantages.?" 'All of them.' "What are the drawbacks?' "What are those?' "Just what do you call this monstrosity?" 'A perpetual motion machine.'
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2015 17:59
|
|
|
Yeah, there are some things I won't be using until way later in the game, and this is one of them. (Also, I thought you meant the goofy version which is a bit... well...)
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2015 23:30
|
|
|
Wow, just devoured this in one go. Looks like the designer mashed Dragon Quest III with Final Fantasy V. Looks like a lot of fun, I'll probably have to grab this.
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2015 01:08
|
|
|
Question: I've had Holdana (I know she's Blucia around here but I stuck with the default) equiped with a Long Bow forever. I've obtained two different bows, the first out of a shop, the second in a shop. She isn't able to equip either, even though the shop one claims that she can. Is this a known bug?
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2015 07:29
|
|
|
I just went through every item in the game and all bows are ticked to allow the Huntress class to use them (Blucia). Could you tell me the name of the bows in question? I'll do a double-check, but as far as 'code' goes, they should equip just fine. You don't have another equip on her that forces her to go one-handed, right? Because that would be the only thing I could think of - changing her from being able to use both hands in some way.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2015 12:26
|
|
|
The first I got was the Demoneye and the second that said it was usable in the shop was the Elf Bow. And as I said, she's been using a Long Bow since chapter 1. They just flat don't appear on her weapon-equip list. The only things that -do- appear on her equip list are one-hand light swords and daggers. But then she can remove the Long Bow and it shows up on her equip list. I at one point switched it out for a dagger type weapon, closes the menu, opened it again and could re-equip the Long Bow.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2015 18:32
|
|
|
Word on the Wind posted:The first I got was the Demoneye and the second that said it was usable in the shop was the Elf Bow. And as I said, she's been using a Long Bow since chapter 1. They just flat don't appear on her weapon-equip list. The only things that -do- appear on her equip list are one-hand light swords and daggers. But then she can remove the Long Bow and it shows up on her equip list. I at one point switched it out for a dagger type weapon, closes the menu, opened it again and could re-equip the Long Bow. Okay, the first? It's a sword that only Witches/Warlocks, and Rangers can use (Holdana's class is Huntress, not Ranger, which means she can't use that weapon.) The second is equippable by the looks of things - all the boxes are ticked and it shows up on her possible equip list and is set to allow Ranger and Huntress to use it. It's very odd that it doesn't allow her to use it in your game. Okay, so copy your save file to another folder. Redownload the game and then copy the save file back over to the game folder. See if that makes any difference (maybe you got an older build?) I just tried them in my current game (added them to Blucia's item list). Blucia can equip the bow all she likes, no issues. The sword can't be equipped by any of the current party, though. I'm honestly not sure what could be the issue.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2015 22:01
|
|
|
I am disinclined to think that I have an older build, since I grabbed it off of the main page that you linked. However I will try a reinstall, see how that goes.
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2015 02:28
|
|
|
It is pretty odd that it's doing that, though. I remember the bow in particular being pretty good. Of course, the lack of bows in general means that you'll have to rely on swords eventually, but that one was pretty good all up. It's a pity it's not working for you. It might just be an unknown bug. Hopefully a reinstall will fix it, though.
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2015 09:03
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 02:16 |
|
|
I'm still surprised that people managed to make action RPG's and clever use of layers to make paperdolls that could represent damage taken, though they often took up like half the screen.
|
|
#
?
Feb 18, 2015 11:56
|
|